Featured Post

You can’t stop the boats: Sorry We Didn’t Die At Sea @ParkTheatre

Image
Sorry We Didn’t Die At Sea by Italian playwright Emanuele Aldrovandi and translated by Marco Young, has made a topical return to London at the Park Theatre after playing earlier this summer at the Seven Dials Playhouse. In a week when leaders and leaders in waiting were talking about illegal immigration, it seemed like a topical choice . It also has one hell of an evocative title. The piece opens with Adriano Celantano’s Prisencolinensinainciusol , which sets the scene for what we are about to see. After all, a song about communication barriers seems perfect for a play about people trafficking and illegal immigration. One side doesn’t understand why they happen, and the other still comes regardless of the latest government announcement / slogan .  However, the twist here is that the crossing is undertaken the other way. People are fleeing Europe instead of escaping war or poverty in Africa or the Middle East. It’s set sometime in the not-too-distant future. There is a crisis causing p

Theatre: 2000 Feet Away


Publicity still for 2000 Feet Away: Phyllis Logan, Joseph Fiennes and Ian Hart
Source:offwestend.com

I was talking to an actor recently who was horrified to learn that out there in the blogosphere, there are bloggers that go to previews and review the work before the official press night... He was initially horrified and then angry. After slowly stepping away from the actor and getting back to the real world, I thought it must be strange for some people to comprehend how people pay for a show and then talk about it afterwards... It is as if the phrase "word of mouth"didn't exist before blogging... It seems to be the latest thing for actors to moan about bloggers even if it is what they have to appear in that is at fault...

So with all that in mind, I am blogging about going to a preview of 2000 Feet away by Anthony Weigh on Friday night at the Bush Theatre. I don't know what made me want to go see this play about sex offenders and a local sheriff responsible for enforcing a law keeping them away places where children may gather... But I am glad that I did. It must have been the power of some great email marketing in late May that did it. I didn't even realise that the cast included Joseph Fiennes. Richard joined me to see the play. I saw Dina Martina at the Soho Theatre with him and he thought there was a common theme in the sort of entertainment we have been seeing together: sexual abuse... If we keep that up the mind boggles thinking about what we are going to see next...

This play was first presented in Sydney last year and there was a view then it had nine scenes yet to make a coherent play. I am assuming it developed further (or that reviewer was bonkers), as what we were presented with was a very cleverly put together series of scenes that while may have been stylistic, were always sharp and funny... And there never was a dull moment... All the performances were amazing including by the young cast members. It was also interesting that this cast seemed to fare better than most in London in being able to perform with genuine American accents.

Being Bush Theatre virgins and having spent a little longer at the bar next door, we had to take one of the unreserved seats closer to the performance area. I noticed those who appeared more experienced with seeing productions here took the seats further back. However sitting on one of the sides does have its advantages as you can check out the rest of the audience while pretending to be watching the play... You also were so close to the performers you could reach out and touch them... Not that you would want to try that, but you could see every detail and nuance of the performances. So much so that Richard informed me afterwards he was sure Joseph was wearing boxer briefs.

Earlier this week when it was a bit warmer, a luvvie had also told me I better wear a t-shirt and shorts going to the Bush Theatre as it is hot... I can gladly report that this advice was out of date... While the weather had cooled by the end of the week, the Bush Theatre also now has air conditioning.

So all told, I saw the play in preview... But I thought it was great... I'm sure by the time press night rolls around tomorrow night it will be amazing... Unsurprisingly it has sold out but day seats remain available... It must be that good word of mouth...

Popular posts from this blog

Opera and full frontal nudity: Rigoletto

Image
David McVicar's oddly modern production of Rigoletto is back at the Royal Opera House . This modern and minimalist dark production has evolved over the years. It is better lit now but there is still an orgy and full frontal nudity within the first thirty minutes. This enables anyone not in the stalls an excellent view of a flaccid penis and a nicely shaved bush. But as time goes it seems more and more superfluous to the main focus of this tragedy of a court jester who seeks revenge. Here is hoping that the production continues to evolve... Conductor John Eliot Gardiner keeps the music well paced. Dimitri Platanias in the title role sounded great and received a rapturous applause for his interpretation of the role. You get a sense more of the doting father rather than the court jester or cursed man here. Vittorio Grigolo plays the Duke and sounds too lovely to be the cad the role calls for, but it is hard not to like when he is on stage anyway. And it is easier to understan
Read more...

Fantasies: Afterglow @Swkplay

Image
Nowadays no self-respecting gay play can be staged without full frontal nudity of some kind. It feels like the default response for the modern gay play now that gay rights are no longer an issue .   Afterglow, currently playing at Southwark Playhouse , serves it up in spades. From the beginning, three men are in a bed, naked. There’s what appears to be a very brief exhalation of ecstasy, before the obligatory rush to the shower. But the gratuitous nudity and excellent performances can’t conceal this is a pretty conventional and predictable story about a fantasy couple.  The three men in the simultaneous orgasm at the start of the piece are Josh, Alex and Darius. Josh and Alex seem to live in a New York world where they can afford a rooftop apartment in Manhattan while holding jobs as a theatre director and a grad student in chemistry. As writer S. Asher Gelman based it on his own experiences, perhaps gay plays with full frontal nudity are the way to achieve financial security
Read more...

Play ball: Damn Yankees @LandorTheatre

Image
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.
Read more...