A Room With Review

Review: My Dead Mum's AI Boyfriend at the Burton Taylor Studio Sali Adams ' new one-person play, My Dead Mum's AI Boyfriend , is probably the show I've anticipated more eagerly than anything else I've seen in OUDS. Having toured 113 with her, I've had some exclusive insights into the development of this show (which Adams herself wrote, stars in, and has co-directed alongside Aman Arya ; produced through her and Alex Rawnsley 's Interrobang Productions ). When we were in Wales together in December, Adams was finalising the script; in Leeds last month, they were painstakingly arranging the show's many sound cues. In the interim, I even got to read the script: as soon as I'd finished it, I was desperate to see it performed live. Adams' topical new play follows Carrie (Adams), a young teacher mourning the recent death of her reserved mother, who is tasked with taking her mum's secret AI companion, Aled ( Billy Morton ), on a road-trip to scatter ...

Production Diary: Othello at the Hen and Chickens Theatre Wednesday 7th January: The First Rehearsal Some months ago, the Oxford Repertory Company (a very active amateur rep group of mainly recent Oxford graduates) announced that they were putting on Othello, and setting it in the milieu of the British ska revival and countercultural skinhead movement of the late 70s and early 80s. I happen to be a big fan of ska (I had only recently seen The Beat and Madness, the latter for the fourth of  fifth time), and for this I have to thank my father and his obsessive love for Two-Tone. "I could do that," I think, "Dad will like it." After all, I haven't had the chance to perform with Ox Rep yet (I had planned to be in their production of Brideshead Revisited over summer, but it was unfortunately cancelled), although I've seen their productions and know many people who have enjoyed being involved with them. I throw my hat in the ring.  Iago is taken, I am told (...

Review: Company at the Oxford Playhouse What is there left for me to say about Joshua Robey and Fennec Fox Productions ' stunning rendition of George Furth and Stephen Sondheim's Company ? The show has already been praised effusively by an array of reviews, and my understanding of musical theatre is by no means extensive. To make my own contribution, it may suffice to give a few brief personal thoughts. Known as one of the seminal 'Concept Musicals', Company is less concerned with a linear plot than it is with exploring themes of love, marriage, loneliness, and growing up through the experiences of popular newly-35-year-old 70's bachelor Bobby ( Aaron Gelkoff ). His attention is constantly pursued by 5 couples of close friends (each with their own unique stories for Bobby to uncover), 3 romantic partners (introduced by a gloriously camp number,  You Could Drive a Person Crazy ), and questions about whether he is ready to get married and move on in his life.  I w...

Production Diary: Cold-Reading for Greyjoy at the Michael Pilch Studio Saturday 31st January: Going in Head-First The incredibly talented Rebecca Harper, whom I first encountered as the producer of our 2024  Macbeth  but have since seen perform in Your Funeral (an all-round creative force), has now written a play, Greyjoy , that's being put on at the Pilch by her and Tom Onslow's Blackstar Productions (like the Bowie album). Part of the play involves cold-readers, who know nothing about the plot ahead of time, but are given a script as they go onstage, and have to perform it aloud as they read it for the first time. Thinking this sounded like a fun idea, and a good way to dip my toe back into OUDS without rehearsals, I volunteered to be one of these cold-readers.  When I arrive at the Pilch on Saturday evening, I am greeted by Tom and the rest of the play's friendly cast and crew (though Rebecca sadly cannot make it). There are five of us cold-readers, and each of us is...

Review:  Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons at the Burton Taylor Studio I first read Sam Steiner's  Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons when I was around 16, and was lucky enough to see it in a brilliant production at the Harold Pinter Theatre with Jenna Coleman and Aidan Turner in 2023. I've previously found it difficult to fully enjoy student productions of plays I had already seen great professional renditions of, but I try to keep an open mind as I sit down for Lighthouse Productions ' version, directed by Alys Young and Ivana Clapperton . This episodic play tells the story of the relationship between lawyer Bernadette ( Caeli Colgan ) and musician-turned-activist Oliver ( Kit Rush ) as they wrestle with the implementation of an authoritarian new law that limits citizens to speaking only 140 words per day. "Romantic two-hander with a conceptual twist" is a very popular genre at Edinburgh Fringe (which Lemons played for three consecutive years), and groups Lem...

Production Diary:  113  at the Interplay Theatre, Leeds Friday 23rd January: The Final Show So, after almost a year of rehearsals and productions, we are finishing off our tour of 113  with one night at the Interplay Theatre in Leeds, our 7th venue. It's incredibly sad to be ending this journey, but exciting to have one last hurrah in a city that's totally new to me.  Isobel Glover, Sali Adams, and I take a direct train from Oxford at around 11am, which will get us into the city for the early afternoon. Mercifully, we've foregone additional rehearsals for this final production, so Isobel and I run lines on the journey (our usual tradition, which must make us seem like total nutters to everyone around us). It's nice to be reminded of how permanently ingrained every step of the show is in our brains, and we look forward to having as much fun as possible tonight. Sali is busied with editing sound cues for her upcoming play ( My Dead Mum's AI Boyfriend, BT Studio 3rd-7t...