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Pup Play: A Queer Pseudo-Lecture (of Sorts) – Barons Court Theatre

20Jul

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Pup Play: A Queer Pseudo-Lecture (of Sorts) – Barons Court Theatre

Part academic presentation, part confessional and part chaotic and confusing cabaret, ‘Pup Play: A Queer Pseudo-Lecture (of Sorts)’ is certainly unlike anything else currently appearing on London’s fringe theatre circuit. Written and performed by Dr. Noah Alfred Pantano, the production explores pup play, BDSM and queer identity through the highly eccentric persona of Professor Handler David. What begins as an enthusiastically delivered lecture soon expands into a deliberately unruly mixture of personal testimony, audience interaction (be prepared to bark like a dog), puppetry, multimedia and punk-infused musical interludes. Pantano’s research forms part of his doctoral work, and the production is most successful when it draws upon that academic foundation. It offers an interestin...

18Jul

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Firebird – Southwark Playhouse

My friend Eric, an Egyptian Muslim pulled me aside last week. He dragged me out of earshot from his mother, who eyed us both suspiciously while adjusting her hijab. ‘Can I ask you something?’ Eric whispered, fizzing with anxiety. ‘Is it true what they say about Muslim grooming gangs?’ I sighed, weary at a right-wing narrative that’s now fuelling doubt in the community it seeks to demonise. It’s a live situation, unfolding in real time. ‘Yes, Eric,’ I replied, cautiously. ‘But it’s complex and toxic. Sex offenders of Muslim heritage DO exist, but they get outsize media attention. Waaaaaay more than white British groomers. AND it’s a social media shitstorm for clicks and clout.’ Eric could barely look at me. My careworn brain reeled with grisly memories of drunken, ugly fights wi...

And Then There Were None – Hope Street Theatre

18Jul

By Ben PearsonNo Comments

North West

And Then There Were None – Hope Street Theatre

Ten Little Soldier Boys are whittled down to none in The Woolton Drama Group’s production of Agatha Christie’s thriller, And Then There Were None. Ten strangers are invited to the mysterious and isolated Soldier Island. Each is accused of a crime, and each has no guarantee of surviving the stay. As ever with Christie, it’s a tense and exciting premise. And this production begins promisingly with an ominous reading of the poem which frames the play: ‘Ten Little Soldier Boys’. John Ovington’s delivery dripped with suspense; setting the ground for the twists and turns to come. Sadly, however, this proved to be one of the performance’s high points. As, while the production was entertaining and the script of course strong, there was a noticeable lack of urgency throughout. A thriller ...

16Jul

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Anastasia – Z-Arts, Manchester

Like My Fair Lady wrapped in the fairy-tale romance of Cinderella, with occasional glimpses of the epic sweep and moral gravitas of Les Misérables, Anastasia is an ambitious musical that asks a great deal of its performers. Fortunately for Manchester Musical Youth, this exceptionally talented company proves more than equal to the challenge. There is something fitting about Anastasia becoming Manchester Musical Youth’s 40th production. For well over a decade, MMY has established itself as arguably Manchester’s leading youth musical theatre company, renowned for producing powerful vocal ensembles while continually raising its artistic ambitions. Under the assured leadership of Kimberly and Dave Holden, this milestone production demonstrates a company continuing to evolve, marrying its tra...

16Jul

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

Wales

Art – Theatr Clwyd

How much would you pay for a white painting? Disley Theatrical Productions bring Art to the Weston at Theatr Clwyd. Written by Yasmina Reza and translated by Christopher Hampton, we follow the friendship of three men, Marc, Serge and Yvan. Serge has spent a huge amount of money on a white painting, a five foot by four foot white painting with a few diagonal white lines. But this purchase causes a huge rift between Serge and Marc. Then Yvan comes along, not wanting to upset anyone and tries to play the happy medium but only upsetting himself more. Simon Phillips as Marc is commanding, honest and frank, not buying in to the fact that Serge actually loves this piece of art and feels something when he looks at it. Chris Jones brings a calmness to Serge which balances out Marc’s fiery...

16Jul

By Karen Morley-ChesworthNo Comments

North West

Nell Gwynn – Theatre by the Lake

Nell Gwynn is like many women of influence in history, whose name may be known but whose story is. With memories of Barbara Winsor as the orange fruit seller in a Carry On film, I knew very little about the woman. However, Theatre by the Lake bring to life King Charles II’s mistress with a lively, bawdy romp – and tells her story. A collaboration between Theatre by the Lake, Shakespeare North Playhouse and Storyhouse Theatre, this production is as lively and entertaining as anything that may have been performed in the original Globe Theatre. Music, dance and bold, playful banter make this production a joy. The opening scene did have me worried as Burhan Kathawala, began a performance which was so wooden, then the lights lifted, the stage opened up to reveal a play within a play. Kath...

16Jul

By Saloni SanwalkaNo Comments

London

The Oresteia – Bridge Theatre

The Oresteia begins with a 360-degree revolution of its stage—a two-story glass-walled house— and the slow reveal of its inhabitants. It is an arresting sight which instantly fixes the audience to their seats. Over the course of three and a half hours, writer and director Simon Stone brings Aeschylus’ eponymous trilogy to the modern day with a script that is intense and astonishingly funny. Coupled with an award-worthy ensemble performance, The Oresteia more than matches the scale of its ambition. The play centres on a wealthy British family— the Middeltons, standing in for the House of Atreus— and follows their violent unravelling across one decade. While the idea of adapting a story about double matricide to 21st century norms seems absurd, Stone succeeds in the endeavour with marvell...

Sweeny Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Birmingham Rep

15Jul

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Sweeny Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Birmingham Rep

With the recent death of Stephen Sondheim musical theatre has been robbed of its most eloquent and profound creator - of whom Mandy Patinkin said, “The man who wrote my prayers has died” - we are left with a long, long legacy of which everyone who has ever placed pen to paper and finger to key would be right to call the Master. His works, words and tunes swooping high over all his contemporaries and masterfully nail what a great artist aims for - trying to understand the human condition. Words and music achingly blending with profound insight evoking feelings and sensations we never knew we had or could identify until he helped us. Photo: Manuel Harlan It is right and proper, then the Birmingham Rep as part of Joe Murphy’s new programme offer us one of Sondheim’s most loved, most per...

Ali in Wonder(Eng)Land – Jacksons Lane Theatre

15Jul

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Ali in Wonder(Eng)Land – Jacksons Lane Theatre

This rather clumsily titled play is the “rabbit hole” to a rather fascinating 75 minutes of devised drama by the LegalAliens Theatre’s Tottenham Project which reimagines Lewis Carroll's famous Alice in Wonderland as the experience of an immigrant trying to negotiate the English immigration system and cultures. Directed by Lara Prlmiani the play was first created in 2023 and has now been updated for the current production at the Jacksons Lane Theatre. Each successive cast, all of whom are immigrants from a wide range of countries, bring their own perspectives of their challenges in settling in England to the text. The use of Lewis Carroll's famous story as a template was an inspired idea since nothing could be more English and yet it is very effectively and humorously used to illus...

The Ballad of Johnny & June – Hull New Theatre

15Jul

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Ballad of Johnny & June – Hull New Theatre

The applause started immediately after curtain up on Tuesday night when The Ballad of Johnny & June hit the Hull New Theatre stage. We were showing our appreciation for the fantastic music being played by on-stage musicians who were sometimes visible, yet mostly obscured, throughout the production - a production that would have been nothing without their amazing, tuneful contribution under Connagh Tonkinson’s direction. This new musical, from the book by Robert Cary and Des McAnuff (who also directed) being the story of country music legends Johnny Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, was obviously going to be brimful of harmonies, yet behind those famous tunes - Jackson, I Walk the Line, A Boy Named Sue and Ring of Fire to name just a few hits - lay a world of drug-taking, trage...