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Life upon the wicked stage: Already Perfect at Kings Head Theatre

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Performing two shows a day on a Broadway run sounds exhausting enough. But when you’ve just had a not-so-great matinee and are having a crisis of confidence, I would assume the last thing you’d want is to confront your past. Yet that’s the situation in Already Perfect, writer-performer Levi Kreis’s slightly autobiographical journey of confronting the past and his younger self. With a series of toe-tapping and emotional songs in a sleek production, you’re invited to experience someone else’s therapy session. And with a show title called Already Perfect, you know what kind of session this is going to be. It makes for a show where nothing is left unsaid, even if it is unnecessary,  unbelievable or best left on a greeting card. It’s currently playing at the King’s Head Theatre .  The story begins in his dressing room after a matinee, with Kreis alone. The show didn’t go so well. Struggling after being dumped by a lover, pressure mounting on the evening show being filmed for poster...

Ed Fringe 2011: Briefs

Of all the shows that I caught at the Ed Fringe, one that I had a soft spot for was the boys from my hometown Brisbane Australia performing Briefs. They have taken the circus act and made it dirty. Very, very dirty. Part drag, part circus and part filth they have managed to go to a place nobody else has quite gone before. The circus and burlesque will probably be better for it.

It is an unpolished act, and there are long stretches that could be politely described as, "not connecting with the audiences". But full frontal nudity and Australian cliches aside, it is a showcase for some incredible burlesque and circus acts (along with a slice of life from Australia). It is not all filth and there are some touching moments including where one of their troupe gets a traditional tattoo and a small treat for the audience is offered up at half time. It all makes for an impressive show and a sellout on the night I saw it. Here's hoping they don't quite make it back to Australia yet and manage to get a few dates in London... Or at least come back next year...

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Opera and full frontal nudity: Rigoletto

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Fantasies: Afterglow @Swkplay

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Play ball: Damn Yankees @LandorTheatre

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Damn Yankees at the Landor Theatre is one hell of a fun, sexy show. A great cast of dancers and singers give this show about a man who sells his soul to get on his beloved baseball team (and give them a chance of winning) new legs and balls. It also helps to up the ante with the sexiness with some healthy doses of cleavage and legs (and that's just the men). The musical is a retelling of the Faust story set in the 1950s when the New York Yankees dominated the game.
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