An anxious, young man walks onto the stage, picks up a chair and proceeds to nervously take off all of his clothes and sits on the chair naked before addressing an unseen person. He soon realises that he doesn’t need to be naked and gets dressed. The set is fairly minimalist with three chairs, a table, a bench and at the back are some blank artists canvasses. A few … [Read more...]
Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story at Hope Theatre | Review
The biggest story in the USA in 1924 was the kidnapping and gruesome murder of 14-year-old Bobby Franks by two rich students from Chicago, Nathan Leopold Jr and Richard Loeb which became known at the time as “The Crime of Century” and made Leopold & Loeb infamous across the land. The two were lovers and Leopold’s obsession with Nietzsche’s concept of superman, led … [Read more...]
Cry Havoc by Tom Coash at Park Theatre | Review
Tom Coash’s new play Cry Havoc is set mainly in a pokey, claustrophobic one-room apartment in a run-down street in Cairo. Mohammed (played by James El-Sharawy) is recently released from prison where he was incarcerated for his political views, but his sexuality has also paid a part in him being locked up and he returns having been sadistically brutalised by his … [Read more...]
The Lady Vanishes at Richmond Theatre | Review
It all started so well. As the curtain rose in Frank Matcham’s magnificent theatre on Richmond Green, the backcloth representing a vast Viennese railway station just before the second world war with its deep perspective and realistic representation of train steam filled your vision. Combined with some evocative cinematic music and the superbly choreographed comings … [Read more...]
Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train at the Young Vic | Review
In the USA, approximately 37% of the male prison population is African-American whilst making up only 12% of the total population. So, it’s no surprise that the two main protagonists in Stephen Adly Guirgis’s modern morality play Jesus Hopped The ‘A’ Train are black men. Imprisoned on Rikers Island in New York City, Lucius (played by Oberon K. A. Adjepong) is an … [Read more...]
[title of show] at Above The Stag Theatre | Review
Hunter and Jeff are two unsuccessful, impoverished writers of musicals who find out that the New York Musical Theatre Festival are looking for submissions for new musicals. The two friends think this could be their entry into the world of musical theatre – the problem is they only have three weeks to write one! However, they decide to go for it and create an original … [Read more...]
The Rocky Horror Show at New Wimbledon Theatre
I’m certain that back in the early seventies when Richard O’Brien, a struggling actor/horse-riding stuntman from New Zealand was sitting in his tiny flat writing a musical that was to be put on in the Royal Court’s tiny Upstairs theatre, he couldn’t envisage that over 40 years later The Rocky Horror Show would not only still being performed around the world but would … [Read more...]
Mancoin presented by Anna Fox & Felix Legge
As you enter the Studio Space at The Vaults, three girls dressed all in black are arranging things on desks, writing on a flipchart, talking to each other and taking the occasional swig of whisky. Then a young man in a suit enters, addresses the audience as if it’s a lecture and informs us that he’s Guy White (geddit?) and he’s “one of the good guys”. Guy’s into … [Read more...]
The Half Moon Shania presented by Burnt Lemon Theatre | Review
It’s 1999 and we’re in the bowels of the sweaty, smelly Half Moon Pub and there’s a half moon in the sky outside so things are aligned for a good night for the all-girl neo-punk band The G Stringz who are making their last play for fame and fortune. A rep from Diamond Records is there to see them play and possibly offer the band a record contract but they don’t know … [Read more...]
Fairfield Halls, Croydon re-launch January 2019
As someone who lives just a five-minute drive from Croydon’s Fairfield Halls, I was delighted to be invited to have a look around their £30 million refurbishment. Over the years I’ve seen everyone from Elton John to Tina Turner there and from Judy Collins to the late lamented Harry Chapin who played to a half-filled house and asked everyone to move down to the front. … [Read more...]
Lola – presented by Papercut Theatre at the Vault Festival | Review
Lola is an 18-year-old girl with lots of problems. She has a big issue with her voluptuous body and how it affects the boys in her school, she’s full of teenage rage and she’s got an avid “admirer” stalking her - so who can she turn to for help? She doesn’t seem to be getting much advice from home so in her desperation, she turns to two teachers at her school - Jez … [Read more...]
Sam. The Good Person at The Bunker Theatre | Review
As you enter the auditorium at The Bunker, there are 15 or so chairs arranged in a circle in the middle of the floor. Those who entered first (which included me and my companion) are encouraged to sit on those seats and anyone looking a bit reluctant is told it’s not interactive, so it’s safe to sit there! Apart from the chairs, it’s a simple set of a table on which … [Read more...]