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Showing posts from March, 2021

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A little less conversation: After Sex @Arcolatheatre

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According to research, millennials in rich countries are having sex less these days. But they were prepared to talk more about it. So, it is no surprise to see a story about what happens when a series of no-strings-attached encounters start to become attachments. And the conversations arising from it. Such is the premise of After Sex, Siofra Dromgoole’s two-hander of the conversations afterwards. It’s not particularly sexy or erotic, and the snappy pacing and short scenes sometimes make you wish they stayed longer to finish the conversation. Nevertheless, it is still a funny and, at times, bittersweet picture of single lives in the big city. It’s currently playing at the Arcola Theatre .  He is bi and works for her in an office job. She is neither ready for a commitment nor to let the office know what’s happening. He isn’t prepared to tell his mum there’s someone special in his life. He doesn’t speak to his dad, so his mum is his world. It’s a perfect relationship/arrangement. Or so it

Stream of conscious: Black Matter

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With theatre's closed over the past year and creatives out of work, it's not surprising to see that with everything going on, there's plenty to write about. Or put into a song cycle. Actor Giles Terera presents his new song cycle Black Matter inspired by the events he saw on London's streets in a streamed concert event this month.  Living in London's Soho over the past summer of lockdown, Black Lives Matter, Eat Out To Help Out provided plenty of inspiration for observations about being a black man in Britain today. He notes that "I saw Soho shift from deserted tranquillity, where the only sounds were birds and church bells to the noise and heat of demands for social justice and civil unrest. I saw couples and families sneaking bike rides, and I saw violence – protests and peacemakers, homelessness and empty properties. People helping each other and people hurting each other. I saw confusion and hope and strength." The topics vary from deportations and th

Random doubts and gaslighting: Late Night Staring at High Res Pixels

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Sending a semi-naked photo to a boyfriend sets off a chain reaction of events between two women in Athena Steven's Late Night Staring at High Res Pixels . Is it a case of overthinking everything or is some power game at play? Writer Athena Steven's has repurposed her play into a streamed online event split into mini-episodes released every night over February. Now that we're in March, you don't have to deal with the suspense of waiting for the next instalment, and you can binge it all in one sitting online. It feels like a part drama, part theatre at home and part paranoia. The story unfolds through monologues from the two women. They don't have names other than the girlfriend (Evelyn Lockley) and the best friend (Stevens). What brings them together is a man who turns out to be bringing out their darker side. They begin to question everything, and what slowly emerges is a tale of power and control.  It's imaginatively captured on stream on the YouTube platform.