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Tag: The Hope Theatre

  • THEATRE REVIEW | The Anorak, The Hope Theatre, Islington

    ★★★★ | The Anorak, The Hope Theatre, Islington

    The Anorak tells the story of the École Polytechnique Massacre, when Marc Lepine shot 28 people, killing 14 at a Canadian Polytechnic college in 1989.

    Told from the point of view of the killer, the play separates its audience into two groups: men and women and much of the 70 minute play is directed solely towards the male audience members. This one man play recounts Lepines’ early life, his relationship with his mother and sister, and his justifications for the killings. In light of recent events, particularly the shooting in Santa Barbara, which similarly targeted female students by a student who was unable to get a girlfriend, this play is immediately unnerving and poignant.

    Originally written by Adam Kelly, a Canadian writer, the play has won several awards in Canada. This adaptation sees Felix Brunger take the lead role with Matthew Gould at the helm as director. Brunger is believable if not quite likeable in the lead role, the audience is left short of being on his side during the play. He recounts his version of events and his early life, and there are occasional moments of relief from the heavy subject at hand with throw-away lines such as ‘like who gets rejected from the Canadian Army?’
    Overall this adaptation is well acted and handles the heavy subject matter with care; Brunger owns the role of the social outcast completely, keeping the (male) audience on edge as he directs his attention only to them. (I can’t say what it was like as a female audience member being practically ignored for most of the performance).

    The Anorak is on for only a short time at The Hope Theatre 207 Upper Street in Islington, inside the Hope and Anchor. Tickets available online through offwestend.com

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Sex With Animals

    ★★★★★ |Sex With Animals

    ‘Sex with Animals’ is a must see for those who like one-man shows, information about animal mating habits or just want a fun filled hour. Ryan Good will keep you spellbound and leave you wanting more.

    I don’t often recommend theatre productions because watching performers is very personal and what I like may not be what you would. But Ryan Good’s ‘Sex with Animals’ is a powerful, educating and entertaining hour-long, one lion (man) show.

    Go see it. Ryan holds the audience with humour and personal insights. He has cleverly put animal sex (including humans) under the microscope. Intertwined is the story of his love life which is different to the norm but the way he explains it makes it intriguing not embarrassing.

    This is an intimate theatre but at no point did Ryan make us feel uncomfortable. In fact he got one member of the audience (I’m not saying who) to admit he had tried sucking his own penis. Well, ignoring my women readers, who hasn’t?

    Ryan’s hilarious examination of the sexual habits of the animal kingdom encourages the audience to the think about their sexual habits. At the same time he gave us a snap shot of potential different techniques.

    We got to hear of females who lick their partner’s penis whilst they are copulating (obviously not humans) and penguins who do what some religious fundamentalists think we shouldn’t do.

    Go see him tonight. If it’s midweek you’ll have time to watch his production, grab a fish and chip supper in a trendy Highbury and Islington restaurant and still be home by 10pm. If it’s the weekend you’ll feel energised to try out your chat-up lines at whatever pub or club you end up in.

    It’s just a pity about the name which I feel may put some people off. The production has nothing to do with bestiality despite what the title suggests.

    Ryan may have thought that courting controversy would help him with publicity but I feel it puts potential audiences off googling to find out what others thought of the production. Something like ‘Animal Sex’ would have served him better.
    ‘Sex with Animals’ is at the ‘Hope Theatre’, 207 Upper Street, Islington, N1 1R1 until the 21 June, starting at 7.30pm. Well worth the £10 price. For booking visit www.thehopetheatre.com

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Ushers The Front Of House Musical, The Hope Theatre

    USHERS is a bright new musical from Kouban Productions with a book by JAMES ROTTGER. Centred around 5 ushers and their overbearing manager, there are enough in-jokes to please anyone who has ever worked front-of-house, but not so many that non-industry folk would be put off.

    It is opening night of a new jukebox musical, ‘Oops! I Did It Again’, based on the songs of Britney Spears and starring Marti Pellow as Kevin Federline and Michael Ball as Britney’s mum. Ben (LIAM ROSS –MILLS), Gary (WILL JENNINGS), Stephen (ROSS MCNEILL) and Rosie (CHLOE BROOKS), four long-standing ushers, are joined by Lucy (ABIGAIL CARTER-SIMPSON), a newcomer to their ranks and their “spend-per-head” obsessed supervisor, Robin (RALPH BOGARD).

    Two very different romantic relationships play out in front of us. Ben and Gary have been together for three years but now face a 12-month separation. By contrast, Lucy and Stephen have only just met and their encounters provide one of the several recurring jokes of the show, with dramatic lighting and intense music highlighting the instant attraction – a clever dig at the intensity and speed of on-stage relationships.

    YIANNIS KOUTSAKOS’ score is visioned and exciting, with catchy numbers and a particularly touching duet between Ben and Gary. Lively and exciting choreography from RUSSELL SMITH and GEMMA FULLER complements the score perfectly.

    The cast are energetic and engaging, and carry their roles with ease. Will Jennings is an excellent Gary, and the duet mentioned earlier shows off his voice beautifully. Chloe Brooks is a very talented comic actor with a classic musical theatre voice.

    Ross McNeill is an exceptionally strong and believable performer, as is Abigail Carter-Simpson. McNeill’s fine voice is showcased perfectly in his solo number, and Carter-Simpson’s has a beautiful quality that left me wanting more. As fairly recent graduates, they are both well worth watching out for in the future.

    Ralph Bogard plays the power-hungry supervisor, Robin, with conviction and he leaves us in no doubt that he can belt out, and hold, a tune. Unfortunately, his character has the one part of the production which really doesn’t work – his training sessions add little to the story, and the word definitions which follow are rather demeaning to an intelligent audience. Although tiresome, these interruptions are blissfully short, and we soon return to a plot which stands perfectly well without them.

    However, the stand-out performance of the night, for me, came from Liam Ross-Mills. His vocals had a slightly dodgy start on the evening I attended, but he soon found his voice and lifted it to something quite delightful. He performs with an intense vulnerability, stealing the show – difficult task amongst such a talented cast.

    Ushers is the first production in the brand-new Hope Theatre, a 50-seat performance space above the Hope and Anchor pub in Islington. Exclusively committed to showcasing new writing, the Hope Theatre opens with an Equity agreement already in place to ensure all performers and stage managers are paid an approved rate, something that disturbingly few small-scale fringe theatres have.

    Ushers is a great show performed exceptionally well with a lively and entertaining score, and should be a must-see for any musical theatre worker or fan this month.

    Ushers: the Front of House Musical plays at the Hope Theatre until 30 December. Tickets £15 from www.thehopetheatre.com