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Bear with me: Sun Bear @ParkTheatre

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If The Light House is an uplifting tale of survival, Sarah Richardson’s Sun Bear gives a contrasting take on this. Sarah plays Katy. We’re introduced to Katy as she runs through a list of pet office peeves with her endlessly perky coworkers, particularly about coworkers stealing her pens. It’s a hilarious opening monologue that would have you wishing you had her as a coworker to help relieve you from the boredom of petty office politics.  But something is not quite right in the perfect petty office, where people work together well. And that is her. And despite her protesting that she is fine, the pet peeves and the outbursts are becoming more frequent. As the piece progresses, maybe the problem lies in a past relationship, where Katy had to be home by a particular hour, not stay out late with office colleagues and not be drunk enough not to answer his calls. Perhaps the perky office colleagues are trying to help, and perhaps Katy is trying to reach out for help. It has simple staging

Puss and Dick under the influence: Kitten in Heels @LostTheatre


Kitten in Heels, playing at the Lost Theatre, takes the Dick Whittington pantomime and adds lashings of filth and smut. It's a naughty night out where the King Rat bears an unusual resemblance to Theresa May, and Dick's love interests is more interested in buying lemons.

But to really appreciate this show you need to be imbued with plenty of Christmas cheer.
There is a bar both inside the theatre and outside of it to assist, which may help overlook the slow pacing and the amateurish production. Plenty of audience members were making the most of the bars, but the effect was that they were making their own entertainment.


The story involves Dick inheriting a talking cat with a penchant for shoes. Heading off to London they meet Dame Choo of Shoes the Chemist. Dick falls in love with Dame Choo’s daughter Jenny. But Jenny seems to be hard to please. Meanwhile there is King Rat who between buying up properties and taking away affordable housing he is running for mayor.

It is topical and funny, there is a nice balance of cast members of both genders, but there is an awful lot of plot. It could have much more potential if it served as a showcase of the talents of its eccentric cast. There are also some wonderful costumes for Paul L Martin as Dame Choo, but the sum does not feel more than its often good parts.

Kitten in Heels is at the Lost Theatre on Saturday 12 December and then Friday 18 December through to Sunday 20 December.

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎


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