Cul-de-Sac. Review by Barbara Lewis. “Do you think this is enjoyable for anyone to be around?” It’s a very dangerous question in the mouth of Ruth Townsend, who is the aptly named wife of the overly frank Frank Townsend, the central couple of this tale of frustrated lives at the end of the line in London’s Zone 6.
plays
The Frogs. Review by Barbara Lewis. The time is now. The place is ancient Greece. So begins this extremely freely adapted version of Aristophanes’ “The Frogs”.
Tempest Project. Review by Barbara Lewis. On March 21, Peter Brook would have been a hundred. To celebrate the birthday his beloved Bouffes du Nord Theatre in Paris is staging his and Shakespeare’s final project.
Punch, Young Vic. Review by Will Staveley. Based on the memoir Right From Wrong by Jacob Dunne, the play tells the book’s story; of how its writer inadvertently kills a trainee paramedic, James Hodgkinson, with a single punch on a night out in Nottingham. It is as uncompromising a work as it sounds, and one which left good amounts of the audience in tears, shock, or a combination of the two.
Stalled. Review by Barbara Lewis. The toilet options in the refurbished King’s Head Theatre are urinals for the real men and, for everyone else, unisex cubicles – or should I say stalls? to pick up the central pun in this musical set in a restroom that is exclusively for women.
855-FOR-TRUTH: An end of the world love story. Review by Barbara Lewis. “LUST IS A SIN. BURN IN HELL, OR CALL 855-FOR-TRUTH,” were the words writer Eva Hudson saw screaming from a billboard at the side of a highway as she journeyed through America.
The Double Act. Review by Barbara Lewis. This unsettling, multi-layered, hilarious dive into the great modern British divisions of north versus south, woke versus non-woke – and bullies versus clowns – has its deepest roots in a childhood lived close to the seaside towns of northwest England.
Kyoto. Review by Barbara Lewis. Oil – the fuel of Western capitalism – was the issue in 1997 when the Kyoto Protocol delivered the first set of targets to limit its use. Nearly three decades later, far too little has changed.
The Crumple Zone. Review by Barbara Lewis. For anyone nervous their personal relationship might not withstand the stress of the festive period, “The Crumple Zone” offers a manic reassurance that we can survive the impact of an emotional crash, but the pain is excruciating.
Tattooer. Review by Barbara Lewis. Love them or loathe them, tattoos have global appeal. But Japan’s version of permanently etching ink into the skin is culturally specific.
One Small Step. Review by Barbara Lewis. Japan’s Umeda Arts Theater, based in Osaka, began collaborating with London’s Charing Cross Theatre in 2019. It’s now back after a break for the pandemic and then a joint venture with London’s Menier Chocolate Factory last year.
Summers. Review by Barbara Lewis. Heejin Kim takes us to a near future where there is no longer any doubt that summers are something to fight rather than enjoy.
By Barbara Lewis • plays, theatre, year 2025 • Tags: Barbara Lewis, plays, theatre