Under Three Moons: models for male friendship

“I bet when they get older they’re going to look back on tonight and say, that was a night that was, by that fire, that was a night.” Spanning half a lifetime, Daniel Kanaber’s new play Under Three Moons takes place on three nights across three decades of two friends’ lives. Through the lense of a friendship through multiple comings of age, this succinct fringe script explores how men relate to each other today. From a school trip to France as teenagers, to a surf shack in their twenties, to Christmas in their thirties, Mike and Paul meet up and talk into the night. From boyhood to manhood to fatherhood, these are the nights they share. Continue reading

Malory Towers: Grade A Girl Power

Where to begin? The present: to a mixture of current and nineties pop songs, this year’s bad guys assemble outside the Head Teacher’s office in a British secondary school. Quickly, character traits and dynamics are established before a pair of girls fighting over a diary sends one into unconsciousness, starting off this adaptation of Malory Towers with an Oz-like dream framework. Continue reading

Driving Miss Daisy: quiet power

With a cast of three, Suzann McLean’s Driving Miss Daisy is a short and sweet snapshot of a friendship spanning 25 years and a historical commentary spanning much further. Based on the 1989 film, 72-year-old Daisy Werthan (Paula Wilcox) is horrified when her son Boolie (Cory English) suggests she needs a chauffeur after she crashes her car, yet again. When Boolie finds African-American Hoke Colburn, (Maurey Richards) an instantly kind-hearted and funny character, the scene seems set for a warm family-friendly comedy about an unlikely friendship. Continue reading

The Remains of the Day: Save it for a rainy day

This week saw York Theatre Royal hosting the stage adaptation of The Remains of the Day, based on the award-winning novel by Kazuo Ishiguro and perhaps better known for the 1993 Merchant Ivory film starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. A tough gig, perhaps especially considering that adaptations should appeal both to the ardent fan and the uninitiated. Continue reading

Sea Storm in a Teacup: Kindness on land and sea

A lonely child who thinks she isn’t capable of making friends, an audacious first-time hot air balloon pilot and a demanding mermaid desperate to get back home, yet scared of what she’ll find… Continue reading