THEGAYUK

Tag: Theatre Review

All the latest breaking news on theatre in the UK. Browse THEGAYUK’s complete collection of news, articles and commentary on LGBT+ theatre in the UK.

  • 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.

  • 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.
  • THEATRE REVIEW | Titanic, The Musical, Edinburgh Playhouse

    THEATRE REVIEW | Titanic, The Musical, Edinburgh Playhouse

    ★★★☆☆ | Titanic – The Musical – Edinburgh Playhouse

    Titanic - The Musical - National Tour review

    **This review was taken from the Sheffield production**

    Despite it being over 100 years since Titanic slipped under the waves, the fascination with the ship and those on board hasn’t faded, as evidenced by the packed house of this revival of Moury Yeston’s musical. The story of the ships maiden voyage and, ultimately, its demise is told through a wealth of characters from all classes of passengers and from the crew on board.

    The set, all sheet metal and rivets, towers above the audience instilling in them the impression of the sheer scale of the ship whilst a simple two-tier stage evoked an image of the decks and worked effectively. But from the off, the cast were on top form, as the magnificent ensemble belted out the opening numbers with such gusto that it reverberated in the chest, like the sounds of the engines of the great ship itself.

    And therein lays the strength of this production. Its cast was outstanding, and whether singing alone, in small groups or as an ensemble, the whole thing was beautifully sung and more akin to an opera than a musical. The three leads Philip Rham, Simon Green and Greg Castiglioni bounced off each other nicely as the Captain, owner and designer of the ship, and Niall Sheeny impressed as the stoker Fred Barrett. Whilst the direction was fairly minimal, the cast switched between their multiple roles seamlessly, spilling out into the aisles on occasions to engage the audience; whilst on a technical level, the lighting and sound design, the costumes and the balance between actors voices and orchestra were all absolutely spot on.

    Sadly, an overly long runtime, a handful of similar-sounding songs and a few too many story threads anchored down the first act to an extent, but the second act picked up the pace as the race to abandon ship took hold.

    What comes out of the production is an underlying theme of love between the characters, from the newlyweds to the eloping couple to the elderly husband and wife, and it is this which packs the emotional punch and brings the human cost of the tragedy sharply into focus.

    Book tickets to see Titanic, The Musical at Edinburgh Playhouse until 16th June 2018

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Reuben Kaye, Soho Theatre

    ★★★★★ | Reuben Kaye, Soho Theatre

    Never heard of Reuben Kaye? You will! Sick, slick, as gorgeously filthy as a pouting penis, Kay’s a living bigot’s nightmare, spunking left, right and centre over every sacred cow possible! Think a Dale Winton on acid, but – thank f*ck -one blessed with the chiselled, Greek-statue perfection of a 1950’s beefcake idol. Yes, this face, this presence, this glorious insult personified, is the joint king and queen of Australian cabaret, briefly condescending to take one awesome, comic dump on the UK’s half-starved notions of hilarity.

    Bursting on stage like some Satanic, lobster-red supernova awash with sequins and buoyed on precarious platforms, Kaye immediately sucks up every fraction of potential ridicule from tonight’s blackly comic zeitgeist. Like some fantastical Shirley Bassey reincarnated as a ripped gay ninja, Kaye’s scorchingly weaponised his scattergun satire, raising it – quite effortlessly – to the status of a lethally funny martial art.

    But, WTF? Let’s backtrack one moment, because frankly, context is everything, so pardon my presumption while I pump you full of backstory! In common with his closest, possible rival, the inexplicably ubiquitous but dramatically tepid Dusty Limits, our Reuben’s a gay Aussie, but – and it’s a huge butt – the comparisons stop right there. If Limits seems content to peddle mildly risque double entendres like some Poundland Julian Clary, Kaye is a living menage a trois, a one-man queer, Holy Trinity, the three queens of Priscilla compounded in one fabulously provocative presence!

    No wonder, then, he’s enjoyed rapturously received residencies at London’s Savoy and Rosewood hotels, in addition to constant bookings worldwide. And tonight – fittingly – he’s on brilliantly non-PC fire. His advice on drugs? Try them on someone else first, and if they’re still alive in an hour, do them, drugs and asshole! And he skewers the pitfalls of drug-f*cked sex perfectly: ‘Doing it doggy-style? Maybe turn around once in a while, check that it’s still the same person you started with!’.

    Get the picture? Yes, nothing and no one’s safe, especially the audience. ‘Ohh, I’d like you to clean my dildo’ Kaye quips to a shell-shocked punter, ‘I can literally feel your arsehole clenching in fear’. Christ, screw priests, parents and anguished, clueless counsellors- a Kaye a day keeps a gayboy at play! And forget Trump on Twitter -nothing escapes Kaye’s killer, cultural scalpel. ‘Consent? A term unknown to straight men…’. Too true, but there’s also praise for supernatural sluttishness; ‘Jesus – I love a man who can be nailed for three days straight and come back for more…’. Well, don’t we all, and Kaye’s scathing tornado of sexual surrealism is like first-time penetration – give in, and you’ll love it! Where else could a mutual love of Grace Jones and civil rights get mashed-up as ‘12 years a slave…to the rhythm?’.

    Exhilarating? You bet, and sure, Reuben gleefully slaughters three furiously sacred cows – racism, sexism and homophobia. Still, unlike the far fiercer David Hoyle, Kaye never critiques or challenges the LGBT moral axis underpinning his whole act. If brash, apparently fearless and flamingly flamboyant, Kaye shrewdly avoids any lurking, intersectional minefields of identity politics. And ironically, though he spits bile, venom and shade in a virtuoso blizzard of genderqueer radicalism, Kaye’s comedy is hamstrung by the binary assumptions he conforms to, but also attacks.

    So, unfortunately, in 2018, Kaye’s keynote, us and them stance is completely irrelevant to gender-fluid millennials like Cara Delavigne and St.Vincent, who see pansexuality as just another box to be ticked in today’s current, sexually unbounded pleasure menus. Oh, don’t get me wrong – Reuben is, by far, the most brilliant avatar of his chosen cul-de-sac, but his brand of oppositional comedy depends on totally punctured paradigms, and he’s been made obsolete by changes in gender discourse itself.

    But, who really cares? Who the hell goes to a comedy show seeking philosophical enlightenment? Sometimes- as Sigmund Freud once said -‘a cigar is just a cigar’, not a blatant penis metaphor, and sometimes, killer comedy is f*cking hilarious, whatever the subtext! So, let’s give a big hand – with optional, rectal consent – to Reuben Kaye, the living Shakespeare of confrontational cabaret. Comedy really doesn’t get any better than being mentally masturbated by a tall, dark stranger!

    At the Soho Theatre in London until the 16th June 2018

  • THEATRE REVIEW | San Domino

    THEATRE REVIEW | San Domino

    ★★★★★ |  San Domino

    San Domino is an island off the east coast of Italy that was once an island where people of a certain ‘way’ were exiled to by the facist Benito Mussolini government. He banished prisoners there to pay for their ‘crimes’ – some of the crimes being speaking out against the government. It was also a place where homosexuals were sent as well.

    A new show by the name of San Domino beautifully tells this story that very few people are aware of.

    Now playing at the Tristian Bates Theatre in Covent Garden, ten men, in 1939, are having a great time in a bar in Catania, Sicily. They have not committed any crimes, but a knock on the door will change all their lives forever. According to the government, they were degenerates because it is suspected they were homosexuals and thus were sentenced to five years. These men include men from all walks of life, including older Carlo (Matthew Hendrickson) and young handsome Claudio (Alexander Hulme). San Domino tells the men’s stories, through dialogue and music, in a show that is poignant, dramatic and superbly acted, especially when the show moves from the jovial atmosphere of the bar where the men are being themselves to the camp where they share bunkbeds and are kept under careful watch of the prison guard and the very mean chief of police.

    Andrew Pepper is just superb as the androgynous Pietro, sensitive and always looking for love in all the wrong place, and Pietro never holds back and says what’s on his mind. The rest of the cast really work well together in a show that really is a must see.

    San Domino first previewed to an enthusiastic audience at the Courtyard Theatre in London, then played to a full house at the Arcola Theatre’s Grimeborn Festival in 2014. With Book & Lyrics by Tim Anfilogoff, and music composed by Alan Whittaker, with Direction by Matthew Gould, San Domino excellently tells the story of the one night in 1939 when many gay men were rounded up. It’s a story that should’ve been told years ago.

    Photo provided by KWPR / Grant Neal & Joe Etherington