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A Man For All Seasons: Seagull True Story - Marylebone Theatre

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It's not often that you see a play that tells you not so much a story but gives you a sense of how it feels to be in a situation, how it feels to be silenced, how it feels to be marginalised, how the dead hand of consensus stifles your creativity. However, in Seagull True Story, created and directed by Alexander Molochnikov and based on his own experiences fleeing Russia and trying to establish himself in New York, we have a chance to look beyond the headlines and understand how the war in Ukraine impacted a a group of ordinary creatives in Russia. And how the gradual smothering of freedom and freedom of expression becomes impossible to resist, except for the brave or the suicidal. Against the backdrop of Chekhov's The Seagull, which explores love and other forms of disappointment, it presents a gripping and enthralling depiction of freedom of expression in the face of adversity. After playing earlier this year in New York, it plays a limited run at the Marylebone Theatre . Fro...

Theatre: Mother Courage and her Children



After seeing a few low-spectacle shows (or no spectacle shows given the complete lack of imagination in the current Annie Get Your Gun), it was nice to see such a messy, grand epic production of Mother Courage and Her Children at the National Theatre last Wednesday. While I am not normally up for watching a three-hour play, there was so much to take in with this show that it was a hell of a journey worth taking. Fiona Shaw played Mother Courage in this production, who is a woman determined to make a living during the thirty years war (that was the war between 1618 and 1648) despite the consequences. Written by Bertolt Brecht in a new translation by Tony Kushner, the flavour of the story is influenced by recent events in the middle east.

Things blow up, people die, songs are sung and all amongst it there is money to be made and a living to be made. There is nothing too subtle about this show but with some great songs by Duke Special, a great set by Tom Pye and an overall impressive cast (especially Gerard Monaco who managed to act his scenes with his shirt off for what had to be dubious reasons except to show off his impressive physique... Ok so maybe that isn't so dubious) I was paying attention. And for those who like the ladies, there is a delightful scene where a whore gets ready for some soldiers by wiping her car park and show grounds with an old towel...

While some may find the length a little tough (particularly after a long day at work), there were way to many explosions and exceptional parts for falling asleep. Definitely it was one of the more entertaining and interesting evenings out at the theatre I have had in some time. And if you are tired enough to start drifting off to sleep, one of the shootings will bring you back. It is loud enough to be a cause of industrial deafness...

Naturally a show of this length and complexity has many technical effects. It received some criticism at the beginning of its run due to various technical difficulties. Now further into its run this show has got a real rhythm to it (albeit now Gore Vidal is present as a voice over rather than in person as he was for press night). It runs until early December and as part of the Travelex £10 Theatre deal it is a bargain that is well worth catching...

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