Paul in London

The former Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper is the subject of Proud currently playing at The Finborough. It asks what havoc he would have wrecked if he won a larger majority in 2011? Written by Michael Healey in 2011, it suggests a nightmare situation of a petty-minded leader who uses whatever means possible to achieve his vision. A small-minded vision focused on making the government just a little smaller than it currently. And of course annoying the Canadian Liberal establishment. Viewing it from the United Kingdom with our shambolic political system, you may be tempted however to think Canadians never had it so good.

Cargo at the Arcola Theatre is a thrilling and evocative account of the plight of refugees with a twist. A delicate blend of fact and fiction, the piece by Tess Berry-Hart conjures up a dystopian world that just might be around the corner for us... And this makes it a powerful statement on how both our values as a society and how we view refugees. The box office kindly suggests that as it is ninety minutes straight through, you might want to have a drink with you beforehand. Most people in the audience seemed to go for beer. But we have been having a heatwave in London. So I went for water and guzzled half of it before even getting to the downstairs theatre. Walking into the studio space transformed into a giant shipping container. Max Dorey's inspired design makes you feel as if you are the cargo. And as the show begins an usher slams the door shut and you're plunged into darkness. This is the second outing to the theatre where the production puts you in a confi...

  Time heals everything they say. It has been over thirty years since London has seen I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It On the Road. And watching it at the  Jermyn Street Theatre  is like a trip back in time. When you arrive there is a band getting ready for the show, and you could be forgiven for thinking you were in a cabaret spot from the 1970s. Complete with pantsuits, glitter makeup and records on the wall. It is a terrific looking production that makes you feel like walking down the steps to the theatre you have been in a time machine.  But with its handful of songs and themes about the role of women, it almost feels as it time has stood still. The dialogue may be firmly rooted in the 1970s (and often a bit predictable), but the themes of female empowerment and being independent seem as if we haven't come so far since..

Iranian-Canadian musical theater actor Ramin Karimloo is known for his work in the West End, performing in The Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables, as well as debuting the role of the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera sequel, Love Never Dies. Recently he finished a run playing Valjean in Les Miserables on Broadway and gained attention for not just his vocals but his physical strength. He is back in London and getting ready for a show (tonight) at the Palladium on 16 July. Later in the year he will be joining Victoria Hamilton-Barritt and Kerry Ellis in UK premiere of the off-Broadway musical Murder Ballad at the Arts Theatre. The Palladium show will be another opportunity to see Ramin and his band mix country and bluegrass with musical theatre (and vice-versa), after sellout shows at Islington’s Union Chapel in January. I sat down with Ramin shortly after his return to London. We talked about the shows, his fitness regime and how he is looking for a goo...

  A sensory and unnerving experience awaits anyone heading off to see Cut at  The Vaults  in Waterloo. A one woman show performed by  Hannah Norris . S he is your guide, predator and prey in this story about paranoia, obsession and an awful lot of cling film. Part of the experience of the piece is to throw the audience into complete darkness. With a pulsing soundtrack it makes things feel pretty intense.  The intensity at first is all in your mind. But then Norris throws herself about the traverse stage. She is one place. Then another. And then another. Smiling and grinning. There is a menacing demeanour about her, especially when she tells audience members to take off their glowing watches.

In it’s final week in a disused bar in Tottenham is Philip Ridley’s Karagula . It’s an amibitious dystopian work that has been baffling audiences for the past month. There are various worlds coliding in the piece. Time and narrative shifts to tell a story of rebellion against totalitarian regimes.

Funny, vulgar and just a bit scary. Screwed at Theatre 503 really hits you with everything it can in this new work by Kathryn O'Reilly . It's another day at the factory. Charlene and Luce had just had a great night out and were still buzzing (or intoxicated) from the night before. They assemble bathroom fittings putting the female part onto the male part. But the job is just an excuse to talk about what male parts they put into their female parts. All the time they're popping pills or knocking back vodka miniatures.

  Part theatrical experiment, part exploration on perspectives, the Grey Man at Theatre 503 promises to be an interesting night out. Two women, one half the age of the other, take a different perspective to the same event. The piece explores how different perspectives reshape the world around us, and how the power of story telling. Maya is a 50 year old woman revisiting the site of a terrible family tragedy. Meanwhile Maya is 25 year old woman returning to her family to help her sister who is recovering from a mental illness.  One is dark. One is light. And if you missed a line first time around, you are bound to catch it on the second. This is the second production from REND which aims to embark on risk-taking theatre experiences. The piece is written by Lulu Raczka, who was part of the Royal Court Writers Programme in 2014. Her recent work, Clytemnestra, was part of The Iphigenia Quartet at Theatre503’s sister theatre, the Gate.  The piece is directed by Robyn Winfiel...