THEGAYUK

Category: Theatre

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Accolade, St James Theatre

    ★★★★★ | Accolade, St James Theatre

    London, 1950: Private and public worlds collide when on New Year’s Day author Will Trenting’s knighthood attracts the glare of the British press. Happily married novelist, Will, has been leading a double life. Drawn to the seedier side of life, he’s been mixing with London’s ‘low-life’ and indulging in debauched sex parties and drunken debauchery. Will is forced to battle against the exposure of his secret life, its effect on his family and friends and the double standards of a society bent on destroying him.

    Rising star Director Blanche McIntyre (Best Director 2013, UK Theatre Awards) directs Emlyn Williams’ tale of sex, scandal and blackmail. As relevant now as when it first shocked audiences in 1950, this gripping thriller was awarded Time Out’s Best Off West End Production and three Off West End awards including Best Production when it was presented at the Finborough Theatre in 2011.

    Playwright Emlyn Williams was openly bisexual, balancing his marriage and family life with a series of flings. Coming out as bisexual ahead of most of his contemporaries, Williams’ play echoes his own private life. Surprisingly, the play passed the strict censorship rules of the early 1950s and still retains a freshness and salacious yet sympathetically drawn power to shock in 2014. This is a superior play and a worthy revival of a piece that was sadly neglected and mostly forgotten for many years. Shades of Coward and Rattigan exist but this play has a daring boldness that wasn’t always evident in works of the era.

    The staging and cast are pitch perfect with no weak links in the powerful nine-person line-up. The versatile set invokes the feel of the early 1950s and manages to echo the play as the walls slowly close in along with the world Trenting inhabits.

    I’d heartily recommend catching this rare gem at the St James Theatre.

    Accolade runs until the 13th of December 2014

    Buy tickets here: http://www.stjamestheatre.co.uk/theatre/accolade/

    by Chris Bridges

  • REVIEW | La Soiree, Southbank, London

    ★★★★★ | La Soiree, Southbank, London

    A Treat For Cabaret, Circus or Burlesque

    Roll up, roll up – the circus is back in town! Last seen in London in 2011, multi award-winning cult hit La Soirée returns to the capital celebrating a triumphant world tour and the 10-year anniversary of the troupe’s first show.

    The show is a heady mix of cabaret, circus and burlesque with enough quirky weirdness to please even the most twisted of people. Trapeze work, juggling, strip-tease and acrobatics feature along with music, comedy and some quite frankly hot men wearing very little at all. The world of cabaret can be a little tired but the well curated acts all put original and exciting spins on traditional art forms. Acrobatics are so much more fun when the performers are dressed as English gents and stripping off to the National Anthem, surely? What could be finer on a winter’s evening than a man dressed as a giant blue bunny squashing a balloon with his bottom or a depressed clown belting out songs? This is a very funny, lively and engaging show and well worth seeing. If you love cabaret, circus or burlesque then this is a definite treat. If you’re naïve to all of that then this is a good place to start sampling it.

    The Spiegeltent is the perfect venue with intimate ringside seats and a vintage feel that suits the proceedings well. There’s a range of seats with booths available and dining packages available if you’re feeling extravagant. Surrounding the venue are winter themed bars and stalls, a maze of fir trees and a lot of people in Christmas jumpers.

    The strictly limited Christmas season runs until the 11th of January 2015

    View the acts here: http://www.la-soiree.com

    Buy tickets here: http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/la-soir%C3%A9e-87403?dt=2014-11-12

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Othello, Frantic Assembly, Birmingham REP

    ★★★★★ | Othello, Frantic Assembly, Birmingham REP

    Mesmerising, Otherworldly, Sublime

    Who would have thought that Shakespeare’s “Othello” could be placed in a ‘Chatsworth Estate’ like location, bursting with rawness but, at the same time, realness unlike any other. Frantic Assembly dissects the true essence of the play and transfuses it in to a contemporary setting. Extremely commendable work.

    “Othello” is my favourite play by William Shakespeare, but as underrated as it may be to many, it cannot hide the fervour of overcharged emotions that play from minute one. It tells the story of a Venetian moor who is the general of the armies in Venice that marries the daughter of a Venetian Senator, figure of which disapproves of the union. The theme of this play is jealousy, and Iago speaks of this as: “It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on.” Iago is jealous of many things, but in particular Michael Cassio’s promotion to Left Lieutenant by Othello, when Iago has been his long serving ‘slave’. Iago sets about on a mission to deem Desdemona ‘false’ and unworthy of Othello’s love. Iago proceeds in planting the seed of doubt in to Othello’s mind that Cassio and Desdemona are, essentially, at it. It all goes downhill from there, culminating in Othello killing his wife due to the paranoia.

    Some say there may be a sub-jealousy theme going on: Iago is jealous of Desdemona being married to Othello, when Iago envisions himself in her place. There is one sequence in Frantic, on the pool table, Iago is standing over Desdemona, and then the table rotates as Iago walks along it and his crotch level with Othello’s head. Read between the lines yourself.

    The ensemble of Frantic Assembly was subliminally phenomenal. Each actor played a key part to the show’s success. Every actor was strong in movement but eloquent in speech, which is a hard thing to do. Especially when, in one moment, one is being flung around a pool table and in the next reciting a speech in perfect iambic pentameter. Under the electric and elegant direction and choreography of Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett with Eddie Kay, “Othello” simmers into a beautiful crescendo of emotions and physical energy.

    The actor that stood out most ferociously was Steven Miller, who you might recognise as playing Lenny Lyons in Casualty, with his relentless energetic flair and passionate speaking, in verse. His monologues were heart-felt and sincerely understood.

    The set, for me, played a fundamental part in the atmosphere witnessed by the audience. The way the concertina flats moved effortlessly around the stage, and the way the pool table zoomed in and out, almost like a feather, was only short of genius. My favourite scene was when Cassio (Ryan Fletcher) is drunk and he portrays being drunk most convincingly, and the set aided to this with the ‘walls’ literally moving as Fletcher zig-zagged alongside it portraying the drunk effect we all know, very well, “the room is spinning”.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | DV8: JOHN, The Lyttleton Theatre

    ★★★★★ | DV8: JOHN, The Lyttleton Theatre

    Lloyd Newson’s DV8 Physical Theatre Company have been presenting innovative dance pieces for the best part of three decades and have won a plethora of awards. I wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised if their latest piece, John, now playing at the Lyttleton Theatre were to bring them a whole lot more.

    The programme note tells us that the piece we are seeing is not what Newson had originally planned, a work about assisted suicide. The emphasis changed when a close friend of Newson’s died unexpectedly, and he decided he needed to do a work about love and life rather than death. They interviewed several men for the project, but when John came into their office, it became clear that the new work would predominantly follow John’s story, and so the present piece was born.

    It starts as a monologue about John’s traumatic council estate childhood under the shadow of a violent, rapist father. Anna Fleischle’s ingenious, revolving set is put to brilliant use as characters move from one room to another. At first movement is fairly natural, but it becomes more stylised as the story evolves, though always as a response to speech. Rather than being set to music, in this case, the movement is a reflection of language and the words being spoken.

    Later the set doubles for the gay sauna where much of the second part of the piece is played out, perfect in its depiction of the endless cruising from sauna to steam room to restrooms. Much of the choreography is unbelievably complex. In the group scenes, you feel that if one member of the company were to misplace a foot or a hand, then the whole delicate balance would be destroyed. That never happens of course, and one of the joys of this production is seeing the way bodies fuse together, meld into one and then just as easily drift apart, something of a Newson trademark.

    Endlessly fascinating, but ultimately incredibly moving, it not only examines John’s reasons for having sex with men, but also unflinchingly examines why men may or may not take risks with their sexual health. Their stories are told without judgement, without prejudice.

    I won’t give anything away, but the ending with John caught once more alone on the stage was incredibly moving. It runs for one hour and twenty minutes without an interval, but time had gone so fast, it was hard to believe it was actually the end.

    A true collaboration, one should also mention the excellent lighting of Richard Godin and the sound design of Gareth Fry. Every single one of the performers should be commended for their commitment, for their skill, and for the beauty of the movement. So too should Lloyd Newson, who has yet again come up with a starkly original and thought-provoking piece of theatre.

    John is on now at the Lyttleton Theatre and almost half the tickets for each performance will be £15 as part of the Travelex Theatre Scheme

    On 9 December John will be broadcast live to over 550 UK cinemas and many more worldwide as part of National Theatre Live. Details at www.ntlive.com

    Runs until 13th January 2015

  • THEATRE REVIEW | STOMP – Sheffield Lyceum and National Tour

    ★★★★ | STOMP – Sheffield Lyceum and National Tour

    Mixing tap dancing, street dance, percussion, juggling, humour and incredible feats of physical performance, STOMP enters its 25th year with a show which utilises everything from paint pots to bin lids to create rhythmic set pieces which are dazzling, fresh, funny and exhilarating.

    Initially, one did wonder, having only seen the odd set piece from STOMP before on TV variety shows, how they would be able to fill a continuous one hour forty minute show without it becoming repetitive, but they were able to move from one set piece to the next seamlessly, always managing to add something new and different from what had come before. Using everything from brooms, sinks and dustbin lids through to shopping trollies, cigarette lighters and giant rubber rings, the variety of set pieces was more than enough to keep the show rattling through its running time, and the show arrived at its curtain call before you knew it and before you wanted it to.

    You couldn’t help but admire the sheer physicality of the performers, whose stamina throughout their relentless performance was undeniable. Their precision and sense of timing was impeccable, demonstrated nowhere better than in a routine involving a rapid flickering of cigarette lighters creating an effect which was reminiscent of a string of Christmas lights. The physical prowess of the performers impressed as they undertook what can only be described as a percussionist parkour; utilising and clambering over the set and props and leaving you in no doubt that they were giving it their all.

    With a static backdrop, covered in objects which transform into impromptu percussion instruments, the set was straight forward, but both the set and the performance were enhanced by some subtle but very intelligent lighting which also worked as a distraction tool, allowing the performers to disappear and reappear elsewhere, adding to the energy and vibrancy of the piece. The sounds of the beats, bangs and stomps, as the cast belted them out, were so loud that they resonated in the chest and added to the excitement of the performance.

    The show was also peppered with a lot of humour. A few looks, glances or exaggerated gestures exchanged between the cast members conveyed a simple narrative and each individual performer managed to develop an unassuming on-stage persona, which separated out the cast members from each other.

    The show was far better than expected and the combinations of skills on display were both impressive and enjoyable. STOMP is certainly deserving of their reputation after 25 years of tours and performances and the show has much more to it than you might expect.

    STOMP is at the Sheffield Lyceum Theatre until 8th November 2014 (http://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/whats-on/ ) before continuing on its national tour. For details, visit http://www.stomp.co.uk/location/uk/

  • THEATRE REVIEW | MY PERFECT MIND, The Rep – Birmingham

    ★★★★★ | MY PERFECT MIND, The Rep – Birmingham
    Epically Humorous and Uncompromisingly Sincere

    Told by An Idiot’s “My Perfect Mind” stuns The Door of The Birmingham Rep, with its simplistic yet meaningful set and with its mastermind-like quality of acting. This astonishing play is an account of the actor Edward Petherbridge suffering from a stroke and his recovery, with help of a friend, Paul Hunter who does everything in his power to accommodate Edward’s imagination and fantasy.

    “My Perfect Mind” draws inspiration from the story of Edward Petherbridge’s second rehearsal of King Lear, where he suffered a severe stroke, which left him almost paralysed. Upon recovery, Edward comes to an enlightening discovery. Though his mobility had suffered from this event, all the lines for his part, King Lear, lived in his memory still.

    King Lear is one of Shakespeare’s most enigmatic and profound plays starting off with this 80 something King abdicating his land and rule by splitting it into three parts to give to his three daughters: Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. He asks of them, as an exchange for this gift, their expression of love to him. Goneril and Regan obey, but Cordelia upon being asked what she feels about her father, she merely says: “nothing”, which makes the old king banish her. Later on, in the play Lear loses his rule, goes insane and is banished. Shakespeare loved happy endings.

    The 90-minute play was filled with powerful energy and with a plethora of characters coming from one actor – Paul Hunter. Hunter had an incredible ability to multipart with astonishing speed, parts of which seemed to give Edward the Wonderland of Lear. Every time a new character emerged they asked Edward what he was doing? To which he always replied with “I am performing King Lear”, then Hunter, in character, acted impressed and amazed every time. Hunter blew the audience away with his gift of shape shifting between characters and with his unrivalled ability to seduce the crowd with laughter, particularly when he switched from David to Carol.

    Petherbridge’s story shone brightly on stage, as he played himself and the situation so vividly, it appeared we were witnessing the event real-time. His roaring delivery of speeches and then his sweet old-man like voice provided us with an emotional journey of discovery and recovery. We were left wishing we could hear Edward perform “King Lear” for real. The dramatic device Edward used with splashing paint over the wall was epic, as he belted Lear’s storms speech.

    One conclusion I can draw from this experience and it is somewhat ironic. King Lear goes through the play receding in his mental capacity and suffering bitterly, yet Edward used King Lear as a form of recovery. The fact that he still remembered the part, post-stroke, gave him a great sensation and by fate, he falls into the delightful direction of Kathryn Hunter and on the tour of “My Perfect Mind” depicting his story so magnificently.

    04 – 08 November 2014

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Rock Of Ages

    ★★★ | Rock Of Ages

    The Bourbon Room is the hottest club on the Sunset Strip, being the epitome of rock ‘n’ roll excess. Run by Dennis and Lonny, the club finds itself under threat from an over-eager property developer and so tries to raise money by staging a farewell gig by Arsenal, the biggest rock band around, fronted by the charismatic Stacee Jaxx. Meanwhile, bar tender Drew craves to be on stage and Sherrie, who is just a small-town girl, arrives in LA to chase her dreams. Drew and Sherrie fall in love, but neither quite say it, so when Stacee Jaxx comes between them and the club is about to be pulled down, can Rock ‘n’ Roll win through?

    This jukebox musical was crammed full with a truckload of guilty pleasure soft rock classics, including “We Built This City”, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”, “Just Like Livin’ in Paradise”, “Here I Go Again”, “Wanted Dead or Alive” and “Don’t Stop Believin’”, with the musical numbers coming thick and fast, accompanied by the live band a scantily clad ensemble.

    Ben Richards, as Stacee Jaxx, was criminally underused, but spent most of his time making the audience swoon as he stripped to the waist and swaggered around the stage. Cameron Sharp stole many scenes as the camp German, Franz, and treated the audience by displaying his thighs which would make a pro-rugby player jealous. Noel Sullivan exceeded expectations as Drew and Cordelia Farnwoth was a versatile lead. But the energy and enthusiasm of Stephen Rahman-Hughes as Lonny, the comedic narrator, made him stand out from the remainder of the cast.

    The stage was busy and detailed, combining a static background, video projection and moveable props, all complimented by some well-designed lighting. The live band was good, and the balance between music and vocals were about right. The costumes reflected the stonewashed denim and excessive lace of the era, but the choreography and dancing could have been tighter than it was.

    Rock of Ages is energetic, bold, brash, loud and in your face – reflective of the rock movement at the time – and nestles neatly between being an affectionate tongue in cheek tribute to the times and a knowing, self –mocking piece of fun with an abundance of flesh on display and a playful feel to it. It amounts to a generally fun but throwaway piece of musical theatre which was lapped up by the crowd and the finale garnered whoops and cheers, bringing everyone to their feet and singing along.

    Rock of Ages is currently playing at Sheffield Lyceum Theatre until Saturday 1st November 2014, before rounding off its national tour. For more detail, visit the official website at: www.rockofagesmusical.co.uk/

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Spine, Soho Theatre

    From fast-rising Channel 4 Playwright Clara Brennan comes a hilarious, pan-generational call to arms for our modern age.

    Spine charts the explosive friendship between a ferocious, wisecracking teenager and an elderly East End widow. Mischievous activist pensioner Glenda is hell-bent on leaving a political legacy and saving Amy from the Tory scrapheap because ‘there’s nothing more terrifying than a teenager with something to say’.

    In this era of damaging coalition cuts and disillusionment, has politics forgotten people? Can we really take the power back? Amy is about to be forced to find out.
    There’s something about a well scripted and performed monologue that can be immensely powerful and intense and Brennan’s play manages to be both of these things whilst also being incredibly funny. Rosie Wyatt’s Amy is initially an unsympathetic character with an accent and pattern of speech like nails on a blackboard and a strutting, angry demeanour. The skill in both the script and the acting lies in making the viewer warm to and believe in the changes that take place in Amy, in spite of her bad points.

    The Soho Theatre is a great space for this play with the small space crammed with teetering piles of books. I laughed a lot and almost didn’t notice that the play was delivering a message about apathy in an age when we’re challenged and tricked into thinking that we should be grateful for what we have. And keep quiet. There’s a touch of the 1970s classic film Harold and Maud about the play: eccentric pensioner and off the rails teenager learn from each other.

    Kudos to Rosie Wyatt too for telling an audience member off for using her phone during the play, whilst remaining in character. She’s a woman after my own heart.

    Spine runs until: Tue 21 Oct – Sun 2 Nov, 7.15pm. Matinees: Sat 2.30pm, Sun 5.30pm
    Buy tickets here: http://www.sohotheatre.com/whats-on/spine

  • THEATRE REVIEW | The Curing Room

    ★★★★ | The Curing Room

    “It made the recent Globe production of Titus Andronicus look like a teddy bear’s picnic!” And indeed over 90 minutes we had been subjected to a deluge of blood, guts and gore, couple with full frontal male nudity the likes of which I have never seen before on the stage.

    David Ian Lee’s The Curing Room throws seven Soviet soldiers into the empty cellar of a monastery, stripped of all belongings and their clothes. Abandoned by their captors, and left without food, the men resort finally to murder and cannibalism in order to survive. The play asks questions about how we redefine ourselves in extreme circumstances, how the constraints of normal civilised society and military rank cling to us, or don’t.

    The play is something of a tour de force for the seven brilliant actors, who literally bare all before the audience. Director Joao De Sousa is unflinching in his depiction of cannibalism and there is, as I said earlier, a lot of blood. My companion spent much of the latter part of the evening with his head turned away from the stage. This play is definitely not for the faint hearted, and if your only reason for going is a prurient desire to see seven men naked, well you soon get used to that. The gore is harder to cope with.

    It would be invidious to pick out any one of the actors. They all work as a close-knit team, and all, without exception, give excellent performances. De Sousa’s pacing is brilliant, and I was gripped throughout. Once away from the theatrical brilliance of it all, though, a few minor doubts crept in about the writing and about the play itself. For much of the play, the characters come across as mere cyphers, as representatives of certain types; the stiff upper lip captain, the honourable senior lieutenant, the slightly simple young private, the old retainer and so on. This could be the reason I found it ultimately less involving than I should have. Though the horror of what unfolds before you certainly draws you in, ultimately ones cares little about the fate of these soldiers as individuals.

    None the less, The Curing Room is well worth seeing if you have the stomach for it. I doubt we will see anything like it again for some time.

    The Curing Room is at the Pleasance Theatre until November 9th.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | The Woman In Black, Sheffield Lyceum Theatre & National Tour

    ★★★★★ | The Woman In Black, Sheffield Lyceum Theatre & National Tour

    et in an old theatre in the late 1950’s, a solicitor, Arthur Kipps, enlists the assistance of a young actor to tell his story. His tale revolves around a terrifying incident when he was younger, when he travelled to the Eel Marsh House to settle the estate of a long standing deceased client. Initially finding a conspiracy of secrecy from the locals, he makes his way across the Nine Lives Causeway, which is cut off at high tide. Alone in the mansion, he is plagued by the sound of a pony and trap, an unexplained banging noise and a door which appears to be locked from the inside. What secrets does the estate hold, what lurks in the swirling mist… And who is the woman in black he keeps seeing?

    This chilling and effective ghost story is beautifully crafted and used simple techniques to create an immensely taught atmosphere in the theatre. The lighting design in particular was exceptional. Who would have thought that a dark stage with just a door highlighted would draw worried mumblings from those around you? This is a theatrical experience like no other.

    The production slowly cranks up the tension, which quite literally draws you to the edge of your seat and then throws you back into it with “cattle prod” jolts that elicited genuine screams of terror from the audience. The narrative of the piece completely draws you in; and the production avoids spoon feeding you the story, leaving you as the audience to create your own horrors in your imagination. The set, staging and props were remarkably effective in their simplicity and created an atmosphere where you held your breath with the central character as he explored the darkness. Setting the show in a theatre made you instantaneously part of the production and the dark atmosphere and low level lighting only add to the gloominess and intimacy of the piece.

    The performances from the two leads were both excellent, with Matt Connor playing the part of The Actor and Young Kipps, and Malcolm James providing the elderly Kipps and the other characters he comes across. It came as a surprise just how effective a simply staged double hander could be and the way in which the audience is manipulated via the events unfolding on stage is testament to the outstanding writing behind the show.

    This show is not akin to the recent film, so those expecting the Daniel Radcliffe version will be disappointed. It is faithful to its original source material, the book by Susan Hill. If anything, it is more reminiscent of “The Haunting” (1963) which leaves everything to the imagination. Here, the effective equivalent of the tradition of sitting round an open fire and telling ghost stories proves that there is more to what is unseen than what is seen; and is an absolutely perfect pre-Halloween treat or a superbly chilling way to spend a dark, stormy winter evening.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Solomon and Marion, The Rep, Birmingham

    ★★★★ – Witty, Endearing, Unforgettable

    “Solomon and Marion” hits the studio theatre of The Rep with an edgy bang. Lara Foot’s play is set in the post-apartheid period, and the essence of her story transports us back twenty years. It does not seem too long ago, when racial differences were a hot topic in the Western World, but more so in South Africa.

    “Solomon and Marion” delivers a perspective from both sides: Solomon represents a poor black boy, whose family have died, and who is, on a daily basis, fighting for survival. Marion is a white and middle-class lady who, throughout the play, is writing to her daughter Annie who is living in Australia with “a very good accountant.” – She reminds us… constantly.

    For some time, Marion has felt a presence lurking in around her house. One day, Marion is rudely disturbed by a black boy, whom she claims has never met, but walks into her living room, uninvited. It turns out that she used to let him play in her pond as a young child, as she was good friends with his grandmother. A delightful and an endearing connection between them ensues with terms as: ‘My boy’ and ‘Ms Marion’ that make the audience smile with delight.

    Lara Foot created a masterpiece, where she assembles humour with anger; a melancholy and monumental revelation. When Marion sees Solomon wearing her deceased son’s yellow shirt, her reaction is heart-wrenching. She cries and says to Solomon: “You’ve ruined it.” Which may cause some controversy with subtext analysis: was Marion showing a racist streak? She very quickly recovers and begs Solomon to keep it.

    Dame Janet Suzman, who you might recall from watching The Singing Detective, delivers an astonishing and memorable performance. The way Janet embodies Marion with extremely well-thought of physicality and with an emotion that was as if Suzman had gone through the grief and isolation portrayed herself. Janet shines particularly at the end when she breaks down after finding out the truth of her son’s death.

    Khayalethu Anthony breaths a true embodiment of what it would have felt like to live in those harsh times. Anthony is an unexperienced actor by background, but on stage his talent matches the Dame’s, especially when enacting live the murder scene of Marion’s son. His method of talking in mother-tongue gave the play an element of outstanding sincerity.

    The lighting was an effective drama tool, as it aided with the transition between happy daytime, to lonely darkness where Marion would spend all night staring at nothing. The excellent way in which the light shone through the window and when it climbed the walls as the sun was rising. The set was a masterpiece, in naturalistic terms but also it managed to create a nostalgic place for Marion to reminisce the whole life she had spent, and the one she wants to die in.

    “Solomon and Marion” is at The Rep until 1st of November.