Rachel Wood

Rachel Wood

I was involved in a lot of theatre groups growing up and at university, and am enjoying combining my love of writing with my love of theatre! In my spare time you can find me reading, swimming or feeding friends and family.
  • Joined: July 2, 2022
  • Articles: 35

REVIEW: Revenge: After the Levoyah

Reading Time: 2 minutesDirected by Emma Jude Harris  (Stage's Fringe Five 2024), Revenge: After the Levoyah is an exciting, fast-paced, incredibly funny, yet refreshingly thoughtful piece of new theatre. Nick Cassembaum’s (Fringe First winner and Popcorn Writer's Award nominee) script spits and crackles with chutzpah, unpacking different ways to be Jewish in the UK following the pre-pandemic furore surrounding the Labour party.

REVIEW: Sinfonia Smith Square: The Orchestral Forest

Reading Time: 3 minutesCreative Director Matt Belcher’s vision for The Orchestral Forest sees the audience experiencing a classical concert from within, free to wander between the ‘trees’, our orchestra blooming from scattered podiums across Sinfonia Smith Square’s hall. The programme celebrates the hidden beauty of the UK’s ancient rainforests, with Belcher’s guide to the performance informing us that at one time, ‘as much as 20% of the UK was covered in temperate rainforest. Today, as little as 0.07% remains. Most have been replaced by conifer plantations – dense, silent monocultures that are intensively grown and felled on repeat…as a result, these forests are now among the rarest and most vulnerable in the world.’

REVIEW: London City Ballet: Resurgence

Reading Time: 3 minutesLondon City Ballet, former resident company of Sadler’s Wells theatre, makes a triumphant return to their home venue after almost thirty years off the stage. The programme is preceded with a dive into the company’s history, press clippings charting its founding in 1978 by Director Harold King up until its closure in 1996. The introductory reel highlights London City Ballet’s successes and legacies, behind-the-scenes footage of early rehearsals, and the patronage of Princess Diana, a great admirer of dance. While surly pictures of the people’s princess slouched against a ballet bar make for entertaining viewing, the projected montage style does feel somewhat dated. A history in the programme would have sufficed; the dancing that follows is good enough to speak for itself.

REVIEW: Deadnamed

Reading Time: 2 minutesDeadnamed kicks off with a really good bit - award winning writer, stand-up comedian, and actor Dian Cathal bursting from a cardboard coffin centre stage. He struggles to get out, acknowledging that they’re not usually meant to be gotten out of. What follows is an hour of mesmerising theatre, throughout which Dian’s bright, charismatic comedy shines.