22 September 2016. Dr Faustus at the Barbican

This struck me most of all as extremely theatrical and an amazing feat of acting. I was enticed to go by the reviews and can see why they concluded so positively on this production. The evening starts with the allocation of the roles of Faustus and Mephistophilis decided by the two actors striking matches and seeing whose exstinguishes first. This evening it was Oliver Ryan who played Faustus and Sandy Grierson his alter ego.
The production runs for under two hours with no interval and takes us through the essentials of the story of Faustus but in a most lively and exaggerated way. We start with Faustus on stage with piles of books, all of which he finds wanting. He moves to etching a pentagram on the floor and this opens the gate to the ensuing encounters with the devil world. Of particular notes were the deadly sins of pride, covetousness etc as well as gluttony played by an actor with an enormous michelin-man costume. We finish up with Faustus encountering Helen of Troy before being abandoned to his solitude.

8 September 2016. Torn at the Royal Court.

I did not really get on with this play at the time but have warmer feelings of it on reflection. Essentially, it told the story of a family with a secret. Nine members of the family are gathered to sort this out for once and for all, at the behest of Angel. She claims her stepfather abused her. There are a host of dialogues one on top of the other, all quite realistic when looked back upon. However, at the time, I found it all a bit of a muddle and hard to follow who was who and what was going on. I came away not particularly satisfied and even now, I'm not sure what the point of it was. OK. it conveyed this story but I'm not sure that it did nay more than that. It did not, for example, make me think about the nature of abuse - apart perhaps for the fact that it is difficult to be believed because different members of a family for their different reasons prefer to collude in ignorance. This is not a new idea and one that I feel could have been better explored - but maybe I missed the point. Certainly the reviews were quite favourable.

7 September 2016. Burning Doors at Soho Theatre

This production by the Belarus Free Theatre included Maria Alyokhina of Pussy Riot and presented a powerful impression to the privileged audience of what oppression meant and felt like. The three prison doors confronted the audience and were used for the performers to gain access to the stage. The performance itself was extremely well choreographed and very physical, giving a feeling of struggle and fight and conveying the attempts by the regime to humiliate - particularly by physical examination.
At one stage, the performers came out of role and gave the audience a chance to ask Maria a few questions. This did not seem to quite work as well as the rest. At the end, the audience were given postcards to send to Oleg Sentsov, an imprisoned Ukrainian filmmaker. Alongside Maria and Petr Pavlensky, he was the third of the trio of artists focused upon during the evening with their stories being told graphically and memorably. Not surprisingly, the piece got excellent reviews.

6 September 2016. The Emperor at the Young Vic

This was a fascinating evening - fascinating in both the story that it told and the rendition by Kathryn Hunter. Based on the Polish journalist Ruszard Kapuscinski's interviews of the aged staff Haile Selassie, the evening brought to life the nature and the decline of the Ethiopian emperor's rule.
Kathryn Hunter slipped between the different characters by a simple adjustment of stance or dress (e.g., adding epaulets). It was a remarkable performance, supported by Temesgen Zeleke who played music to start with but gradually came out as one of the protesting students who took on the Emperor's regime.
The downfall and loss of touch of the Emperor was well portrayed,as was the loyalty of staff who unfortunately shielded him from the truth having been inculcated with the primacy of obedience.
All in all an excellent evening and one that was a surprise. as I knew nothing really about the play apart from the publicity. It rightly, in my view, got good reviews.