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Showing posts with the label Nicolas Billon

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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...
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Previews: The Elephant Song @ParkTheatre

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On Monday evening, I was to cover a mystery thriller, The Elephant Song. Instead, I was uncovering the mysteries of the London Underground, having found several lines out of action and an emergency evacuation. Only the London Underground would mess with my mind for the evening. But for those who manage to navigate the traffic and public transport (or better yet, can walk or cycle there), it’s currently playing at the Park Theatre.  The Elephant Song is a Canadian play by Nicolas Billon. It premiered in 2002 and has had performances around the world. There’s also a film adaptation which is available to stream. But this is the first time it has premiered in the UK.  Its premise is hospital director Dr Greenberg (Jon Osbaldeston) is questioning a disturbed patient Michael (Gwithian Evans), about a missing psychiatrist. Against the advice of colleagues, he continues the questioning to find out what happened to his colleague. The questioning leads to Michael’s accounts of elephants...
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