Trouble in Butetown premiered at the Donmar Warehouse this week, it’s the latest writing from award-winning playwright Nneka Atuona directed by Tinuke Craig. The first thing that struck me when I entered the auditorium is that the set design is completely naturalistic. I’ve not been to a piece of naturalism theatre for a number of years. The performance space is a thrust stage, and the audience cages in the action from three sides of the performance space. The action finds us in … [Read more...]
Live To Tell: (A Proposal For) The Madonna Musical
Live To Tell: (A Proposal For) The Madonna Jukebox Musical started its run at the Omnibus theatre this week. The 2 hander production takes place in a black box theatre setting, it runs at about 70 minutes and is, NOT, a play about Madonna! Maybe it’s coincidental that the run aligns with National HIV Testing Week 2023. Although I suspect not. This play is a deep dive into the world of a gay man living with HIV and coming to terms with the side effects of daily medication fighting the … [Read more...]
Harry’s Christmas at the King’s Head Theatre
Not everyone has a Happy Christmas. For some, it’s a season of joy packed to the brim with sparkles, endless Christmas parties and celebrations, mistletoe, wine, and lots of merry spirit! For others, it can seem the loneliest time of the year, a time to reflect on the fact that they’re alone. Harry’s Christmas, a play written by Steven Berkoff back in the 1980s, is currently running at the King’s Head Theatre. The piece explores the loneliness, isolation, and pain that some people … [Read more...]
Mad Women in my Attic! at London’s Crazy Coqs
Monica Salvi is touring her re-vamped production of Mad Women in my Attic! This included two intimate nights at London’s premier Cabaret Venue Crazy Coqs, part of Bar Zedel. I was fortunate enough to attend her second date. The show is a musical production exploring the female malady addressing mad women in all their glory. The piece illustrates that madness isn’t just typecast to one form. Salvi instead presents a musical of madness and lunacy through the vehicle of modern-day musical … [Read more...]
Yummy Iconic at Underbelly Festival Cavendish Square, London
For those of you familiar with the Underbelly Festival you’ll know that when it comes to cabaret their programming and curation for the Spiegeltent have been superb. The last few years have boasted world-class variety, drag and burlesque performances and this year is no exception with Yummy: Iconic. This 60-minute show is a tour-de-force of culturally relevant, sparkling and glittertastic cabaret performed by a troupe of artists at the top of their art form: Bendy Ben, Jarred Dewey, … [Read more...]
Looking For Me Friend: The Music of Victoria Wood
When I think of Victoria Wood, I smile, I have a very clear memory of her sitting at a piano, wearing a blazer with sleeves rolled up, smiling at the camera, singing, and making me laugh. The song I always remember is the Ballad of Barry and Freda and that iconic line “Beat me on the bottom with the Woman's Weekly let's do it, let's do it tonight!” I’d imagine many Brits have a similar memory due to her prolific TV appearances starting in the late 70s until her death in 2016 - Victoria Wood, As … [Read more...]
The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs at Soho Theatre
The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs, produced by Damsel productions, is currently running at The Soho Theatre until 11th June. I went along and was totally blown away! Everything about this production is first class, the writing, staging, lighting, sound design, casting and the performance levels. Damsel Productions have added all the ingredients to make this a 5-star production. The Piece is set around a lesbian choir in Soho. We meet the choir’s seven fully paid-up members and choir … [Read more...]