Lion & Unicorn Archives - North West End UK

Rodney Black: Who Cares? It’s Working – Lion & Unicorn

18Dec

By Zak RosenNo Comments

London

Rodney Black: Who Cares? It’s Working – Lion & Unicorn

Most shows are interested primarily in being funny. But what happens when you try to go deeper than that? To cut beneath humour, to the blood and the violence? What happens when the line between a joke and the real-world dissolves, and collapses? These are the questions that the Full Frontal Theatre poses in its no-holds-barred production of Rodney Black: Who Cares? It’s Working. Following the story of an edgelord-misogynist comedian who doesn’t seem to believe in anything he says on stage, but whose career skyrockets as he pursues a darker routine with real world impacts, Rodney Black isn’t a pleasant show to watch, nor is it meant to be; playwright Sadie Pearson and director Hen Ryan force viewers to contend with a side of comedy that most probably don’t enjoy ruminating on, their...

11Oct

By Akshay RahejaNo Comments

London

So You’ve Found Me – Lion & Unicorn

‘So You’ve found me’ did not start on the right note. When a guy comes on stage, it feels as if he is playing with pretence, not honesty, and that such energy is not sustainable. The narrative starts with a story about a Tinder date, and one felt that this experience is merely trying to be relatable and won't feature anything profound about our collective subjective human experience. Sam Moore, the playwright, and Moah Alfred Pantano, the director, proved this early assessment wrong in every possible way. Luis Donegan Brown is incredible in the show. Solo shows have a high risk of going wrong in a beat, so the performance, script, and tempo must work together to keep the audience engaged and all of the artists seemed to be sensitive and aware of this. ‘So You’ve…’ celebrates the life of...

7Jul

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

I, Kermit – Lion & Unicorn

Years ago, one of my best friends slept with Mr Blobby. I don’t literally mean that she made the beast with two backs with a pink flump-like man with yellow spots, but rather that she had sex with a man who, at the time, was in possession of the Mr Blobby suit. Possession of the suit dictates that you are, in effect, Mr Blobby in residence, until such a time as the Blobby-Baton is passed on to a successor. I’m unsure of whether my friend’s conquest is still the keeper of the costume or if there's now a new Blobby on the beat, but in any event imagine the suit is currently languishing in a bin liner somewhere, perhaps with one of Mr Blobby’s mad, unseeing goggly eyes staring dolefully out of the bag. The question of character, character ownership and the blurring of the lines between act...

3Mar

By Aditi DalalNo Comments

London

Boot – Lion & Unicorn

A bright red sofa, comfy carpet and warm amber lighting welcome the audience into Karen’s intimate living room. The first and only guest here is a visibly anxious Emma (Kate O'Rourke), touching up her dress and make-up to possibly hide her internal distress. Enter Karen (Eliza Williams). One nervous energy is met with another awkward one. As the story unfolds, the reason for this tension gets clearer (rather, more complex). The two old friends are (seemingly) meeting each other after a long time but as the story unfolds, we see how intertwined their lives have actually been and how much more consciously connected they are about to be. Dramaturgically, Jen Wooster plays with the different levels of awareness in the room. Karen has information that she is desperate to reveal; Emma knows n...