Embarking on a mammoth 22 date tour, Jinkx Monsoon, winner of Season 5 of Ru Paul’s Drag Race has once again teamed up with regular collaborator Major Scales to bring us A Ginger Snapped, an introspective look at Jinkx’s experiences as a drag star, the joys of making it past the big 3-0 and a showcase for Monsoon and Scales’ new album. I’m sure many people would agree that Monsoon is a little off the beaten track in terms of drag performance and through charm, distinctive style, and being … [Read more...]
Next Thing You Know at the Bridewell Theatre | Review
Advertised as comparable to “a musical episode of How I Met Your Mother or Friends”, dramatic and operatic society, registered charitable organisation, and all-round bunch of good-eggs SEDOS bring us Next Thing You Know, the story of four New Yorkers making the leap from twenty-somethings to thirty-somethings and having a good hard look at their lives in the process. Not exactly typical fare for a musical but having thoroughly enjoyed The Last Five Years by Jason Robert … [Read more...]
The Tunnel at The Royal School of Speech and Drama | Review
Out of the most horrible events in history, there are always stories of exceptional bravery and humanity. Something almost beautiful arising from something so ugly. The siege of Sarajevo killed nearly 14,000 people, over a third of them civilians, and for everyone who wasn’t able to escape normal life rapidly became a distant memory. The Tunnel is the story of one such group of people, trapped in the city and trying desperately to maintain some semblance of normality and in particular the … [Read more...]
Network Theatre Company presents Ringmaster | Review
As part of Vault Festival 2019, Network Theatre Company presents; Ringmaster. Described as “electrifying work that reflects the highs and lows of our human connections” and being roughly based on Arthur Schnitzler's La Ronde. 2018 saw a host of La Ronde re-boots including several with a strong LGBT+ theme so on the face of it Ringmaster’s USP wasn’t entirely apparent. However, having had the pleasure of seeing their previous piece Work Makes You Free, I had faith the Network Theatre Company … [Read more...]
LUCY PEARMAN: FRUIT LOOP at Soho Theatre | Review
Energetic, surprising and (of course) incredibly funny, Lucy Pearman’s new show Fruit Loop is simply excellent. A far cry from a traditional stand-up of quickfire jokes or observational storytelling, Pearman offers us something ‘off the wall’ and completely different. A smorgasbord of quirky characters and surreal situations, it’s the story of a little worm’s desire to fly and the discovery of whether she ever will. In true road-trip style we meet helpers and hinderers along the way; some … [Read more...]
I and You at Hampstead Theatre | Review
Even without doing any prior research, the first thing you’ll notice about I and You is that it’s American. The stage is fully set up as the kind of bedroom that you just don’t get very often in the UK – if at all – but is considerably more recognisable from the huge expansive properties you see in the US. Spacious, beautiful coloured floorboards, huge skylight, floor space to spare, and so on. Of course, this is an American production so happily the first impression is an accurate one. … [Read more...]
TEDx Royal Central School: Re:Act 2
The almost unheard-of act; leaving the house before midday on a Saturday. Not many things can inspire such a move but a day of intellectual discussion and inspiration with TEDx at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama is something I consider well worth the ‘early’ start. Notebook in hand and wondering if staying up until 1.00am drinking Belgian beer and putting the world rights with my other half had been strictly tactical, I wended my way to Swiss Cottage. The first thing I noticed … [Read more...]