In Conversation With Stephen Leach
Reading Time: 4 minutesDr Samuel Murray talks to playwright Stephen Leach ahead of rehearsals for the upcoming tour of his debut, Can’t Wait To Leave.
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In Conversation with Jialun Qi
Reading Time: 4 minutesRed Hare’s Wish is an original stage musical by Um Actualee Theatre, a newly founded East Asian theatre company based in London. The piece is based on the Chinese Classic “Romance of The Three Kingdoms''. It boasts new compositions that blend traditional East Asian motifs with a retro-modern twist. Jialun Qi is the composer/writer of Red Hare's Wish.
In Conversation with: Ellie Brelis
Reading Time: 6 minutesWell… it’s about a LOT. It’s a very specific show, but I think that is what makes it universal and accessible to so many people. Who hasn’t been impacted by a bad break up? A bad haircut? Who hasn’t lost a loved one and not only grieved that loss, but grieved the opportunity to say goodbye? While not everyone has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and there is so much misinformation out there about OCD, I think a lot of people can still relate to feeling stuck in their head, or stuck in an identity, or stuck in some part of their life that is keeping them from “more”.
In Conversation with: Emily Adams
Reading Time: 4 minutesShe’s F***ing Tired is a wild ride through the absurdity of beauty standards, fuelled by relentless social media trends. Brace yourself for an amusing yet eye-opening journey as we venture into the impossible ideals imposed on women. Get ready to laugh, cringe, and maybe even shed a tear as we expose the insanity of it all. Directed by Emily Adams, She’s F***ing Tired is showing at The Courtyard Theatre, on 6th August, 6pm.
REVIEW: Tit(s) for Tat
Reading Time: 2 minutesAlcohol disguised in plastic fizzy drink bottles, the yellow iPhone 5c and the sweet sounds of “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz - Tit(s) for Tat does a great job of bringing me back to my adolescence where the biggest concern I had was which top and jeans I was going to wear to whatever party was happening that night.
In Conversation with: Sam Ipema
Reading Time: 3 minutesBased on writer-performer Sam Ipema’s lived-experience of finding she had a brain aneurysm at the ageof 20, and ditching her scheduled life-saving surgery until after her All-American Spring Break, Dear Annie, I Hate You is a duologue between Sam and her aneurysm. Visualising her rare brain aneurysm as an unexpected ‘other’ from the subconscious voice inside her head, Sam Ipema’s dark comedy explores the struggles of processing such a diagnosis at an early age, when most people are still figuring out who they are and what they want to do with their lives. She meditates on the events that brought her to the present after deciding that the best thing to do before getting the surgery was to go out with a bang at Spring Break, but intrusive ‘Annie’ had other plans. This is a true story, not necessarily a smart one.
In Conversation with: Adam Karim
Reading Time: 3 minutesArtist Adam Karim discusses MANTELPEACE, a brand-new exhibition providing a fresh perspective on traditional masculinity at the Young Vic, created by Taking Part.
Adam Karim is a freelance theatre director and facilitator. His is the recipient of the JMK Award '24, and was Resident Assistant Director '22-'23 at the Donmar Warehouse. He will direct 'Guards At The Taj' at the Orange Tree Theatre this Autunm.
In Conversation with: Peter McCormick
Reading Time: 3 minutesExploring existentialism, ego and unrequited love, Beyond Krapp is a dark comedy that follows Cormac, a dead man, as he overhears his own funeral from the void of purgatory. The writer and performer, Peter McCormick, was also recently named on the longlist for the David McLennan Award with A Play, A Pie, and A Pint, for which he is writing a new play about love and manipulation.
In Conversation with: Yolanda Mercy
Reading Time: 4 minutesWritten and performed by BAFTA nominee Yolanda Mercy, Failure Project is a “Comedy drama... Or “dramedy” about Ade. Ade is a successful writer, or so it seems. She has everything she has ever wanted; her career is flying, she’s (kinda) moved out of her mums house, her situationship isn’t as complicated as she expected. Life is perfect?! But things don’t always go how you plan, and Ade is about to find that out?
In Conversation with: Louise Orwin
Reading Time: 4 minutesFAMEHUNGRY is a helter-skelter nosedive into the TikTok universe and a grudge match with the attention economy.
Flipping the script on the mentor/mentee relationship, acclaimed UK performance artist Louise Orwin has enlisted Gen Z TikToker Jax Valentine (20yo, queer, 80k followers) to guide her (37yo, queer, 4k followers) through a brave new world of dance trends, 24 hour live-streaming, enforced face filters and endless monetizable content.
FAMEHUNGRY will be showing at Edinburgh Fringe from 1 - 26 August. Check it out here.