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The agony and the misogyny: Banging Denmark @finborough

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Banging Denmark, the comic play by Van Badham, answers the question, what lengths does a misogynistic pickup artist go to date with a frosty Danish librarian? It may be an uneasy farce given the subject matter, but it is made more palatable by the cast assembled to convince you of it. It's currently having its European premiere at the Finborough Theatre .  It opens with Guy DeWitt (Tom Kay) at one end of the stage. His real name is Jake, and he's a part-time podcaster whose expertise is misogyny and playing the role of the pickup artist. That is, someone who attempts to coax women into having sex with a mix of flattery or manipulation. His podcast attracts a variety of involuntarily celibate men (or incels), so call in asking for advice. And while he gives the impression of living the high life, he is in a grimy flat strewn with empty pizza boxes.  At the other end of the stage is feminist academic Ishtar (Rebecca Blackstone). She lives out of the photocopy room, losing all her
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Opera: Parsifal

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Wednesday night was an opportunity to catch the ENO's Parsifal . This 1999 co-production with San Francisco Opera and Lyric Opera, Chicago and is purportedly the last time it will be staged. There are seven more performances to go. Directed by Nikolaus Lehnhoff , What makes the opera a standout is the brilliant staging and imaginative English translation. This translation transforms this production and keeps things moving at such a pace you won't realise you have been there for over four hours. On top of this there is such spectacle at times it is almost hypnotic. A stunning cast includes John Tomlinson as Gurnemanz, Australian tenor Stuart Skelton as Parsifal and Jane Dutton as Kundry. Mark Wigglesworth conducts. Wagner is still an acquired taste, but this probably goes some way to make this work accesible (and palatable). Leave work early and go. There are greater powers at stake. Initial 'boo raves and reactions as follows: Listen!
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Theatre: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

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I was part of a large gathering of bloggers who went to see Tuesday night's preview of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Donmar organised by the West End Whingers . It was a huge gathering and it felt as if half the circle audience had their own blog and a minor following... Anyway, this is a show about a spelling bee , and the lives of its awfully competitive American contestants. This show looks so polished now that it is hard to believe it is an early preview. Only the sounds from the grumbling of the creative team (if you're sitting in the circle) would give away that this is still a work in progress. I was familiar with this show and had seen it on Broadway in 2006 . As I also was a speller back then, I was familiar with the audience participation format, which requires a careful selection of participants who won't ham it up or be too smug... That ruled out most of we bloggers I suspected... This show is quirky and very funny with the book by R
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Scenes from the Ballet: Swan Lake

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With all the talk about The Black Swan , including recent fan art , it was nice to see the Royal Ballet's classic production  Monday. Zenaida Yanowsky and Nehemiah Kish were Odette and Prince Siegfried (pictured above). It is a pleasure to watch Ms Yanowksy. Sitting close, you could appreciate the commanding performance she gives. And she is a very tall swan too... A very satisfying production of a perfect ballet, worth repeat viewings. It is a great date ballet too and given it was Valentines Day there were a few couples around and dare one suggest romance was in the air (hopefully not the cursed kind)... It runs  various dates until April 5 . Photo credit: Royal Opera House / Bill Cooper
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Theatre: The Last Five Years

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It is February, so it is long overdue for another production of Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years . This time at the Tabard Theatre in Chiswick. It seems like there isn't a month in London when you can't catch this show. And then during Edinburgh Fringe , there are usual competing productions of it, along side multiple productions of "Sweeney Todd" and musicals about infectious sexually transmitted diseases. It is understandable that this show is popular as it covers a range of emotions (sad, happy etc), gives two actors a chance to shine, and is potentially cheap to stage. The popularity of staging this show should not be confused however with the show being any good. The problem with The Last Five Years is it contains two unsympathetic characters who never connect with each other (let alone the audience). And the series of songs are of varying quality. Sure some of the songs are funny, but others come across as smug, insincere or unpleasant. Inspired
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Advertising: Anna Nicole

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The Royal Opera posters for Anna Nicole are all over the tube network at the moment and they look great. There is also the following trailer for the opera. There is a growing buzz about this show (the Royal Opera is even getting news stories in  Marie Claire ) and so it will be fascinating to see what  Eva-Maria Westbroek , who I last saw in  Tannhäuser , does with the role when I catch it later this week...
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Opera: Troy Boy

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Thursday night I caught the Merry Opera's new production of Troy Boy at Upstairs at the Gatehouse . The Merry Opera company takes opera productions and develops new English translations with a twist. It is a great concept, although in this case more abridging of the source material might have helped. I doubt there is much that would be missed from Offenbach's La Belle Hélène (the story of Helen of Troy) if an extra half hour was cut from it. Nevertheless there is some fine singing and performances in this occasionally sexy production. The energy and enthusiasm of the cast is without a doubt. I liked the concept of Helen stuck in suburbia and beginning to let her mind wander in a Greek restaurant. It  gives this otherwise odd premise some solid grounding. There were (at least on Thursday night) a few creaky moments with furniture bumped and props knocked over, but no doubt these will be ironed out as the run progresses. And this is such great value for a night out, with tic
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Theatre: Company at the Southwark Playhouse

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One thing that hit me seeing Company at the Southwark Playhouse Tuesday night, was how the opening few notes can really be an ear worm. I doubt anyone leaving the theatre after this production doesn't want to go up to someone and yell, "BOBBY! BOBBY! BOBBY-BABY!" Or perhaps punch somebody who comes up to them and says something like that. Company has no plot to speak of, but through a series of vignettes, gives some idea about Robert, a single straight(ish) man turning 35 and his smug married friends. Its about the lives of middle class New Yorkers, with their eccentricities and foibles, so you may find yourself struggling to see its relevance to modern day London. But of course this is Sondheim, it's a slick production with a great looking, and great sounding cast, so you can overlook that bit... Bobby, played by Rupert Young, is not an immediately likable character. But as the show progresses, Young's performance makes you feel as if you know him. Or at le
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