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Wine time: The Frogs - Southwark Playhouse

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For a show called The Frogs, there isn’t much amphibian activity in the piece. But being a show with music by Stephen Sondheim, you could be mistaken for thinking it’s a critical theatrical piece. But like Sondheim’s final musical playing at the National Theatre, while it may not be a musical that fills you with provocative thoughts, it’s a fast-paced romp through hell and back to save the world for the sake of arts. With rousing choruses, thrilling choreography and plenty of cheap laughs, what more can you want from the theatre? It’s currently playing at the Southwark Playhouse (Borough) . There isn’t much to the plot, except that Dionysus (Dan Buckley), disillusioned by the state of a divided world, and his sidekick and slave, Xanthias (Kevin McHale), cross the river Styx to the underworld to find a great writer who they can return to the world to teach the world about life. He has his mind set on bringing back George Bernard Shaw until he hears the poetry of Shakespeare.  This v...

Music for desperate nights: Desperate Divas @St_JamesTheatre

Desperate Divas
It was only for one night, but hopefully it won’t be too long before we see the Desperate Divas return (if they can find the time between their busy schedules).

Tiffany Graves and Anita Louise Combe presented their show last Sunday about love and the fruitless pursuit of it. It was inspired by their real-life adventures dating men (and sometimes the same men). Both are exceptional singers with long careers on the West End. Their voices and be powerful yet nuanced - and when singing together they produced some sublime harmonies in this show.


The premise was that they are two young ladies on the internet dating scene. The most memorable moments from the evening came from the lesser known songs. Combe’s performance of Where In The World is My Prince, from William Finn and James Lapine’s musical Little Miss Sunshine, was a delight. Graves was sweet singing about unrequited like in Scott Burkell and Paul Loesel’s song, Parsley. Combe also played up her Australian roots, with My Shattered Illusion (or pronounced in Australian, Moye Shaahturd Eelooshon).

They capitalised on what seems to be a regular occurrence at cabaret performances nowadays, people taking photos, to encourage everyone to take pictures and live tweet it. It has been a while since I live tweeted anything but this time at least it was something lovely (well the ladies are lovely, the quality of the photography is a bit suspect). Of course when your audience takes the pictures they may not show your best side...

Graves and Combe closed their show with music from Chicago. Both had appeared at various times in the Kander and Ebb musical. Their familiarity with with the material came through as they sung Class with a bitterness in the phrasing that made seem fresh and new.

As they explain in the show, it has taken them a while from coming up with the idea to do the show to actually putting it on as they are both getting ready to appear in new shows. Graves will be seen in the touring production of The Producers as "If you got it, flaunt it" Ulla. Combe will be the demure Tessie Tura in Gypsy. But hopefully it won’t be too long before we see them appear again in their cabaret show.

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎

First impressions with @johnnyfoxlondon are as follows…

listen to ‘Desperadoboom: first impressions of Desperate Divas @cabaretdivas with @johnnyfoxlondon’ on audioBoom

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