Impel theatre

18/11/2024

thoughts on Selecting a Ghost at Stanley Arts

Staged in promenade fashion, Selecting A Ghost uses every possible inch of the Stanley Arts building to tell a brilliantly devised production of the Arthur Conan Doyle story. The audience are positioned as on a tour of the house, so what might be boring exposition is transformed into an adventure to

09/11/2024

Thoughts on L'Addition from Bert & Nasi and Forced Entertainment at Battersea Arts Centre - BAC

L’Addition begins with a foreword; the two actors coming out, lights up, to give us some information. The bit is reminiscent of the preambles ahead of performances, efforts to provide warnings to audiences. While it pokes fun at these things, at the same time it values and respects them, the tensi...

08/11/2024

thoughts on immersive 1984 at Hackney Town Hall

Presented in the epic and imposing surroundings of Hackney Town Hall, 1984 attempts to translate the sprawling and intense novel into a production of about an hour. Upon arrival you are provided a number badge and some instructions, then invited into the main hall space where there is a bar, and 2 p

06/11/2024

thoughts on Why A Black Woman Will Never Be Prime Minister at Camden People's Theatre

oddly enough this was before yesterday's events.....

Why A Black Woman Will Never Be Prime Minister takes us through 9 months (or 3 trimesters) of a young woman’s quest to break the cycles she comes from. She is child of a single mother who works incessantly to make a better life for her daughter; her daughter who has taken that gift and translated ...

23/10/2024

Some slow thoughts on Tim Crouch's Toto Kerblammo! at Unicorn Theatre

Toto Kerblammo tells the story of a young girl and her dog, as they navigate a challenging personal situation for her. Faced with a major tragedy and her mother taken to mental hospital, Effy has to move in with her aunt and uncle, where she can’t keep her dog Toto. It centres around the idea of l...

19/10/2024

thoughts on Tituss Burgess Indecisive Warrior at Phoenix Arts Club

I love an intimate venue, and there was no better place for the incredible Tituss Burgess to bring his cabaret style show. Supported by an excellent 3 piece band and guest performers, Burgess demonstrated why his vocal talent is sought after, and importantly why he is regularly cast in what many wou

17/10/2024

thoughts on CONGREGATION by Es Devlin

50 individuals. 50 stories of coming to London under duress, forced to leave their homes. 50 portraits. Es Devlin’s latest installation THE CONGREGATION at St Mary Le Strand showcases humanity in its purest form. Working with UNHCR and a team of co-writers, she met, drew, and interviewed 50 refuge

14/10/2024

some thoughts on NOWHERE at Battersea Arts Centre - BAC from Fuel Theatre, Khalid Abdalla and Omar Elerian.

This is why we make theatre.

https://www.kendrajones.net/blog/2024/10/13/nowhere-fuel-theatre-battersea-arts-centre

13/10/2024

belated thoughts on The BELT from Ambiguous Dance Company at The Coronet

The Belt, from Korea’s Ambiguous Dance Company, is a two-part event. First, Past, is a site specific exploration of identity through repetitive movement, with 6 short performances which take place across different areas of The Coronet theatre. Billed as “immersive” i would argue the label does...

14/09/2024

some thoughts on Twine at The Yard Theatre

Selina Thompson’s newest play, Twine, explores adoption, and the search of an adopted child to understand their history. Set in a magical between place, Sycamore has been split into three parts to represent her at different points in her life. Seed is her at 5 days old (when she was adopted), Sapl...

07/09/2024

thoughts on Complicite Mnemonic at National Theatre

Remounted 25 years later, Complicité’s Mnemonic continues to resonate. While the dramatic conventions of the piece have been replicated and copied by countless artists and in numerous productions since, they still feel fresh here; indeed, it was notable that in some ways, theatrical innovation ha...

12/08/2024

thoughts on ECHO at The Royal Court Theatre for LIFT

Where does performance happen? What does it mean to be present in a space? Nassim Soleimanpour’s latest play, ECHO, digs at these questions. Using the convention of an actor who hasn’t read the script before performing live which Soleimanpour used with great success on White Rabbit, Yellow Rabbi...

26/07/2024

Thoughts on The Amazing Banana Brothers at Soho Theatre

An hour of absolute mania; this two hander (of sorts) is performed at a frantic pace from the moment it begins, so that even the quieter moments contain the air of mania. This is a story of two brothers with dreams, and whose inability to meet those dreams fills them with darkness. That sounds a lot

25/07/2024

Some thoughts on Slave Play, which I saw in previews the other week so held the blog.

I was more than a little excited when the London production of Jeremy O Harris’ Slave Play was announced, after hearing about the New York production and its reception. This is a play intended to make people think, and it is not easy viewing at times. Don’t worry - I won’t give much away. Only...

07/07/2024

Thoughts on Medea Gosperia at The Cockpit

Medea Gosperia is an operetta adaptation of the Greek story of Medea (you know, her…) which uses musical styles to explore what is happening to each character, their feelings and emotions. So Medea expresses through classical opera, while Jason expresses through Jazz, etc. The singers are all of e...

23/06/2024

Thoughts on As You Like It (The Land Acknowledgement) at LIFT

How do you hold an audience accountable? Cliff Cardinal’s As You Like It premiered in Toronto the day we moved to London, so I didn’t get to see it. . . but it was hard to avoid the furor it caused amongst Canadian theatregoers and critics. Some adored it; others were appalled. And in a way, tha...

09/06/2024

Some thoughts on baby's first Punchdrunk irl (don't worry, no spoilers)

https://www.kendrajones.net/blog/2024/6/4/violas-room-punchdrunk

04/06/2024

Thoughts on Piece of Me at Camden People's Theatre

At first, a seemingly silly exploration into childhood passions. And then, a deep dive into what it means to live in our hyper-recorded, overly monitored reality. Piece of Me frames around a young girl and her friends’ pop-star aspirations in the 90’s, but asks signficantly deeper questions abou...