#56 See four shows at the west end; The Nether

A few moths ago I went to see the Nether with a friend.

It turns out writing about something you love is incredibly hard, however, simply put, the Nether is everything I will ever want from a play.

The story itself is incredibly dark, and by now if you've heard of the play you'll probably know why. With such a dark subject matter form the off start (it involves children), I felt completely unsettled and incredibly close to standing up and leaving. The whole subject unnerved me to the core, but perhaps because of that the whole story becomes so pertinent and I really cared for it in every single moment of the play.

The real star though is the production, which follows the example of the engrossing and inventive storyline, and combines traditional staging with futuristic digital projections which merge seamlessly with the crisp staging of dollhouse Americana, poplar trees and the most brilliant use of mirrored walls. The whole effect is otherworldly and a perfect example of when out digital minds entrenched in our cinematic references and cues, actually manage to mould all of this into something new and spectacular.

I enjoyed the speculative nature of the play and I really hope to see something else by the playwright. It really was the best play I've ever seen.

#57 Watch 3 Plays

Having become a member of Secret Theatre's mailing list was perhaps one of the smartest things I did last year. After receiving an email about their latest production, a mysterious, modern tale about the life of an artist, I grabbed a friend and headed off to east London, with a terrible mixture of fear and pure excitement.

Similar to secret cinema, Secret Theatre holds events in london whereby the customer is told only a few specific details about the show, what to wear and where to find it. In this case we were invited to the gallery opening of Dominic Datchio in East London, which was located by the canal inside what we found was a pretty nice bar with a gallery beside. We were also told to dress for a gallery opening.

Apart from English literature, I have little knowledge of theatre and the nuances of acting, something I've found other members of the audience can be very vocal about at these events. However, I personally found it to be incredibly enjoyable and as far as I could tell inventive. I liked the immersive nature but never felt overexposed (something that had caused the fear). Afterwards we sat in the bar reflecting on the performance, which had ended quite dramatically and sadly, and found ourselves slowly surrounded by the cast who happily mingled in with the crowds. It was completely the opposite to a big formal production, making it an even better experience. 

Finally, sat by the bar drinking our whiskey and cokes, we were greeted by a woman holding a brown envelope. "Take this", she said. Inside were directions to an after party, "tell no-one".