Reading Time: 2 minutesSometime between 8:30 and 10:30pm on 24th August 1962, Marilyn Monroe – the most photographed person of the 20th century – died aged 36 of barbiturate poisoning. This was ruled a “probable suicide”
Reading Time: 2 minutesMarie Curie’s portrait adorns many “Great Scientists” classroom displays, and rightly so. She is the only person to win two Nobel prizes in distinct scientific fields, and the first woman ever to scoop the award.
Reading Time: 4 minutesWe’ve all been there: having been to the bathroom and nabbed your favourite drink at the bar you’re all set to slink into the auditorium, only to be met with a sign declaring: “Tonight, XXX will be played by YYY”.
Reading Time: 2 minutesLaughing Boy opens by announcing the eponymous Connor’s untimely death, drowning unnoticed in the bath following an epileptic seizure under the care of NHS Southern Health. Having dropped that bombshell, the show paints a portrait of Connor before his demise, and chronicles his family’s crusade for justice against those who failed to protect him. Simmering with a mother’s righteous indignation, Laughing Boy feels important and real in a way that makes its uneven pacing easy to forgive.
Reading Time: 2 minutesRemembrance Monday’s opening scene sketches out an idyllic long-term relationship for dance-teacher Julius and artist Connor.
Reading Time: 2 minutesIt is often said that we live in an age of unprecedented connection – with mobile phones, social media, and the news at our fingertips – and yet we have also never felt more alone. Algorithms explores this idea through the experiences of dating app employee Brooke (Sadie Clarke), who is about to turn 30 and tackling the dating scene following the end of a long-term relationship. Her overbearing mother is forcing her to have a joint wedding anniversary/30th birthday party, and her company has meeting rooms named after animals who mate for life (the Beaver Room, anyone?). Through this lens, Algorithms captures some very specific experiences of love, bisexuality and loneliness in the digital age.
Reading Time: 2 minutesA soundwalk is a guided walk exploring the intersection between location and sound. In this case, landmarks around Charing Cross are paired with orchestral music and lyrics. Starting at St. Martin in the Fields, A City Full of Stories takes participants around the hustle and bustle of London’s West End, and shows how quickly this can transition into serenity when you know the perfect side street to duck into. The resulting half hour provides a nice walk alongside a pleasing musical accompaniment.
Reading Time: 2 minutesJones has made his name through unpredictable, surrealist performances, netting him BAFTA and Edinburgh Comedy Award nominations, several BBC sitcoms, and appearances on Upstart Crow and Ted Lasso.
Reading Time: 2 minutesAlthough overtly about gender, Hir is at its most exciting in its wider sociopolitical commentary. Whilst Taylor Mac’s observations on the trans community will have been revolutionary when written in 1996, these are fairly run-of-the-mill takes in the modern era, and at times it feels like trans-rights themselves are the butt of the joke.
Reading Time: 2 minutesAn emotive show that genuinely innovates in the storytelling space OommoO is a strangely formless word to say, with each letter sliding into the next. Similarly, Lula Mebrahtu’s dreamlike mix of music, monologue and technology struggles to…