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37 guide 12-18 Aug 2017 theatre

dance

Knives in Hens London

A modern Scottish classic gets a
revival at the Donmar this week.
Knives in Hens was the debut
play by David Harrower that was
intended as a quick radio drama.
It ended up being rejected by
the BBC and then taken up by
Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre,
and was, says the author,
responsible for him finding his
voice. Set in a village in pre-

industrial times, it focuses on a

ploughman and his wife living

a spartan existence. When she

has to take grain to the more

educated local miller, a whole

new world is opened up to her

by the simple act of learning

to write her name in pen and

ink. It potentially sets her free

from constraints of geography,

religion, local tradition and

male domination – and creates

a love triangle. It’s described as

a thriller and Harrower’s piece –

written in stark, poetic language

• is haunting, claustrophobic and
  unsettling. Since its premiere in
  1995 it has been performed in
  around 30 countries; this new
  production stars Christian Cooke,
  Judith Roddy and Matt Ryan
  and is directed by Yaël Farber,
  whose recent work includes
  Salomé at the National Theatre
  and The Crucible at London’s
  Old Vic. Mark Cook
  Donmar Warehouse, WC2, Thu
  to 7 Oct

Against London

Ben Whishaw, Bond movie

regular and star of such TV

shows as Criminal Justice and

London Spy, plays an aerospace

billionaire in Against, a new

play by US writer Christopher

Shinn. Whishaw’s character sets

out to change the world and

starts to believe he is

communing with the

Big Man up there.

In Against, Shinn,

who penned Now

Or Later and the

divisive Teddy

Ferrara, questions

whether the skies

are a place ripe for

exploration and

space travel or,

in fact, the home

of God. MC

Almeida Theatre,

N1, Sat to 30 Sep

Opening this week

out to change the world a

starts to believe h

communing with

Big Man up the

In Against, Sh

who penned

Or Later and

divisive Tedd

Ferrara, que

whether the

are a place r

exploration

space trave

in fact, the

of God. MC

Almeida T

N1, Sat to

1

Yo, Carmen

María Pagés and her

eight dancers unwrap the

history and iconography

of Carmen, the heroine of

Bizet’s opera and often

presented as the classic

embodiment of potent

female sexuality.

The Edinburgh Playhouse,

Sat & Sun

2

Blak Whyte Gray

Visionary hip-hop

dance-theatre from Boy

Blue Entertainment

(pictured), which raises

its game to a new level

by exploring images of

freedom in a complex

and turbulent world.

Royal Lyceum Theatre,

Edinburgh, Wed to

19 Aug

3 

Company Wayne

McGregor: +/– Human

McGregor’s dancers are

joined by members of the

Royal Ballet in this fusion

of live dance, music and

art installation, which

meditates on what we

defi ne as human nature.

Roundhouse, NW1, to

28 Aug

Judith Mackrell

Three of

the best

The Stepmother
Chichester

Githa Sowerby, a neglected but
not terribly prolific 20th-century
playwright, is best known for
her 1912 drama Rutherford and
Son, centring on a captain of
industry and his oppression of
his children. It was initially a
success, then disappeared, only
coming to light again in the 1980s.
Meanwhile, her 1924 play The
Stepmother didn’t get its UK
professional premiere until four
years ago at the Orange Tree
in Richmond upon Thames.
Here, Richard Eyre directs
the piece, which concerns
women’s rights, money
and matrimony, and stars
Ophelia Lovibond (pictured)
as an orphan who marries
into a well-off family. MC
Chichester Festival Theatre:
Minerva, to 9 Sep