As the National Theatre production of Hotel drew to a close the audience sat ramrod still. The stage was littered with fake blood, furniture was strewn all over the shop and smoke billowed out of a fake fire. Polly Stenham’s new 80-minute play is so startling and thought provoking that once the actors had departed the stage I stayed in my seat for ten more minutes, chatting to the woman sitting ...keep reading
Michaela Coel. Remember that name because she’s heading for great things. I was lucky enough to see her solo play Chewing Gum Dreams at London’s National Theatre last week and haven’t stopped talking about it since. Written and performed by Coel, the 45-minute show covers everything from friendship and school to sex, periods and emergency contraception – all seen through the eyes of a 14-year-old girl. Coel plays Tracey Gordon, ...keep reading
January has always been my least favourite month. It’s freezing cold, alcohol-free (I’ve been doing Dry January since my Evening Standard days) and there are countless Christmas bills dropping through the letterbox. So in amongst chasing deadlines and picking fallen branches from the garden I decided to take 24 hours off and escape to London. The trip was just the ticket. I managed to book a discounted room at The Hoxton (when ...keep reading
Emil and the Detectives was one of my favourite childhood books. Erich Kastner’s story of young Emil Tischbein and his journey from his humdrum German hometown to the seething metropolis of 1920s Berlin captured my imagination from the start. So when the National Theatre announced that it had chosen the tale as its Christmas production this year I booked tickets straight away, even though it was the height of summer ...keep reading