Naima Khan looks back at June's theatreland happenings.
Spoonfed Theatre News
Theatre news was celeb-tastic this month and cast a light on some exciting new shows in the works and on their way to London. Lily Allen decided to write the score for the impending Bridget Jones musical which will hit London well after Nick Jonas completes his appearance in Les Miserables. Robert Lindsay will continue to play the title role in a re-vamped Onassis when it opens with previews on September 30th at Novello Theatre. Bond girl Gemma Arterton who had an epic accent fail in The Little Dog Laughed last year has joined the cast of The Master Builder at Almeida Theatre alongside Stephen Dillane. Amanda Holden might be up for a part in Shrek the Musical but we hope not. Oh and Alan Bennett was robbed by ice-cream bandits.
Best of the Big Ones
Some big shows at some heavy-weight venues opened this month. The biggest was probably Welcome to Thebes at the National with its enormous cast including Niki Amuka-Bird and the familiar face of David Harewood. Sucker Punch at Royal Court was unforgettably cinematic and the circus show Petit Mal by Race Horse Company at Southbank Centre had an annoyingly short run for such a great show.
London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT), a big event spread across a variety of London venues, kicked of this month too. Ricky sampled the particularly powerful Food Court at The Barbican, the festival's opening show. LIFT runs until 7th August.
Another powerful show was Kristen Fredricksson's ode to her father, Everything Must Go. Skye thought its alternative title, 'The Voluntray Attempt to Overcome Unnecessary Obstacles', was more fitting.
Little Surprises
Spoonfed had the honour of being one of the first to sample some great pieces in some teeny, new, and terribly theatrical London venues. Some Stories at Black's was particularly memorable as was Dr Faustus at New Diorama Theatre. The folks that run Black's are keen to get some more theatre into their beautiful, dramatic rooms upstairs so look out for more events at this tucked away Soho members' club.
Iris Theatre transformed the affectionately named Actor's Church in Covent Garden for a light-hearted family show with their production of The Wind in the Willows. Their promenade production of Romeo and Juliet there closes this week; don't miss it.
Arcola Theatre, a well established promoter of powerful fringe productions, had a mini Athol Fugard season this month and both Coming Home and The Road to Mecca lived up to the venue's strong reputation. On the other side of the city, the simple but rich An Arrangement of Shoes played to a packed Cock Tavern courtesy of Footnote Theatre.
So, we got the stinking hot June we wished for and July and August are all about outdoor dramatics. Some good shows are coming up at Open Air Theatre whilst Macbeth and Taming of the Shrew are being staged outside by Principle Theatre Company in Coram's Field, Bloomsbury, Capel Manor, Enfield and Southgate Cricket Club, Southgate. For more recommendations see our top picks for July.
Image: Jsome1
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