Tuesday, February 4

Tag: Jenna Augen

Kyoto – Soho Place
18Jan By Carole GordonNo Comments
London

Kyoto – Soho Place

Rarely can a play genuinely be labelled as an "important piece of theatre”, but Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson's Kyoto is firmly in that category.  Fresh from its critically acclaimed run in Stratford-upon-Avon, Kyoto offers a tense and challenging insight into the process of what John Prescott called "diplomacy by exhaustion".  And rarely has a play been so topical. With wildfires raging and floods destroying communities, while some politicians and commentators continue to deny the existence of man-made climate change, Kyoto is a much-needed history lesson, a demonstration of what is diplomatically possible as well as a grim warning for the future if governments fail to act. The nations of the world have got together to discuss climate change and attempt to agree to targets and...
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Nachtland – Young Vic
28Feb By Louise PennNo Comments
London

Nachtland – Young Vic

This play by Marius von Mayenberg  presented in a translation by Maja Zade sells itself as “a jagged new satire” and is set in modern-day Germany. Siblings Nicola (Dorothea Myar-Bennett) and Philipp (a nervously downtrodden John Heffernan) are clearing out their late father's house. Curiously most of his goods are being cleared from the stage as the audience file in, leaving one item wrapped in brown paper, found in the attic. It’s a painting of a church, a simple piece, but the signature is of the most interest. Is it indeed a painting by Hitler, and if so how did it find its way here? There is plenty of mileage here for black humour or satire, but the pacing feels off and some segues are either head-scratching (Nicola’s husband Fabian (Gunnar Cauthery)’s behaviour takes ...
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