Tag Archives: New Diorama Theatre

2025

“Precipice” at the New Diorama Theatre

There are lots of musicals about depressing subjects. Since director Adam Lenson’s show is set in a struggling post-apocalypse community 300 years after an environmental catastrophe, it certainly ticks that box. Created by new company Timelapse, the piece is an impressive achievement. Trouble is that it’s just too damn disheartening.

The doom and gloom are a shame because the show itself isn’t bad. The scenario of survivors in a tower block isn’t original, nor is the idea of them enacting some kind of ceremony based on a mysterious ‘founder’, but it is executed well enough. Flashback scenes that add a romance (about a young couple who lived in the flats before floods and disease) are also good. But the ceremony involves expelling a community member and the love affair we look back at is falling apart – the grim is relentless. And, I’m sorry guys, but it’s nearly Christmas.

You can argue, of course it’s a downer and be confident pointing out that the future will be bleak. And the company, which isn’t trying to put on a panto, has important points to make about consumption and blame. There’s a sense that this is a show written by a generation that feels lost and fairly sure things are only going to get worse. But that doesn’t make the work itself interesting. Yes, the issues are laid out well, but they are tiresomely predictable. You can admire the attention drawn to things audience members take for granted (a song about sandwiches is a great example), but there’s no relief.

It’s all rather draining – and credit to an amazingly talented cast for not letting it drag them down. The characters are well rounded and the performances strong. Max Alexander-Taylor impresses as a kind of balladeer for the community. Isabella Marshall makes an interestingly flawed leader, while her protégé Piper is a great role for Melinda Orengo. Holly Freeman and Eric Stroud have double roles, swapping from the future setting to our present day with great skill. Everyone sounds great and performs multiple instruments.

Songs connected to the ceremony are the poorest with some deliberately gauche (albeit brave) touches backfiring. But there are good numbers – two after the interval are especially strong – and some inventive touches (such as using a siren as the basis for a number). The score also fits together intelligently. Nothing stands out quite enough, which is a further shame given the creativity clearly present. 

To add to the frustration, Timelapse seems to know you need some hope in a musical. We are shown a sense of community, made to care about the characters and even given a suggestion that life outside the tower block might be possible. Which is a good thing since it looks as if this refuge is about to collapse. But any optimism – and there isn’t a lot – arrives too late. Quite simply, dystopia overwhelms the show.

Until 13 December 2025

www.newdiorama.com

Photo by Alex Brenner

2025

“The Mosinee Project” at the New Diorama Theatre

Writer and director Nikhil Vyas has found a great subject for this new short play. Along with original co-creator and dramaturg Aaron Kilercioglu, he presents an odd slice of history: 1 May 1950, when a small town in Wisconsin was taken over by Communism.

Of course you’re intrigued! And the fact that the event was only staged actually adds to the show’s theatrical potential. Vyas and his team (additional material is credited to Breffni Holahan, Jessica Layde, Jonathan Oldfield, Martha Watson Allpress and Millicent Wong) handle the topic with almost too much restraint. But the facts are fascinating. 

In the midst of McCarthyism, The American League, a veterans organisation, masterminded proceedings to highlight the threat of the “red menace”. Showing us the build-up to the day might be more exciting. Did nobody object? Could plans have got out of hand? But is this fair criticism? The show is presented as a documentary, a little like a lecture, so the painstaking efforts separating verbatim and imagined scenes are important in themselves. There are plenty of addresses to the audience, news photos and recordings as well as video work aimed at suggesting the real-life location. 

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It’s a shame, though, that more isn’t revealed. Especially about the impact of the event. The three strong cast – Camilla Anvar, Jonathan Oldfield, Martha Watson Allpress – all impress, slipping in and out of their roles effortlessly and serving as trustworthy documentarians. But they also take on smaller roles as the town’s residents and this section could have easily been expanded.

The focus becomes an argument about whether the project is just a propaganda piece or something genuinely educational, embodied in a conflict between two of its organisers who, in a bizarre twist, were former Communists themselves. The tension between the two men doesn’t quite come through. And an extra debate about what stories really scare us isn’t elaborated on satisfactorily by Vyas. But for sheer ambition and interest The Mosinee Project is admirable. I didn’t quite learn as much as I wanted, but leaving intrigued and wanting more isn’t a bad outcome.

Until 22 March 2025

www.newdiorama.com

Photo by David Monteith-Hodge

Uncategorised

“King Troll (the Fawn)” at the New Diorama Theatre

Sonali Bhattacharyya adds an ingenious element to her story about immigration. After sisters Nikita and Riya, in danger of deportation, visit an odd family friend, Riya gains the power to create a supernatural creature to help her. Director Milli Bhatia emphasises every spooky and funny moment of this original idea; the Hiran, translated as fawn in English, is the making of the play.

Zainab Hasan and Safiyya Ingar, who play the sisters, are superb at grounding the action, especially given more than a few jump scares. The siblings’ relationship is convincing at the start and both performers are strong comedians. That said, Ayesha Dharker gets even more laughs and has a great night playing two wonderful villains. First Dharker is the witchy Shashi and then a smart landlady who has put up the rent: the question arises as to who scares us more.

There’s fun with the spooky creature too, along with the pointed fact that he is white and serves as a “sponsor” for Riya’s immigration claim. She calls him Jonathan (which really tickled me) and says they need him to be “slick but bland”. But Jonathan is scary too; Dominic Holmes makes the part appropriately creepy, aided by verses spoken off stage. And Ingar makes sure we fear for her character – having a pet psychopath at your beck and call isn’t fun. 

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Diyar Bozkurt and Zainab Hasan

Bhattacharyya wants to make other important points. Nikita works with migrants and their trials – including interviews and working conditions – are articulated through the character of Tahir, given a heartfelt depiction by Diyar Bozkurt. If Tahir seems to belong to a different play, Bhatia makes a virtue of that by emphasising the contrasting scenes. Maybe, with so much going on, adding romance for both sisters might not be needed.

There’s some clunky dialogue (that the location of the play isn’t specified doesn’t help) as well as moralising moments. And too many puzzling questions. It isn’t clear why Jonathan turns out to be right wing (surely his papers aren’t in order either?). Or why Riya becomes so vindictive: if power has corrupted her, that needs prepping. The play starts to buckle under its own ambition with an unnecessary twist set in the future. But King Troll (The Fawn) is entertaining, memorable, and easy to rate as a four-star show.

Until 2 November 2024

www.newdiorama.com

Photos by Helen Murray

Uncategorised

“The Long Run” at the New Diorama Theatre

You are probably going to cry by the end of Katie Arnstein’s play. After all, it’s about her time in the waiting room of Derby Royal Hospital while her mother undergoes chemotherapy. Arnstein sets out the shock of finding out someone you love is ill, and making sure we admire her mum, swiftly. But the surprise is that The Long Run is “a comedy about cancer”. The thrill and the joy of this fantastic show is how laugh-out-loud funny it is.

Arnstein is a good comedian with her quirky look at life and sharp eye on pop culture making strong foundations for plenty of great gags. And she has a great line in insults. But as Arnstein performs her piece, it’s clear the key is her delivery. Keen to point out that she is not the hero of the show, unafraid of making a fool of herself, she gets grumpy with others in the waiting room and acts like a toddler. With just the right amount of self-deprecation, Arnstein has the kind of charm most of us can only dream about – she is adorable and a pleasure to spend time with.

Working with director Bec Martin, the pacing of the show is impressive – there’s no room for self-indulgence in this race against cancer. Time is taken not just for punchlines but also important lessons. You don’t “beat” cancer; you just get time and treatment… if you are fortunate. And if that sounds grim it’s also a brave admission. Could the idea even be liberating? That time in the waiting room wasn’t wasted – it provides real insight.

There’s another surprise waiting as Arnstein has another story to tell. An old man called George is using the waiting room to train as a runner – his squeaky shoes annoy her! An uneasy friendship leads to his tear-jerking story. Again, the focus moves from Arnstein, and Martin does a great job as George’s London marathon is recounted and gets the whole theatre on side. It’s quite something to leave a play about cancer with a smile on your face and a spring in your step. Catch The Long Run while you can.

Until 13 April 2024

www.newdiorama.com

Photo by Ali Wright

2023

“Brenda’s Got a Baby” at the New Diorama Theatre

Jessica Hagan’s new play is easy to enjoy, being a bright comedy focusing on Ama and her wish to have a baby before she is 30. Providing insight and sharp dialogue, all aided by strong performances and appreciative direction from Anastasia Osei-Kuffour, it’s a show to sit back and enjoy.

Ama’s goal to become a mother gets harder as the play goes on. Her sister, Jade, and her mother have opinions…and aren’t scared to share them. These are strong characters, talking sense, if not always at sensitive moments, and make great roles for Jahmila Heath and Michelle Asante, who are both fantastic crowdpleasers. Meanwhile, Jordan Duvigneau does well as the dastardly boyfriend, while Edward Kagutuzi makes as endearing partner for Jade.

Ama is our star, though, and Anita-Joy Uwajeh, who takes this big role, is superb. Her initial contempt for the titular off-stage character, a girl who got pregnant at school, doesn’t endear Ama to us. And it gets worse! As well as being a snob, Ama manipulates and uses the therapy she has had as a tool against others, as she “lies and schemes” with increasing desperation, which becomes more and more fun to watch.  

The question of how much of a success Ama is adds some weight to the play. Many would be jealous of a career woman with a good job who buys her own flat (at 28… in London!). But although Ama has done everything “by the book”, she is judged as a failure because she has no children. Uwajeh handles her character’s frustration, anger and sadness with a light touch that is perfectly pitched.

Hagan wants to up the stakes, and the play gets darker. Important facts about medicine are introduced and Ama becomes ill – “spiralling” – through her desperation for a child. As she gets crazier, so does the action… well, a little. A couple of twists aren’t that much of a shock and the play doesn’t quite know how to bring things to a close. But it’s all still funny and the performances consistently strong. You might miss surprises in this show, but its appeal comes from recognising the characters and the dilemmas. It’s comforting rather than confrontational and, since that is surely the aim, Brenda’s Got a Baby is a job well done.

Until 3 December 2023

www.newdiorama.com

Photo by Cesare De Giglio

2023

“After the Act” at the New Diorama Theatre

We know a musical can be about anything… but the legislation introduced in 1988 to prohibit the promotion of homosexuality in schools? And while verbatim musicals are nothing new, using speeches from parliament and interviews in songs is tough. Thankfully, Breach Theatre, which brings this slightly mad idea to life superbly, knows that crazy can work. After the Act is energetic and emotive. The big surprise comes from making the topic so upbeat and empowering.

There is a lot covered. Key moments in LGBT history are recounted: remember those angry lesbians on the six o’clock news, or angry lesbians abseiling in the House of Lords? Hurrah for angry lesbians! And writers Ellice Stevens and Billy Barrett know it’s smart to present an argument, so supporters of Section 28 are given plenty of time. Their own words condemn them (there’s a lot of offensive language on stage) but, with the exception of Margaret Thatcher’s conference speech, the tone is cool. Offended parents even get the smartest song.

For me, it’s the personal testimony from activists or people who were at school at the time that are best. And extremely powerful. Stevens and Barrett, the latter also directing, structure the material well, with a rhythm of outrage and then the effects of the legislation. Political rhetoric and nasty newspaper headlines contrast with lived experience. And there’s an intelligent approach to the different ages in the audience – the show educates younger members while hitting home for anyone who remembers the time.

Zachary Willis
Ellice Stevens, Tika-Mu’tamir, EM Williams, Zachary Willis

Excellent performances aid this ambitious project. Praise again for Barrett’s clarity in staging, important as the four cast members have to struggle with a lot of tongue’twisting lines and occasionally fussy choreography from Sung Im Her. The performers revel in the variety of roles. The highlights for Tika Mu’tamir and EM Williams come when they play protestors, bringing great sincerity to surprisingly understated performances. Stevens and Zachary Willis take on some of the most contrasting roles. The latter moves from outraged father to bullied schoolboy brilliantly, with forceful commitment and strong humour, too. The quartet is hugely enjoyable.

The show’s score is by Frew. Nobody is going to go away humming the numbers here as the ‘lyrics’ make the songs sometimes tricky to follow. And it is all a little too obviously hard to sing. Combining the songs with speech might be smoother. The score earns respect, though: the music is intelligent, works theatrically and sets the period very well. After all, this is a show about a piece of history… isn’t it?

You’d think the company would have enough to do, setting out and singing about historic homophobia, with the background of the AIDS crisis. The research is fantastic, and the quality and breadth of interviews for the show mean it serves as an important document. But its title is more than alliteration. After the Act looks at the legacy of Section 28, bringing us up to date to address the question of trans rights in schools. The show becomes campaigning in its own right. It’s an appropriate concluding note that important lessons are worth learning.

Until 1 April 2023

www.newdiorama.com

Photos by Alex Brenner

2022

“Project Dictator” at the New Diorama Theatre

It’s not uncommon for a night at the theatre to combine comedy and tragedy. But Rhum + Clay’s new show moves from laughs to trauma particularly well. So well, it makes Project Dictator difficult to write about. This is one of those shows that knowing too much about might spoil. 

Co-directors and performers Julian Spooner and Matt Wells take their audience on a theatrical journey full of smart surprises. Assisted with direction by Hamish MacDougall, and joined onstage by composer and musician Khaled Kurbeh, Project Dictator has lot to say and plenty of ideas. The show is well executed throughout.

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So, what’s going on? We start with a serious play within the play…but performed as a farce. An earnest writer and performer, Jeremy, is an appealing character. There’s the kind of observation – and panegyric to democracy – we expect. Gently mocking, not least artists like themselves, Spooner and Wells show strong comedy skills. A little slapstick goes a long way.

There are more laughs as Jeremy’s single cast member, a supernumerary who finds his voice, takes over. With a power struggle onstage, and calling on the crowd, we get the dictator the title promises. There’s a lot of audience participation here – be prepared to read out loud, dance in your seat and even draw. Jeremy shares my feelings about a fourth wall, and I can’t say I enjoyed all this. But, unlike a lot of audience participation, it is very well done and has a point.

This dictator wants more fun…but very deliberately the show doesn’t become funnier. At what point do you notice a sinister edge? The satire becomes keener, and that participation has an aim – to highlight how easy complicity with a charismatic figure can be.  The tone is more provocative and, had the show ended here, I’d have still been happy.

There’s a final surprise though, where Project Dictator becomes very dark indeed. It turns out what we’ve seen is the performance of comedians who get into trouble with a real regime. Stripped and hooded, after their anarchy, the curtain rises again on a chillingly controlled mime show. Forced to perform, and showing their fear, will a final act of rebellion occur? Now that I won’t reveal.

Until 30 April 2022

www.newdiorama.com

Photos by Cesare De Giglio

2022

“Passion Fruit” at the New Diorama Theatre

Dior Clarke’s semi-autobiographical play is full of affirmation. From the start Clarke tells us his tale is a “self-love story” and characters keep positive in the face of difficult circumstances. The script, written with Stephanie Martin, suffers from self help mantras. But growing up gay on a rough estate, with an abused mother and a brother in trouble, needs determination and bravery – Passion Fruit has plenty of both.

Valid as the project of representation is – bringing new voices to the stage is important – the play isn’t innovative dramatically. The story is simple and much of the subject matter predictable, a lot of it depressingly so. There are no surprises: from a child questioning how men “should” behave, a teenager hiding his sexuality, through to the happy drama school ending. Instead, the show’s strengths come by adding energy to the story.

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Hayden Mampasi, Dior Clarke and Charlotte Gosling

First, there is Clarke himself who brings considerable presence and physicality to the stage. Clarke deals subtly with showing a five year old, a school boy and then a petulant teenager: while the character is loud, the depiction is restrained. There are moments when delivery of the lines might be clearer, and direct addresses to the audience occur too often. But the emotions aroused by his family and community are sincere. Strong comic touches are even better.

Clarke is supported by two tremendous performances. Under the tight direction of Melinda Namdar, Charlotte Gosling and Hayden Mampasi perform all the other roles and don’t put a foot wrong. Mampasi is great as an elder brother, then potential boyfriend, as well as having an excellent comic turn as a grandmother. Gosling’s performance as the mother grounds the play from the start. And she impresses as different love interests, both female and male.

Gosling joins Clarke in two of the show’s strongest moments, intimate scenes where sex is depicted with originality. A clubbing scene is another highlight, as Clarke pole dances and explains the importance of wild nights out (albeit with unbelievable sophistication for a 19 year old). The movement in the piece, directed by Kane Husbands with Mateus Daniel, is interesting throughout – fighting or flirting as well as making love, it is the movement in the show that makes it worth watching.

Until 19 March 2020

www.newdiorama.com

Photos by Cesare Di Giglio

2021

“Deciphering” at the New Diorama Theatre

It’s easy to appreciate that theatre company curious directive’s show is the most technically ambitious staged at this super venue. The New Diorama is tiny and what Zoë Hurwitz’s set achieves is remarkable. Regrettably, for all director Jack Lowe’s efforts at making sure the show actually works, the piece itself achieves little.

Abseiling actors are just the start. With performers above and below a stage full of surprises, as well as projections and headphones to hear the show through, we are taken backwards and forwards through time. The story follows one woman, Elise, at different stages of life and takes us exploring in an Indonesian cave full of prehistoric symbols.

Lowe manages this time travelling well. A clear performance from Stephanie Street anchors the show and there is a particularly challenging role for a child (well done to Asha Sylvestre at the performance I attended). That the personal relations in Elise’s life are slim is a relatively small problem.

What Deciphering does with its ambition – its scope as well as execution – is disappointing. There’s an exploration of creativity and communication (in a classroom as well as a cave). But the thinking is woolly. On top of this, an investigation into time shows us different paths Elise could have taken in life. The ambition to visualize time on stage is impressive. But we end up with Sarita Gabony (our third Elise) dropping down on a rope and asking us what we want to be when we grow up. Identity seems to be all about your job as Elise suggests that instead of being a paleo-archaeologist, different “versions” of herself could be all manner of equally interesting and prestigious professions. Isn’t she lucky.

A very earnest young teacher, which Lewis Mackinnon can do little with but play, well…earnestly, and an irritable academic (great work from Amanda Hadingue) are the professionals who shape Elise’s life. But both characters are forced too close to cliché as they have to help or hinder Elise. There’s a strong sense of wonder when it comes to the symbols in the cave, which I suspect was the inspiration for the show: with Hurwitz’s help, the scene is a highlight. But Deciphering descends into platitudes. The show desperately wants to be profound. Forcing in personal growth for Elise, we conclude with the weak advice that “if you are brave you cannot fail”. I beg to differ.

Until 2 October 2021

www.newdiorama.com

Photo by Alex Brenner

2020

“It’s true, It’s true, It’s True” from Breach Theatre

It is wise to stress the veracity behind this theatrical rendering of art history’s most famous criminal case. If it wasn’t made clear that the events and dialogue come from the actual court in Rome 1612, during the trail of Agostino Tassi for the rape of fellow painter Artemisia Gentileschi, then it would be hard to believe.

Even if the show, originally commissioned by the New Diorama Theatre, has failings, it is a powerful depiction of awful events: a call for justice, showing how in rape cases it is the victim who is interrogated and made to suffer again, and also showing a spirit that proves indomitable.

For most of the play, there are three performers – all excellent and skilfully directed by Billy Barrett – who double as witnesses and lawyers without confusing the action for a moment.

Kathryn Bond delivers brilliantly as family friend Tuzia, a former companion with a sly edge, who is coerced and frightened. Sophie Steer takes the part of the despicable Tassi, full of arrogance and violence, along with mentions of the pope. In the opinion of one of the judges, this artist was “very impressive”.

Understandably, Ellice Stevens steals the show as Artemisia. With remarkable conviction, dismissing countless accusations of a “wild” disposition and promiscuity, the incredible pressure placed upon her is at once moving and infuriating to watch. Confronted by her rapist, she is questioned by him and – literally – tortured: a cleverly staged moment that enforces the event’s particular cruelty.

All this is great stuff, frequently gripping, but the production stumbles when it tries to add more. Artemisia’s discussions of her art works are fascinating, but recreating them as tableaux injects a humour that feels misplaced. Then there is the show’s music, a collection of misjudged genres that interrupt the action and prove distracting. The soundtrack culminates in a punk rock pastiche that includes a fantastical appearance by the biblical Judith, a repeated subject of Artemisia’s art, that’s out of keeping with the show.

This story is important enough not to need surreal additions and the company talented enough to tell events simply. Maybe the baroque touches were felt to be in honour of Gentileschi’s art? Far better are the moments when Artemisia is allowed to speak for herself – moments when Stevens is magnificent. That Artemisia was questioned “so many times” becomes oppressive, an artistic paralleling of the trial experience. Countered by Artemisia’s heart-breaking repetition of the play’s title, the subject is given a voice as powerful as she deserves.

Until 29 April 2020

Available via https://www.newdiorama.com/whats-on/its-true-its-true-its-true  to donate https://paypal.me/itstrueitstrue