Paul in London

Domestic violence in Australia is never far away from the news. Some statistics suggest it is more prevalent down under than other similar countries . There are podcasts about women who mysteriously disappear only to find that the suspect, the male partner, was never charged with a crime.  The Bleeding Tree is an evocative tale of revenge against a backdrop of domestic violence and cruelty. And what happens when the women take back control? With painstaking and, at times, gruesome descriptions of the despair and their support for each other, it’s a harrowing yet rewarding tale of resilience and survival. It’s currently playing at the Southwark Playhouse, Borough .  Set in a remote homestead in the Australian outback, a mother (mum played by Maria Gale) and her two daughters, Ida (Elizabeth Dulau) and Ada (Alexandra Jensen), come to terms with the decision they take to kill a man who was a source of cruelty and abuse. While a cover story that he went to visit his sister “up nor...

In The Passing of The Third Floor Back, the arrival of a mystery man at a lodging turns a bunch of crooks, philanderers and pretenders that make up English society into human beings.  The action takes place over the festive season and it could be an alternative to Dickens's A Christmas Carol. Without the ghosts. The piece is having its first revival in 70 years at the Finborough Theatre . I overheard someone leaving the theatre noting they found the first part more interesting than the rest. Afterall, this prologue is the bit that presents the characters with all their flaws. The dialogue is sharp and hilarious. And you could be forgiven for thinking not much has changed in London since Edwardian times. But Jerome K Jerome, who spent some time living in down and out places depicted here, has other plans for his characters. The arrival of a mysterious new lodger (Alexander Knox) confronts the characters one by one. Each believes they have met him somewhere before and take his...