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Heart and music: Don Black's From The Heart at the Garrick Theatre London

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By his own admission, it took about 30 years to bring this song collection to the stage, but Don Black’s From the Heart has been worth the wait. With a vibe designed to evoke a New York cabaret venue, albeit on a slightly grander scale, the piece showcases Black’s ingenuity in creating deceptively simple lyrics, along with his love of music and comedy. It’s running for a limited time at the Garrick Theatre .  The premise is simple: to capture the feel of New York’s cabaret venues. A series of songs, mostly new ones written for the show, run through a variety of moods. With each song running a little more than three minutes, the show moves briskly. Each offers a chance to appreciate Black’s economical lyrics, flashes of deadpan comedy, and occasional inspired choices, such as rhyming sex with the (artist) Lautrec.  A classy ensemble also brings these songs (and the stories they tell) to life. Clive Rowe delivers the first laughs with a song about doctors. The song is simpl...
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The agony and the ecstasy: Cadel: Lungs on Legs at Riverside Studios @cadeltheplay

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Cadel comes with a subtitle, “lungs on Legs”, which is what Cadel Evans, Australia’s only ever winner of the Tour De France, was referred to as. Connor Delves, who co-wrote and devised a 70-minute sprint through the pain and glory behind this win, could be called lungs and mouth on legs. He cycles, he emotes, he sweats, he spits and collapses on stage.  He spares no pain in this brisk and thrilling account of a sporting victory that was never certain. Even if you know little about the sport, you feel that you’re there struggling up the mountain for a photo finish. It’s currently spinning at Riverside Studios after playing at the Edinburgh Fringe.  Delves performs (and pedals) on a 2011 yellow bike, the same model that Cadel Evans won the Tour on. Watching the piece, it’s hard to work out where the performer ends, and the subject begins. Delves doesn’t look like Cadel, as the footage of the real one at the end of the show shows, but you feel he's captured the man’s essence in ...
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Put on a little mascara: Pretty Ugly at Camden People’s Theatre

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  Many shows explore living in the present and leaving the past behind. Theo Chen’s Pretty Ugly is about finding who you are and accepting it. Even if you have a lingering doubt or two about your life, there’s no time like the present. Including dressing up and putting on a show. And isn’t that what anyone wants from a performer? It has concluded a short run at the Camden People’s Theatre .  Pretty Ugly explores the inner demons and self-doubt that mark Theo’s journey from Singapore to taking on the world. With a little sparkle and a smattering of songs, it’s a warm, musical journey through Theo’s life so far. It also includes plenty of Sondheim. Sondheim's music can change your life , and it clearly left a strong impression on young Chen from age twelve onward.  Theo Chen takes us through self-doubt, high school friendships that end in tears and wandering about the cruising grounds of New York City. As he recounts the latter and strikes up a conversation with someone the...
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