Reviews

Upstairs in the Balcony Rooms in the Buckingham Arms Hotel there is a little theatrical gem – Dickinson’s Room.

In three small rooms, which have an untold history in themselves, one enters the life, mind and imagination of Emily Dickinson, one of America’s greatest poets.

This unique and engaging piece of theatre is unconventional; as critiqued in Broadway Baby, ‘there is a wonderful sense of freedom to the work. It doesn’t feel pinned to a stage.’

It’s fifty-five years since Joan Littlewood’s company workshopped new lyrics to wartime songs to highlight the brutality and pointlessness of World War I. The juxtaposition of jolly cabaret with the death statistics still packs the proverbial punch.

Swamp Juice is the story of a man who goes for a walk in a swamp and meets two snails, a bird and a snake. It is told using shadow puppets made from bits and pieces you might find in your recycling bin and toy box.

The magic lies in the fact that the audience sees the ordinary transformed into the extraordinary and can see how it is done. The light that produces the shadows, along with the stand that holds some of the props is as visible as the performance on the screen.

'You name it, I've tried it,' says Dave (Simon Finch). 'But nothing works for me.'

People with mental health challenges often find that those challenges isolate them. In The Hope Song, the APA Ensemble has chosen to embrace people with mental health challenges and give a voice to the voiceless.

Janet Brown crafted this theatre piece from interviews she conducted in 2016 and 2017. Every word the actors speak were spoken by the seven people she interviewed.