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He had it coming: Burnt Up Love @finborough

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Out of the darkness and shadows, three characters emerge. Lit only with candlelight or flashlights, a gripping tale by writer and performer Ché Walker about crime, punishment, love, and loss emerges. The fast pace conveys a sense of urgency to make up for lost time, lost opportunities, and what might have been. It’s currently playing at the Finborough Theatre .  We first meet Mac (Ché Walker) in prison, serving time for a crime he committed. With only a photo of his young daughter, Scratch, to keep him company, he looks for her upon release. But Scratch (Joanne Marie Mason) isn’t the teacher, lawyer or dancer Mac imagined while incarcerated over the years she might be. Instead, Scratch is in and out of trouble, on the edge, angry and violent. A chance encounter one night with JayJayJay (Alice Walker) forms a loving bond and gives her a moment of stability. But Scratch’s demons and restlessness mean trouble does not seem far away. Scratch's random act of thoughtless violence against

Pop-up opera: Le Docteur Miracle

Popup Opera's spring season of operas in unlikely places was a chance to venture to a gallery in Hackney Wick to see this short opera about a young man who goes into various disguises to win the hand of his lover. With some great performances, fresh ideas and a few modern twists, it makes for a fun (if slightly silly) night out.

The piece by Bizet is a comic opérette (a French form of light opera), in one act by Bizet for soprano, mezzo, tenor and baritone. The hero, a young man called Silvio, comes to the mayor's house in various disguises in order to win the hand of the mayor's daughter, Laurette. The mayor's new wife conspires with his daughter to see true love prevails, but not before some mild hi-jinks.


Bizet was eighteen when he won a competition organised by Offenbach with this work. It gives an idea of the greater works that he would write later in his career such as The Pearl Fishes and Carmen. Pop-up Opera have extended the piece with extracts from both. At the beginning of Le Docteur Miracle, Silvio is serenading Laurette singing the tenor aria from The Pearl Fishers ‘Je crois entendre encore’. The ending for the wedding includes music from Carmen... And a bit of audience participation involving tambourines...

The young and talented cast on Thursday evening kept things both comical and musical. Christoper Diffey, who previously we had seen in Troy Boy, as the hero Silvio, manages the task of singing and wearing boxer briefs well. Aurélia Jonvaux as Laurette has a beautiful strong voice and an excellent sense of comic timing. Joseph Kennedy and Sarah Champion round out the cast as the Mayor and his new wife, revelling particularly in the silliness of their characters.

Popup Opera are on to a winning formula by presenting rarely seen or minor works by great composers with a twist. The twist is both the venues and in the presentation. Much is made of the space of the gallery to enable the cast to run around and interact with the audience. As there is a cooking theme throughout the piece, the evening is presented as a menu of selections. The highlight is the Omelette Quartet, where all the cast sing the praises of an omelette (until they try to eat it). There are some nice topical references as well such as Silvio using "Nigella's special baking powder" while in disguise as a chef.

The company is touring throughout the spring at some wonderful locations around England and this piece in particular is worth seeking out. Check their website for details or follow them on Facebook.

First impressions as @johnnyfoxlondon and I try to talk while walking along a dark alleyway back to Hackney Wick overground station ensue... which does make it a challenge to read the cast names off the programme...
listen to ‘Pop up boo: Le Docteur Miracle’ on Audioboo

Photo credit: most of the cast from an earlier performance of Le Docteur Miracle in London this month

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