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 | Jerker, London

    THEATRE REVIEW | Jerker, London

    ★★★★ | Jerker, Kings Head Theatre, London

    (C) Nick Rutter

    It is the mid-1980s in San Francisco and two men enjoy a sexual relationship on phone sex lines in Jerker at The Kings Head Theatre.

    Originally shown in 1986 in Los Angeles, the show involves JR (Tom Joyner) and Bert (Tibu Fortes), chatting on a phone sex line, both lying on separate beds across the stage from each other, scantily dressed as if they were in their own bedrooms. And throughout this 100-minute production they talk dirty talk and bring each other to climax.

    But it’s not just a one-off – they both are enjoying their conversations and soon it becomes more than just sexual – they’re developing feelings for each other, and they also reveal their deepest darkest secrets, as well as recent sexual encounters (Bert tells one so vividly it’s exciting not only for him and JR but also for the audience). But it’s at the height of the AIDS scare and both men are living in the city that was considered ‘ground zero.’

    Their relationship, however, becomes intense, intimate and personal. However, it’s only a matter of time when AIDS strikes too close to home.

    And it did strike too close to home as the the playwright – Robert Chesley – died in 1990 of complications from AIDS.

    Jerker is a relic, a warning sign of that time – of things that were to come. It’s also a memento, and a very sad one at that.

    The original title of this play was:
    Jerker or the Helping Hand, A pornographic Elegy with Redeeming Social Value and a Hymn to the Queer Men of San Francisco in 20 Telephone Calls, Many of them Dirty

    Jerker plays at The Kings Head Theatre until 23rd November Book here

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Ghost Quartet, London

    THEATRE REVIEW | Ghost Quartet, London

    ★★★★★ | Ghost Quartet, Boulevard Theatre, London

    Ghost Quartet review

    It’s not what I was expecting, but Ghost Quarter is simply superb.

    The first show in the brand new Boulevard Theatre in the area of Soho that used to house porn shops, a gay cinema, and all things seedy (it’s Walkers Court), Ghost Quartet is a great and auspicious debut for the theatre. While I was expecting something a bit more risqué in keeping with the theme of the neighbourhood, Ghost Quartet is a musical experience I recommend you don’t miss!

    The Boulevards circular two-level theatre is perfect for this, or any other kind of show. The musical quartet (Carly Bawden, Niccolo Curradi, Maimuna Memon, and Zubin Varla) all sing and perform many musical instruments in 23 songs in a 90-minute show. The thread of these songs relate to the telling stories of life, loss, ghosts and death. The shows interwoven songs are performed by the four musicians who each play four different characters, all reminiscing about a deceased woman named Rose. Memon has a blissful yet haunting voice while Bawden has the most poignant song to sing – ‘Midnight’ – with the final words ‘let the dead stay dead’ in the shows second to last song.

    Varla is very good on the piano while Curradi excels on other instruments. But it’s the women’s vocal that stay with you – especially Memon’s.

    Ghost Quartet has to be seen. It’s an excellent show in a fantastic new theatre that’s an amazing and radical addition to this neighbourhood.

    Ghost Quartet plays at the Boulevard Theatre until the 4th January. Book Here

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Soho Cinders, London

    THEATRE REVIEW | Soho Cinders, London

    ★★★★ | Soho Cinders, Charing Cross Theatre, London

    Cinderella In Soho is the premise of the new fun musical Soho Cinders.

    Now playing at the Charing Cross Theatre until December 21st, the show tells the story of Robbie (Luke Bayer), who is in love with closeted mayoral candidate James Prince (Lewis Asquith) – who by the way is married – to a woman! Robbie is also being pursued by the rich and well-connected Lord Bellingham (Chris Coleman). But poor Robbie – he’s got two evil stepsisters who have taken ownership of the laundromat in Soho that his mother was supposed to have left him and that he still manages, along with Velcro (Millie O’Connell – very good, and the voice of reason in the show) while the step sisters keep on raising his rent. Luckily the money that Lord Bellingham gives him keeps him affloat, but all Robbie wants to do is to be with his Prince Charming.

    Meanwhile the Prince campaign is run by the determined William George (Ewan Gillies) who will stop at nothing to make sure Prince wins. But gay love affairs are always hard to keep secret – so will Robbie and Prince manage to stay together amidst the campaign and the lure of the money from Bellingham, and what tricks do the evil stepsisters have up their sleeve next?

    There is no glass slipper in this production, but what there is are good songs, a cast that are enjoying their work, smooth direction from Will Keith, and an all-around Panto vibe. Soho Cinders is a lot of fun and a great night at the theatre.

    http://www.charingcrosstheatre.co.uk

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Curtains – National Tour

    THEATRE REVIEW | Curtains – National Tour

    Curtains The Musical ©The Other Richard

    ★★★★ | Curtains The Musical, Sheffield

    On the opening night of a new musical the star of the Broadway-bound show is murdered as she takes (what turns out to be) her final bow. But the actress is not the only thing that dies on stage that night, as the show is an absolute stinker. Enter, stage left, Detective Frank Cioffi, whose keen detective skills are matched only by his love of musical theatre. With everyone in the cast and crew a suspect, can Coiffi catch the killer, get the girl and transform the musical into a Broadway smash?

    Written in 2006 by Kander and Ebb, who are best known for Cabaret and Chicago, this musical has a beautifully old fashioned air to it, with a look, feel and sound of the classic musicals of Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. The show gently, but lovingly, ribs the genre with its tongue very firmly in its cheek, parodying Oklahoma!, the backstage relationships of 42nd Street and the on/off stage antics of Kiss Me, Kate. The songs are instantly catchy and warmly familiar on first listen, but retain the odd glimpse of Kander and Ebb’s trademark sound running through them. Throw into the mix a pastiche of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, and you get to the heart of what this musical whodunnit is about.

    TV’s Jason Manford is wonderfully affable as Detective Frank Cioffi and nestles neatly alongside the broadly talented cast, and Ore Oduba (Strictly Come Dancing winner) is good fun as the show’s songwriter and Emma Caffrey was an utter delight as the show’s wannabe starlet, Bambi. The static set provides a suitable backdrop to the backstage shenanigans, with the audience swiftly moving to the front of the curtain during the big rehearsal numbers using a directorial trick which works remarkably well.

    Overall, Curtains has a healthy dose of subtle and gentile comedy, some cracking, foot tapping songs and the whole show is lovingly put together. It transpires to be a thoroughly pleasant and undemanding evening of old fashioned entertainment, which was incredibly enjoyable.

    Curtains is at Sheffield Lyceum Theatre until 2nd November 2019 before continuing on its extensive national tour.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Noises Off, London

    THEATRE REVIEW | Noises Off, London

    (C) PR SUPPLIED

    ★★★★ | Noises Off, Garrick Theatre, London

    The production of ‘Nothing on’ in Western-Super-Mare is now playing at the Garrick theatre in a new production of Noises off.

    Confused? Dont be. We are treated to the show, as well as the backstage antics of the cast, in this hilarious and new production of Noises Off – a show that has been around since 1982. It’s a farce, with lots of physical humour which the cast amazingly carry out. They are all amazing and all have impeccable timing.

    We are at the Grande Theatre in the play within a play, and the show we are seeing involves a lot of tooing and froing. We are watching a rehearsal of ‘Nothing On,’ and the cast seem to be hopelessly not getting it. The director (Lloyd Owen) is at his wits end, but the actors continue to act out the plot, which is just as zany as the show. (It involves two couples and a very large house with a maid (Meera Syal) who goes about her business while mayhem goes on around her).

    Then after the interval, the set is turned around so we are now looking behind the stage but it’s still the same scene we just saw in the first act – so get so see what is happening backstage at the same time. Genius! The actors at this point are performing twice – and they do it brilliantly! Especially the contact lens scene that was in the first act and it is also actually happening backstage – it boils all to great laughter!<

    And act 3 carries on with the show that we saw in the first act and the physical humour is ramped up (way up when Daniel Rigby falls down a flight of stairs. God bless him, and the other actors who have to do this 8 times a week.

    Noises off is a play within a play, a farce within a farce, and one off the most hilarious shows you will see this year, or any  year.

    Noises Off plays at the Garrick Theatre until 4 January 2020 noisesoffplay.com

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Afterglow, London

    THEATRE REVIEW | Afterglow, London

    ★★★★ | Afterglow, Waterloo East Theatre, London

    An extramarital relationship takes its toll on two men expecting a baby in the return of the sexy play Afterglow.

    After a sell-out run at the Southwark Playhouse which ended just a few months ago, Afterglow returns to the cosy Waterloo East theatre, with a new cast, and 15 minutes shorter. Does this make the show better than the previous production? Yes it does.

    The problem with the previous production was the time-consuming moments when the actors would re-arrange the furniture for the scene changes – all a bit tedious and it took away from the sexually charged energy of the show.

    What we have now is a cast who are just as sexy, but with a show that is tighter and sexier, while we are still treated to those delicious and sexy scenes where the actors are totally naked (in the bed, in the shower, practically all over the stage)!

    The plot, if you buy a ticket for that, involves Josh (Adi Chugh), Alex (Peter Mcpherson) and Darius (Benjamin Aluwihare). Josh and Alex have been together a long time and have decided to have a baby via surrogate. But their relationship is an open one – they participate in three ways and allow each other to have fun with other guys. But when Darius enters their bedroom he and Josh click right away, and start to see each other, with Alex’s approval, and they eventually start to fall in love. But with the baby coming very soon (Josh and Alex cheekily change the name of their unborn baby weekly to peaches, lemon and cauliflower), and with Alex starting to get worried about Josh and Darius spending more time together, can Alex and Josh endure this big bump in their relationship?

    The actors are all very sexy and are all good in their respective roles, especially Aluwihare who brings a bit of naivety to his role. It’s a very good production, and at 75 minutes it’s not a big investment in your time – and it’s in a cosy and warm theatre where you might be tempted too to take your clothes off.

    Book now here

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Ian McKellen On Stage, London

    THEATRE REVIEW | Ian McKellen On Stage, London

    ★★★★★ | Ian McKellen On Stage, Harold Pinter Theatre, London

    “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”

    This is a famous quote from Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, and it can also be applied to Sir Ian McKellen, and his performance in his one-man show ‘Ian McKellen On Stage,’ a show that is both very entertaining, engaging, brilliant and great!

    McKellen has been touring this solo show all over the UK – 80 theatres for his 80th birthday, and now 80 performances at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London.

    And I strongly encourage you to go – do whatever you can to get a ticket. It is a tour de force performance, so unlike anything I’ve ever seen in live theatre. And it’s rare to see someone of his calibre, celebrity, candor, wit and knowledge on a West End Stage.

    McKellen takes us through his life during this show, which includes his work in both film (especially Lord of The Rings where he famously played Gandalf) and theatre, working with legends any actor can only dream of working with (Laurence Olivier). There is also a huge suitcase on stage, a suitcase littered with stickers of theatres where he has performed this very same show (The Space in the Isle of Dogs, the Young Vic, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Leicester Curve Studio… the list goes on and on). But in this suitcase are books by William Shakespeare, and McKellen gets the audience involved by asking them to call out the names of any Shakespeare book, which McKellen plucks out of the suitcase and proceeds to tell a story about said book, until all the books have been talked about – pure genius.

    Ian McKellen on Stage is what I suspect is the real Ian Mckellen off stage; genuinely warm, friendly, self-assured and confident and making you feel this way too, and by the end of the night he makes the audience feel that they were let in on his life, with some secrets told, and some gossip about other famous people, and opening up his life to us in a way no other performer (that I know of) has ever done. And we feel that we want to share our lives with him at some point as well. Ian (yes I feel comfortable enough to call him Ian) collects money in the lobby after the show for theatre charities (proceeds from this show also goes to theatre charities).

    Taking this show to 80 theatres around the country was an 80th birthday present to himself – it is also a birthday gift to us and is a once in a lifetime experience for us as well.

    Ian McKellen On Stage, is at the Harold Pinter Theatre until 5th January 2020, Book now

  • THEATRE REVIEW | On Your Feet – National Tour

    THEATRE REVIEW | On Your Feet – National Tour

    ★★★ | On Your Feet, Sheffield

    (C) PR SUPPLIED

    Tracing her rise from Cuban immigrant to global superstar, On Your Feet tells the story of Gloria Estafan and the Miami Sound Machine.

    From humble beginnings, the group went on to sell over 100 million records, albeit not without struggling to bring their fusion of Latin beats and Pop to the charts. But the American dream turns sour when at the height of her fame, tragedy hits the family.

    You might think that Gloria Estafan’s life was not really eventful enough to carry the narrative of a two-hour show, and, well, you may be right.

    There is very little in this musical biopic that hasn’t been seen before. The show feels a little self-indulgent at times, only ever skimming the surface of Estafan’s life and there are no huge revelations. The story ambles along without really getting very far in act one; and despite the narrative thickening out a little during act two, it remains a rather superficial look at her life.

    Narrative aside and despite a rather lacklustre set, this is a big production with a quality feel, an excellent lighting design taking us from the heat of the Cuban sun to packed out stadiums, some stunningly beautiful costumes, a stage full of actors and a superb live band on stage. Francesca Lara Gordon plays Gloria Estafan as a sassy, headstrong and determined woman, and had a voice enabling her to belt out the pop tunes and softly sing the slower numbers; and there was a tangible chemistry between her and George Ioannides as Emilio Estafan.

    With a good mix of ballads, upbeat pop and Latin American music, the show bursts into life during the musical numbers which are filled with passion and energy. With infectious Latin rhythms and dance routines that positively sizzle, outstanding choreography and an ensemble cast as hot as the Miami sun, the show really does impress during these moments and proves to be utterly irresistible.

    On Your Feet is a musical biopic with the emphasis firmly on the music rather than the biopic, and provides a couple of hours of foot-tapping, feel-good fun.

    On Your feet is at Sheffield Theatres until 19th October 2019, before continuing on its national tour.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | The Woman in Black – National Tour

    ★★★★ | The Woman in Black

    (C) PR SUPPLIED / FORTUNE

    Set in an old theatre in the late 1950s, 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 Eel Marsh House to settle the estate of a long-standing deceased client. Alone in his client’s 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? And who is the woman in black he keeps seeing?

    This effective ghost story is beautifully crafted and uses simple techniques to create a very taught atmosphere. The lighting design, in particular, was incredibly well done – who would have thought that a dark stage with just a door highlighted would draw worried mumblings from those around you? The production slowly cranks up the tension, drawing you to the edge of your seat and then throwing you back into it with some effective jump scares.

    The narrative of the show remains faithful to the original novel, and the production avoids spoon-feeding you the story, leaving you 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; and the way in which the audience is manipulated via the events unfolding on stage is testament to the quality of writing behind the show and the impressive performances of the two actors, Robert Goodale and Daniel Easton.

    The Woman In Black is well-crafted fireside ghost story which proves that there is more to what is unseen than what is seen. This show is a chilling pre-Halloween treat and a perfect way to spend a dark, stormy winter evening.

    The Woman In Black is currently at Sheffield Theatres until 12th October 2019 before continuing on its national tour and is also playing in the West End.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | tick, tick…BOOM, Penge

    THEATRE REVIEW | tick, tick…BOOM, Penge

    ★★★★ | tick, tick…BOOM, Penge

    Jonathan Larson, the genius behind Rent – perhaps one of the greatest musicals of all time – created a show about his struggle with getting a show produced before Rent – the show is ‘tick tick…BOOM’ – and it is now playing at the Bridge House Theatre in SE20 – Penge.

    Larson, who died sadly and unexpectedly of an aortic aneurysm in January, 1996 – a few weeks before Rent‘s world premiere – at the age of 35 – was very talented, and as the Writer, Composer and Lyricist of tick tick…BOOM his extreme talent was just starting to bloom when he died.

    But tick, tick…BOOM is actually what turns out to be a celebration of his life – telling the story of Jon (a very good Alex Lodge) getting ready to turn 30 and still waiting tables for a living but soon to workshop a show he has written called Superbia.

    He’s besotted with his girlfriend Susan (a good Georgie Ashford) and is not very jealous of his rich gay best friend Michael (James Hume), who seems to have it all but in all actuality does not. So tick, tick…BOOM takes us through the trials and tribulations of Jon’s struggle with the upcoming workshop, and his relationships with his girlfriend and best friend.

    Songs in this show, including ‘Therapy’ and the opening number ’30/90′ pre-tell the songwriting style of Larson and what was to come in the masterpiece that was Rent. If you, like me, are a fan of Rent and have never seen tick, tick….BOOM, it’s worth the journey to Penge to see this show (the theatre is conveniently located next to Penge East overground train station).

    If you’ve never seen Rent, then this show is also worth a watch as the story is relevant to pretty much all of us as we struggled to become successful in our first jobs. And the cast is all wonderful, and Lodge is just about perfect as Jon, with a glimmer of a sparkle in his eye that tells us the real Jon knew he had a gift.

    The show was first performed Off-Off-Broadway in September 1990 by Jonathan Larson in a workshop at the Second Stage Theatre under the title ‘Boho Days.’ It originally premiered in London with Neil Patrick Harris as Jon at the Menier Chocolate Factory and ran for three months.

    This production ends on October 27th, so book now.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | We Will Rock You, National Tour

    THEATRE REVIEW | We Will Rock You, National Tour

    ★★★ |We Will Rock You, National Tour

    WE WILL ROCK YOU by Elton, , Writer and Director – Ben Elton, Set Designer – Mark Fisher, Costume Designer – Tim Goodchild, Lighting designer – Willie Williams, Churchill Theatre, Bromley, UK, 2019, Credit: Johan Persson

    Set in a distant, dystopian future where musical instruments and composers are banned, where generic pop music is imposed on the public and rock music is all but unknown, a small group of “Bohemians” struggle to restore the idea of thought, fashion and, most importantly, rock music as they break free of the grip of the Killer Queen.

    Seventeen years after it opened, this theatrical juggernaut heads out on a theatre tour bringing with it some of Queen’s most iconic songs. The show is a full-on assault to the senses, with a set made up of giant screens displaying animated, projected backdrops, a colourful array of costumes and music and vocals so loud that the bass reverberates in your chest.

    During the first act, the songs come thick and fast, with the wafer-thin plot serving little more purpose other than linking one song to the next, but the second act yields a little more to the rather silly narrative whilst still packing in enough hits to keep you entertained.

    Such big songs require big voices and the two leads, Ian McIntosh and Elena Skye can certainly belt out the tunes, giving solid vocal performances; whilst audience favourite Michael McKell provided some excellent comic relief throughout.

    But the real stars here are the songs, and the show packs in all the Queen hits you are expecting. Despite a plot which is utter nonsense, We Will Rock You will have you rocking your way out of the theatre.

    We Will Rock You is currently at Sheffield Theatres before continuing on its national tour.