ROOTLESS ISLAND BABY (Nottingham Playhouse)****

 

By Cal

Link: https://nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk/events/rootless-island-baby-on-demand

Available until: Friday 28^th May

It’s very easy to blame the social workers.

From my own experience of the care system and adoption, and from experiences of people I know who have been let down by social workers, it is clear that their work is not always of an acceptable standard. There are the ones who promise everything you need and then don’t deliver it – it’s hard to describe that feeling of believing someone is finally listening to you and has finally seen you as a person and not just another case file, only for this feeling to be snatched away when they claim the conversation you clearly remember didn’t happen.

THE HELPLINE (Coronavirus Theatre Club)***

  

By Dave

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdYJpVM3Grg

Available until: Unknown

I can’t say what makes The Helpline a clever monologue because that would give the whole game away. But take it from me, it’s clever.

A man is calling what seems to be some sort of sex line. His wife doesn’t know. He’s even got a new phone so it won’t show up on the phone bill. There’s a girl working there called Roxy and he really likes her a lot. No other girl will do. He’s getting desperate now. It seems almost like an obsession.

THE RED SHOES (New Adventures/Sadler’s Wells/iPlayer)****

 

By Imogen

Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000qry2 

Available until: 16^th May 2021

Sir Matthew Bourne is one of the greatest ballet choreographers and directors alive today. He has adapted many well-known stories, some ballet some not, like The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Carmen (as The Car Man) and most famously of all Swan Lake to give them a more modern twist and greater relevance to the 21^st century.

AMONG THE FLOWERS (Royal Opera)**

 

By Cal

Link: https://www.instagram.com/tv/COSUCT2jw0X 

Available until: 30^th May 2021

It is important for opera companies to try to reach out to new audiences. While there are young people like me and some of my siblings who genuinely enjoy opera and have even, in some cases, either sung arias or even appeared in an opera, young opera fans do seem to be few and far between.

THE NEIGHBOURS (Penny Dreadfuls from the Moth Sanctuary)****

 

By Dave

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DTO8eDMYf8 

Available until: Unknown

The Neighbours is the third in Moth Sanctuary Productions’ series of Penny Dreadfuls, a set of spooky short stories written by Andrew Bate and Chloe Gorman. This is the first in the set that’s written by Chloe.

If you thought your neighbours were bad, they might seem quite human after you listen to this story.

THE WEIR (Irish Repertory Theatre/Stream Theatre)****

 

By Cal

Link: https://www.stream.theatre/season/101 

Available until: 9^th May on demand

The Weir is the latest in the series of plays made available on Stream Theatre by the Irish Repertory Company – and it’s another really great production. Conor McPherson isn’t as big a name as Samuel Beckett or Eugene O’Neill, but he’s still a great playwright and arguably a more accessible one.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (Roundabout Theatre Company/LA Theatre Works/Theater Mania)*****

 

By Louise

Link: https://www.theatermania.stream/products/the-importance-of-being-earnest

Available until: Unknown

The Importance of Being Earnest is one of my very favourite plays and this production is perfect. If you enjoyed the recent modern production at the Lawrence Batley Theatre and you would like to see the play it was based on, or if you already love the play and would like to see it again, you might really enjoy this performance. (You could also watch SupportBritish’s production on YouTube. We haven’t watched it yet as we were a bit scared Roundabout Theatre Company’s production might be taken down before we could see it, but SupportBritish’s plays are always of a really high standard and the actors are so lovely and I am really looking forward to watching their Importance of Being Earnest in the future.)