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Exeunt Magazine@exeuntmagazine.bsky.social · 2y ago

Exciting times: Exeunt and The Crush Bar have teamed up in a joint post today, with @fergusmorgan.bsky.social chatting to Brian Logan and Caitlin Skinner To celebrate, not only is this piece FREE, but we’re both offering a flash sale of 20% OFF. For the next 48hrs, it's just £4/month to subscribe!

And Love's Labour Lost (More or Less) - which was definitely less Shakespeare, more Venga Boys... Three stars: not totally my bag, this, but a brilliant cast really sell it and it's a fun and funny night out

Love’s Labour’s Lost review — is this Shakespeare or a Nineties club comedy?

Goofy performances save this Ibiza-set take on the Bard, but why does a Shakespearean replica theatre seem to trust the playwright so little?

thetimes.com

Plus a couple of recent reviews: four stars for The House Party from me - Headlong and Frantic Assembly's update of Miss Julie

The House Party review — this Strindberg update crackles with energy

Laura Lomas’s contemporary take on Miss Julie is a zesty tangle of desire and resentment, brilliantly acted

thetimes.com

I, too, have written something about Meghan Markle. And trad wives. Oh yes! Although wrote this before the show aired, so it's less fine-grain, detail-heavy Meghan mockery, and more general "oh, the lies capitalism sells us about how about to a woman!!"

With Love, Meghan and the unstoppable rise of the 'domestic goddess'

From Martha Stewart to Meghan: Why there's no stopping the TV celebrity homemaker – and why "we're in a retro domestic goddess moment".

bbc.co.uk

So pleased to publish this ace piece - feels like the sort of thing Exeunt can host that wouldn’t get space anywhere else Lora has written a thoughtful essay on being an migrant and being an artist - but it’s also a creative response, featuring its own instructions for an imaginary performance… 🔥🔥

Exeunt Magazine@exeuntmagazine.bsky.social · 2y ago

"How much do we change when we move to a new country? What do we embrace, resist, leave behind?" Lora Krasteva made a show about applying for citizenship and if it's possible to 'become' British. Here, she expands her scope - asking what it costs to be a migrant within the British theatre industry?

Put on my most orange clothes and took my very orange paperback - half set in Sheffield- on a tour of other orange things around Sheffield! 🍊

It’s… PAPERBACK PUBLICATION daaaay! Excited that my slimmer, cheaper, but still very orange, book is now out in the world…

Great to see @waterstones.bsky.social doing a sweet deal on pre-orders - 25% off upcoming books! And that just about includes The Start of Something which is out in paperback THIS THURSDAY... meaning with the discount it's a mere £7.50 (giant elbows not included)

The Start of Something by Holly Williams | Waterstones

Buy The Start of Something by Holly Williams from Waterstones today! Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.

waterstones.com

Well I think this is the first time I’ve been in a bomb scare at a theatre… tonight’s production of Mary and the Hyenas at Hull Truck evacuated, seemingly because of a ‘suspicious package’ in a neighbouring shopping centre www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Bomb squad called to 'suspicious package' found in Hull

People are advised to avoid the area around St Stephen's Shopping Centre until further notice.

bbc.co.uk

It was a real pleasure to get to chat properly with @chrisbushwrites.bsky.social about her new play Otherland - eight years in the making, and both an unusually personal play for her, and also a typically expansive, theatrical one… exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/i-wasnt-in...

'I wasn’t interested in writing just a trans play - Otherland is about womanhood'

Chris Bush talks about her own experience as a trans woman for the first time - and explains why her new show is actually so much bigger than that

exeuntmagazine.substack.com

Delighted to actually get commissioned to write about one of my minor grumbles about Sheffield… why does no one dress up here?? Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy walking boots in the pub as much as the next Peak District fan, but I also miss a sense of sartorial flourish…

Sheffield Tribune@sheffieldtribune.bsky.social · 2y ago

The perfect Saturday morning read doesn’t exist…yes it does! Why is Sheffield so un-glam by @hollywilliams.bsky.social 👠 www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/mirror-mirro...

Belated sharing of my interview with Billy Nomates and Maureen Lennon about a new show on Mary Wollstonecraft - this was a fun one!

Exeunt Magazine@exeuntmagazine.bsky.social · 2y ago

How do you put Mary Wollstonecraft - the 'mother of feminism', and also of Mary Shelley - on stage? With songs by Billy Nomates! @hollywilliams.bsky.social discusses Wollstonecraft's radical legacy, sexism in the music industry, and being sick of the term Strong Woman

Belated repost for Friday's Exeunt piece, I'm chatting once more about my love for Sheffield but also how different reviewing work here can feel...

Exeunt Magazine@exeuntmagazine.bsky.social · 2y ago

From the pleasures of feeling part of a community to awkward conversations and hostile glares after a lukewarm review… @fergusmorgan.bsky.social, @traceysinclair.bsky.social, Frank Peschier and @hollywilliams.bsky.social on what it’s like to be a critic within a small theatre scene

Had a frankly headspinning 48 hours of viewing over the weekend: the Strictly Live Show to Revenge: After the Levoyah to Calamity Jane to The Employees... variety is the spice etc Strictly was predictably slick, glittery entertainment:

Strictly Come Dancing Live! review — a glitzy victory lap for the TV show

The 2024 winner Chris McCausland may not be part of the live stage tour, but the runners up revisited their routines with infectious glee at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham

thetimes.com

So happy to have Rosemary Waugh doing this occasional series for us, going in deep in a kind of career retrospective exploring a designer’s work, their aesthetic, their collaborators, their development…

Exeunt Magazine@exeuntmagazine.bsky.social · 2y ago

In the first of a new series on designers, Rosemary Waugh looks at the work of Soutra Gilmour, frequent collaborator with directors like Jamie Lloyd and Yaël Farber, instrumental in constructing their striking aesthetics and the lasting impact of their productions. For paid subscribers - read now!

Mariupol Drama review — actors from a bombed theatre tell their story. This felt an odd thing to ‘review’ really… terribly moving, and important to hear

Mariupol Drama review — actors from a bombed theatre tell their story

The cast of this show performed at HOME in Manchester relive the horror of being besieged by the Russian army. It’s spare, direct and moving

thetimes.com

Love reading, don’t love expensive heavy hardbacks…? My novel THE START OF SOMETHING is now on kindle for a mere 99p! www.amazon.co.uk/Start-Someth...

Accents can be a last bastion of realism on stage. Why is that - and is it finally changing? @hollywilliams.bsky.social looks at what ditching accents might mean for cultural specificity, class assumptions, and releasing classic texts... But what do you think? Accents: 'In' or 'Out'?

Is it time to ditch accents on stage?

An argument with myself about default realism, cultural specificity, and class assumptions

exeuntmagazine.substack.com

They can certainly be tricky but I do think in-the-round theatres are some of my favourites - the New Vic, Royal Exchange, and Orange tree are all gorgeous…

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 2y ago

All for one and one for all! The joint joys of in-the-round theatre

Belatedly sharing this because I was too busy watching Hadestown, drinking fizz, and celebrating being another year older on the day we published it… Fun and helpful and more-varied-than-your-average theatre in 2025 recs, I reckon 🙂

Exeunt Magazine@exeuntmagazine.bsky.social · 2y ago

It's our last piece of 2024: Exeunt writers' initial round of recommendations for 2025! From the new new to transfers to Summerhall survivors, and an ode to the glorious, undersung Maureen Beattie, who can be seen in a Caryl Churchill double bill at @rxtheatre.bsky.social Feb - March! HNY, all.

Alexander Cohen writes about the perils of turning press nights into dates nights, and the search for that elusive spark - both on the stage and off

Why am I so single? Because I’m a theatre critic

The problem with turning press nights into date nights

open.substack.com

Merry Christmas, Chanukah sameach, and a great big festive THANK YOU to everyone who has supported Exeunt’s return this winter From @hollywilliams.bsky.social, and a bear bauble gifted in honour of our Exeunt mascot 🤶🐻

Thank you, and merry Christmas

A brief seasonal appreciation post

open.substack.com

Always nice to get to suggest a bunch of stuff for these - this year, some of my faves that I got to write about included Till the Stars Come Down, Kenrex, The Buddha of Suburbia, A Doll’s House…

The Stage@thestage.co.uk · 2y ago

From remarkable debut plays to fresh spins on classics, bold new musicals to breathtaking opera and dance, 2024 was a year of extraordinary theatre. As the curtain falls on another season, here are our critics' top 50 shows of the year 👇 www.thestage.co.uk/features/the...

Loved the book, the tape, and now the play - a Christmas treat to get to think and talk and write about Ballet Shoes!

Exeunt Magazine@exeuntmagazine.bsky.social · 2y ago

Why has a 1936 children's book about going on the stage proved so enduringly beloved? Three generations of Ballet Shoes fans and theatre critics - Susannah Clapp, @hollywilliams.bsky.social and @izlew.bsky.social - excavate their memories and ask if the NT's new production can live up to them

In today's free-for-everyone piece, Natasha Tripney explores endurance theatre, with an international bent: treadmills, heart monitors, running on the spot. How do you take care of yourself while performing these feats night after night? What's all this strain for? How does it feel to watch it?

Gonna make you sweat

Torn muscles, personal bests, and strategic toilet trips: inside the breathless world of endurance theatre

exeuntmagazine.substack.com

In today's piece, @hollyomahony.bsky.social explores why so many British theatres have been silent on the conflict - and attends a workshop on how to talk about Palestine ‘in a way that’s meaningful and not defensive’

We need to talk about theatre’s silence on Palestine

Is it sensitivity, or censorship, that’s behind the lack of response on British stages?

open.substack.com

Although while I do have some bravery, I am also sometimes a small worm who is scared of being shouted at on the internet so let’s see

“Independent journalism feeds the conversation like flour feeds a sourdough starter” Great to see Exeunt getting a shout out in this piece!

The Stage@thestage.co.uk · 2y ago

Could the rise of Bluesky kick-start a revival for online theatre debate?, asks @lyngardnertheatre.bsky.social 👇 www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/coul...

Been working on this for a wee while, and I hope it feels balanced. We all know theatres are broke and trying to do a lot with v v little, and reading can also be career-boosting and deeply rewarding - but can all that justify the dismally low fees? I'm not sure...

Exeunt Magazine@exeuntmagazine.bsky.social · 2y ago

Do you read me? In our latest free-to-all piece, editor Holly Williams (@hollywilliams.bsky.social) investigates the working conditions of script readers. An unseen but critical part of the theatre industry, why are these freelancers often working for less than minimum wage? And why do it at all?

"Once, I was convinced so last minute for a Snobs Wednesday (the student night), that I rolled out of bed and got straight in a taxi in my pyjamas." Love this piece by @anyaryan.bsky.social on the institution that is SNOBS!!

When was Snobs’ golden age?

The beloved, and somewhat infamous, Birmingham club is on its third location since 1972. Is Snobs still the unofficial jewel in the Brum nightlife crown?

birminghamdispatch.co.uk