Poetry review – THE TRAPEZE OF YOUR FLESH: Thomas Ovans is impressed by the extensive knowledge behind Charles Rammelkamp’s poetic history of Striptease and Burlesque
theatre
Your Lie in April. Review by Barbara Lewis. In the fantasy world of “Your Lie in April”, based on a Japanese manga, adapted into a television series, a film, and now brought to London’s West End, even football is relegated to a poor second to musical prowess when it comes to winning teenage hearts.
Sherlock Holmes: The Valley of Fear. Review by Barbara Lewis. A cast of five tackles all the complexity of Conan Doyle’s fourth and final Sherlock Holmes novel that is as clever, contrived and satisfying as a cryptic crossword.
Blue. Review by Barbara Lewis. George Floyd’s murder in May 2020, which triggered waves of Black Lives Matter protests, together with the U.S. Capitol attacks of January 2021, when off-duty police officers were found to be among the rioters, inspired June Carryl to write Blue.
New York City Ballet at Sadlers Wells. Review by Julia Pascal. George Balanchine founded New York City Ballet and gave us classical technique without classical narratives. His work is described as neo-classic or even anti-classic. But since his death in 1983 the Company has been looking at other creatives to provide Company identity.
The London Handel Players, after touring Northern Ireland, Spain, Turkey, Canada and America, have returned to base for the 2023 – 2024 season. The ensemble specialises in Baroque chamber music.
The Pilgrim Play. Review by Barbara Lewis. An antidote to the glitz that can disguise the mediocre, it’s a welcome return to the roots of theatre and to a focus on consummate acting skill.
Festival Universatil. Review by Barbara Lewis. The students in a KAP live together and work together on a cultural or community project, one of which is Le Théâtre Universitaire de Louvain, which every year organises the “Universatil” festival of French-language drama.
Transgression, Life in the Aftermath of the Eocene. Review by Barbara Lewis. The Eocene lasted from about 55.8 million to 33.9 million years ago, which has left a lot to happen in the aftermath. By the 1990s of “Transgression”, humanity is being perpetuated by fleeting moments of sexual attraction that give way to years of cruelty.
BY TIMOTHY! Michael Bartholomew-Biggs rediscovers and re-examines the Paul Temple stories he enjoyed listening to on the wireless in his younger days
Mr. Jones. Review by Barbara Lewis. Nearly 60 years on, the tragedy of Aberfan haunts us, not least because it could have been avoided. There is no consolation unless you turn to art. Then the dramatic tension between what was and what might have been becomes theatrical gold in the hands of Liam Holmes.
Cutting the Tightrope. Review by Barbara Lewis. The arts have always had a role in saying the unsayable, making it all but inevitable that Arts Council England’s effort to clarify advice issued early this year on the risk of making political statements would only add to the controversy.
By Barbara Lewis • plays, theatre, year 2024 • Tags: Barbara Lewis, plays, theatre