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To say I went into The C Bomb – a comedy about chlamydia – with reservations would be an understatement. To say these reservations were obliterated within minutes would not be an overstatement. In combining Katie Sayer’s writing talent with Agnes Pethers’ directing excellence, a masterpiece is created. The C Bomb addresses Chloe (Alma Prelec) […]
Continue Reading✮✮✮✮ An uproarious comedy about a loutish bet gone horribly right, Lads is a tautly-written, beautifully-acted, enormously funny piece of theatre, providing an excellent showcase for newcomer playwright Mallika Sood.
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The OUDS New Writing Festival was created to showcase the best of Oxford’s playwriting talent – and it has certainly achieved its aims in Adam Leonard’s new work, A Sense of Falling. Leonard has created a tightly-wrought script, full of nuance and wit. Tasha and Lawrence live an uneasy life in soggy Wales next to […]
Continue ReadingThere’s been some serious hype around the OUDS New Writing Festival this year, and it all comes to a head in 7th week – the work of four of Oxford’s hottest new writers, battling it out in the BT for the coveted Best Play award. Speaking to the writers themselves and the directors who brought […]
Continue Reading✮✮✮ Howard Coase shines as writer of Polly, part of the OUDS New Writing Festival at the Burton Taylor Studio. He has delivered a witty script, but the production occasionally misses a beat. The play, under the direction of Daniel de Lisle, revolves around the dysfunctional relationship of Harry and Natalie, who have the parish […]
Continue Reading✮✮✮ Lover’s Suicide – Jamie Biondi’s entry into the OUDS New Writing Festival – toes a difficult line. It gives time to the dramatic-potency of its characters’ self-destructive impulses, but also injects some much needed dark comedy into what could otherwise be, let’s be honest, a bit of an emotional slog. As the title would […]
Continue ReadingFrom the moment you step into the BT for Closing Time, you are hit with an immediate sense of apprehension. Our protagonist, Arthur (Cameron Cook) sits at a desk in front of you, staring into the distance, immediately setting up tension for a drama about to unfold. It invites the questions: who is this man, […]
Continue ReadingLow, blue lights illumine a simple set. One teenager is sprawled across a bed, another draped across a wooden chair; a third sits hunched, reading what looks suspiciously like a Bible. He’s mouthing to himself as the audience filters in, and the effect is good. We’re a part of this grouping. There are clothes […]
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