Aleks Sierz

London

Contributor at The Arts Desk

Theater Critic at Freelance

New writing for theatre, watching, reviewing, writing, reading, eating, drinking, sleeping...

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Articles

Miss Myrtle’s Garden, Bush Theatre review - flowering talent, but needs weeding

2 weeks ago | theartsdesk.com | Aleks Sierz

The Bush Theatre is becoming a garden centre. Earlier this year, the venue staged Coral Wylie’s Lavender, Hyacinth, Violet, Yew, which featured an abundance of plant life, and now it’s the turn of talented novelist and screenwriter Danny James King, whose Miss Myrtle’s Garden has Wylie aptly listed as its botanical consultant.
The Brightening Air

3 weeks ago | sierz.co.uk | Aleks Sierz

Conor McPherson on writing Blog Quote of the day: “The great thing about the writing process is that it sort of slows your thought down, so day by day, ideas are coming organically and the good ones make sense an… The Veil, National Theatre Reviews Conor McPherson’s latest is an intelligent ghost story that doesn’t quite work Thomas Bernhard on being a writer Blog Quote of the day: “Even though you are exactly what I call the philosophical writer, your philosophy is no real philosophy and...
About Einkvan - Aleks Sierz

1 month ago | sierz.co.uk | Aleks Sierz

Last night I had the rare pleasure of seeing a play by Jon Fosse, the Norwegian Nobel-Prize winner whose work is scarcely ever seen in this country. It is called Einkvan (Everyman), and part of the international programming at the enterprising Coronet Theatre in Notting Hill. Performed in Nynorsk by Det Norske Teatret, under the direction of its head Kjersti Horn, the event is a masterclass in European modernist sensibility.
About Speed - Aleks Sierz

1 month ago | sierz.co.uk | Aleks Sierz

Last week, I finally caught up with Speed, at the Bush. Originally, I was meant to go to the press night, but had to cry off because of illness. I’m really glad I didn’t miss this excellent 80-minute show, written by Mohamed-Zain Dada (whose debut Blue Mist was both funny and thought-provoking) and brilliantly directed by Milli Bhatia.
Personal Values - Aleks Sierz

1 month ago | sierz.co.uk | Aleks Sierz

Favourite stage direction: “Staging: Resist naturalism. Characters can stay on stage the entire time. Costume changes can happen onstage.
Personal Values, Hampstead Theatre review - deep grief that's too brief

2 months ago | theartsdesk.com | Aleks Sierz

“They fuck you up your Mum and Dad; they may not mean to, but they do.” These lines from Philip Larkin’s 1975 poem, “This Be the Verse”, sum up the emotional fuel of many recent plays by young writers. They certainly apply to Personal Values, Chloë Lawrence-Taylor’s debut, which is currently running in the studio at the Hampstead Theatre.
Personal Values, Hampstead Theatre review - deep grief that’s too brief

2 months ago | theartsdesk.com | Aleks Sierz

“They fuck you up your Mum and Dad; they may not mean to, but they do.” These lines from Philip Larkin’s 1975 poem, “This Be the Verse”, sum up the emotional fuel of many recent plays by young writers. They certainly apply to Personal Values, Chloë Lawrence-Taylor’s debut, which is currently running in the studio at the Hampstead Theatre.
Playfight - Aleks Sierz

2 months ago | sierz.co.uk | Aleks Sierz

Favourite stage direction: “An oak tree. It’s centuries old. Seen it all.
Julia Grogan’s Playfight at the Soho Theatre: Superbly Punchy Teen Drama That Electrifies The Senses And Engages The Emotions

2 months ago | thetheatretimes.com | Aleks Sierz

Coming of age stories are more or less all the same. But what distinguishes Julia Grogan’s Playfight, which was first staged at the Edinburgh Festival last year, and is now at London’s Soho Theatre as part of a national tour, is the sheer energy of the story. This is the kind of new writing that roars on stage, kicks over anything in its way, and fizzes and flares with coruscating wit, lurid imagery and — above all — a real sense of pulsing life.
All the Happy Things, Soho Theatre review - deep feelings, but little drama

2 months ago | theartsdesk.com | Aleks Sierz

The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven. Or words to that effect. This quote from Milton’s Paradise Lost seems apt when thinking about the prevalence of mental health issues in current new writing for British stages. Perhaps this subject reflects the long shadow of the pandemic, or our greater sensitivity to such conditions.