395 posts
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Post by lichtie on Apr 4, 2022 10:21:33 GMT
Say Yes to Tess - Leeds Playhouse (going on to Camden, starting tomorrow). Be warned that when Tess Seddon says at the start that she can't sing, she does mean it... Fortunately apart from a quick couple of numbers right at the end she doesn't try. The rest of the cast do the lifting musically. This isn't a musical - it's a play with frequent musical interludes. Actually it's more of an extended sketch than a play as well. Having said that, this is done with great heart, and a lot of warmth and some innovative uses of polling booths. It's pitched at just the right length. Almost full house down in the rock void, and generous applause all round at the end. Certainly worth the 14 quid for a ticket in Leeds (and I even got nobbled for the audience participation bit near the start).
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Post by Dave B on Apr 25, 2022 8:25:35 GMT
The Straw Chair - Finborough.
Another excellent afternoon at the Finborough - there is something really nice about Sunday matinees.
1735 on the St Kilda islands, the young Isabel is sent with her new husband who is appointed minister. There she finds her way with the Scots Gaelic speaking locals and meets Lady Rachel who has been abducted and confined to the island. Lovely staging, just four actors all of whom are great. You can feel the isolation and the oppression and the need to stand up for yourself no matter what throughout.
Just slightly under 2h15m and runs till mid-May or so.
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Post by Dave B on Apr 29, 2022 13:44:35 GMT
Wolf Cub - Hampstead Downstairs
One woman monologue with a really strong performance by Clare Latham. Southern gothic, Latin America, Magic realism and many of the events pulled from an eclectic collection of headlines in the 80/90s. Iran-Contra, Rodney King, LA earthquake.
Story of a young girl who is beaten by her dad, goes on to become a part of a drug cartel and do some strong and sudden violence - oh and she thinks she is a wolf (she might actually be a wolf).
Enjoyed this a lot, lovely space which always looks so different.
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Post by Dave B on May 10, 2022 11:31:47 GMT
The End Of The Night - Park Theatre
A true story when at the end of WW2 Norbert Masur from the World Jewish Congress travels to Berlin to meet Himmler. A story of amazing bravery which falls very flat because it goes for accuracy and so we listen to Himmler spout a lot of nonsense and Masur can’t say much. Turns out what is what happened. Felt like an adaption could have made this really something but otherwise flat and tension-less.
House of Ife - Bush Theatre
Reasonably standard family drama but with a sharp script and some amazing performances. I think you might see the kids in this go on to do extremely well. Seen some offers floating around for this, very much worth it just for performances.
Superstition Mountain - Greenwich Theatre
Comedy about three Cornish brothers who take to Arizona to search for a lost gold mine. I would say light and funny but it turns out to not be so light while remaining quite funny. Been on tour for a while and still touring for the rest of the month so a clear chemistry between the cast of three brings a nice little zing to this.
two Palestinians go dogging - Upstairs Royal Court
Dropped 30 minutes from Sunday to Monday to bring it to 2h.45. Doesn't feel long (other than heat and uncomfortable seats) and cast are very strong. The staging is ... mixed, it varies between being really great and then falling back on using mics and mic stands (it was originally set for just before Covid which is when mics started to be very in). There are some odd moments like where the entire audience is assumed to be English and comments about colonialism spread pretty wide. It's kind of a mess really with a lot thrown out with varying degrees of success. Still in previews so might tighten up. I enjoyed it, it was an experience but ... yes a mess.
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3,589 posts
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Post by showgirl on May 14, 2022 4:37:15 GMT
The End Of The Night - Park Theatre
I know reviews have been mixed but this was absoulutely my sort of thing: talking heads, yes, but telling a riveting, important and apparently little-known story and very well done. My midweek matinee was very well attended and audience members seemed very engaged and focused on the unfolding story.
House Of Ife - Bush Theatre
Reviews for this one were uniformly 4- or even 5-star, so I thought I was in for something really special and impressive but what a let-down! I can't believe I was seeing the same production as those who raved about it. I sat through a good hour of teens/young siblings bickering and dialogue seeming consist mainly of "bro/bruv" "swear down" and talk of "ends", which might be authentic and contemporary but doesn't advance the plot or indeed tell a story at all. And the recent "Red Pitch" at the same venue managed to use the same type of language yet still to tell an engaging tale of convincing characters about whom I cared. Even when the mother, ie an older person, appeared, things didn't improve and I didn't wait for the father, heard by phone only at that point, to join the happy gathering; I slunk out during a scene change as there was no interval. So maybe I missed out on what would have transmogrified into a masterpiece had I waited, but from what I saw there was no indication that it would and I wasn't prepared to waste any more time on it.
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3,371 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on May 16, 2022 10:22:23 GMT
An Intervention - Riverside Studios (Hammersmith)
I think this is the fourth Mike Bartlett play being performed in London right now (and the second in Hammersmith), which has to be good going.
This is a one-act, 90 minute, play, performed by two recent graduates on a minimalistic set. The framing device are ropes tied up to look like a large Cat's Cradle.
It is one of these relationship dramas which I'm often quite indifferent about, but this has enough of an emotional edge to keep you interested. The two leads, Rachel de Fontes and Ed McVey, both looked perfectly in place and hopefully will have impressed the right people.
As Riverside Studios go, this was in one of the nicer studios, with tiered seating available. You can also check out the Dalek at the entrance, celebrating the history of BBC production in the venue.
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Post by Dave B on Jun 20, 2022 9:06:29 GMT
Darkie Armo Girl - Finborough Theatre. The website starts with a timeline of a family's journey following the Armenian Genocide, the programme's main article is a history of the Armenian Genocide. The play has very little to do with it and barely mentions it so I'm not entirely sure I saw what I was expecting to see... the promo material absolutely gave me a different expectation It is in the background for Karine Bedrossian to tell a semi-autobiographical story of her life. She does it well, better as the play goes on and she is engaging and entertaining. It is sad and funny and overall enjoyable in the three star area. It's a little rushed and covers so much so not everything is given enough time throughout. Overall, it just doesn't feel like Finborough, it feels like it would have fit nicely at The Hope or maybe even the Omnibus. Still as I think I've mentioned once or twice before, a 3pm Sunday matinee in Finborough is very popular with us
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410 posts
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Post by maggiem on Jun 20, 2022 14:12:28 GMT
One Man Two Guvnors - Bolton Octagon octagonbolton.co.uk/press-gallery/one-man-two-guvnors-production-photos/ This will give you a good idea of their staging. with 11 actors in the cast, some of whom doubling up as the band (not called The Craze here) They don't look like a beatles style band, more of a skiffle outfit. All very good. The only song I didn't hear this time was The Ballad of Ted and Callista. Standouts in the cast were Jordan Pearson, who is making his professional debut as Francis. It didn't show for a moment! I remember Polly Lister in Hound of the Baskervilles last year, playing multiple characters. She was a great Dolly. She and Jordan both did the screaming on the floor tantrum, but it wasn't after the "petrol station" argument. The script has changed a little bit. Javier Marzan was Alfie and the way they've staged it with the dining rooms above the main stage, it meant that he got to do all the falls down the stairs as Tom Edden did in the original show. Qasim Mahmood was a wonderful preening, dancing affected speech Alan Dangle. After the scene where he tried to use the knife and got floored by Roscoe, Qasim slithered backwards off the stage propelling himself with his feet. He went sideways off the main playing area, then turned a corner to get completely off stage. Very funny. Two guys picked out of the audience, the trunk into the pub, and "Christine Patterson" were all present and correct. This is a co production, and is still running at Bolton Octagon until Sat 25th June, goes to Liverpool Playhouse 29th June to 16th July, www.everymanplayhouse.com/whats-on/one-man-two-guvnorsthen finishes at the Theatre by the Lake 20th July to 3rd september. www.theatrebythelake.com/event/one-man-two-guvnors/
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Post by Dave B on Jul 3, 2022 8:28:21 GMT
Invisible - Bush TheatreOne man show about a struggling actor facing a number of problems in his personal and professional life and day to day racism. Hugely funny in places and Nikhil Parmar is properly funny and hugely charismatic but the turn the story takes is very fast and a little more time to work it all out would have been good. The Players of Dieudone - Lion & UnicornBlack comedy about a troupe putting on the kings play in ye olden times. Very funny, superb cast and a script sharp enough to cut. I suspect (and hope!) this one will have another life soon. The Lesson - SouthwarkAnother Ionesco. A fab cast with a hugely innovative set and projections. Tedious at times, perhaps by choice to play into the script and one that I suspect will divide audiences a lot but I laughed and laughed and laughed. Properly Absurd. 9 Circles - Park TheatreThe script takes a lot of liberties and is often not really very believable but a pretty good central performance kept me engaged. A bit too much humanising of the criminal and way too little mention of the victims, not sure it's a run out and see... And finally as our 100th show so far in 2022.
Favour - Bush TheatreWell written family drama centered around a mother coming home from prison to her own mother and her daughter. Nothing hugely special but a good cast and Bush Theatre are doing a good job showing us more than dysfunctional white families, this family is Muslim and their faith crosses over into their day to day lives and the play. Bush is good at this and this was a very enjoyable night out.
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Post by Dave B on Jul 26, 2022 8:22:11 GMT
Pennyroyal - Finborough
Really glad Finborough did this, feels like a bit of a lacklustre run from them recently (except for Bacon and The Straw Chair). Two hander, two sisters and their life over a number of years after one donates her eggs to the other. They are cruel but funny (and it is very funny too). Two really good performances and a great use of the small space. Well worth catching.
Closer - Lyric Hammersmith
Given the flaws or indeed the intent of the play, Alice and Dan are pretty wafer thin and so the performances sometimes suffer as a result. Sam Troughton as Larry with the most meat throughout is quite immense, starts slow and then really builds up. Nina Toussaint-White is equally strong as Anna and some of their conflict really sparks on stage. Very funny, clearly a number of people in the audience not aware what they were in for and the early (archaic) online sex scene combined with some loud reactions to lines lead to a few more empty seats after the interval. Still, enjoyed this one a lot.
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Post by Dave B on Sept 12, 2022 8:06:42 GMT
Angel - Hope Theatre.
Rehana is battlefield myth, a young Kurdish girl who became a sniper fighting ISIS and has a three digit kill count. Torch Theatre has taken this myth and the rumours around the Angel of Kobane and created an hour long one woman play, showing us the life of this Angel. The play is good, it's uses humour nicely all the way through, balancing a lot of heaviness. The staging and direction is good and on it's own the play is good and worth a look but Yasemin Özdemir as Rehana is utterly superb and takes everything to a whole new level. Runs till the end of the week and very much deserves a large audience.
Flashbang - Lion & Unicorn.
Proforca's latest. There were five friends but now there are four. A fantastic ensemble talks about how they ended up as just four, the ways that grief can hit and can hit in so many different ways. All set in 'generic' town, where the town itself forms a big part of the play, taking inspiration from the The Enemy and patricianly 'We'll live and die in these towns'. The script wanders a little (tho in fairness, saw it on the first preview so might have tightened) but it is often funny and touching and the four young actors shine as a believable, solid group of best mates.
Distinguished Villa - Finborough.
Period piece about a couple and their lodgers in 1920s Brixton. A lot of very relevant themes here, almost a hundred years later. Depression, trapped in perhaps a loveless marriage, striving to find something, to have something a little more. A cast of six with a couple of paper thin roles but some really strong work and a script that builds as it goes along. Nothing is rushed and everything is in there and goes along piece by piece. Strong work by Mia Austen as the wife and Matthew Ashforde as the husband.
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Post by Dave B on Sept 25, 2022 8:52:03 GMT
Me again, I know plenty of you see the non bigger West End stuff, things that don't get always get a thread - do post up a few words. I've seen many shows after comments on here, as the title says - brief comments help!!! SUS - Park Theatre.1979 and on the day Thatcher comes to power, two detectives have brought a young black man into the station. He assumes it's stop under suspicion (these days known as stop and search) and has been there and never charged many times before. The interrogation turns into warfare. The play takes every predictable beat but it's hugely powerful and deliberate in doing so. More than worth a visit to the lovely Park Theatre. Cast are superb and the whole thing is rightfully angry. 4 starsRavenscourt - Hampstead.
Kinda ho-hum piece about therapists in the NHS and their relationship with one particular client and each other. Nicely staged and a strong cast. Caught the first night of previews and aside from slightly rushed lighting cues, it didn't feel like a preview. Enjoyed Lizzy Watts seen quite recently in The False Servant over in Orange Tree. 3 stars The Apology - Arcola. Amazingly our first visit back there since pre Covid. Strong piece around 'comfort women' (and yes it addresses the term) forced into military sexual slavery by the Japanese around WW2. Great set where everything is covered with pages from a UN report. It's really strong in places and then in others stretches too much (the caricature American bad guy is fun and clearly acting as directed but way OTT). The relationships between the Koreans have much more nuance and strength. 4 stars The Drought - Kings Head.
Two victorian Navy officers on their ship as it slowly sinks into the seabed because the sea has vanished. Alone, they carry on their routine until suddenly there is a knock at the door. The script is great, the concept is fab and there are some really interesting pieces about the sea and it's meaning to sailors. Not really a horror, there are a couple of horror concepts but it is much more a dark thriller with tension and atmosphere. Thought this was great, first night was also press night and I think while all were really good, a couple more performances and this will be really great. Comes back soon, this time to to ORL as part of Grimfest. Worth seeing. 4 starsBright Half Life - Kings Head.
Similar to Constellations, tracks the life and relationship of two women over a chunk of their lives. Suffers from keeping American accents which were really jarring but *lovely* staging and fantastic light and sound. That's not to take away from anything else, just they were notably good. Mostly enjoyed this, found when the characters were together the relationship was lovely and really believable, slightly less so when apart on the stage. Still worth a visit I reckon. 3.5 stars.
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Post by david on Sept 25, 2022 13:24:08 GMT
A Midsummer Night's Dream - Shakespeare North Playhouse
My first show which I saw on Friday was a great night out at the new venue. From the pre-show entertainment in the theatre foyer with the cast which wouldn't have been out of place at a Mischief Theatre "Goes Wrong" show to finding the cast member who played Puck sat in my seat in the auditorium, this was definitely not traditional staging of this play! With a mix of traditional Elizabethan and modern costumes as well as both a mix of the original text and more modern dialogue (as well as BSL) this staging definitely wasn't to everybody's taste (one couple left 20 minutes into the show and a few more left at the interval). overall, i thought it worked well and got plenty of laughs from the audience.
David Morrisey who played Oberon quite literally phoned in his lines as they are all pre-recorded and played at the relevant points. Puck is now a Pizza eating character with plenty of attitude played wonderfully by Louise Haggerty who got to sing a little as well.
There was plenty of audience interaction with some playing musical instruments, one poor guy was picked from the audience and had to do bit of acting on stage (and by the expression on his face probably wished one of the one stage trap doors had opened underneath him) as well as the cast getting the whole audience to dance as well.
I was sat on the front row and sitting on the padded benches for around 3hrs wasn't actually that bad (compared to sitting in the Sam Wannamaker theatre) and I'll quite happily sit here again. There was plenty of legroom to stretch out (though some cast members walked past you) and some space underneath the benches of coats and bags.
For the theatre itself it really was a nice venue. Great FOH staff to welcome you and plenty of space to sit and have a coffee / food and a chill pre/post show.
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Post by Dave B on Oct 9, 2022 9:10:53 GMT
Iphigenia in Splott - Lyric Hammersmith
I think this might be the Lyrics first real across the board hit in a while, great reviews have been rolling in and it lives up to them totally. Sophie Melville gives an absolute powerhouse performance and brings us all along on her journey. I won't go into spoilers but the story works and leaves the sense of rage and betrayal and despair, one of those plays with an impact still obvious on the audience as we all streamed out. Top work from all.
Ruckus - Southwark Playhouse.
In a way, I'm sorry I saw this the night after Iphigenia in Splott. The similarities are striking in that it's a one woman monologue leading to an injustice and a societal issue that we all should be raging about. It's really well done and builds to it's ending. Jenna Fincken (also writer director) is great, this was quite a hit at EdFringe and the transfer is well deserved.
The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much - Pleasance
Second viewing of this in 2022, back as part of the 'Best Of Ed Fringe' lovely physical theatre with a smart script and it all comes together to give an razor-sharp show, hugely funny and a very talented group of actors. Likely to be back next year for a short run given the success this year, well worth seeing.
The Coral - Finborough Theatre.
This was a bit of a challenging evening. It looks striking, stage and costume and lights work together spectacularly well. Top marks for all that. The play itself, 100 year old German piece, is trickier. The themes of wealth and poverty are still there and still very much among us but it's kind of cold and distant and I'm pretty sure that's the intent but it still makes it feel like a long evening, good and I enjoyed it but yes.. a bit of a slog at points.
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Post by Dave B on Oct 19, 2022 20:11:06 GMT
The Poltergeist - Arcola
Tour de force from Joseph Potter who is pretty captivating. Combines speed and well the word I came up with is velocity with Philip Ridley's dialogue - words as weapons (big big fan of Tender Napalm here). Funny, dark humour with many enjoyable internal monologues contrasting with the platitudes required at a family party. Enough nuance to the story to allow you to decide just how unreliable the narrator is. Utterly convincing at it's relationships which for one actor I thought quite impressive. Holds some of it's jokes a little too long and could do with a slight trim but pretty sure all the reviews and good word will be for Potter's work - deservedly so.
The Road To Yécora - Hen & Chickens
Tarentinoesque road trip. In Mexico a hearse driver picks up a hitchhiker who is hiding that under his jacket he is covered in blood. Fun and funny, nicely staged. The hearse looks great as soon as you realise it's a hearse, for a low budget pub theatre it's really smartly done. Fantastic sound work, a real standout a full soundtrack to events - again in a small fringe pub theatre. Acting is fine, the short songs are .. well short but entertaining enough, probably unnecessary though. I don't want to kick it as I'm not sure where the mistake was but I was sure I'd a run time of 1h 15m down and it was done in sub 40m, maybe even 35m. I'm not sure I'd have gone all the way up to North London (we are the other side of the city) if I had realised that. Still, all okay in the end, I enjoyed it, I left with a smile.
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Post by Dave B on Oct 23, 2022 19:33:37 GMT
A Single Man - Park TheatreIf you take everything about this separately, set, cast, sound etc etc - they are all great but they just don't work together. It's style style style and it looks great throughout but it stays too cold. The set is grey and drab and that's what sticks throughout the show. There are some really strong moments, the finale is beautiful and touching but slightly feels unearned. Reviews seem very mixed so could just be marmite. Might also have a divide between people who are familiar with the book and/or Colin Firth movie - and those who have not. I've not read or seen it but my feeling is that this adapted the movie rather than the book. Still, enjoyed it. The Solid Life Of Sugar Water - Orange Tree
Gosh, this was something. I don't want to cause another trigger warnings conversation (read: argument) but I'd have really liked these ones to be pressed a bit harder. The premise is a relationship falling apart but unmentioned in anything I'd seen before is that it's after a stillbirth and this is pretty graphically detailed and played out. I had not expected my afternoon to be so heavy. However, that aside - this was pretty great. Hugely believable young cast, in their characters and in their relationship. Smart script, smart use of captions throughout and several moments that hit really hard. Still thinking about it a day later, the Guardian sum up was 'tender but brutally powerful' and it is both tender and brutal. More than worth heading out to Richmond for this, not a huge crowd for our Saturday matinee but it deserves to pick up throughout the run
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Post by Dave B on Oct 30, 2022 15:45:38 GMT
Right, this week's random reviews.
A Sudden Violent Burst Of Rain - Gate Camden.
Nice to visit the new home of the Gate. Liked this a lot, really liked Sara Hazemi who we thought was just excellent in this. A piece on a refugee experience in a hostile environment where bureaucracy is set against you in all the ways possible. Wrapped up in fables and make believe and really well staged. A lot of attention to the little things, just one example that really struck me was to make the sound of the rain was not just piped in sound but cast sat by the side of the stage wringing/dripping water from cloths into buckets. Transferred in from a very successful Ed Fringe run and had a decent crowd on a Tuesday night. 4 stars
A Dead Body in Taos - Wilton’s Music Hall.
This was good but I was pretty disappointed, it *should* have been so much better. It sets out the themes, ethics of living on in an AI, impact on family, gaps in relationships over the years… and then spends most of the play ignoring them instead focusing on the activism of a character in college protests against the Vietnam war and capitalism and such things - yet totally glosses over the large amounts of money she has later in life for financing an AI programme and enough to cause a dispute in the will with her daughter. Great set and tech design, really great use of video projections. Strong case but just give the story another couple of passes and this should move from good to just great. 3 stars
A Gig For Ghosts - Soho Theatre.
Lovely piece of queer gig theatre. Love and loneliness and meeting someone and losing them done really sweetly with some music and song added in. A lot of tears in my Saturday matinee audience, it is quite touching. Very impressive cast and script, it felt warm and welcoming throughout. I was invested in the characters straight away. Lovely stuff. 4 stars.
The Game Of Candles - Kings Place.
Crick Crack Club doing a one-off evening inspired by a 1600s Japanese game. 100 candles are set and as a story is told, a candle is put out to allow space for the ghost/spirt to join - we continue until 100 are done. Just 8 candles and two storytellers for 75 minutes or so. They are paying tribute to this Japanese tradition with stories from Japan and from around the world. Lovely warmth between the two storytellers as they alternate and then come together at the end for the final story with the room now left with just a single candle. Lovely stuff. 4 candles.
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Post by Dave B on Nov 3, 2022 13:12:10 GMT
Not Now - Finborough.
Ah, that's the David Ireland good stuff. Although much more toned down, it's really something the emotional layers he writes and gets from his characters. Very funny, as normal some jokes that 100% work better the more you know of Ireland/Northern Ireland but still found most of the audience laughing away. Second night of previews and it all felt slick and good. If you liked his previous work, you'll like this. Good timing in that Yes So I Said Yes just won production of the year and the Finbourgh venue of the year at the Pub Theatre Awards this week.
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Post by cavocado on Nov 21, 2022 12:15:35 GMT
Noor - Southwark Playhouse Little Based on a true story about a pacifist Sufi Muslim princess who operated as a British spy in Paris in 1943, and was eventually executed in Dachau. A pretty good cast and and an interesting story about an inspirational woman. Script sometimes felt a bit unfocused and characters occasionally went a bit 'Allo 'Allo, but did well at creating dramatic tension, despite us knowing the ending and it being told, partly, in flashbacks. Nice free programme too.
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Post by david on Nov 27, 2022 14:53:04 GMT
A Christmas Carol - Shakespeare North Playhouse
The first Christmas show at the new theatre was certainly a different take on this much-loved Dickens story. Instead of being set in Victorian London, Scrooge is now living in Prescot and the story is told by the cast of 3 actor-musicians who play multiple characters in the show. The basic plot of the novel is still there but a few liberties are taken that certainly not in the novel. The cast originally start the show as Scrooges servants who then tell the story as the different characters.
The whole show has a definite comedy / panto feel to it with plenty of songs and a lot of audience interaction from the basic clapping along / booing to making sound effects at different points in the show. After last night, I am now an expert in making ghostly wind noises and ticking clock sounds. We even had an indoor snowball fight near the end!
There were some very interesting creative choices. For example, the Cratchit family kids now dressed up kitchen utensils, and Tiny Tim is played by the male actor who in their mid-twenties and nearly 6ft! The 3 ghosts are completely reimagined. Christmas past is a small girl who likes balloons, Christmas present is one of the female cast dressed as a Christmas gift (ie. present!) and Christmas future is a Scouse hoody wearing individual who sings hip hop and has problems texting on his phone.
Yes, ultimately this is a completely bonkers production but is a really fun night out.
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Post by david on Dec 1, 2022 23:31:09 GMT
Press / Tunnels - Park Theatre
Saw this as a double header today as you got a discount booking them together. With Press running at 60 mins and Tunnels slightly longer at around 70 minutes, you can do a 3 show day if you are up for it.
Both shows are in the Park 90 auditorium with a L shaped seating configuration. For Press, it really doesn’t matter which side you sit on, but for Tunnels, I picked the shorter end of seats as you walk in. I’m glad I did as you will be facing the cast for this show.
As for the shows themselves, Press is a one man show written by and staring Sam Hoare. It is set in a pub with just a table and chair and dart board to indicate this. Sam plays the role of a journalist and tells his story about his past and some of the stories he’s covered both at home and abroad. In the hour the writing examines the role of journalists in writing the truth about stories they uncover, even at the expense of their own and loved one’s safety.
It took a while for me to get into this but by the end you do start to question about where the truth lies in journalistic reporting.
In respect to Tunnels, this is presented as a 3 man production. Niall Ransome from Mischief Theatre helps set the scenes to music. The other 2 actors play two cousins and is funnily enough is set in a tunnel as the 2 cousins try and escape from East to West Germany under the Berlin Wall. As it is set in the heart of the 1960’s Cold War, subjects such as state surveillance, oppression and human rights are all examined.
Out of the 2 shows, Tunnels is the one I got most out of. A good piece of writing from Oliver Yellop with some nice twists and turns in proceedings. The small enclosed auditorium and the basic staging really did feel claustrophobic as though you were in the same tunnel.
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Post by Dave B on Dec 2, 2022 16:17:48 GMT
Press / Tunnels - Park Theatre
I enjoyed these a lot less than David. Tunnels feels underdeveloped and rushed. It's got a great concept but then it just throws away so much, connections with the Stasi and then there is a {Spoiler - click to view}sudden shift in the love story which doesn't really work and the tunnel, of course, collapses. Contrived and some good moments but just underdone for me. Press has a really good central performance and Hoare shows how a redtop 'journalist' can twist things so easily and benefit from it but {Spoiler - click to view}the sudden shift into a dystopian future was.. poor and then at the end to find out the story in the dystopian future is based on real events in Myanmar and we'll end with a picture of the real events - left a really bad taste in my mouth. I get that the point was without safeguarding this can happen anywhere but it it just felt so crass to me. Lowkey Dying - Omnibus Theatre
Using apps and social media can take voer your life ... according to the flyer but then pretty much unaddressed as the actual premise of the show. Saved by a great performance from Heather O’Sullivan who kept us with her throughout Triggered - White Bear Theatre
Fun and funny piece from a Labour party insider about the trigger process for a Labour MP and the personal of the politics. Presents three wings of the Labour party with scrupulous fairness and later, hilariously, mixes D:Ream with The Red Flag. Funny to all but funnier the more you know about politics and Labour politics.
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Post by kate8 on Dec 8, 2022 8:00:40 GMT
London, a new play by Kieran Knowles. A good student production at Lamda until Thursday, and worth seeing if you like Knowles and/or London history. It’s about/adapted from ‘London Labour and the London Poor’, a famous Victorian survey of poverty. I hope this play gets a further life. It would be a good one for schools, if there are any drama teachers on here.
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Post by Dave B on Dec 17, 2022 10:05:12 GMT
12:37 Finborough
12:37 tells the story of two Irish Jews leading up to their participation in the 1946 bombing of King David Hotel in Jerusalem.
I enjoyed it, I thought the cast were great. I missed a ton of the Jewish references (and it's interesting to see how many phrases are all footnoted and translated in the playtext) but on the flip side, I got more of the Irish references than some of the audience.
Slightly too much ground covered too quickly and the time jump of a decade felt a little rushed but well, the Finborough always has a level of quality in what they put on.
Pub due open in February (and looks to be getting there)
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Post by Dave B on Jan 10, 2023 9:22:18 GMT
Salt-Water Moon Finborough
Two fantastic performances with Joseph Potter bringing a lot of the energy he brought to Poltergeist at Arcola last year and Bryony Miller really nicely contrasting this with self-restraint and then un-peeling the layers as we go on. He's returned after vanishing a year ago and looking to get her back. She's engaged, maybe for love, maybe for security. 1926 and the world and in particular this corner of Canada are recovering from massive losses in WW1. Lovely and simple set which, just warm and friendly to walk into. Slight off pace, they cut 15 minutes from the original running time and it's too fast. The setting turns out to be really important, the coastal region and the Newfoundland/WW1 events, but this doesn't translate so successfully. Feels like I needed to know more (tho 2 very detailed pages in the programme help!) and if it had been playing in Canada would have clicked more, not so much a pub theatre (lovely as Finborough is!). Still three stars. Seen a real wide variety of reviews for it so no harm in making up your own mind.
Still no pub downstairs unfortunately! And I have to get into the habit of checking home games rather than deciding we'll head to Earls Court early for pub dinner and a drink... ooops.
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