Tag: london

REVIEW: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Published on by Ke MengLeave a comment

Rating: 4 out of 5.

“In Hytner’s Midsummer, nothing holds still. Desire, power, and reality all merge in fluctuating dreamlike fragments.”

As one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, A Midsummer Night’s Dream offers a world of fantasy, illusions of love, and the disillusionment of the vision. These qualities, to some extent, have also shaped audiences’ expectations. How will a production stage the fairy world? What to wear for Bottom’s donkey costume? What can we expect from the mechanicals? And, last but not least, how do we perceive the three worlds, the Athenian, the fairy, and the mortal, as well as their relationships? These questions tempt us to return to watch a plethora of productions, again and again.

Directed by Nicholas Hytner, this production was first staged in 2019, just before the pandemic, and its 2025 revival already feels dreamlike in itself. The production succeeds not only because of its half-dreamlike, half-burlesque texture that falls within our expectations, but also because of its more “dangerous” exploration of the play’s darker side that teasingly messes around with our expectation. 

This teasing darkness already manifests itself the second we see Hippolyta (Susannah Fielding, also doubling Titania) trapped in a neon-lit box by Theseus (JJ Feild, also doubling Oberon), like a window model. This power dynamic is later brilliantly reversed in the fairy world, where Titania now orders Puck (David Moorst) to have her petty revenge on Oberon. This inversion makes great sense because it foreshadows one of the production’s central feature: nothing is stable. This is a world full of turbulence, anxiety, and instability, easy to be subverted at any moment. 

Such sense of instability is also playfully depicted within the four star-crossed lovers, where their sexuality becomes dangerously fluid. In the forest chasing scene, Puck uses his magical flower leading Hermia (Nina Cassells) to kiss Helena (Lily Simpkiss), and Lysander (Divesh Subaskaran) to Demetrius (Paul Adeyefa). While these elements are already embedded in Shakespeare’s text (i.e., the famous “double cherry” speech), this production makes it feel as if the flower is not a manipulative, enforcing device, but a psychological emblem of dangerous fluidity of desire and potential subversion.

The Bridge Theatre’s immersive, mobile stage further enhances this sense of fluidity, showcasing a fragmented, almost dream-core aesthetic with Bunny Christie’s militant bunk beds (hinting at a warring Athens), fairy’s aerial ropes and Bottom’s (Emmanuel Akwafo) donkey beanie (costume by Christina Cunningham). These elements speechlessly tell us that these three worlds of Midsummer are not parallel, but merged into each other in a fluctuating and unsettled demeanour.

As Good Puck greets you goodbye, by huge round moon balloons drop into the rink for the standing audiences to play with. Even for the last minute, the show teases our expectations. His goodbye is not a melancholic farewell, but a mischievous invitation further into those wavering yet intriguing worlds.

REVIEW: Candy

Published on by H HsuLeave a comment

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

A potent and devastating story of love and addiction that is yet to find its emotional landing.

Set in 1980s Australia, Candy follows the tragic journey of a young, passionate couple whose lives and relationship deteriorates due to heroin addiction, exploring themes of substance abuse, turbulent love, and personal tragedy. At its heart, it’s a touching story of two people deeply in love yet ultimately torn apart, not just by external hardships, but by their own self-destructive battles. This story is brought into life by director Kate Elliott, showing at the White Bear theatre until June 14th.

The show’s greatest highlight lies in the outstanding performances of its two actors, Freya James (as Candy) and Ed McVey (as Dan). Through multi-roling, breaking the fourth wall, and physical storytelling, the duo demonstrates remarkable versatility with emotional depth. Freya James delivers brilliant moments as Candy, while her portrayal of the mother is equally memorable. Ed McVey transitions seamlessly between characters, fully embodying each one—his performance as Dan is electrifying and, ultimately, heartbreaking. The chemistry between the two actors is undeniable. 

Laure Bachelot and Alexandria McCauley’s movement direction is another highlight. The choreography not only advances the narrative but also clearly captures the couple’s emotional turmoil. The movements depicting heroin use are particularly powerful—expressed with both precision and poeticism. 

However, these strengths are undermined by the fragmented storytelling and sparse technical elements. The story, adapted from Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction, unfolds through a mix of movement, dialogue, and narration.  While the movement and dialogue offer compelling glimpses into the couple’s life, the narration often feels like a mere plot device. Though breaking the fourth wall could have deepened the audience’s connection to the characters’ inner worlds, the narration instead disrupts the flow, merely filling narrative gaps rather than enriching the storytelling.

The decision to have only two actors multi-role also weakens immersion. While James and McVey skillfully embody multiple characters, the frequent shifts create a barrier for the audience. Instead of deepening engagement, the multi-roling often pulls focus from the central relationship, leaving the audience to piece together fragmented dialogues rather than becoming fully invested in the couple’s journey. As a result, key turning points feel unearned, and high-stakes moments lose their grippingness.

The minimalist set—comprising two rehearsal boxes, sheer curtains, and a neon light—offers flexibility yet leaves the storytelling on stage unsupported. Without stronger visual or technical support, the burden of world-building falls heavily on the audience’s imagination. The lighting, while effective in shaping the atmosphere and delivering scene changes, does little to reflect the characters’ psychological states. Similarly, the sparse sound design leaves the production feeling bare, leaving the actors to carry the entire emotional weight of the story.

Candy is a production of raw talent and haunting themes, though occasionally undermined by fragmented storytelling. Yet at its core lies a devastating portrait of love and addiction—one that lingers as a poignant, if imperfect, cry from the heart.

REVIEW: Next to Normal Screening

Published on by Savinay SoodLeave a comment

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

An Almost Perfect Proshot of an extraordinary musical 

Next to Normal is one of the most significant musicals of the last twenty five years. It is the portrait of a family on the edge, and explores issues surrounding mental illness in the picture perfect American suburbia. The show follows Diana Goodman, who has severe bipolar disorder and the impact that has on her family. The show premiered in 2008, and won 3 Tony awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The 2024 West End revival was a massive success and has been professionally filmed in order to bring it to old and new audience members alike.

A great deal of care has been put into the production of this proshot. Filmed over 3 nights and compiled together from the performance at the Wyndham theatre, the show features Cassie Levy as Diana, Jamie Parker as Dan, Eleanor Worthington Cox as Natalie, Jack Wolfe as Gabe, Jack Ofrecio as Henry and Trevor Dion Nicholas as Dr.Madden/Dr.Fine. The cast are phenomenal, and all have individual moments to shine, which are further emphasised by close ups. The film is able to capture the nuances of their performances highly effectively, that one may miss if they were seeing it live.

Proshots are hugely important for preserving shows and making them more accessible. Proshots enable more people to enjoy and engage with theatre, especially when significant shows like Next to Normal have been filmed. It is an unabashedly grounded musical, the problems the characters deal with are difficult because they are real. It is the sort of musical that expands people’s perceptions of the medium.

It is a fantastic thing that this proshot exists, and is able to capture some of the magic of this particular run. The fact that it is uncensored makes a change from previous proshots of the show, and I admire that. When watching it, audience members will be able to see things in granular detail that would be impossible if you were seeing it live. Whilst it isn’t perfect, and there are some moments where I found the editing lightly questionable, it is an exciting record of an excellent production. I will certainly be seeing it again in September.

REVIEW: Detention at the Place

Published on by alexnorm14Leave a comment

Rating: 5 out of 5.

 message to all those voices screaming into the abyss, unanswered but not forgotten. 

Detention is an homage to the Queer community. Taking it back to the ’80s, Detentiongives voice to those that suffered under AIDs, Section 28, and an outdated societal mindset. Against the backdrop of the Thatcher government and 1984-85 Miner’s strike, one narrator, five dancers, and five members of the London Queer community present their stories of life and love. 

“It is all a process of translation” (Clarke, 04/06/2025); that is how Gary Clarke crafts his heart-rending works of theatre. It is translating history into words, words into emotion, emotion into movement, and movement into what it means to be human. The phrases are so natural that it is easy to forget that you are watching a choreographed work. The staging is faultless, the  props are brilliantly used, and the mix of music and spoken word is nothing short of genius. 

The Narrator, Lewey Hellewell, is amongst the most gifted orators I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing. His voice is unique and there is something Orwellian in the way that he presents himself and the stories being told. He is both eerie and amusing, and the way he lives the words in his voice and body is haunting. The dancers, Alexandra Bierlaire, Gavin Coward, Alex Gosmore, Mayowa Ogunnaike, and Imogen Wright, are marvelous. The vulnerability and athleticism of each performer is captivating. The naturalism which Clarke strives for translated perfectly into their movement; it does have the unfortunate effect of pushing the dancers out of sync. While Clarke openly aims for a messiness in his work the complete lack of synchronicity, even at times when they are clearly meant to be moving as one, is frustrating. The power of the message and individual artists almost entirely eclipses this flaw.

The community cast members are the piece that push Detention into greatness. Their experiences as Queer individuals makes this performance personal. It is clear from the opening sequence that every individual on that stage is invested. It is a deeply personal show and the love and trust amongst the cast is evident. Clarke set out to fill a gap in dance theatre with the experiences and stories of blue collar lives and has undoubtedly succeeded. 

The most powerful scenes of the performance begin with a phone call. Each artist calls the LGBT switchboard in crisis, an operator (played by a community cast member) answers but never speaks again. Through Hellewell’s haunting narration and the dancer’s movement a one-sided cry for help comes to life. 

These are the stories of real people. A man who’s tested positive for AIDs, a woman whose family is being torn apart, a child beaten and tossed out simply because of who they love. “That is our story,” Mike Jackson of the community cast explained “When I pick that phone up, that’s exactly what I was doing 40 years ago.”.

Homosexuality is still a crime in 64 countries. This isn’t just the stories of yesterday, it is the story of now.

REVIEW: Gifford Circus’s Laguna Bay

Published on by Antonia ConstantinLeave a comment

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Giffords’ Laguna Bay is a sun-soaked splash of nostalgia, humour, and pure joy under the Big Top

There are few traditions that manage to stay this fresh after 25 years, but Giffords Circus pulls it off with Laguna Bay, a vibrant, nostalgia-soaked escape into the golden glow of 1950s America. But don’t be fooled by the vintage aesthetic: this is a show packed with energy, skill, and a big heart that welcomes kids, parents, and playful grown-ups alike.

The scene is set before the first trick is performed. The decor, the  slicked-back hair, and the surfside charm of Laguna Bay feel like stepping into a Technicolor dream. The costumes deserve their own standing ovation for sherbet-coloured dresses, beautiful swimsuits, lifeguard chic, and flight crew elegance that pop against the backdrop of the tent. The Semitones house band are instrumental (literally) in transporting us there, wrapping the Big Top in a warm blanket of surf-rock and swing. Mikey and Nell’s vocals shimmer with classic charisma, capturing the era’s flair with no effort. Their rendition of “Summertime” was a real standout for me, sultry and soulful at the same time. 

But of course, it is the acts that keep you holding your breath between giggles. Tweedy returns in top form, clowning with his signature mix of chaos and charm. The icecream fight scene and the  shark-infested beach chases had the whole audience laughing out loud. No surprise, as Tweedy even gets to wear a women’s bathing suit and a wing!

The highlight for me had to be Pablo and Vikki. After 30 years of performing together, their new act was a masterclass in physical comedy and heart.  It had Leslie Nielsen-style absurdity written all over it: think Airplane! meets circus. Pablo plays a slightly hapless captain and Vikki his ever-resourceful assistant. There’s a runaway miniature plane, daring climbs, aerial flops, cheeky costume malfunctions, and perfectly timed catches. It’s physical comedy at its most human and genuinely clever, the kind of routine where the silly exterior hides years of precision and trust.

Daniela and Naomi brought serious pin-up glamour with a sharp technical twist. Their rope act is not only stylish (1950s chic meets power) but uses their hair in ways that had us all wide-eyed. Strength, control, and elegance in every move.

The Ethio-Salem Troupe dialed up the energy with their explosive acrobatics. The y were bold, bright, and impossible to look away from. And then brothers Antonia and Conner injected cheeky confidence and total mastery into their act, winning the audience with sheer charisma.

Elsewhere, Maximiliano’s magic was classic with a twist.  Randy, meanwhile, brought a touch of romance and balance with his graceful aerials, swooping and spinning with an ease that made it all look effortless.

Animals are a Giffords staple, and this year we were joined by a pony, a dog, and a horse, each adding their own charm and showcasing the deep bond between performer and animal.

It all ended as only Giffords can: the performers inviting us into the ring for a mini beach party finale. Hands clapping, feet stomping, and everyone smiling. There’s something about Giffords Circus that makes you feel like you’ve been part of something rare and warm and thoroughly entertaining.

Laguna Bay is a joy-filled reminder that good storytelling, live music, and world-class performance can still feel magical, no matter your age.

IN CONVERSATION WITH: Ewan Wardrop

Published on by Ke MengLeave a comment

We sat down with Ewan Wardrop, who is performing the iconic lead role in North By Northwest, coming to Alexandra Palace this June.

Actor, dancer and multi-instrumentalist, Ewan began his career performing as a ballet dancer in Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake on Broadway. He is a familiar member of Rice and Wise Children’s acting troupe, having performed in her production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Globe and The Buddha of Suburbia last year at the Barbican. For this production, he steps into the iconic lead role embodied by Cary Grant in the classic film – big shoes to fill! 

Roger Thornhill is an iconic character, originally portrayed by Cary Grant. How did you approach making this role your own in Emma Rice’s adaptation of North by Northwest, and what unique elements did you bring to the character?

Cary Grant is wonderful in the film, very dryly funny and great physically too. He’s certainly been an inspiration in this case – (I usually avoid studying people who have played roles before me too closely) But it wouldn’t feel right unless it was a biopic to try and be Cary Grant playing Roger Thornhill. It’s hard for me to say personally what unique elements I bring to the role, but if you can imagine a better looking and more charming version of Cary Grant then that’s the sort of thing you can expect.

Emma Rice’s adaptation of North by Northwest is noted for its inventive staging and playful tone. Can you share how the ensemble cast and creative direction influenced your performance, especially in scenes that reimagine the film’s famous set pieces?

Emma can usually see what is going to work long before anyone else does. In the studio you can sometimes wonder “is this going to work?” and then lo and behold, you put it on stage before an audience and they go wild for it. This could be true of the famous cornfield/ biplane chase sequence from the film. I can’t say exactly what we do in our version of the scene but it is conjured from not very much and gets one of the biggest audience reactions of the evening. Everyone has to be totally committed to make it work.

You’ve previously worked with Emma Rice on productions like A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Buddha of Suburbia. How has your collaborative relationship evolved over time, and what draws you to her distinctive theatrical style?

I think we probably worked well together right from the start. We share a similar sense of humour. Emma is very empathetic and has an amazing ability to read people very quickly. I sometimes think she knows me better than I know myself and she knows just how to press my buttons to get the performance she envisions. What draws me to her style is that I think she is a true artist and always does things for the right reasons. It’s a very happy and funny process but also hard working and that suits me very well.

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, you played Bottom, a role that showcased your comedic timing and physicality. How did that experience inform your portrayal of Roger Thornhill, and are there any parallels between the two characters in terms of performance?

Yes I think there are parallels. Both Bottom and Thornhill are trying to make sense of the situations they find themselves in, they are mostly responding to other characters who are driving the story. They share a kind of innocence and simplicity and both get drawn into a world in which they are out of their depth but ultimately manage to win the day!

Your role as the flamboyant theatre director Matthew Pyke in The Buddha of Suburbia was both humorous and meta-theatrical. Did that experience offer any insights or contrasts when approaching the more suspense-driven narrative of North by Northwest?

I think only in doing what I always strive to do, which is to try and remain truthful no matter how extraordinary the circumstances. As Thornhill I am always a step behind with the plot, which can be humorous but I have to respond in a real way – however far-fetched or fanciful the action may be. As one of my favourite comedic actors, Gene Wilder said “If the physical thing you’re doing is funny, you don’t have to act funny while doing it…Just be real and it will be funnier”.

With just six performers taking on multiple roles in North by Northwest, how did this ensemble approach challenge or enhance your performance, and what was it like navigating the rapid character transitions on stage?

Fortunately for me, I only play Roger Thornhill, but the rest of the cast play several different characters each. They are all so good though, Karl Queensborough for example plays both the villain, Vandamm and Roger’s mother – both utterly believable! A lot of the hard work goes on offstage with costume changes etc which can be more exhausting than what you do onstage.

North by Northwest comes to Alexandra Palace Theatre on 11 – 22 June.

INCONVERSATION WITH: Martin Storrow

Published on by ayoungishperspective1Leave a comment

We sat down for a quick chat with the writer Martin Storrow about King of Pangea, opening on the 7th of June at King’s Head Theatre.

What inspired you to write King of Pangea?

When I started writing KoP, I had no idea it would be a musical, nor did I know that it would become so personal. I had written a few songs about a boy who washes up an imaginary Island called Pangea. I thought I might make a concept record. I remember having a difficult time explaining the project to people, and a wise friend asked why Pangea was important to me. I thought back to my childhood, of all of the times I used to escape into my own imaginary world. Pangea had been a refuge in hard times, especially during the twelve year period from the time my mother first became ill to the time she passed away. My friend said that might be a story worth exploring. Once I made the choice to lean into that, the project became something much more vulnerable and meaningful. 

How has it been working with theatre icon Jerry Mitchell as producer?

Working with Jerry (Mitchell) is a dream come true. I met Jerry in 2023, when he was paired up as our mentor at the Barn on Fire residency in New York, and his advice at the time led me to write a brand new song (“The Puzzle”) which transformed the arc of the show. Every meeting with Jerry is inspiring – he is so generous in sharing his experience and also in giving insights and ideas that have helped us make the show stronger. I learn something new everytime I’m in his presence. We were so happy that he connected with the material enough to want to keep supporting/mentoring us after the residency, and when he said yes to joining the producing team, it was the ultimate vote of confidence. We truly have the best team, both onstage and off, and would not have been able to reach this very exciting milestone without them. Somehow this show always finds its people and I’m incredibly grateful for that. 

How does it feel to see your personal story being brought to life on stage?

It still feels surreal. I’m not sure I’ll ever fully get used to it. There are moments in the show that are drawn from actual conversations and memories, and sometimes seeing them brings me back very vividly. At the same time, there’s also so much imagination, humor, and new color that the director, designers, orchestrator (Anthony Lucca) and performers have brought to the story and the characters, and seeing those elements come to life is wildly exciting. And of course, I love hearing the music performed by our brilliant cast. There’s such a range of musical styles in the show, and each cast member brings their own unique voice and heart to the material. 

There’s a poem quoted at the end of the show that was actually written by my mother, and I love hearing her words read aloud at each performance. 

How do you hope audiences will connect with King of Pangea and its themes of grief, hope, and personal transformation?

Our director Richard Israel says that this is not a story about someone who dies; it’s a story about someone who learns to live, and I couldn’t agree more. Yes, this show deals with loss, but within that journey there is romance, joy, hope, laughter, and of course music. We all encounter loss in our lives, and we all have to make that journey back to hope. It may look different for each of us, but in some way, everyone has a Pangea. I hope those who come will leave the theatre feeling that they are not alone, that their sense of hope has been deepened, and that they’ve enjoyed themselves in the process 🙂 

And finally, what excites you most about premiering King of Pangea at the King’s Head Theatre?

The moment we got the call about King’s Head, I knew in my heart that it was the perfect fit. The King’s Head is a theatre with such an extraordinary history, and it’s also a theatre that is currently reinventing itself in a gorgeous new space, and both of those things feel very aligned with this show, which is about examining your past but also looking forward and reimagining your future. It’s such an honor to be part of this beautiful season along with so many other incredible shows, and I love that we forever get to be part of the King’s Head story, and that King’s Head is now part of ours.

Credit: Ikin Yum

REVIEW: The Reckoning at Arcola Theatre

Published on by Ke MengLeave a comment

Rating: 5 out of 5.

“Ethnotheatre in its best, most ideal and beautiful form”

I have to admit: I’ve always held a deeply biased view of both verbatim theatre and Eastern European theatrical aesthetics. The insistence on “word-for-word transcription for the sake of authenticity”, and all those Grotowskian declarations like “art is suffering,” or “life is suffering”, all makes me feel a kind of didactic dullness, especially when a production uses amateur performers or has first-person narrators speak instead of professional actors.

The Reckoning completely crushes my naivety and bias. It triumphs with its sincerity of expression, a richness that nourishes both the mind and heart (and literally, your mouth!), and a refined, skilful theatrical language. Co-written by Anastasiia Kosodii and Josephine Burton and based on this Reckoning Project aimed at collecting live, accurate testimonies of war crimes, this part-verbatim, part-fictional performance centres around a man (Tom Godwin) from Stoyanka who refuses to leave his boss’s home, and a female journalist (Marianne Oldham) interviewing him.

Their exchange begins as one of the most painfully awkward fieldwork scenes: cold, resistant, uncooperative, with the journalist only seeing him as the source of “data”. However, this starts to change when she begins to open up about her own family’s struggle for evacuation and about the impossible moral choices they faced. He too, starts to talk, and he does so while preparing a fresh Ukrainian summer salad. They both regret for what they have done and what they have not, laying bare the raw, horrifying truth of war, and perhaps even more horrifying truth of humanity. This is the suffering we must bear. We must suffer in recognition of truth, and only through that recognition can we carry on—to make that fresh summer salad. The salad is not a prop. It is an emblem of life.

Yes. At its core, I think The Reckoning is a performance about vigilance: the vigilance of life, and the even greater challenge of continuing to believe in life after witnessing the abyss of humanity.  Maybe that’s the kind of “truth” Grotowski sought, or the “tragic culture” Friedrich Nietzsche once wanted us to rebuild.

Paralleled with this central narrative are verbatim vignettes based on the journalists’ past interviews with a number of informants all played by Ukrainian actors Simeon Kyslyi and Olga Safronova in original Ukrainian, with Oldham interpreting. Certainly, there are compromising parts as verbatim theatre, director Burton works hard to stage them as genuine dialogues rather than stiff, conference-like interpretation. There was one vignette that the journalist and the woman sitting back-to-back and talking, and the silence in-between words is full of unspeakable tension. Kyslyi and Safronova also double as the MC/narrators who greet us, talk jokes with us, “tell me something good”, and … confront us with waves of emotion we almost can no longer bear. 

Zoë Hurwitz’s design ensures that props are never just add-ons. Rather, they are agents of the performance. These three pieces of wooden furniture serve as the table, the body, the checkpoint, and the ditch; in precise moment, they are also cued to trigger psychological horror and the darkest human evil. Joshua Pharo’s lighting mirrors the same, integral to the whole performance, capturing nuanced psychological landscape.

Continuing to collect stories, the journalist eventually becomes part of that story, not only because she has also experienced the war, the evacuation and the abyss of humanity, but also because she no longer seeing her intellectuals as mere “testimonies”. Through the dialogues and encounters, she has this most unique, irreplaceable intersubjective bonds with them, and that’s why eventually the man asks her to walk the dog with him -she truly becomes one of them.

The Reckoning will be staged at Arcola Theatre until til 28th June. Tickets and info can be find here

REVIEW: Find Your Eyes

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

Transfixing and surreal, Find Your Eyes is a genre-defying meditation on memory, identity and the alchemy of image-making

Multi-disciplinary artist and self-described ‘choreo-photolist’ Benji Reid blends photography, movement and theatre to create something entirely unique: a live stage performance in which dancers, objects and light are transformed into extraordinary stills before our eyes. The show unfolds in a series of visual vignettes – part photoshoot, part performance – each one charged with emotional depth and visual power.

There’s a palpable sense of witnessing something in real time and yet beyond time. Photographs are projected onto large screens seconds after being captured, allowing the audience to experience both the constructed image and its creation simultaneously. Reid’s camera seems to possess a kind of magic – where a scene that might seem ordinary or even absurd in motion is rendered with elegance, poignancy and surreal clarity once frozen in frame.

In Chrome Wings, for instance, we watch as an assistant dusts a man’s body with flour, a moment that initially appears offhand. But once captured by Reid’s lens, it becomes something far more profound: the image evokes not just decay and disintegration but also resilience. It’s this juxtaposition – between the seemingly mundane and the deeply metaphoric, that gives the work its arresting power.

Throughout, Reid draws from a broad visual and cultural lexicon: Afro-Futurism, hip hop culture, surrealism, stark realism. Each scene invites interpretation, while also resisting simple conclusions. Some images are hauntingly sparse (the moving, black-and-white Portraits, Objects), others rich with colour and symbolism (Mum and the gods). The staging is purposeful – even the quieter transitions, as backdrops shift or lighting rigs are reconfigured, feel choreographed and poised.

What remains most memorable are the images themselves, many of which drew audible gasps from the audience, followed by spontaneous applause. These moments felt like collective intake and release, a recognition of beauty and pain captured at the same time.More than a performance, Find Your Eyes is an invitation into Benji Reid’s world: one in which storytelling is visual, emotion is movement, and the photograph is not just a document, but a portal. It is meditative, revelatory, and unlike anything else on the stage.

Review by Lauren Aitken

IN CONVERSATION WITH: Tanaka Dunbar Ngwara

Published on by Ke MengLeave a comment

We sat down with Tanaka , who is performing in the Royal Academy Musical Theatre ’s upcoming production of NINE.

Which character are you playing in Nine, and how did you approach stepping into their world and mindset?

I am playing Stephanie Necrophorus (nicknamed “Steph” in our rehearsal room), who is a young but infamous film critic that writes terrible things about Guido Contini’s movies under the pen name Robespierre! In real life I have very little respect for misogynistic old men – of course you should all come and make up your own opinions about Guido – but in some ways Steph comes very naturally to me. I filled in the blanks with research we did as a group about Hollywood and filmmaking from the 60s – 90s to figure out what kinds of films Steph would love and hate and start pinpointing exactly why Contini’s films in particular incite her fiery pen. There isn’t a whole lot about her in the script so I was able to explore and come up with lots of facts and stories for her backstory. One that director Hannah Chissick and I have become fond of is that she’s secretly writing an exposé/memoir of her time with Contini.

Are there any particular scenes that are especially rewarding to perform or rehearse? (or, do you have a favourite scene/musical number from the show?)

One of my favorite scenes to rehearse has been “The Grand Canal”. It’s a monster of a scene – a 15 minute musical sequence where they’re in a rehearsal shoot – with lots of moving parts and quick changes. In general I enjoy the concept of a rehearsal scene in the middle of a show, and I really like doing it because it comes with a lot of freedom within the chaos. We’ve all been encouraged to fill in moments of pause or instrumental music with improvised discussion and ‘business’ and I really enjoy finding moments within it to explore Steph’s motivations, whether that’s listening in on a piece of Contini gossip or sneaking pictures for her future memoir. I am also always brought to tears by our lovely Louisa(s) singing “Be On Your Own”, but I won’t explain why because no spoilers!

How did you and the cast build chemistry and trust to bring out the complex relationships in the show?

By now we’re a very tight cohort, as we have been working together for almost a year, so there was already a lot of friendship and comfort amongst the group. It is of course a show that requires a lot of intimacy, and so we had an intimacy coordinator supervise the majority of the early rehearsals to help choreograph those moments and make sure everyone felt safe in the rehearsal room. We also start rehearsals with an intimacy check in, because people’s boundaries might be slightly different day to day.

What do you think makes Nine different from other theatre productions you’ve worked on or seen? Why should audiences come to see this production of Nine?

Nine is very interesting because it is a bit of a mix between a traditional chronological book musical and a concept musical. It constantly plays with questions of whether we’re inside Contini’s mind as a figment, as a memory or right in front of him. Though there’s a clear narrative, the resolution is much more conceptual than anything – more about his psyche than the events themselves. Our production is particular because it modernizes the show by about 30 years – we’ve set the production in the 1990s. This changes the dynamics and implications of his relationships with these women as well as the trauma in his childhood. We’re also using technology in ways that really highlight special themes and moments in the show. Beyond that, this is the most talented group of people I’ve ever had the pleasure to spend 12 hour days with, and I am constantly blown away by each and every one of them! Even show aside, I would highly recommend just coming to see some fabulous acting and singing.

What has inspired you to pursue a career in Musical Theatre?

For me, musical theatre is the highest form of art because it includes everything – music, dance, acting, visual arts and design! What better way to tell a story? It feels like honoring my ancestors by continuing traditions of oral histories told through music. Exercising everyday is fabulous for my mental health. I love theater people! There are hundreds of reasons, but I know I’m in the right place.

For ticket and info:

https://www.ram.ac.uk/whats-on/nine