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Showing posts with the label Alyssa Simon

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The Green, Green Grass of Home: Mr Jones An Aberfan Story - Finborough Theatre

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A life of hope and promise, interrupted, lies at the heart of Mr Jones: an Aberfan Story. The play follows two young people in Aberfan before and after the disaster that killed 144 people, including 116 children. It’s an emotional coming-of-age tale of intersecting lives, family, love, and the shock of tragedy. With two vivid performances and strong characterisations, you feel immersed in 1960s Welsh small-town life. It’s now running at the Finborough Theatre , after performances at the Edinburgh Festival and across Wales.  The Aberfan disaster is well known in the UK but perhaps less so elsewhere. The facts of the tragedy are confined to the programme notes rather than in the piece. On 21 October 1966, the catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip on a mountain above Aberfan engulfed a local school, killing many. The play avoids the causes and negligence, instead focusing on those working and building lives in the town.  Writer-performer Liam Holmes plays Stephen Jones, a...
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Pretend it’s a good life: The Marriage of Alice B Toklas by Gertrude Stein @JSTheatre

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It’s tempting to write about The Marriage of Alice B Toklas by Gertrude Stein, which is actually by Edward Einhorn since the former is the title of the play, pretending to be Edward Einhorn who is pretending to be Gertrude Stein. Therefore, I would have to pretend to be Einhorn pretending to be Stein pretending not to be a theatre writer covering the proceedings. But in the interests of clarity and sanity. I won’t be pretending anything further. Except to pretend I was familiar with the works of Stein, which also after seeing this piece, I feel I don’t have to pretend as much.  The novelty of this play, where everything is in the style of Stein, will either amuse or irritate, probably depending on how familiar you are with the works of Stein or willing to embrace them. And the basic facts of their lives are there. However, within the circular dialogue, a story emerges of a woman in the shadows of a genius. It’s making its covid delayed premiere at the Jermyn Street Theatre .  ...
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