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Grief and fluff: Tiger @OmnibusTheatre

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Death is something we all will face. After all, nobody gets out of here alive. But how do you get past it when grief is all you can feel? And this is the premise of Tiger, currently playing at Omnibus Theatre . It's a fascinating exploration of the stages of grief. And with a terrific cast to take you on this journey, it's an endearing and sweet story that has you engaged from the start, wondering what will happen next.  We are introduced to Alice (Poppy Allen-Quarmby) as she gives a stand-up routine. It's not particularly funny and starts to veer into the topic of dying. Something isn't right. She used to be good at this but can't move forward. Soon, she is back in her London apartment with her partner Oli (Luke Nunn), discussing that they need to get a lodger to make ends meet.  Oli is a doctor working night shifts at the local NHS hospital. Alice is not ready to face a return to stand up or anything. So when the first potential lodger arrives (Meg Lewis), looking

Giving a toss: East @KingsHeadThtr

Dirty, smutty and just a little bit Shakespearean. East takes you back to the rough and tumble of the good ol’ days of London. A time when fascists roamed the streets, baked beans on toast was considered cuisine and street brawls were just for laughs. Some time between the 1950s and the 1970s in East End London. It’s playing at the Kings Head Theatre.

But in the forty or so years since it premiered something seems amiss with this piece. It feels desperate to shock rather than the genuine article. Every c-bomb and mother-son jerk off seemed telegraphed in advance rather than something new, fresh and gross.

Perhaps nothing surprises us anymore in the city where the horrors are real. Modern day enslavement, sexual harassment, acid attacks and the Grenfell disaster. A punch up in a bar and a wank in the cinema are cute by comparison.

Still it’s energy is fascinating. If a tad exhausting to watch. A series of scenes and monologues explode in front of you before disappearing. Leaving you to piece it all together...

You might get dad (Russell Barnett) chatting you up before the show. But later he’s spitting baked beans at you about the march on Whitechapel of the fascists. There’s Mike (James Craze) and Les (Jack Condon) who fall out over a girl (Boadicea Ricketts). And mum (Debra Penny) trying to stay out of the way most of the time.

Adding to the energy is a series of acrobatics. There’s also some old time pub music from musical director Carol Arnopp, which gives the piece it’s flavour.

You might need subtitles to understand what they’re saying at times. Other times you might not care. We’re not exactly dealing with the most likeable of characters. They’re the kind of people you’d cross the street to avoid. Staying with them for two hours can feel like a stretch.

Directed by Jessica Lazar, East is at the Kings Head Theatre until 3 February. Take the family.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Photos by Alex Brenner


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