I have been a bit MIA recently due to being slightly poorly, exhausted and just plain busy! But in the mean time, I still found time to get my arse out of my house and to the place I love the most. The theatre. So here is a quick round up of some fantastic shows I’ve seen lately.

Glue @ the Ovalhouse*

Glue is the first show in the Autumn season at the Ovalhouse, a theatre just across the road from the Oval cricket ground. Glue is a wonderful one woman show by Louise Wallwein whose play is an account of her life story so far.  But the show’s main focus on Louise meeting her birth mother for the first time, after being raised by nuns. For someone who enjoys watching stand up comedy, Glue is my first one woman show that tells a story that isn’t intended to make people laugh, but I still found myself chuckling at times. Louise manages to detail a beautiful narrative about what the meaning of family is and I found myself really enjoying the show.

Unfortunately, Glue had a very short run at the Ovalhouse but I recommend following Louise on Twitter to keep up to date with what she is up to next. She said at the end of the performance that Glue has been adapted into a radio play for BBC Radio 4 which you can listen to here.

NYT presents Jekyll and Hyde @ the Ambassador Theatre* 

The National Youth Theatre have kicked off their West End residency at the Ambassador Theatre with Evan Placey’s radical reimagining of Jekyll and Hyde. Based on the novella by Robert Louis Stevenson, Evan Placey has embraced the classic world of Victorian London and creates a parallel of the treatment of women back then to today’s society in a digital age. The cast is filled with future theatre stars of tomorrow, they all looked completely at home on stage so no doubt we will be seeing them back on stage soon. But I do highly, highly recommend seeing Jekyll and Hyde.

For more information please visit http://www.nyt.org.uk/whats-on/jekyll-and-hyde

Labour of Love @ Noel Coward Theatre.

Labour of Love is a fascinating play by James Graham centered around David Lyons, an MP who is about to lose his constituency seat. The play then spans 27 years and shows how the Labour party has changed as well as David’s relationship with his constituency agent Jean within the 27 years. The cast is led by Martin Freeman and Tamsin Greig, who were spectacular casting choices. Sarah Lancashire was originally attached to play Jean but pulled out due to medical reasons. And it’s very lucky Tamsin Greig came to the rescue because she, without a doubt, steals the entire show. If I hadn’t known Sarah was attached in the first place, I could’ve sworn the role was written for Tamsin. James Graham has written a fantastic play that has the classic outlandish humour us Brits are known for (even if at one point, it becomes a little bit slapstick.) No doubt, this play will be a smash hit sell out of the season so get your tickets while you still can.

For more information please visit https://labouroflovetheplay.co.uk/

Let me know if you’ve seen anything good or bad on stage lately.

Until next time,

*Shows marked with an * were shows I received tickets for this production through the production’s press representative and all opinions stated here are my own.