Featured Post

Ruthless People: Ruthless - Arches Lane Theatre

Image
What is it about the Madoff’s that writers can’t resist writing about? Sure, it may have been the largest Ponzi scheme to collapse (so far), but there isn’t much more to explore. Or is there? In Ruthless by writer Roger Steinmann, Ruth Madoff is imagined as a wronged, gun-toting woman anchored in the past while trying to move on with her life. It’s not entirely successful but a fascinating look at life and wig choices, It’s currently playing at the theatre now known as the Arches Lane Theatre in Battersea. Ruth Madoff, played by Emily Swain, is here wearing a wig. I thought it was an odd look until I reviewed how closely it matched the photo of her interview in  The New York Times .  Typically, it’s the sort of wig you might see worn by Ladies on a night out in central London, not someone who once had over $80m in assets. With Bernie in Jail and both her sons now dead - one by suicide and one due to cancer, she is setting a table for the men who have left her. And ordering p...

Where nobody's dared to go: Xanadu @swkplay


Xanadu, currently playing at the Southwark Playhouse takes the format of musical based on a movie and sends it up mercilessly, but the high energy levels and sheer enthusiasm from this cast make it more than just a cheap show.

Usually musicals based on a movie (or a jukebox) have source material that was loved or respected. Xanadu did not have that. It seemed to be a showcase Olivia Newton-John's limited acting (and dancing) abilities. The occasional cheap effect could not conceal that looked as if it was staged in a supermarket. And shot mostly at eye level meant that none of the dance sequences could really be seen anyway.

Over the years it developed a cult following among those who appreciated it for being "so bad it is actually good”. It was also Gene Kelly’s final film so how bad could it really be?


Well, the plot involves Kira, the magical (and beautiful) Greek muse, who descends from Mount Olympus to Venice Beach California to inspire a struggling (and stupid) artist Sonny, to open a roller disco.

Set to songs by Jeff Lynne (of Electric Light Orchestra) and John Farrar (Olivia Newton John’s producer and frequent songwriter) this is a quintessentially 1980s sound. The film may have been a flop, but the soundtrack gave it a life beyond its limited means.

For the musical adaptation additional songs from the ELO and Farrar catalogue are added. The book by Douglas Carter Beane, actually improves the story by not taking itself very seriously sending up the original film and also expanding on the role of the Greek muses. Ultimately the over the top silliness of the material is lifted by the sheer energy, hard work and clever comic performances from the cast.

Stars are born (on roller skates) with Carly Anderson as Kira and Samuel Edwards as Sonny. Their deadpan expressions and boundless energy never let you think they are in on the joke. It adds to the hilarity but in the end you are also in awe of their relentless (and often deadpan) determination to make sure we have a good time.

Xanadu is at the Southwark Playhouse until 21 November. Get your skates on before it sells out.

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎

Photo: production photo complete with heroes on skates in skimpy costumes

Popular posts from this blog

Opera and full frontal nudity: Rigoletto

Image
David McVicar's oddly modern production of Rigoletto is back at the Royal Opera House . This modern and minimalist dark production has evolved over the years. It is better lit now but there is still an orgy and full frontal nudity within the first thirty minutes. This enables anyone not in the stalls an excellent view of a flaccid penis and a nicely shaved bush. But as time goes it seems more and more superfluous to the main focus of this tragedy of a court jester who seeks revenge. Here is hoping that the production continues to evolve... Conductor John Eliot Gardiner keeps the music well paced. Dimitri Platanias in the title role sounded great and received a rapturous applause for his interpretation of the role. You get a sense more of the doting father rather than the court jester or cursed man here. Vittorio Grigolo plays the Duke and sounds too lovely to be the cad the role calls for, but it is hard not to like when he is on stage anyway. And it is easier to understan...
Read more...

Fantasies: Afterglow @Swkplay

Image
Nowadays no self-respecting gay play can be staged without full frontal nudity of some kind. It feels like the default response for the modern gay play now that gay rights are no longer an issue .   Afterglow, currently playing at Southwark Playhouse , serves it up in spades. From the beginning, three men are in a bed, naked. There’s what appears to be a very brief exhalation of ecstasy, before the obligatory rush to the shower. But the gratuitous nudity and excellent performances can’t conceal this is a pretty conventional and predictable story about a fantasy couple.  The three men in the simultaneous orgasm at the start of the piece are Josh, Alex and Darius. Josh and Alex seem to live in a New York world where they can afford a rooftop apartment in Manhattan while holding jobs as a theatre director and a grad student in chemistry. As writer S. Asher Gelman based it on his own experiences, perhaps gay plays with full frontal nudity are the way to achieve financial ...
Read more...

Play ball: Damn Yankees @LandorTheatre

Image
Damn Yankees at the Landor Theatre is one hell of a fun, sexy show. A great cast of dancers and singers give this show about a man who sells his soul to get on his beloved baseball team (and give them a chance of winning) new legs and balls. It also helps to up the ante with the sexiness with some healthy doses of cleavage and legs (and that's just the men). The musical is a retelling of the Faust story set in the 1950s when the New York Yankees dominated the game.
Read more...