REVIEW: Odd Man Out (The Hope Theatre) ★★★

Circling the confines of The Hope Theatre, two stories of belonging and identity swirl in the form of Odd Man Out. These one-man pieces, delivered as conversational monologues, spin together the themes of masculinity, fear and despair and ask us to consider the plight of the modern man through the art of storytelling. In Dominic […]

REVIEW: I KNOW YOU OF OLD (The Hope Theatre) ★★★★

GOLEM! theatre company’s purpose is to take great, already famous, plays and re-imagine them. This they do in clever, interesting and entertaining ways. I Know You Of Old is a, modern dress, play, which is a fresh view on one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, Much Ado About Nothing. Except for a few insignificant phrases, […]

REVIEW: BRIMSTONE AND TREACLE (Hope Theatre) ★★★★

Dennis Potter’s Brimstone and Treacle is a shocking, visceral problem play that stares deep into the shadows and squalor of life to explore dark themes of good and evil. Originally a TV play it was filmed in 1976 but shelved for 11 years because of its controversial violence and seemingly anti-religious messages. The stage adaptation […]

REVIEW: STRANGE THE ROAD (Hope Theatre) ★★

A sin city tale of gangsters, honour and love is presented in ‘Strange the Road’ playing at the Hope Theatre. The story revolves around ‘Frenchie’ (Joey Ellis) as he infatuates over a woman he can never have. ‘Verda’ (Andromeda Godfrey) a detached street wise waitress with a smart mouth begins a dangerous turn of events […]

REVIEW: HER ACHING HEART (The Hope Theatre) ★★★★★

“Oh what a day! Oh what a wind of hope blows through the echoing corridors of my breast! Rattling at the knobs and knockers of the doors to my dry and dusty emotions!” And so begins this superb, touching, gothic silliness. There is a romantic literature, specifically written for women, that is not quite pornographic […]

REVIEW: THE HOUSE OF USHER (Hope Theatre) ★★★

An adaptation of ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ by Edgar Allan Poe opens the Hope Theatre’s gothic season, the brainchild of writers Luke Anderson and Dan Bottomley. Poe’s original tale still stands as one of the founding inspirations for gothic literature as we know it today, displaying his classic heavily descriptive prose and […]

REVIEW: LOST SOULS AND LUNATICS (The Hope Theatre) ★★★★★

The Hope theatre in Islington is betrayed by its name. A tiny box theatre above a trendy bar that is a champion of the ambition of some of London’s finest producers, directors and performers. Against the tsunami of commercialism in the West End and elsewhere, the triumphs of innovation are coming from London’s independent theatres, […]

Two Short Plays About Gays / Doctor Who come to the HOPE Theatre

“WHO’S ZOOMING WHO?” “Dr Who” star and a complete “Who?” share the London Fringe It’s a case of “Who”’s Zooming “Who?” as fringe veteran Gregory Ashton (Madam Butterfly’s Child, Diary of a Welshcake) shares the stage with both celebrated Doctor Who actress Louise Jameson and completely unknown Joseph Martin Who is making his London stage […]

REVIEW: STEEL MAGNOLIAS (HOPE Theatre) ★★★★★

Robert Harling wrote Steel Magnolias based on real-life family experiences. Following the death of his sister due to diabetes, related complications after delivering his nephew and a failed liver transplant from a family member, a writer friend advised Harling to write his experiences into a short story for his young nephew to better understand the […]

REVIEW: BEETLES FROM THE WEST (Hope Theatre) ★★★★

One of the aims of Falling Pennies theatre company is to look at issues that are prone to falling under the radar and ‘Beetles From The West’, a well observed work from James Hartnell, certainly does that and does it well. The play involes three characters, Boyd, his girlfriend Jenny and the Doctor Henry and […]

Sign up to our mailing list to receive all the latest news, reviews and ticket offers direct to your inbox!