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Ruthless People: Ruthless - Arches Lane Theatre

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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...

Flipping memories: Catch Me @FlipFabriQue @UnderbellyFest


It's the start of summer. The weather's hot and the Underbelly Festival at the South Bank Centre is opening with its usual eclectic mix of circus acts, comedy and cabaret. And Flip FabriQue's Catch Me fits this bill well.

There is beauty and fluidity in the performances. The premise is that ten years later a bunch of friends reunite for another weekend at a cottage together. They play. They have fun. And they do strange and unusual things with straps, trampolines and diablos.




Quebec-based Flip FabriQue brings together circus artists to tell stories drawn from their own experiences. With a backdrop of a cottage the acrobat routines evoke memories of the past and a spirit of playfulness.

A squeaking Bruno Gagnon is soon flipping through the air. Hugo Ouellet Côté on straps is looking at a photobook. Camila Comin and Yann Leblanc soon become intertwined on a Cyr Wheel. It's amazing to watch.



Underbelly is continuing with its reputation for bringing the best circus acts to the South Bank summer. And this had me recalling past years with Circa and Gravity and Other Myths.

Perhaps those productions were a little sharper and focused. Not every scene works here which makes the show drag at times.

There is an interlude in sleeping bags that seems out of place. Another segment with exercise balls and Barry Manilow's Copacobana seemed less impressive. It's probably not a good idea to use that as a backing track. It's too much of a distraction. Either half the audience want to sing along while the other half want to cover their ears.

Still it's hard not to like a show which features an ice-lolly eating competition and duelling diablos (not the sexy one's we're used to). There is also some incredible high energy trampolining to close the evening.

Directed by Olivier Normand, Flip FabriQue: Catch Me is at the Underbelly Festival at the South Bank Centre until 9 July.

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎



Photos by Richard Davenport.






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