Soho Theatre - Theatre Listings

Pure churnalism I am afraid - this is an extract from a press release. I excuse it because I have seen some of the shows, and I like to remind myself what I could be seeing if I lived in London. 

DRYWRITE

FLEABAG

Tue 3 – Sun 22 Sep, 7pm

Soho Upstairs

Tickets £10 - £15

Critically acclaimed Soho Associate Company DryWrite return to Soho Theatre with Fleabag, written and performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. No more slutty pizzas. No more porny wanks. Lots more lovely threesomes. Fleabag follows on from Mydidae, which debuted at Soho Upstairs and then transferred to the West End.

This was the one I was really annoyed to miss at the Fringe: it picked up plaudits all over the place and managed to bring both the comedy crowd and the serious drama fans. 

THE CRICK CRACK CLUB

Mons 16 Sep, 21 Oct, 18 Nov, 2 Dec, 8pm

Soho Upstairs

Tickets £9

Mon 16 Sep – THE GREEN MAN OF NO MAN’S LAND

A young woman is driven by a dream to search for leaves that have never grown, and Jack watches three swan-women shake off their feathers.

Mon 21 Oct – EROS & PSYCHE

Merging myth, fairytale and raucous Greek philosophy – performance storyteller Sally Pomme Clayton undresses the myth of Eros and Psyche to ask ‘what is the path of love… ?’

Mon 18 Nov – MR SANDMANN – BRINGER OF DREAMS & NIGHTMARES

Internationally renowned for his dynamic and challenging performances, Ben Haggarty slips behind the lights into the dark side of the fairground, where you risk getting more than you bargained for.

Mon 2 Dec – ON COMMON GROUND – THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JOHN CLARE

Master wordsmith Hugh Lupton puts his ear to the ground to tell the story of mad poet John Clare – tormented by romance laid barren by class, and the loss of freedom to walk ancient pathways as, with the enclosure acts of the 1800s, land was seized and divided.

THERE HAS POSSIBLY BEEN AN INCIDENT

By Chris Thorpe

Tue 24 Sep – Sat 5 Oct  7.15pm (Thu and Sat matinees, 3pm)

Press Night: Tue 24 Sep, 7.15pm

Soho Theatre

Tickets £12 – £17.50

When life offers you a choice between heroism and compromise - what happens? Directed by 2013 JMK award-winner Sam Pritchard, and written by Chris Thorpe. This new play tells a series of interlocking stories about the moments when life offers you a choice between heroism and compromise.

THE WRONG CROWD

HAG

Tue 1 – Sun 20 Oct, 7pm (Sat matinees, 4pm)

Press Night: Thu 3 Oct, 7pm

Soho Upstairs

Tickets £10 – £15

The Wrong Crowd re-imagine Slavic folklore’s extraordinary, child-eating hag-witch Baba Yaga through dark, visually inventive storytelling theatre, fusing live action, puppetry and music. Lisa is given something by her dying mother. Something she doesn’t want. Little does she know that learning to accept it might be the only thing that will save her own life. For ages 12+

I saw this, and gave it four stars in The List. The titular witch sounds like she comes from Glasgow, which gives her an edge. The double headed Baba Yaga is cool and a bit terrifying.

BRYONY KIMMINGS

CREDIBLE LIKEABLE SUPERSTAR ROLE MODEL

Tue 8 – Sat 26 Oct, 7.15pm

Press Night: Thu 10 Oct, 7.15pm

Soho Theatre

Tickets £15 – £20

In an audacious, provocative protest against flagrant global attempts to sexualise and commodify childhood for profit, award-winning artistBryony Kimmings and her niece Taylor, nine, decided to play the global tween machine at its own game. Taylor invented dinosaur-loving, bike riding, tuna pasta-eating, alternative pop star Catherine Bennett, Bryony promised to embody her, do everything that Taylor told her to, and get her famous - like super famous!

Saw it and saving my review for when it comes to Scotland. Much to say about Kimmings' new direction, now with added child.

SHOW AND TELL

BEATS

By Kieran Hurley

Mon 14 – Sat 26 Oct, 9pm (Sat matinees, 4.30pm)

Press Night: Tue 15 Oct, 9pm

Soho Theatre

Tickets £15 – £20

BEATS tells the story of Johnno McCreadie, a teenager living in a small suburban Scottish town at the time of the 1994 Criminal Justice Act – a new piece of legislation which effectively outlawed raves, or “public gatherings around amplified music characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats”. BEATS is a coming-of-age story exploring rebellion, apathy and the irresistible power of gathered youth. With techno. Lots of techno.

And my co Subcity DJ Alan Millar on the decks... Hurley gets to grips with the rave generation (when the current rave culture is getting the odd threatening look from the state, again).

DANCING BRICK

PERLE

By Thomas Eccleshare

Tue 22 Oct – Sun 3 Nov, 7.15pm

Press Night: Thu 24 Oct, 7.15pm

Soho Upstairs

Tickets £10 – £15

Dancing Brick’s Perle, based on the oldest poem in the English language, explores one man’s grief over the death of a child, created byThomas Eccleshare. Thomas won the 2011 Verity Bargate Award with Pastoral which was developed with Thomas as a writer in residence and received rave reviews in 2013. Perle uses movement and illustrations from Serge Seidlitz, to create a live comic book.

INCONVENIENT SPOOF

NAÏVE DANCE MASTERCLASS

Wed 23 – Sun 27 Oct, 9pm

Press Night: Thu 24 Oct, 9pm

Soho Upstairs

Tickets £12.50

Inspired by years spent in a love/hate relationship with experimental performance, this provocative show combines physical tomfoolery and deadpan wordplay in a highly original meditation on authenticity and pretension in the world of art. It has previously appeared at the Edinburgh and Brighton fringe, where it was nominated for ‘Best Male Performer’.

CLEAN BREAK

BILLY THE GIRL

Tue 29 Oct – Sun 24 Nov, 7.15pm

Press Night: Fri 1 Nov, 7.15pm

Soho Theatre

Tickets £10 – £22.50

Celebrated theatre company Clean Break, which works with women affected by the criminal justice system, returns to Soho Theatre following the success of This Wide Night (2008, revived 2009), Charged (2010) and Re-Charged (2011). In Katie Hims’ Billy the Girl a woman tries to deal with the way her family betrayed her over a childhood mistake that they called a crime.

GALLIVANT

BLUEBEARD

Tue 5  – Sun 17 Nov, 7pm, Tue19 Nov – Sun 1 Dec, 9.30pm (matinee, Sat 30 Nov, 2.30pm)

Press Night: Thu 7 Nov, 7pm

Soho Upstairs

Tickets £10 – £15

Bluebeard invites you into his chamber to share in the violent passion of his deviant sexual acts. Will he excite you? Will he seduce you? Will he love you to death? A provocative, intelligently handled exploration of sexually motivated violence, Bluebeard comes to Soho following a critically acclaimed run at Bristol Old Vic Theatre.

COLLECTIVE ARTISTES

ZHE: [noun] UNDEFINED

Tue 19 Nov – Sun 8 Dec, 7pm

Press Night: Thu 21 Nov, 7pm

Soho Upstairs

Tickets £10 – £15

A poignant story of two British Africans at the crossroads of culture, nationality, gender and sexuality. Created by Chuck Mike, Antonia Kemi Coker and Tonderai Munyevu Zhe shows that there are some journeys that make us who we were always meant to be.