Opinion: By cancelling Andrea Dunbar’s play, the Royal Court has silenced an urgent female voice

Published in The Stage on December 15, 2017

The Royal Court deserves a long and loud round of applause for the way it has responded to revelations about sexual harassment in the theatre industry. Vicky Featherstone has led the way, with bold initiatives and bold decision-making. Continue reading “Opinion: By cancelling Andrea Dunbar’s play, the Royal Court has silenced an urgent female voice”

Alistair McDowall: the pioneering young playwright on setting a play on Pluto

Published in The Independent on Sunday on March 20, 2016

Last year, there was one word on every in-the-know theatregoer’s lips: Pomona. Alistair McDowall’s dystopian drama, which imagined the horrors lurking beneath an abandoned strip of land in the centre of Manchester, was treacle-black and wickedly funny, with a twisting, non-linear chronology that was correspondingly nightmarish. Continue reading “Alistair McDowall: the pioneering young playwright on setting a play on Pluto”

Stars of Escaped Alone on Caryl Churchill’s new play

Published in The Independent on Sunday on January 24, 2016

A new Caryl Churchill play is always big news – and this winter, we’ve been treated to two. Following her short but scalpel-sharp play Here We Go at the National Theatre, we have Escaped Alone at the Royal Court. Not much is known about it, except that it centres on four women drinking tea in a garden and discussing “catastrophes”. And that those four women are played by four brilliant British actresses, doyennes of the stage and screen, whose combined acting experience stretches to more than 170 years. Continue reading “Stars of Escaped Alone on Caryl Churchill’s new play”

Lee Hall and Vicky Featherstone on bringing riotous schoolgirls to the stage

Published in The Independent on Sunday on August 9, 2015

Playwright Lee Hall is best known for Billy Elliot, the inspirational, heart-warming film and musical about a boy who wants to be a ballet dancer and who overcomes the odds to achieve his dream. Now, Hall has turned his attention to the story of a Scottish Catholic schoolgirl choir, travelling to Edinburgh to compete in a singing competition. Hankies at the ready for the big emotional numbers, right? Continue reading “Lee Hall and Vicky Featherstone on bringing riotous schoolgirls to the stage”