Fourthwall Magazine & The Drama Student – The magazine for emerging artists in the entertainment industry – actors, drama students, directors, producers, writers, production crew. » Reviews

Review: DNA, Rose, Kingston ***

JBR — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:24:05 +0000

Dennis Kelly’s DNA tells the dark story of a group of teenagers, one of whom – Adam – is dead. Instigated by the teenagers themselves through a series of violence, bullying and cruel taunts, Adam’s death provides the pinnacle around which the events in this play unfurl. These youngsters are shown seeking the help of Phil Read more ...

Review: The Pitchfork Disney, Arcola ****

JBR — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:44:03 +0000

Phillip Ridley’s The Pitchfork Disney, which premiered at the Bush Theatre in 1991, is as haunting and degenerative a world today as it was for audiences two decades ago. Set in a squalid flat, a pair of agoraphobic 28-year-old twins, Haley and Presley, spend their time taunting one other with tales of apocalyptic nightmares, eating c Read more ...

Review: The Bee, Soho Theatre *****

JBR — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:35:21 +0000

When Ido suddenly finds his family held hostage by an escaped murderer, rather than embrace the role of the victim, he takes a slightly more unusual attitude toward the situation. Hideki Noda and Colin Teevan’s play examines the idea of the victim deciding not to be the victim.

M Read more ...

Review: The Faction’s Miss Julie, New Diorama ***

JBR — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:02:37 +0000

How exciting it is to see The Faction Theatre company complete its first full season of rep theatre, with this new translation of Strindberg’s classic Miss Julie.

This is an enticing and dark piece of theatre which explores a game of love and power between the powerful, Miss Julie, played by Leonie Hill, and the powerless, Read more ...

Review: The Faction’s Mary Stuart, New Diorama ****

JBR — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:53:01 +0000

Mary Stuart plunges us head-first into a dangerous world where Queens send traitors to the tower; Earls commit treachery and public executions are organised at less than twelve hours notice. It is a long way from the carefully orchestrated photo-calls and charity work of William and Kate, the beautiful faces du jour of the British Monar Read more ...

Review: Sometimes I Laugh Like My Sister, Finborough ***

JBR — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:16:40 +0000

Onto the tiny stage of the Finborough Theatre emerges the colourful, honest and entertaining Rebecca Peyton. For the next hour and a half she proceeds to fill the stage with friends, colleagues, places and most importantly, the presence of her sister, Kate Peyton.

Peyton takes her audience back to February 2005, to the day when she found Read more ...

Review: The Faction’s Twelfth Night, New Diorama ***

JBR — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 12:59:34 +0000

The Faction’s first play in their winter Rep Season at the New Diorama Theatre offers a more modern slant on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Director Mark Leipacher has capitalised on his skills in award-winning ensemble work to interject some interesting angles on a variety of scenes, which serve to amuse and intrigue.

Review: Howl’s Moving Castle, Southwark Playhouse ***

JBR — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:20:00 +0000

Howl’s Moving Castle is an enchanting tale suitable for viewers of all ages. Based on the fantasy novel by Diana Wynne Jones, writer Mike Sizemore has created a compelling script that captures the story of the ostensibly evil, superficial Howl and his blossoming relationship with the lovely Sophie, who has been put under a spell by th Read more ...

Review: Fascinating Aïda, Cheap Flights – Charing Cross *****

JBR — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:11:48 +0000

Like a Weimar Republic cabaret fused with a slightly squiffy Grandmother at Christmas, an evening in the company of Fascinating Aïda is like slipping on a comfortable pair of slippers to discover razor blades in the lining. And for that, let us be grateful. In these days of anodyne talent shows and bland reality TV dramas, Fascinating Aïda Read more ...

Review: The Heart of Robin Hood, RST, Stratford-on-Avon ****

JBR — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:06:34 +0000

This year, at their Christmas show, the RSC has thrown practically the entire theatrical alphabet; aerialists, bouffon, cross-dressing, dry-ice, through to puppetry (of a kind), snow and even a water feature. Thankfully The Heart of Robin Hood disarms and enchants where such a display might have seemed leery. Although it is transpa Read more ...