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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...

Cinders and beer: Cinderella: A Wicked Mother of a Night Out #PubCinderella

“Aren’t you worried you’re going to get picked on by the cast since you’re here on your own?” Asked a lady at the bar before catching Not Too Tame’s Cinderella: A Wicked Mother of a Night Out! No fear I thought... It’s all part of my quest to continue to seek out strange and unusual theatre. I wasn’t disappointed.

This is a site specific production set in a pub near you for the Christmas holidays. It’s unique and worth checking out for people looking for something different to do this Christmas.

Just like Hot Gay Time Machine at Trafalgar Studios, it’s best to go in a group. And don’t look too unique, fabulous or like a hipster as the cast are likely to single you out.

Written by Luke Barnes, the show combines karaoke standards with some panto traditions and beer. The end result is a pretty funny and original interpretation of the Cinderella story.

Cinderalla’s dad has died and she’s left working in his pub with her stepmother and two step sisters. A geezer called Prince comes by looking for the girl who took his grandmother’s slippers.

Along the way there’s a man in a dirty dog suit who barks “SEX!”, a bloke in dress and lot of karaoke.

What it lacks in production values it makes up with enthusiasm, originality and humour. And for those interested in that sort of thing, the karaoke continues after the show.

Production Company Not Too Tame aim to create works that target first time theatre goers. But they’ve also come up with a winning formula here for pop-up theatre.

Directed by Jimmy Fairhurst, Cinderella: A Wicked Mother of a Night Out! continues at Yates Reading on 16 December and the Welcome Inn, Ordsall on 18-22 December.

⭐️⭐️⭐️


Photos by Chris Webb

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