Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope ★★★★ Seabright Productions (online) | Jul 22 - Aug 1, 2021


Quentin Crisp was a paradox as he both rebelled against and represented the society he was born into. In later life, he was criticised for his "old-fashioned" views about gay people and issues, but Crisp never sought to be a spokesman for a movement. He sought to be himself and the political critique of him has always seemed rather unfair. Curiously however, the persona he created to be "himself" not only exposed him, making him a victim of society's ridicule, it also became a means to protect him from society and acted to cloak that very self. The dichotomy of being both naked and a civil servant permeates Crisp's self presentation. He exposed and concealed, rebelled and conformed. He relished his role as gadfly and delighted in turning the conventional approach to all subjects on its head. His aphorisms cunningly reversed accepted wisdoms. Crisp was a rebel not a revolutionary, but he lived his life his way and not by the standards of others past or present. Mark Farrelly finds both hope and courage in Crisp's example, and his performance successfully captures his conviction and the paradox that was Quentin Crisp.

Rated: ★★★★

Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Steve Ullathorne.

Want to save on tickets? See our Tips page

When, Where, Getting there:

Most Popular

Les Liaisons Dangereuses ★★★ National Theatre | Mar 21 - Jun 6, 2026

Image
Spoilt, rich people whose sole occupation is scheming to destroy the lives of the naïve and gullible. No, this is not a dramatised version of the Epstein files. Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ eighteenth-century epistolary novel, depicting amoral aristocrats on the brink of the French Revolution, has inspired many incarnations, yet it continues to shock and, at times, to delight. Christopher Hampton’s stage adaptation, first presented in 1985, streamlines the narrative, focusing on the rivalry and tangled emotional connection between the two master manipulators: the Marquise de Merteuil, played by Lesley Manville, and the Vicomte de Valmont, portrayed by Aidan Turner. Together they engage in a vicious game, with Valmont attempting to seduce both the innocent Cécile de Volanges and the devout Madame de Tourvel. It is wickedly entertaining material, and it proves just as intriguing in this context as it does in the well-known teen film, Cruel Intentions . There are, however, some issues with...
Full Details »

Coven ★★ Kiln Theatre | Until January 17, 2026

Image
Coven seeks to transform the seventeenth-century obsession with witches into a musical in the spirit of Six . The historical horror becomes an anachronistic retelling inspired by the Pendle Witch Trials and by the idea that Jenet Device, a child witness in the 1612 trials, later became a victim of the dark arts hysteria in 1633. In the first act, Jenet is imprisoned with several women accused of witchcraft although their 'crimes' really consist of practicing natural healing, assisting in childbirth, or offending powerful men. All are victims of a repressive patriarchy, an authoritarian church, and a deeply corrupt legal system. However, the portrayal of these women and their stories feels heavy-handed, and by the end of Act I the central narrative and main character remain uncertain. Only in the second act, through a flashback that explores Jenet’s psyche, do we learn her history and recognise her as the true protagonist. The scattered plot threads from the first act then begi...
Full Details »

St. Martin in-the-fields: Lunchtime Concerts ★★★★ FREE

Image
Maybe the best musical value in London. The lunchtime concerts at St. Martin's are always a wonderful way to escape the hustle and bustle that is London and the sensory overload that is Trafalgar Square. This is a beautiful setting with great acoustics, and a church pew hard enough to make sure you don't nod off. Reviewed by J.C.  Our score:    ☆☆☆☆  WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE: Mon & Fri: 1 pm - 1:45 pm ( occasionally Tues & Thurs)  St. Martin in-the-fields, Trafalgar Square Nearest tube: Charing Cross https://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/whats-on
Full Details »

The Holy Rosenbergs ★★★★★ Menier Chocolate Factory | Feb 27 - May 2, 2026

Image
In 2011, Ryan Craig wrote a play about the first Gaza war of 2009. The work carries an even deeper resonance in today’s fraught political climate. David Rosenberg once ran a successful Jewish catering business, but he has fallen on hard times after a rumour spread through the neighbourhood that his food caused a woman’s death by food poisoning. His wife Lesley believes they should leave the area that has now turned its back on them, but David is determined to restore his reputation. The fact that their son died defending Israel is seen as a way of re-establishing the family’s standing among those around them. Yet their daughter’s involvement in an inquiry that may bring charges against the Jewish state for its conduct during the 2009 Gaza war threatens this fragile hope of acceptance. The family’s predicament becomes a microcosm of a larger dilemma. At what point do the rewards of belonging to a family, a community, or a nation demand a loyalty that endangers personal integrity, and ho...
Full Details »

English National Ballet - Body & Soul ★★★ Sadler's Wells Theatre | March 19 - 28, 2026

Image
This latest offering from the English National Ballet presents two works loosely connected by the theme of body and soul. The first, by the renowned choreographer Crystal Pite, is titled Body and Soul (Part 1). Set to a French text that largely describes the dancers’ movements, it unfolds across eight brief scenes. The piece is at its most evocative when Pite deploys a large group of dancers, creating exquisite passages such as the mirroring of the rhythmic surge of waves against the shore. However, the work lacks the narrative richness found in some of Pite’s finest creations, such as Revisor and Assembly Hall . While there are undeniably striking moments and some fine pas de deux , the production also fails to attain the level of her more abstract achievements, such as Figures in Extinction . Even so, encountering Pite’s choreography remains a consistently rewarding experience. The second piece, Proper Conduct , is a new work by Kameron N. Saunders. Divided into three parts, it unf...
Full Details »

Vincent in Brixton ★★★★ Orange Tree Theatre | Mar 14 - Apr 18, 2026

Image
Vincent van Gogh spent two distinct periods in London. He stayed for two years from 1873 to 1875 before returning briefly in 1876. During his first stay he lodged with Ursula Loyer and fell in love with her daughter, Eugénie, who rejected him. Nicholas Wright’s play Vincent in Brixton reimagines this episode, deepening it into a more intricate emotional entanglement for the young art dealer’s assistant who would later become one of the most celebrated artists of all time. The play presents Van Gogh as a blunt, almost gauche young man with a striking lack of social restraint. His speech is impulsive, unguarded, and at times painfully direct, yet this very openness lends him a disarming vulnerability. Wright uses this quality to explore the tension between naivety and perception, suggesting that the same emotional candour that isolates Vincent also sharpens his artistic vision. The result is a thoughtful meditation on the inner forces that would come to define both his work and his stru...
Full Details »

The Old Ladies ★★★★ Finborough Theatre | Mar 24 - Apr 19, 2026

Image
When the timid and impecunious Miss Beringer moves into her new lodgings, she is warmly received by her sympathetic and kindly landlady, Mrs Amorest. However, her relationship with her fellow lodger soon proves far more fraught. It becomes clear that the formidable, almost malevolent, Mrs Payne covets Miss Beringer’s sole possession of value, a piece of amber given to her by a friend who has moved to India. Written in 1935 by Rodney Ackland and adapted from Hugh Walpole’s earlier novel, the play is a slender Gothic thriller that faintly echoes the macabre sensibilities of a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. The narrative itself is insubstantial, and the piece relies heavily on atmosphere and sharply etched characterisation. In both respects, this production proves strikingly effective. Juliette Demoulin’s set design conjures a vivid sense of shabby, faintly sinister decay, while Carla Joy Evans’s costumes are impeccably judged, ranging from the frayed gentility of Mrs Amorest and the uno...
Full Details »

Ruth The Musical ★★★ Wilton's Music Hall | March 18 - 28, 2026

Image
In July 1955, Ruth Ellis became the last woman to be hanged in Britain. Despite serious concerns about her mental state and the abuse she had endured, the nightclub hostess was convicted of murdering her lover, David Blakely. The government refused to stay her execution. Her death is widely regarded as a watershed moment in shifting public opinion against capital punishment. Ruth The Musical frames her story in retrospect, as Ellis revisits her life in conversation with the man who will ultimately act as her executioner. Bibi Simpson brings a raw, brittle intensity to the imprisoned Ruth, while Hannah Taylor’s portrayal of her younger self captures both vulnerability and reckless longing. Connor Payne is chillingly effective as David, exuding the careless cruelty of a cad accustomed to having his own way. John Faal impresses both dramatically and vocally as Ruth’s hapless admirer, Desmond. The production gestures towards weighty themes such as class, gender, and the morality of capita...
Full Details »

ABBA Voyage ★★★★★ ABBA Arena, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park | Extended Run

Image
When great music from the past meets mind boggling technology from the future, the result is ABBA Voyage . This is a concert like no other. In a purpose built arena designed specifically for the show, massive high resolution LED screens, advanced lighting, and surround sound are used to create a fully immersive ABBA concert experience. Although the group’s last appearance in London was at Wembley Arena in 1979, they return technologically in this extraordinary production. These are not holograms or AI generated performances. This is a meticulously animated concert based on real performances by the band themselves. To achieve this effect, the group came together and re-performed their music using motion capture technology. They partnered with top visual effects experts to digitally recreate their younger selves. While the show includes a live band and backup singers, the Agnetha, Björn, Benny, and Anni-Frid seen on stage appear every bit as real as their original counterparts. One quick...
Full Details »

Sugar Daddy ★★★★ Underbelly Boulevard Soho | Mar 5 - Apr 4, 2026

Image
Sam Morrison’s stand-up comedy show Sugar Daddy hilariously points out some of the foibles and absurdities of the gay community. It also tackles more serious issues such as the culture's intolerances, particularly when he reflects on his own attraction to older men with bellies. Beneath these sharp observations, however, the true centre of the monologue is Morrison's grappling with the loss of his partner during the Covid-19 pandemic. The show runs for only sixty minutes, yet Morrison traces his relationship with Jonathan from their first awkward meeting in Provincetown to the final leave-taking in hospital and the amusingly complicated scattering of the ashes. Along the way, the audience shares a remarkable emotional roller coaster. There are tender moments recalling time spent with Jonathan on a rooftop, weirdly funny episodes such as when Morrison is attacked by seagulls, and painfully vivid recollections of the speech delivered at Jonathan’s deathbed. The humour is dark an...
Full Details »

The City Life Magazine | Reviews & Ratings