Museum of the Home announce their sensational cast for On Railton Road Tuesday 31st October – Saturday 18th November 2023 Museum of the Home, 136 Kingsland Road, London E2 8EA
Sharing a powerful and moving story of queer communities in Brixton and domestic spaces, On Railton Road is the first theatre production to be staged at Hackney’s amazing Museum of the Home. Netflix sensation Hannah van der Westhusysen (Fate: The Winx Saga, Netflix; Salty Irina, Summerhall), will star as Casper, as the production highlights the lived experiences of gay squatters in the 70s.
Joining them on stage will be West-End wizard, Thomas Royal (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, The Palace Theatre) in the role of Philip, alongside Manish Gandhi (Call the Midwife, BBC; Silent Witness, BBC) as Ned and Jamal Franklin (Midsummer Mechanicals, The Globe; King Lear, National Theatre Live) as Darie. Jaye Hudson (GRILLS, Camden People’s Theatre; Trans Day of Joy, Somerset House) will play the role of Atom, alongside fellow Queer Tours of London performer Dan de la Motte as Clifford (Live to Tell: (A Proposal for) The Madonna Jukebox, Omnibus Theatre), Aoife Smith (If This Is Normal, VAULT Festival) as Marie and Nicholas Marrast-Lewis (Bogeyman, Edinburgh Fringe Festival; Scenes With Girls, The Royal Court Theatre) as Jack.
Developed with the support of Jerwood Arts, On Railton Road will be performed by The Brixton Pansies, a theatre troupe of queer actors formed by artist and director Ian Giles (A Reflection in Time, BBC Sounds) to tell the story of Brixton’s gay squatting community. This initiative mirrors the lively street theatre groups who were active in the 1970s; gay people used theatre to share their experiences and grievances with a wider public.
Writer Louis Rembges (Chatham House Rules, Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the recipient of the BOLD 2023 Playwriting Prize, as well as an alumni of the Royal Court’s Intro to Playwriting Group; his script will be supported by a score devised by Sophie Crawford (War Horse, The National Theatre; Amelie the Musical, UK Tour). All puppetry is designed by award-winning London-based puppet artist, Oliver James Hymans who has created puppets for events at Tate Moden and the National Gallery
On Railton Road is a hedonistic drama about the pioneering Brixton queer squatters who fought for a place to call home. Casper wants to bomb WH Smiths, Daire wants to put on a play, Atom is naked in the garden on an acid trip and Ned just wants to be with Philip and live on Railton Road forever. Throwing audiences headlong into Brixton’s radical past, On Railton Road will share how queer activism transformed the lives of this unique community. Based on real events and archival scripts by the Brixton Faeries, Ian Giles has created this bold new production with an exciting ensemble cast and creative team to bring this revolutionary period to life.
Creator and Director Ian Giles comments, What came through during auditions was how timely this play feels- the housing crisis and cost of living crisis echoes the 70s when over 30,000 people squatted across London. Squatting enabled queer people to live together like never before – they had the creative freedom to make new spaces, protest and make art. The 70s are undoubtedly a key decade in queer rights, it’s the period between the Stonewall uprising and before Section 28; gay people began to find space within society and made their voices heard – this echoes trans rights today. The mantra of the Gay Liberation Front was ‘Gay is Good’ -a message that still needs to be held aloft around the world today.
Cast announced for new British musical ‘Billie the Kid’ at the Vaudeville Theatre
Natasha j Barnes, Kymberley Cochrane, Harvey Ebbage, Ki Griffin, Beth Hinton-Lever, Tony Jayawardena, Rob Kershaw, Ryan Kopel, Phoebe-Loveday Raymond, Aharon Rayner, Olivia Saunders, Jodie Steele, Yuki Sutton, Hannah Victoria, Yasmin Wilde
The full cast is today announced for new British musical ‘Billie the Kid’, with music and lyrics by Gez Mercer, book by Conway McDermott and Gez Mercer, directed by Kerry Kyriacos Michael.
It is being semi-staged in front of a live audience for the first time in the West End at the Vaudeville Theatre on Monday 13 November & Monday 20 November at 7.30pm.
Seventeen-year-old Billie Belle is a girl used to having the odds stacked against her. Born in a Bible Belt town to a delinquent mother, Billie spent her childhood saving discount-store coupons and working night shifts to keep the lights on in her grandma’s tiny trailer. Through it all, Billie has had one person by her side: her childhood sweetheart, Brody Benson. Brody’s a redneck with a heart of gold and they have spent years planning their future together, all pinned on Billie’s hopes for a full-ride scholarship to Charleston City College. But their plans are thrown into chaos when Billie discovers Brody has been trading dirty DMs with David Francis – the school queer punk rocker.
Torn between the pain of this betrayal and her love for her boyfriend, Billie reaches out to David and his gang of misfits. While Billie has put all her energy into thriving within the system, they’ve gone the other way, determined to be wild and joyful outsiders with no fear of offending! Inspired by and united with her new friends, Billie finds herself at the heart of a new kind of love story, one where her happily ever after is with herself in her fight for justice and equality; and the chance to ride out into the sunset on her terms.
Natasha J Barnes (‘Hex’, National Theatre, ‘Funny Girl’, Savoy, title role in ‘Cinderella’, London Palladium) Kymberley Cochrane (won the prestigious BBC Norman Beaton Fellowship in 2022 and went on to be a member of the 2023 BBC Radio Drama Company) Harvey Ebbage (Cagelle in ‘La Cage Aux Folles’, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, ‘Dreamgirls’, UK Tour) Ki Griffin (TV debut was playing the first non-binary character, Ripley Lennox, in ‘Hollyoaks’) Beth Hinton-Lever (‘Hadestown’, ‘The Doncastrian Chalk Circle’, ‘As You Like It’, ‘Dick Whittington’, all at the National Theatre) Tony Jayawardena (‘The Father and the Assassin’, ‘England People Very Nice’, both at National Theatre) Rob Kershaw (making his professional debut) Ryan Kopel (‘Newsies’, Troubadour Theatre, ‘The Book Of Mormon’, Prince of Wales) Phoebe-Loveday Raymond (‘NewsRevue’ London and Edinburgh) Aharon Rayner (‘Miss Saigon’, Sheffield Crucible, Hassan in ‘The Great British Bake Off the Musical’, Noël Coward Theatre, ‘Hex’, National Theatre) Olivia Saunders (‘Hex’, National Theatre), ‘Kinky Boots in Concert’, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, ‘Trompe L’oeil, The Other Palace Studio) Jodie Steele (Blanche Barrow in ‘Bonnie and Clyde’, Garrick, Heather Chandler in ‘Heathers’, West End/The Other Palace, Beth Boscombe in ‘Rehab the Musical’, Playground Theatre) Yuki Sutton (2023 Offie Winner Best Supporting Performer in a Musical, ‘Ride: The Musical’, Charing Cross Theatre) Hannah Victoria (Gloria the Hippo in ‘Madagascar – The Musical’, Ronnette in ‘Little Shop of Horrors’, Gary Coleman in ‘Avenue Q’, Maggie Hill in ‘Peaky Blinders: The Rise’) Yasmin Wilde (Azra in BBC Radio’s ‘The Archers’)
Creative team: Director – Kerry Kyriacos Michael Musical Director – Tom Cagnoni Choreographer – Julian Capolei Lighting- Tim Deiling Sound- Sam Vincent Costume – Stephen Foley Props – Jida Akil Musical Supervisor – Alex Beetschen Associate Musical Director -Annemarie Lewis Thomas Associate Director- Shelley Williams Associate Choreographer – Laura Braid Casting – Andrew Lynford Casting Associate – Sophie Matthew General Manager – Lisa D. Richardson Production Manager – Felix Davies Associate Producer – Laila Alj
Writer and Composer Gez Mercer Writer and Composer Gez Mercer is a self-taught musician, dancer and natural-born punk. Born in Liverpool, Gez studied Theatre & Performance at the University of Leeds, before joining award winning dance collective Fat Blokes Dance Company, led by performance artist Scottee and choreographer Lea Anderson MBE, touring in their national sell out show, Fat Blokes.
‘Billie the Kid’ is his third full length musical, and his songwriting ability has netted him the Cameron Macintosh Award for Musical Theatre in 2014, West End producer’s Twitter Composer Award in 2013.
Gez was a finalist in the Stiles and Drew Prize 2018, as well as being a shortlisted candidate for the Mercury Musical’s Cameron Mackintosh resident composer.
Writer Conway McDermott Writer Conway McDermott is a trans non-binary writer from Liverpool, with a passion for juicy, accessible stories which ask big questions through the lens of a broke-ass queerdo. ‘Billie the Kid’ was the first project they worked on for stage, and their career as a writer has grown alongside it. They’re currently writing for BBC’s ‘EastEnders’, and are Playwright in Residence at Box of Tricks Theatre. They are a winner of the Sky Studios 2021 Screen/Play Award, and have had work commissioned by The Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, Popelei Theatre Company, and the Liverpool Light Night Festival, as well as working as an artist and performer with FACT, the Liverpool Biennale, Creative Europe, and a handful of other organizations across the UK and Europe.
Director Kerry Kyriacos Michael Director Kerry Kyriacos Michael was Artistic Director & Chief Executive of Theatre Royal Stratford East from September 2004 to September 2017. For 13 years, he forged the Theatre’s commitment to develop new work & provide a platform for voices under-represented. He won two Olivier awards, seven nominations, two What’s on Stage Awards, and the UK Best Touring Theatre Award. In March 2018, Kerry won Artistic Director of The Year at the OFF WEST END Awards; and awarded the Freedom of the City of London. In the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours List, he was made an MBE for services to the Arts. Kerry’s theatre directing credits include new plays, musicals, and operas, including John Adam’s I Was Looking At The Ceiling & Then I Saw The Sky (co-production with Barbican Centre, London), The Harder They Come (transferred to the West End & tours of Canada and USA), Ray Davies’ Come Dancing (Winner What’s On Stage Best New Musical) and a new production of The Who’s Tommy – embedding creative BSL, Captioning and Audio Description, produced by Ramps On The Moon. (Winner UK Theatre Awards Best Touring Production 16/17). In June 2022 he became the creative director Theatro Technis @ 26 Crowndale, the home of Theatro Technis.
LISTINGS INFORMATION
BILLIE THE KID
Vaudeville Theatre, 404 Strand, London WC2R 0NH
Monday 13 November Monday 20 November at 7.30pm
Duration: 2 hours 15 mins
Age Recommendation: 12+
Trigger warning: Depictions of homophobia, transphobia, gun violence and mild drug use. Descriptions of suicide, self-harm, and sex.
Booking Information
Tickets: All seats £25.00 plus a £1.50 Restoration Levy
No booking fee if booked in person at the Box Office
Full schedule released for Musical Con 2023 Saturday 21st – Sunday 22nd October 2023 ExCel London, Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1XL
Musical Con have released the full schedule for the second year of the UK’s official musical fan convention, which is taking place at ExCeL London later this month. Over 10,000 fans will be attending, with over 100 special guests and 140 hours of programming!
Highlights on the Main Stage include the opening and closing ceremonies featuring performances from Musical Con Ambassadors Aimie Atkinson, Trevor Dion Nicholas, Sophie Evans, Alice Fearn, Ben Forster, Lucie Jones, Shanay Holmes, Miriam Teak Lee, Jon Robyns and Layton Williams.
Show Spotlights include unique performances and interviews with the cast and creatives of Disney’sThe Lion King, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and the new smash hit, Operation Mincemeat. Fans will also get to say farewell to Heathers with a special celebration featuring the show’s composer, Laurence O’Keefe
Other features include a performance and interview with Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical Movie stars Alisha Weir and Meesha Garbet, an interview with internationally renowned choreographer and director Dame Arlene Phillips, and guest performances and an interview with the composer of Les Misérables & Miss Saigon, musical theatre legend Claude-Michel Schönberg.
Other segments include special performances from Rachel Tucker and SVN, a celebration of the iconic pairings of Alice Fearn & Sophie Evans and Lucie Jones & Helen Wolf and a celebration of new shows with performances from Lizzie, Babies, Bronco Billy, Ride and The Book Thief
The iconic Cosplay, Lip Sync and Star of Musical Con competitions are back, as are the Cast Reunions with previous cast members of Newsies, Bat Out Of Hell, and a special surprise reunion revealed at the event. The Show Off game show also returns, and this time, its previous cast members of SIX versus Heathers.
Theatreland is more extensive than ever with a huge marketplace full of stagey businesses and shows, including Hadestown, Disney’s Aladdin, Matilda, SIX, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, The Time Travelers Wife, Moulin Rouge, Goosebumps The Musical and Andrew Lloyd Webber Musicals.
The Backstage Theatre has moved into its own space. It will play host to a plethora of panels with notable guests, including ‘Accessibility On the West End’ with The Little Big Things choreographer Mark Smith, ‘LGBTQIA+’ with Olivier award winner Matt Henry MBE and Davina De Campo, ‘Black Excellence’ with Tosh Wanogho-Maud and Miriam Teak Lee, ‘Social Media & Musicals’ with influencers Hannah Lowther and Tom Scanlon, an interview with Standing at The Sky’s Edge and Cabaret At The Kit Kat Club casting director Stuart Burt, ‘Creating A Musical’ with Operation Mincemeat and Standing At The Sky’s Edge director Rob Hastie and designer Ben Stones and the return of last year’s popular Disney’s The Lion King & Frozen ‘Puppetry Demonstration’.
At Stage Door fans will once again get a professional photo and autograph with stars including Lucie Jones, Erin Caldwell and Alisha Weir. There are also countless workshops and masterclasses, all taught exclusively by West End stars and creatives, including dance workshops with Layton Williams and Dame Arlene Philips and a writing masterclass with Claude-Michel Schönberg.
Fans can take a break from the main programming in the new pop-up cinema playing not-stop musicals, enjoy a photo opportunity or join Fan Meets for The Queendom, Corn Nuts, Phans, Mincefluencers and Fansies alike!
The last remaining day and weekend tickets are on sale now.
FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR ALICE BIRCH’S ADAPTATION OF THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA, DIRECTED BY REBECCA FRECKNALL, AT THE NATIONAL THEATRE FROM 16 NOVEMBER
The National Theatre today announced the full cast for The House of Bernarda Alba, in a co-production with Playful Productions.
Following Olivier Award-winning revivals of Cabaret and A Streetcar Named Desire, Rebecca Frecknall makes her directorial debut at the National Theatre with Alice Birch’s (Normal People) radical version of Federico García Lorca’s modern masterpiece.
In the domain of Bernarda Alba, a daughter who disobeys is no longer a daughter.
Forced to live under their mother’s tight grip as they mourn their father’s death, can five sisters survive when young Adela dares for passion and freedom?
Olivier Award-winner Harriet Walter (Succession) plays the formidable matriarch, guarding her reputation against the rising tide of her family’s desires in this devastatingly dark and comic drama exploring the consequences of oppressing women. Isis Hainsworth (Romeo & Juliet) plays Adela the youngest, most rebellious of Bernarda’s five daughters. Playing Bernada’s eldest daughter Angustias is Rosalind Eleazar (Slow Horses) and Thusitha Jayasundera (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) will play the role of Poncia.
Joining them is Lizzie Annis as Martirio, Pearl Chanda as Magdalena, Bryony Hannah as Maid, Marcia Lecky as Prudencia, Eileen Nicholas as Maria Josefa and Eliot Salt as Ameila.
Catharine Humphrys, Asha Kingsley, Celia Nelson, Ellouise Shakespeare-Hart, Georgia Silver, Imogen Mackie Walker, Charlotte Workman, James McHugh and Michael Naylor complete the adult cast. Esma Akar, Livia Court and Sicily Rose De Bernardini will share the role of Young Girl.
Composer Isobel Waller-Bridge (The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse) writes an original score for the production.
Directed by Rebecca Frecknall with set and costume designer Merle Hensel, lighting designer Lee Curran, composerIsobel Waller-Bridge, sound designer Peter Rice, casting by Alastair Coomer CDG and Naomi Downham, and staff director Lilac Yosiphon.
Playing in the Lyttelton theatre from 16 November 2023 until 6 January 2024 with press night on 28 November. Tickets are available from £20 and are on sale now via the National Theatre website. For further information, including details about assisted performances, please visit nationaltheatre.org.uk.
THE STAGE DEBUT AWARDS 2023 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ATG WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT
The winners of The Stage Debut Awards, in association with ATG, have been announced at the annual awards ceremony in a star-studded bash at 8 Northumberland Avenue, London, hosted by legendary drag artist, performer and songstress Divina De Campo,
This year the spotlight fell on a total of 45 nominees across 8 categories, ranging from performers to composers and designers through to writers, lyricists and directors, whose work debuted on stages across the country. For the first time, this year’s winners also took home a share of a £10,000 prize fund.
Rose Ayling Ellis (c) Alex Brenner
The former winner of 2021’s Strictly Come Dancing, Rose Ayling-Ellis scooped up the Best West End Debut award for her standout performance in As You Like It at @sohoplace. The category, the only one voted by the public, is hotly contested and Ayling-Ellis proved the favourite out of a strong shortlist that included A Streetcar Named Desire’s Paul Mescal, Emily Fairn and Mike Faist in Brokeback Mountain, Kyle Ramar Freeman in A Strange Loop, Gabriel Howell for The Unfriend, Zachary Quinto for Best of Enemies and Samira Wiley for Blues for an Alabama Sky.
Elan Davies (c) Alex Brenner
The night also saw two categories with joint winners. Best Performer in a Play was awarded to both Isobel Thom for Shakespeare’s Globe’s I, Joan and Elan Davies for Imrie at the Sherman Theatre Cardiff, the latter marked the first win at The Stage Debut Awards for a performer in a Welsh-language production. The Best Creative West End Debut award was also shared between two winners: Rob Madge, for writing their West End hit show My Son’s a Queer, (But What Can You Do?) at the Garrick Theatre and Ambassadors Theatre and Tingying Dong for her sound design that created an eerie atmosphere for The Crucible at the National Theatre and Gielgud Theatre.
Jessica Lee took home the Best Performer in a Musical award for Miss Saigon at Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, while productions staged at the Bush Theatre, London had two winners in the creative categories: Anoushka Lucas was honoured for Best Writer for Elephant and Emily Ling Williams received the Best Director award for A Playlist for The Revolution.
Hit productions staged at the Barbican Theatre also made their mark at the awards with a win for Andrea Scott for her video design for My Neighbour Totoro in the Best Designer category. Meanwhile, Broadway musical sensation Michael R Jackson showed his influence on both sides of the Atlantic, as he scooped the Best Composer, Lyricist or Book Writer award for his stunning show A Strange Loop.
The Stage editor Alistair Smith, said: “Our wonderful winners highlight just how much emerging talent there is across British theatre. I’m particularly pleased that this year we were able to recognise our first ever winner in a Welsh-language performance. “Meanwhile, also for the first time this year, I’m delighted to reveal that, in partnership with ATG, we are offering a £10,000 prize fund split among our winners. Along with the exposure these awards bring, we hope this will be a real tangible help to them as they embark on what we have no doubt will be stellar careers.”
The winners were announced at The Stage Debut Awards, hosted by legendary drag artist, performer and singer Divina De Campo on October 1 2023 at 8 Northumberland Avenue, London, in association with headline sponsor Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG). The ceremony also featured live performances by Divina De Campo, who opened the night with an exclusive musical number devised especially for the ceremony. Rachael Wooding sang After the Rain from the hit new British musical Standing at the Sky’s Edge, opening at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in the West End in 2024; Charing Cross Theatre’s upcoming Bronco Billy: The Musical lead’s Emily Benjamin performed Cabaret’s soaring ballad Maybe this Time and rounding off the evening Zizi Strallen performed Champagne Dreams from Cake: The Marie Antoinette Playlist which just completed a short West End transfer to the Lyric Theatre last month.
#DebutAwards
THE WINNERS IN FULL
Best Performer in a Play (Sponsored by Cabbells):
● Elan Davies for Imrie at Sherman Theatre, Cardiff
● Isobel Thom for I, Joan at Shakespeare’s Globe, London
Best Performer in a Musical (Sponsored by Carnival Cruise Line):
● Jessica Lee for Miss Saigon at Crucible Theatre, Sheffield
Best Director: (Sponsored by Arts Council England):
● Emily Ling Williams for A Playlist for the Revolution at Bush Theatre, London
Best Designer (Sponsored by Wimbledon College of Arts, UAL):
● Andrea Scott (video) for My Neighbour Totoro at Barbican Theatre, London
Best Writer (Sponsored by Sonia Friedman Productions):
● Anoushka Lucas for Elephant at Bush Theatre, London
Best Composer, Lyricist or Book Writer (Sponsored by Crossroads Live):
● Michael R Jackson for A Strange Loop at Barbican Theatre, London
Best West End Debut Performer (Sponsored by TodayTix):
● Rose Ayling-Ellis for As You Like It at @sohoplace
Best Creative West End Debut: (Sponsored by Trafalgar Entertainment):
● Tingying Dong (sound designer) for The Crucible at National Theatre and Gielgud Theatre
● Rob Madge (writer) for My Son’s a Queer, (But What Can You Do?) at Garrick Theatre and Ambassadors Theatre
With thanks to our sponsors ATG, Arts Council England, Cabbells, Carnival Cruise Line, Crossroads Live, Sonia Friedman Productions, TodayTix, Trafalgar Entertainment and Wimbledon College of Arts, UAL.
The inaugural The Stage Debut Awards took place in 2017. Recipients of these awards have gone on to star in and create West End shows, television series and films. Notable award winners include Shan Ako (Hamilton), Tyrell Williams (Red Pitch), Sam Tutty (Dear Evan Hansen), Miriam-Teak Lee (& Juliet), Jac Yarrow (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat), Bush Theatre Artistic Director Lynette Linton, and Composers Femi Temowo (Death of a Salesman) and Dan Gillespie Sells (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie).
Exhilerating and frustrating in equal measure, Trompe L’Oeil is an intriguing and ambitious show slightly overladen with ideas and imagery.
Billed as a “hilarious blend of cabaret, queer theatre, and circus in a world where nothing is what it seems”, the first time the rug is pulled out from under the audience’s feet is the first glimpse of the set, with a huge picture of Donald Trump on the backdrop and rifling through the programme reveals two characters Trump and Ivanka – so this is a Trump musical? The show begins with a whimsical cabaret number led by Sarah Louise Hughes as The Imitator, before the two parallel storylines begin. Emer Dineen’s fantastic portrayal of Trump – bad orange foundation and white eyes, tiny hands just visible in her oversized jacket – and his presidency plays out alongside a tentative romance between staunch Republican Rip (Alex Wadham) and Democrat Demi (Dominic Booth).
Henry Parkman Biggs has been working on this show for eight years, and there is so much thought and detail in the lyrics and music (with Preston Jones) that it sometimes feels like a particularly fiendish round in Only Connect. I didn’t find the crib sheet explaining the puzzles and parallels in certain songs until the interval, but that didn’t stop me loving their ridiculous energy. Trump sings his entrance song “Magical Me” in the meter of Yertle the Turtle, Putin song is written as a Pushkin sonnet, Pity Party is an anagram song – there are even two songs where certain letters in the lyrics form an image – these may have been projected onto the stage, but I didn’t spot that from my seat to the side (I may have just been focussing on the cast and director Blair Anderson’s ingenious choreography.) Director and choreographer Anderson creates a spectacle on the tiny stage brilliantly, with stellar work from William Elijah-Lewis and Yasmin Sharp matching the acrobatic artistry of Hughes.
To ensure his presidency, Trump makes a Faustian pact with Putin (Hughes again as a VERY disturbing darkness dweller), allowing Putin to fix a vice to Trump’s scrotum that can be tightened whenever he disappoints his master. Olivia Saunders Barbie/sex doll version of Ivanka is hilarious as she sings “Blanke Verse” at his inauguration and husband Jarrod (The Imitator Hughes again!) sings a truly bizarre number as a horrified Statue of Liberty (Craig Bartley) looks on. The constant firing of his staff is covered in the exuberant “Bounce” with the cast gleefully performing tricks on a trampoline as they are dispatched. Magritte’s Son of Man provides government agents with cover as they hide behind giant apples and sabotage Trump’s laptop with apple juice. But nothing can stop Trump, and a delightful lipogram song full of insults using the only vowel key still working follows. Some wonderfully clever ideas adding to the Trump pastiches that sprung up during his first campaign.
Rip and Demi’s relationship, presumably meant to show that the two sides of the political spectrum can meet somewhere in the middle is the most unsatisfying part of the show, although Wadham and Booth give splendid performances and win the audiences sympathy for their characters. As they struggle to find words to describe Trump’s presidency – saying “surreal” has consequences that Dali would approve of, the portrayal of stereotypical discourse between left and right means that Rip’s right-wing views and his transphobic and misogynistic comments are meant to be hard to swallow
But we needed some retribution or at least education. Demi’s annoyance at his linguistic errors and prejudices becomes DEMI’S problem as Rip won’t accept criticism so they just stops and lets Rip keep talking loudly waiting for him to realise his mistakes instead of confronting him. The finale “Better Together” is a great song and dance number, but even the hidden message doesn’t create a satisfactory end to the characters’ arcs. But then this is a cabaret, and the best trompe L’oeil mislead and deceive. This is definitely a marmite production – I loved it, even though I probably missed a lot of references, the silliness and energy of this curious show are infectious.
Forum Theatre, Malvern – until 30th September 2023
Reviewed by Courie Amado Juneau
4.5****
Crimes On Centre Court is a murder mystery whodunnit parody adapted from an award winning podcast.
Some of the zaniest pre-show music you will ever hear preceded one of the wackiest opening numbers you will encounter – a barber-shop quartet singing hedge! This hedge featured prominently throughout, outlining the plot, singing exposition points and as stage hands moving the scenery and props around.
The surprisingly cogent plot begins with the murder of Lord Knows, Chairman of the Whombledun International Invitational Tennis Tournament, prompting his son, Hugh Knows (I know, stick with it) to call in private investigators Perry and Penny Pink to crack the case…
The cast is tiny – in fact, it’s the entire hedgerow quartet. Each actor plays multiple diverse roles meaning two impressive things leap out at you – given the paucity of persons on stage, there’s a lot of dialogue for each to learn. Secondly, that the costume changes alone necessitate a lot of running around and mark hitting (being in the right place at the right time) so the slapstick and visual gags work. I’m surprised the actors had any breath left to deliver such a wordy script!
The inventive character names (already mentioned but my personal favourite being tennis player Notta Damclu) and the tortuously convoluted wordplay provided much scope for verbal misunderstandings (the hot chilli exchange stood out in the memory). Alliteration featured heavily too, impressively delivered, especially from the improbably haired Hugh Knows. I’ll just mention here that I wish there had been a cast list (or introductions on stage) so I could praise the performers individually by name. The visual gags were hilarious and I particularly enjoyed the line-call action replay. Just when you thought they had rung all the laughs they could out of the joke they threw another one in. Inventive use of the minimal modular set (such as pull down blinds as a road backdrop for a driving scene) and the scoreboard, made plenty from very little and was even funnier for it, adding to the impression of a fast paced show (those hedges were really zipping around).
It was worth the price of admission just to laugh yourself silly at the slow motion tennis match – how they did those special effects God only knows (where’s the emoji wink when you need it? Haha). The story fizzed along at breakneck speed to the denouement with recap scenes necessitating multiple rapid character changes – giving the actors plenty of scope for those exasperated looks and “improvisational asides” that are always crowd pleasers. If you love The Goes Wrong series you will love this. A suitably convoluted twist in the tale and romantic ending brought the curtain down on a wonderful evening’s fun.
Intrigue, murder, romance, sport, fresh fruit, outlandish murders, whodunit, fresh fruit… farcical stuff in the mould of PG Wodehouse meets Christie, through the Goons and Python. The work had everything including the “going down” (stairs, escalator, lift) gag which is always welcome.
Serving up volley after volley of top-notch tomfoolery with very few faults and many aces, one doesn’t need Hawk-eye or replays to know this is a surefire hit. Game, set & match – I absolutely loved it.
Usually when two great actors perform on stage together, they’re battling it out in a hard-hitting drama, so to see Ian McKellen and Roger Allam have a ball in this gently meandering romantic comedy is a breath of fresh air.
Ben Weatherill’s charming story of two older men meeting on their daily walks with their dogs (unseen but a chorus of yelps and barks making their presence known) and the friendship that develops into love is warm and witty. Frank (Allam) is a widowed retired teacher who lost his beloved wife to cancer while Percy is still active in his field, a professor lecturing around the world and writing books with an ex-husband living around the corner and a daughter in Australia.
Percy’s lack of inhibitions and confidence as a gay man allows Frank to finally explore and confirm his sexuality, realising that he is bisexual. The couple’s romance is written beautifully, with the men carrying and demonstrating an easy acceptance of each other’s recognisable baggage from their past. There are some sticking points in the relationship – notably their attitudes to dog care – which lead to breakups, but it is always clear that these two men have an innate connection and should end up together.
Frank’s wistful reminiscing about his wife highlights Percy’s reluctance to talk about his past relationships without deflecting with humour, and when Percy’s mask of confidence drops and McKellen lets the audience see the frightened and lonely man behind the snarky jokes, it becomes clear how much he needs Frank in his life. Percy’s life story lays bare the prejudice and hate faced as a gay man in the 1970s, and McKellen is at his best flitting between biting wit and world-weary sorrow as the men discuss the changes that have been, and still need to be, made.
The ups and downs of the relationship are great fun to watch – Frank’s first Pride and karaoke are glorious moments – but the inevitable health scares (both human and canine) that happen in later life through a few spanners in the works to ensure not all is plain sailing. The tone is somewhere between Alan Bennett and Victoria Wood – familiar and comforting, and very funny.
Nick Richings lighting design and Andy Graham’s sound design evoke the changing seasons on Morgan Large’s minimal but gloriously evocative set. Sean Mathias’ s confident direction ensures the gentle pace never lags as the two extraordinary actors create magic together.
Allam and McKellen are a joy to watch in this charming and quietly moving warm hug of a romantic comedy.
Ben Elton’s new musical about sixties icon Twiggy is bright and brash fun but lacks depth.
The story of Lesley Hornby’s rise to fame as supermodel Twiggy begins with an excitingly energetic depiction of Twiggy being mobbed by mask-wearing fans in New York with jerky, almost animalistic choreography. Unfortunately, this is not matched until the final number as Jacob Fearey’s choreography settles into the Saturday night variety show cliches of the era. (Matt Lucas’s treasure trove of “Good morning” cheesy dance clips sprung to mind instantly) There are some great tunes in the show, and the cast belt them with great style, but the choices are a little random – it reminded me of the cassettes of sixties and seventies hits that were popular as free gifts in the eighties.
I am unsure whether Ben Elton wanted to write an empowering biography or an acerbic critique of the sixties and seventies, but sadly this is neither. Twiggy’s mother’s mental health issues and her electroconvulsive therapy are continually brought up, and then swept aside – with a musical number as the doctors apply the electrodes!?! Elena Skye plays Twiggy with knowing but charming self-deprecation as she narrates key moments in her life from her childhood in Neasden up to the early eighties. Aspects of her story that raise red flags now are commented on by Twiggy’s friends Kay (Lauren Azania AJ King-Yombo) and Cindy (Aoife Dunne) with asides that, although funny, become repetitive and feel like a cop out rather than actually addressing these issues. Twiggy’s relationship with her “Svengali” Justin de Villeneuve (or Nigel, as his brother calls him) began when she was 15 and he was 25. Although genuine video showing his ridiculous but creepy attitude towards Twiggy is played, Elton’s writing and Matt Corner’s portrayal is straight out of Austin Powers, dissipating any discomfort and focussing instead on his pomposity. Very funny but missing a trick.
When Twiggy finally dumped Justin as her acting career took off, she fell in love with another older man – American actor Michael Witney (Darren Day). Witney’s alcoholism and its devastating effect on the marriage and their careers takes up most of the second half of the show, and this is a major problem as everything just grinds to a halt. Darren Day plays Witney as almost catatonic when sober, and things get much more interesting when he’s drunk. I can understand why this period was very important to Twiggy, but this section could be shortened to keep the flow of the show more stimulating.
Footage of Twiggy’s triumphant Broadway debut as she danced with Tommy Tune and a clip from her Top of the Pops debut bring an interesting energy to the later stages of the show as Skye performs in front of the screens, and the triumphant performance of “All Fired Up” as Twiggy recovers after Witney’s death and looks to the future, and her mother (Hannah-Jane Fox) takes centre stage.
Elena Skye’s portrayal is assured and warm, and she holds the stage effortlessly. Hannah-Jane Fox and Steven Serlin take the underwritten roles of Twiggy’s parents (all sappy wisdom and one-liners) and steal every scene with their wonderful performances. Serlin is a hoot with his accents as a variety of patronising TV personalities who try to belittle Twiggy. The talented ensemble is energetic and full of joy, and you can’t help but wonder what magic this cast could create with a script that was more focused and told Twiggy’s story with a clear style and coherence.
As it stands, Close-Up is an energetic and light-hearted, flimsy but fun show with an excellent cast.
Declan Bennett’s autobiographical show is a harrowing and soul-baring, but very funny, performance about loneliness in lockdown. A romantic idea of leaving London for a quiet life in the country with his boyfriend turns into Declan’s worst nightmare when his boyfriend must relocate for a few months to New York for an acting job, followed shortly after by Covid lockdown.
As he finds himself unable to write, Declan is left in a spiralling routine of baking, drinking and sleeping as his memories swirl around him whiles he struggles to cope with his loneliness. Elderly neighbour Anne seems to be his only contact to the rest of the world – and there’s only so much banana bread she can eat!
Bennett’s physicality is as exhilarating and honest as his writing as he jumps back and forth between childhood memories – his carefree friendship and shared loves with Siobhan that are cruelly squashed as he progresses through school and has to change to survive, the confusion and conflict of being gay and being raised in a devoutly Catholic Irish family – the freedom and joy of finally being himself in London, and his cancer diagnosis as he unravels alone in his cottage.
Co-creator and director Nancy Sullivan’s light touch and Bennett’s magnificent acting produce something unique – at times it feels uncomfortably like you are intruding on a therapy session before swerving back to jokey performance. It is wonderful, and very rare, to be caught off guard so often watching a play. Reuben Speed’s set – the bare bones of Declan’s cottage that he holds in his memory – Alex Lewer’s lighting and Max Pappenheim’s sound design all work beautifully to turn a warm and cosy cottage into a hellishly claustrophobic cell and enhance the performance without becoming gimmicky.
An extraordinary performance of a searingly exposing and revealing piece of writing – Declan Bennett’s Boy Out The City is a must see.
