Culture & Literature

In order to mark the launch of the production, Lunar nights, Drama Society put on a fantastic Masquerade ball which was great fun from start to finish. You walked in to a beautiful Founders Dining Hall, where there was a bar (always good), snacks on the table, as well as bubbles in mini champagne bottles! Everyone looked amazing in the masks. Some opted to use there own whilst many decorated and wore the white masks you got allocated with your ticket, which was a great opportunity to be creative. The mask decorations ranged from pink sparkles to masks decorated with lots of eyes for a more dramatic effect. The music was also lovely with the Royal Holloway Jazz Quintet playing throughout the course of the evening, keeping everybody on their feet dancing. The raffle was also a great s...

To have one stellar Samuel Beckett revival is always a treat, but to have two at the same time is cause for celebration. The Young Vic plays host to Beckett's iconic Happy Days, in which Juliet Stevenson is buried up to her waist in some sandy form of hell, whilst the Royal Court (followed by a brief stint at the Duchess) stages a trilogy of Beckett's one-women shorts. Beckett's writing for women has always been extraordinary, and these two productions do more than justice to his bringing poetry to ordinary people, and surreality to mundanity. Winnie, the protagonist of Happy Days, has been called the female Lear, and though the role must be as great a challenge to Juliet Stevenson as Shakespeare's King is currently to Simon Russell Beale, what makes Stevenson's performance particularly...

Across London there are many schemes available to students and young performers providing opportunities to experience theatre in a variety of ways. ‘Masterclass' is run by the Theatre Royal Haymarket and brings in many celebrated performers in the theatre industry to host inspiring talks and performance workshops. The scheme is free to anyone between the ages of 17-30 and those not qualifying for free admission can pay a small sum of £10 per class or £55 for the year. A few of the many past masters include: Jeremy Irons, Joanna Lumley, James McAvoy, Ewan McGregor, and Rufus Noris. ‘Theatrecraft' was set up by Masterclass to give people aged 16-25 a chance to gain experience in the non-performance side of theatre. There are workshops on offer to try every role available in the industry: ...

“There is no real me: only an entity, something illusory. Though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable… I simply am not there.” If I'm honest, the main draw for me to go and see American Psycho: The Musical at the Almeida Theatre, was that Matt Smith was starring as Patrick Bateman, and also to spite my mother as she was unable to get any tickets. I've never read the book. I hadn't seen the film adaptation. I had no clue what to expect, except to try and get Matt Smith to smile at me in the audience. It was amazing. Everything was perfect to a tee. Every actor really took over their role, every dance move was eye catching and the use of original and 80's music was brought togethe...