Letting in Air

Old Red Lion
Director: Adam Quayle
Running until 28th November

Becky Prestwich’s Letting in Air is all about words; what words mean, how words sound, discovering new words and yet it is actually what is not said, the silences between these words that reveal the true story of this play.

Broken relationships and betrayal define this play about a father (Frank) and his son (Ryan) who’s already strained relationship is pushed to the limits following the death of their wife/mother. As they struggle through; neither really speaking their true feelings, a catalyst appears in the unlikely form of a sixteen year old called Amy who brings all these unspoken tensions to the surface with repercussions nobody is ready for.

Amy, played by the terrific Rebecca Elliot is incapable of not saying the first thing that pops into her head and can only speak the truth. She is a damaged young girl, who although sixteen, seems to be stuck in the mind space of a ten year old. After she meets Frank outside the theatre they become unlikely friends. Perhaps the first person she has ever known who hasn’t taken advantage of her, Frank is almost as naive as Amy to think that his family won’t read more into their relationship than there actually is. However, it is through the close bond that Frank forms with this stranger that he is able to address the reasons why he has never truly connected with his own son.

The superb cast portray Prestwich’s characters in all of their tortured glory under the subtle direction of Adam Quayle. Edmund Kente’s sensitive portrayal of Frank as a man who is just looking for someone to take care of is heartbreaking. Rebecca Elliot’s Amy is utterly open and completely honest. A great comic actress who avoids becoming a caricature, Elliot also accesses the tortured soul of this girl who on the one hand has never experienced childhood yet cannot escape from her childlike imagination. Ryan Hawley shows that still waters run deep as confused and hurt son Adam who struggles to deal with his changing family situation as it seems to implode.

Letting in Air is exactly what you need to do after this tense two hour drama which leaves you feeling as if you have been holding your breath for the entire duration. A fantastic piece of new writing which reminds you just how excellent fringe theatre can be – providing the space for new voices to be heard and Prestwich’s is a voice that really must be listened to.

Liberace Live From Heaven

Written and Directed by Julian Woolford
Performed by Bobby Crush
Leicester Square Theatre

Bobby Crush is Liberace, a decedent performer who has died from Aids and finds himself in a sort of musical limbo, while a group of heavenly angels (who are played by us, the audience) decide his fate as to whether he should go to heaven or hell.

Liberace Live From Heaven is camper than a camp site. Bobby Crush with his horrendous American accent aims to entertain with stories of performances at the Hollywood Bowl and mingling with the stars whilst showing off on his piano playing skills to prove why he was the greatest pianist of his team. While sharing these stories he is interrupted by the voice of God and St Paul, played respectfully (and quite astonishingly) by Stephen Fry and Victoria Wood. These voices provide a vehicle for them to clumsily debate issues such as closeted homosexuality and the contraction of HIV. As if that isn’t awkward enough, topical gags such as discussing Michael Jackson and Jade Goodey’s death are also weaved into the act alongside of carry on moments where a member of the audience assists Liberace with a costume change while the audience are left listening to shrieks of “oh aren’t you a big boy” and “oh it’s not going to fit”.

The one thing that saves this performance from sinking completely into a pit of inane nonsense is Crush’s piano playing. If you can ignore the ridiculous expression on his face for a moment he clearly is a skilled musician as he covers classical, bogey woogey and current pop songs all within the same set and quite impressively at the end asks the audience to shout out songs they’d like to hear and manages to play every one of them.

It is this final performance which quite honestly saved him for eternal damnation in the fiery pits of hell as the majority of the audience voted for him to go to heaven…. Who knows, on another night he might not be quite so lucky.

Marilyn Forever Blonde

Writer – Greg Thompson
Director – Stephanie Shine
Leicester Square Theatre

Greg Thompson – writer of Marilyn Forever Blonde has been involved in a love affair with Marilyn Monroe for over fifty years. After years of effectively studying her, he knows her intimately, not just the glamorous bombshell we are all familiar with. Forever Blonde is his attempt to humanise the image of Monroe using verbatim dialogue from interviews she had given over the years.

Greg Thompson must have thought all his Christmas’s had come at once when he convinced his wife, Sunny Thompson to become the woman of his dreams. Understandably she was initially hesitant to take on this larger than life character. Whilst it had been remarked many times to her that she looked like Monroe, she understood that taking on this icon required a great deal more than a passing resemblance.

However she ultimately decided to take on the challenge and boy did she take it on. Sunny succeeds where many “impersonators” fail – in that she doesn’t impersonate; she becomes her. It’s hard to pin point exactly how this happens; is it through her sexy cooing voice, with lips that never stop moving, her sensual walk (achieved through having one heel always slightly shorter than the other), her gorgeous, melodic singing voice or that with the glitz and glamour Sunny looks just like Monroe. Or is it something more than that? Thompson seems to connect with Monroe’s soul and captures the intangible.

We join Marilyn in a sort of an interview situation towards the end of her career. Sunny speaks directly with the audience as she takes you on a rags to riches tale. Since this play is created from her words, talk of her drink and drugs problems are almost glossed over as she prefers to discuss other topics. However blatant discussion is not needed as her behaviour and constant drinking of champagne throughout the piece tells another story to the one we hear. Her tales her intercepted with voice overs from people who knew Marilyn stating how they felt about her and various songs which she performs are weaved in alongside her dialogue, often reflecting the tone of the story she happens to be telling.

Whether you’re an obsessive fan or not that familiar with the life of this legend, Monroe’s is a story that will captivate all (and not just because you cannot help but be seduced by this starlet). Marilyn Monroe was the perfect creation but beneath the veneer laid a multitude of cracks which could only be covered for so long. Greg Thompson’s play explores beneath the story of Marilyn Monroe to reveal a troubled soul indeed. We’re all familiar with Monroe’s untimely demise but this piece allows you to gleam just a little more understanding of what drove her.

Aware of her sexuality from the age of about 13 she understood her power and was not afraid to use it to get what she wanted. Her success can almost be entirely attributed to this (and the fact she wasn’t afraid to sleep her way to the top) and yet it was also her downfall. Once she’s created this image it was impossible to undo and prove that she was more than something to look at and yet as much as she try when her insecurities surfaced she would return to her using her sexual prowess like an old security blanket.

Monroe was a complete dichotomy and this is why she has captivated people for decades – long after her death. She was a woman and a child, a dumb blond who loved Yates and Shakespeare, someone who used men but loved men deeply and a person who took advantage of others and was constantly taken advantage of herself.

All little Norma Jean ever really wanted was to be “wonderful” and who better to show that she already was than Sunny Thompson.

I Bought A Blue Car Today

Alan Cumming
Musical Director – Lance Horne
Vaudeville Theatre

Reviewed by Rachel Sheridan for the British Theatre Guide

He was in Sam Mendes highly acclaimed production of Cabaret and yet still one doesn’t automatically associate Alan Cumming with the musical world. He’s an actor (an incredibly fine one) and a comic, but a singer?

Well you can decide that for yourself as his one man show I Bought A Blue Car Today takes the audience on a journey through his last ten years in New York and is punctuated by musical numbers which relate to his experiences or have had an impact on him during his time in America, or that he just plain likes and doesn’t really have any other reason for singing them.

So the big question is, can he really sing? It certainly wasn’t what I was expecting. Sure Cumming can carry a tune and it’s no surprise to see several comic songs pop up such as Victoria Wood’s “Thinking of You” and “Taylor the Latte Boy” by Zina Goldrich and Marcy Heisler. However they are weaved in alongside of power ballads like Cyndi Lauper’s “Shine” and Cole Porter’s “Every Time We Say Goodbye” and even a few self-penned numbers. Performing these songs with an almost desperate sincerity, Cumming is clearly anxious about performing these songs well and you can’t help but feel a little nervous for him. He lacks the effortless ability of a natural singer and at times falls a little flat through his eagerness to communicate the song.

His witty repartee about his experiences in America, although a little self-indulgent are quite the contrary. Despite the nerves he discusses, his banter is easy and casual as if talking with old friends. As Cumming says; this is like a party; it’s just that we had to pay to come!

His tales of his life Stateside, mixing with the stars and performing at the Tony’s are fabulous and yet they are extremely personal as he discloses that he was sobbing in the shower just before meeting Whoopi Goldberg backstage at Cabaret. His stories although at times a little boastful are endearing and he’s really just a Scottish lad, excited by his life Stateside. Although it is interesting that he has become a citizen in a country which he had to leave in order to get married as they don’t recognise same sex marriages. He talks a great deal about his partner and friends and at times gets quite sentimental, although there is always a mischievous grin and a naughty twinkle in his eyes.

Whether he is the greatest singer in the world is almost neither here nor there. His sensual, dirty version of “Mein Herr” from Cabaret proves that you don’t have to have the strongest belt for a song to make an impact and whilst this isn’t the case for every song; it really doesn’t matter all that much. It’s Alan Cumming and even a story about buying a blue car today is entertaining when he’s telling it.

Stockwell

By Kieron Barry (edited from the court transcripts)
Directed by Sophie Lifshutz
Tricycle Theatre
Playing until September 20th 2009

Stockwell – an intense and thrilling courtroom drama; except rather more disturbingly this isn’t a drama, it is real life. A piece of verbatim theatre taken from the transcripts of the Jean Charles de Menezes inquest, this is a story that needs little explanation as we all followed it in the news in the aftermath of the 7/7 bombings in London, reading with shock and disbelief that an innocent man (who was believed by intelligence to be a terrorist) had been shot nine times by the police on a tube at Stockwell tube station.

As the piece begins eight actors superbly take on the role of thirty people (lawyers, police, surveillance officers, eye witnesses and family and friends). It initially fells like a staged documentary, repeating that what we already know, however as the piece unfolds and you listen to the facts of the case in this 90-minute drama, you are drawn into this incredibly tense and disturbing piece of theatre.

It was two specialist firearms officers who fired the shots that killed de Menezes, however there were an abundance of mistakes that led to that moment, placing the blame on many heads. Why hadn’t the surveillance team watching the property where de Menezes lived realised it was a block with a communal entrance rather than a house with a private entrance? They thought it suspicious when he got off the bus by Brixton tube station only to get on another bus to Stockwell. What they failed to notice was that Brixton tube station was closed that day. Communication between C019, operation room staff and surveillance officers was completely shambolic as messages were misinterpreted and in some instances not even received. And probably most shocking of all is why when the firearms officers boarded the tube did they not state that they were police, leaving eyewitnesses momentarily thinking that the police were the bad guys (I know it’s ironic isn’t it?)

Of course as the firearms officers and other members of the police point out that when it is broken down it is easy to point out the many mistakes occurred but this operation took place at a frenzied pace. However as the confused counsel for the de Menezes family, Mr Mansfield (Jack Klaff) questions in his deliciously dry and patronising manner, why was it so frenzied and not a more slick and controlled operation?

This production is simply and sensitively handled and whilst you leave the theatre in no doubt that the police are entirely to blame for this wrongful killing (even though they remain resolute that the mistakes weren’t theirs) you can’t help but feel empathy for the two men that fired the shots and what they’ll live with for the rest of their lives. Of course the greatest sympathy lies with Jean Charles de Menezes and his friends and family who speak of how he’d previously praised the police and was completely trustful that the police would keep him safe.

The York Realist

By Peter Gill
Directed by Adam Spreadbury-Maher
Produced by Good Night Out
Riverside Studios
Playing until 11th October

Reviewed by Rachel Sheridan for the British Theatre Guide

A story of a forbidden love is always going to have its tensions and complications, especially when the protagonists are male and it’s set in the early 1960s in a small farming community. A sort of a Brokeback Mountain set in Yorkshire; Peter Gill’s Olivier Award nominated, The York Realist is ultimately a very lonely tale.

Two men; George (Stephen Hagan) who lives with his mother in a small labourer’s cottage and John (Matthew Burton) an assistant director up from London working on the Mysteries Plays in which George gets a part. George’s family brushes over the fact that he still lives with his Mother and is not interested in any of the local girls. Completely clueless, his close-knit family have no idea of his extra curricular activities. Interestingly it is he, rather than cosmopolitan John who is at ease with his homosexuality. Not that it’s something he can parade in front of the local folk, it is 1961 after all but behind closed doors he is very comfortable with himself. Much like Brokeback Mountain after their summer of love (or winter as is the case in this play) is over and John has to return to London, they are both left to face the reality of their situation.

Adam Spreadbury-Maher’s production is nostalgic without being stuffy. Home baked apple pie, several pots of tea and an elderly mother doing all her son’s laundry create a warm and cosy feeling within. Meanwhile the rug is being pulled out from under your feet with an overwhelming feeling of loneliness. A family that chatter endlessly about nothing in order to avoid what really needs to be said, they remain oblivious to George’s inner turmoil. This impressive cast take a very London audience out of the city and into Mother’s front room. It’s all very claustrophobic yet well meaning and there’s no chance of missing anything either as they all talk in that slightly too loud way of speaking to each other, to be sure that everyone in the front room can hear even though they are all sat around the same small table. Stephanie Fayerman as Mother gives a tender and moving performance of a woman whose son is the apple of her eye and Sarah Wadell as the well meaning neighbour, Doreen whose heart is sadly wasted on George adds some light humour whilst avoiding the trap of being the caricature religious do-gooder.

Hagen and Burton have a natural chemistry as these two men from very different worlds who find a mutual love and respect for each other. Hagen is adorable as the slightly simple George but still rivers run deep and his rivers are at times heartbreaking. Burton turns in an equally brilliant performance. He’s middle class without being pompous and whilst he may not wear his heart on his sleeve like George, his pain is just as palpable. The sexual tension between these two men is made all the more unbearable as Spreadbury-Maher’s direction allows us to think everything but see very little.

This really is a traditional love story like many others (although probably not the sort of love Mother had imagined for her boy). Two people meet and fall in love and have to overcome various obstacles that will either make them stronger or break them….ah they don’t make ‘em like they used to.

Catwalk Confidential

Catwalk Confidential

Robyn Peterson

Directed by: Tony Abatemarco

Arts Theatre

Playing until 3^rd October

Reviewed by Rachel Sheridan for the British Theatre Guide

Robyn Peterson is bringing a touch of glamour to the Arts Theatre as the swaps the catwalk for the stage. Well in actual fact she hung up her platforms quite some time ago as it was back in the 70s and 80s that she was the “IT” girl working with prominent photographers Helmut Newton and Guy Bourdin and infamous fashion designers such as Dior, Valentino and Yves Saint Laurent. In her hey day she graced the covers of Vogue and Elle and appeared on catwalks all over the world.

One of the first supermodels, Peterson shares her experiences of life behind the flashing lens in her one woman show, Catwalk Confidential about a girl who certainly lived and now a woman who has no intention of stopping anytime soon.

Less Lilly Cole (her early photos bare an uncanny resemblence) and more Cybil Sheherd these days, Robyn Peterson is still utterly georgous and oozes sex appeal as she strutts her stuff down memory lane. Screens behind her flash with images of her home town Miami, Paris where she spent her formative modelling years and various magazine covers to suggest time and place. Peterson’s stories are sexy, funny, shocking but nothing that we’ve not really heard before from the bizarre and wonderful world of fashion. Her one woman shows covers a period of ten years from the age of 16, when she landed in Paris and started booking jobs to the age of 26 when still barely a woman she would already be considered past her prime.

Peterson speaks with confidence to the audience but lacks the natural ease of a trained actress. Her performance is very much a memorised speech and though these are her own personal stories, due to the nature of her delivery she seems detached from what she is saying. Having said this she is still incredibly alluring and succesfully charms the audience (although it should be noted that this was a fashion crowd and I’m unsure how much tales of a make bag weighing 15 pounds will translate to a less couture-savvy audience).

When comparing to stories of other models from the 70s and 80s such as Gia Carangi, Peterson’s story lacks the same substance. Rather than dealing with hard hitting issues such as drug addiction (although of course she had her dalliances) and bipolar disorder, hers is more of a story of how she catapulted to fame through stealing a wrap around bikini off another model for a catwalk show to become the talk of the town and an overnight sensation. Not to demean Peterson’s story in any way; it’s great to see a woman emerging from the modelling world so vivacious, rather than crippled with insecurities, it’s just that her story is a little on the light and fluffy side.

However her 80 minute show still manages to entertain with her dry sarcasm; “You don’t compete with brunettes, you kill them” and her sense of humour about the world of fashion; “Have you ever seen an outfit so perfect that it literally stops time”. If anything it’s a shame the show comes to an end when it does with her at the age of 26 as judging from the woman we see onstage I suspect it was after her modelling years that the story gets really interesting.

The Assault

The Assault

(Part of Brazil X 2)

Directed by Victor Esses

Written by Jose Vicente

Produced by Alter Ego Productions

Old Red Lion Theatre

18^th August – 5^th September

Reviewed by Rachel Sheridan for the British Theatre Guide.

The Assault is in fact, just that; not just an assault on the characters but also the audience as you are forced to confront the seedy truth about power, money, desperation and homosexuality in Sao Paulo in the late 1960s.  At only an hour and twenty minutes, there is no beating around the bush with Jose Vicente gritty two hander.  Vicente’s exploration of class divisions is anything but black and white and is instead a rather murky shade of grey.

Victor (Steven Farah) a lowly bank clerk and Hugo (Jade Willis) a cleaner earning half the minimum wage are confronted with one and other as Victor locks Hugo in his office and essentially terrorises not only Hugo, but also himself.  Farah’s performance as this lonely, nebbish accountant is intensely unnerving.  Crippled by his closeted homosexuality and feelings of worthlessness within a corporate jungle, he is desperate to assert his power over someone; anyone.  As his obsession with Hugo reveals itself , Farah’s twitching mannerisms and frantic ramblings contrast beautifully with Jade Willis’s mild mannered Hugo who has become accustomed to being used and abused but has learnt best how to manipulate it to his advantage.  Willis’s cool exterior initially remains unaffected; however, even he underestimates the twisted nature of Victor’s desperation.

Inspired by de Vicente’s experiences of military dictatorship and his own personal homosexual repression, the brutal nature of his writing cuts right through any sense of political correctness to take an intensely personal look at how mankind react when faced with extreme repression.

Victor Esses’s production of this award winning play really is hard hitting stuff which stays with you long after you’ve left the theatre.  As part of a double bill with Rodrigo de Roure’s The Last Days of Gilda, The Assault whilst capturing Brazilian culture in the 1960s, continues to speak volumes today about social class structures and repression to a modern London audience.  

Latitude Festival - Part 1

So the bruises have finally faded from my Latitude Experience (nothing to do with the theatre I saw and all to do with the mosh pit I found myself in during the Gossip gig at the Uncut Arena) and i'm ready to report back from Latitude 2009!

Three things you expect to see at a festival:

· People running around with face paints, fairy wings, tutus, and other mystical paraphernalia

· Bands a plenty playing into the night

· Rain!

Three things you don’t expect to see at a festival:

· An audience enthusiastically waving their arms in the air to Westlife

· A selection of theatre that rivals the West End

· Sunshine!

The brilliant thing about Latitude 2009 is that it had all of the above; everything you’d expect and everything you’d never expect. Treading new ground in the world of festivals Latitude 2009 is so much more than a music festival with the token arts tent throw in. It caters for a whole other audience without sacrificing its music loving fan base. At Latitude there is room for everyone, music, theatre, comedy, cabaret, film, literature, poetry and that doesn’t even take into account the one off installation pieces that are happening in every corner. By creating such an eclectic vibe, Latitude draws a diverse crowd and by keeping all acts in fairly close proximity of one another there is a real feeling of intimacy that other festivals can lack.

Focusing in on the theatre there were two main spaces; the theatre arena (a sort of circus tent) and the outdoor theatre, located in the woods. Throughout the four days, many productions were repeated so as if you missed something one day, you had the opportunity to catch it on another. Theatre companies from all over the country took their turns on the two stages with the majority of performances playing to a full house, with the audience spilling outside.

A variety of pieces that had been especially created for Latitude were combined with pieces that are on their way up to Edinburgh and also a sample of what’s going on in the West End right now. Whilst the majority of pieces clearly had a festival crowd in mind a handful were oblivious to the audience they were playing to. Mercury Theatre for some reason opted to perform without the head microphones that all the other companies used. Playing against the blaring music that was coming from nearby venues and with the sound of people walking in and out, you could barely hear them.

It was the productions which involved some sort of audience participation which were, not surprisingly, the biggest hits. Dry white with their rather simple formula of creating various scenarios which resulted in the characters having physical fights was received with a rowdy response. Wearing coloured hats that we had been issued with to represent what character we thought would win each fight, we cheered and goaded as if at a WWF match. Hugh Hughes in his one man show 360 insisted we all chat to each and become acquainted in order to breakdown any barriers, whilst the Bush theatre’s Sudden Loss of Dignity read out embarrassing stories which had been submitted by members of the audience.

My top picks for the weekend have to be the afore mentioned Sudden Loss of Dignity which was met with a standing ovation and the RSC’s terrifying production of Here Lies Mary Spindler which was especially created for Latitude. The performance about the witch trials and subsequent burial site which just happens to be the Latitude site scared the living daylights out of me. Blood coming out of characters mouths and blood curdling screams pretty much guaranteed that there was no way I’d be going to the toilets on my own in the middle of the night!

So that was Latitude 2009, a sort of tea party/circus/rock concert/cultural/weird and wonderful event. Of course the only real way to discover the joy of Latitude is to go yourself, so who’s in for next year?!

360
Written by Hugh Hughes
Produced by touring theatre company Hoipolloi
Presented by Pleasance

The Pleasance prides itself on providing an early home for the best on the theatre and comedy circuit, in both Edinburgh and London. This year, the Pleasance returned to Latitude with four ‘Picks’ of comedy treats. One of which was Hugh Hughes with his brand new show 360. For anyone who has seen any of Hugh Hughes’ previous work they’ll know to expect organised chaos as his story telling technique goes off on random tangents which always find their way back to the heart of the story. That is not to say that Hughes doesn’t really know what he’s doing; he knows exactly what he’s doing, he just enjoys breaking down those performer/audience barriers in order to make the audience feel as comfortable as possible; as if we are all friends.

And that is the theme of 360; friendship, in particular Hughes’ relationship with his childhood friend Gareth. Taking us on a trip down memory lane he reminisced about funny moments they shared as young boys back in Wales, spending their Summer holidays together building Dams. He talked about how that friendship altered as they grew up as Hughes moved to London while Gareth stayed in Wales but how ultimately no matter what the change in circumstances the bond between two old friends is a difficult one to break.

Of course, as I have said already his story telling is not straight forward. Having told the children that were in the audience that the worst thing he was going to say was “Fucking Shit” and that if their parents were ok with that then they could stay, he began, in fact he even used one of the children to join him on stage to play Gareth in one of their Dam building adventures. As he frantically told the audience about one particular occasion when he and Gareth, as adults, climbed mount Snowdon he explained how their friendship was threatened due to the fact he was having, what he refers to as “ a Jack Johnson moment” (Jack Johnson being some moody idiot he worked with in London who would always make him feel stupid and therefore send him into a bad mood). Hughes’ simple tale reminds you how old friends help you deal with such moments and allow you to see the funny side of any situation.

Always nice to have a piece of theatre with a good old moral, although to be honest the chance of having “a Jack Johnson moment” at Latitude is pretty slim, especially with shows such as 360 taking to the stage.

When Cheryl Was Brasic by Leo Richardson
Crunch by Duncan McMillan
Produced by Nabokov Shorts

Nabokov aims to produce theatre which offers an antagonistic response to contemporary agendas and trends. Their monthly development forum showcases young playwrights, directors, and comedians etc to test and develop their work in front of an audience.

When Cheryl Was Brasic by Leo Richardson and Crunch by Duncan McMillan are such examples of work emerging from this initiative and what better place to get a true response than at a festival where the audience are free to get up and leave whenever they want.

With so much on offer at Latitude, if you’re not enjoying something you just leave and with some productions over the weekend that is exactly what people did. Nabokov Shorts however captured its audience’s attention with people crammed into every corner of the tent.

Both Richardson and McMillan’s short plays shared the theme of money; or rather lack of it, but each tackled the subject matter in a very different way. Richardson’s protagonist, Cheryl is sick of being broke and so takes the advice of her sex mad, role play loving, lesbian best friend Shenekwa – to focus on entertainment that’s free and doesn’t require you to leave the house. Cheryl sets about trying to spice up her nonexistent sex life with her Wi-Fi loving boyfriend, Dean. Dean is completely oblivious to poor Cheryl’s hilarious attempts to get him into bed such as covering herself in Nutella in the hope he will want to lick it off and telling Dean that a wasp has flown up his trousers in order to convince him to take them off. Her failed attempts are intercut with Shenekwa’s various role play fantasies with her girlfriend such as posh bird and robber and gangster and moll.

Very funny at times, Richardson’s light hearted take on money problems contrasts nicely with McMillan’s rant at consumerism. A couple verbally attack each other whilst teaching their child about third world debt, genocide, capitalism and massacres; all the things every child needs to know. Dealing with some pretty heavy issues, McMillan’s script certainly shocked you out of your comfort zone but it did become rather relentless and in fact almost watered down the seriousness of these problems by becoming a constant stream of consciousness rather than anything more poignant.

Both promising young playwright’s with very different styles if the rest of the theatre going public receive their work as well as those at Latitude, I’m sure they’ll do very well.

Traces
Directed by Tessa Walker
Produced by Paines Plough

Paines Plough is undoubtedly one of our most promising theatre companies with hits such as House of Agnes under its belt and writers such as Mark Ravenhill and Enda Walsh working with them they have already accumulated quite a following.

As with other theatre groups at latitude, Paines Plough are very supportive of up and coming talent. With their initiative “Future Perfect 2009”, six young writers came together to write Traces which was performed by members of National Youth Theatre.

There is always something so fresh and vibrant about work that emerges from young talent, even if it doesn’t quite work you can’t deny the energy that comes from a piece created and performed by people yet to be jaded by life.

Traces is most certainly a play by teenagers for teenagers with all loose ends neatly tied up and the odd group movement piece and rap thrown in along the way for good measure. A fairly simplistic plot about a famous girl, Leanne Turner (We’re not sure what she is famous for) who returns to her home town, wanting to reconnect, having lost touch with reality. Fame has bought her nothing but misery, however as she encounters various old friends and co-workers from her past she realises that it’s not that easy to go back and ultimately comes to the conclusion that there is nowhere that she can be happy in this life time.

Traces lacked the spark of pervious pieces performed by NYT members such as the electric White Boy. This sadly felt like an amateur production, especially as half the young cast are still to learn that when you’re off stage and your head microphones are on, even whispers can still be heard by the audience.

Kissed by Brel

Directed by Geoffrey Hyland
Jermyn Street Theatre
Playing until 9th August

Reviewed by Rachel Sheridan for the British Theatre Guide

“He goes to the limit of his strength because, through his singing, he expresses his reason for living and each line hits you in the face and leaves you dazed” – Edith Piaf

Having just been introduced to the work of Jacques Brel I’d have to say that Ms Piaf hits the nail right on the head with this description.

I say introduced, in fact I was, without realising already acquainted with some of Brel’s work as his music has been recorded by many well known artists including Frank Sinatra, David Bowie, Neil Diamond and Nina Simone to name but a few.

Jacques Brel’s songs cut right to core as he expresses his feelings about love, friendship, hatred of women and anti-conformism in the most poetic of ways. Compared by some with Bob Dylan, Brel’s use of expression such as, “I’d be the shadow of your shadow if I thought it would keep you by my side” sung to a loved one or “we skinned our hearts and skinned our knees” to an old friend from a death bed sends shivers down your spine (to use a cliché, which of course Brel would never do).

South African, Claire Watling is paying her respects to Brel in her one woman show Kissed by Brel. Fresh from her success in South Africa, Watling sets off where Brel finished by continuing to tell his stories; which is exactly what Brel’s songs are. They are stories which need to be more than sung; they need to be communicated. Watling wears her heart on her sleeve and is often overcome by the emotion of songs such as “Seasons in the Sun” and “If You Go Away”. However she also plays around with the chirpier and suggestive numbers like “Madeleine”, showing off Brel’s wicked and dry sense of humour, whilst her rendition of “Amsterdam” reflects Brel’s darker side.

On stage with accompanist Godfrey Johnson, Watling owns the space, although she’s in danger of being upstaged by her purple shawl which she wears in a different style for each song and constantly plays with.

Watling doesn’t have the greatest voice in the world. At times she struggles with the top belts and some notes fall a little flat but more importantly it is her ability to capture the soul of each song appealing to those that are already fans and newbie’s like me.

Sing for Your Supper

Music by Rodgers & Hart
Devised by David Benedict, Simon Green and David Shrubsole
Cadogan Hall
5th – 9th August 2009



We’ve all heard of Rodgers and Hammerstein and their endless list of classic hit musicals; however many of us are less familiar with the duo of Rodgers and Hart.

Lorenz Hart was Richard Rodgers’s partner before the runaway success with Oscar Hammerstein. That is not to say that Rodgers and Hart weren’t successful. It’s fair to say that most of us couldn’t name a single musical they wrote but that’s not to say that there weren’t hidden gems within these shows. Songs such as “Lady is a Tramp”, “Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered” and “Manhattan” have certainly stood the test of time, even if the shows they come from haven’t.

Sing for your Supper is a sophisticated affair, performed by Simon Green, Graham Bickley, Tim Howar, Maria Friedman and Mary Carewe who are all oozing with elegance. Songs are punctuated with a commentary from Simon Green who seems far more comfortable with this role than as a singer. Green tells tales of Rodgers & Hart’s turbulent relationship, the stories behind certain songs and other little bits of trivia. Who knew that “Blue Moon” went through so many incarnations until the perfect lyrics were written to marry with the infamous melody? Tim Howar’s performance of this classic song is exquisite as his rich, velvety tone leaves the audience hanging on his every note.

Lesser known songs are weaved in along side of favourites. Carewe and Friedman’s harmonious “Why Can’t I” is beautifully delivered, followed by a wonderful composition of “This Can’t Be Love” and “It’s Got to Be Love”.

Of course, not surprisingly, the show stopping moment is delivered by Maria Friedman’s glorious rendition of “Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered”. Even when she forgets a lyric she still manages to captivate an audience with her natural ability to really communicate a song.

After a night of Rodgers and Hart music one can see why they didn’t quite set the world on fire in the way that Rodgers later collaboration did. However, there are many intoxicating songs to be discovered in their repertoire that are certainly worth celebrating

Tom Tom Crew

Tom Tom Crew
E4 Udderbelly
19th June – 17th July 2009

Reviewed by Rachel Sheridan for the British Theatre Guide

It’s difficult to describe the indescribable. I shall do my best but have to insist that you go down to the big, upside-down, purple cow on Southbank and catch the Tom Tom Crew for yourself as this is an act that must be experienced first hand. Yes, you did read right, I did say a big, upside-down, purple cow, otherwise know as the E4 Udderbelly; a temporary venue which has been erected as part of the Summer season down on Southbank.

The Udderbelly is due to present a wide variety of shows but for now it has opened its udder? To the Tom Tom Crew, direct from Broadway, after sell out shows in Sydney and Edinburgh. This is a circus for the clubbing generation. This youthful, vibrant group of boys from Australia combine their talents to make music and show off their acrobatic prowess in the most imaginative and unbelievable of ways.

On the decks you have Sampology who has turned spinning records into an art form as he combines sound and vision to create a multi media sensation. DJ Dizz1 is on the drums; but why keep things simple? Of course drums are fine but it’s far more exciting to do something different, like play blue plastic barrels for instance. DJ Dizz1 creates as much energy and buzz as if he were playing an electronic drum kit as his arms move at such a speed, his drum sticks become a blur, while all the while ensuring that the audience are pumped and there’s a “vibe” in the house. Generating music in the most inspired of ways, DJ Dizz1 is also spectacular on the omnichord; but you’ll have to see the show for yourself to learn more about this instrument.

Tom Thumb’s beatboxing is like a magic trick as he produces the most bizarre spectrum of sounds, often making three of four sounds simultaneously. He is the mixing deck, the drum kit, saxophone, bass guitar and even the female vocals as he becomes a jazz quartet or a DJ scratching his records. It really is something that has to be seen to be believed.

As if this wasn’t enough, you then have four acrobats flipping their way about the space, hanging from the ceiling, executing the most fantastic displays of agility and throwing themselves from a teeter board (imagine a terrifying see-saw) which leaves you with your heart in your mouth.

Separately these acts are impressive but combined they are a spectacle. Tom Thumb hooks his microphone to the decks and lays down his catalogue of sounds for Sampology to scratch, filter and reverse (yeah, I know the lingo; I’m down with the kids!) Meanwhile DJ Dizz1 is beating his drums like a maniac whilst the acrobats bounce, somersault and fly across the space as if dancing in a club.

I’ve already given too much away, so let me just finish by saying the Tom Tom Crew are an example of pure, raw talent at its best. These boys are clearly having the time of their lives on this stage and what’s great is that they are determined the audience will share this experience with them.

Kerry Ellis Celebrates the Great British Song Book

Kerry Ellis Celebrates the Great British Song Book
Musical director Steve Sidwell
Shaw Theatre
Playing until 26th June

Reviewed by Rachel Sheridan for the British Theatre Guide

Kerry Ellis really is the rock star of the musical theatre world. Her adoring fans from We Will Rock You and Wicked have been eagerly awaiting her next move and now she’s at the Shaw Theatre as the second part of the Great British Song Book installation. Kerry Ellis takes off where Maria Friedman finished, leading a new generation of musical theatre fans.

Whilst Friedman strolled through the traditional chapters of our Great British Song Book, Ellis shakes things up a bit and bounds through the final chapters. A far more extravagant affair than Friedman’s simple, elegant set; Ellis has a band of six, a backing singer, four dancers and even a surprise guest. Where as Friedman enjoyed the effortless banter with the audience, Ellis says of herself that she is a girl of few words and prefers to let the music do the talking and boy does it talk! This is where the comparisons between the two performers end as Kerry Ellis really has emerged from behind the green make up as a star in her own right.

Mixing musical theatre with pop music this celebration feels more like a rock concert as Ellis sashays her way across the stage and struts her stuff. Musical theatre has a reputation for being camp and cheesy but there is nothing cheesy about Kerry Ellis (ok, the four the male dancers are a bit camp) but that’s it. Ellis is as sexy as any other female pop star out there today and she sings like a true diva.

Clearly enjoying the opportunity to sing about something other than “Defying Gravity”, Ellis rocks her way through her eclectic set. Her distinctive vocals are velvety rich with a gorgeous break to her voice and a belt that just won’t quit. It is no surprise that a few Queen songs make an appearance but other stand out moments include a Lloyd Webber medley, featuring songs from Song & Dance, Tell Me on a Sunday, Evita and the rockiest version you’ve ever heard of “Memory” from Cats. Ellis also seduces the audience with an intoxicating Bond medley and gives a taste of the music she likes to listen to by singing songs by Snow Patrol, Goldfrapp and James Morrison.

The audience may not have any voice left after a night of shrieking and whooping but the same can’t be said of Ellis, which is just as well as this limited run has been extended by two days due to popular demand. With a standing ovation before she’d even started, Kerry Ellis was never going to disappoint her dedicated fans. She may have left Oz for good but there is no place like home and for Kerry Ellis that home is most definitely the stage.

The King and I

The King and I
By Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
Royal Albert Hall
Directed by Jeremy Sams
Musical Direction by Gareth Valentine
Presented by Raymond Gubbay

12th – 28th June, 2009

Reviewed by Rachel Sheridan for the British Theatre Guide

In the Royal Albert Hall’s 138 year history The King and I is only the second musical to be fully staged here and stage it they have. The decadent Albert Hall is the perfect venue to stage a musical where the majority of the scenes take place in an opulent palace. Performed in the round, Robert Jones’s set design is vast and impressive. Taking up the entire floor of the arena, a dirty shipping yard, surrounded by water, strewn with barrels and cases and with ropes and chains hanging from above is transformed into an opulent palace with magnificent silks draping from every corner, stunning pillars and even a small firework display.

Despite the imposing scenery, the story of The King and I is a simple tale of East meets West. Based on the novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon, Rogers and Hammerstein’s score tells the story of Anna (an English school teacher) and her son who go to Siam to teach the King’s children. As an educated (scientific) woman from the western world, Anna has difficulty adapting to the customs and lowly position women must take in Siam. Despite their many differences, Anna grows close to the King and when news reaches the palace that the British diplomats are to be visiting the palace she wants to help him convince the western world that he and his people are not barbarians. However contradicting this theory is one of the King’s many wives, Tumtim who feels she is being held captive by the King and wants nothing more than to escape with her true love Lun Tha. Her feelings threaten to reveal the true nature of oppression and slavery in Siam and have a heavy impact on Anna’s relationship with the King.

Whilst certainly an impressive spectacle to watch this cast of 70, the intimacy of the story is completely lost by the fanfare that surrounds it. By staging it in the round there is an obvious concern that the audience on all sides of the venue see the faces of the performers and therefore there is constant, needless blocking as the actors continuously walk around the stage with little motivation.

As always Maria Friedman, as Anna captures the stories of the songs she is singing beautifully and gives an emotional performance as the frustrated school teacher but even she falls victim to this incessant movement. Starring opposite Friedman as the King is Daniel Dae Kim of Lost fame and whilst a great coup for the Albert Hall to land a Hollywood star, he unfortunately can’t sing a note. His pompous ignorance is often amusing but he lacks the charisma of Yul Brynner who made the role famous and with whom you can’t help but compare. The highlight of the show actually arrives in the form of the ill fated lovers, Tumtim (Yanle Zhong) and Lun Tha (Ethan Le Phong) whose sexual tension is palatable even in this vast space.

With the exception of classics such as “Getting to Know You”, “Shall We Dance” and Friedman’s fiery rendition of “”Shall I Tell You What I Think” this is not one of Rogers and Hammerstein’s most memorable scores and so it is essential that the story itself make an impact. It is an old fashioned tale and rather than create a feeling of nostalgia this production remains old fashioned, stuffy almost.

A flourish of drums, a cast in vibrant and exotic costumes entering the space from here there and everywhere and an actual firework display and yet this production still fails to ignite. Unfortunately it is a case of being a spectacle with very little soul.

Who Will Carry the Word

Who Will Carry the Word
The Courtyard Theatre
Based on the writings of Charlotte Delbo
Directed by Natasha Pryce
Produced by Roberts Pryce & Co
9th June – 5th July 2008


Reviewed by Rachel Sheridan for the British Theatre Guide

No matter how many books you read or plays and films you watch about the atrocities that occurred in Auschwitz and the other prisoner of war camps during World War II, it never ceases to shock. On the one hand it depicts mankind at its absolute weakest and depraved and simultaneously demonstrates the strength and kindness of the human spirit.

Whilst the barbarity of World War II is far behind us, across the world similar, senseless acts of violence against mankind continue to take place. This is the reasoning behind plays such as Who Will Carry the World; by making the personal the political, these issues are brought to the forefront of our minds and cannot be ignored.

Based on the true account of Charlotte Delbo who was part of the French Résistance and sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1942, Who Will Carry the Word tells the story of a group of female prisoners who befriend each other and struggle to survive in horrific circumstances.

The truth is brutal and painful to hear and a script such as this could only be based on the writings of someone who has experienced such torture first hand. This stripped back performance under the superb direction of Natasha Pryce allows the stories; the words, to literally speak for themselves.

The all female, multi cultural cast are vulnerable, raw and exposed in their sensitive handling of the subject matter. Avoiding the temptation to completely breakdown on stage, they portray the strength, courage and solidarity of these women who often didn’t even know each others names. As they deal with starvation, humiliation, family dying, babies being dowsed in petrol and then set alight and watching as rats chew at body parts of their friends who are too crippled with illness to move; they miraculously soldier on. Of course we know these stories already from previous memoirs of other courageous survivors but as I said; it never ceases to shock.

The excellent Esin Harvey as Francoise steps out to address the audience, explaining that what we cannot see and will probably (hopefully) never fully understand. The cast move as a whole, as they shiver and shudder, rub themselves and each other to keep warm and shield themselves from attack. However, Who Will Carry the Word is not just a story of tragic despair; it is a story of bravery and sacrifice. The women individually share their hopes and dreams as a way of escaping from the horror that is their life and it is these acts of courage that are the most painful to watch.

Delbo felt a moral obligation to raise the “past from its ashes to carry the world”, in order to prevent the world from letting this happen again. This production is a testament to her will and whilst often painful to watch we owe it to these women to listen to the stories that many of them never got the chance to tell.

Jim Bailey as Judy Garland

Jim Bailey as Judy Garland
Leicester Square Theatre
David Shepherd & Brian Daniels for D&B Productions
9th-14th June 2009

Reviewed by Rachel Sheridan for the British Theatre Guide

Judy Garland, a self proclaimed legend, the original diva. There is only one Judy Garland; or is there? Those that have seen Jim Bailey over the last five decades in which he has been paying tribute to Ms Garland may disagree.

I wouldn’t have believed it without seeing it for myself. How can anyone become Judy Garland, let alone a man and yet sure enough, no more than one song into this performance you are no longer seeing a man in drag but Judy Garland herself. Bailey is not just a one trick pony either, in fact he portrays many great stars; Barbara Streisand, Marilyn Monroe, Bette Davis, Mae West to name but a few. However for now, whilst in London for this limited run he is paying tribute to that girl who just wanted to fly over the rainbow.

With The Wizard of Oz on TV every Christmas and Easter Parade every Easter it’s hard to believe that it’s actually forty years since Judy Garland died. This year she would have been 87 years old and whilst sadly she can’t be with us, Jim Bailey really is the next best thing. From the moment he steps foot on that stage with the erratic, nervous energy that Garland was known for; you are transported back to the days of her performances at the London Palladium. He kicks off his uncomfortable shoes, struggles with the stool on stage and anxiously tugs at his hair. Garland wasn’t perfect, she wasn’t always the polished performer and this is what made her so popular with the audience, despite her many career set backs. She exposed her flaws for the entire world to see and Bailey captures this perfectly. Of course what she was most famous for was her voice; that rich, vibrant, husky sound, filled with heart ache. Again, apart from the odd crack (and lets face it if Judy Garland was still around today she’d have the odd crack too) it’s as if Garland is up on that stage as he belts out classics such as “Get Happy”, “Zing Went My Heart Strings”, “The Man That Got Away” and of course “Somewhere over the Rainbow”.

The night’s music is punctuated by conversation as Bailey talks effortlessly with the audience, telling stories, having the occasional bitch and going off on random tangents as he forgets what he is talking about (a quality Liza Minnelli has inherited from her mother). The slightly slurred speech and breathless quality to his voice is spot on in his camp but honest portrayal of this fabulous woman.

You don’t have to be an expert on Judy Garland to marvel at this astonishing act, a simple appreciation for the stars of yester year will suffice. For the majority of us who never had the chance to see Garland herself when she was last in London, this is a great opportunity to see her songs performed the way she would have performed them.

Liza Minnelli once said to Bailey that if he stopped performing Judy Garland, how would she ever see her mother again? If it’s good enough for her then it’s most definitely good enough for us.

Naked Boys Singing 2009

Naked Boys Singing 2009
King’s Head Theatre
Directed by Phil Willmott
Conceived by Robert Schrock
26th May – 5th July 2009

Reviewed by Rachel Sheridan for the British Theatre Guide

Soon there will be nobody left in Soho if the King’s Head has anything to do with it. F**king Men continues to extend its run and is now sharing it’s outrageously camp stage with Naked Boys Singing 2009 (which is pretty much just what it says it is – naked boys singing).

Naked Boys Singing is one of Off Broadways’ longest (no pun intended) running shows and it looks set to continue its success. With a title such as this it leads you in little doubt as to what you are about to see; in fact the opening number “Gratuitous Nudity”, lets the audience know that the performers know exactly why they have come to see this show. It also won’t shock you to know that with the exception of a few dedicated fag hags (myself included) the audience for this production is largely same sex orientated, which is a shame actually as this show is about more than penises.

Camper than A Chorus Line, Naked Boys Singing follows seven men as they audition to be in a show which requires nudity. They sing about other jobs they have had which required nudity, about admiring the naked boy in the apartment across the street, about being a “perky little porn star” and about Hollywood stars whose nude appearances did their careers wonders. Of course, I know what you’re all thinking; this is all very well and good but when do they stop singing about being naked and actually get naked themselves!

There is a great deal of teasing, or what you might call theatrical foreplay before the big reveal and boy do they reveal it. These boys don’t let the fact they have no clothes on deter them from their energetic dance routines, complete with high-kicks. In fact, before they get to this moment you may feel that they have played it safe by keeping their clothes on for so long. However by forcing us to wait, the impact is that much stronger and in all honesty once they are naked it is, as you can imagine rather distracting.

The star of this show may be the nudity but it is supported by a fantastic cast. Their performances are funny, moving, and bizarre (and this is even with their clothes on!) There are moments when it all gets a little bit too Queer as Folk with a rap about checking out the other men in the gym, accompanied by full on pumping disco lights. However aside from that (and of course the fact that they are naked for half of it) Naked Boys Singing really isn’t that different from any other musical.

There is no reason why Naked Boys Singing shouldn’t replicate its American success in London with its great songs, great performances oh and of course I mustn’t forget to pay tribute to their co-stars.

Cirxus

Cirxus

Arcola Theatre

Written & Directed by John Harrigan

May 2th - June 13th 2009

Reviewed by Rachel Sheridan for whatsonstage.com

The title of this piece, a mutilation of the word ‘circus’, is representative of the bizarre and distorted world you enter into at the Arcola’s new industrial space, which officially opens in July as Studio K. For now it is home to Seascale Atomic Village, which isn’t exactly your typical seaside resort.

Taking us back to 1957 writer and director John Harrigan explores the effects of the Calder Hall nuclear power station and Windscale reactors. In the surrounding areas various farm produce had to be destroyed as a result of these places; as for the people, well, take a wander round and you’ll see for yourself.

The stark and industrial setting for this piece of promenade theatre is instantly eerie and unnerving. There are posters of atomic bombs and mushroom clouds, a ghost-like woman wandering around with an accompanying rattle of radioactivity and a classroom dedicated to the study of all things nuclear; all reminds us why we find ourselves in this warped environment.

The lighting is dim, the space echoes and bizarre characters creep up on you. These characters are all part of a circus group and yet rather than perform to hundreds of excited tourists they inhabit this space which time seems to have forgotten. Amongst them is a fortune-teller lurking in the corner, a ringmaster who no longer seems to know who is he is, a girl in a stripy leotard causing mischief and an equestrienne called Athalia searching for her clown boyfriend.

Harrigan completely smashes down the fourth wall as the audience, walking around the space, become entangled in the piece. The performers speak softly to one another; drawing you in closer as you strive to hear them. They may ignore your presence or they may engage you in their bizarre conversation. The experience is simultaneously funny and disconcerting. Whilst involved in one situation there are many other scenarios happening around the space which you are not witnessing, adding to the idea of the unknown and therefore making every audience member’s experience completely unique.

For the benefit of those audience members who do not arrive in time for the 8.30pm entry and instead join this weird and wonderful world at 9pm the earlier scenes are repeated, helping to fill in some of the gaps.

Much of the excitement of this piece comes from its mystery, so I am loath to give anything else away. Cirxus is a place of the unknown and should remain so for those of you yet to enter this demented playground.

Jet Set Go!

Jet Set Go!
Take Note Theatre
Book and Lyrics by Jake Brunger
Music and Lyrics by Pippa Cleary
Directed by Luke Sheppard
Musical Direction by Candida Candicot
Jermyn Street Theatre
Closes 18th April 2009

Reviewed by Rachel Sheridan for the British Theatre Guide

It’s been a while since we’ve seen some aircraft based entertainment. Not since the reality programmes about Easy Jet and Ryan Air and does anyone remember a young Alan Cummings in the sitcom The High Life?

Jet Set Go! had its premiere in Edinburgh in 2008 and has now flown into London for a short run at the Jermyn Street Theatre – hot on the feet of the extremely well received Saturday Night. Jake Brunger’s script is not by any means ground breaking; it simply follows the lives of cabin crew on their flight to New York and back and lets the larger than life characters take over.

Jet Set Go! really is as camp as it gets and it is unashamedly so. A fantastically kitsch set transports you from economy class to the cock pit to a New York City sky line and of course a good old song and dance always ensures a gay old time.

Memorable songs include “What Do You Actually Do?” “If I Could Find A Boy” and “Cabin Fever”, however Pippa Cleary’s score whilst always fun, lacks sophistication at times. Whilst more accomplished composers will weave a repeated melody throughout various songs in a score, leaving you in no uncertain terms that all songs belong to that show, Cleary’s score lacks unity and is a tad hit and miss. However any criticisms become irrelevant when you discover that Cleary is still at university and has miraculously composed this score whilst studying for her degree. If this is the quality of her work at such a young age, the future looks very promising indeed for Cleary.

An enthusiastic cast brings this production to life with Mark Evans who was seen earlier this year as one of the finalists on Your Country Needs You stealing the show. With his good looks and powerful vocals, Evans screams leading man. His subtle performance is a breath of fresh air whilst all those around him ham it up. Of course that’s part of this show’s charm, and it does require a heightened performance from some characters and boy do they deliver. John McManus is outrageously camp as Ryan as he minces about like a true queen. Amy Coombes is delightfully entertaining as the girl from “The Valley” Hayley who’s desperate to find love. In true Gavin and Stacey style she plays on the hilarity of the Welsh accent, however the character would benefit from her toning it down slightly on occasions to allow the truth of this lonely girl to shine through as she is dangerously close to spilling over into caricature. Sadly it’s too late for Emily Sidonie as Julia from Puerto Rico whose frantic performance is as up and down as the turbulence on their plane.

This is still a new show and of course it is going to have its flaws but it’s exciting to hear a new voice emerging in British musical theatre and if this is the start well the sky is the limit.

Cooking With Elvis

Cooking With Elvis
Written by Lee Hall
Directed by John Plews
Upstairs at the Gatehouse
14th March – 19th April

Reviewed by Rachel Sheridan for the British Theatre Guide

It’s fairly rare to find an Elvis impersonator and a tortoise sharing a stage and yet here we have it in Lee Hall’s Cooking with Elvis. First staged at the 1999 Edinburgh fringe festival with a subsequent transfer to the West End Cooking with Elvis is back in London serving up a tasty treat.

Lee Hall, best known for writing the screenplay for the film Billy Elliot tells a very dark but funny tale of ‘Dad’ – a wheelchair bound “cripple” (the result of a terrible crash) who dreams of being an Elvis tribute act. Meanwhile his wife and daughter Jill antagonise each other as they struggle to cope with their inner frustrations.

I’m not sure if it’s the voice of Big Brother or Cheryl Cole on the X Factor but there is something about the Geordie accent that makes you pay attention and Hall’s dialogue in Cooking with Elvis is no different. You cannot help but be drawn into the conversations of this dysfunctional family.

Whilst the activities in this Northern household are utterly bizarre, the dialogue remains completely normal, thus making the events that unfold all the more peculiar.

It is hard to believe this Mother and daughter are related as Mam refuses to eat and drinks herself into oblivion while fourteen year old Jill finds solace in the kitchen cooking and eating everything she can get her hands on. When Mam invites her twenty-eight year old lover, Stuart, to move into the family home with her, her daughter Jill, her paralysed husband and their tortoise things go from the bizarre to the completely surreal as Stuart gets a little too close with Jill and goes above and beyond in an attempt to “help” Dad out. Not to mention the breakout Elvis moments that punctuate the piece when Dad springs to life performing various Elvis Presley songs, to which the family are completely oblivious to.

Despite first impressions this is a pretty depressing script and director, John Plews achieves just the right amount of tongue in cheek attitude. The cast expertly tread that tightrope of finding humour without indulging it. Catherine Nix-Collins in particular is superb as a troubled teenager, struggling to digest the enormity of what is going on around her and her skilful negotiation of constantly eating throughout the majority of her dialogue is to be applauded.

Cooking with Elvis has all the ingredients for a hit and lets face it, Mario Kombou is petty much the closest you’ll ever get to seeing Elvis in Highgate. Over the top costumes and a voice that has been officially endorsed by Graceland; he’s a pretty good substitute for the real thing.

Yours Abundantly, From Zimbabwe

Yours Abundantly, From Zimbabwe
Oval House – Downstairs Theatre
Directed by Annie Castledine and Ben Evans
Running dates: 30th September – 18th October

Reviewed by rachel Sheridan for Whatsonstage.com

In 2002, just before the elections Gillian Plowman made a trip to Zimbabwe which resulted in a correspondence between a young orphan named Enock and many other orphans. This was the inspiration for the monologue; Boniface and Me, which under the superb and sensitive direction of Annie Castledine and Ben Evans has been work shopped to produce Yours Abundantly, From Zimbabwe.

A large circular platform pivots in the centre of the raked stage. Nell and her daughter Georgia appear on this circular platform; the centre of this rapidly declining world. Nell, like Plowman has struck up a friendship with a community in Zimbabwe much to the annoyance of her daughter. As Nell becomes inundated with letters and appeals from Zimbabwe she struggles with her motives for wanting to help, whilst facing fierce opposition from her daughter who feels she is as deserving of a mother as these Zimbabwean orphans.

The Zimbabwean community are evoked through the reading of letters. There’s a dedicated headmaster; Boniface and his activist wife, orphans forced to grow up and a young girl desperate to be educated. The performances are incredibly moving, full of desperation, yet full of hope. Aicha Kossoko as Violet Masunda (the wife of Boniface) gives an incredibly powerful speech in resistance to Mugabe’s regime. Life in Zimbabwe is so bleak and the courage of the people who live there is remarkable. As you sit in your comfortable seat in the theatre one struggles with the feelings of sadness and guilt but Plowman’s writing is coloured with humour in her depiction of life in Zimbabwe.

Gillian Wright’s tortured Nell is desperate to help but bombarded by requests to do so. How much can one person do? Why is she doing this? Haunted by feelings of guilt, she wonders if she is trying make up for failures within her own family by buying her way into the hearts of this community.

Hannah Boyde’s, Georgia provides an interesting perspective into the different kinds of problems we have to deal with in the Western world. Plowman in no way degrades the emotions of this bitter young woman who really just wants to know that her Mother loves her, however it certainly is a harsh reality check.

Yours Abundantly, From Zimbabwe, does not preach and it does not take you on a guilt trip but it does remind you of what is happening right now in that place you may choose to ignore as you flick to another channel when it appears on the news.

The Walworth Farce

The Walworth Farce
By Enda WalshDruid

RNT Cottesloe

September 2008

Review by Rachel Sheridan for the British Theatre Guide

The world Enda Walsh paints is extreme and the characters that inhabit it even more so. Initially you may look at such a depiction and think it a complete exaggeration but then you turn on the news and you see it all over again.

The Walworth Farce wrenches you into the theatrical world of Dinny (Denis Conway) and his two sons Sean (Tadhg Murphy) and Blake (Garrett Lombard). For over ten years these three men have been recreating the same event, the day they left Cork for London, every single day in their small, dirty flat on the Walworth Road. Every minute is dedicated to re-imagining each moment from that day all those years ago and in doing so they have completely lost touch with reality.

Dinny has turned his sons into willing prisoners, petrified of the outside world. Only Sean leaves the house each day to go to Tesco to buy the necessary food and props for their performance but he always returns, too fearful to explore any further. However it is on the day that we witness this terrifyingly funny production of theirs that the outside world finds a way in with horrific consequences.

The flat is disgusting. Yellow walls, peeling wallpaper, greasy cupboards and filthy floors are the stage on which these men perform their tale. The performances of Conway, Murphy and Lombard are all exceptional as the three men dart about the stage reinacting various roles, switching wigs and accessories and holding a coat in one hand and a hat in another to illustrate other characters. Conway as Dinny is both the perpetrator and victim. His anguish is simultaneously hilarious and painful to watch as his desire to love and protect these boys smothers and destroys them. Murphy as Sean is incredibly endearing with his big dopey eyes and ridiculous haircut, as is Lombard with his powerful performance as the confused and frustrated Blake. Their naivety is touching and heartbreaking, making you burst out laughing one minute and be close to tears the next.

This completely insane scenario that has become normality to these men is yanked right out of its comfort zone with the arrival of Hayley played by the utterly adorable Mercy Ojelade; her non-stop chatter initially making her unaware of what she has entered into.

Walsh takes comedy to the edge and then leaps right off. His portrayal of the normally unseen aspects of society is unnervingly funny and extremely poignant. He pulls back the curtain on family domesticity revealing that life is not always like the Waltons.