There’s a scene just before the interval of this harrowing, sometimes hilarious always illuminating play about conflict in the Congo which sums us just how complex the situation looks from a liberal western perspective.
A girl has been raped at gun point by rebel soldiers who have also forced her father to take part. A not uncommon experience in a country whose rebel fighters regularly use rape as a weapon. She lies shivering under a blanket and a waster aid worker urges a hysterical western observer to control her emotions and to only speak in a whisper.
If you enjoy a knotty intellectual work out from an evening in the theatre then you can be very excited by the announcement that the Menier Chocolate Factory will be reviving TRAVESTIES by Tom Stoppard. Previous Menier productions have ended up in the West End and on Broadway and the calibre of those involved in this revival suggest this latest show will do the same.
A big problem faced by TV celebrities is how to make best use of their fame when the on screen work dries up.
The dysfunctional family drama has long been an important part of the American theatrical canon. Classics such as A LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, THE GLASS MENAGERIE and DEATH OF A SALESMAN have all managed to illuminate specific family dynamics while at the same time revealing the dark side of the American Dream.
Big Shot won the “Spirit of the festival” award at the San Diego International Fringe Festival last year. We follow the story of Jeremy Crocker, a successful defense lawyer in New York City. Crocker falls in love with Carrie, an Irish artist who works in Crocker’s usual coffee stop. As they spend more time with each other there is a revelation that Carrie is very closely related to Croker’s new defence case.