Tezza's Theatre Place

The War of the Worlds at the New Diorama Theatre In 1938, The Mercury Theatre on the Air theatre company created radio history with a performance of an adaptation of H. G. Wells 1898 novel about a Martian attack on the planet Earth. The effect of the broadcast was profound and has entered the history books creating a story of its own. Fast forward to 2019 and Rhum & Clay have taken the original radio production as their base for a new version of  The War of the Worlds  at the New Diorama Theatre. This 80-minute play, devised by the company writing with Isley Lynn, starts with the infamous broadcast and the wonderful opening monologue from Orson Wells (Mona Goodwin, Julian Spooner, Amalia Vitale and Matthew Wells) themselves. I have to say, speaking as someone that has a copy of the original broadcast, the cast have done extremely well to recreate the sound and feel of 1938 as they go through the start of the Mercury Theatre production. The play is not just a recreation...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/198426/review-of-together-by-factory-irregular-at-camden-peoples-theatre/ Sometimes I get asked to review a production that turns out to be very difficult to write about. It could be that it is a one-off or something that can only be experienced or even something that simply defies description.  Together  which I caught at the Camden People’s Theatre is pretty much all three of the above. Together  is a sort of combination of immersive theatre and a free for all. It starts from the moment you receive your show notes and are given a website to open in order to communicate with the performers (Smaragda Kara, Piotr Mirowski, and Yujing Yan). All becomes slightly clearer when you go into the – for want of a better word – performance space. In three of the corners there is a screen and behind that a performer who is talking into a webcam – the screen, acting as a PC, showing them to you and the rest of the audience. You are then free t...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/197709/review-the-tower-theatre-companys-1984/ 1984 – Photography by Robert Piwko Some books never leave you. Even though you are forced to read them at school, they stay with you for the rest of your life. If they then get turned into a TV show, film or play, then they have a real uphill struggle trying to get over your original thoughts on reading the book. A case in point is George Orwell’s 1984 which has been adapted to every medium short of musical theatre – that’s isn’t a challenge – and I’ve seen the lot. Today, I added to my list with a visit to TheatroTechnis in Camden. It is 1984 and London is the capital city of Airstrip One (formerly Great Britain) of Oceania, one of the three great powers in the world. Following a revolution years before, Oceania is ruled by the omnipresent Party and the principles of Ingsoc (English Socialism). There are three strata to life in Oceania – the Inner Party, the Outer Party and The Proles. Party membe...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/192567/review-the-narcissist-the-hen-and-chickens-theatre/ Self-help books, CDs and DVDs are ten a penny these days. There are whole sections in Waterstones and Foyles dedicated to helping you improve yourself. However, while all of these try to teach the reader how to feel better about themselves, very few – possibly with the exception of Sarah Knight’s  “The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k ” take things to a real extreme. That is until Flux Theatre presented  The Narcissist  which I saw at the Hen & Chickens Theatre. How to describe  The Narcissist ? Now that really is a question. Well, writer/performer Will Adolphy has put together a sort of ‘Ted Talk’ with a difference. At the heart of his message is himself, me, you, everybody and the fact that we are, or possibly should be, the most important people in our world. That’s not to assume we are – particularly when confronted with the rather stark answer to the ...

https://www.lastminutetheatretickets.com/londonwestend/review-joe-ortons-loot-park-theatre/ LOOT – Sam Frenchum (Hal) Sinead Matthews (Fay) Photo by Darren Bell How does a play stand the test of time? Shakespeare, as we know, still works on most levels when performed today. But, what about a more recent piece of writing from, say the 1960s? Would a modern sophisticated theatre audience still appreciate the show without it being ‘updated’? Well, now you can find out by heading to the Park Theatre and seeing Joe Orton’s  Loot . It is the day of Mrs McLeavy’s (Anah Ruddin) funeral and her household are all getting ready in their own way to see her off in a good old fashioned Catholic manner. Her Husband (Ian Redford) is upset and sombre while her nurse, Fay (Sinéad Matthews) is both cheerful and full of the Holy Roman spirit as the time of the funeral draws nearer. Only Hal (Sam Frenchum) the son of the household seems unperturbed by the death of his mother as he hovers suspici...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/172060/guide-me-o-thou-great-redeemer-camden-peoples-theatre/ One of the most frustrating things about being a reviewer is when you see something and have to write about it but can say virtually nothing as the show itself is one of those site-specific shows where to say too much would really give everything away. A case in point is  Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer  which is getting its premiere at the Camden People’s Theatre. So let’s see how far I can go with telling you something of my experience. When I arrived, I was sent down into the basement to a door with a notice on the outside “Queen Mother Remembrance Society, please knock and wait”. A few seconds after knocking, the door was opened by our host David (David G. Lees) who welcomed each of us in turn with a personal remark. David himself is a tall Glaswegian who is currently living in London but is moving – albeit reluctantly – back to his hometown soon. And that’s the reason for...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/170789/review-she-wears-scented-rose-camdens-theatro-technis/ She Wears Scented Rose Writing a review is not always as easy as some believe it to be. There are many things to be taken into account when looking at a production including the writing, directing, acting, set and costume design, lighting, sound etc. And, no matter how dispassionate one tries to be, some shows will strike a chord while others may not. This means that sometimes there can be wildly differing reviews of the same show – I’ve recently seen a show given a 1 star rating by one reviewer and 4 by another. Ultimately then, reviews are the subjective thoughts of the person writing them. Keep that in mind as I take you to Camden’s Theatro Technis where Razor Sharp Productions are currently performing Yasir Senna’s  She Wears Scented Rose . Late one night in a street in the Wimbledon area of London, Mark (Craig Karpel) is dragging himself along a road bleeding profusely. He m...