REVIEW: Enron, Royal Court (2009)

Enron is about the creative accounting adopted by the Texan energy giant to disguise their losses and debts that gives creativity a bad name. The bubble burst and down tumbled two giants, Enron and accountants Arthur Andersen, as well as many Enron employees who lost not only their jobs but all their capital after using it to purchase the company's shares.So how do we turn the tedium of financial balance sheets and stock market registers into living theatre? With innovative skill, that's how!

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Read more about the article REVIEW: Othello, Rose Theatre, Kingston (2009)
Conrad Nelson as Iago and Lenny Henry as Othello (Photo: Nobby Clark)

REVIEW: Othello, Rose Theatre, Kingston (2009)

Over the past fifteen years, Northern Broadsides have quietly carved out an impressive reputation for earthy, grounded productions which feature clarity, energy and very often Northern accents. Their approach is not only no nonsense, but also forbids frippery, clutter and theatrical snobbery. It was therefore quite surprising that they chose a celebrity comedian, who had never acted on stage before and whose opinion of the bard was largely a leftover of schoolboy antipathy, to tackle one of Shakespeare's great tragic heroes. However, unconstrained by thoughts of elitism, they elected Lenny Henry, the well-loved and self-styled "Jamaican from Dudley" to metamorphose himself into the Moor of Venice.

Continue ReadingREVIEW: Othello, Rose Theatre, Kingston (2009)
Read more about the article REVIEW: The Brothers Size, Young Vic (2008)
Tunji Kasim as Ochoosi - Photo: Donald Cooper

REVIEW: The Brothers Size, Young Vic (2008)

The Brothers Size is a magical play that will stay with you long after seeing it performed. This mythical quality comes not only from Tarell Alvin McCraney's lyrical writing but from the magnificent haunting production given to us by director Bijan Sheibani. I had paid to see The Brothers Size at the Young Vic last year, too late to review in the dying days of the run, and was blown away by the actors Nathaniel Martello-White and Nyasha Hatendi. From the moment when white chalk and string is used to delineate the perfect circle playing area and some red chalk is crumbled onto the black floor as a powder to be smudged like drawings of bursting fire works, I was enthralled by the rhythm of the words and the grace of the movement.

Continue ReadingREVIEW: The Brothers Size, Young Vic (2008)