Category ★★★★☆

REVIEW: Kinder

Kinder Smoking Apples Promo Shoot ©The Other Richard

Reading Time: 4 minutesSmoking Apples’ show Kinder cleverly employs many different kinds of puppets (designed by Hattie Thomas and Matt Lloyd), simple but effective projections and shadow play (Hattie Thomas), and a clever sound design (by George Bellamy) as well as skillful performers/puppeteers (Hattie Thomas, David Burchhardt, and Tea Poldervaart) to tell us the story of “one small Czech-Jewish girl embarking on a mighty adventure” as she escapes German-occupied Czechoslovakia at the beginning of WWII.

REVIEW: Merrily We Roll Along

Photo: Konrad Bartelski

Reading Time: 3 minutesMerrily We Roll Along is not an easy show to pull off. The story starts in 1980 and gradually works its way back to 1955, charting a journey from corrupted aspirations back to college optimism. It’s a story about dreams—their allure and their elusiveness, growing up, and how friendships survive. If they do. It’s an ambitious show for the National Youth Music Theatre to attempt; after all, these characters spend most of the time at an age far exceeding that of their actors. And, it’s a Sondheim. Fortunately for us, this production is a sure-fire success.

REVIEW: Dumbledore is So Gay

Reading Time: 2 minutesFollowing Jack, a reluctant Hufflepuff, as he navigates bullies, coming out, love and. keeping more secrets than the Chamber itself, this 75 minute play is an absolute delight. Written by Robert Holtom, and boasting the VAULT Festival Origins Award as well as an OffWestEnd.com short run commendation to its name, it doesn't disappoint.

REVIEW: Pleading Stupidity

Reading Time: < 1 minuteInspired by an incredible true story dubbed ‘Dumb and Dumber Bandits’, this madcap caper is the perfect fringe evening. We meet Brad and Chad on their gap year when they decide to rob a bank on a whim. We then follow their journey from their escape, capture and sentencing to their release. With verbatim dialogue we also touch on the victims' experience of the process and recovery, giving the piece dramatic weight alongside the sheer stupidity.