BRIGHTER – Shows and Performance in Angel: October 2018
The wonderful arts and cultural venues in the Angel will be hosting a wide range of shows through October. Check out what’s coming up next month including the spine-tingling London Horror Festival at the Old Red Lion Theatre!
OLD RED LION THEATRE – www.oldredliontheatre.co.uk/theatre.html
1 – 6 Oct Hedgehogs & Porcupines
After a successful work in progress performance at The Stockwell Playhouse One Act Festival, Hedgehogs & Porcupines, written by James P Mannion, comes to The Old Red Lion for a limited run. Drawing from Schopenhauer’s famous paradox, the Porcupine (or Hedgehog) Dilemma, Hedgehogs & Porcupines examines the fine line between intimacy and irritation, pleasure and pain, love and hate.
7 Oct – 3 Nov London Horror Festival
Scaring the living daylights out of audiences since its inception in 2011, the London Horror Festival is a celebration of the ghoulish, the thrilling and the downright macabre. The London Horror Festival runs for four weeks from early-October through Halloween to November, offering a multitude of horror performance at exactly the time of year when audiences desire it. The programmes always includes a number of shows which can be considered ‘family friendly’ as well as plenty of hardcore horrors for the more mature crowd. This year sees 33 productions covering horror theatre, comedy and performance art, from psychological spine-chillers to all-out splatter, improvised ghost stories to body horror.
KING’S HEAD THEATRE – www.kingsheadtheatre.com
Until 27 Oct La Traviata
The acclaimed company behind the Olivier Award nominated (‘Best New Opera, 2018’) production of La bohème present a radical reimagining of Verdi’s incendiary tale of sex, class and power, La Traviata. England, 2018. Violetta earns her crust dancing for the rich and powerful at an exclusive gentleman’s club until a chance meeting with naive and idealistic Elijah changes everything. Combining Verdi’s breathtaking music with a new English version from Becca Marriott and Helena Jackson, this is La Traviata exposed, uncovered and redefined for the twenty first century.
1 – 7 Oct Exit Number 8
Lucy has taken the day off and she isn’t going to waste it. No time for quiet. She’s taking back control. But what is Lucy running from and why can’t she return to Exit Number 8? Join Lucy in this comedic solo play, which tells the hilarious and moving story of her plight in confronting her obsession.
8 – 13 Oct (No) Leaves On My Precious Self
The show takes audience through the mind and life of an emerging actor. It explores challenges and every day madness of a career in performing arts. Beautifully moving between physical theatre, musical theatre and spoken word pieces, the show offers a light-hearted but deep and thought-provoking night of entertainment.
15 – 20 Oct How I Became a Dominatrix Using Damned Lies and Statistics
A whip-smart anti-romantic comedy How I Became a Dominatrix comes to the King’s Head Theatre with its original cast after five sold-out nights at the Camden Fringe. Counter culture housewife Christie thinks she’s lost all interest in sex until she finds the internet and discovers… what she really wants is to be a dominatrix! Whether you’re already on the scene or just curious about what really happens in those mysterious clubs, HIBDUBLS helps you work out the knotty details.
22 – 26 Oct Canoe
Fatherhood. A fatal canoe accident. Who are we now we don’t have kids? A couple come face to face with the powerlessness of parenthood. Critically acclaimed CANOE premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018.
ALMEIDA – www.almeida.co.uk
Until 6 Oct Dance Nation
Somewhere in America, a revolution is coming. An army of competitive dancers is ready to take over the world, one routine at a time. Dance Nation is a ferocious exploration of youth, ambition and self-discovery. Winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and The Relentless Award, Clare Barron’s explosive new play Dance Nation makes its UK debut in summer 2018.
15 Oct – 1 Dec The Wild Duck
verb. to duck – 1. a quick lowering of the head (to avoid a blow or so as not to be seen), 2. depart quickly, 3. avoid. noun. wild duck (more commonly known as mallard duck or anas platyrhynchos) – an undomesticated duck. note. Due to its beautiful feathers, the mallard duck is one of the most popular ducks for hunters. When injured or threatened, ducks have been alleged to commit suicide, by diving to the bottom of the water, never returning to the surface.
Almeida Associate Director Robert Icke stages a new version of The Wild Duck, Ibsen’s masterpiece about the nature of truth. The Wild Duck is supported by The Ruddock Foundation for the Arts.
SADLER’S WELLS – www.sadlerswells.com
4 – 6 Oct William Forsythe – A Quiet Evening of Dance
William Forsythe is undoubtedly one of the foremost choreographers of his generation. For this unusual configuration of new and existing work, Forsythe has imagined something akin to an evening of chamber music, designed to be listened to. The works range from sparse analytic condensation to baroque inspired counterpoint. The intricate phrasing of the dancers’ breath is the primary accompaniment for a distillation of the geometric origins of classical ballet. The evening is performed by seven of Forsythe’s most trusted collaborators, who promise to provide insight into the workings of ballet and the mind of the man who has dedicated his work to this task.
11 – 13 Oct Julie Cunningham / Alesandra Seutin / Botis Seva – Reckonings
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the current theatre, Sadler’s Wells commissions three works from a new generation of UK-based dance-makers. Julie Cunningham, whose work is concerned with gender identity, has recently launched their own company after dancing with Merce Cunningham and Michael Clark’s companies. Alesandra Seutin fuses urban dance languages with African styles to explore contemporary issues. While Botis Seva, from collective Far From the Norm, uses foundations of hip hop to create his own physical dance language.This is an exciting celebration of what theatres do best: offer a springboard for distinctive voices who help us see the world in a different light.
19 – 20 Oct China National Peking Opera Company – The Emperor and the Concubine
A rare opportunity to see the China National Peking Opera Company perform in the U.K. This beautiful, love story, a masterpiece championed by the Peking Opera Master Mei Lanfang, showcases the masterful art of Peking Opera with its elegant and enchanting dance, song and music. This production combines the greatest elements of the Peking Opera art form and it is presented at the highest artistic standing of the Mei School by the China National Peking Opera Company.
30 – 31 Oct Birmingham Royal Ballet – Fire and Fury
Journey back to the origins of ballet in The King Dances, and glimpse the kindling of its future when David Bintleyreimagines ballet’s first searing steps, taken by King Louis XIV of France as he danced the role of the sun god. In his new work for the company, Juanjo Arqués draws inspiration from Turner’s The Burning of the House of Lords and Commons in a ballet that looks at contemporary political conflict.
LITTLE ANGEL THEATRE – www.littleangeltheatre.com
Until 11 Nov The Everywhere Bear
This captivating and beautiful story from best-selling author Julia Donaldson and illustrator Rebecca Cobb springs to life with rhyme, original music and delightfully expressive puppets in this fun and exciting stage adaptation.
3 – 7 Oct Five Little Monkeys
The makers of the smash hit Dogs Don’t Do Ballet bring the universally popular song Five Little Monkeys to life. Packed with bold, engaging puppets and music from dub reggae and funky rapping to classical ballet. Join Sue the Zoo Keeper as she struggles to get mischievous Little Monkey to bed and discovers that numbers are all around us. Keep an eye out as unexpected household objects transform into the doctor, warning “NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED!”
5 – 21 Oct The Adventures of Curious Ganz
A scientist is born! From the very beginning our hero Ganz is Curious. He investigates everything. From the caterpillar to the stars Ganz wants to observe and understand it all – is the earth flat or round? The Adventures of Curious Ganz is a fictitious story based on the true life of 16th century copper smelter Joachim Ganz. It is a celebration of the new, the strange, the brave and the curious! Told through design, table-top puppetry, music and a few words, all wildly based on the principles of alchemy.
12 – 14 Oct Apple ‘N’ Spice
Introduce your children to Indian storytelling with Apple ‘n’ Spice, an original interactive and multi-cultural dance performance. This charming new fairy-tale tells the story of two stepmothers: one from the East and one from the West, the plot thickens as their stories entwine. Created by professional classical dancer Krishna Zivraj-Nair and featuring virtuosic dance performers, the show combines contemporary and classical Indian dance with original music and shadow puppetry. Join the cast on stage for an Indian party to remember.
20 – 21 Oct Pheonix and Turtle
Turtle is a homebody. Never left the pet shop. Rarely out of her shell. She prefers to take things slow. Everyday is the same: wake late, crawl a bit, swim a bit, eat, sleep and repeat. Enter Phoenix. Wild, fiery, a thousand years young. You can’t keep her in a cage for long. Will such opposites fight – or catch alight? A story of friendship and freedom, inspired by the poem by William Shakespeare.
25 – 28 Oct Hey Diddle Diddle
Ever wondered how a cow jumped over the moon? Or why the dish ran away with the spoon? With original songs played live on stage, brilliant puppetry and lots of laughter, this new show is a wild and musical celebration about the importance of imagination. Goblin are an acclaimed theatre company who make shows for young people and families.
