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Tag: Park Theatre

  • THEATRE REVIEW | La Cage, London

    THEATRE REVIEW | La Cage, London

    ★★★★ | La Cage, Park Theatre, London

    When you walk into a theatre and you see that the set is a grand staircase leading into a living room with a large statue of David and various photos of men and drag queens on the wall you know you’re in for a drag of a time. This is exactly what ‘La Cage’ delivers.

    Actor Simon Callow adapted the show for the stage, who was asked to write an English version of the original 1973 play (which inspired three french films, a hit musical, and a hit American film – The Birdcage). Directed by Jez Bond, ‘La Cage’ is written in its original time and location, and French speaker Callow astutely brings the flavour of the original farce to life. 

    Drag queen extraordinaire Albin (Paul Hunter) and Georges (an amazing Michael Matus) own and live above drag queen bar La Cage, along with their extremely camp butler Jacob (Syrus Lowe) who can sure wear high heels. Georges’ son Laurent (Arthur Hughes) arrives to inform him that he’s getting married to a girl whose parents are very religious and conservative, and that they’re coming to town to meet his ‘parents.’

    Laurent’s natural mother is invited as well but leaves it to Albin to pretend he’s Laurent’s mother and it’s all one huge farce on the day and things get worse downstairs in the club as all hell breaks loose as Albin is not in residence. Dishes with naughty pictures and innuendos galore go into overdrive as the show goes way over the top with an ending identical to the other productions but in this production is all a bit too easily sewn up. 

    A lot happens in just over two hours and the cast easily keep up the comedy and energy. From the grand dame that is Albin to the almost not in control Georges they help to maintain a bit of the drama while the show spins its characters all over the place. And while you’ll admire their dedication and tenacity, you might find yourself laughing throughout but to a point where it’s not even funny. 

    Book tickets here

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Time & Tide London

    THEATRE REVIEW | Time & Tide London

    ★★★★★ | Time & Tide, Park Theatre, London

    ‘Time & Tide’ is a tale of love in the most unexpected places.

    Nemo (Josh Barrow) works at a diner but has bigger ambitions in life. He wants to move to the big city of London, to be in theatre, and to get out of his nothing town of Cromer. This is much to the dismay of his boss at the diner May (Wendy Nottingham), who encourages him to stay in their small town. But Nemo’s friend Daz (Elliot Liburd) is secretly in love with him, but of course, Daz is not going to blatantly come out and say it, though he says he just recently broker up with his girlfriend. Meanwhile, May has an admirer in Ken (Paul Easton), the bread delivery man who also is hesitant to come out and say how he really feels. But May has some other sort of secret intentions, and it’s not for Ken. So what is her secret? And will Daz finally tell Nemo how he really feels? It’s unrequited love, love that may or may not be reciprocal, in Time & Tide.

    Good performances, and the lovely diner set, in the cosy small room of the Park Theatre, make this production, its premiere, one to watch. Liburd is a natural on stage, but it’s Nottingham who is memorable as the woman who has run the diner for decades, and who is considering selling up and moving away. Nottingham is just fantastic.

    Time and Tide wait for no man or woman.

    Find out more and book tickets here

  • THEATRE REVIEW | My Dad’s Gap Year, Park Theatre, London

    THEATRE REVIEW | My Dad’s Gap Year, Park Theatre, London

    ★★★★ | My Dad’s Gap Year

    Review of My Dad's Gap Year
    (C) Pamela Raith

    A father and son take an adventure of a lifetime in My Dad’s Gap Year.

    Now playing at the Park Theatre in Finsbury Park, My Dad’s Gap Year is a hilarious comedy about a father trying to bond with his conservative gay teenage son while going through a mid-life crises. Dave (Adam Lannon), dad of 18-year old William (Alex Britt), feels it’s time for them to sow their wild oats. But uptight William is not so wild, he frowns upon everything his unemployed dad does, which includes lying around the messy house not being productive. Meanwhile, William’s mom and Dave’s ex wife Cath (Michelle Collins), being the sensible one, holds a full-time job while maintaining an arm’s length relationship with Dave. But when Dave, at the very last minute, persuades William to go with him to Thailand for some father and son bonding and fun, them, and Cath, have no idea who sort of adventure, and trouble, Dave and William will get into.

    But once in Thailand, William meets cute architect Matias (Max Percy), while Dave meets beautiful Mae (a lovely Victoria Gigante). While Williams falls head over heals for Matias, Dave does the same for Mae, who works at a bar where all the ‘women there were born boys.’ But Dave’s drinking problem never goes away, while William has his own personal meltdown, leaving Cath to go to Thailand to do damage control.

    My Dad’s Gap Year is a fun show with a great cast. At only 90 minutes, it’s crisply directed (by Rikki Beadle-Blair) with funny dialogue and actors who deliver their lines perfectly. And while the show wraps up a bit too neatly at the end, all the actors are very good throughout. Lannon is very good as the father, Collins gives the show extra spark, but it’s Gigante who is extra special as Mae, a girl who just wants to have a happy life.

    My Dad’s Gap Year plays at the Park Theatre until 23rd Feb 2019. Book Tickets Here

  • 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.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | A Princess Undone, Park Theatre, London

    ★★★☆☆ | A Princess Undone

    Long before Diana, there was a princess who was a definite queens’ queen. Fags, booze, a withering put down and a tragic relationship history: she’d probably have had a lot in common with most of the regulars in your local gay bar. Richard Stirling’s witty play looks at the ageing Margaret in 1993 when she had made a decision to burn the archives and was rooting through old letters and documents, ably assisted by her mother’s camp servant ‘Backstairs’ Billy. Into this picture of domestic disharmony comes an embarrassing old flame who’d she rather forget, gangster John Bindon.

    Felicity Dean is a magnificent Margaret and has a stage presence that is sure to make the audience nervously sit up straight and curtsey on the way out. There’s something deliciously terrifying about her. The script is full of searing little one-liners and references to amusing bits of Royal gossip. There’s an amusing thread running through the script about Bindon’s legendary mammoth dick, too. Strangely, though, the play just doesn’t really work as well as it should. The jokes fall flat and whilst funny it never raises much more than a wry smile. The characters mostly feel a little bit one note and there’s nothing especially revelatory about the play.

    If you’re a fan of Margaret (and if you’re not, then what the hell is wrong with you?) then this is a diverting couple of hours at the theatre and worth a look.

    Runs until 17.03.18 at the Park Theatre, London

  • THEATRE REVIEW | The Retreat, Park Theatre, Finsbury Park, London

    ★★★★ | The Retreat, Park Theatre, Finsbury Park, London

    THEATRE REVIEW | The Retreat, Park Theatre, Finsbury Park, London

    Buddha, Cocaine and a Porn Mag are surprising bedfellows in this funny, warm and thoughtful debut play by Peep-Show co-creator Sam Bain.

    Luke (Samuel Anderson) is in a Buddhist retreat – his every day a blissful mix of meditation, mindfulness and isolation in the Scottish Highlands. That is until his brother Tony (Adam Deacon) arrives. With him come memories of a troubled childhood, and reminders for Luke of the life he left behind in London. Is Tony everything that was wrong with Luke’s life, or the only one that can see into his soul? And is Luke’s fellow Buddhist Tara (Yasmine Akram) – beautiful, spiritual Tara, only keen to help Luke achieve karma, or does she hold ulterior motives?

    The Retreat is a play by Sam Bain – co-writer and co-creator of Peep Show, Fresh Meat and Four Lions. Bain spent an earlier period of his life living in a Buddhist retreat, and regularly practised meditation and mindfulness, so my initial fear was that this play could go one of two ways – either be packed full of pro-Buddhist PR, or full of jokes making fun of Buddhism and those who practice it. A misplaced fear, it turns out, as The Retreat treads a far more interesting path – exploring the collision between the Buddhist themes of calm, isolation and peace with the more western rush of drink, drugs, and money.

    Characters Luke and Tony serve as cleverly portrayed devices through which Bain explores his themes, and it works very well indeed – the script raises interesting questions to the audience but never veers into preaching or sneering at any particular life choice. With Bain’s resumé you may assume that The Retreat is packed full of jokes, and you’d be correct – they come thick and fast throughout but are set up naturally by the cast – Adam Deacon’s Tony delivering the vast majority of the punchlines with effortless calm, and a real highlight being a monologue about meditation, Will Smith and Harry Hill that had me, and the audience, in absolute stitches.

    My only real issue with the jokes is that the frequent nature of them meant a fair few were lost by the audience entirely – a shame, given just how high quality the calibre of comedic writing in the script is, and the switch between humour and philosophy can feel rather forced at times. Whether this is due to the script or the performances, I’m unsure – but there’s a good chance it’ll improve as the run goes on. In terms of cast, it’s Samuel Anderson’s Luke and Adam Deacon’s Tony who take the leading roles. Both have impressive CV’s with Anderson having starred in The History Boys, Emmerdale and Doctor Who, and Deacon starring in Brit films such as Kidulthood and Adulthood, as well as directing spoof film Anuvahood. Playing brothers in The Retreat they have an easy chemistry together – instantly believable as siblings who’ve been separated by years of differences and disagreements, and their interactions together are both hilarious and moving. Anderson does his best to make the often-patronising Luke a sympathetic character, and Deacon is a real stand out as Tony – his constant jokes a thin cover for the vulnerable and damaged soul at the heart of the man.

    Yasmine Akram’s Tara is a more supporting role to the two brothers, so lacks in terms of character a little compared to the two leads, but Akram delivers a strong performance with Tara a warm, funny, yet ultimately rather complicated character. Akram’s unforgettable entrance as Tara, covered head to toe in green body paint, is unforgettable– and whilst the real story at the heart of The Retreat is the relationship between the two brothers, Akram is an integral and beautifully delivered part of the evening’s entertainment.

    Fans of Peep Show may not be expecting quite as much warmth and emotion as is on display in The Retreat, but it’s there constantly throughout – with the humour making way for moments of genuine feeling repeatedly throughout the show. That may be, in part, due to the direction by Kathy Burke – an actor and director who, in my opinion, can bring warmth and humanity to any role she comes across.

    There’s no distancing here – the staging, light and sound welcome the audience into this small hut in the Scottish Highlands, with the relatively small size of the theatre allowing the characters to be exposed to the audience – removing some of the distancing that is provided in a regular theatre and making the experience all the more immediate.

    The Retreat is a clever and thoughtful contemporary play that explores modern day issues with warmth and fantastic humour. Strong performances enabled by superb direction allow this intelligent and entertaining script to shine. Go for the laughs and stay for the compelling commentary on life in the 21st Century – it’s not perfect but it’s an enjoyable watch and an impressive debut play by writer Sam Bain

    The Retreat runs at Park Theatre until 2nd December 2017

     

     

     

     

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Twilight Song, Park Theatre, London

    ★★ | Twilight Song

    THEATRE REVIEW | Twilight Song, Park Theatre, London

    You know a show doesn’t make much sense, when, after seeing it, you and your friends don’t agree on what you’ve all just seen. To say Twilight Song is a bit confusing is putting it mildly.

    Now playing at the Park Theatre in Finsbury Park, is the late British playwright Kevin Elyot’s final play. Elyot, who wrote the award winning and very successful play My Night with Reg: (which was turned into a film in 1997), died in 2014, finishing Twilight Song right before he passed away. But the play itself is not a very good testament as a cap on his career – it’s a show muddled with characters and storylines that go back and forth in time that unfortunately raises more questions than answers in a play that’s a very very short 75 minutes.

    Most of Elyot’s plays have direct gay themes or gay undertones (My Night with Reg was very similar to the groundbreaking 1969 film Boys in the Band), and Twilight Song is no exception. In a nutshell, it’s a play about a middle aged man Basil (Paul Higgins) who lives in a North London terraced house (with an unfinished balcony) with his mother Isabella (Bryony Hannah) in the present day. Flash back to 1967 and Isabella is pregnant. But in both the present and the past (to and including a scene set in 1961), the family has secrets, secrets that they keep to themselves, and even secrets that they do not want to admit to themselves. Basil (Paul Higgins) pays an estate agent (Adam Garcia) money, not for a real estate transaction, but for sex, which happens too suddenly and out of the blue and out of character. Then Isabella unrealistically falls into the arms of the gardener (Garcia again). Meanwhile her uncle Harry (Philip Bretherton) pines for Charles (Hugh Ross), but Charles is broke because he is being swindled by a hustler (Garcia again). Twilight Song takes us all too rapidly through this family’s 50-year history too quickly. Throw in some cock talk, the unknown origin of blood on the sofa, and a very very short running time, and it doesn’t leave us much time to get to know the characters and their motivations. Director Anthony Banks gets excellent use of his actors who all give fine performances, and a set design that’s true to its time (though an annoyingly loud refrigerator in their kitchen really serves no purpose and destroys the play’s tension), but it’s the storyline that doesn’t add up, and it’s shame because it is Elyot’s last work, and it’s being poorly received.

    Another one of Elyot’s plays, Coming Clean, will have a revival at the King’s Head Theatre later this year, so perhaps hold out for that one if you can.

     

    Twilight Song plays at the Park Theatre until 12th August 2017 

  • Nigel Farage Invited To HIV Play “Positive” After Debate Remarks

    The leader of UKIP, Nigel Farage has been invited to a comedy about HIV called “Positive” by the show’s producers after his remarks about HIV in last week’s Leaders’ Debate.

    Positive credit Bobbin
    Positive credit Bobbin

    In a brand new outing for the play, which previously ran at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2013 and completed a critically acclaimed run at Waterloo East Theatre in May 2014, the show is inspired by true stories from those who are living with HIV.

    Playwright Shaun Kitchener said: “I’m so excited that Positive is part of the Park Theatre’s line-up this year. Whenever HIV is presented on-stage or on-screen it’s usually all doom, gloom and death-beds; but that’s simply not the case in 2015.

    “HIV sufferers in Britain today are reportedly more likely to die from depression resulting from the stigma attached to them than they are from the virus itself. It’s not that it’s a medical walk in the park, but it’s not a death sentence anymore – and it’s about time theatre reflected this. If Mr Farage wants to come along and see the play for himself to learn a thing or two, we’d be more than happy to have him.”

    “Following UKIP leader Nigel Farage’s outrageous claims made about HIV and immigrants at last week’s Leaders’ Debate, an open invitation stands to have him along to watch the play – and find that the stigma he fiercely promoted is total BS,” say the producers of the show.

    View image | gettyimages.com

     

    Nigel Farage was lambasted by the other leaders on the televised debate, with Plaid Cymru’s leader Leanne Wood winning the first applause from the audience after saying that he should be “ashamed” for his remarks.

    Dr Rosemary Gillespie, CEO Terrence Higgins Trust said: “It was great to see so many people express outrage after Farage’s comments about the numbers of people in the UK with HIV who were not born here. HIV is a public health issue in the UK and globally. If we do not take an inclusive approach and provide treatment for people who need it, we will never prevent onward transmission. 24% of people living with HIV in the UK do not know they are living with it, and 4 in every 10 are diagnosed at a late stage, after they needed to start treatment. HIV doesn’t discriminate and politicians shouldn’t either. Such ill-informed and discriminatory comments generate stigma, and make it harder to encourage people to take a test and stay safe”.

    Positive runs July 9 to August 1 at the Park Theatre near Finsbury Park, London N4.

    Tickets available: https://www.parktheatre.co.uk/whats-on/positive

  • THEATRE REVIEW: The Archimedes Principle, Park Theatre, London

    ★★★★ | The Archimedes Principle, Park Theatre, London

    How safe are children in the care of strangers? How much do we know about the people we work with? How far would we go to protect ourselves?

    In a town that’s haunted by an incident at the nearby community centre regular swimming lessons come to a halt when a swimming instructor is accused of inappropriately touching a child during a lesson and the dangers of Facebook creep to the surface. When history appears to repeat itself what can people do but expect the worst?

    This intense one act play by Spanish writer Josep Maria Miró i Coromina is set entirely in the changing room of a swimming pool. Buff and outwardly wholesome young swimming coach Brandon is about to have his world torn apart as his troubled boss, Anna, corners him and his colleague, Matt to talk about a complaint from a parent.

    The play was an award winning triumph in its native Spain, playing to sell out houses. It is certainly challenging and thought provoking and yet still manages to be entertaining and fast paced. The action flips about through time, moving skilfully backward and forward through the events of one day; a device which works well in telling the entirely believable story.

    Credit goes to the four actors especially the two younger men, Lee Knight and Matt Bradley-Robinson. Knight is particularly compelling as Brandon, a cocky hunk with a six-pack who hides vulnerability and maybe some darker issues. Bradley-Robinson is utterly believable as his slightly gauche and less confident colleague.

    The script feels tight and rarely falters and the subject of how we deal with letting children be cared for by strangers without living in fear feels like a relevant and important subject to tackle. The flip side of how adults behave when around children in an anxious society is another thorny issue.
    The play runs until 11th of May

    Book tickets here: http://parktheatre.co.uk/whats-on/archimedes-principle/about