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Life upon the wicked stage: Already Perfect at Kings Head Theatre

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Performing two shows a day on a Broadway run sounds exhausting enough. But when you’ve just had a not-so-great matinee and are having a crisis of confidence, I would assume the last thing you’d want is to confront your past. Yet that’s the situation in Already Perfect, writer-performer Levi Kreis’s slightly autobiographical journey of confronting the past and his younger self. With a series of toe-tapping and emotional songs in a sleek production, you’re invited to experience someone else’s therapy session. And with a show title called Already Perfect, you know what kind of session this is going to be. It makes for a show where nothing is left unsaid, even if it is unnecessary,  unbelievable or best left on a greeting card. It’s currently playing at the King’s Head Theatre .  The story begins in his dressing room after a matinee, with Kreis alone. The show didn’t go so well. Struggling after being dumped by a lover, pressure mounting on the evening show being filmed for poster...

Theatre: A Clockwork Orange

The London riots come to mind when thinking about A Clockwork Orange, which has been "re-imagined" at the Theatre Royal Stratford East. While it is not the entire focus of the story, the lawlessness and the violence that features in this story evokes the memories of August when fear and panic gripped the city. A Clockwork Orange serves to remind us that perhaps this is not a new problem for this part of the world...

This re-imagining and musicalisation of the story does take a different approach to the book by Anthony Burgess. But taking it on its own merits rather than a faithful adaptation it makes for a engaging and entertaining evening out.

There is no classical music in this version of the story. Instead we have some thrilling music by Fred Carl that appears to be inspired by jazz, hip hop and perhaps AfroReggae. For the most part this propels the story forward and gives the performances the opportunity to deliver some emotionally charged songs.

Holding the show together is a terrific performance by Ashley Hunter. A lot of this show rests on his performance and he holds your attention as the violent delinquent Alex. One to watch.

Under the glow from the newly-opened Westfield Stratford City (and a small fire from a bin alight from a stray cigarette) @johnnyfoxlondon and I recorded the following Audioboo during the interval... Worth a trip out east to catch... And perhaps even to take a peek at the new mega mall as well... Although maybe you should check out his Londonist review before making that decision... And mind the glass ceilings...

Burning boo: half way through A Clockwork Orange (mp3)

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