London Archives - Page 48 of 123

20Aug

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Wife Material – Camden People’s Theatre

Sophia and Heleana Blackwell are a married stand-up comedy and poetry duo. Two lesbians tell us about the trials, tribulations and satisfactions of marriage. There is poetry, improvised songs and duets. Sophia and Heleana share a vibrant chemistry of opposites attracting. They intersperse one another’s stories recollecting how they met, got married and tug of disagreements solely about duvet covers. The show, first performed at the RVT, returns to the Camden Fringe and is the love story we yearn for and deserve. In the onslaught of heteronormativity slapped at us across all media, the piece holds the quiet comfort of a warm cup of coffee with a friend. Sophia is a performance poet with three published poetry collections and one novel. For two years, she hosted the LGBT+ radio sho...

Esther Manito: Hell Hath No Fury – Soho Theatre

19Aug

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Esther Manito: Hell Hath No Fury – Soho Theatre

Kills, crushes and conquers. Esther Manito is a one-woman band crafting potions filled with laughing gas. She pulls a violin to tenderly pull strings of one’s heart and then pulls the trumpet out right the next second. Her physicality and character recreations are remarkable. The sixty minutes comedy set will have you laughing so much that you will be crying. She quips about the challenges women face in navigating life but serves it like a margarita. Shaken and not stirred and with salt. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned goes the proverb telling us about a woman who has been rejected by a man who can be ferociously angry and vindictive. Esther Manito is a woman at the top of her form, she has been able to rise in power by her astute observations placing parallelly her lived expe...

The Arc: A Trilogy of New Jewish Plays – Soho Theatre

19Aug

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

The Arc: A Trilogy of New Jewish Plays – Soho Theatre

Emanate Productions has brought to the Soho stage brand-new plays by Amy Rosenthal, Alexis Zegerman and Ryan Craig. The trilogy packs a punch by looking at the universal themes of birth, marriage and death, each adding its twist and flowing very beautifully from one to another. The production has been successful in bringing together both established and emerging Jewish artists, in an attempt to bridge the gap between experience and to provide a safe environment to foster exciting and challenging work. The first play, ‘birth’ is set at the moment a gynaecologist is confronted by his patient about his choices at her birth. birth reflects on some of techniques millennials adopt to understand and reflect on their trauma while juxtaposing it with how elders tended to dust themselves...

18Aug

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

The Great Gatsby – The Actors Church

Tethered Wits have produced a superb reduced adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous novel as a touring production. I caught it at the Actors Church in Covent Garden. Being a touring production, it used only five actors and a minimal set consisting of little more than a small (not very smart) chaise longue and a few boxes, plus some floral decoration. From some of the photographs in the programme it seems that at some other locations they were able to use a rather more elaborate set. At the Actors Church it was performed on the semicircular steps of the entrance to the church itself. This was a splendid location because the doors of the church were left open, so it was possible see right through into the nave but made for an extremely constrained playing area. Nevertheless, the cast and...

17Aug

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Express G&S – Wilton’s Music Hall

As if Gilbert and Sullivan's operettas weren't already bonkers enough, along comes the Charles Court Opera Company to pile on additional splendid craziness. This is a murder mystery tour in G&S song, with myriad references along the journey to many of their well-known, and some not so well-known works, from Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado, to Princess Ida and The Sorcerer. Some songs are kept intact, others rewritten to fit the narrative. There are puns both subtle and groan-worthy, clues and red-herrings galore, appropriately melodramatic and over-the-top acting by the three cast members and a slew of great sight gags. To make this show work though, it needs the attention to detail that G&S always brought to their writing, the superb diction to perform those word...

17Aug

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

The Vagina Monologues – Canal Cafe

Aurore Padenou's first production pulled together Director Lorna Dempsey, joined by Juliet Prew, Cara Kiri. Each of the actors gives an astounding performance. They carve out the diverse characters they alternatively play with conviction and tenderness. The Vagina Monologues was written twenty-seven years ago by Artist and activist V, formerly Eve Ensler. Based on interviews with more than 200 women, the play summarises different aspects of the participant's relationship with the vagina- the hair, the smell, the shame, the pleasure and the hate. An Obie Award-winning play has enjoyed a sold-out run on Broadway. V also initiated V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women. The vagina monologues have been rewritten, translated and adapted by various grassroots organi...

16Aug

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

The Garden of Words – Park Theatre

This an unusual production to be performed in the United Kingdom being a stage adaptation of the Japanese Anime film of the same name by Makoto Shinkai. It tells the story of seven people, all seeking happiness in relationships but having to confront the realities of life in an urban environment which makes such connections difficult. True to its animation origins it adopts a symbolic rather than realistic staging. It is performed on a largely bare stage with a raised platform at the back and only a few white blocks which the cast efficiently moved around provide the necessary set for the various scenes. At the back of the playing area of was a skeletal tree and a projection surface onto which beautiful images of Japan were played, including from time to time quotations in b...

Chronically Hilarious – Museum of Comedy

15Aug

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Chronically Hilarious – Museum of Comedy

Chronically Hilarious platforms disabled Comedians who pack a punch. It is often declared that any comedian worth their salt must be in Edinburgh, but no one ever talks about how inaccessible the city and the festival's structure are. So, buckle your seat belts for Six unsalty comedy comedians making a delightful evening about bits about being disabled with other disabled folks on stage and in the audience. Special mention for the BSL interpretation by Peter Abraham with the expert signing. 1 in 5 of the UK population is disabled, and 80% of these people have a hidden disability. That's over 10 million UK people with an invisible disability. Historically conversations are riddled with shame, disbelief and unasked advice. The collection of comedians who are so funny and also have auti...

15Aug

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Singh’ing in the Rain – Camden Fringe

Mandeep Singh’s Singh’ing in the Rain is an effortless and fresh take on comedy. He breezes through bits of observation from tiny instances we have all faced but not dwelled on, perhaps. Mandeep's comedy timing is brilliant. He plays such a diverse set of funny and relatable characters. His judicious use of props and music, expertly supported by his tech Fiona adds to the comedic charm. From enjoying chips on stage that pack a punch to dojo eagle dragons who will listen to anyone troubling you and help you punch away your misery, Mandeep has the audience in splits. Remember thumb wars as a kid to pass the time waiting on the train? You can relive this memory on stage with a bit of competitive character, which will make you laugh till your stomach hurts. Remember that squishy banana you ...

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 ...