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I Could Use a Drink – Vaudeville Theatre

3Aug

By Sophie GrahamNo Comments

London

I Could Use a Drink – Vaudeville Theatre

“I Could Use a Drink”, and couldn’t we all after the year we’ve had? Originally a successful streaming event, tonight Drew Gasparini’s “I Could Use a Drink” made it’s west end debut at the Garrick Theatre, London. First released in 2013 as a contemporary Musical Theatre album, exploring a range of themes from love and heartbreak to teen pregnancy, producers Liam Gartland and Alex Conder (of Gartland Productions) transform this album to a staged production. Whilst the original album features an array of Broadway’s biggest names, this cast certainly gives a well overdue opportunity to showcase some of the young west end stars of the future. And what an exciting cast this is: Ahmed Hamad (Rent), Billy Nevers (& Juliet, Jesus Christ Superstar), Caroline Kay (Daisy, The Space Between), L...

2Aug

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

REVIEWS

Dandilicious – APG Films Ltd

Written and directed by and starring Andrew Games as the eponymous King of the Teds, Dandilicious from APG Films is a stylised neo-western which explores a day in the life in of Marty, the hero – or anti-hero – of a suburban town, beset by menace and disruption of his making during 1959, with this its production launch for a festival run which includes Lift-Off Film Festival and the Wales International Film Festival. I have been supportive of the development of this piece over the last few years – I’m even credited at the end – but the promise of its trailer some two years ago has not fully come to fruition as the mooted clash of 1950’s culture has turned into more of a crash, bang, wallop that initially plays out in a somewhat surreal, tongue in cheek style – which I’m not sure was int...

1Aug

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Changing Destiny – Young Vic

As I enter the Main House Theatre at the Young Vic, there is a strange sense of ‘community’ that starts building up inside me. Perhaps it’s the in-the-round seating that is oddly reminiscent of being gathered around a campfire or simply, the lively atmosphere full of hushed conversations and exchanges as we return to full capacity audiences in the theatres. Tonight, The Young Vic mounts a new age retelling of a 4000-year-old poem from ancient Egyptian literature, based on the adventures of warrior king Sinuhe. Written by Ben Okri and directed by Young Vic’s artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah, Changing Destiny is a wonderfully crafted ode to resilience, identity and belonging that not only breathes fresh life into the literature that inspired it, but also raises larger questions around the ...

A Live Stream with Dad’s Army – Fane Productions

1Aug

By Nicky LambertNo Comments

REVIEWS

A Live Stream with Dad’s Army – Fane Productions

Anyone of a certain age will be familiar with the much loved characters of Perry and Croft’s television series “Dad’s Army”. You’re probably humming “who do you think you are kidding, Mr Hitler” while reading this. David Benson and Jack Lane brought the entire cast of Dad’s Army to life tonight working from original radio scripts but transferred to stage. Although originally billed as three episodes, there were two episodes played out tonight: “When You’ve Got To Go” and “Never Too Old” (which was the final episode of Dad’s Army). The whole feel of the war years and the Home Guard was evoked from the very beginning, with an air raid siren and then snippets of famous wartime speeches from Chamberlain and Churchill before the familiar theme tune commenced. I was a bit unsure at firs...

The Cancellation of Crispin Cox – crispincox.com

1Aug

By Scot CunninghamNo Comments

REVIEWS

The Cancellation of Crispin Cox – crispincox.com

One hour before press night of one-man musical ‘Les Liasions Dangereuses’, we take a look inside the dressing room of Crispin Cox, who has stepped in at the last minute. The original star has been ‘cancelled’ which is why Cox has so kindly taken his place. This fifty-minute performance is actively annoying. It is a series of half telephone conversations in between which Cox puts on enough powder to cake the whole cast of Les Mis twice over. In between calls, the viewer is given a bit of background about the person on the other end of the phone, each time featuring irritatingly repetitive jokes that consistently fall flat. This then leads into a yarn- likely about something that happened ‘a hundred years ago’- before he goes back to rehearsing the same song’s opening bars again, again an...

31Jul

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

Oleanna – Arts Theatre

Oleanna first came to the stage in 1992 in the United States and 1993 in the UK. At the time, high profile sexual harassment cases had captured the attention of the US audience in particular, and heightened sensitivities meant that the play – which explores the shifting power dynamic between a female university student and her male professor – was received as controversial. Nearly 30 years later, although our senses are maybe somewhat dulled to some of the nuances within the piece, we’re still having the same conversations and realising the full extent to which sexism in all its guises, male privilege and abuse of power have shaped and determined the world around us. We meet John and his student Carol in John’s perfectly angular, book lined office. The set is incredibly pleasing t...

31Jul

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Tommy On Top – Above The Stag Theatre

Billed as a “giddy and gloriously foul-mouthed comedy”, the storyline on ‘Tommy On Top’ is one of jeopardy and hilarious lies. Our lead character, Tommy is a closeted Hollywood heartthrob struggling to keep a lid on his love life and he is willing to go to the greatest lengths to achieve his goal, to win the award for his latest movie. After all, no “out” gay man has ever won Best Actor at the Oscars. Fortunately, Tommy isn’t an out gay man, he is very much in the closet. Unfortunately, gossip hack Kiki (Becky Sanneh) suspects he’s got a lot more in his closet than just a freshly pressed white tuxedo... The development of a perfect theatrical farce takes careful planning and structure is everything. It is vital that things happen with exact precision so as never to get lost on the au...

31Jul

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

My Night With Reg – Turbine Theatre

Kevin Elyotand’s 1994 comedy ‘My Night With Reg’ is a heartwarming exploration of the lives of a group of friends set against the backdrop of a mounting AIDS crisis. Winning an Olivier Award for Best Comedy after its transfer to the West End's Criterion Theatre in its original run, this revival directed by Matt Ryan is an ambitious attempt to capture the fragile lives of the gay community in the 80s as personal insecurities and anxieties quickly gave way to a larger question about their legacy and mortality. This production by The Turbine Theatre is successful in highlighting some of these dilemmas but is unable to sustain the larger argument put forth by the playwright. The story follows the lives of 30-something men, some friends and others mere acquaintances, over a period of several...

31Jul

By Tracy RyanNo Comments

North West

Sleepover – Unity Theatre

This is my first sleepover. I am 54 and sitting on a bed in Kelly house, reading Just Seventeen and drinking Malibu, while four teenage female friends laugh, gossip, talk crushes & nipple hair, improvise dance routines & do a bit of karaoke – as well as snog some of their posters. This is All Things Considered’s delightful, nostalgia-fest, a 90-minute interactive celebration of friendship, sisterhood & all things teenage girl in the 1990s – a heady time where New Kids on the Block, White Musk perfume & Regal ciggies reigned. The audience (13 women & one privileged young bloke) are escorted to beds encircling the action on arrival by the cast; we’re immediately engaged in conversation & faced with a torrent of excitable questions - and from there things become eve...

We’ll Dance on the Ash of the Apocalypse – Camden Fringe Online

29Jul

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

REVIEWS

We’ll Dance on the Ash of the Apocalypse – Camden Fringe Online

The threat of climate change is one we are all familiar with, and I don’t think any of us are unaware of the fate that could face our planet if we don’t make some changes to our habits. This play shows us one possible future: a desperate couple who met at a climate change protest are now living a hand-to-mouth existence in a stark bedsit. What does the future hold for them? We get our first inkling as the woman (Maite Jáuregui) reveals to her partner (Danny Horn) that she is pregnant, after they have shared a gourmet dinner of tinned pineapple rings. We learn about the beliefs, fears and struggles of this couple through frequent flashbacks, as well as from their conversations as they discuss what to do with this unexpected revelation. Filmed before a theatre audience and then edi...