Curtain Road in Shoreditch has its place in British history as the location for Britain’s earliest theatres. In 1576 the first purpose-built modern playhouse was constructed on this road and given the succinct title of The Theatre. Nice name! It comes from the Latin term Theatrum used to describe a Roman playhouse and was the […]
With the Christmas countdown in full effect it follows that panto season is in full swing. With the kids dragging you off to the theatre perhaps for their or even your first time here’s a few fascinating facts about London’s theatres. London’s oldest theatre First built in 1663 on Bridges Street, the Theatre Royal Drury […]
With an 80-year-old woman, Glenda Jackson, in the title role of King Lear it has come a long way since Shakespeare first loosely adapted it from Leir of Britain, a mythical tale about an 8th Century BC Celtic king. This pseudo-historical figure was mentioned in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain. So […]
From Eastern lore comes a play about this beautiful tragedy of Japanese mermaids adapted by playwright and translator Nozomi Abe and directed by Yojiro Ichikawa. Originally titled The Mermaid and the Red Candles, it’s a tale about an abandoned mermaid who is raised by a childless human couple but whose destiny changes as she increasingly […]
Shakespeare, the world’s greatest bard was both born and buried in Stratford-upon-Avon 400 years ago so it’s fitting that on this anniversary year Britain’s first all black production of Hamlet should be produced and performed in Stratford – Stratford, East London that is. Black Theatre Live’s partnership with Stratford Circus arts centre and Watford Palace […]
Did this conversation between Cassius Clay (as he was then known), Malcolm X, soul singer Sam Cooke and American footballer Jim Brown actually take place? That’s debatable, but without doubt these three men were close pals of The Greatest and if we are led to believe they were together chatting in this hotel room after […]
The British weather may be dishing out a dose of the expected but October promises to be a month of stirring theatre productions guaranteed to light up any evening and chase those rain clouds away. Kicking off this week is One Night in Miami, a play about boxing great Muhammad Ali, set in the 60s […]
In Greek mythology Prometheus stole fire from the Gods and spent eternity paying for his crime. His archetype is ‘resurrected’ in this Frankenstein-influenced play set in a gothic castle overlooking Lake Geneva. We know that the literati writing circle of Romantic poets Lord Byron, Percy Shelley and his wife Mary (who would go on to […]
Trying to bag tickets to watch Merchant of Venice at the Globe theatre in the summer sun and it’s all sold out? Don’t worry, why not go one step beyond and write your own stage classic and sell out your local community hall in the sun! Not appealing enough? Too much hard work? Well even […]
Fabletop Theatre’s Girl and The Box tackles a problem as old as Man and Woman. What do we do with negative feelings such as depression, anger and fear that plague us in dark moments? Yes, we probably do shut them up in a box. But this playful yet deep ensemble piece has the lead character […]
Hillary Clinton Graffiti/Painting Shoreditch By Street Artist Pegasus
