Thursday, March 28Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Tag: Theatre

Medea: a monster, a mother, or a murderer?
Culture & Literature, Film & TV, Literature, Theatre & Performance

Medea: a monster, a mother, or a murderer?

‘A bride of hate to me and death / Tigress, not woman’ (Euripides, Medea) Medea: a monster, a mother, or a murderer? Victoria Bastable reviews her week with By Jove Theatre company and how their ‘Season of Violent Women’ has made her question the dehumanisation of violent women in culture from Ancient Greece to the 21st century. I Googled ‘violent women in art’ and the results were dominated by articles titled ‘Violence Against Women in Art’. To me, this demonstrates how in art we often attempt to distance women from being portrayed as the perpetrators of violence, perhaps because of cultural expectations of the ‘ideal woman’ as either the nurturing mother or passive victim. But what about the violent women who do appear in art and literature? By Jove Theatre Company have been a...
Hamilton: I’m Willing To Wait For It
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Hamilton: I’m Willing To Wait For It

Hamilton: whether you've been listening to the soundtrack non-stop or have been lucky enough to see it live on Broadway, it's a near guarantee that you've heard the name. The musical written and composed by the genius Lin-Manuel Miranda - whose other works include In The Heights and Bring It On - tells the story of Alexander Hamilton and the founding fathers of America as they create the foundations of the political system that is still in use today. Having opened on Broadway in August 2015, the show was immediately a smash-hit, producing sold-out performances almost every single night. Hamilton also broke records, beating Wicked's $3.2 million for nine performances with a record breaking $3.3 million in a week for only eight shows. In fact, as tickets were difficult to obtain and sold ...
Dreamgirls: A Dream Come True
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Dreamgirls: A Dream Come True

Dreamgirls, a brilliant musical that opened in October 2016 at The Savoy Theatre on the West End stars Glee’s Amber Riley and tells the story of a group of African American singers in the 1960s trying to make a name for themselves. I had the opportunity to see Dreamgirls last month at the Savoy theatre and, not having seen the original movie that the show is based on, I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I found was an amazing spectacle of bright lights, beautiful costumes and spectacular music, used to tell the story of these young women who struggled to make a name for themselves while having to deal with the societal pressures of beauty and race in the male-dominated world of music. Amber Riley, with her powerful voice, played the role of Effie White, the lead singer of ‘The Dreamet...
Curtain Call: The Expense Of The West End
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Curtain Call: The Expense Of The West End

Georgia Beith discusses the inflating prices of the West End theatre scene and how that negatively impacts upon students. Theatre has long since been a favourite pastime of British society. From the playhouses of Elizabethan England, to the grand music halls of the Victorian era, theatres have been landmarks of London for centuries. Yet with soaring ticket prices, it’s becoming an art form that is increasingly inaccessible for people without mountains of disposable income, people like students and young people. Despite sales of tickets stagnating, the prices for West End tickets have continued to rise, alienating much of the British public from enjoying London’s top plays and musicals. A quick Google search show that if you want to book tickets to see a West End show this weekend, yo...
Culture Without the Cost
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Culture Without the Cost

  Orbital's Joanne Archer talks you through getting theatre tickets without maxing that overdraft. 1. Download the TodayTix app From this app you can order cheap theatre tickets for the current week, often with promotions offering great value for money. Certain shows also offer a ticket lottery where you can win amazingly discounted seats, often right on the front row. You might never win but it is well worth a try! All you have to do is make an account and choose which shows you want to see. You can enter the lottery each day but be sure to have your alerts switched on! If you do win, the tickets are normally for the same night so you need to be swift in claiming your winnings. TodayTix promises that it “secures the best discounted and full price tickets avail...
‘Bluebird’: Brave, bold and beautiful.
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

‘Bluebird’: Brave, bold and beautiful.

Drama Society’s production of ‘Bluebird’ by Simon Stephens is filled with raw and visceral emotion. I have to commend director Emily Young for her bravery and experimentation in this very well executed production. Jimmy (Rafael Aptroot) is a taxi driver. He is sullen and monosyllabic. We, the audience, are voyeurs of Jimmy’s interactions with his ‘fares’ on what appears to be typical night’s work for him. From grieving fathers, to smooching couples, to a young sex worker; the customers in Jimmy’s taxi tell their story of living on the margins of society and their fragmented tales create a mirage of the bleak possibility of life in London. ‘Bluebird’ is not the sort of production you can passively enjoy: thought provoking and emotionally charged would be more apt descriptions, althoug...
‘Lady Be Good’ made this lady feel good!
Culture & Literature, Music, Theatre & Performance

‘Lady Be Good’ made this lady feel good!

‘Lady Be Good’ made this lady feel good! Last night I was treated to the Savoy Opera Society’s main term show ‘Lady Be Good’, music and book by George and Ira Gershwin, directed by Monte Marché. It was the perfect start to my weekend. I was giggling and singing the songs all the way home! The plot follows the misadventures of brother and sister Dick Trevor (Tom Chippendale) and Susie Trevor (Jenny Collins) after becoming destitute on the streets of New York. Their struggle to turn their fortunes around leads to false marriage proposals to the rich and glamorous Josephine Vanderwater (Sarah Vanderplank), falling onto the wrong side of the law via the misguidance of the mischievous lawyer Watty Watkins (Will Davidson) and a run in with Mexican gangsters, lead by the serial murderess Ma...
MTS Presents ‘Bring It On’: From the Perspective of a Sideline Cheerleader.
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

MTS Presents ‘Bring It On’: From the Perspective of a Sideline Cheerleader.

Orbital's Joanne Archer reviews Musical Theatre Society's performance of Bring It On. Every time I watch MTS perform I laugh, I smile, and deep down I am envious of their superhuman talents. Bring It On was no exception to the rule. Walking through the SU main hall doors, I realised that this show was unconventional, I became aware I was entering from “backstage”; the hall layout having been rotated to allow for a basketball court to be taped down to the SU flooring. With lockers, banners and photo collages, I immediately felt like I was in an American movie. The show itself was certainly not the “glorified High School Musical” that one might have assumed it to be. We follow in the footsteps of Campbell, the relatively down-to-earth and newly elected cheer captain of Truman High Sch...
Drama Society presents ‘No Sex Please, We’re British’
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Drama Society presents ‘No Sex Please, We’re British’

Rosalie Falla reviews the first night of Drama Society's Week 5 Show. No Sex Please, We’re British by Anthony Marriot and Alistair Foot is a simply hilarious concept: when a newly-wed couple, Peter and Frances, receive a box of Scandinavian pornography in lieu of glassware, comedy ensues. Uninvited houseguests, a police investigation, a lost cheque, boxes and boxes of risqué material and many a mix-up make this a show worth seeing. Katie Dale’s and Niamh Dunne's directorial efforts succeed in bringing the British farce to the Jane Holloway stage in only five weeks, no mean feat considering the cast and crew balance intense rehearsals with their degrees- perfectly timed comedy is not an easy skill to master and yet Dale and Dunne's cast had the audience in fits. Speaking of the cast, ...
Royal Holloway dazzles with ‘A Night at the Theatre’!
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Royal Holloway dazzles with ‘A Night at the Theatre’!

Orbital's Georgia Beith reviews the first showing of 'A Night at the Theatre'. A tremendous night of music, dancing and above all fun, ‘A Night at the Theatre’ showcases the very best of what Royal Holloway’s creative arts societies have to offer. In the two part variety extravaganza there is quite literally something for everyone. From burlesque to Shakespeare, horror films to gospel and Tamil, the huge array of talent on display makes it a little hard to believe that most acts were put together in a matter of weeks. Highlights include the uproariously funny ten-minute piece by the Holloway Players which is entirely improvised, the Ballroom and Latin Dancesport’s tribute to the King of Pop himself; Michael Jackson, and the absolutely stunning performances by the three soloists throu...