The Time of Our Lies, Park Theatre - ★★★ - Until August 10, 2019


"The understudy will have to go on!" It is a trope of the theatre that seldom plays out in reality, but when Daniel Benzali who was to play central character, Howard Zinn, fell ill on the opening night of this production Martina Laird bravely leapt into the breach. She was not officially the understudy and had just over twenty-four hours to prepare, but she did an admirable job and proved herself to be the consummate professional. She took on the role of a 70 year old, white, Jewish man and was entirely credible. Howard Zinn who is the moral centre of this work is shown evolving from a bombardier in WW II to a left wing activist during the Vietnam War. He grows to a new understanding of America's history and presents a skeptical, pacifist view of America's role in various wars. "If you don't know history it is as if you were born yesterday. And if you were born yesterday, anybody in a position of power can tell you anything, and you have no way of checking up on it."

 Reviewed by J.C.

  Our Score:  ☆☆☆ 

 Want to save on tickets? See our Tips page.

 WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE:
Until August 10, 2019
Mon - Sat: 7:30 pm, Thu & Sat: 3 pm
Park Theatre
Nearest tube: Finsbury Park Station (Station Place Exit)
https://www.parktheatre.co.uk/whats-on/the-time-of-our-lies
Map & Location: Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London N4 3JP, UK

Most Popular

Good Grief, Platform Presents and Finite Films - ★★★★★ - Feb 15 - Apr 15, 2021

Image
Just when lockdown may have made us resigned to an intellectual diet of television, featuring the improbable acted by the unbelievable, along comes this wonderful little play by Lorien Haynes. A thoughtful meditation on loss and relationships, Good Grief is beautifully crafted and brilliantly performed. Adam (Nikesh Patel) has lost his partner and Cat (Sian Clifford) has lost her best friend. Their shared exploration of the mourning experience is charged with some very sharp banter and some very poignant moments. There's a lot of humour here and a great chemistry between Patel and Clifford. They move naturally and sensitively through a gamut of emotions while coming to terms with the new parameters of their relationship. The play explores how grief, like love, comes in many forms and how both are subject to personal and social boundaries. Director, Natalie Abrahami cleverly uses the black and white scene-change sequences to deconstruct the illusions and conventions of theatre whil
Full Details »

All On Her Own, MZG Theatre Productions (online) - ★★★★★ - February 16-21, 2021

Image
Terence Rattigan's thirty minute monologue, All On Her Own , was written for radio and here, in Alastair Knights' immaculately filmed production, becomes a superb vehicle for award-winning Janie Dee. Rosemary is the rather posh widow of a Huddersfield building contractor, Gregory, and after rather too much whisky, she imagines trying to communicate with him. Effortlessly, Dee draws us into their milieu which would seem, to the outside world, to contain a perfect marriage, but the veneer is very thin. One could imagine a relationship akin to that in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Rattigan was for many years derided, but thankfully his writing is at last back in fashion. His language here is spare yet it takes us on an emotional roller coaster as Rosemary downs more and more alcohol. Beautifully lit and stylishly set, we get a strong impression of the Hampstead these characters inhabit – dinner-party discussions on the merits of Kafka and educating children at Eton. Norther
Full Details »

Sir John Soane's Museum Guided Tour - FREE - ★★★★★

Image
This is one of our favourite museums in London. The quirky and crammed home of John Soane, architect of the Bank of England. It has some wonderful treasures, including Hogarth's "The Election" and "The Rake's Progress." The sarcophagus of Seti I is in the basement along with the parlour of his imaginary friend, Brother John. Don't miss the opening of the display walls in the gallery now done on the hour and half hour. Also, try to be there for the free Private Apartments tour, limited to 8 people and requiring  sign up on site. Reviewed by J.C.  Our Score:    ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆   WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE: Wed - Sun: 10 am - 5 pm (l ast entry at 4:30 pm) Closed: Dec 24, 25, 26, 31 & Jan 1 Private Apartments Tours: 1:15 pm & 2:00 pm Sir John Soane's museum, Lincoln's Inn Fields Nearest tube: Holborn https://www.soane.org
Full Details »

Romeo & Juliet, Metcalfe Gordon Productions (online) - ★★★★ - Until February 27, 2021

Image
Creativity and imagination have really come to the fore during this pandemic which has allowed Nick Evans and his team to produce this fascinatingly clever version of Romeo & Juliet . One would never guess that none of the performers were actually on stage together. Beginning in a theatre auditorium, the ingenious production designs by Jamie Osborne give us a series of realistic locations climaxing in an extremely beautiful crypt. Standing head and shoulders over the show is Sam Tutty's Romeo. Initially smitten with fair Rosaline, our hero's fickle eye soon migrates to Emily Redpath's pretty Juliet, and Tutty doesn't put a foot wrong as the young lover. He speaks the lines immaculately and his stillness often helps build the tension. This is definitely an outstanding performance of a role which can be difficult to pull off. Lucy Tregear's sympathetic Nurse and Helen Anker's Capulet together with Vinta Morgan's Friar Laurence bring gravitas to the smaller
Full Details »

Barnes' People, Original Theatre Company and Perfectly Normal Productions (online) - ★★★★ - Feb 18 - Jul 31, 2021

Image
Barnes' People comprises four monologues written by Peter Barnes for BBC Radio 3 during the 1980s and they have varied success here in filmed performances. Matthew Kelly, in "Losing Myself", has the difficult task of realistically creating an ageing Harley Street doctor conversing with his deceased friend; his lines seem more suited to the printed page than being spoken. Additionally, it seems rushed with complex issues trivialised. Jemma Redgrave is totally believable as Rosa, a doctor beating her head against the brick wall of bureaucracy. She feels she has lost her anger and thinks her individuality has dissipated over the years. There is a welcome lack of sentimentality as she tries to cope with her own problems and those of elderly patients as she ponders 'Is there life before death?' In "Billy and Me" Jon Culshaw plays a ventriloquist who converses with his family of dummies. Here we are considering the nature of schizophrenia as the ventriloquist
Full Details »

Moment of Grace, The Actors Centre (online) - ★★★★ - Until August 9, 2020

Image
At the heart of this hybrid between theatre and film is the visit of Diana, Princess of Wales to an AIDS ward in 1987. The action is seen through the eyes of three characters superbly performed by Luke Dayhill, Lucy Walker-Evans and Andrew Paul. Dayhill is outstanding as the articulate patient, Andrew, movingly awaiting death. He worries about being outed on television and says "Doing this isn't easy." At times, sharing the challenges of these characters isn't easy either. Patients and nurses alike have to get through with a mixture of humour and hope; their experience is described as "clinics and crematoriums." Walker-Evans superbly portrays the young nurse, Jude, terrified to come into work each day while wondering which of her patients has died during the night. Paul, as firefighter Donnie, has a difficult task – embodying The Sun reader, wrapped in misconceptions, who finds that his gay son, a nurse on the AIDS ward, is HIV positive. Author Bren Gosl
Full Details »

Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis, Park Theatre - ★★★★★ - Until January 4, 2020

Image
The title says it all. You know you're in for a lot of fun and this play lives up to its billing. What do you give to your dominatrix when she turns forty? It's a question we've all asked ourselves, and what we get here is an amusing and provocative answer. This is a piece that looks at and laughs at role playing, how it can liberate us and how it can trap us. Everyone from Chinese Elvis to dominatrix, Josie, has an alter ego that either supports them or constrains them. Coming to terms with the authentic self and enjoying the possibility of playing with the notion of other selves is both the challenge and the solution. This is a very funny play with a lot of heart and wisdom that is beautifully performed by a cast which never misses a beat. Sioned Jones is quite wonderful as the obsessive compulsive cleaner who grows into a new persona and Andrew P. Stephen is delightful as the dry cleaner who accepts his complexity. Kellie Batchelor is completely believable as the age
Full Details »

An Evening with David Bedella, The Crazy Coqs (online) - ★★★★ - January 9, 2021

Image
An Evening with David Bedella at The Crazy Coqs, the chicest cabaret venue in London, encourages you to sit back and sip a glass of Shiraz whilst enjoying an hour of immaculately performed easy-listening music interspersed with pleasant chat. The only thing missing is a live audience. This unavoidable absence somewhat dampens the atmosphere as enthusiastic applause would definitely greet Bedella's accomplished singing and enhance the ambience. Sadly, we can't have everything these days and the dozen or so well chosen songs are well worth the price of the streaming. We felt that the opening number was, perhaps, a little frenetic and really needed a chorus of showgirls to make it work, but things quickly settled into a playlist of delightfully relaxed numbers. Eydie Gormé's “Too Close for Comfort” rubbed shoulders with David Bowie's “Life on Mars?” before a sly dig at the government with Cy Coleman's “There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This.” Pianist and arra
Full Details »

Public Domain, Southwark Playhouse (online) - ★★★★ - January 19-24, 2021

Image
The first song “And just like that, we felt a little less alone” introduces the complex cultural shift that Public Domain examines. Francesca Forristal and Jordan Paul Clarke exude energy and charm as they sing their way from social media platform to social media platform while capturing the naivety of the users and cynicism of the platforms’ creators. Contemporary references in Forristal and Clarke’s script and the well-paced direction by Adam Lenson ensure that Public Domain is fresh and pertinent. The clever lighting by Matt Daw and video overlay by Matt Powell create an illusion that is both hypnotic and disorienting, the perfect visual motif for the complex commentary of the play. In an age where “Friends of our friends” and the projection of image is more important than essence, Public Domain presents the clichés that social media is built upon. Questions like “Why is the camera not on me?” are juxtaposed to the social media creators' remarks “We just focussed on building
Full Details »

The Elf Who Was Scared of Christmas, Charing Cross Theatre (online) - ★★★★ - Until January 4, 2021

Image
The Elf Who Was Scared of Christmas is all about two elves, Cupcake (Gina Beck), her colleague, Figgy (Neil McDermott) and their journey towards achieving self confidence. Figgy spends his time trying to find a way to rid Cupcake of her irrational fears. Presented with oodles of charm and nicely designed, this show would admirably suit children, especially those under seven. Cupcake is encouraged to think of all the good things about Christmas, including snowmen and a smashing snow fight. There are some delightful songs and dances, none better than the title song performed in true musical theatre style. We discover that Cupcake is afraid of being seen by the children when she delivers their presents as she will thereby lose her magic powers. The elves enter a real house and hope that by sharing their fears and by being prepared to fail they will conquer their demons. The show's moral is not complicated but it is well presented and not overplayed; one learns that it can be right to
Full Details »

The City Life Magazine | Reviews & Ratings