Month: August 2022

HIGHLIGHT: Cast announced for world premiere of Will Jackson’s CLUTCH at Bush Theatre

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A heart-warming story of acceptance, Clutch, a new Bush Theatre commission, opens on 19 September at Bush Theatre. The cast is today announced as Geoffrey Aymer and newcomer Charlie Kafflyn, who makes his professional debut. 

‘I’ve been doing this for over twenty years and I’ve never had a student not pass first time. Tyler, do you trust me?’ 

Max is a retired cabbie who now prides himself on being the best driving instructor in Birmingham. Tyler is desperate to escape his suffocating hometown and start a new life in the big city. 

As Tyler gets to grips with clutch control and the highway code, he and Max find themselves navigating the challenges of manhood and personal regrets. Within the confines of a Vauxhall Corsa, the pair strike up an unlikely friendship they both needed more than they ever knew.

Deirdre O’Halloran, the Bush Theatre’s Literary Manager said, ‘Will Jackson started writing ‘Clutch’ whilst in our Emerging Writers Group, and the intimate setting of driving lessons, with all the intensity and stress that comes with it felt like such an exciting place for a drama to unfold! We love how the play explores masculinity and how much easier it is to talk when you’re both looking straight ahead. The intimacy and humour of the play made it perfect for our studio season.’

Clutch runs at the Bush Theatre from 19th September -8th October

HIGHLIGHT: 2:22 new cast announced

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Producer Runaway Entertainment is delighted to announce casting news for the extended West End run of Danny Robins’ edge-of-your-seat, supernatural thriller 2:22 – A Ghost Story. The extension follows two record breaking runs at the Noel Coward and Gielgud Theatres and a hugely successful run with the current cast at the Criterion Theatre, plus three Olivier Nominations including Best New Play, and winning the Best New Play category in the Whatsonstage awards.

Tamsin Carroll will play the role of Lauren. Tamsin said: “As a self confessed scaredy-cat, I’m so glad to have Matt, Felix and Laura to band together with on this supernatural adventure.”

Felix Scott will play the role of Sam.  Felix said: “I am thrilled to be joining the cast of 2:22 A Ghost Story. It is incredibly exciting to be part of this brilliant production.”

Making her West End debut Laura Whitmore will play Jenny. Laura said: “I’m so excited to be making my West End debut playing Jenny in the next production of 2:22. Theatre has always been my first love and I can’t wait to get back on stage. I am a huge fan of the previous productions and delighted to be getting stuck in with rehearsals and working alongside such a hugely talented cast and team.”

Matt Willis will play Ben. Matt said: “I am beyond excited to be a part of this incredible show. I saw the production last year and absolutely loved it.  I can’t wait for people to come and watch!”

Matthew Dunster said: “This is our 4th West End cast. We have already done over 100 performances at the Criterion and over a year in the West End in total. These are the shows you dream of being involved in. To reach, entertain and frighten as many people as we have feels very special. The show constantly evolves; each brilliant cast teaches us new things about Danny’s play and surprises our audiences, many of whom come again and again to experience the new life of the play. I’m so excited to be working with Isabel Marr, my Co-Director to realise this fourth version of the show that finally gives us the opportunity to scare the s**t out of people on Halloween.”

The current cast at the Criterion Theatre features Tom Felton as Sam, Mandip Gill as Jenny, Beatriz Romilly as Lauren and Sam Swainsbury as Ben. The US premiere of 2:22 A Ghost Story will be at the Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles where it will run from 29 October to 4 December 2022.

2.22 – A Ghost Story is written by award-winning writer Danny Robins, creator of the hit BBC podcast The Battersea Poltergeist and it is directed by Matthew Dunster. Intriguing, funny and scary, it takes audiences into one adrenaline-fueled night where secrets will emerge and ghosts may appear….What do you believe? And do you dare to discover the truth?

“There’s something in our house. I hear it every night, at the same time.”

“I love the fact that, like Doctor Who, we keep regenerating and we have some truly thrilling performers here. How exciting is it to be looking forward to Laura Whitmore’s stage debut? And Matt Willis has more than proved himself to be a brilliant, explosive actor in recent years. Felix and Tamsin make up our foursome – both absolutely epic talents. I have a feeling this is going to be a particularly spine-tingling incarnation of my play, so, if you haven’t seen it already, come! If you have, come again!!! There’s no better time than the Autumn for a ghost story as the nights draw in… so come down to the Criterion and enjoy the ultimate spooky night out! We can’t wait to unleash this new cast on you…”

Danny Robins

HIGHLIGHT: Cast announced for world premiere of The Apology at Arcola Theatre this autumn

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New Earth Theatre, in association with Arcola Theatre and The North Wall, this week announced the full cast for the world première of Kyo Choi’s The Apology, portraying the stories of the ‘comfort women’ of the Second World War and the subsequent political cover-up. Ria Parry directs Minhee Yeo (White Pearl, Royal Court Theatre), Sharan Phull (Everyone’s Talking about Jamie, UK tour), Kwong Loke (The Great Wave, National Theatre),Sarah Lam (Paradise, National Theatre), Jessie Baek (Bridgerton) and Ross Armstrong (Chernobyl). Based on true accounts by survivors, The Apology opens at Arcola Theatre on 19 September, with previews from 15 September and runs until 8 October.

“The North Wall has a reputation for nurturing and championing bold, brilliant artists who may otherwise be unheard in mainstream theatre – and it has been a privilege to support the development and realisation of The Apology alongside the superb team at New Earth and Arcola Theatre. Kyo is a writer of exceptional talent and I am thrilled to be working with the most wonderful cast to bring this story to the stage.”

Director Ria Parry

Cast: Minhee Yeo (Han Yuna), Sharan Phull (Priyanka Zaafir), Kwong Loke (Han Min),Sarah Lam (Kim Sun-Hee), Jessie Baek (Bok Hae) and Ross Armstrong (Jock Taylor)

A powerful human story which asks how a nation can apologise for the crimes of its past.

Seoul, 1991. Priyanka is beginning the UN investigation into the ‘comfort women’ of the Second World War, and the subsequent political cover-up. Yuna is about to learn the family secret her father has shamefully concealed for her whole life. And Sun-Hee, having kept her silence for over forty years, is on the brink of speaking out – an act which will ignite a fire that could spread across the world.

Three women’s lives intertwine as they campaign for the truth against those who would rather it remain forgotten.

HIGHLIGHT: WOW Festival London 2023 Announced

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10-12 MARCH AT SOUTHBANK CENTRE WITH STRICTLY LIMITED EARLY BIRD DAY PASSES NOW ON SALE

10-12 MARCH AT SOUTHBANK CENTRE WITH STRICTLY LIMITED EARLY BIRD DAY PASSES NOW ON SALE

WOW – Women of the World announced this week the dates for its 2023 London Festival, which returns at the Southbank Centre to mark International Women’s Day, supported by The WOW Foundation’s Global Founding Partner Bloomberg.

From 10-12 March, the 13th London edition of the world’s biggest, most comprehensive festival celebrating women, girls and non-binary people will be back with three days of laughter, joy, discussion, world-class speakers, artists and activists. Presented by charity The WOW Foundation, the festival will celebrate achievements, and look to find solutions together on the pressing issues of gender inequality, from climate change to poverty, reproductive rights to mental health.

2023’s festival will see the return of the Day Pass, which goes on sale this week for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Each day offers audiences the chance to choose from dozens of events taking over the Royal Festival Hall in multiple spaces and venues, with a different line-up each day. Festival-goers can explore a packed programme of talks, workshops, performances, sport, music from WOW Sounds artists and more. 

WOW Day Passes sell out every year, and a strictly limited number of £35 early bird discounted Day Passes (usually £45) are available to buy from Wednesday 10th August (Southbank Centre Members pre-sale from Tuesday). 

Over the three day festival, there will be conversation, community, reasons to be enraged, enlightened, and surprised. There will be big discussions tackling difficult topics, big ideas proposing new ways forward, and enormous amounts of fun too. 

At WOW London audiences can expect to hear from the best thinkers, most inspiring activists, and brilliant speakers of our time. From household names, to rising stars and people making a difference everyday, the Festival line-up is always a catalogue of incredible people moving gender equality forward from across the world. Many of the events will be Live Captioned and/or BSL Interpreted.

A programme of ticketed evening events and digital events will be announced in the coming months. Alongside the paid events, the festival will feature the much-loved WOW Marketplace, a programme of WOW Pop Up performances, and see the return of WOW Speed Mentoring; all of which are completely free, plus our Under 10’s Feminist Corner for budding young feminists everywhere. 

Run by UK charity The WOW Foundation, 2023 will be the 13th WOW London Festival. In 2018, WOW Founder Jude Kelly built on the success of the festival to create UK-based charity The WOW Foundation to run the global WOW movement that believes a gender equal world is urgently needed, possible and desirable.  Since the inaugural London Festival in 2010, launched by Kelly at the Southbank Centre, WOW and its partners across the world have reached more than three million people in more than 100 festivals and events across six continents.

REVIEW: Living A Little

Published on by Natalie Goring1 Comment

Rating: 5 out of 5.

‘For a play about a zombie apocalypse I laughed all the laughs and felt all the feels’ 

Living a Little from Finlay Bain is a poignant zombie apocalypse comedy exploring the complex friendship of Rob and Paul, made even more complicated by Ninja Invader Penelope. Directed by Jordan Murphy the piece is original, passionate and very very funny. 

The dialogue zips along throughout with slick and fiesty back and forth between all the characters. Speaking of which, they are full of depth and individuality, all characters fully formed and so identifiable. A particular joy to see this in the role of Penelope who commands strength and presence throughout. 

What stands out most throughout the show is the ease between the cast, made up of Paul Thirkell, Finlay Bain and Christie Russell-Brown. As a company they are sublime, we never question their reality or suspend the belief. 

Each inhabits their roles like a glove making the poignant moments even harder as, we as the audience, are fully invested. 

Highlights include the ecstasy scene where the lighting and tech are pivotal and elevate the drama. One scene of mention has to be when Rob drops his problematic ‘lad’ vibes and discusses his friendship with Paul. 

As zombie shows go it’s unique, creative, human and realistic. 

REVIEW: Horrible Histories: Terrible Tudors

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

 “A play to be enjoyed by the whole family with catchy musical numbers, quippy lines and hilarious slapstick”

Whilst I was a lone 20-year old going to see this play- I can say that Horrible Histories: Terrible Tudors is a brilliant play brought to life by the Birmingham Stage Company that will keep the entire family entertained for a run time of 1 hour and 10 minutes. Best suited for 6+, this play runs through the whole history of the Terrible Tudors: with all the best and nastiest bits left in! (the website does say 5+ but 6 is more apt).Starting with the downfall of the evil Richard III and concluding with the end of the Tudor reign (brought about by the death of Elizebeth I without an heir.)

This play is punctuated with catchy musical numbers, quippy lines, hilarious slapstick and interactive sections (as well as  some innuendos to make the whole thing a lot more enjoyable for the adult audience 😉 ). The audience gets involved in mock trials, chants and chant offs which keeps the crowd (both big and little) engaged and invested. If your children love the TV show or if like me, you liked it when you were yourself a youngster then this is a great play to attend.

This play has only two multi-talented cast members per show who will knock you socks off! On the day I went (August 6th) I had the pleasure of watching Ben Martin and Emma Swan. The pair took on a wide range of roles throughout the show with quick costume changes and quick jumps in and off stage. Ben Martin does a wonderful job portraying evil tyrants with a funny twist and engaging the adult audience with hidden mature jokes and Emma Swan is particularly talented in her range of roles and kid friendly banter.

One of the best things about this play is that, whilst being incredibly engaging, this play is teaching kids (and adults) real, interesting history! Writers (Terry Deary and Neal Foster) have done an amazing job composing and structuring this play enabling it to run through a whole monarchy comprehensively whilst remaining funny and interesting. And the adults were learning just as much as kids, if the conversation I heard on the way out of the theatre was anything to go by. I heard two mothers saying that that was the most they’d ever learnt about Tudors and that they’d really enjoyed it and would bring their kids back to another one on a different subject (there is! -The Terrible Thames). And I personally particularly liked learning that Anne Boleyn had six fingers and was considered a witch because of it.

I have only one criticism of this play – noticing a small drop off in the quality in the play (pace and content) towards the latter half – there was a shoddy very slightly rejigged version of I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas which fell flat. It did however pick up again closer to the end. Finally I would say that as parents who know your kids better than anyone – I would not recommend this play for children who are particularly sensitive to violence. Whilst this play is incredibly kid friendly – there is only so many ways you can disguise some gruesome details (especially in the Tudor punishment section).

Overall, this play brought back many nostalgic memories for me of watching Horrible Histories in class and listening to the songs on YouTube after school. However, it’s not just Horrible Histories stans or former fans who would enjoy this. I can firmly say that most kids and parents would enjoy this experience.

This play is running at Garrick Theatre until Saturday 6th September – and if you are after more Horrible Histories adventure then there is the Terrible Thames Tour-Live Onboard also running this summer.

REVIEW: Blue Badge Bunch

Published on by Natalie GoringLeave a comment

Rating: 5 out of 5.

“Accessible, energetic, fun and educational”

Led by comedian Benny Shakes, Blue Badge Bunch is an interactive kids gameshow which talks openly about disability and breaks down barriers. The whole show is extremely inclusive, highlighted by the BSL interpreter present throughout.

Benny is an engaging host with mountains of charm and leads us through the hour of games. Having Cerebral Palsy himself, he then welcomes two team captains who detail their own Disabilities in an easy to understand way. 

Then to the games – each round uses inhibitors of some disabilities to make the game difficult or fun. For example… drawing Benny with your feet! Audience and competitors themselves all get a go to try it out.

Fun, laughter and poking ensues and the kids get to really engage with the concept in a fun way. 

To get a reaction from an even younger perspective, I brought my landlady’s son with me who had this to say:

“A fun and interactive show with a great opportunity to learn about disabilities. The performers were nice and showed different ways of doing stuff. Great for kids (I am 9) and adults to go to. “

So to sum up a lovely engaging show for all ages, perfect to start off a Fringe day.

You can catch Benny and Team at Pleasance Courtyard Baby Grand, 7-15 at 11:30am.

REVIEW: She-Wolves

Published on by Natalie GoringLeave a comment

Rating: 4 out of 5.

‘Innovative, beautiful and fiesty, Laura Careless is a She Wolf’

Based on Helen Castor’s Book/Series She-Wolves tells the story of powerful female monarchs of England. 

Questions of identity, gender, power and womanhood are beautifully communicated through this multidisciplinary piece.

Laura Careless excels when her storytelling combines with deliberate and skillful physical theatre – with these moments never seeming forced or juxtaposed within the piece. 

The space is bare except for a wooden prop/multiuse/set box. Specifically designed to include props, costume and to be used as scenery, it allows Laura the use of space to move while still implying locations.

On the rear of the stage, a massive projector is filled mainly with stunning illustrations which punctuate the narrative. 

Careless manages to infuse voice, song, physical theatre and dance into the piece with incredible clarity meaning the audience are completely engaged throughout. The merging of genres could be murky yet the intention is always pronounced. 

Small moments of genre interruptions which felt disjointed included the projection of a modern video and a popular song – although still in theme for me, they jarred with the force of the rest of the show.

Careless’ technique and talent cannot be overstated – she is a truly powerful She Wolf herself.

You can see She-Wolves at Greenside @ Nicholson Square, 7-13th August, 18:40.

REVIEW: Period Dramas

Published on by Natalie GoringLeave a comment

Rating: 4 out of 5.

‘The show about periods I never knew I needed’

Heather Milstead leads this storming cabaret with more facts about menstruation than you
can shake a stick at.

This hour long show takes the audience through thousands of periods worth of facts starting
with David Attenborough observing Cleopatra and ending with a tap dance through the
1900s to modern day. Yes…a literal tap dance.

Milstead is charming and skilfully navigates the often weird topic and wins over even the
shyest of audience members with her innovative and interactive storytelling.

Punctuated by music, games, interaction and even a giant inflatable penis the show keeps
energy throughout and who doesn’t want to pin the womb on the woman. What could feel like a lecture comes off as an informative enjoyable show that anyone can
enjoy.

Milstead even excels with the ‘serious’ part which highlights the frankly depressing lack of
conversation and support for menstruation.

My only sadness was the articulation during the beginning song meant I missed out on some
enjoyable jokes due to not being able to hear them.

Definitely a lovely way to spend an hour if you wish you knew more about periods!

REVIEW: Jarman

Published on by Jason Showdie1 Comment

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

A riveting one-man bio-drama about fulfilling potential, lost creatives, and the power of the artistic spirit.

I’ll be honest. Before I walked into the King’s Head Theatre to watch Mark Farrelly’s epic performance, I’d never heard of Derek Jarman. Now? I’m going to tell everyone about him.

A touching piece about what it means to choose to be a maverick rather than a conformist, Jarman—the vital story of the life of the eponymous film director, stage designer, author and gay rights activist—is a perfect fit for the theatre’s Boys! Boys! Boys! season. Farrelly’s writing dances between the poetic and the blunt, the welcoming and the acerbic. It’s a style that works for such a show, and for such a man, and carries the audience through the ecstatic joy and then jarringly into the cold light of day.

The journey is a moving one, and is delivered with the importance of someone who knows their time will end too soon. Farrelly makes impressive use of the minimal set and props at his disposal, occasionally requiring the audience’s involvement, to give us a glimpse of the almost-childlike creativity of the man, and is supported well by Tom Lishman’s sound design to immerse us in the world. Indeed, Farrelly and his co-director, Sarah-Louise Young, deserve huge respect for the incredible consideration that has clearly been poured into every choice. The whole show is a carefully-crafted homage, in ways a novice like me only realised after the fact but that resonated strongly at the time with much of the audience.

Which is to say that the whole team clearly gets Jarman, none more so than Farrelly who is an absolute tour de force. Eighty minutes with nowhere to hide is no easy feat but he exudes a charisma and aliveness that holds the audience in his palm, hoping to be the next one he talks to. He jumps from moment to moment with a masterful subtlety and grace, all the while throwing in ad libs that ground the show firmly in the present, and by the time he reaches the harrowing moments when the AIDS-related illness is about to kill him, we really don’t want him to go.

It’s a show about art and the potential of storytelling, both in how we deliver those stories and in whose stories we choose to tell. There are traps that are easy to fall into in a project like this—a lack of spontaneity and a wealth of indulgence being two obvious ones—but Farrelly ably avoids these for the most part. I’m in two minds about one-man shows ending with a slightly more on-the-nose reiterating of their message, but Jarman earns it.

It’s an important story. An audience member after the show told of how moving it was to see something they lived through being told in such an alive and moving way. Farrelly’s Jarman talks of those illiterate in human complexity. Unfortunately, those people will continue to exist, but this production is a testament to art’s power to combat such ignorance with unabashed spirit. Be astonishing, is Jarman’s appeal to us. The show lives up to its challenge.