London Archives - Page 37 of 111

Dad, Playboy, & Me…. Not Your Average Slideshow – The Water Rats

14Aug

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Dad, Playboy, & Me…. Not Your Average Slideshow – The Water Rats

'Cathartic, creative and healing'. AG Nortan's Dad, Playboy, & Me... Not Your Average Slideshow has travelled all the way from the USA to share her story, first at the Brighton Fringe, then the Camden Fringe in London and then at Edinburgh Fringe. AG Nortan calls herself a Londoner at heart and deeply enjoys weaving this story of her father, her grandfather, and their mentors as she uncovers many boxes of unprocessed film in her parent's basement during the pandemic. The performance shares the painstaking process she went through to digitalise the photographs. Amanda is aware that what she uncovers is from another space/time continuum. She is trying to put her lived experience as a queer, feminist woman trying to humanise and understand an absent dad who passed away when she was ...

A Caravan Named Desire – Camden People’s Theatre

12Aug

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

A Caravan Named Desire – Camden People’s Theatre

Split Infinitive presents the play 'A Caravan Named Desire'. The experimental piece is performed by married couple Alexander and Helen Millington. The play starts on the premise to curiously unpack the living experience of a sex worker but meanders into the personal journey of the writer/character's sexual exploration. 'A caravan named Desire' is the John Beecher Memorial Award winner for original, challenging work with high production value at the Buxton Fringe Festival. For time immemorial, men have lied and deceived women to share their stories and services. The play's premise's inherent deceit sits uncomfortably and is invisible in the room. Though the play's premise is attractive, the tension, curiosity and apprehension around sexual exploration falls flat in the latter h...

Quiz Night – Vaginus Hemmingway’s Cabaret Rathole

12Aug

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Quiz Night – Vaginus Hemmingway’s Cabaret Rathole

'Quiz Night at Vaginus Hemmingway's cabaret rathole' by Lara Cosmetatos is a personal essay with a creative imagination and talented acting and singing. The solo piece contains multiple realities and endearing characters crafted and delivered with aplomb. Fruit of her labour of the past six years, one can't help but admire the many diverse stories she weaves, with characters who have some resemblances to those around us but are totally unique and quirky in how they express and exist. The most enchanting part of the show was Lara's voice and original songs. She sings like a nightingale, switching tones, delivering with precision and commanding stage presence. The songs also have so much depth, rhyme and poetic imagery, tying significant knots in the plot. The show is about a sweet...

Charlie Jackson: Bath (WIP) – The Rose and Crown Pub

11Aug

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Charlie Jackson: Bath (WIP) – The Rose and Crown Pub

Charlie Jackson's hour-long deliberation of taking a bath brings together clowning, improv with earnest curiosity. The Victorian pastime without any remnants of prudishness. As you enter the basement of the Rose and crown Pub, you are greeted with Victorian images of women enjoying the bath in paper mâché frames, countless rubber ducks, and several bath-associated knick-knacks. Charlie loses no time connecting with each of the audience members with his determined and warm demeanour. The joy and enthusiasm on Charlie's face as he takes you through his elaborate mind map of different aspects of setting up his bath. He goes old school with a flip sheet and sketches. Hearing his experiences, you also remember the joy you had splashing water in the tub as a child. You wonder if he will s...

11Aug

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

The Bareback Kings – The Hope Theatre

Hilarious, energetic and satirical comedy all rolled up in one. The Bareback Kings together since 2017 made up of Lynsey Bonnell, Rebecca Schuster, Juliet Morrish and Francesca Reid. Masters of their game from on point contour makeup to editing and ‘mansplaining’ they guarantee an evening of guffaws and chortles. The drag-king comedy group effortlessly saunters through improvisation, cabaret and sketch. The show begins with the Drag kings breaking out into a synchronized choreography with lip syncing to match that would make Nsync blush. The beats of the show explore themes of connection between audience members. Through the show there is a strong critique of the social assumptions, reinforcement of consent, and topical discussions about the threat of Barbie on the modern man....

Paved with Gold and Ashes – Old Red Lion Theatre

11Aug

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

Paved with Gold and Ashes – Old Red Lion Theatre

Julia Thurston’s Paved with Gold and Ashes effectively captures the “American” gold-dusted dreams and hopes of five of the many immigrant garment workers employed at The Triangle Shirt Waist Factory. Based on a true story, the play heart-warmingly encapsulates their journeys, working conditions, relationships with each other and the factory in a crisp hour, all leading to the tragic fire claiming the lives of 146 garment workers in 1911. Their interactions- shuffling between each other and the audience are cleverly and cohesively crafted using movement, song and visceral storytelling with directorial support from Maria Cristina Petitti, Warren Rusher, and Stephen Smith. An intimate black box with static warm golden lights, wooden chairs and white fabric create a stri...

8Aug

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Dead Souls – Etcetera Theatre

The Eno River Players bring Mikhail Bulgakov’s (author of The Master and Margarita) Dead Souls to life, with a swirling sense of adventure. The cast of three tumble through the plot in a stylistically haphazard way, presenting the 19th century Russian story. Chichikov, the protagonist, embarks on a “get rich quick” scheme, scouring the land for “dead souls”, collecting the rights to dead people. On his journey, he meets a host of strange characters that lead him from one place to another. The set is full of random props, domineered by a central painting of the Russian leader, changing with the time. The bustle as they set up between scenes was rhythmic and characterised and gave the bohemian feel of a travelling troupe, but I think using slightly fewer props would have made the spac...

Sian Hutchinson: Tick My Box – Camden Comedy Club

6Aug

By Gemma PrinceNo Comments

London

Sian Hutchinson: Tick My Box – Camden Comedy Club

Winner of the Audience Choice ‘Best Event’ award at this year’s Brighton Fringe, award winning character and sketch comedian Sian Hutchinson brings her hilarious one-woman show to Camden Fringe. After being dumped by her true love Dave, Suze is determined to get back into the dating scene with seven dates all in one night at her local pub with copious amounts of white wine to get through the evening. Sian truly channels her character Suze from the moment you stepped inside the room, handing out various sweets to audience members at the door, you felt like you were with a friend armed with snacks recounting their terrible date the night before. Once everyone was seated, she spent a few minutes chatting with the audience before starting the show. What follows is a brilliant re...

3Aug

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Macbeth – Shakespeare’s Globe

The Shakespeare’s Globe hit the headlines recently, when a man in a full latex gimp suit and face mask rocked up to a performance of The Comedy of Errors. It prompted a few complaints, but Globe staff shrugged off the furore and were largely worried that the rubbery punter might overheat. He was stood in front of the stage at a matinee on a warm day. Fetish enthusiasts were less visible on the night we attended Macbeth at the Globe, but one of the venue’s strengths is to render the audience as almost another actor in the proceedings. The shape and design of the Globe means that in the summer months when it is light, the full range of humanity is on show, whether that’s in the cheap ticket pit or one of the galleries. At one point, Macbeth (Max Bennet) exited the stage through the aud...

This Girl: The Cynthia Lennon Story – Upstairs at the Gatehouse

3Aug

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

This Girl: The Cynthia Lennon Story – Upstairs at the Gatehouse

The Programme description: The play is also a musical featuring original songs and music arrangements by BBC Radio Merseyside’s Frankie Connor, Billy Kinsley and Alan Crowley and depicts the emotional journey of Cynthia (CIN’s) life before, during and after Beatlemania. THIS GIRL features eight brand new songs making it a must see musical for theatre lovers of original and contemporary theatre. THIS GIRL tells a story of Cynthia Powell a shy student from Hoylake, who fell in love with a young musician called John when they met at Liverpool Art College in 1957. She became Cynthia Lennon and mother of their son Julian. This play has been created it seems to showcase their love and affection for each other, her struggles and the challenges she faced in her relationship with John Lenn...