★★★★☆ An empty stage against a backdrop of black curtains. A single chair. Debs Newbold doesn’t rely on any props or staging to set her scene. She comes onstage and simply starts to address the audience. The house lights don’t fall. Instead Newbold looks at us, meets eyes . . .
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★★★★★ Enter a world of visual feasts, surreal absurdity and hilarious clowning. For this is the world of Acrobuffos, husband and wife team, Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone, who create and perform their shows all over the world. In Air Play, we see two childlike siblings at play using ordinary objects which transform into the extraordinary.
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★★★★☆ Brought to the Ustinov by Worklight Theatre, Monster is a highly inventive one-man show by writer and actor Joe Sellman-Leava. In the space of just an hour, and with few props other than a pair of red chairs, he explores the idea that we all have the potential for violence.
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★★★★☆ Director Lisa Gregan and the creative team have emphasised the simple setting of this play. The staging is a few desks, chairs and bookshelves; the lighting is simple and restrained allowing each actor’s performance to stand out.
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★★★★☆ We’ve all seen TV shows like Whose Line in it Anyway or wondered at rehearsal techniques for Mike Leigh plays and films (well I have anyway). But an improvised musical? How is this possible? Well the Showstopper team showed us how it was done and had the audience eating out of their hands.
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★★★☆☆ Director Sally Cookson and designer Katie Sykes know how to create the visual spectacle required for this sort of piece. A circus theme resonates throughout as the acrobatic cast make use of ropes, silks and hoops to fashion the ambience of each scene and fill the stage area with their presence
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