Mark Lloyd

Mark Lloyd

I am the classic example of someone who did lots of theatre as a teenager before thankfully realising as an adult that I wasn't very good at it. Now I am a big supporter of the arts and am eminently judgey, so now I write reviews of the things I have seen for all to see.
  • Joined: May 26, 2022
  • Articles: 98

REVIEW: Sh!t Theatre: Or What’s Left Of Us

Reading Time: 2 minutesSh!t Theatre are a long-running theatrical duo who have been putting on shows together now for over a decade to much critical acclaim. This was, however, my first time seeing a Sh!t Theatre show, and it has me kicking myself that I have missed out on years of seeing their shows. This show intertwines storytelling with folk songs and encourages audience participation (but no one is forced to so do not fear). It tells the story of the duo attending a folk sing around in a pub in Yorkshire which then gets firebombed a week later. It also acts as a bit of an introduction into the world of folk music and a lot of the meaning behind it, and it is also a devastating and impactful work on the topic of death and grief.

REVIEW: Juno Birch: Probed

Reading Time: 2 minutesThis is your classic one woman stand-up comedy show starring a glamorous alien from out of space. Sprinkle in a few music numbers, lots of camp, and a large blonde beehive, and you have a uniquely Juno Birch show. If you are not already familiar with Juno Birch, she is a drag queen from Manchester who has amassed over a million combined followers on Youtube and Instagram thanks to her iconic look, witty humour, and appearances with other famous drag queens such as Trixie Mattel. She has brought her new show to Soho Theatre following on from previous successful shows including “Attack of the stunning” which she toured around the world.

REVIEW: Stories: A Tap Dance Sensation

Reading Time: 2 minutesStories - The Tap Dance Sensation, is a show by the acclaimed RB Dance Company. The show initially premiered back in 2019 in St. Witz France, before opening in Paris in 2020 and winning a slew of awards in 2022 at the Trophees de la Comedie Musicale ceremony. There have been over a hundred performances of this show in Paris, and it is now in London. It tells the story of a young actor starring in a film, while dealing with an oppressive director as the line between fact and fiction becomes increasingly blurred. The show also just so happens to contain some of the best dancers that France has to offer.

REVIEW: Antony and Cleopatra: A Dream of Passion

Reading Time: 2 minutesThis show is adapted from the original play by William Shakespeare, and you have to imagine that when writing it he ever envisaged it being performed by an all gay male cast in the basement of a gay club in East London. And yet, here we are. Antony and Cleopatra condensed down to 70 minutes, relocated to be taking place in a techno nightclub, with a smattering of karaoke songs thrown in for good measure. This show is produced by cabaret legend Jonny Woo who also stars as the titular Cleopatra. William McGeough plays Antony, and the show is directed by Robert Chevara.

REVIEW: My Life As A Cowboy 

Reading Time: 2 minutesMy Life As A Cowboy is a comedy play written by Hugo Timbrell and directed by Scott Le Crass. It was originally due to be part of the unfortunately canceled Vault Festival 2022, before eventually being put on at the Park Theatre as part of their Come What May Festival, and the show has another lease of life again at the Omnibus Theatre. The show stars Harry Evans, playing Conor, a 17 year old self professed “loser” who has decided that country and western dancing is his key to a brighter future. Nusrath Tapadar plays his supportive to a fault friend Zainab, and Callum Broone plays Michael who works with Conor at the local leisure centre and harbours his own ambitions of something more. 

REVIEW: The Fabulist

Reading Time: 3 minutesThe Fabulist is a new show (opera? musical?) based on the music of Giovanni Paisiello, the classical Italian composer who died in 1816. It is revived into the modern day with book and lyrics by James P. Farwell. Well I say modern day, this show is set in 1929 in Mussolini’s Italy on a film set run by 2 sisters, one of whom is looking for love, and one of whom wants nothing of the sort. This show describes itself as a “playful new musical with an operatic edge”, but I would say there is far more than an “edge” of the operatic. If you go and see this show, go in expecting to see operatic songs and music with some dialogue in between them, rather than anything akin to a new modern musical. I know for me it took me a few moments to re-adjust my expectations once the first song began. 

REVIEW: The Pink List

Reading Time: 2 minutesThe Pink List is the second one-man show created by and starring Michael Trauffer. He tells the story of a gay man in 1957 Germany, still being persecuted under the anti-gay laws that were instituted by the Nazis when they were in power. The framing is of one man on trial for suspected homosexual activities, as he looks back on his childhood, his time in liberal Berlin, and the horrors of the concentration camps.

REVIEW: Marcel Lucont’s Whine List

Reading Time: 2 minutesMarcel Lucont’s Whine List is an interactive stand up comedy show. Prior to the show beginning, the audience are given questionnaires where they describe things such as their worst day at work, and worst amorous encounter. The show then revolves around these stories with Marcel, played as the classic sneering French man, reacting to the stories, asking questions, and making jokes. This is interspersed with a few poems, and greatest hits of stories previously told. This means that 90% of each show will be entirely different and fresh each time. Useful for return viewings! This show has been running in one form or another for 8 years now, and has now also been turned into a podcast.