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Travelin' Through: Broken Toys @CervantesTheatr

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Things are a bit different at the Cervantes Theatre when you see Broken Toys. You enter through the upstairs dressing rooms and go down to the theatre. It is a circuitous route, much like the story of Marion. You end up in the same place but have taken a different journey. And like what the old prostitute said. It's not the work but the stairs. And there before you is the theatre, but not entirely as I recall it. It feels like an intimate cabaret venue with tables and a shiny stage. And there we are introduced to Marion. Marion grew up in a small town during the Franco regime. A place where looking a bit different could make you the subject of gossip and a threat to your life. And despite being assigned male at birth and the attempts of family and father figures, she was an outsider in her town.  And so Marion sets off on a journey to the city. And in the shadows, she finds a place to hide. But with guidance from drag performer Dorian Delacroix begins to find her voice. Her journe

Loyal and obedient: A Subject of Scandal and Concern @Finborough


John Osborne's incisive look at freedom and intolerance is given a fresh look in this resourceful production playing for a short run at the Finborough Theatre.

Originally written for television in 1960, simple staging and riveting performances will have you transfixed.

The story follows George Jacob Holyoake, the last man to stand trial for blasphemy in England. He is played here by Jamie Muscato who gives the role a dark intensity and determination as a man whose world crumbles around him while he holds onto his beliefs.



His performance includes a series of monologues. Each one comes with increasing intensity and fervour. First as he attempts to defend his right of opinion and then as he attempts to rebut the charges of blasphemy.

The rest of the cast serve the material well. Caroline Moroney plays his wife. She is obedient and subservient to his wishes, even when it is against her better judgement.

Edmund Digby-Jones plays a variety of unsympathetic roles, including the spiteful prison chaplain, who uses his faith as a weapon against Holyoake.

Doron Davidson as the knowing narrator sets the tone of the piece at the opening and closing.

The set consists of a series of benches and bars that neatly form the structures within the story. Jail, court room or somewhere between. They are assembled and disassembled with flair by the cast.

Freedom of thought and freedom of expression (or the lack of it), are subjects explored in many plays at the moment. David Hare’s piece within The View From Islington North covered it. It charts a hypothetical encounter with the Home Secretary and the high priestess of the free market, Ayn Rand. They debate freedom including the freedom to say and do what you like within the construct of a free market. There is a great line where the Home Secretary exclaims something along the lines of our freedom is derived from being subjects of the crown.

I couldn't help but feel we all as subjects have something to consider here too. There is no happy ending, but there is food for thought about what it means to be a subject of the crown.

A Subject of Scandal and Concern directed by Jimmy Walters runs at the Finborough Theatre until 7 June.

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎

First impressions with @Johnnyfoxlondon below.


Photo credit: Production images by Samuel Taylor

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