To translate a 1500 page 17th Century tome on the philosophy and physical manifestations of depression and other mental maladies into engaging theatrical form is a quixotic endeavour, even exhibiting signs of madness itself. Theatrical innovators Stan’s Cafe make no concession to the density or erudition of the original. However, their edit cleverly converts Robert […]

For many Reading residents ‘Jacksons’ is a word synonymous with the town centre. Founded in 1875, the retail store is still independently owned and run by the family who established it. Moreover, it is run in accordance with some of the same intentions and approaches that crafted its identity a century and a half ago. […]

Frankland, Cooper and Otero’s Don Quijote offers an exhilarating and thought provoking adaptation of the seminal 17th Century novel. Audiences at Reading’s SITELINES festival were invited to pull up a cushion on the floor of an office in the town centre to watch the show. Sitting amidst six installation/performance spaces arranged around the office, we […]

Presenting between four and six pieces every night for the three weeks of the GOlive Dance and Performance Festival, Donald Hutera (dance critic for The Times) does not do things by halves. Personally introducing each artist and seating each audience member in the sixty-capacity space, Hutera’s belief in and support for his artists couldn’t help […]

In the first scene of Ciphers a nervous but determined Justine interviews for a job as an intelligence officer. Her interviewer, Sunita, is calm with a touch of dismissive. A large white paper screen passes across the stage in front of the pair, who are seated side-on to the audience across a white table. When […]