David Mamet’s Race
The UK premiere of David Mamet’s Race at Hampstead Theatre is compelling, funny, and shocking. The design is…
Author Tom Garton
The Trial at Shoreditch Town Hall
“I am in a garage in Hoxton on a Tuesday night. On the walls I can see my name scrawled in white chalk alongside other names which have been crossed out. A mound of burnt-out matches lies on the floor, and cowering next to my feet is a bedraggled man shining a torch in his face.”
The Rookery
“Everywhere in the Capital, everyone is grabbing for their bit of the pie. Whether it’s mediocre no-hopers petulantly clinging to the armrest in the tube, or unjustifiably self-important fat cats creaming off bonuses in the City. It is universally acknowledged that no one wants to share.”
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari
“Simple8’s theatrical adaptation of Caligari is a wonderfully innovative homage to the film. They employ “Poor Theatre” to tell the story, a theatrical style characterised by its absence of elaborate stagecraft.”
From Steak Pie to Spaghetti Bolognese: Italian UNESCO
“It’s a cold December afternoon and I’m having lunch with my friend and fellow Arbuturian Mark O’Brien in a gloomy antique inn on the Isle of Wight…” Tom Garton embarks on an culinary tour of Italy’s UNESCO district.
The Hampshire Hog
The Hampshire Hog. The name resonates with Englishness. You feel like it should be said by some portly, ancient chap wearing a cravat and a smoking cap as he reminisces about misspent student days in ‘The Hog’.
Cabaret: An Endangered Sub-Culture
Tom Garton, face twitching suggestively from an ocular injury, meets Kabarettist Sigi Zimmerschied in Passau, Bavaria, to investigate the political shyness and culture shift that are putting classic cabaret under threat.
Don’t Mention the War!
German humour; an oxymoron or a misunderstanding of language and culture? Tom Garton discovers that perhaps the Germans do have a sense of humour after all. No really, they do…