REVIEWS Archives - Page 277 of 549

21Aug

By Euan HuthNo Comments

Scotland

1984 – Assembly Roxy

One of the main advantages of theatre is that the actors are physically there in front of you acting. There is a certain rawness to theatre that gives it this powerfulness, which can be used to convey strong messages and themes and emotion to audiences. 1984 is a story that could greatly benefit from that rawness, but it does not deliver. It is a piece that is very relevant in this day and age, Big Brother and The Party oppressing the masses with the Thought Police, no-one is allowed independent thought, and Winston Smith finds himself in the Department of Love after falling for Julia, a rebellious woman he meets in a world that is devoid of any real emotion. The shows biggest failing is the fact that all the interactions between these two pivotal characters is all done through p...

After The Act (A Section 28 Musical) – Traverse Theatre

21Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

After The Act (A Section 28 Musical) – Traverse Theatre

A law existed until very recently which refused to acknowledge that gay and lesbian existence was normal. Between 1988 and 2003 a local government act was introduced which decreed that councils and schools throughout the United Kingdom be silent on homosexuality and not spend time in lessons discussing or acknowledging let alone normalising its existence. This production by Breach Theatre, written by Ellice Stevens and Billy Barrett, with an original score by Frew, After The Act takes as it’s starting point the Danish children’s book Jenny Lives With Eric and Martin, which caused such an uproar when it was launched into schools in the early 1980’s. Set against the suddenly rising AIDS epidemic, people panicked, burned the books, protests against teaching same-sex relationships in school...

Absurdocles: An Improvised Greek Tragedy – Camden Comedy Club

20Aug

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Absurdocles: An Improvised Greek Tragedy – Camden Comedy Club

Hilarious, impromptu and very Greek! Absurdocles has a group of improvisers weave a unique tale for one night only! Expect a Greek chorus, many fun characters, classic tongas and countless chortles. Without wasting too much time, the troupe picks on suggestions from the audience like names, their dream profession as a child and their favourite thing and strides forward to set up the premise of the story they paint for us over the next hour. In the show that night, we watched Lora, Anis, Miriam, Chris, and Nadir in white Greek togas camouflaging their modern wear. Time flies when you are having fun! The hour passed by sooner than we expected! Team Absurdacles have you gaping at how quickly they can pull out these characters, word associations and deeper relationships. The stage at the...

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...

The Improv Musical – Gilded Balloon, Patter Hoose

20Aug

By Ben PearsonNo Comments

Scotland

The Improv Musical – Gilded Balloon, Patter Hoose

Music Theatre Warwick, from the University of Warwick, have made the impossible look easy in this entirely improvised musical. The audience chose the two lead characters, Sherlock Holmes and SpongeBob SquarePants, and the location: the Titanic. The musical was named ‘who lives in a monocle under the sea’, by a particularly witty band member, and the performers got straight into it. What followed was hilarious, ridiculous, and highly entertaining. I particularly enjoyed the short mid-way break, in which the audience decided the next plot point. In this case, that John Watson, who had been thrown overboard, would arrive back on the Titanic to declare his love to SpongeBob through an opera song. It was just as crazy and hysterical as it sounds. Throughout the show, I was...

20Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Adults – Traverse Theatre

Back to The Traverse Theatre, which can be relied upon for good quality shows with high production values, great tech and quality actors throughout the year, but really pulls out the stops come Fringe time. So, here comes my review number 4 for the ‘Trav’ this time round. Adults isa slightly awkward three-hander from Kieran Hurley which seeks to challenge our conception of what is sexually ‘normal’, whilst also trying to be a serious commentary on the economics of the sex work industry within the capitalist market economy, and a sex farce. Can it really be all these things? This starts so well and with a swarth of laughs in the first half, the audience lean in as Madam Zara (Dani Heron) realises that the latest customer to her tiny attic flat/brothel is none other than her old in...

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – Speke Hall

20Aug

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – Speke Hall

In 1865 Lewis Carroll penned Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, followed six years later by its sequel, Through the Looking Glass, and here tonight at Speke Hall, one hundred and fifty plus years on, The Pantaloons served up madness and mayhem with this delightfully absurd interpretation of a children’s classic. As the saying goes, less is more, and never was this so true as our troupe of four performed in the garden of this almost five hundred year old building, with the latest of their three summer productions: whilst the first will be remembered for the fox and the second for excessive airplane disruption, tonight nature and aviation combined to give us several flocks of geese in perfect complement to the anarchic nonsense unfolding before us. You would never have known that three ...

TONY! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] – EICC

20Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

TONY! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] – EICC

Tony! The Tony Blair Rock Opera is a modern rock opera that sets out to tell the story of the ex-prime minister who modernised Labour and catapulted them to new heights with his ‘New Labour’ landslide election victory in 1997, ending 18 years of Conservative government. Like Tony Blair himself, this production has good points, and bad points. It is probably forgivable and understandable that this show steers clear of outright satire, after all, Blair is still alive and has very, very deep pockets. Some parts of the script actually make comic reference to this! Unfortunately, this lack of bite made for an enjoyable, but perhaps ultimately unedifying evening. More Spitting image than Question Time but then again what do you expect from writer Harry Hill! We start the evening, with a...

20Aug

By Amy HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Dazzling – theSpace @ Niddry Street

One-woman show ‘Dazzling’ is a drama exploring themes of love, addiction, and mental health through a queer lens. Sexuality and gender were naturally integrated into the storyline (especially the use of they/them pronouns for character Fi) which gave the show an innate inclusivity that felt naturally written and performed. I would like to see more fringe shows break social norms in this supportive way. Holly Sewel’s writing used poetic technique to convey emotion in a beautiful and thought-provoking way. The use of poetry was especially effective during the manic runs of monologue where Alix’s bounding speech created a sense of loss of control. The final metaphor of the putting a pillow in-between two people to create a boundary whilst also allowing them to lean upon each other was ...

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...