Tag Archives: media

The Haystack, Hampstead Theatre

With counter-terrorism an urgent concern – and specifically how best to find, track and use the data of suspected threats, without sacrificing our privacy and civil liberties – it’s excellent timing for a meaty drama about the surveillance state. And the … Continue reading

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Network, National Theatre

News as showbiz, entire networks and even a reality TV President fuelled by articulating popular rage, and gradual corporate dehumanisation: we are now living Paddy Chayefsky’s satirical dystopia. Lee Hall’s astute adaptation recognises that the 1976 movie needs little updating … Continue reading

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Gloria, Hampstead Theatre

American playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins asserts that the nightmarish workplace depicted in Gloria bears little resemblance to his time at the New Yorker, but that tension between truth and imagination adds a nicely meta layer to this spiky portrait of the … Continue reading

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Obvious, unfunny satire finds nothing new on Brand furore

Back in 2008, Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross prank-called Andrews Sachs, claiming Brand had slept with his granddaughter. Daniel Dingsdale’s debut Dark Tourism opens with a similar incident: two radio shock jocks, one a pale imitation of Brand, and a joke … Continue reading

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Dark Tourism, Park Theatre

Stop press: our rampant celebrity culture might not be wholly positive! If you’ve already been apprised of that fact some time in the past century, go ahead and skip actor Daniel Dingsdale’s debut play, which – along with Steve Thompson’s … Continue reading

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Savile victims honoured in chilling story

How did he get away with it? That’s the question Jonathan Maitland’s controversial new play addresses, juxtaposing national treasure Sir Jimmy Savile, feted by monarchs, prime ministers and cardinals, with the thuggish serial abuser. Savile’s cheeky asides – the knighthood … Continue reading

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Clarion, Arcola Theatre

“Fury Over Sharia Law For Toddlers!” No, not a prime example of spoof headline generator Daily Mail-o-matic, but the latest piece of fantastical scaremongering from the Clarion, a 125-year-old (semi-)fictional rag that’s upped sales by splashing on immigration every day … Continue reading

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Accolade, St James Theatre

Reclaiming lost plays can be unnecessary indulgence, but Blanche McIntyre’s note-perfect production of Emlyn Williams’ 64-year-old work ushers in the renaissance of a thoroughly modern masterpiece. This progressive examination of ethical relativism, trial by media and the tension between public … Continue reading

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A melodramatic production that needs more bite to really engage

You would think the 2005 London bombings and their turbulent aftermath offer more than enough drama for an 80-minute play, but actor-turned-writer Damien Tracey adds to the mix political intrigue, romantic scandal, and not one but two ethnically charged revenge … Continue reading

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In defence of the critic

Nearly 50 years after Barthes proclaimed the death of the author, it is with great sadness and accompanying X Factor contestant departure music that I announce the death of the critic. Or if not the death, at least the inexorable decline. The critic … Continue reading

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