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Showing posts from July, 2011

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A little less conversation: After Sex @Arcolatheatre

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According to research, millennials in rich countries are having sex less these days. But they were prepared to talk more about it. So, it is no surprise to see a story about what happens when a series of no-strings-attached encounters start to become attachments. And the conversations arising from it. Such is the premise of After Sex, Siofra Dromgoole’s two-hander of the conversations afterwards. It’s not particularly sexy or erotic, and the snappy pacing and short scenes sometimes make you wish they stayed longer to finish the conversation. Nevertheless, it is still a funny and, at times, bittersweet picture of single lives in the big city. It’s currently playing at the Arcola Theatre .  He is bi and works for her in an office job. She is neither ready for a commitment nor to let the office know what’s happening. He isn’t prepared to tell his mum there’s someone special in his life. He doesn’t speak to his dad, so his mum is his world. It’s a perfect relationship/arrangement. Or so it

Theatre: Four Nights in Knaresborough

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A play about the men who assassinated Thomas Becket , the Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1171 seems an unlikely source of an entertaining night. But this production at the Southwark Playhouse of Four Nights in Knaresborough is so sexually charged, so pumped up and full of machismo and so bloody and funny that it is hard to resist.

Opera: Madama Butterfly

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Madama Butterfly (appropriately subtitled "Japanese tragedy in three acts") is a little too dramatically obvious, and musically unsatisfying. But the performance by Kristine Opolais as Cio-Cio-San is the sort of dramatic and powerful performance that this piece needs and she had the audience cheering for her on Saturday night. It is all high melodrama and her transformation from a meek and feeble fifteen year old girl, to a woman rejected is incredible and really fleshes out this minimalist production.

Comedy: The Worst of Late Night Gimp Fight

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It is possible that the title of the show The Worst of the Late Night Gimp Fight at the Soho Theatre, is one of the funniest things about this show. The singing is patchy, the clothes are a bit scrappy and most of the men look like they need a wash. But gradually over an hour they do kind of win you over with their show. The Godfather sketch (featured above) is indicative of their antics. There are plenty of gimps, and a few piss-weak fights. They could have also worked on the front row a little more as they seemed to be making their own entertainment... The material is good but you get the feeling they could take the comedy a little further and a little darker... Here's hoping they keep pushing those boundaries beyond the obvious... They are at the Soho Theatre until 8 July.

Gay: Pride London

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It is Pride London parade today. Lesbians, drag queens, gay boys, drag queens, muscle men are in town so expect delays in Soho at the bars. And don't feed the bears. They seem to have packed lunches... Location: London,United Kingdom

Lesbian scenes underground

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A poster ad on the underground for an upcoming television show set in a Soho bar. No cliches here perhaps except for the advertising... Maybe a follow up show could be set in a sauna. Passing out drunk and towels on fire could be obvious plot lines...

Theatre: The Beggar's Opera

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Thankfully it was a clear night on Wednesday to see this new production of The Beggar's Opera  at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. It is a smart looking production with a great cast and music performed by The City Waites . But although authentic, the sum of it feels more like an embalming of a great work than a ripping night out.