Savinay Sood

REVIEW: Bog Body

Published on June 2, 2025June 2, 2025 by Savinay SoodLeave a comment

Moments of brilliance in the writing

Bog Body begins with a nervous woman half an hour before her wedding, the twist is that she’s getting married to the Lindow man, a 2000 year old dead man whose body was perfectly preserved in the peaty conditions of a bog. Produced by Itchy Feet theatre, written and directed by Jen Tucker and performed by Maddie White, Bog Body is a quintessentially fringe show, performed at the Arches Lane Theatre as a preview for Edinburgh. It’s a one woman dark comedy show about a frantic woman that is very stripped back. It’s conversational and meta, our protagonist Petra conversing with the audience. Though Itchy Feet describe it as experimental, it is a fairly typical fringe style one person show.

The show worked best when it was funny and there were moments of brilliance in the writing, lines like “but he’s a really good listener,” were great. Unfortunately, it strayed from the comedy after the first third or so of the show which in this reviewer’s mind is a bit of a shame. The story was too large for the 45 minute run time, there were no shortage of intriguing plot lines that were unfortunately unable to be realised. I would have loved to have seen a more thorough reckoning with her sister’s death, Petra thinks her sister was murdered but why she thinks that is never addressed. Her relationship with her mother similarly seemed like an interesting topic that ultimately wasn’t covered in enough depth.

White’s performance was solid, changing from level to frenetic with ease. Once again due to the compressed length of the show, it felt as though she was forced to do exposition rather than depth. The tech is similarly stripped back and it would have been great if there had been slightly more complexity in terms of the set, I loved the dirt circle but maybe something that showed the Lindow man or placing her stack of books somewhere more obvious would have helped build out the scenery and the world.

Bog Body is by no means a bad show, however I felt that it did not hit the heights that it had the potential to hit. With some development the show could be great, the concept is strong and when it’s funny it’s brilliant. It would be interesting to see what they do with the show between now and Edinburgh.

REVIEW: After the Act

Published on May 25, 2025May 24, 2025 by Savinay SoodLeave a comment

A Searing and Relevant Show

After the Act is a new musical from Breach Theatre by Billy Barrett and Ellice Stevens, with music from Frew which grapples with Section 28 through the medium of verbatim theatre. The show follows the lives of a range of LGBTQ+ people and the impact that Section 28 had on their lives, on their identities and on their development.

The show is episodic, and the fact that it is verbatim kept grounded in reality, in a way which was highly effective. I was particularly moved by the story of the P.E. teacher and the way that the show didn’t shy away from nuance, and did not simply depict queer people as perfect. The second act was truly excellent and, in my view, lifted the show. The ending that showed the Manchester protest against the act in 1988 was beautiful and moving, and certainly my favourite song of the night. There are no weak links in its cast of 4 (Erica Posadas, Nkara Stephenson, Zachary Wills and Ellice Stevens) and all of the actors have a chance to shine.

Whilst the music was not always to my personal taste with the songs feeling slightly one note and long, I can certainly see the appeal. If you enjoy synths and 2010s style musical theatre, you will enjoy the music of this show. I would have enjoyed it more with a fuller band as sometimes the harmonies and layers of singing were not always supported and distinguishable.

The design of the show is excellent, the team does a lot with the relatively small space of the Jerwood. The set design by Bethany Wells was brilliant, evoking a primary school gym, the oversized 80s suits in green and hot pink also designed by Wells were incredibly camp and created a sense of cohesion among the relatively small cast. Zakk Hein’s projections were often but not universally successful as sometimes text was projected over beams, obscuring it. Jodie Underwood’s lighting design was punchy, and reminded me of shows like Six with flashing lights, evoking the feel of a concert or a club.

As they explicitly say towards the end of the show, we are living in an equivalent moral panic centred around trans people. After the Act serves as a reminder that culture war issues are often used as scapegoats and distractions from other material concerns and that we must be open, empathetic and kind. Also, it’s a chance to see a camp sequined Margaret Thatcher.

After the Act runs at the Royal Court Theatre until Saturday 14 June 2025.

REVIEW: The Ghost and Mrs Muir (Workshop)

Published on May 17, 2025May 17, 2025 by Savinay SoodLeave a comment

A musical interpretation of a modern classic – further stagings are not simply encouraged but are a necessity.

I was invited to attend a workshop production of Penny Faith and Carmel Dean’s The Ghost and Mrs Muir, based on the 1945 novel of the same name by Josephine Leslie. It surprises me that this story has never been made into a musical before, it is an absolutely perfect candidate to adapt to stage. Set in 1910, the story follows the eponymous Mrs Muir, a recent widow as she moves to Gull Cottage with her children and maid. The show follows her as she asserts her independence and her relationship with the ghost of the sea captain who was the previous inhabitant of the house and whose death was mistakenly identified as suicide.

What Faith and Dean have done is taken the source material and more explicitly made it a celebration of female strength and independence without losing the love story at its core. The writers update the story in a way that feels realistic, though I’d have enjoyed it if there were a few more moments with Lucy and Miles to make the betrayal feel more stark and if Martha had gotten angrier.

Even though it was a workshop performance that was put together in 10 days, it was polished, professional and just a wonderful show. There wasn’t a weak link among the cast, all of them incredibly strong singers and actors. Obioma Ugoala and Laura Pitt-Pulford who play the titular ghost and Mrs Muir have incredible chemistry and are excellent leads for the show. Preeya Khalidas brings the character of Martha to life and grants her a level of internality that is not always present in supporting characters in this type of period piece. Rowan Macpherson and Conor Ewing who play Anna and Cyril Muir respectively add a wonderful humour to the show, and were able to let me get past my general aversion to having adults play children.

Above all else, the score was tremendous. Carmel Dean has written something that is simultaneously timeless and period appropriate. It contains hints of Sondheim, with some pacy lyrics and beautiful harmonies (particularly in the seaside song). Invisible is a standout in my view. The music is catchy, without being cloying, as the audience filtered out people were humming several of the recurring motifs. If played with a full orchestra, or even with a band I can imagine the impact would be huge, though there was something utterly charming about the

It will be interesting to see how future productions of the show tackle some of the more difficult technical aspects. The stage directions are ambitious and include bringing portraits to life, many changes in scene and setting and various ghostly hijinks. There will be a fine line in terms of the staging and tech, to bring this to life without straying into the cheesy and undercutting the emotional core story.

The Ghost and Mrs Muir is an uncynical show, with a fantastic score. It is exactly the sort of show that families would enjoy.

London, UK. 01.05.2025. Make It Shimmy Productions, presents FAYGELE, by Shimmy Braun, at the Marylebone theatre, London. The cast is: Ilan Galkoff (Ari Freed), Ben Caplan (Dr Freed), Clara Francis (Mrs Freed), Andrew Paul (Rabbi Lev), Yiftach Mizrahi (Sammy Stein). Directed by Hannah Chissick, with set & costume design by David Shields, and lighting design by Nic Farman. Photograph © Jane Hobson.

REVIEW: Faygele

Published on May 9, 2025May 9, 2025 by Savinay SoodLeave a comment

Heartbreaking and Profound

SPOILERS AHEAD

At a time where LGBTQ+ rights are being threatened, Shimmy Braun’s Faygele is timely. The show follows the adolescence and death of Ari Freed as he navigates homophobia within an Orthodox Jewish community. The story is a tragedy, and Braun is uninterested in attaching a fairy tale ending onto the story. There are debates to be had about the sensitive depiction of teen suicide, but Faygele is effective at depicting the devastating consequences of homophobia.

The cast are all truly excellent which reflects well on Hannah Chissick’s ability as a director. Ilan Galkof who plays Ari is a revelation. The show simply would not work without him. Compelling and expressive, the character is three dimensional. He is funny and likeable without being perfect. He feels real, and that is the central reason the show works. Clara Francis’ portrayal of his mother, unable to help her son, is simply heartbreaking.

The complex relationship between faith and identity has long fuelled queer theatre. What Braun is able to do is to capture the nuances highly effectively in the show. He is not content to villainise faith, Rabbi Lev (Andrew Paul) is portrayed sympathetically, he is doing his best with the resources and the knowledge that he has available. Braun was a member of an Orthodox Jewish community until his adulthood, and the show comes from a place of knowledge and empathy. Braun created a show that was inspired in part by his own experiences, and in part on the experiences of a teenager who committed suicide. The show is grounded and based on real experience. It is not sensationalist.

The show is well designed, the Marylebone is not the largest theatre but set and costume designer David Shields makes use of simple and effective wooden furniture to create a range of spaces. This helps the show flow through a range of times and spaces as we move through Ari’s adolescence.

Faygele reminds us to be angry. It reminds us why fighting for a kinder, more accepting world is important. Nobody should die the way Ari does.

REVIEW: Rise and Fall

Published on April 19, 2025April 19, 2025 by Savinay SoodLeave a comment

Promising concept but a disappointing execution

As a fan of both Van Gogh and Rock Musicals, I was excited for, and ultimately let down by The Rise and Fall of Vinnie and Paul, The show charts the tumultuous relationship between painters Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin as they lived together in Arles in 1888. Before I go further, it is important to note that this musical is still in development, and therefore, is still a work in progress.

The highlight of the show was Max Alexander-Taylor’s performance as the erratic and endearing Vinnie. His voice was strong and his commitment to the role was commendable. However, for a show about artists, it engaged surprisingly little with art itself, reducing the Impressionist and Primitivist movements largely to colour. Whilst there was allusion there was no real exploration of the philosophical differences between Van Gogh and Gauguin which caused their fallout. This is perhaps a pretentious complaint but meant throughout the show I was continuously wondering why the show was about these two artists specifically, and meant the show felt shallow. Especially because Gauguin was largely unlikeable. His song about how no woman could understand him was frustrating, not least because he had female contemporaries. Whilst one could see threads of an interesting story exploring the nature of their relationship through a queer lens, they were not pulled out effectively in the hour.

The musical is reminiscent of hits from the 2010s like ‘Heathers’, ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ and ‘Spring Awakening’. I was surprised that Bastian described the music as ‘Abba for Blokes’, when there seemed to be no trace of the 70s in the musical DNA of the show. The singers’ voices soared, and one can easily see these numbers as audition pieces. Whilst the numbers were catchy, they were not especially distinct and at worst detracted from the dramatic tension of the show.

In my mind the show’s issues can be summarised in the number ‘This is my Funeral’, the song where Van Gogh cuts off his ear. Instead of being a moment of payoff, or dramatic tension, it is hugely undercut by a sunglasses-wearing Gauguin singing a largely forgettable pop rock number. It felt more suited to a 30 Rock cutaway gag than a musical that had any empathy towards its subjects. If the show was a dark comedy, this number would have worked, but if it was meant to have any pathos it was unsuccessful. I wonder if it would have been more effective to eschew the song, and to leave the audience uncomfortable with the horror of the action. The following song ‘Wheatfield of Crows’ was excellent, it was effective and balanced, and the audience were encouraged to see and empathise with Van Gogh, and would have been more effective if the previous song had not happened.

There were some interesting moments in The Rise and Fall of Vinnie and Pauland it would be interesting to see what a full length version of the show looks like.

REVIEW: Digital Village

Published on April 5, 2025April 5, 2025 by Savinay SoodLeave a comment

A novel piece that captures the eeriness of being on show

Digital Village is an ambitious performance by fourth year Royal College of Music student James Madrilejo. Whilst this piece would not necessarily appeal to every audience, nobody could deny how innovative and engaging the piece is. It is a digital showcase, combining on screen live performance, pre-recorded videos of puppet shows, nature and actors performing stories. It is an overwhelming experience, the three walls around the traditional performance space are home to the projections. A red light darkens throughout the piece illuminating that empty space.

Madrilejo is focused primarily on storytelling, splitting up the piece into chapters, each focusing on a different story from Filipino folklore, from a range of ethnic groups, told in a different style, from dramatic monologue to the style of a TikTok get ready with me. I found this an effective and novel exploration of folklore. It is surreal, bordering on Lynchian, where the feeling the piece generates is more important than understanding each individual line.

The piece is short, and is meant to be overstimulating, the music underneath many of the stories is eerie and discordant. He is able to create a soundscape that effectively replicates how uncomfortable the prospect of putting yourself on show and being seen can be. The cameras are placed in a way that viewing the performers feels like they are being surveilled. I found myself wishing that the team had taken it one step further, and placed the audience inside the performance space. It would have further heightened the overstimulation, and become truly immersive, removing the distraction of the empty space at the centre. The projections are well designed and interesting, though it would be nice if curtains had been put up over the doors in order to give a flat background to prevent the projections being disrupted.

There are moments of levity and charm, a particular highlight is the monkey story, where the bouncy score and adorable monkey puppet make for a welcome break from how ominous the rest of the piece feels. The TikTok get ready with me was similarly funny, though was undercut as the projection was partially obscured by the doors.

Whilst Digital Village is not perfect, Madrilejo is a student at the start of his career, and has managed to create something different and interesting. I personally am looking forward to seeing what he does next.

REVIEW: The Bollywood Guide to Revenge

Published on April 5, 2025April 4, 2025 by Savinay SoodLeave a comment

A filmy and heartfelt cabaret about the power of self-love

A Bollywood Guide to Revenge is a wonderful unapologetically camp show about self love. Filled with fantastic original music, a camp and effective emcee and stunning lighting and projection work, it is rare to see a show that is so biting but has so much heart. Written by Shafeeq Shajahan (who acts as our emcee) and Vasilis Konstantinides (on keys), the show is filled with original songs as Shajahan takes us through episodes in his (and his mother’s) life. From being a small child questioning sections of the Quran, to having a holy and moving experience at Mecca to coming out to his mother, the show shines as Shajahan lays his soul bare to the audience.

The message of the show is succinct and beautiful, it is all about loving yourself not in spite of but because of your scars. The show does an excellent job of acknowledging the
sometimes messy realities of queerness and faith without relying on lazy oversimplifications. To Shajahan, queerness and faith are one and the same thing, and the resulting art is truly beautiful. Shajahan is a born performer, he is highly charismatic, engages with the audience throughout and manages to get laughs without turning himself into a joke.

The music combined traditional Indian and Cypriot stylings, and the team were able to make the music and lyrics accessible without compromising on authenticity. Their solution was to project lyrics as they were sung in their original script, translated and transliterated so audience members would understand the music regardless of background. Konstantinides commands on keys, and their cellist Mariamlisia Abidin rounds of the music well. At times I found myself wishing that they had a full band behind them.

The show is expansive and at times it feels restricted to its 60-minute slot. The start drags a little. It would be excellent to see future stagings of the show that were longer, and there was time to cover each story in more depth and allow for more space to develop the relationship between Shajahan and Konstantinides. Though the intimacy between the performers was obvious, the dialogue sometimes felt overly scripted in service of moving the plot along in order to meet the 60-minute slot.

My major issue with the show was the sound mixing. The Soho Theatre upstairs is a
wonderful, intimate space which means that it is small. The volume of all the music was
simply too high for a lot of the show. The music itself was an absolute triumph, however it was let down by how loud it was. The actors themselves wore earplugs, which potentially explains why.

The Bollywood Guide to Revenge is a riot, and despite how funny and silly it is at points, by the end I was in tears. I haven’t stopped humming the final number and am eagerly awaiting when the music will be available to listen to. It is glamorous, funny and heartwarming, and I hope that it will have further life in a larger venue.

REVIEW: Florence

Published on March 28, 2025April 8, 2025 by Savinay SoodLeave a comment

“Fleabag meets Jekyll and Hyde in this biting dark comedy”

Honor Santa Barnes is a revelation in this one woman show. Florence follows a nameless woman and her invented alias of a high society persona in order to succeed in the art world. As the show progresses the line between our protagonist and her persona blurs, asking questions about the cost of pretending to be someone else. The show is philosophical and dark, but most importantly, funny.

Honor Santa Barnes and Eleanor Blackwood’s script is equal parts class based satire and poignant reflection on mental illness. Their protagonist is not simply one dimensional, she is cruel and funny and judgemental and insecure all at once. The intimacy between performer and audience is incredibly effective, the show acting as a conversation. They are able to avoid typical pitfalls of one person plays largely through the frequent humour. The concept of pretending to be someone else has been played for drama (e.g in The Talented Mr Ripley) and laughs (e.g in Anything Goes) and whilst this is a distinctly dramatic show, I admire the fact that it stays very personal, and therefore plausible, there are no murders, no mobs, no secret weddings, just a woman who hates herself. Keeping the stakes relatively low is exactly what this genre needs to feel grounded and real. I wish we’d seen her contradict herself more, calling into question the narrative she’s presenting, the reference to her 5 bedroom childhood home was brilliant and I wish we’d had one or two more references like that. However, at a tight 55 minutes, the show is a near perfect one person show.

A one person show lives and dies on the strength of its leading actor, and Honor Santa Barnes does not disappoint. The show makes full use of her range, showcasing every accent from RP to Glasweigan to Australian. The show simply wouldn’t work without her charisma and athleticism. Her performance is equally manic and measured, and it truly is an artistic tour de force and the show seems designed to show off her range. Her commitment to the performance is remnicient of Jodie Comer in Prima Facie. She is utterly charming, and the audience roots for her even when she is doing objectively terrible things.

It would be criminal not to mention the efficacy of the design for the show. Ed Saunders’ creative use of LEDs coupled with Sarah Spencer’s synth music and Ellie Wintour’s minimalist set work together absolutely beautifully. The design elements transport the audience everywhere from a nightclub to a gallery space to an upper class party. The script perhaps hits less hard than it could in the wake of recent films like Saltburn, but it is still an incredibly strong show. I have no doubt that this show will have further life at a Fringe and when it does, you absolutely should go see it.

FEATURE: Billy Porter’s London directorial debut

Published on March 19, 2025March 19, 2025 by Savinay SoodLeave a comment

Billy Porter’s London directorial debut of an Intimate, Gripping and Challenging show is
opening in June.

Harrison David Rivers’ show This Bitter Earth is coming to London in June at the Soho Theatre. The show marks the London directorial debut of theatre royalty Billy Porter. This Bitter Earth will feature Omari Douglas (It’s a Sin – Channel 4) and Alexander Lincoln (Emmerdale).

The show, which was commissioned in 2015, focuses on the relationship between Jesse, a young black writer (Douglas), and his white activist lover Neili (Lincoln). Set over the span of years, the audience sees the relationship between Jesse and Neil develop against a backdrop of political demonstrations and tension beginning at the Million Hoodie March in 2012. The show aims to explore questions and dynamics of race that in the words of director Billy Porter we as a society are too ‘scared, confused or wimpish to ask’. The play is ‘personal, poetic and real’ in the words of Douglas. Lincoln reflected that the process of working on the show has helped him better understand the experience of being black.

Rivers said the play began his life as a ‘visceral’ reaction to the experience of being black in America. He wants the play to explore love, not the feeling, but the action, and its capacity to heal. Audiences can expect to be challenged, and to walk away inspired. In Rivers’ words the play is an encouragement to ‘be in the Here and Now’, to remind people to show up in the present.

At an earlier press conference, the respect for Porter’s direction was palpable. In Rivers’ words Porter is the ‘right director’ for the show for the time. Producer Thomas Hopkins is thrilled to be working with Porter, and celebrates his directorial approach, describing an early conversation with Porter about the show he came away ‘thinking [he’s] never had a conversation like that in [his] life’.

This Bitter Earth promises to be a timely, relevant and engaging show.

Don’t Miss Out: The show is on from the 18th June – 26th July. Tickets start at £13. Book now at https://sohotheatre.com/events/this-bitter-earth/.

REVIEW: White Rose

Published on March 7, 2025March 7, 2025 by Savinay SoodLeave a comment

A beautiful and relevant show about the power of speaking truth to power

It is hard to think of a single flaw of Brian Belding’s White Rose: The Musical. Playing at the Marylebone theatre until the 13th of April, the show follows the eponymous anti Nazi resistance movement led by siblings Sophie and Hans Scholl played masterfully by Collette Guitart and Tobias Turley respectively. The White Rose movement spread anti-Nazi pamphlets all across Germany. The show is a timely reminder of the importance of standing up for what one believes in extraordinarily difficult circumstances, and that anyone has the capacity to make a difference. The show makes use of a great deal of historical reference material, quoting directly from pamphlets that the actual organisation created.

There are no weak links in the cast. Every cast member gets the opportunity to shine. Obvious praise goes to Guitart whose depiction of the defiant Sophie is both moving and deeply human. Her Sophie is multi-faceted, and by showing her experiencing moments of doubt and hesitation, as well as moments of incredible strength and resilience, the message of the show is made all the stronger. Will Nunziata’s direction is fabulous. Small glances, the choice to stage Nazi generals as shadowy figures both literally and figuratively looming over the characters and the choice to implicate the audience when throwing leaflets and calling us to action make the show all the more real and moving.

It would have been incredibly easy not to do justice to the source material, but White Rose is able to communicate the extraordinary importance of the story, and the use of music heightens rather than diminishes the emotional core of the show. Natalie Brice’s compositions were beautiful, with tight harmonies and catchy (if occasionally repetitive) hooks. I personally particularly enjoyed the songs ‘Munich’, ‘Pride and Shame’ and ‘Who Cares?’. The technical design is fantastic.Justin Williams’ set is simple and engaging, it reflects the desperation of Munich. I particularly enjoy his use of levels. Alex Musgrave (Lighting) and Dan Sampson (Sound) have also done well to create simple but effective designs.

The celebration of intellectualism, standing up for what you know is right even when it’s difficult and the fact that anyone can make a difference makes for a timely and wonderful show. I have no doubt that we will eventually see this show on the West End, but there is something undeniably special about having had the opportunity to watch it in an intimate venue like the Marylebone theatre.