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Post by londonpostie on Sept 22, 2021 19:40:26 GMT
NW Trilogy - Kiln.Taking the same approach as Out West in the Lyric and telling three stories rooted in the local area. Larger casts, shared between each story and adding music along the way. Really enjoyed this, there's a lot of warmth in the stories and it shines through on the stage.
Yep, pretty much the definition of community theatre; 2 tales of immigration from the history of this area of town, and something by Roy Williams.
With 3 works there's little time for complexity but I certainty felt emotionally invested in the first story (Moira Buffini’s Dance Floor), and I felt drawn in by the socio-political-economic dimensions of the third (Suhayla El-Bushra’s Waking/Walking).
I know Irish and south Asian families just like these, and shared the times they have lived through. The locals I chatted with loved it and I could see why.
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Post by Dave B on Sept 26, 2021 21:51:37 GMT
Red Light Winter - Turbine Theatre. First visit to this theatre and I would note that the staff were particularly friendly, front of house, bar and even the crew. So good work there. The play.... yikes. Let me start by saying that my partner and I both did not hate watching it, it was engaging and it was not utterly dreadful to watch ..... but, oh wow talking about it afterwards. I really don't want to just dump all over it as I'll say again, it was far from an awful evening but sheesh. I'm gonna cover the whole thing so I will spoiler up just in case. {Spoiler}{Spoiler - click to view}Okay, so there is a lot of pretentious crap in the dialogue, the two American characters go on at each other about authors and it just does nothing other than disconnect us from the characters. It seems to serve no purpose, an editor could have done good work there and if anything added to rather than detracted from the play.
Early on there is full male nudity, the play is advertised with a bit of an edge and it's got a bit of a tease - but the nudity is brief and almost purely as a character changes clothes. And then that is it. I do realise this sounds like I'm complaining but having read a bit on the way home about the original presentation of the play, there was a lot more nudity and the point where the lights go off to end the first half in this production goes quite a bit further in the original - which then makes some later dialogue make more sense. I wonder if it was cut? So it left us thinking that this single early scene of nudity was left/placed in just to allow advertising. The perhaps (and I stress the word perhaps) the more story driven (story justified?) nudity is gone but the advertising certainly implies it is not.
So we are suppose to believe there is essentially a love triangle going on but it’s just not there on stage. It *might* be there in the dialogue and the premise, I will grant that, but it was not there on stage. There’s cliched stereotypes and perhaps with a strong cast and some chemistry this might have been more convincing but I struggle to see how it cover-comes the sheer misogyny that is inherent to the story.
On the cast, I will note first that we saw the third performance.
James Burman was really good in places, there were moments where he was way better than the production and so I'll give him credit for that.
I honestly cannot tell you if Freddy Sawyer was any good. The role is thankless and he is quite OTT in places but that could have been what he was asked to do. I'd think he probably deserves a look in something else before passing further comment.
Tian Chaudhry is given a tough job and I'm sorry to say we thought really struggled throughout.
Finally 'Scenes of Adult Nature' in the performance information is doing a lot of heaving lifting, sure drug usage and sex but also suicide and sexual assault. I think this could have been expanded a bit more.
On a lighter note the most entertaining thing about the evening was the overheard conversation at the interval where a woman's daughter was emphatically not prepared to explain what 'she tea bagged my nuts' meant.
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Post by Dave B on Oct 10, 2021 11:46:40 GMT
The Cherry Orchard - Windsor Royal.
When the Windsor Royal announced Ian McKellen in Hamlet and then the Cherry Orchard, we decided to do both but had agreed on one of the more expensive seats and then one of the cheaper seats. So while were nicely at the front of the stalls for Hamlet, we were in the back row of the circle for this at yesterday's matinee. Or at least we should have been but there were at least 1/3 of the seats empty (and this has been on seat filling all week), so we moved forward a good bit which was nice.
It was... not great. My partner had a bit of better opinion of it than I did but it mostly felt dull. There were bits were dialogue had been updated 'innit' and none of it seemed to flow. The company ... they almost came across as disinterested to be honest. Actors who had been quite strong in Hamlet didn't seem to be making a go of this at all and all of it seemed over the top, Pischik is just a drunken buffoon and seems directed to imagine he was in a panto at times.
I think it has opened, but I can't seem to find any reviews or anything so I don't know if it is getting any traction. I struggle to see how it might complete it's run if widely seatfilled less than a week into it and it's still not filling up.
A shame, but we enjoyed our day trip to Windsor.
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Post by Dave B on Oct 11, 2021 10:02:51 GMT
Just for the sake of fairness, I wanted to note that I found out this morning I was mistaken in my last post in this thread. The Cherry Orchard has not opened yet, press night was pushed back and is this week (13th) so this was still a preview that we saw.
It's too late to edit my post but there we are.
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Post by Dave B on Oct 25, 2021 9:16:27 GMT
Maryland - Royal Court
A script in hand new play by Lucy Kirkwood written in reaction to the murders of Sabina Nessa and Sarah Everard. A 25 minute drama with simple chalk lines showing a street and a police station and a chorus of Furies sat along side. The Furies speak both separately and in tandem as they poll the audience about ways women think and act in order to feel safe. There is a lot of humour in this in places but it's black, black humour and it is mostly filled with rage - a well deserved rage and builds this asking throughout why we, all of us, are not more angry.
Great performances, I saw it with cast 6, there was a pretty strong reaction throughout the audience.
The play has been made available for performance for the next few weeks, so if you see this on locally - do consider a visit.
Chrysalis - Jermyn Street Theatre
A one night only presentation of two new plays, both around an hour, at JST.
First up Butterflies of Life written by and starring Chirag Benedict Lobo & Daniel Adeosun. They are students at an elite drama school and have a strong, easily visible, friendship based in no small part on a shared experience of being in the minority and the many, many comments that have been made by their classmates and their teachers. Hugely funny throughout and the two guys work so well together. Builds to an ending with a howl. Hugely eager to see what both do next in both writing and acting. Looking 'em up after, I see that Daniel Adeosun is in Trouble in Mind opening in the NT next month so an extra reason to look forward to that.
Then SCRATCHES by and starring Aoife Kennan. She is part of Plain Heroines who did the excellent The Fourth Country at the Vault Festival (and playing in the Park Theatre for a month from early January). This is a one-woman show... or at least that is how it starts out. It's a mixture of a stand-up, a two-hander, a straight up talk with more than a sprinkling of meta commentary and it is gripping. The story of Girl who has been self-harming and it tells her story, heartbreak and pain and friendship and it is bitingly funny, touching and sad.
Frankly, that was a ridiculous night at JST. Either play was more than worth the £10 price of admission and both had superb writing and acting.
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Post by cavocado on Oct 25, 2021 9:34:25 GMT
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Post by Dave B on Nov 8, 2021 11:56:34 GMT
Quick thoughts.
Tender Napalm - King’s Head
Funny, explicit (in language) and full of energy. A two hander where the monologues are extensive and can include substantial movement. We both enjoyed this a lot and the title is excellent and really *really* works within the context of the play, an excellent description too.
The Girl Who Was Very Good At Lying - Omnibus.
One actor show where Rachael Rooney does an excellent job of bringing us into her world and the other characters around her. The small, funny, lies as she plays tour guide to a visiting American bring other things to the front as their travels go on. Simple set, a spider-web of lies and a smart script to complement the excellent performance.
Old Bridge - Bush Theatre.
The young cast are all excellent and bring a nice extra level to a story which has a lot of potential but doesn’t quite work. The main emotional impact being built around the physical bridge rather than the characters - so that didn’t land so well (no pun intended). Some really nice bits of dialogue and for a play written pre-Covid, some very pertinent thoughts on living with a change in the world really jumped out. Don’t get me wrong, we enjoyed this and it’s well worth a look, it just feels like it had the potential to be a little more.
All of these were booked and in our diary for a while but I have seen offers for each of these recently. Well worth it.
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Post by cavocado on Nov 8, 2021 12:32:52 GMT
Value Engineering (Tabernacle Notting Hill). Verbatim play edited from the transcripts of the Grenfell Enquiry. My first experience of a verbatim play so I don't feel I really know how to review it except to say I found it compelling and shocking and would recommend it. The Tabernacle was interesting to visit too. Also at Birmingham Rep later in the month.
The Sugar House (Finborough). Set in Sydney with some interesting themes about gentrification, institutional corruption, and the precariousness of working class communities. Committed performances too, but the writing sometimes felt a bit cliched and lacking in emotional nuance.
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Post by Dave B on Nov 8, 2021 16:20:11 GMT
Just got an email from Stratford East - they are putting it on twice later this month.
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Post by showgirl on Nov 28, 2021 5:32:49 GMT
Blue/Orange - Joe Penhall - Touring
Sorry, I've no idea how to type in bold on here and can't see any options to do so but I caught this at one of the tour venues and it was fantastic. I hadn't seen it since the original NT production in 2000 and couldn't remember much about that. As the Guardian reviewer pointed out, the fact that two of the three characters are played by black actors instead of one only as in the NT production really changes the dynamic. Shame it was so poorly-attended when I saw it but it received a pretty unanimous standing ovation and I'm still thinking about it now.
This is a co-production between the Theatre Royal Bath, Royal & Derngate Northampton and Oxford Playhouse.
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Post by londonpostie on Nov 28, 2021 6:20:56 GMT
Anyone seen 'Yes So I Said Yes' yet (David Ireland at the Finborough)?
He sent me reeling into Sloane Square last time ..
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Post by Dave B on Nov 28, 2021 9:03:38 GMT
Anyone seen 'Yes So I Said Yes' yet (David Ireland at the Finborough)? He sent me reeling into Sloane Square last time .. Yes!
I was there on the first night and I laughed so hard.
Utterly surreal - bonkers would be an apt word more than once. I don't know what the content warning that comes with it is but it has got to be significant and cover a lot of topics. It has a similar sort of emotional core as Cyprus Avenue but without such a single standout gut-punch.
It does help to have at least a small amount of knowledge of Northern Ireland and The Troubles, there were several moments where it was clear the people who got references were laughing and others were just sat there a bit lost. It's not all references and local language (the programme has one reference noted and updated for this run - which in turn caused me huge amusement when I read the note on the way home after) but a little knowledge will go a long way. Not talking encyclopedic but if anyone does not know what the UVF is, how punishment beatings were done and what a Fenian refers to... then you might miss a bit.
Empathically not for everyone, deliberately provocative and offensive pretty much throughout. If you enjoyed the black humour in Cyprus Avenue then, this is a lot of that and dialed up. I've seen at least one review suggesting that David Ireland had mellowed between this one and Cyprus Avenue! Having said that, if you do not know about one particular thing beforehand, it's quite a moment(!) so there is a fine balance between deciding you want to see this and knowing enough but also not enough to detract from the experience.
Runtime slightly longer than the website had said, around 10 minutes longer I think. A combined programme and playtext for a fiver. The pub is still closed and unlike recent performances there, this time no drinks are allowed be brought in. Seating is pick your own, any of the front benches are likely fine. I was first in (it was too cold to wait outside!) and was chatting with FoH beforehand, they suggested front bench on the side was best and I can't complain at all about their suggestion. |
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Post by londonpostie on Nov 28, 2021 9:47:26 GMT
Hello Dave, well that's what I was hoping to hear!
He's unique for sure. Can't wait now. Thanks  |
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Post by NeilVHughes on Nov 28, 2021 10:23:58 GMT
Thanks for the review, had missed this and will definitely try to catch it before it closes.
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Post by david on Dec 2, 2021 21:46:06 GMT
Following on from Dave B’s review of Yes So I Said Yes, having watched it tonight I can definitely recommend it. A really great evening at the Finborough Theatre. Having originally booked it based on enjoying the Cyprus Road stream a lot, Yes So I Said Yes was just completely bonkers that it kept us in stitches all night. With it being a straight through play worked in its favour and worked really well in the theatres’s intimate auditorium and we got out by around 8.50pm with a 7.30pm start. |
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Post by cavocado on Dec 21, 2021 18:15:39 GMT
Cratchit, Park Theatre (Park 90). This felt like more of a storytelling than a play, partly A Christmas Carol from the viewpoint of Scrooge's clerk, who then meets his own spirits on the way home. It goes a bit off-course and is quite whacky in the second half, with the spirits showing Cratchit various visions of the future {Spoiler - click to view}planes, world wars, David Bowie songs, trainers, Covid and a couple of bits I didn't quite understand It could have done with being a bit shorter and I found it a bit bleak for a Christmas show - a lot about the terrible lives of the Victorian poor. There is a hopeful ending but it's a bit abrupt after a lot of misery. Good performances from both actors, and a very appreciative audience who probably felt like me - lucky to be seeing one last show this year among all the cancellations.
Just editing to add that I did enjoy it, especially the performances, but don't go along expecting something sentimental and heartwarming!
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Post by Dave B on Jan 19, 2022 16:30:52 GMT
Fair Play - Bush TheatreEnjoyable two hander with two strong performances. However as events develop and as you clearly see {Spoiler - click to view}Caster Semenya{Spoiler} as an inspiration for this, it kinda looses track. What was a great and dynamic story about two young elite athletes and their friendship, we leap forward to ripped from the headlines and the focus becomes more on that with the relationship that worked so well taking such a back seat that I can't help but feel it was lost to the rules and decisions that take over. Of course, that could be very true, it could take over everything - I'd have rather stuck with the so well built relationship.
A Fight Against… (Una Lucha Contra…) - Royal Court (Jerwood Theatre Upstairs)Thoroughly enjoyable connection of stories in or about Latin America with underlying themes and touchpoint. Cast and stage move smartly between the times and locations. Funny, darkly funny. Strong cast but I was very taken with Joseph Balderrama. Conundrum - Young Vic (Maria)Anthony Ofoegbu is excellent, delivering a performance that was engaging, emotive and expressive. A man on a journey through memory and searching for the meaning in life. Breaks the fourth wall more than once and turns out the Conundrum he trapped in might also just be the play as the text on the stage floor appears to have been an earlier version of the script. I didn't love it, my partner was very taken with it but we both agreed easily with price of admission for Anthony Ofoegbu. Not sure how it is selling as I have seen a few offers including YV offering £5 tickets.
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Post by Dave B on Feb 27, 2022 9:16:28 GMT
Measured - The Hope Theatre.
Sophie has just been released from inpatient treatment for an eating disorder and Measured looks at the impact on her relationships with her partner and younger sister. Warm, funny and felt quite honest. Enjoyed this, thought the relationships we see and the ones we hear about were all solid. Good cast.
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Post by esmediaz on Feb 27, 2022 15:29:13 GMT
I finally get this "post a review" thing! When i lived in London and was lucky enough to be able to walk to the West End or South Bank from work, I never read reviews and didn't see the point of writing them -- I just went to everything I could get a £20ish ticket for. Now I've moved to the provinces and theatre trips require planning ahead, travel, sometimes hotel, and full priced tickets, I finally get it. I've just joined the board (having been a lurker for about 5 years!) and will endeavour to post reviews. Here's two from the past couple of weeks:
Bat out of hell -- Canterbury.
Epic! But then I'm a fan. Saw it from the circle for the first time and really enjoyed the alternative view. Sound quality was incredible, so much better than Wimbledon (except in Dead Ringer which was a shame,but maybe they'd optimised the balance for the likes of All Coming Back and Anything For Love as those sounded truly amazing).
Dr Semmelweis -- Bristol
Really enjoyed it, definitely worth a watch if it pops up elsewhere. Rylance was masterful. The dancers were a bit superfluous in act 1 but I thought they added something in act 2. Thought it was 5 stars at the time, on reflection probably 4, but it was the first play I'd seen since early 2020 so initial reaction may have been a touch overenthusiastic.
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Post by Dave B on Mar 1, 2022 20:45:55 GMT
Me again, I hope no-one minds if I do keep posting brief reviews of smaller shows/shows without threads.
Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon - Southwark Playhouse
I feel bad, The Small can seat maybe 100... there were 5 of us at today's matinee. Okay, yes it is a tube strike day and that should be taken into account but oof.
Full props to Rosie Day who was great, she came out and smashed the performance. I think the only noticeable change was a lot more eye contact with us when she was focusing on particular moments. Smart writing, smart performance. Funny in places and still packing a couple of punches. Ends this week and I'm glad I caught it.
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Post by cavocado on Mar 10, 2022 10:16:11 GMT
Running with Lions - Hammersmith Lyric
Been meaning to post about this. Well worth seeing, but I think it closes on Saturday. Family drama about a mother with bipolar disorder, the impact it has on her teenage daughter, her relationship with elderly religious parents, also about the impact of grief on a family. I particularly liked the way it portrayed the relationship of the elderly couple. Very impressive writing for a debut playwright - Sian Carter.
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Post by Dave B on Mar 12, 2022 8:01:10 GMT
After The End - Stratford East.I don’t know why this was produced now to be honest. First let me say the cast are good, the staging is good, the direction is good… but the play itself. The playtext says this is a revised version of the 2005 play… yikes. It is cliche after cliche after cliche and then sexual violence and while the lights do go down, they stay up longer than needed and come back on too fast. {Spoiler - click to view}Within minutes the ‘twist’ is obvious, it is so obvious that I found myself thinking that it must be something else and that the ending will be nuclear fallout, but no. The ending is the assault victim looking to her attacker for… almost comfort. Ugh. Now don’t get me wrong, there are things the play has to say, the changing dynamic and power dynamic between the two characters is rich at points and takes us on a journey, but then that journey just ends in cliche so often. Is it me? Is it just post-pandemic (for a given value of post-pandemic) combined with headlines warning of nuclear war that mean I’m not in the right place to sit and watch this - yes maybe, entirely possible but I’m still left thinking why on earth this was put on now and that it has not aged well at all. Volcano - Lion & Unicorn.Jamie O'Neill takes us on a 12 hour blitz through London after his life goes quite wrong one evening. Like everything from Profroca since reopening (AAAAA, Lately), this is driven by a fantastic performance from a young actor. The writing isn't quite as sharp this time around and I found myself drifting off into thoughts once or twice. Pulled right back in at points and the questions to the monologue audience do help. Again could have just been me, was tired after a long week. Still enjoyed it and would certainly consider it worth seeing for Jamie O'Neill's performance alone and I'm still going to book whatever Proforca announce next.
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Post by Dave B on Mar 20, 2022 14:02:13 GMT
Dev’s Army - Bread & Roses
Dark funny Irish play about three lookouts watching over the Irish Sea in 1941. Very solid performances, a great set (really notable for a pub theatre). I liked this a lot and found it very funny. Resonates with the newly reinvigorate debate around Ireland's neutrality given the invasion of Ukraine. A play from over a decade ago, set over 80 years ago and could be ripped from the headlines in places.
Tom Fool - Orange Tree
Long and you feel the length when a large section of the play is the silence between the family members, the things unsaid and the emotions (feeling hard done by, resentment) all bottled up. I enjoyed this, my partner didn’t so much. An odd interval, a very long first half and then such a short second half. A small but notable number of people didn’t come back for the second half.
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Post by Dave B on Mar 31, 2022 10:59:01 GMT
Me again!
Mohand & Peter - Southwark Playhouse
Interesting afternoon, two great performances as Mohand and Peter take a trip back to Mohand's native Sudan in their imaginations and bring us along through physical theatre and some small props. Very inventive, a lot of fun being had on stage. The end falls a bit flat and I thought let the whole thing down a bit but I enjoyed the journey there along the way.
Mojo Mickybo - Union Theatre
Two young boys become friends in Belfast in 1970 and the divide in the community comes between them. Brilliant, hilarious throughout and yet very sad. Two amazing performances as just two actors play a range of characters and switch between them sometimes with a simple twirl. Audience last night loved it, very short London run from a well established NI company. 100% worth catching before the weekend.
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Post by marob on Mar 31, 2022 23:09:49 GMT
Catch Me If You Can - UK tour. Following a whirlwind romance a man reports his new wife to the police as a missing person. She then walks through the door. Or does she…? Being marketed as a thriller, the wikipedia entry classifies it as a comedy. I’d lean more towards comedy as it was a rather funny Hitchcockian story of someone becoming caught up in an evil plot. Patrick Duffy was a likeable lead, if a little subdued. He was also mic’ed up, but I don’t think anyone else was. It was a show that apparently only ran on Broadway for three months back in 1965, but feels retro rather than dated and I thought it was a very enjoyable afternoon at the theatre (especially considering the last comedy I saw from Bill Kenwright was Rough Crossing.)
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