Author: Simon Bishop

AND THEN COME THE NIGHTJARS at the Bristol Old Vic

In folklore, Nightjars are emblematic portends of death. We hear the song of the bird at crucial junctures in this story. But despite the shadowy nature of the tale, Roberts’ writing always manages to dance along. These men are not two-dimensional . . . Bea Roberts’s piece leaves us with some hope, that even between two ageing and failing men there can be connection and resolve, even love. She is a writer who is equally at ease with farce and ferocity. Recommended

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The RSC’s HECUBA at the Swan, Stratford upon Avon.

In this latest telling of a 3,000-year-old story about the fall of Troy, Marina Carr has amplified the woman’s perspective during times of testosterone fuelled slaughter and mayhem. Her Hecuba stands witness to the worst men can do when released from law and drunk on violence. From a bottomless pit of despair she presents a hauntingly simple but unarguable truth: “Society cannot run if women are unhappy.”

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TALKING HEADS on tour

Bennett takes us inside the head of three protagonists who are all in some way trying to postpone a bleaker future. Their passions for order or for simple continuity are both pitiable and at times hilarious . . . It is a testament to Alan Bennett’s acute observation that it is possible to believe a single biscuit in the wrong place could possibly mean the difference between a job lost or an unwanted referral to a home. How our lives are so precariously poised!

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INFINITY POOL at the Brewery, Bristol

Helped by a great sound track by Keegan Curran, Bea Roberts builds towards the inevitable denouement. She recognises that profound theatre can be found in unlikely places – in drab business parks or on anonymous computer screens, and that desire and yearning will always find a way to connect, if not to always end well. With Infinity Pool Roberts puts a twenty-first century spin on an old classic. With effortless command over the lingo of the laptop and her precise observations into humdrum lives, Roberts is a writer to take seriously. Go and see this, it’s funny, it’s sad, and it’s very, very different.

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SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER at the Theatre Royal Bath

Anita Dobson, beloved by many for her appearances as Angie Watts in EastEnders and in Strictly Come Dancing stole the night with her hilarious entrance as the bedraggled, soaked and much-duped mother of the very naughty Tony. Michael Pennington seethed nicely throughout as Mr Hardcastle, and a very chirpy Catherine Steadman as Kate connived effectively to win her somewhat dubious (you’d have to say) man.

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