Latest news with #BushTheatre
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Miss Myrtle's Garden review – immersion into a mindscape of sharp quips and memory slips
In Danny James King's Miss Myrtle's Garden, life and death coexist. Acid-tongued Myrtle spends her days in her overgrown yard with her husband, Melrose, grandson, Rudy, and Rudy's 'close friend' Jason. But around the patch of grass, memories seep into the present through ghosts and flickering flashes, in a jumble of certainty and doubt. That's because, at 82, Myrtle has begun to lose her grip on reality. Taio Lawson's inaugural production as the Bush theatre's incoming artistic director is a full immersion into this disorienting, fragile mindscape. One moment, a scene unfolds as a naturalistic conversation; the next, the auditorium is plunged into pitch darkness, pierced by an eerie, rumbling soundscape. It's a striking way for Lawson to make a creative entrance; but with so much happening onstage, the production tips into becoming overblown and chaotic. At its centre is a tour-de-force performance by Diveen Henry as Miss Myrtle. Her sardonic put-downs ('being difficult is better than being easy') paint her as a pillar of blunt-force resilience. Her sharp quips are crisply drawn, showing King's gift for writing rich comedy. But as the scenes roll forward, it becomes heartbreakingly clear that Myrtle's memory is faltering and she needs help. Rudy faces a complicated future: what to do with Myrtle, and how to extract the information she guards about his dead father before time runs out. But Rudy also is keeping a secret of his own: Jason is actually his partner. Shame about who he is presses heavily on Rudy's shoulders. Their chemistry, wonderfully encapsulated by the gentle, side-glancing performances of Michael Ahomka-Lindsay as Rudy and Elander Moore as Jason, is left to play out in the shadows. When both men move into Myrtle's house, the weight of their unspoken love only deepens. Designer Khadija Raza builds a neat circle of grass, decorated with real flowers and soil for the action to play out on. Here, Rudy battles Myrtle for shards of the past while willing her not to vanish into the depths of dementia. Even as the script meanders, their relationship is charged with unspoken pain, sure to pull at your heartstrings. At Bush theatre until 12 July
Time Out
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Millennium Girls
Photo: Brixton House Sophia Leonie's debut play is an all-female '90s coming-of-age drama with a banging UK garage soundtrack. It's directed by Jade Lewis, whose presence bodes well as she did the honours on the truly excellent all-female coming-of-age drama Sleepova at the Bush Theatre a couple of years back. Mon, 12 May 2025 Tue, 13 May 2025 Wed, 14 May 2025 Thu, 15 May 2025 Fri, 16 May 2025 Sat, 17 May 2025 Mon, 19 May 2025 Tue, 20 May 2025 Wed, 21 May 2025 Wed, 21 May 2025 Show more By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. 🙌 Awesome, you're subscribed! Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon! Discover Time Out original video
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tributes paid to city's 'maverick' theatre founder
Playwright John Godber has led tributes to "formidable force" Mike Bradwell, a theatre director and actor, who has died at the age of 77. Bradwell founded the Hull Truck Theatre company in a squat in Coltman Street in 1971. It went on to earn national acclaim. His death on Monday morning was confirmed by the theatre. Godber, who served as artistic director of Hull Truck from 1983 until 2010, described his predecessor as a "maverick and a disruptor" who would be "sorely missed". Godber said: "Mike was central to me coming to Hull and, in that sense, changed my life. He invited me to apply and run Truck after he left and that was a significant turning point. "He was a genuinely nice guy and very funny. One of the things that he said to me was make a nuisance of yourself, which I think is a great thing for theatre companies to pin their philosophy to. "He'll be sadly missed." Bradwell was born in Scunthorpe in 1948 and trained as an actor at the East 15 Acting School in east London. In 1971, Bradwell placed an advert in Time Out magazine which read, "Half-formed theatre company seeks other half" as he looked to link up with other aspiring artists. The result was Hull Truck Theatre and, over the following 11 years, Bradwell and the company toured the UK performing children's shows, plays and experimental theatre. In a joint statement, Mark Babych and Janthi Mills-Ward, chief executives of Hull Truck Theatre, described Bradwell as "passionate, funny and brave" and said his "uncompromising artistry revolutionised British theatre by putting the stories and voices of real people centre stage". They added: "His legacy is felt across our industry and nowhere more so than here in Hull." Between 1996 and 2007, Bradwell served as the artistic director of the Bush Theatre in Shepherd's Bush, London. In a statement, released on social media, the Bush Theatre said it was "deeply saddened" by Bradwell's passing and said he had left an "indelible mark" on the venue. Bradwell was also an award-winning writer. His book on alternative theatre, The Reluctant Escapologist, won the Society for Theatre Research's Theatre Book Prize in 2010. Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Theatre founder returns 30 years on New play explores theatre company origins Hull Truck Theatre
BBC News
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Hull Truck Theatre founder Mike Bradwell dies at 77
Playwright John Godber has led tributes to "formidable force" Mike Bradwell, a theatre director and actor, who has died at the age of founded the Hull Truck Theatre company in a squat in Coltman Street in 1971. It went on to earn national death on Monday morning was confirmed by the who served as artistic director of Hull Truck from 1983 until 2010, described his predecessor as a "maverick and a disruptor" who would be "sorely missed". Godber said: "Mike was central to me coming to Hull and, in that sense, changed my life. He invited me to apply and run Truck after he left and that was a significant turning point. "He was a genuinely nice guy and very funny. One of the things that he said to me was make a nuisance of yourself, which I think is a great thing for theatre companies to pin their philosophy to."He'll be sadly missed." Bradwell was born in Scunthorpe in 1948 and trained as an actor at the East 15 Acting School in east 1971, Bradwell placed an advert in Time Out magazine which read, "Half-formed theatre company seeks other half" as he looked to link up with other aspiring result was Hull Truck Theatre and, over the following 11 years, Bradwell and the company toured the UK performing children's shows, plays and experimental a joint statement, Mark Babych and Janthi Mills-Ward, chief executives of Hull Truck Theatre, described Bradwell as "passionate, funny and brave" and said his "uncompromising artistry revolutionised British theatre by putting the stories and voices of real people centre stage".They added: "His legacy is felt across our industry and nowhere more so than here in Hull." Between 1996 and 2007, Bradwell served as the artistic director of the Bush Theatre in Shepherd's Bush, a statement, released on social media, the Bush Theatre said it was "deeply saddened" by Bradwell's passing and said he had left an "indelible mark" on the was also an award-winning writer. His book on alternative theatre, The Reluctant Escapologist, won the Society for Theatre Research's Theatre Book Prize in 2010. Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
The Guardian
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
New play about impact of dementia on Black Britons can start ‘conversation'
Part of the creative team behind a new play about the impact of dementia on a Black British family hope it can provoke a conversation about the disease, which disproportionately affects Black Britons. Miss Myrtle's Garden is part of Lynette Linton's final season at the Bush Theatre in London, and the artistic director said the 'beautiful and heart-wrenching' production was an important opportunity to discuss the havoc dementia causes. A report released in 2022 found that Black people had a 22% higher incidence of dementia recorded than white people in the UK. The play will be directed by Linton's successor Taio Lawson and is written by Danny James King. 'Dementia, particularly in the Black community and in the Caribbean community, is a conversation that we need to talk about more,' Linton said. 'It's affecting so many people … let's talk about it now and let's give people the support they need.' Linton's final season will also feature Superwoman Schema, which stars Golda Rosheuvel and Letitia Wright as two women struggling to come to terms with the death of their family's matriarch. It's about 'what that brings out for them and their relationship as they go on this journey to to work out what her death means,' Linton said. Several of the plays in Linton's final season focus on older characters and those in middle age. As well as Superwoman Schema and Miss Myrtle's Garden, Sweetmeats looks at forbidden love between two middle-aged South Asian characters. Linton recently directed Alterations at the National Theatre, which was a revival of a play by Michael Abbensetts, the ground-breaking British-Guyanese playwright who became established in the 1970s. She said there wasn't a conscious effort to include stories about older people in the season, but she did feel more stories that revolve around middle-aged Black and Asian leads need to be created. 'What's so beautiful about Sweetmeats is it's a love story between these two elders: how often do we see a love story between characters of a certain age? 'I think that's happened because there's something about us honouring our elders at this point as well. I feel very passionate about that. I've always felt passionate about that, but Alterations has really opened that up for me.' Other plays in Linton's final season including After Sunday, which is set in a cooking class that takes place in a prison psychiatric unit; Heart Wall, Kit Withington's play about the challenges of returning home as an adult, and House of Jenin, written and performed by Alaa Shehada. Linton is taking a break after she finishes at the Bush in two weeks before returning to direct Superwoman Schema. She has been a vocal advocate for creating a more diverse theatre landscape in the UK and for 'disrupting' the established canon with new work and rediscovered pieces that go beyond the likes of Ibsen, Pinter and Miller. She said: 'It was about really looking at the canon and making a decision to tell specifically British and Irish stories with a specific focus on Black and Asian voices, so that we could go: 'Look, we are here, and our stories are deserved to be in the West End.'' Her six-year run as artistic director alongside associate director Daniel Bailey who is also leaving, has seen more than 50 plays performed that were written by British and Irish playwrights, with a particular focus on writers of colour. During the pair's tenure they won four consecutive Olivier awards for productions and earned West End runs for original work, including Red Pitch and Shifters. They also founded the Bush Young Company during the Covid lockdown, and produced Lenny Henry's debut play, August in England. Did Linton have any advice for new boss Lawson? 'Follow your instincts … and remember the people that are around you are the heartbeat of that building,' she said.
