YOUR GUIDE TO THIS WEEK IN CULTURE
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Children's Shows Circus Comedy Dance & Physical Festivals Music Opera Theatre ThisWeek In London
Three To See 27 Jun-3 Jul: Festival Stuff, Theatre Stuff, Musical Stuff and More…
By TW Editorial | Published on Friday 23 June 2023
FESTIVAL STUFF
Queen Of The East | Rose Theatre Studio | 2 Jul
There’s a lot of warm weather about, isn’t there? It’s almost as if we are having a proper summer or something. And, of course, that puts me in mind of festival shenanigans. Though to be fair, we are talking about events taking place inside venues, so maybe the weather isn’t so relevant. Anyway, here’s one, part of the excellent Fuse International Festival, which showcases multi-genre work from younger creatives (under 27). I love the sound of this show by zero-waste puppetry outfit DoDo Dramatics, and it’s about an Ancient Egyptian adventure. Click here for this show and here for the full line up.
The Power (Of) The Fragile | Battersea Arts Centre | 27-29 Jun (pictured)
Another show that’s on as part of a festival, and it’s one we mentioned last week – the Shubbak festival of contemporary Arab arts and culture. There are three Shubbak events this week at Battersea Arts Centre, and honestly, I kinda wanted to mention all of them, so see listings for ‘Pathogen Of War’ and ‘Dreamer’ here. ‘The Power (Of) The Fragile’ does look incredibly compelling though: “Mohamed invites Latifa, his mother, with him on stage. Latifa always dreamt of being a dancer, Mohamed made it his profession”. Click here.
Fool’s Gold | Drayton Arms Theatre | 1 Jul
‘Fool’s Gold’ isn’t on as part of a festival, but it’s here because it’s an edfringe preview, and we love those. They’re especially useful for those of you who love Edinburgh’s big August festival but might get stuck in London this summer, right…? Anyway, this one is created by a Lecoq-trained physical performer and Fool, Saskia Solomons, and explores belonging, class and inequality. More here. Also: there’s another Fringe preview at Drayton this week, ‘Runaway’. More on that here.
SHORT STOPS
Music | Old Red Lion Theatre | 29 Jun
And here’s one that kind of fell out of the festival shows and into the short stops, for it’s another production that’s headed up to the Scottish capital in August, which is lovely. It’s a second sketch-gig-theatre thing from HangDog and it goes a bit like this: “Dave is house band / receptionist at streaming service Stripefy, but he wants more: he dreams of going full-time on reception. Join Dave as he accidentally swallows the Stripefy algorithm and becomes a global megastar. Temporarily”. Click here.
This Is Not Medea | The Hope Theatre | 2-3 Jul (pictured)
“What happens when a walking Greek tragedy arrives in Brexit Britain?” Rather intrigued by this one, I have to say, a dark comedy “written by an immigrant from the EU with a few stories to share about life in Britain today: passports, pints, artists, lockdowns, lack of toilet paper and … murder”. It’s written and performed by Christina Appana, a Greek actress, writer and photographer, and I think it sounds very promising. Read more here.
Rhys Nicholson: Rhys, Rhys, Rhys | Soho Theatre | 27 Jun-1 Jul
Long term readers of our Edinburgh Fringe reviews might be aware (or not, we’re going back quite a few years here) that we’ve never given Rhys Nicholson a bad review. In fact, you could argue that they’ve pretty much all been glowing. Which is why we would recommend you see the Australian comedian in action at Soho Theatre this week. Head to the venue website right about here for more information and to book tickets.
LONGER RUNS
Modest | Kiln Theatre | 29 Jun-15 Jul
And now for some longer runs! This one called out to me because it’s about a historical figure that I kind of fell down a rabbit hole with a while back, artist Elizabeth Thompson, who in 1874 stunned the Royal Academy with her painting ‘Roll Call’, but was not allowed to join the Academy. And this show sounds like it will be rather interesting, as it features “theatre, music hall and drag king swagger”. See this page here for lots more info and to book tickets.
Agatha | Theatre503 | 27 Jun-15 Jul (pictured)
“Aggy does not want kids. It’s not a big deal but she absolutely does not want them. Ben’s never really thought about it but, actually, now you mention it, he would quite like them. None of this matters though because what they really want is each other…right?” A debut play with compelling themes from Florence Howard that asks how we are supposed to remain truly ourselves when throwing ourselves into a life with someone else. Click here.
Duck | Arcola Theatre | 27 Jun-15 Jul
More compelling theatre for you now, this one a show you may possibly have seen when it was first on as part of the Footprints Festival at Jermyn St Theatre, but if not, now’s your chance. It’s about South Asian student Ismail, a brilliant cricketer who is set to be the youngest-ever player for his posh public school’s First XI, and the play is set against the backdrop of the events of 7/7 and increasing racism and islamophobia. Find out more here.
MORE INTERESTING STUFF
By The Light Of The Moon | Half Moon Theatre | 29-30 Jun (pictured)
And finally, it’s mixed bag time. Let’s start with something for the young folks, shall we, and head over to the lovely Half Moon Theatre for ‘By The Light Of The Moon’, an interactive performance for ages three and over. It takes inspiration from Edward Lear’s ‘The Owl And The Pussycat’ and explores why everything looks special in the moonlight, as well as highlighting how we reap rewards when we face our fears. Find out more here.
Unwanted Objects | OSO Arts Centre | 28 Jun-1 Jul
“Old teddy bears, abandoned chess sets and ships-in-bottles. Every item in this mysterious secondhand shop has a tale worth telling…” A show of storytelling and music that we actually interviewed creators David Head and Matt Glover about when they performed it at the Edinburgh Fringe last year. They were very engaging, of course, so definitely read that Q&A to find out more about the duo and this show, then head this way to book your tickets.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream | Opera Holland Park | 29 Jun-1 Jul
And so, finally, to the very finalest tip of the week, selected because I love things that happen in parks, and obviously because Shakespeare and music are ace. ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is clearly one of the Bard’s most loved works, and here it’s accompanied by the brilliance of Mendelssohn, performed by a live orchestra, a children’s chorus from Theatre Peckham, and soprano soloists Rowan Pierce and Madison Nonoa. They’re joined by the likes of Ray Fearon, Anna Leong Brophy and Joelle Taylor. More here.
