Dance & Physical Festivals Film Theatre ThisWeek In London

Three To See 18-24 Apr: Festivals, Theatre, Lots of Theatre…

By | Published on Friday 14 April 2023

FESTIVALS

La Linea – The London Latin Music Festival | various locations | 21 Apr-7 May
I could have just picked one event from each of these festivals of course, but then I thought “oh what the heck, let’s just recommend the whole thing”. So here we are! Anyway, first up, La Linea, where there’s a lovely range of Latin music to get your teeth into. A few events are already sold out but there are lots that aren’t, like Grupo Luma at Rich Mix and Emicida and Drik Barbosa at Barbican. See the line up here.

Unrestricted View Film Festival | Hen & Chickens Theatre | 24-30 Apr
This one’s a film festival. And while it’s true that we don’t do much coverage of movies here, we are always interested in festivals, of course, as well as less mainstream film stuff. There’s a wide variety of things on offer here: collections of shorts as well as feature films, documentaries and such like, and it all looks really appealing. You can buy a full festival pass, day passes or tickets for individual events. Check out the listings for each day here.

Queer East Festival | various locations | 18-30 Apr (pictured)
Queer East is a “film and arts festival” but it’s actually mostly film too. That said, two of the events very much calling out to me are dance events on at The Place – the futuristic ‘Cyborg DNA’ and ’Yishun Is Burning’, an adaptation of Singaporean ritual dance. The line up of film is also great though, featuring some classics as well as rediscovered and new stuff, with shorts and features. See it all here.

RETURNING GOODIES

Splintered | Soho Theatre | 18-29 Apr (pictured)
And now onto some stuff that you may already be familiar with: for here we have a selection of shows united by the fact that we relatively recently ran features on them. First up is ‘Splintered’, which returns for another run at Soho Theatre. It’s an acclaimed theatre cabaret piece inspired by the experiences of queer Caribbean women and we spoke about it with director Emily Aboud when it was on at the venue last year. Read the Q&A here and find the venue listing here.

The Mistake | Arcola Theatre | 18-22 Apr
Michael Mears – writer and performer of ‘The Mistake’ – is an even more recent interviewee, because we spoke to him in January this year about this play, which had a critically acclaimed run at Edinburgh in the summer of 2022. Returning by popular demand for another outing at Arcola Theatre, it’s an exploration of the events surrounding the explosion of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Read all about it in our Q&A here and head to this page here for details on the upcoming run.

Yippee Ki Yay | Wilton’s Music Hall | 18-22 Apr
This one was on at King’s Head Theatre in December, and is – as you may remember – a retelling through epic poetry of the film ‘Die Hard’, which is a brilliant concept to begin with, and the resulting show, created and performed by Richard Marsh, has deservedly won much acclaim. Don’t miss this chance to see it over at Wilton’s Music Hall, head this way to book your tickets, and of course, take a look at our Q&A with Richard here.

SHORT STOPS

Ben Moor: Who Here’s Lost? | Hen & Chickens Theatre | 18-19 Apr (pictured)
Some short runs for you now, and we start with a tip for someone who first won our admiration quite a lot of years ago at edfringe, and continues to be a big favourite. Ben Moor is at Hen & Chickens Theatre this week with a show our reviewer loved on seeing it in Edinburgh last summer: expect “a heady mix of excellent direct-to-audience jokes, blink and you’ll miss it wordplay, unresolved one liners and surreal, sometimes poetic, imagery”. Book here.

Black Rabbit | Camden People’s Theatre | 22 Apr
“Two Twitch streamers meet online to play a video game called Black Rabbit. It’s the game everyone’s been talking about but no one is giving up any details and all links to the game have started disappearing”. Interested by this one, because it’s about streamers, and because it explores the line between digital life and real world, and also because it’s going to be available via Twitch at the same time as it’s on at CPT. Info here.

Made In India Britain | Pleasance Theatre | 19-20 Apr
A coming of age story focusing on community and identity, delivered in BSL by Rinkoo Barpaga with spoken word English translation: “Roo is a deaf Punjabi boy from Birmingham, living in a world that wasn’t made for him. Through pain and laughter, Roo narrates the impact of ableism and racism throughout his childhood and adult life, leading him to confront one key question: ‘Where do I belong?'” Details here.

LONGER RUNS

Jules And Jim | Jermyn Street Theatre | 20 Apr-27 May
And now onto some longer runs, which, as ever, you’re absolutely welcome to see ASAP, but also, you could stick it in your diary for later. Let’s start with ‘Jules And Jim’, by the acclaimed Timberlake Wertenbaker, based on the novel by Henri-Pierre Roché. You’re possibly familiar with the story, given that François Truffaut made that extremely successful film of it back in the 60s. Expect good things, click here.

Retrograde | Kiln Theatre | 20 Apr-27 May (pictured)
“The golden age of Hollywood. Behind closed doors, aspiring actor Sidney Poitier is offered a lucrative contract that could make him a superstar. But what is he willing to sacrifice?” A new play from the acclaimed Ryan Calais Cameron that explores a true and significant moment in the life of a Hollywood icon, and themes of identity, resilience and integrity. For more information and to book tickets, head this way.

It’s A Motherf**king Pleasure | Soho Theatre | 24 Apr-13 May
“Usually disabled people just want to do the right thing. But what if they don’t? What if they were out to make as much money as possible from the guilt of non-disabled, anxious people (like you)?” This satire on the monetisation of identity politics from disability-led theatre company FlawBored is very highly acclaimed and had a very well received run at Vault previously, and to be honest I’m not sure you can afford to miss it. Click here for tickets.

MORE FAB STUFF

Toska | The Hope Theatre | 19-29 Apr
Well this final section is generally a mixed bag genre wise, but on this occasion it’s just three more lots of theatre. But you know, we love theatre, and so do you, so it can only be a good thing, right? And so, on to the first, ‘Toska’ at The Hope Theatre, a political piece of physical theatre by Elizabeth Huskisson, based on the contemporary real life Russian case of two sisters arrested for the murder of their father who subjected them to abuse. Read more here.

DNA | Tara Theatre | 18-22 Apr (pictured)
“I am a manifestation of a family tree with a rich history from the Middle East to the South East of England, I carry the values of a generation no matter the destination”. Love the sound of this, an exploration of contemporary British identity as shaped by ancestral culture identity, created by Tara Theatre’s Young Company, which is made up of artists aged eighteen to 25, whose lives have been shaped by the challenges of migration and displacement. More here.

Misfortune | Golden Goose Theatre | 18-22 Apr
Aaaand your final tip for this week is for ‘Misfortune’ at The Golden Goose Theatre, written and directed by Aaron-Lee Eyles, which piqued my interest by promising to explore the real life story of tragic nineties lottery winner Billie-Bob Harrell Jr, devout Christian and Home Depot employee, who won $31 million and found his life changed for the bad rather than the good. Expect physical theatre, improv and song. Head to the venue website here for info.

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