Tezza's Theatre Place

Crystal Clear – CREDIT Lidia Crisafulli. Every so often there will be a quiz or a dinner party topic around the subject of which of our senses we would be OK with losing. Safe in the knowledge it’s unlikely to happen, we will plummet for a sense we think is superfluous, such as smell. The reality is that should we lose a sense we will not get a choice as to which one goes. We are so used to having all five that the loss of any one of them would have a devastating effect on our lives. This is the fate that awaits one of the characters in Phil Young’s play  Crystal Clear  which is making a long-awaited return to Islington’s Red Lion Theatre. Picture dealer Richard (Gareth Kennerley) has recently moved into a small flat. It’s not much but it’s his and although there is not really room to swing a cat, there is space for his futon, his favourite chair and his bookshelf filled to overflowing with knick-knacks and objets d’art that he has picked up. Tonight is a special night fo...

The White Plague – Audience Immersive theatre is one of the most difficult to describe in a review. Probably more than any other type of theatrical production, immersive theatre is exceptionally personal to the person experiencing it. So it is with the latest immersive theatre show to hit London, but I will try my best to give you an idea of what it is like to live through  The White Plague  at the Landor Space. Things start off nice and gently when you arrive and are given a name tag which describes something about you – mine was ‘mauve jumper – and then go up the stairs to receive your opening briefing and whiteout goggles. Ah yes, this performance is experienced with the loss of your sight. The premise is that a mysterious and contagious virus which causes the population to go blind starts to spread. The government panics – as they often do – and takes immediate action by locking all the affected populace into an internment camp. And that’s really all I can tell y...