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Lyndsey Marshal joins Simon Russell Beale in A Christmas Carol
Lyndsey Marshal is joining the cast of A Christmas Carol when it returns with Simon Russell Beale and Eben Figueiredo to London’s Bridge Theatre in December.
She completes casting for the show whose run in December 2020 was cut short when Covid lockdowns returned. It originally co-starred Patsy Ferran alongside Russell Beale and Figueiredo.
Devised by Nicholas Hytner, the retelling of Charles Dickens’ classic story runs at 90 minutes without interval and is suitable for all ages. It will be at the Bridge Theatre from 6 to 31 December 2022.
Priority booking opened today (22 September), with public booking at bridgetheatre.co.uk due to open at 10am on 27 September.
Alongside extensive screen credits, Marshal’s recent theatre work includes Force Majeure at the Donmar Warehouse, The Wild Duck at the Almeida Theatre, Diminished at Hampstead Theatre, The Oresteia at Home Manchester and Othello, directed by Nicholas Hytner, at the National Theatre.
A Christmas Carol features set and costume designs by Rose Revitt, with lighting by Jon Clark, sound by Gareth Fry, video design by Luke Halls and Zakk Hein, music by Grant Olding, and choreography by James Cousins.
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First look: Arthur Miller’s The Crucible at the National Theatre
Photography has been released of Lyndsey Turner’s new production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible in the Olivier theatre at the National Theatre in London.
Described as “a gripping parable of power and its abuse”, this new staging features a cast including Brendan Cowell as John Proctor and Erin Doherty as Abigail Williams alongside Eileen Walsh as Elizabeth Proctor, Fisayo Akinade as Reverend Hale, Karl Johnson as Giles Corey and Matthew Marsh as Danforth.
They are joined by David Ahmad, Nathan Amzi, Zoë Aldrich, Stephanie Beattie, Raphael Bushay, Sophia Brown, Halle Brown, Anushka Chakravarti, Grace Cooper Milton, Rachelle Diedericks, Hero Douglas, Henry Everett, Nick Fletcher, Jersey Blu Georgia, Colin Haigh, Una Herrmann, Martin Johnston, Evie Marner, Gracie McGonigal, Alastair Parker, Joy Tan, Ami Tredrea, Tilly Tremayne and Cadence Williams.
It features set design by Es Devlin, costume design by Catherine Fay, lighting design by Tim Lutkin, and sound design by Tingying Dong (content design) and Paul Arditti (system design). The composer and arranger is Caroline Shaw, and the arranger and music director is Osnat Schmool. Fight director is Bret Young and Ita O’Brien and Louise Kempton for intimacy on set. Staff director is Blythe Stewart, and dialect coaches are Danièle Lydon and Hazel Holder.
The production runs in the Olivier from 14 September to 5 November 2022. It will be broadcast to cinemas across the UK on 26 January 2023 and around the world on 2 March 2023.
Tickets are on sale at nationaltheatre.org.uk.
All production images are by Johan Persson.
Erin Doherty as Abigail Williams and Fisayo Akinade as Reverend Hale in The Crucible at the National Theatre. 
Karl Johnson as Giles Corey in The Crucible at the National Theatre. 
Ensemble of The Crucible at the National Theatre 
Matthew Marsh as Danforth with Henry Everett as Hathorne and Nick Fletcher as Parris in The Crucible at the National Theatre 
Zoë Aldrich as Ann Putnam in The Crucible at the National Theatre 
Brendan Cowell as John Proctor and Rachelle Diedericks as Mary Warren in The Crucible at the National Theatre 
The Crucible’s set, designed by Es Devlin, at the National Theatre -
New touring play Family Tree to explore Black woman’s legacy
Actors Touring Company has announced a tour of a new play about the legacy of Black woman Henrietta Lacks whose cancer cells revolutionised medical research.
Family Tree by Mojisola Adebayo is described as a powerful and poetic drama that explores not only Lacks’ contribution – given unwittingly without consent – as well as race, health and the environment.
The production is a co-production with Belgrade Theatre Coventry, in association with south London’s Brixton House. It will be directed by Matthew Xia, artistic director of Actors Touring Company (ATC).
Originally commissioned by ATC and the Young Vic in 2020, the play was showcased as an outdoor work-in-progress piece at the 2021 Greenwich + Docklands International Festival. This new 2023 tour will be the first fully realised stage production.
The Belgrade Theatre Coventry will stage the world premiere in March 2023 followed by a London premiere at Brixton House in April 2023. The play will then tour until June, visiting venues across the country including performances in Keswick, Ipswich and Nottingham.
Xia said: “Mojisola Adebayo is an exceptional writer and I’m excited that her award-winning play will be seen by audiences far and wide. There’s a beauty in her work that responds so well to the present moment whilst also holding historical malpractice to account. It’s fearless, brutally honest, at turns hilarious, and ultimately transformative.
“Henrietta’s HeLa cell line forms the basis of the most important medical research and breakthroughs across the last 70 years, from cancer and HIV to Covid. We owe our lives to her. Denied her place in history, now is the time to bring Henrietta’s epic legacy alive on stage.”
Adebayo added: “When I met Matthew Xia, Henrietta Lacks came into our minds at exactly the same time. Xia is magic but Lacks is more: she’s immortal and her body has touched every life on the planet – yours, mine… So why have so few people heard of her? Let alone Lucy, Betsey, Anarcha and more…
“The play paints a family tree of Black women whose cells, blood and waters have birthed, raised and changed the world.”
Family Tree is the current winner of the Alfred Fagon Award, the leading Black British playwrighting prize, for best original stage play.
Pauline Walker, creative production for the awards, said: “Mojisola Adebayo is a thrilling playwright who infuses her writing with epic ideas, vision and compassion and we’re delighted that Family Tree is now being produced and will go on tour.”
Brixton House’s artistic director Gbolahan Obesisan added: “Family Tree spotlights the story of Henrietta Lacks and what we owe to her legacy. Henrietta’s story will surprise many whilst also highlighting the need for medical research to be more transparent, especially as a concern for Black communities.
“Family Tree is an urgent part of our history and a unique opportunity for the Black diaspora to connect and reflect on how our bodies have long been commodified.”
The cast and creative team will be announced in early 2023.
Visit www.atctheatre.com for updates.
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Two new artistic directors announced for RSC
Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey are to take over as co-artistic directors of the Royal Shakespeare Company to build on its position as a “home for radical, relevant theatre made by artists from across the UK and the wider world”.
Harvey is artistic director of Theatr Clwyd in Mold in Wales while Evans is artistic director of Chichester Festival Theatre. Both are also prolific and award-winning theatre directors.
The pair, who have worked together in the past and applied for the position jointly, will take up the post in June 2023. The role came up after Gregory Doran decided to step down, which was announced in April.
Shriti Vadera, chair of the RSC board, said: “They bring a brilliant track record of artistic achievement with a strong commitment to education, communities and championing diverse talent and voices, alongside a proven strategic ability to lead major companies.
“Their partnership heralds an exciting vision for the future of the RSC to attract world-class artistic talent, captivate today’s audiences with Shakespeare, classics and new work, and increase radically the reach and impact of our pioneering learning, partnerships and digital work.”
They will take over from acting artistic director Erica Whyman who is leaving the RSC to pursue a freelance career. She programmed the 2023 season which is due to be announced on 27 September.
Doran has taken on the role of artistic director emeritus until the end of 2023 and will direct his 50th production for the RSC in spring 2023.
Harvey said: “The great joy of working in partnership with Daniel, an artist I admire beyond measure, is that we share both that excitement and that awe at becoming the next custodians of this amazing company.
“We bring a shared belief in all that the RSC can be: a home for radical, relevant theatre made by artists from across the UK and the wider world – a global community inspired by Shakespeare, bringing together myriad voices to tell the stories of our time – and of all time.”
Evans added: “We share deep-rooted values and an ambitious vision for the company, and we’re both looking forward to working with Catherine and the team to begin this new, exciting chapter in the RSC’s story.”
Catherine Mallyon, who is executive director of the RSC, said: “I am excited to start a new leadership relationship with Daniel and Tamara who have a profound understanding of the RSC as a theatre and learning charity, combined with the high levels of the skill, imagination, talent and commitment required to make captivating theatre, unlock potential and inspire change.”
Visit rsc.org.uk to find out about the latest RSC productions.
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Nominees announced for 2022 Black British Theatre Awards
The nominees have been announced for this year’s Black British Theatre Awards, recognising performers and creatives.
Rewarding achievements in theatre, dance and opera, the BBTAs will take place at the National Theatre in London on Sunday 16 October.
Solange Urdang and Omar F Okai, co-directors of the BBTAs, said: “2022 brings an unprecedented year for the BBTAs in support from industry recognition and creative growth. The public votes have quadrupled since 2021, heralding a clear and positive bright future for the ongoing work of the Black British Theatre Awards. This year we are exceptionally excited to be holding the awards at the National Theatre.”
Best male actor in a play
Terique Jarrett, Daddy, Almeida Theatre, London
Dior Clarke, Passionfruit, New Diorama Theatre, London
Michael Fatogun, Foxes, Theatre 503, LondonBest female actor in a play
Shareesa Valentine, Forgotten Voices, Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
Selina Jones, An Unfinished Man, The Yard, London
Shakira Newton, Things I Can Laugh About Now, Brixton House, LondonBest supporting male actor in a play
Gabriel Paul, Macbeth, Leeds Playhouse
Hayden Mampasi, Passionfruit, New Diorama Theatre, London
Habib Nasib Nader, Life of Pi, Wyndham’s Theatre, LondonBest supporting female actor in a play
Ashh Blackwood, The Play That Goes Wrong, Duchess Theatre, London
Sasha Frost, Folk, Hampstead Theatre, London
Charlotte Gosling, Passionfruit, New Diorama Theatre, LondonOutstanding performance in a play
Rochelle Rose, Rockets and Blue Lights, National Theatre, London
Emmanuel Akwafo, For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy, Royal Court, London
Misha Duncan-Barry, My Voice Was Heard But It Was Ignored, Red Ladder Theatre Company UK tourBest play
My Voice Was Heard But It Was Ignored, Red Ladder Theatre Company UK tour
For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy, Royal Court, London
Things I Can Laugh About Now, Brixton House, LondonBest male actor in a musical
Michael Ahomka-Lindsay, Legally Blonde, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London
Michael Duke, Get Up Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre, London
Tarik Frimpong, The Wiz, Hope Mill Theatre, ManchesterBest female actor in a musical
Nicole Raquel Dennis, Dreamgirls, UK and Ireland tour
Courtney Bowman, Legally Blonde, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London
Courtney Stapleton, Beauty and the Beast the Musical, UK and Ireland tourBest supporting male actor in a musical
Jordan Shaw, Les Misérables, Sondheim Theatre, London
Shem Omari James, Dreamgirls, UK and Ireland tour
Cameron Bernard Jones, The Wiz, Hope Mill Theatre, ManchesterBest supporting female actor in aa musical
Nadine Higgin, Legally Blonde, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London
Nicolle Smartt, Domitius, Conway Hall, London
Jocasta Almgill, Grease, Dominion Theatre, LondonOutstanding performance in a musical
Billy Nevers, Legally Blonde, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London
Amara Okereke, My Fair Lady, London Coliseum
Nicole Raquel Dennis, Dreamgirls, UK and Ireland tourBest understudy/swing in a theatre production
Mitchell Zhangazha, Dear Evan Hansen, Noël Coward Theatre, London
Jemal Felix, The Phantom of the Opera, Her Majesty’s Theatre, London
Zara MacIntosh, & Juliet, Shaftesbury Theatre, LondonBest musical
Domitius, Conway Hall, London
Dreamgirls, UK and Ireland tour
The Wiz, Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
The Wiz at Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester. Photo: Pamela Raith Best director
Matthew Xia, The Wiz, Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
Ryan Calais Cameron and Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu, For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy, Royal Court, London
Dermot Daly, My Voice Was Heard But It Was Ignored, Red Ladder Theatre Company UK tourBest producer
Jasmyn Fisher-Ryner, For Black Boys Who Have Considered -Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy, Royal Court, London
Shanay Holmes and Chris Steward, West End Musical Christmas, Lyric Theatre, London
Ameena Hamid, The Wiz, Hope Mill Theatre, ManchesterBest musical director
Femi Temowo, Rockets and Blue Lights, National Theatre, London
Sean Green, Get Up Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre, London
John Pfumojena, For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy, Royal Court, LondonBest choreographer or movement director
Leah Hill, The Wiz, Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
Theophilus O Bailey-Godson, For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy, Royal Court, London
Kane Husbands and Mateus Daniel, Passionfruit, New Diorama Theatre, LondonBest opera production or performance
April Koyejo-Audiger, Jenufa, Royal Opera House, London
Pumeza Matshikiza, The Cunning Little Vixen, London ColiseumBest dance production
Run it Back (Talawa), Fairfield Halls, London
Ballet Black Double Bill (Ballet Black), Barbican, London
Saturn Returns (Gateway Arts Productions), Brixton House, LondonBest soloist in a dance production
Mthuthuzeli November, Ballet Black Double Bill, Barbican, London
Cira Robinson, Ballet Black Double Bill, Barbican, London
Isabela Coracy, Ballet Black Double Bill, Barbican, LondonBest use of innovation and technology award
Mawa Theatre Company, What’s Past is Prologue, YouTube
Natalie Edwards Yesufu, Enter.Stage.Write, YouTube
Ballet Black, Eightfold, Channel 4LGBTQIA champion award
Alex Thomas-Smith
Nicole Raquel Dennis
Courtney StapletonBest teacher award
Angeline Bell, Urdang Academy, London
Hakeem Onibudo, Impact Dance, London
Carolyn Elaine Bolton, Shockout, ManchesterBest recent graduate award
Grace Melville, D&B Academy
Shonah Buwu, Bird College
Dianté Lodge, Laine Theatre ArtsRecognition awards for a body of work
Light and/or sound recognition award
Simisola Majekodunmi
Joshua Harriette
Kayodeine GomezCostume design recognition award
Maybelle Laye
Natalie Pryce
Jessica CabassaBook and lyrics recognition award
Lux Knightley
Ryan Calais Cameron
Safaa Benson-EffiomCasting direction recognition award
Heather Basten
Isabella Odoffin
Tonia Daley-Campbell
Courtney Bowman, Billy Nevers and Allie Daniel in Legally Blonde at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. Photo: Pamela Raith -
Review: I, Joan, Shakespeare’s Globe, London ✭✭✭✭
Relatively little is known about the real Joan of Arc. A female icon, the French heroine has had her story created from reports written by men, chiefly her court appearances in 1431 under trial for crimes including heresy, witchcraft and dressing as a man. Charlie Josephine has drawn on the fragments and myth to explore Joan’s story through a more modern understanding of gender and identity. The result is a gripping and entertaining historical play that also acts as a cry of protest, calling for society to embrace those who do not conform to traditional, conservative ideas of sex and gender.
It is clear from the outset that this is no classic retelling of Joan’s story. While recognising her importance as a champion of female power and the feminist struggle, the prologue declaimed by Isobel Thom’s Joan sets the stage for an unashamedly political piece of theatre about gender. Thom, a newcomer fresh out of drama school, is perfectly cast as the single-minded but questioning Joan as they become an unlikely leader of the French troops against the English. As the historical drama progresses at a thrilling pace, the play shows Joan exploring and questioning society’s labelling of them as a girl, leading to their realisation that they are non-binary, becoming “they” rather than “she”. The final court scenes remind us that gender politics are nothing new, with Joan attacked for breaking French sumptuary laws on who can wear what – laws that also existed in England until 1604. It argues that gender is not just something we identify within ourselves but also a response to the ideas of gender in the world around us.
The play is polemical at times, but it can also be very funny. Jolyon Coy leads the comedy as the childishly petulant French dauphin, later King Charles VII, who flounces and struts around the stage, lurching from defiance to solidarity with his wife Marie and mother-in-law Yolande – two powerful matriarchs played magnificently by Janet Etuk and Debbie Korley. Adam Gillen also stands out as Thomas, one of Charles’s counsellors who is inspired by Joan to confront his own confusion about his identity and place in society.
Isobel Thom and Adam Gillen in I, Joan at Shakespeare’s Globe. Photo: Helen Murray From battlefields to the court room, the cast regularly come together in stirring sequences impressively choreographed by movement director Jennifer Jackson. These are given added energy by the insistent rhythms of Laura Moody’s music, mostly percussive but boldly balanced by trombone and tuba, played by a live band led by musical director Joley Cragg. The Globe’s Elizabethan-style stage has been transformed by designer Naomi Kuyck-Cohen with a striking curved backdrop, resembling a giant wooden skate ramp, that the cast clamber up and slide down.
Coming at a time when trans and non-binary people are under constant attack, Charlie Josephine’s play is a timely and topical reflection on gender through the frame of an historic figure whose story has been taken up by playwrights from Shakespeare to George Bernard Shaw and Jean Anouilh. This latest version is not insisting that the real Joan of Arc identified as non-binary or even questioned gender, although there is no evidence that she didn’t. Her adoption of male attire while fighting alongside other soldiers suggests that she was aware of gender as something we perform, at a time when “cross-dressing” was seen as an abomination against God. It is this queer unconventionality that now makes her story so compelling as a starting-off point for exploring gender – a challenge that I, Joan takes up with intelligence and power.
I, Joan runs at Shakespeare’s Globe until 22 October 2022. Tickets at shakespearesglobe.com.
Full company of I, Joan at Shakespeare’s Globe. Photo: Helen Murray -
Review: My Son’s a Queer (But What Can You Do?), Underbelly at George Square, Edinburgh Fringe ✭✭✭✭✭
During the first Covid lockdown, actor Rob Madge rediscovered old home videos of their childhood performances as Disney princesses which turned out to be a heart-warming viral hit on Twitter. A year later, this became the premise for their own solo show My Son’s a Queer (But What Can You Do?) at Turbine Theatre in London which has now become a sell-out hit at Edinburgh Fringe and is about to transfer to the Garrick Theatre in London’s West End.
The show’s success is easy to understand. Madge is a delightfully engaging performer with a constant twinkle in their eye. Interspersing the show with some of the original video clips on a big screen above the stage, Madge tells the story of their childhood growing up in Coventry with a mum and dad who overcame any reservations about their stagey child to be supportive and accepting. This safe haven contrasted with the outside world where little Robert, like many other children, was bullied and criticised for not conforming to gender and societal norms.
Directed by Luke Sheppard, the show is very funny and at times heart-breaking, a joyful and uplifting story about being true to who you are. Rob, who made a splash in the recent tour of musical Bedknobs and Broomsticks as Norton the fish and started their career as the Artful Dodger in Oliver! and Gavroche in Les Misérables, also weaves in some charming songs with music by Pippa Cleary. (In case anyone is wondering, the title is a slight tweak on a line from a song performed by the monstrous Thenardier in Les Misérables.)
Staged in a re-creation of a living room, the show loses none of its intimacy in moving from the Turbine to the 400-capacity space of the Udderbelly upside-down purple cow. With trans and non-binary people currently under attack, this is a timely show calling for not just compassion but understanding and acceptance of people for who they are. The standing ovations each day suggest this is a message that many agree with.
My Son’s a Queer (But What Can You Do?) runs at Underbelly at George Square until 29 August 2022 and then at London’s Garrick Theatre from 21 October to 6 November 2022. Tickets for Edinburgh at underbellyedinburgh.co.uk or edfringe.com and for London at nimaxtheatres.com.
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Almeida to stage Elton John and Jake Shears musical Tammy Faye
Casting has been announced for a new musical about American televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker as part of a new programme of shows at London’s Almeida Theatre.
Running from 13 October to 3 December 2022, Tammy Faye has been written by legendary songwriter Elton John, Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears and award-winning writer James Graham.
Tammy Faye Bakker will be played by Katie Brayben, who won an Olivier Award for Beautiful: The Carole King Story, while her fraudster husband Jim will be played by Tony Award-nominee Andrew Rannells, who starred in The Book of Mormon on Broadway and TV series Girls.
The cast will also include Kelly Agbowu, Amy Booth-Steel, Ashley Campbell, Peter Caulfield, Danny Collins, Richard Dempsey, Fred Haig, Georgia Louise, Robyn Rose, Nicholas Rowe, Martin Sarreal, Steve John Shepherd, Gemma Sutton and Zubin Varla.
The show, based on the Bakkers’ true story, will be directed by the Almeida’s artistic director Rupert Goold. It is described as “a testament of faith, resilience and the temptations of success”.
Also announced at the Almeida is a new production of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Rebecca Frecknall who was director of the Olivier Award-winning Summer and Smoke, also by Williams. It will run from 10 December 2022 to 4 February 2023.
Lydia Wilson will play the iconic role of Blanche, with the Bafta-winning Paul Mescal from TV series Normal People as Stanley and Anjana Vasan from TV comedy We Are Lady Parts as Stella.
Goold will also direct the world premiere of Women, Beware the Devil by award-winning playwright Lulu Raczka, which will run from 11 February to 25 March 2023.
The Almeida will stage the UK premiere of musical The Secret Life of Bees from 4 April to 27 May 2023 after its success Off-Broadway in 2019. Written by playwright Lynn Nottage and composer Duncan Sheik with lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, it is based on the best-selling novel by Sue Monk Kidd. It will be directed by Whitney White.
Tickets for Tammy Faye and A Streetcar Named Desire go on sale to the general public on 6 September at almeida.co.uk. Tickets for Women, Beware the Devil and The Secret Life of Bees will go on sale in November.
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Review: The Last Return, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe ✭✭✭✭
You spend a lot of time in queues at Edinburgh Fringe so Sonya Kelly’s dark comedy, The Last Return, is a perfect choice for the festival. Set in the foyer of a modern theatre in an unspecified European country, it opens as a delightfully clever dissection of the etiquette of queuing as a handful of people turn up hoping for a returned ticket for a sold-out show. Each has their own deeply personal reason to be there and, with no help from the jaded box office manager, they negotiate and bargain for their places in line and their rights to a ticket.
Kelly brilliantly explores the complex and often unspoken social contracts at play in the supposedly simple act of queuing but it emerges that she is using this as a starting point to tackle larger themes around social systems, human connection and the fragile structures of civilisation. As an American soldier and a Somali refugee join the queue, the play goes in alarming and unexpected directions where the realistic drama steadily breaks down and reveals its postdramatic heart.
Fiona Bell and Bosco Hogan are superb as the first queuers on stage alongside later arrivals, Naima Swaleh and Fionn Ó Loingsigh, while Anna Healy stands out hilariously as the stern and uncaring box office manager. Their comic timing is perfect under the precise direction of Sara Joyce, who injects the drama with great energy despite its static premise. The striking set designed by Francis O’Connor conjures up a monolithic theatre foyer on stage, reflecting the play’s concerns with the place of high culture in society, with effective lighting by Amy Mae, especially as the play becomes more absurdist. It takes on a more didactic tone towards the end to underpin the larger themes but overall The Last Return is a compelling and exciting piece of theatre.
The Last Return runs at the Traverse Theatre as part of Edinburgh Fringe until 28 August 2022. Tickets at traverse.co.uk or edfringe.com.
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Review: Project Dictator, Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh Fringe ✭✭✭✭
Audience interaction is not unusual at Edinburgh Fringe but in Rhum and Clay’s new show, Project Dictator, the audience inadvertently find themselves ushering in a totalitarian regime that destroys freedom and creativity. It is an unexpected outcome for a show that starts off with light-hearted clowning about and slapstick – despite clues in the show’s subtitle, “Why Democracy is Overrated and I Don’t Miss It At All”. In front of a traditional red theatre curtain, Hamish MacDougall plays the part of a dull politician seeking election, with Julian Spooner as his unwilling sidekick. But the sidekick rebels and reverses their roles, using comedy and charm to win over the audience despite his obvious ineptitude as a political leader.
The first half of the show is a delightful display of physical comedy and broad humour, accompanied by Matt Wells on keyboard, but, jarringly, the tone suddenly changes and we are faced with the consequences of our approval of a populist politician. The fun and laughs are gone, although some in the audience nervously titter, and instead the two performers – with white face paint and red noses – are forced into endlessly repeating outdated harlequinade routines that deny creativity and progress. Rhum and Clay inject some hope into this bleak scenario but it remains a shocking and chilling warning, proving the potential for clowning to be subversive and political.
Project Dictator runs at Pleasance Courtyard at Edinburgh Fringe until 27 August 2022. Tickets at edfringe.com.
StageWire UK 