The beautiful game. Or not so beautiful perhaps. Score a goal, win a cup, get the car and the house and the girl. Bask in the glory. Drink in the idolatry. Live the dream. But at what price? Here, in Idolatry, writer Paul Bridger tells us, in intricate detail, exactly what that price can be. For some boys, some up-and-coming stars, some football desperados who can't see anything other than the prize of fame, those innocent dreamers who think they can only get it by doing what their coach … [Read more...]
The Light Trail at the Hope Theatre
Do you hear God? Is it your intention to run Google? Are you working, intensely, on a plan to bring peace to the intractable situation in the Middle East? Do you hear a voice - a voice that suggests it may just be better for all concerned if you decided that you shouldn't be around anymore and shuffled yourself off this mortal coil? Yes, we’re talking psychosis, here. Or, to put it in layperson's terms: madness. The Light Trail is an extraordinarily powerful script written by Lydia … [Read more...]
Pennyroyal at Finborough Theatre | Review
Pennyroyal is a conversation. It’s a conversation, an ongoing conversation, between two sisters, Chris and Daff, that, like a garden, is tended carefully, nurtured, watered, given love, and maybe even talked to. And, of course, has manure thrown all over it to ensure that it is robust and resilient and will survive. And, in fact, the conversation branches out to include me; well, in truth, not just me but me and the rest of the audience and we are tended carefully, nurtured, watered … [Read more...]
Jarman at the King’s Head Theatre
Be astonishing. That’s Derek Jarman’s exhortation to the world at large and - at the end of the show - to this particular audience. And in this riveting bio-drama about the legendary film-maker/artist/gardener there is one truly astonishing moment. Writer/performer Mark Farrelly hasn’t got the greatest singing voice - and I think he’d agree. It’s gravelly, vaguely tuneful and not all the notes are pitch perfect. But early on in the play, he gives us a rendition of Roberta Flack’s Killing Me … [Read more...]
IF. DESTROYED. STILL. TRUE. at The Hope Theatre
The show is basically a rant in three parts. Let’s deal with the title first: If. Destroyed. Still. True. Note the full stops. It’s clearly not a sentence though admittedly vaguely intriguing - if a tad pretentious. What does it mean? Don’t ask. Well, actually, do ask because it’s the title of a play and therefore, I surmise, it is important. So... having sat through the play I can honestly say that I have absolutely no idea what the title means, why it sports such a plethora of … [Read more...]
Back To The Future The Musical at the Adephi Theatre | Review
Come on people! Gird up your loins! Strap yourself in! Prepare for whisk-off! And get ready to warp into a time zone of fascination, fun and fantasy. Yes, we’re going back and looking forward and were straddling the space-time continuum like there... actually... is a tomorrow! Back To The Future - The Musical is a sensory delight from start to finish. There are special effects galore, there’s enough lighting to power a small city, there’s a sound system turned up to way above eleven and … [Read more...]
Farewell Leicester Square The Talking Horse Venue at The Place, Bedford
If you want someone to tease out a story, if you want someone to winkle out the good bits, and the sad bits, the emotional bits and - crucially - the funny bits then Neil Gore is your go-to guy. And Townsend Productions, led by the indomitable Louise Townsend, would surely be your vehicle of choice to chauffeur the narrative around, perfectly conveying it to an audience. We would normally find Gore out front and centre stage getting chummy with his audience and delighting in the wink and the … [Read more...]