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Still here: While They Were Waiting - Upstairs At The Gatehouse

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As the song goes, time heals everything. Or as another song says, it's time after time. Yet waiting—for a moment, a minute, or even a while—can feel like a chore. In Gary Wilmot’s slightly absurd and silly While They Were Waiting, the focus is on waiting and wordplay. No opportunity is missed to find more than one meaning in what is said. A debate arises about the difference between a smidge and a whisker. There's a playful riff on how you can be here and over there at the same time, depending on your standpoint. If this piece has a point at all, it depends on what you find funny. The concept of waiting-related language is, in itself, amusing, and there is plenty to laugh about in this show. It’s currently playing at Upstairs at the Gatehouse . The premise is simple: Mulbery (Steve Furst) arrives for an appointment and is kept waiting. What the appointment is for, we are not clear about but he is waiting for a yellow door to open. Nobody answers when he rings. He’s joined by th...

Lost and found: Stone Face @Finborough

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Stone Face by Eve Leigh, tackles the subject of abuse and recovery in a sensitive and humorous way. It is currently playing at the Finborough Theatre . With its gentle storytelling, it draws you into the story and allows the performers to shine. Inspired by true events, the story revolves around Catherine. Found after her mother killed herself, nobody is sure if she ever left the one bedroom flat they shared. She can neither walk nor speak. It starts with her receiving medical care thanks to a tabloid newspaper campaign that manages to finance it. Catherine's half sister Ali, her doctor and a tabloid journalist are the only people in her life. Over the course of roughly ninety minutes we are drawn into a world of lost children, mental health and isolation.

Mother knows best: Merit @Finborough

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I have a sister so I have witnessed a few mother-daughter conversations over the years. But pehaps none are as odd as those presented here in Merit by Alexandra Wood. It is currently playing at the Finborough Theatre . It's a two hander that explores the growing apart between a mother and daughter. And the growing gulf between the rich and poor. But you are never sure whether the global financial crisis, inequality or just good old fashioned mother-daughter rivalry is what is at play here. It is ambiguous but it is also a compelling study of a parent who wishes her daughter every success. But she'll also be there to take her daughter down a peg or two if she gets too successful...