Lazarus Chalks Up Another Classic
✮✮✮✮ 1/2 Bertolt Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle The Brockley Jack Theatre | London adapted & directed by Ricky Dukes "I once knew a High Court Judge who farted in company," one of the funnier lines goes in Lazarus Theatre Company's breathtakingly original update of Brecht's revolutionary classic, "just to show an independent spirit." Ricky Dukes' wonderfully frenetic adaptation and manic ensemble cast show independent spirit in spades. In a room above the Brockley Jack p
Darker Than the Night
✮✮✮✮ 1/2 Stephen Sewell's The Blind Giant is Dancing Belvoir St Theatre | Sydney directed by Eamon Flack Stephen Sewell’s The Blind Giant is Dancing premièred in 1983, long before the internet and social media had become a central part of how we understand and engage in politics. Armchair activism had yet to be discovered, and participation in our country’s big issues required more than clicks on neglected polls and petitions or furious rants of 140 characters. If any action
Who's the Daddy?
✮✮✮ Lyle Kessler's Orphans Southwark Playhouse | London directed by Paul Tomlinson Dilated Theatre Company's welcome revival of Lyle Kessler's 1983 runaway success Orphans is like a cocktail shaken but not stirred. Loud kicks of emotional intensity give an explosive if frothy boost to the senses, but I was ultimately unstirred by the orphans' plight. The play and this production have all the good ingredients for a satisfying potion, but the result doesn't quite hit the spot.
