John Obrien

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Oedipus at Wyndham’s Theatre | Review

Oct 17, 2024 | lastminutetheatretickets.com | John OBrien |John Obrien

Stunning, shocking, spellbinding – this retelling of the Oedipus myth by Robert Icke has must-see written all over it. With two of our best actors Mark Strong (his portrayal of Oedipus is magisterial) and Lesley Manville (her Jocasta is superbly realised) on stage together the show has a head start. But it’s so much more than that. Robert Icke is the writer and director. He is, as it were, the controlling mind. And in him, we are in safe hands.
Fiddler on the Roof - Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

Aug 7, 2024 | lastminutetheatretickets.com | John OBrien |John Obrien

Exhilarating, effervescent and enthralling doesn’t even come close to describing my feelings on watching Jordan Fein’s revival of this musical classic in its sixtieth anniversary year. First off there’s no roof at the Open Air Theatre. This works to put us the audience in a position of vulnerability. It’s as if we could become homeless or not have a roof over our heads. Or maybe lose our homes at a moment’s notice.
The Glass Menagerie at the Rose Theatre Kingston

Apr 19, 2024 | londontheatre1.com | John OBrien |John Obrien

How will we destroy ourselves? A Third World War with nuclear weapons? a climate apocalypse? a global plaque that makes the black death of 1342 look like a minor event? or an AI reverse takeover by supercomputers? Whichever it is to be, no one had a better image of the precarious nature of our precious blue planet than Tennessee Williams: The Glass Menagerie. He saw both humans and animals as tiny fragile glass figurines living precariously on this planet.
Maybe Dick by John Hewer at the White Bear Theatre

Mar 21, 2024 | londontheatre1.com | John OBrien |John Obrien

Maybe Dick a pun on Moby Dick gives a clue to the comic creativity, originality and sheer fun that the highly talented John Hewer brings to all his work. Having seen his hilarious impersonation of Tommy Cooper I had a hunch that this show would be worth seeing and I was right. It is very very good. I mean laugh out loud good. As in the Tommy Cooper show he uses props and puns, double entendre and running gags to create ninety minutes of highly entertaining, enjoyable and exhilarating live theatre.
The Lonely Londoners at Jermyn Street Theatre | Review

Mar 6, 2024 | londontheatre1.com | John OBrien |John Obrien

The compact intimacy of the studio theatre in Beau Brummell’s fashionable Jermyn Street makes for a poignant setting for The Lonely Londoners. Sam Selvon’s iconic novel written in 1956 is a piece about the crabbed, confined, and claustrophobic lives lived by those much mythologised Windrush migrants in 1950s London. The novel was a breakthrough moment in post-war writing from a black Caribbean perspective.
Cable Street at Southwark Playhouse | Review

Feb 27, 2024 | londontheatre1.com | John OBrien |John Obrien

To mark the 88th anniversary of the battle of Cable Street,- the 4th October 1936 when a march through the Jewish East End by The British Union of Fascists was blocked by an alliance encompassing the Jewish community, Irish dockers, and Communists – we have not one but two theatrical offerings.
Look Behind You by Daniel Wain at the Tabard Theatre

Jan 18, 2024 | londontheatre1.com | John OBrien |John Obrien

Dick Whittington gets the Noises Off treatment in Daniel Wains’ terrific comedy Look Behind You. A confluence of comedy, satire and sadness, Look Behind You lifts the lid on the Panto season and in doing so lays bear the grim realities of the theatrical life. This play could only be written by someone with a lifetime’s experience of theatre who simultaneously dedicates his life to it but feels trapped by its impossible demands.
Rock 'n' Roll by Tim Stoppard at Hampstead Theatre

Dec 13, 2023 | londontheatre1.com | John OBrien |John Obrien

Punters beware this is not a play about Rock ‘n’ Roll. I wouldn’t want anyone to go see it thinking it’s going to be like a Glastonbury Festival. It’s actually about Philosophy, Politics and Pop. The Rock ‘n’ Roll of the title refers to the music that features as an analogy to the play’s main theme which is the debate about the meaning of freedom. The play is about liberalism versus communism. Rock ‘n’ Roll is a hook on which to illustrate this debate.
Rock 'n' Roll by Tom Stoppard at Hampstead Theatre

Dec 13, 2023 | londontheatre1.com | John OBrien |John Obrien

Punters beware this is not a play about Rock ‘n’ Roll. I wouldn’t want anyone to go see it thinking it’s going to be like a Glastonbury Festival. It’s actually about Philosophy, Politics and Pop. The Rock ‘n’ Roll of the title refers to the music that features as an analogy to the play’s main theme which is the debate about the meaning of freedom. The play is about liberalism versus communism. Rock ‘n’ Roll is a hook on which to illustrate this debate.
She Stoops to Conquer at The Orange Tree Theatre | Review

Nov 23, 2023 | londontheatre1.com | John OBrien |John Obrien

I first read She Stoops to Conquer in 1986 whilst studying English Literature at Birkbeck. It has only taken me 38 years to see it performed, but it was worth the wait because this production is outstanding. It boasts a very strong lineup. All nine actors are very accomplished from the mature experienced pros like Greta Scacchi and David Horovitch to the younger talent like Freddie Fox and Tanya Reynolds.