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A Man For All Seasons: Seagull True Story - Marylebone Theatre

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It's not often that you see a play that tells you not so much a story but gives you a sense of how it feels to be in a situation, how it feels to be silenced, how it feels to be marginalised, how the dead hand of consensus stifles your creativity. However, in Seagull True Story, created and directed by Alexander Molochnikov and based on his own experiences fleeing Russia and trying to establish himself in New York, we have a chance to look beyond the headlines and understand how the war in Ukraine impacted a a group of ordinary creatives in Russia. And how the gradual smothering of freedom and freedom of expression becomes impossible to resist, except for the brave or the suicidal. Against the backdrop of Chekhov's The Seagull, which explores love and other forms of disappointment, it presents a gripping and enthralling depiction of freedom of expression in the face of adversity. After playing earlier this year in New York, it plays a limited run at the Marylebone Theatre . Fro...

Ambiguously Straight: Bromance @udderbellyfest @bmtroupe


Flying by the seat of your pants takes on greater meaning with circus troupe Barely Methodical and their latest offering Bromance, which is at the Udderbelly Festival on the South Bank until 19 July.

The three performers, Beren D’Amico, Louis Gift and Charlie Wheeller, fuse circus performance with their expertise in martial arts tricking, parkour and breakdancing; not to mention some hilarious comic interactions for a thrilling hour.


By the end of the evening there are more than a few times you will find yourself gasping at some of the positions they throw themselves into and the feats they perform. Handshakes become handstands as D’Amico and Gift perform a series of clinches and grasps. Meanwhile Wheeller captivates the audience balancing on the Cyr Wheel as he goes it alone… And before the end of the show they strip down to their underwear showing their fantastic... er... form by creating a human pyramid.

The piece explores the boundaries and limits of male companionship. Trust, the essence of relationships and the boundaries of support and personal space. Much of the humour is derived from challenging what is considered to be acceptable non-sexual behaviour between men (much to the titillation of the audience).

The performers relish this ambiguity and these boundaries... Is it just friendship or is it something more. But it is a thoughtful examination of how it is possible to use acrobatics, movement, dance and theatre to provide  insight into what makes us who we are.

Yet another amazing piece of circus theatre at the Udderbelly, Bromance runs on the South Bank until 19 July. Don't miss it.

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎

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