Theatre review: Speed

I wouldn't entirely put it past producers to try and put a bus that will blow up if it slows below 50 mph on stage, but until someone with more money than sense has that particular fever dream this Speed is something a bit different: Mohamed-Zain Dada's play is set in the basement of a Holiday Inn outside Birmingham, where three dangerous drivers who can't afford any more points on their licences have come for a speed awareness course. But if there's something odd about course leader Abz (Nikesh Patel) it goes a bit beyond his jittery enthusiasm. And if the participants feel like they've been racially profiled when they look around, they wouldn't be entirely wrong either: In a session the DVLA would probably have some notes about, Abz is actually piloting his own scheme aimed at dealing with anger issues among South Asian drivers.

Theatre review: The Duchess of Malfi

This blog is now so old (and I'm so old) that theatres are celebrating milestones that I've previously reviewed here. The Swanamaker is marking its tenth anniversary with a new production of The Duchess of Malfi, the play that launched the venue. John Webster's infamous love of all things gory, twisted and morbid makes for a play I largely enjoy for how its extremes tip it into (possibly unintentional but honestly who knows) comic hysteria by the second half, but Rachel Bagshaw's production actually manages to find a genuine character piece in there as well. The Duchess (Francesca Mills) has been widowed very young and left with a life of luxury ruling her court: She promises her brothers she has no intention of ever marrying again. But this is a distraction technique to stop anyone trying to find a suitable second husband for her.

Theatre review: Antigone

The Open Air Theatre's set designers seem to have gone for a thematic progression over the 2022 season: For Legally Blonde the set was pink, for 101 Dalmatians it was made up of the characters in the show's title; so for the concluding production, Leslie Travers gives us the title of the show... in pink letters. The name Antigone is spelt out in graffiti-like letters that form a skate park, as Inua Ellams' adaptation of Sophocles is not just a modern-dress one but essentially a complete reworking of the myth. So we open at a London youth centre where Antigone (Zainab Hasan) volunteers, alongside sister Ismene (Shazia Nicholls) and brother Polyneices (Nadeem Islam.) Their oldest brother Eteocles (Abe Jarman) has recently joined the police, and after an introduction that sets up the siblings' contrasting personalities we skip forward a few years during which Polyneices disappears. It turns out he's gone to Syria where he's been radicalised; when he returns as part of a terrorist attack, both he and his brother end up dead on opposite sides of the conflict.