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

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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

It's a wonderful life: The Me Plays @ORLTheatre

Growing up in Wembley seems like fun in Andrew Maddock's The Me Plays, currently showing at The Old Red Lion Theatre. 

Two forty-five minute monologues delivered by Maddock present a semi-autobiographical look at his life growing up there.

Male body image, internet pornography, Catholic schools, surgical procedures are all covered in this brutally honest account. The cleverness in the work is its frankness and his matter of fact delivery, which makes for a fascinating evening that will linger with you after leaving the show.

The first piece, Junkie, looks at how the internet and the bombardment with constant information and potential suitors has transformed the dating game. It helps if you are familiar with the mobile application Tinder (nowadays dates are not arranged on a computer that would be so old fashioned) and how connections are based on mutual likes. But the piece shows how fleeting and superficial the modern dating world can be, the efforts taken to hook up that can be abandoned on a whim. 

His second and darker piece, Hi Life, I Win, sees Maddock waiting on the results of biopsy and looking back on his teenage years, and how events can change your life. It is a unique perspective on universal themes of loneliness, isolation and fears in a smart looking production that deserves to be seen.

Maddock’s training and previous work has been with the Playing Up programme - which gives young people who are not in education, employment or training a chance to take part in the National Youth Theatre. The entire run of performances will also offer £6 tickets to selected groups in the Brent and Islington area working with young people who are not in education, work or training.

It runs through until September 20.

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