Joanna Brookes Archives

Emily Panes as Sorel, Issy van Randwyck as Judith Bliss and William Pennington as Simon. (Photo: Andreas Lambis)

REVIEW: Hay Fever, Mill at Sonning (2023)

Post author:Lizzie Loveridge
Post published:31 March 2023
Post category:Outside London Play Review
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Coward’s play is partly farce and part comedy of bad behaviour as the Bliss family pay more attention to each others’ needs than their guests

Shannon Hayes as Princess Sarah and Donna Berlin as Aggie - Photo: Ellie Kurttz

REVIEW: The Gift, Theatre Royal Stratford East (2020)

Post author:Lizzie Loveridge
Post published:30 January 2020
Post category:Black History Off West End Play Review
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Janice Okoh's play The Gift for Eclipse, a Black Theatre company which fosters and supports black artists in the North of England, is a comedy of manners and a satire on race relations over two centuries. Based on Queen Victoria's black goddaughter Sarah Bonetta Davies who was gifted to the queen after she recognised the 5 year old's intelligence, the play is constructed around three tea parties.