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New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
Henry Hitchings's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Deborah Bruce.
Cast: William Purefoy, Fergal McElherron, Penny Downie, Philip Cumbus, Ian Redford, Diveen Henry, Ukweli Roach, Tom Stuart, Andrew Vincent, Rawiri Paratene, Holly Atkins, Penny Layden, Jack Farthing, Paul McGann, Graham Vick, James Lailey
Description: Shakespeare's Globe Theatre performs Frank McGuinness's fairy tale adaptation of Euripides's epic tale.
Trains: Tube: London Bridge/Mansion House/Southwark/St Paul's 
, Tube / Bus: 11, 15, 17, 23, 26, 45, 63, 76, 100 
Phone: 0207401 9919
Website: www.shakespeares-globe.org
Email: info@shakespearesglobe.com
Extra info: Pub, Food
Trojan work: Paul McGann as Menelaus and Penny Downie as Helen have fun with Frank McGuiness’s version of Euripides
Euripides is usually thought of as a tragedian, a luxuriant ironist and a poet of the passions. Yet his Helen is a comic fantasia — albeit imbued with a sharp note of social criticism.
Traditionally Helen herself is “the face that launched a thousand ships”. But Euripides naughtily suggests that, instead of experiencing the carnage of the Trojan War, she sat it out in the sultry obscurity of Egypt.
The beauteous woman stolen by Paris was, we learn, a phantom image. Meanwhile, the real Helen has spent 17 years in chaste exile, pining for her husband Menelaus. Now, after his ship is blown off course, they can be reunited.
The play is a love story but also a humorous frolic with darker cadences (Shakespeare’s late romances are a useful point of comparison).
Crucially, too, it has topical bite: “We fought the Trojan War over nothing,” says a minor character, reminding us of the futility of some of our own recent conflicts.
Yet while parts of Frank McGuinness’s new version are handsomely lyrical, its poetic archaisms sit oddly alongside geezerish talk of “kip”, “a mug’s game”, “carry-on”, “utter tosh” and not having “a pot to piss in”.
There are shonky lines to boot: “The gods are changeable as a child’s arse” may get a laugh but it means nothing. The idea is to enable Euripides to speak to a modern audience: the result is bumpy.
Still, the actors have fun with it. As Helen, Penny Downie moves nicely from conspiratorial allure to flailing eroticism, and Paul McGann’s Menelaus has an engaging directness. The chorus proves endearingly Pythonesque, while a shoeless countertenor in a tux lends a touch of finesse.
Deborah Bruce’s direction has verve but there are too many ideas competing for space. Gideon Davey’s set — a puzzling mix of graveyard, dungheap and tinseled cabaret — is typical of a production that affords real pleasure yet seems confused about its main intent.
Until 23 August (020 7401 9919)
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
