Friday, November 22

Tag: Brixton House

Tones: A Hip-Hop Opera – Brixton House
London

Tones: A Hip-Hop Opera – Brixton House

To pull off a solo show, a performer needs to possess a deeply commanding presence, superhuman confidence, and a sense of great comfort within the space that puts the audience immediately at ease. To pull off a solo show that is almost entirely rapped? That requires something truly special — and that’s exactly what Gerel Falconer, writer and performer of Tones - A Hip-Hop Opera has in abundance. In this show, Falconer plays the role of Jerome (AKA The Professor), a young Black British man navigating our society where race, class, and culture still play a huge role in our sense of belonging. Feeling not Black enough for the area he grew up in yet too Black for the rest of the world, Jerome is forced to confront the impact that assimilation has had on his identity. With his sole compan...
Jeezus! – Brixton House
London

Jeezus! – Brixton House

Jeezus! is an original musical directed by Laura Killeen, written and performed by Sergio Antonio, and featuring Guido Garcia Lueches alongside him. The play follows a young queer boy, played by Antonio, as he navigates the complexities of his identity and upbringing in a conservative Catholic setting. It delves into themes of faith, identity, and the societal pressures faced by the LGBTQ+ community within religious structures. Through scenes set against the backdrop of Catholic rituals and biblical chapters, the musical humorously explores how growing up in a faith-driven household affects one’s understanding of self and sexuality. The show highlights the conflict between a person’s spirituality and their struggle for acceptance, both from their community and within themselves, when th...
My Period the C*ckblock – Brixton House
London

My Period the C*ckblock – Brixton House

Today is going to be a fantastic day, according to Bolade (Ruth Oyediran). Why? She’s discovered a pill that can delay her period, which means she’s pain-free to hit the biggest day party of the year — featuring her dream man Tion Wayne — with her best friend Jessica (Lara Grace Ilori). This is where we meet the two pals at the beginning of My Period the C*ckblock, written by Oyediran and directed by TD Moyo in this production at Brixton House. What transpires over the next hour is a remarkably well-written exploration of Black British sisterhood, female pain, and the taboos around menstruation. Oyediran’s vibrant and incisive dialogue depicts a charming and authentic portrayal of friendship — and all the entanglements it can bring. Bola and Jess are shown to have grown apart in the ...
Oedipus Electronica – Brixton House
London

Oedipus Electronica – Brixton House

Of all the iconic Greek myths that have firmly held their place in our collective consciousness, the story of Oedipus is one of the most infamous. So, what do you get if you take this tragic tale and add a 21st century London setting, strobe lighting, and live electronic music? You get Pecho Mama’s Oedipus Electronica, currently playing at Brixton House until 9th March. Flipping the notorious story of Oedipus, the plot centres around Jocasta (Mella Faye), a writer struggling to complete a script ahead of a rapidly approaching deadline. But when she discovers she’s pregnant with her husband Laius (Kwame Bentil), she feels an almost supernatural compulsion to write about the son she had taken away from her when she was young. Propelled by a force greater than herself, she unknowingly star...
Heart – Brixton House
London

Heart – Brixton House

‘Heart’ is a Coming-of-age love note to the ones who are still holding on to hate and to the ones who have still not been able to take that leap of faith. It has a beating pulse of the many trials and tribulations one goes through to be able to accept oneself in all our queer glory.  The debut show of Jade Anouka’ platforms her personal experience and gives it all her heart and soul. Her rhyming poetry and performance are accompanied by live music and sound design by musician and four-time UK Beatbox champion Grace Savage. It's beautiful to see Grace intently watch Jade, knowing that they must have gone over this a million times, accompanying her movement with bass, her emotion with grounded beats. It's delightful to witness the synergy they share and would love Jade to be more physic...
Same, Same, But Different – Brixton House
London

Same, Same, But Different – Brixton House

‘Same, same, but different’ is a rocking blockbuster. It packs the romance, the relationship's transformation and deepening, and almost a decade of the queer couple in an hour-long play! With its keen perception of the lived realities of mixed-race couples, heteronormative families, and insensitive work environments, it is crafted with finesse to hit a nerve across broader demographics. This play must be seen, celebrated, talked about and seen again. We meet the endearing characters of Cam and Jesse at the age-old queer meet cute outside the dance hall. Though one is familiar with all the beats of romance, it is refreshing to see a queer and non-binary couple express their love, friendship, commitment and decision-making on stage. The agony and ecstasy of romance is scene painted with t...
My Uncle Is Not Pablo Escobar – Brixton House
London

My Uncle Is Not Pablo Escobar – Brixton House

Matters of representation have become an important issue in the globalized world. What if a group of immigrant misfits could topple one of the most powerful banks in the world? The play written by Valentina Andrade, Elizabeth Alvarado, Lucy Wray and Tommy Ross-Williams and co-directed by Wray and Ross-Williams deals with several of the problematic issues of being a Latin American Londoner woman. The piece portrays four characters played by Cecilia Alfonso-Eaton, as Lucia, Yanexi Enriquez as Alejandra, Pía Laborde-Noguez as Catalina, and Nathaly Sabino as Honey. The play starts with a promising introduction, listing the categories included in University admission forms for ethnicity: the intention was to highlight the non-existence of a "Latin American" category in that list. It conti...
Family Tree – Brixton House
London

Family Tree – Brixton House

"Black is everything. Black is life." Let yourself be introduced to Henrietta Lacks, the inhabitant of petri dishes who you might already know, without knowing it. In this production of Mojisola Adebayo's Family Tree, directed by Matthew Xia, the audience will find a very sensitive and warm approach to difficult topics that need to be addressed, with deep historic roots, and ramifications up to our times. The play has the magnificent performances of Aminita Francis as Henrietta Lacks; Mofetoluwa Akande as Ain, Anarcha and Oshun; Keziah Joseph as Bibi and Betsey and Aimeé Powell as Lyn and Lucy, and the pertinent and silent participation of Alistair Hall as the Smoking Man. The group delivers for astonishing poetical texts, embodied in a beautiful way. The show starts with a speech fr...
<strong>Alice in Wonderland – Brixton House</strong>
London

Alice in Wonderland – Brixton House

Alice in Wonderland devised by Poltergeist is an original, lurid take on the classic. On the tube, Alice and her Mum wait on the platform after a Christmas shopping spree. An argument ensues and suddenly Alice gets transported to a zany, alternate dimension of the London underground, meeting strange characters at every turn. She explores the world with confusion and wonder as she tries to return home, before becoming embroiled in the problems in her new environment. It is magically creative in the way it transforms some mundane aspects of tube life into strange, absurd characters. Photo: Helen Murray All of the odd characters created a coherently bizarre world tied together by effective, energetic multi-roling. Rabbit (Khai Shaw) stresses as he rushes to his corporate job. Tortoise (...
Kabul Goes Pop – Brixton House
London

Kabul Goes Pop – Brixton House

Brixton House is a sparky new venue, in the centre of ever-gentrified Brixton, boasting superbly friendly staff. So, it’s a bit of a shame and a tragic oversight that the seating in the theatre is cramped, awkward and after a short time, quite uncomfortable. The café bar, in contrast, is a spacious, beautiful area with designer sofas and room to ponder, luxuriate and roller-skate, should the mood take you. Like going from EasyJet to private jet.  With Kabul Goes Pop starting 25 minutes late, it meant many in the audience were already antsy and wishing to stretch their ligaments before a shape had been thrown or a poetic word spoken. The unfortunate delay gave us time to ponder the impressive set, which was a high-tech mock up of a flashy TV studio featuring video screens and more f...