THEGAYUK

Category: Theatre

  • THEATRE REVIEW | It Happened in Key West, Charing Cross Theatre, London

    THEATRE REVIEW | It Happened in Key West, Charing Cross Theatre, London

    ★★★ | It Happened in Key West

    A true story of a man who dug up the love of his life is a musical called It Happened in Key West.

    Yes, it did happen in Key West. In the 1940s, Count Carl Von Cosel fell in love with a woman, Elena, he was treating for tuberculosis . She died, but von Cosel was so infatuated and in love with her that he dug up her body and, for over 7 years, lived with her, well not really with her but with her body, in his house, in Key West.

    Now playing at the Charing Cross Theatre, with book, music and lyrics by Jill Santoriello, book and additional lyrics by Jason Huza, and book and original content by Jeremiah Janes who all collaborated together to create this musical, while a bit on the funny side, is too morbid and too silly to be taken seriously, and not funny enough to be camp and over the top.

    Having said that, Wade Mccollum is great as the Count. He’s got a great singing voice, especially in a song where he pines for Elena (‘Undying Love’ and ‘I’ve Never Felt This way’) are two standouts. He commands the stage and surely belongs in the West End but in a better show. Alyssa Martyn is just fine as Elena, who surprisingly dies before the first half is finished – it might’ve made more sense to have her die after the first half, but she does sing ‘I Feel Love,’ while dead, in the second half, and comes ‘back to life’ at the very end to sing, beautifully, in the finale. Director and Choreographer Marc Robin doesn’t have a whole lot to work with, it seems like the same 12 boxes remained as the set the whole way through the show. ‘It Happened in Key West,’ billed as a New Romantic Musical Comedy, is not much of a musical nor a romance.

    http://www.charingcrosstheatre.co.uk

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Dusty: The Dusty Springfield Musical, Sheffield Theatres and National Tour

    ★★★★☆ | Dusty: The Dusty Springfield Musical

    It wasn’t just her voice that made Dusty Springfield so distinctive. In 1964, she was deported from South Africa for refusing to play to segregated audiences. She stood up against male musicians who wouldn’t be told how to play their instruments by a woman. She was the first singer to be open about their bisexuality and had a long-term relationship with a black woman at a time when both sexuality and race were incredibly sensitive social issues, and she championed black artists breaking into the UK mainstream. But behind the beehive and eyeshadow was a tragic individual brimming with self-loathing and doubt, and one who struggled with her mental health, sexuality and substance misuse.

    During one key scene, when asked whether she had any regrets, Dusty says “I wish I’d been more open”, and with her troubled private life, her own issues and guilt around her sexuality, and her willingness to stand up for what she believed in, it is easy to see why Dusty became, and remains, a gay icon. Written by Jonathan Harvey (Beautiful Thing; Gimme, Gimme, Gimme), the play nestles somewhere in between musical biopic and jukebox musical, and looks at Springfield’s life from her first solo hit to her death in 1999, without shying away from her darker years and the troubles which blighted her in private.

    Katherine Kingsley not only carries the show, but is quite simply outstanding, with a performance that captures the look, sound and emotions of the iconic performer to perfection, particularly in the show’s denouement, with a powerhouse performance of “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me”; whilst Joanna Francis stands out as Lois, Springfield’s long-term partner, with a voice which drips with pure soul. Harvey’s script handles Dusty’s bisexuality and lesbianism with sensitivity, and the show provides many touching scenes between Dusty and Lois. It is refreshingly pleasing to see such a positive and tender portrayal of a lesbian relationship in mainstream theatre.

    Harvey’s script is warm and instantly accessible, although a little clumsy at times in its integration of high drama and sitcom humour; and whilst the songs are undeniable classics and span the length of her career, they are perhaps not abundant enough. Whilst the set is over-reliant on projected images and the production values overall require a lot of spit and polish, the enthusiasm of the cast and some outstanding performances elevate Dusty to a suitably heartfelt and, ultimately, very enjoyable tribute to a classic artist.

    Dusty: The Dusty Springfield Musical is at Sheffield Lyceum Theatre until the 14th July 2018 before continuing on its national tour.

  • Five best musicals to see in London this summer

    London town is home to great theatre, famous across the globe for its treasured West End – second only to (maybe) Broadway in New York. So what is worth watching in this city, this summer?

    Chicago

    If you’ve never seen Chicago on stage and only know it from the Hollywood film then you’re missing out. It has to be seen in the flesh (and there’s a lot of flesh on show). The men are beefy and scantily clad and the women are Vaudevillian and slinky. The set and costumes are pared back with an on-stage orchestra belting out all those classic Kander and Ebb hits. The choreography is note perfect with all the shoulder shrugs, finger clicks and pelvic thrusts that you expect from Bob Fosse. Yes, it’s the same old show that we got in the 90s but who cares? It’s a veritable classic. With murderesses this stylish and camp who needs anything new.  Tickets reduced to £30 (some with no booking fee)

    Bat Out Of Hell

    Raven is a lonely girl – she’s not allowed outside at all – but she really wants to experience the outside world, to ride the subway, to meet a boy. In the outside world Strat (Andrew Polec) leads a gang of nomads and hangers-on, and he’s always dreamt of catching the girl – particularly Raven, but she’s not available. So all sorts of musical mayhem takes place including Strat trying to kidnap Raven so that he and her can be together. Meanwhile, one of the gang members (a fabulous Danielle Steers – returning) is slowly falling in love with another gang member, while she’s actually a maid in the Falco household. She knows their secrets, and lies.

    This is the story, in a nutshell, but the way it’s told is spectacular. Motorcycles, explosions, video projection, skimpy costumes, a convertible on stage that was formerly a dining room table, and said convertible plunging off the stage into the orchestra pit – it’s all musical mayhem – from a rock classic album, and it is just as good on stage as it is on the album and when it played at the Coliseum. The cast dance and prance on stage, and with most of the songs dealing with love, Bat Out of Hell is a love story set to rock music. It’s loud, it’s crazy, it’s superb! No booking fee on tickets available. Tickets are available from £15.00

    Wicked

    55 million people can’t be wrong, which is why Wicked is one of the world’s most successful musicals. Wicked is going into its 12th year in London and it’s still fresh, timely and defying expectations. Wicked takes you behind The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz story to find out about the two witches featured in the original story, “Wicked Witch”, Elphaba (you know the one – green and gets the bucket of water) – played by Alice Fearn and the “Good Witch”, Glinda (you know, the one that arrives by bubble) played by Sophie Evans. Tickets from £25.30

     

    Tina

    Playing at the Aldwych Theatre, Tina charts the ups, and many downs, of Tina’s life. Born as Ann-Mae Bullock, in 1939, we are shown, first hand, how, as a little girl, she was brought up in a violent household where her father hit her mother, causing her mother to move away with her sister (leaving Ann-Mae behind). Tickets available from £23.21

     

    42nd Street

    Mark Bramble, who originally wrote the book (along with Michael Stewart) directs this new production, and it’s a non-stop bacchanalia of fun! And with an amazing and flawless cast of over 50, 42nd Street has gotten better with time, even though it tells the same old time-trodden story of a young girl from a small town – Peggy Sawyer – who goes to the big city and dreams of making it big. She gets a job as a backup dancer in a new show called Pretty Lady, and the Pretty Lady in the title is Dorothy Brock (fabulously played by singer Sheena Easton). Brock is in love with Pat (Norman Bowman), who disappears off to Philadelphia. So Brock wants to follow him there, forcing the show to move to there. But Brock breaks her ankle, so after getting fired for causing Brock to break her leg, Sawyer is roped back into the show, this time as it’s lead, and she’s only got 48 hours to learn the part, to learn the dance moves, and is wooed and coddled by director Julian Marsh (Tom Lister). But it’s Billy (Stuart Neal) who really takes a liking to her. Will she be ready and rehearsed in time to open the show? Will the nerves get the best of her? I’m sure we can all figure out how it plays out – and plays out it does, much to our delight!  No booking fee and tickets are available from £15.78

     

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Circa’s Peepshow – Underbelly’s Spiegeltent

    ★★★★☆ | Circa’s Peepshow – Underbelly’s Spiegeltent

    Toned bodies, remarkable feats of athleticism, raw performances and a winning sense of humour make for an exhilarating evening of the unexpected in Circa’s Peepshow at the Underbelly’s Spiegeltent. Blending breathtaking gymnastics with an air of the unexpected, “Peep Show” is an evening out unlike any other.

    Circa Contemporary Circus is one of the world’s leading performance companies – founded in Brisbane, Australia in 2004. Running a training centre alongside their touring performances, they’re a company committed to training and developing the next generation of performers – allowing them to encourage artists of exceptional talent, and explaining why Circa have had sell-out shows at the Underbelly over the last few years.

    The title “Peep Show” may bring to mind something rather sordid, but that certainly isn’t the case here – the immediacy of the staging in the beautiful Spiegeltent ensuring that both the audience and the performers can see each other at all times – allowing a closeness and immediacy perhaps best highlighted by the regular gasps heard when a performer landed close to an audience member.

    That’s not to say the show isn’t sexy – anything with ridiculously muscled performers in various states of undress is going to give the majority of the audience a thrill, but the sexiness is balanced with a ridiculous sense humour and strong elements of the unexpected that are as surprising as they are entertaining. The unpredictability of some moments adds a tension to the performance that isn’t often found in such circus/burlesque shows, and frequently left the audience a little unsure of what to do – nervous murmurings replacing applause on more than a few occasions. Certainly not a bad thing as far as I’m concerned, adding a real air of originality and surprise to a genre that can be a little bit samey at times.

    With no plot and very few props, the focus never lets up on the performers – but this multi-talented lot don’t let the pressure get to them for a moment, and all show remarkable flexibility, not just as athletes but performers, switching between comedy, dance, physical theatre and pure circus at the drop of a hat. David Trappes is a particular standout in this his debut show with Circa – a wonderfully expressive face allowing him to make the most of the comedic elements in the piece, and both Jessica Connell and Jarred Dewey prove magnetic during periods spent alone on the stage. With not a weak link amongst them, it’s a shame that there aren’t more moments when the entire cast are on stage – as their movements as a group are slick, mesmerising and clearly the product of a bond built over a long period of development.

    Some aspects of the show do feel a little unfinished, but the rapid pace of the show ensures that nothing drags for long – and the standing ovation at the end showed that the audience clearly enjoyed this spectacular combination of performance and physicality.
    Clever, contemporary and completely original, Circa’s Peepshow is a great performance powered solely by a fantastically talented bunch of performers. It’s a great addition to Underbelly’s line-up this year and I heartily recommend giving it a watch.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | An Officer and a Gentleman – Edinburgh Playhouse

    ★★★☆☆ | An Officer and a Gentleman

    Officer and a Gentleman review Edinburgh Playhouse

    Based on the classic film of the same name, An Officer and A Gentleman tells the story of Zack Mayo, a trainee fighter pilot who is from the wrong side of the tracks and is trying to make his way through the Naval Academy. Paula is a local girl working in a factory where she and her colleagues see the only way of escaping their humdrum lives is by being swept off their feet by a pilot and whisked away. But what starts off as a little bit of fun between the two of them becomes something more, but will either of them admit their true feelings?

    The show, and the first act in particular, thunders across the stage with dizzying speed and a relentless energy, in a production which is noisy, loud, bold and incredibly unsubtle; where a collision of lighting, sound, projected images, live music and a barrage of costume changes combine to be the absolute antithesis of the “less is more” school of thought.

    Jonny Fines makes for an appealing enough lead as Zack Mayo, with his ridiculously ripped form and a wry smile, nestling in nicely alongside his fellow recruits who appeared to have been hand-picked primarily for their pecs and ‘ceps appeal.  But despite the testosterone-fuelled world depicted in the story, the stage belonged firmly to the female ensemble, bringing some decent vocal performances to lift the broadly functional performances of the cast.

    Nikolai Foster’s direction takes the scattergun approach of throwing sufficient tricks, bells and whistles at the audience in the hope that some of them will stick, with a roughly even split of hits and misses. The show is set to an eclectic mix of 80’s classics, the musical numbers varied in terms of quality and performance, with a belting rendition of Alone by Emma Williams only serving to highlight the pub circuit stylings of some of the other musical numbers. There is a mix of soft rock classics (“I Want to Know what Love is”, “The Final Countdown”), some bubble-gum pop (“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”, “Material Girl”) and some of the lesser celebrated 80’s staples (“Hearts on Fire”, “Working for the Weekend”) compounding the scattergun feel of the show, but not necessarily in a bad way.

    But that is where the show really hits its stride. It never pretends to be anything other than what it is intended to be, namely a fun, cheesy and fairly corny slice of entertaining escapism. By the time the show draws to a conclusion with its iconic ending set to a sweeping rendition of ‘Up Where We Belong’, you can’t help but be suckered in by the feel-good factor of this slice of 80’s cheese.

    *This review was taken from the Sheffield production of the same tour*

    BOOK TICKETS TO SEE AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN HERE

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Wicked, Victoria Apollo Theatre

    ★★★★☆ | Wicked, Victoria Apollo Theatre

    Wicked Theatre review,

    55 million people can’t be wrong, which is why Wicked is one of the world’s most successful musicals. Wicked is going into its 12th year in London and it’s still fresh, timely and defying expectations.

    The story is believed, by many, to be the prequel to L Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, however, its creator has actually suggested that the story is more of an alternate universe, Gregory Maguire, who wrote the novel on which this musical is based, says it’s a “re-imagining” of the same world – and the action takes place before, during and after the original story.

    Wicked takes you behind The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz story to find out about the two witches featured in the original story, “Wicked Witch”, Elphaba (you know the one – green and gets the bucket of water) – played by Alice Fearn and the “Good Witch”, Glinda (you know, the one that arrives by bubble) played by Sophie Evans.

    After meeting and becoming roommates at Shiz University, (think Harry Potter meets Clueless) the two witches form a love/hate relationship. They decide to make their way to meet the great and powerful Oz, where they discover that something incredibly sinister is being pushed onto the citizens of Oz.

    What follows is a moving story of overcoming discrimination, learning to trust and believe in yourself and two strong women changing the world for the better.

    I have just two criticisms. Although the central relationship is about two women, which makes a wonderful change from the heteronormativity of most musicals – boy girls, girl sings to boy, boy and girl fall in love – the end – I couldn’t help but notice that when it came to the massive, impressive ensemble pieces, the dancing was still male on female, which is a shame. Watch any TV show, (a particular shoutout to Netflix) now and if there’s a school dance or a group scene you’ll always see a nod towards its LGBT+ audience, but not Wicked – which, based on musical theatre’s huge gay fan base, is a missed opportunity.

    The second is the finale. It’s such a disappointment.

    It’s not the way in which the story wraps up, it’s just there’s no finishing song, no reprise of any of the show’s standout hits of which there are four main songs, ‘Popular’, ‘I’m Not That Girl’, ‘For Good’ and of course, the hit ‘Defying Gravity’. To summaries two hours and 45 minutes of stratospheric vocals, incredible costumery and feel-good, sparkling story-telling, the audience is delivered a sub-2-minute song with a walk down.

    Shame really, it deserves much better.

    Book tickets for Wicked in London and for the Tour here.

  • Theatre Review | Jersey Boys, Sheffield Lyceum

    ★★★☆☆ | Jersey Boys, Sheffield Lyceum Theatre

    From the streets of Brooklyn to the height of fame, Jersey Boys tells the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, their musical legacy, including Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like A Man, Can’t Take My Eyes off You  and Working My Way Back To You is showcased in this musical biopic.

    Rising from humble beginnings to major success, the boys bond, bicker and battle their way to becoming one of the most successful groups of their generation; but their success comes with a background of prison time, heartbreak, family problems and the testing of loyalty.

    With a number of musical biopics doing the rounds, what makes Jersey Boys stand out from the crowd is that it not only has an interesting story, but it boasts a narrative which doesn’t shy away from the darker moments of the group’s story; and all of this is neatly packaged into a show which is surprisingly fast paced and has a slick and polished production. But the story has heart, and underneath the sequined jackets and the boys’ bravado is a story about friendship, loyalty and about making those around you your family.

    What leads this tour to stand out from previous tours is the excellent on-stage chemistry between the four leads. Their harmonies are excellent, their timing impeccable and their dance moves simple but tightly performed. Michael Watson as Frankie Valli hits his falsetto highs with ease, whilst Simon Bailey steals the show as the motormouth Tommy Devito, filling his character with a cocksure swagger and an overconfident arrogance; which is nicely juxtaposed by  Lewis Griffith’s subtle underplaying of the role of Nick Massi.

    Whilst the music takes centre stage, and the 33 musical numbers come thick and fast, the attention to detail stands out. The supporting cast, the costumes, the trademark choreography, the lighting and the live orchestra all added to the rounded production values of the show. Despite its gritty backstory, the show remains a foot stomping, singalong, feel-good affair, which encapsulates the spirit of the group and effortlessly brings the audience to their feet as the curtain falls.

    Jersey Boys is playing at the Sheffield Lyceum Theatre until the 30th June 2018 before continuing on its national tour.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Kiss Me Kate, London Coliseum

    ★★★★☆ | Kiss Me Kate, London Coliseum

    Kiss Me Kate London review

    If you want glossy and lavish then look no further than this stunning revival of Cole Porter’s classic 1940s musical. It’s a musical in the classic tradition with more hot hoofing than you can shake a fire extinguisher at, grand ensemble pieces galore and a raft of witty songs. Your nan would probably love this and I suspect she wouldn’t be alone. You’ll love it too.

    Opera North’s witty revival of this foppish tale of theatre people bickering endlessly whilst they stage ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ is a real gem. They’ve polished up this antique till it positively gleams. The sets and costumes are things of beauty and at times exceed the pace of the show.

    There’s a perfectly executed tap set piece performed by suave young Alan Burkitt and the extended version of the classic ‘Always True to You in My Fashion’ is note perfect with a superlative performance from Stephanie Corley. Yes, it’s slightly uneven with occasional lulls in the first act but the second act is a blink and you’d miss it joy from start to finish.

    Miss this at your peril. It’s riotous fun and yes, it’s pretty darn hot but don’t fear, it’s also ideal for a sultry summer night in the air-conditioned Coliseum.

    Runs until 30th of June 2018 – tickets available from £11.90

     

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Beirut, Park Theatre

    THEATRE REVIEW | Beirut, Park Theatre

    A disease is wiping out the human race, and those unlucky enough to be positive will die a slow death. This is the premise of the hard-hitting and surreally erotic play Beirut.

    CREDIT: Loranc Sparsi
    Beirut, now playing at the Park Theatre, imagines what would happen, in New York City, where a disease is wiping out some of the population.  Meanwhile, one positive man called Torch (Robert Rees), and a negative woman called Blue (Louisa Connolly-Burnham), are in love with each other. How do they express their love? The disease is spread via bodily fluids – any fluids – including saliva, sweat, and kissing. So what do they do?
    Torch lives in a small underground bunker, and Blue sneaks in to be with him. But she’s breaking the law; negatives are not allowed to be with positives, but they clearly love, and lust, for each other. The two gutsy actors spend all of the time in the play (60 minutes) in their underwear, or sometimes less, but it’s not sexy, it’s hard-hitting, with raw intensity both actors convey in the emotions their characters are going through. Torch will definitely die and Blue will almost certainly live, that’s if she doesn’t give in and contract the disease from Torch.
    The backstory of this play has to be mentioned. It was written by Alan Browne, from San Francisco, in the mid-1980s, at the height of the AIDS’ crisis when gay men were dropping like flies. It was first performed at the Bay Area Playwrights Festival in 1986, and three years later Browne would die of the disease himself, at the age of 44. So we can assume that the unmentioned disease Browne alludes to is AIDS.
    But since Browne’s original intention was to not write a story about HIV and AIDS (perhaps he thought the future was going to be just like the plot of his play), it, in my opinion, would work much better as a play about that dreadful disease. However, it still is a brutal in-your-face show that is perhaps not as relevant now as when it was written, but it still makes for explosive, and well-acted, theatre.
  • Curious Festival

    Curious Festival

    It’s June. It’s Pride month and this year celebrates the 49th anniversary of the Stonewall riots that kickstarted a revolution for LGBTQ people. It’s 51 years since homosexuality was decriminalised but it’s also 30 years since Section 28 was passed and under that law, had it not been repealed in 2003, something like the Curious Arts Festival would have never been allowed to happen.

    Founded by Creative Director, Phil Douglas, in 2016, he devised Curious to fill a niche in the market. Phil was inspired by events like Homotopia in Liverpool and Contact in Manchester. He was driven to create something just as interesting, diverse and inclusive for the North East and celebrate the rich talent of the region’s LGBTQ community. However, just as the name of the festival suggests, it invites everybody, even those who aren’t explicitly part of the LGBTQ community but are simply “curious” about the culture, to come and join in!

    The first year of Curious saw a single day and night event held at Breeze Creatives in Newcastle. The purpose of the festival was to celebrate the local LGBTQ culture and give a voice to the community. Phil ran this alone with a single assistant. In the second year, the festival lasted for five days and was spread between Newcastle and Stockton. Phil had help from a small team for the second year. This time, the festival has grown to eight days and has taken on board a much bigger team to run. With more days to fill, the festival has spread across the North East (Newcastle, Gateshead, Stockton and Middlesbrough) in July. It features a wide range of events and activities based around LGBTQ culture and aims to explore and celebrate queer culture as well as to increase visibility and community relationships. With fun events ranging from theatre, to art, to drag queen story times for kids and even a vogue ball, this year is set to be the most exciting yet!

    The festival kicked off on Saturday 9th June with a taster night at Northern Stage ahead of the main festival which runs 1st-8th July. If this night was anything to go by, the main festival next month will be absolutely unmissable! Hosted by the hilarious Jonathan Mayor, dressed all in black and dripping in opulent glitter and jewels. He set the bar so high, there were tears of laughter from the very start and they didn’t stop for the whole time he was on stage. His fabulously camp charm made the audience instantly comfortable, like a best friend you haven’t seen for years. His stories about his experiences as a black, gay, adopted man left the audience screaming with laughter. An absolute genius with words and comic timing, his recollections were as gripping as they were funny and beneath the humour, there was a serious message about racism and growing up gay. Despite the darker undertones, masked by the comedy, Jonathan remained uplifting and his overall message was a heartwarming one of love and joy.

     

    The first act introduced by Jonathan was Gladys Duffy, Newcastle’s “oldest” drag queen and most recent winner of the city’s Drag Idol competition for 2018. The competition dubbed her “S**t drag,” meaning that she doesn’t rely on glitz and glamour and can work on a budget. It’s a term that she has embraced as a compliment. Even with limited staging and props, the Eighty-something-year-old (she’s not that old really) Gladys has a story to tell and she brings it alive with an abundance of enthusiasm. She has lived her life, had countless husbands and her performance was all about that. From her miserable childhood to her happy marriage which ended in tragedy, to her next miserable marriage, she spoke of life, death, domestic abuse and murder through monologues and lip sync to camp classics like “I Will Survive” and “Que Sera Sera.”

    Whenever Gladys is on stage she goes with the flow and even if things go wrong, she has a talent of just rolling with it and that makes her even more entertaining for the audience. She’s a typical down-to-earth, fun loving, occasionally crude granny and it’s impossible not to love her.

    Speaking briefly to her after the show, Gladys demanded she gets a “scathing review” which is hard to write considering how good she is. However: Gladys Duffy’s constant referrals to death made the audience wish they, too, were dead. A self-confessed murderess, Gladys Duffy should be arrested on sight.

    The second act, simply named Johnny the Biblical Rapper (played perfectly by Tessa Parr), began with a glow stick pointing at Johnny’s crotch and soon escalated into what felt, at first, to be a surreal performance. Everything about it was meticulously planned from Johnny’s costume: jeans and a t-shirt that should say “No More Page Three” but the “No” had been blocked out so it said “More Page Three” instead. The accent like a London Gang member, the occasionally non-sensical threads of story, linked only by rhyming words that didn’t always quite fit like a rubbish rapper who thinks they’re better than they truly are. The characterisation of this type of person we’re all too familiar with was spot on. When Johnny pulled out a picture of a ship and started talking about friendships, then read a letter addressing friends with crude “banter” and later, spoke his true feelings aside, it was the moment that really hit the hardest. Nobody has ever hit the nail on the head so accurately about fragile and toxic masculinity and how men are supposed to toughen up and hide their emotions to a point they can’t even say they love their friends. Johnny’s performance, while confusing and obscure to start, quickly became a strong, intellectual and genuinely funny study of gender stereotypes.

    The third performance of the night was from AJ McKenna, a trans-rights activist and writer. AJ’s spoken word was brutal and hard-hitting. It was personal and raw, so much so that it feels wrong to say too much about it. She spoke of gender and identity and, comparing sex to violent rituals and human sacrifice, she opened up to the audience in such a way that it was uncomfortable and I mean that in the best way possible. Often the best way to make a point in theatre is to make your audience feel that way. Everything about her performance was spectacular. The flow and rhythm of her spoken word was stunningly clever. The change in speed, likened itself to an actual fight – the violence fast and cutting, the vulnerability and self-reflection, slower, more steady and touching. AJ’s stories about bullying at school and her feelings on her own identity were heartbreaking and she held the whole audience captivated. When AJ took a breath there was silence. Every single person in that theatre was completely gripped. While AJ’s story was hard to listen to it’s one that needed to be told and had to be heard.

    The final act of the night was Jackie Hagan. A bright, Liverpudlian ball of energy with colourful hair and spouting obscenities. Jackie was instantly loveable. Her performance was based around her talent for poetry and her disability. Jackie lost a leg; something she is not afraid to talk about openly and she even enjoys getting her stump out to show the audience (the grand finale of her act)

    Under pressure from the timing of being the final person to perform, Jackie coped very well. The show had over-run by an hour, not that the audience were complaining. Again, the audience were gripped as Jackie read us a poem she wrote about the hateful but loveable lady she shared a ward with when she was in hospital recovering after losing her leg. “You Can’t See Through Another Man’s Eyelids” was a surreal list of advice and optimistic quotes, with examples like “You are not as ugly as you think. You are a generous buffet of crisps.” or “The minimum fill line on a kettle is real.”

    Following this, Jackie gave us “I Am Not Daniel Blake,’ a bleak poem about working-class life and how hard it is for people living in poverty.

    This brought us into her grand finale, and the finale of the night!  This involved Jackie drawing a pair of eyes on her leg with a marker pen and telling us that “It’s going to look like that miserable one off Birds of a Feather,” and the reveal did not disappoint!

    It’s Jackie’s ability to laugh at herself and find humour in such a dark place that is so inspiring. She hasn’t let her situation affect her life, in fact, she has used her experiences to elevate herself to a strong position and has become a force to be reckoned with in spoken word and poetry circles. She jokes that people always say she’s “So brave,” but to be able to turn something so negative into such a huge positive is worthy of raising a glass, or in Jackie’s case, prosthetic leg to.

     

    If you’re interested in learning more about the Curious Festival which runs 1st-8th July 2018, you can follow them on:

    Twitter @CuriousArts,

    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/teamcuriousarts/

    And for a full list of events, you can follow this link here: https://www.newcastlegateshead.com/whats-on/curious-festival-2018-p891301

  • THEATRE REVIEW | The Blue Man Group and The One in Berlin

    THEATRE REVIEW | The Blue Man Group and The One in Berlin

    Berlin is famed the world over for its eclectic and slightly hedonistic nature, the diversity of its nightlife, never-ending club scene, and an anything-goes attitude. It boasts a fantastic spread of establishments, from old-school corner pubs and smart wine bars to grungy indie bars and live gig venues. But more than anything, the image of Berlin is one of the sumptuous theatres filled with elegant people watching edgy and left-field performances. It is an image that is as well-deserved today as it was back in the city’s golden age in the nineteenth century.

    And so, I thought, what better place to head for to catch a couple of the star attractions of theatre-land and the chance to give my mouth some respite from the usual round of food and drink that is and instead, treat the eyes and ears for a change.

    Berlin’s Friedrichstadt-Palast is a taste of both the old world and the new, a modern building that seems to reflect its past as a circus, theatre, and vaudeville house, with a facade including stained glass church windows. Once inside, the foyer and bar are stunning, and the main room itself, home of the largest theatre stage in the world, is nothing short of breathtaking.

    Friedrichstadt-Palast / The One Grand ShowThe One Grand Show is a strange and varied production, part acrobatic, part song and dance cabaret, part Gaultier fashion retrospective all brought together in a vibrant Las Vegas-style experience. It is loose in structure, depicting an underground party that awakens the ghosts of an old Berlin theatre through the lavish visions of one partygoer. The show takes in many of the themes one would associate with Jean Paul Gaultier’s style including tattoos, graffiti, body modification, androgyny, fetish wear and punk; Studio 54 meets futuristic steam-punk revue, occasionally a bit lost but always surprising.

     

    More rewarding was The Blue Man Group. The Berlin performance by Stage Entertainment is the only one in Europe and distinct from any of the other BMG shows running in other parts of the world. Unless you have seen the show, you may have an image of three bald, blue-skinned guys making music via bits of plumbing, and although that is certainly in there, it is the tip of their blue-tinted iceberg. So what has the show got? Well, everything. Comedy, music that ranges from dramatic rock to clubland frenzies, art, drumming, a blurring of lines between act and audience – the first three rows are supplied with ponchos to protect them from flying food and paint – dance, circus, and plenty of audience interaction. The hype is real, catch this show as soon as you can.

    Blue Man Group - Berlin

    The bottom line is if you are going to immerse yourself in high-end theatre, do it in Berlin. Flights are cheap, tickets are reasonably priced, and it goes without saying that Berlin’s liberal attitudes mean that there is a thriving gay scene to explore between shows.

    Blue Man Group - Berlin

    Paris may have glamour, London culture, and New York edge … Berlin has all three!

    Written By: Ray Si – Proud Member of IGLTA