Full of joyous, laugh-out-loud moments, A Strange Loop by Michael R Jackson is an absolute delight from start to finish. This meta production (of a black queer writer writing a play about a black queer writer, writing a play about a black queer writer), tows the line between hysterically camp, painfully introspective, and genuinely tender in a beautiful way.
Dr Cherry Smyth is an Irish poet and writer, born in Ballymoney, County Antrim and raised in Portstewart. Here she talks to Ralph Barker about her latest work, If the River is Hidden, which was co-written with Craig Jordan-Baker.
Presented by Circa Contemporary Circus, leaders in the new wave of contemporary Australian circus, Humans 2.0 is a beautiful cross between circus and contemporary dance. With its London premier coming up at The Southbank Centre as part of its international tour, we sat down with one of its star acrobats, Sam Letch, to chat about what we can expect from the show.
“Like Chekhov, I am a collector of souls…if I hadn’t been an artist, I could have been a psychiatrist.” - Alice Neel
Image: HOME X, part of Kakilang Festival, showing at the Barbican until 25 February.
I’ve spent most of the last week at the Barbican, soaking up the outlandish beauty of the London International Mime Festival, full of all the whimsical wit and downright absurdity that this year’s productions have to offer. From vaudevillian puppet shows to borderline existential horror, I loved every minute. With still a few performances left before the festival wraps up, here’s my pick of the best so far, and what’s to come!
Image: All Falls Down at Vault Festival, Tue 24th Jan - Sat 28th Jan
Image: Photo of Oliver Reese, Artistic Director on Berliner Ensemble.
“That England, that was wont to conquer others, hath made a shameful conquest of itself.”