Monday, October 14

Tag: Turbine Theatre

Closer To Heaven – Turbine Theatre
London

Closer To Heaven – Turbine Theatre

A musical by Jonathan Harvey & Pet Shop Boys. "Let us Take you back to the Millennium for the night of your life...London's club-land is thriving. Suddenly what was wrong seems right..." Writer Jonathan Harvey’s zesty and often outrageously risqué gay club land musical has once again landed into London since it first premiered in 2001 at The Arts Theatre. There have been subsequent new productions, more recently in 2015 and 2019 and to celebrate a season of queer love at The Turbine Theatre, Harvey's Closer To Heaven which features an original club score by Pet Shop Boys is once again giving audiences the opportunity to step back in time as the cosy and intimate theatre metamorphises into 'Vic's Club' for an evening. Closer To Heaven the musical is filled with a superb Pet Shop B...
Rita Lynn – Turbine Theatre
London

Rita Lynn – Turbine Theatre

Louise Marwood's one-woman performance is informed by her own lived experience, a dark tale of depression, drink, drugs and self-deprecation.  "Rita Lynn" lays bare the life of an addict who struggles to break free from the grip of cocaine after her dance career has failed. Imogen has lost everything; with her drug addiction enabled by her toxic boyfriend and dealer Dexter, and her drag queen pal Melian, also an addict. Imogen spirals from overdose to overdose between occasional unsuccessful trips to AA meetings. Then, purely by accident and in a moment of drug-induced delusion, she offers to counsel a wealthy woman as a life coach, adopting the name Rita Lynn. She sees this as an encouraging new start, a way forward out of her chaotic lifestyle and a release from the trauma of her pa...
The Nutcracker – Turbine Theatre
London

The Nutcracker – Turbine Theatre

This very adult pantomime is far from the beloved ballet with the same name. Bursting with adult humour and raucous fun, this ‘anything but sweet’ version of The Nutcracker opens at the Turbine Theatre for a limited run this Christmas. Written by Joshua Coley (Elf the Musical), the show begins with our protagonist, Carly (Holly Ashman) who has gone through it this year, let’s put it that way. Her relationship ended abruptly (for better or for worse as we soon find out), her father passed away suddenly when he was caught in an outlandish collision with a Just Stop Oil protest, and her Mum is adamant about hosting her annual festive gathering in attempt to stick to the norm. With a surprise visit from her uncle, Carly receives the iconic Nutcracker doll, which soon turns out to be the ...
The Turbine Theatre is ashamed to present The Nutcracker: A Very Adult Pantomime
NEWS

The Turbine Theatre is ashamed to present The Nutcracker: A Very Adult Pantomime

Forget what you think you know about the Christmas classic, and this year be taken to distant lands (like Winter Wonderland…and M&M World!) by way of the Turbine Theatre. For a limited time, this Christmas, audiences will get to enjoy the very adult pantomime, The Nutcracker. Written by Joshua Coley (Elf The Musical, The Wind In The Willows), this new pantomime is, for audiences 18+, the perfect Christmas tale about learning to love after heartbreak …and seeking revenge. Carlie’s had a terrible year: her love rat ex has ghosted her, her father died in a collision with a Just Stop Oil protest and now her Mum is insistent on still throwing their annual festive party. A typical year in the 2020’s some may say, but thanks to a prezzie from her inappropriate, local drunk uncle - t...
A-Typical Rainbow – Turbine Theatre
London

A-Typical Rainbow – Turbine Theatre

Research indicates that autistic people have higher rates of LGBT identities and feelings than the wider population. In a 2017 study by the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR), 69.7% of autistic participants reported being non-heterosexual.  The fact that the author of this review got the autumn of his gay life before learning this fact might suggest that representation and awareness are issues that need addressing.  JJ Green’s new play ‘A-Typical Rainbow’ goes some way to tackling ignorance and telling a story from an autistic and queer perspective. This ground-breaking production is currently staged at the Turbine Theatre, which opened in 2019, as part of the regeneration of Battersea Power Station. It’s a cute, bijou space, bringing character and culture to...
First look at A-Typical Rainbow
NEWS

First look at A-Typical Rainbow

Based on real events from the perspective of the writer and the autistic community, JJ Green will lead the cast as Boy for the limited run at The Turbine Theatre. The rest of the cast will be made up by Caroline Deverill (Mother), James Westphal (Father/Doctor), Conor Joseph (Jake/Daniel), Joy Tan (Abby/Thomas/Lara) and Maya Manuel (Emily/Mrs Whiteman/Rachel). Boy has always seen the world differently to most people. Where they see monochrome, he sees the world in vivid and brilliant technicolour. As Boy grows up, he faces increasing pressure to conform to the black and white logic of the 'real' world, a way of thinking that doesn't make sense, and forces him to suppress his unique and beautiful view of life. A-Typical Rainbow is the World Premiere debut play by autistic writer JJ...
But I’m A Cheerleader: The Musical – Turbine Theatre
London

But I’m A Cheerleader: The Musical – Turbine Theatre

Based on the 1999 cult comedy film starring Natasha Lyonne and drag icon Ru Paul which has become a queer classic, But I’m A Cheerleader: The Musical, written by Bill Augustin and Andrew Abrams, has been a decade in the making. The show marks the first brand-new musical to be staged at The Turbine Theatre in London. Directed by Tania Azevedo, the show tells the story of Megan (Alice Croft), the all-American high school cheerleader who seemingly has the perfect life with her jock boyfriend and loving parents until she is shipped off to True Directions, a gay conversion camp after they suspect she is a lesbian. Spearheaded by the strict camp leader Mary Brown (Tiffany Graves), Megan undergoes a five-step programme with the hope that it’ll banish her sexual urges when she unexpectedly meet...
The Boy Out The City – Turbine Theatre
London

The Boy Out The City – Turbine Theatre

Welcome back, to a time quickly forgotten but deep rooted- the pandemic, 2020. Oh yes, lurking in the corner is a time most of us dread to think about just yet but in Declan Bennett’s one-man piece exploring his 3 lockdown special, we move through time, through cities and through all the alcohol in the house. Immediately we are thrown into an underground theatre, blasting 90’s house and the scheduled timing of the overground tube. Declan enters the stage, Guinness in hand and face mask on- which he proceeds to take off with great difficulty once attached around his mic, as a glasses owner- I understand this. This was an honest re-telling of his time alone in a countryside home during Christmas, as we know, possibly the hardest lockdown for a lot of people. As his boyfriend’s success all...
My Night With Reg – Turbine Theatre
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...
My Son’s a Queer … but what can you do? – Turbine Theatre
London

My Son’s a Queer … but what can you do? – Turbine Theatre

Rob Madge is putting on a Disney parade. In this heart-warming show we meet the young Robert through old videos of the productions staged in their living room. An intelligent and confident child, Madge graced the West End stage in Mary Poppins, Matilda, and Les Misérables. It is clear from the obsessive attention placed on these family shows (programmes, rehearsal schedules, that they were destined to head in front of the footlights. To pinhole this show in a particular genre would be an injustice. It is a play about expression and tolerance. It is a musical, with songs which reach out to queer children anywhere, as step by step their lyrics comment on the actor’s childhood. It is a memoir, with the grown Rob looking back on their younger self, sometimes lip-synching words, always...