This is a powerful, invigorating, seismic, and ultimately chillingly disturbing show brought to life through performances by a quartet of on-the-money-actors supported by a high-quality creative team. Conceived by Urban Wolf, who also performs, in collaboration with writer Tom Wainwright, Custody is a tour de force about a tour of the force, the Police Force, that … [Read more...]
Right to Remain Silent at Chapel Playhouse | Review
Interminable, monotonous drumming pre-show, some old, tatty furniture, four women in bright red overalls, an oppressive, heavy-handed, jack-booted style State, over-use of badly balanced narrative sound fx and, you’ve guessed it, a play set in the future: i.e. Right To Remain Silent has all the hallmarks of an average A-Level devised piece which, unfortunately, never … [Read more...]
Out of Water by Zoe Cooper at The Orange Tree Theatre
I’m a bit of a sucker for fish: freshwater, ocean-going, tropical - you name it. So when finding that the neat, in-the-round performance space for Out Of Water was dominated in one corner by a real tropical aquarium tank complete with lights, submerged plastic plant-life and, the coup de grace, a large, live, grey, long-fish contentedly moseying around its watery … [Read more...]
The Weak Ones at The Bread and Roses Theatre | Review
When you have ten actors in three separate one-act plays with multiple roles and a plethora of Amelies, Anettes, Helenes and Adeles then one would have thought that, for any self-respecting theatre company, a programme - even if it’s merely one side of a computer-printed sheet - would be a prerequisite. But for Misenscene Productions, not so much it seems. I enquired … [Read more...]
The Show In Which Hopefully Nothing Happens
This is the show in which hopefully nothing happens but the happenings that do happen actually almost didn’t happen (self-fulfilling prophesy) because there happened to be a glitch in the staging preventing the mariotronic “happenings” (small independently moving plaster-of-Paris figurines for the uninitiated) from proceeding which obliged a cast (uh-huh) member to … [Read more...]
The Lady of the Camellias at Waterloo East Theatre
There’s been some discussion recently about high theatre ticket prices: I am of the view that it’s purely a commercial equation - if Hamilton producers can get £250 a ticket then they will. And it’s sold out every night. On the other hand, on any given evening, there are about a hundred affordable shows all over London, in small fringe venues, pubs, vaults and railway … [Read more...]
PIAF: The Legend featuring Mandy Meadows at Crazy Coqs
Piaf: The Legend is not so much a tribute act - more an act of tribute. Mandy Meadows, who was raised on a sheep farm in New Zealand, had a wash, and arrived at the Brasserie Zedel’s wonderful Crazy Coqs cabaret space, is, as she herself confesses, nothing like Edith Piaf - “the Little Sparrow” - in stature, shape, deportment or lifestyle. But boy, can she sing. … [Read more...]
Preview: Man Of La Mancha at The London Coliseum
Piglet meets Frazier: certainly didn’t see that coming. But that is exactly what is happening as Man Of La Mancha trots into town for a short season at the Coliseum in April and May. Frazier aficionados (yeah, that’s Spanish) of the American TV sit-com anti-hero may not be aware that creator of that character, Kelsey Grammer, is also rather adept at musical theatre in … [Read more...]
Rouse, Ye Women! at Greenwich Theatre | Review
It’s very difficult, for an audience at a Townsend Production, not to become engaged, enthused and fairly speedily fully immersed in the show. The company possesses a certain magic which is, I think, actually a light touch combined with a heavy political leitmotif - a difficult, rare and inevitably winning combination. This group of people know their craft, know how … [Read more...]