Alan Stuart Malin, Author at North West End UK

28Sep

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Noughts & Crosses – Richmond Theatre

‘Noughts & Crosses’, adapted for the stage by Sabrina Mahfouz for Pilot Theatre, is based on a series of young adult novels written by critically acclaimed British Author, Malorie Blackman. The series includes six novels and three novellas, all of which take place in an alternative 21st-century Britain, where the Crosses operate complete power over the Noughts, and where inequality and discrimination form the backbone of society, guiding the moral and constitutional compass. In Mahfouz’s adaptation, Sephy (Effie Ansah) is a Cross, she is dark-skinned and part of the elite class. Sephy’s people call the shots. Callum (James Arden) is a Nought, he is light-skinned and lower-class. He and his family are struggling to survive. The pair have been friends for an eternity, and whilst segre...

Queenz: The Show With Balls – The Clapham Grand

17Sep

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Queenz: The Show With Balls – The Clapham Grand

Following a very successful run at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, ‘Queenz: The Show With Balls’ has strutted into London at the Clapham Grand before heading out on a UK Tour. Advertised as a trailblazing, life affirming drag extravaganza, the production features a cast of five phenomenally gifted, and sequin-clad divas who make up the ultimate ‘drag queen super girl group’. The five are fierce, and they clearly mean business, performing a jam-packed list of hits and the full spectrum of pop classics from across the decades, including The Spice Girls, Lady Gaga, Little Mix, Marilyn Monroe, Beyonce, and Shakira, as well as their own original remixes of show tunes and diva anthems arranged by Alex Turney (Musical Supervisor & Arrangements). The show offers up drag on a big scal...

14Sep

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Horse-Play – Riverside Studios

“Set in a dark sex dungeon, crime-busting superhero, the Stallion, and his intrepid sidekick, Butterfly, have been lured to the secret lair of their arch-nemesis: the dastardly Villainor…!” This all sounds very exciting and Hollywood-style cinematic, but in reality, this is not a play about superheroes at all, it is instead an incredibly camp, modern, and queer take on the traditional British farce, conceived and written by Ian Hallard. The play features two main characters Tim (David Ames) and Tom (Jake Maskall), a married couple of 10 years, seeking to spice up their sex life with a bit of superhero, spandex cosplay. It features a very handsome male sex worker and a room full of sex toys. Sounds like the perfect night out for our adventure seeking couple, however, when an unfortuna...

13Sep

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Yellowman – Orange Tree Theatre

Written by Dael Orlandersmith, this beautifully written two-hander is a masterpiece in storytelling of epic proportions. Whilst incredibly simple in design, the work is also superbly complex and intricate in nature, as Orlandersmith has interwoven duologue, storytelling, and testimony to narrate, in a poetic style, the intricacies of love, hate, bigotry, loss and difference that has haunted the African-American communities for hundreds of years. ‘Yellowman’ tells the story of two childhood friends. Alma and Eugene have grown up together. Alma, a dark-skinned African American girl, with a gin-sodden mother and dreams of a life beyond the confines of their small town. Eugene is lighter skinned, mixed heritage, educated and from a wealthier background. The story is one of raw contrasts, an...

13Sep

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Rehab The Musical – Playground Theatre

Inspired by the personal experiences of writers Grant Black and Murray Lachlan Young, ‘Rehab The Musical’ is a brutally open and honest, dark comedy window into the world of addiction, the journey of recovery, and the bravery of the many different characters who check themselves into rehab. Set in 1999, at the dawning of a new millennium, this new musical tells the story of young protagonist Kid Pop (Jonny Labey), a child star and manufactured pop artist, who as they often do, gets caught up in a hedonistic world of alcohol, drugs and parting, and ends up on the front pages of the tabloid press in a compromising situation. Up in court on drugs charges, Kid Pop is sentenced to 60 days in rehab, a punishment which, for Kid Pop anyway, is seen as a walk in the park. However, as articulated...

1Sep

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Not F**kin’ Sorry – Soho Theatre

Presented by Not Your Circus Dog Collective and Access All Areas, the frank and honest cabaret ‘Not F**kin’ Sorry’ dives headfirst and unapologetically into the topic of disability discrimination in a highly provocative, hilarious, and seductive way. Not Your Circus Dog is a collective of learning disabled and neurodivergent performers who all, in their own right take command of the performance space to share their own story and those of others, and with serious content warnings, knock down all barriers on the sexuality, lifestyle, and fantasy of disabled people. The 60 minutes performance is impactful from start to finish. It is a curated piece that balances between the points of audience laughter and dancing, and points where they are stunned into silence and grim sadness. It’s a s...

Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope – King’s Head Theatre

13Aug

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope – King’s Head Theatre

“Never keep up with the Joneses. Drag them down to your level. It's cheaper”. ‘Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope’ by Writer/Performer/Producer Mark Farrelly debuted at the Edinburgh Festival in 2014 and has toured constantly ever since, recently reaching its 150th performance. Directed by Linda Marlow, it offers a brief 70-minute snapshot into the extraordinary life of the legendary Quentin Crisp and is currently being performed as a unique double bill with ‘Jarman’. Split into two distinct parts, the play opens in the late 1960s in a grubby Chelsea flat. The audience is introduced to Quentin who suggests that “If at first you don't succeed, failure may be your style”. This is a clear indication of the rules and values that served as an undertone to Quentin’s early life of beatings and rejec...

4Aug

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Jarman – King’s Head Theatre

A mighty spirit is about to reawaken. Yours! Over 80 intense minutes, Writer/Performer/Producer Mark Farrelly embarks on a journey to map out the life of Queer filmmaker, painter, gay rights activist, writer, and gardener Derek Jarman, from troubled childhood, through career achievements, illness, and death in his highly acclaimed solo play ‘Jarman’, which is being shown as a unique double bill as part of the Camden Fringe Festival. Jarman was an icon in the gay community, a trail blazer politically, socially, and creatively. One of the first public figures to announce his HIV status to the world, he called for us all to “be astonishing” and that is exactly what Farrelly achieves with this highly thought provoking and beautifully written piece of theatre. Farrelly’s writing is incred...

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice – Richmond Theatre

30Jun

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice – Richmond Theatre

‘The Rise and Fall of Little Voice’ by Jim Cartwright comes to West London’s Richmond Theatre this week as part of a national tour. An award winning, life-affirming play, originally introduced to the stage in 1992, but made famous by the screen adaptation starting Jane Horrocks and Brenda Blethyn. The story of Little Voice (LV) and Mari Hoff, a timeless classic exploring the highs and the lows of small-town dreams, family rivalry and finding your voice in a noisy world. The current production, directed by Bronagh Lagan has so much potential, and promises an uplifting and timeless tale. With a seasoned cast including the brilliant Shobna Gulati (Mari Hoff), Ian Kelsey (Ray Say), and Fiona Mulvaney (Sadie), plus the mega talented international sensation, Christina Bianco in the lead role ...

Back to the Future: The Musical – Adelphi Theatre

28Sep

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Back to the Future: The Musical – Adelphi Theatre

Synchronise your watches folks, because you are about to head back in time at a speedy 88mph with Marty McFly and that famous DeLorean. Exploding onto the stage, London’s Adelphi Theatre’s most recent production is a musical adaptation of Robert Zemeckis’s hit 1985 time-travel movie, ‘Back to the Future: The Musical’. If you are going to open a new West End musical based on a cult 80’s movie classic, then you need to do it with some style, and that’s exactly what ‘Back to the Future: The Musical’ has achieved without compromising at all the legacy of the movies. With music and lyrics by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard and a book by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, adapted from their screenplay of the 1985 film, this is a high-tech, multidimensional, magically cinematic production, that qui...