'Aladdin' Prince Edward Theatre **

For people who know me personally or those who have been reading my reviews know that I am rather partial to cheesy things such as; pop music, films and musical theatre productions, nonetheless, there are moments when the cheesiness takes the biscuit and embarrassing really and some musicals can do just that and this is one such musical. The West End production of, Chad Baguelin, Alan Meaken, Howard Ashaman and Tim Rice’s musical adaptation of the 1992 Disney film, ‘Aladdin’ for me was a rather pitiful and over the top musical which exceedingly lacks in imagination and originality and furthermore, the performances were childishly lacklustre and grated the cheese into its entirety over the entire show. 

‘Aladdin’ is set in Agrabah, City of Enchantment where we are made known of beggar, Aladdin who accompanied by his three best friends, Kassim (Stephen Rahman-Hughes), Omar (Rachid Sabiti) and Babbak (Nathan Amzi) are notorious for stealing food in the area. For Aladdin, he has gone against his promises to his mother who is deceased that he’d never thieve again. At the palace of Agrabah, Jasmine the princess has aggravated her father, the Sultan (Irvine Iqbal) as she has once again turned down the marriage proposal to another prince and the Sultan states to his child that she must court a royal prince. The Sultan’s advisor, Jafar is hatching a plan to become ruler of Agrabah with the assistance of Iago (Peter Howe) need to enter the Cave of Wonders to obtain a lamp; unfortunately Jafar needs someone else to collect the lamp. When Jasmine meets Aladdin for the first time, love does indeed blossom and when Jafar and Iago rescues Aladdin from death; they lure him to the Cave of Wonders where Jafar demands that he must bring him the lamp. Over the course of the performance, Aladdin in the Cave of Wonders locates the lamp and as soon as he rubs the lamp a Genie pops out of the nozzle and explains to Aladdin that he has three wishes that the Genie can grant him and as such; Aladdin uses his first wish to become a prince. Aladdin’s friends are posing as royal associates bursts into the palace and announces the arrival of Prince Ali of Ababwa and intends to wed princess Jasmine and throughout this part of the show, Jasmine just does not want to know and Jafar suspects that something fishy is going on here . When Aladdin is given permission to marry Jasmine, Jafar exposes to everyone that Aladdin is just a street-rat and all hell breaks loose and Jafar has manipulated the Genie to be Jafar’s slave. In order for all to return to normal, Aladdin has to rescue Jasmine, the Sultan and his friends to destroy Jafar’s dictatorship and at the finale, Aladdin defeats Jafar, the Genie is given his freedom and the Sultan allows Aladdin to marry his daughter Jasmine and the rule of marrying a prince is then revoked.  Baguelin’s narrative is enormously clichéd and relatively unfunny as the musical plotline is a carbon copy of the film’s narrative and the musical numbers such as “Friend Like Me”, “Prince Ali”, “A Whole New World” and “Somebody Got Your Back” did not really cut it for me and was not that creatively written and I would have liked more original musical numbers.

One found the performances by the company of, ‘Aladdin’ to be truly monotonous as well as the vocals and the dance sequences did not make me that engaged and in actual fact I would rather have consumed a few stiff drinks instead of seeing these rubbish portrayals.  Dean John-Wilson is disappointing as the lead role, Aladdin; especially how cheesy and tedious he comes across and for me that I could not connect to the character which was saddening and his vocals in “Proud of Your Boy” wasn’t that good really. Jade Ewen is woeful as the pretty Princess Jasmine; specifically how yes she is a pretty woman but I just felt that there should have been more substance to her performance and there needed to be more passion between Aladdin and Jasmine and I didn’t see the romance whatsoever. Trevor Dion Nicholas is tasteless as the supposed flamboyant, Genie; mainly how the one-liners just fell as flat as a pancake and for me his depiction was a bit disrespectful to the late Robin Williams who really invented the character to be so hilariously compelling and I simply questioned his motives for the role. Don Gallagher is unpleasant as the villainous, Jafar; for example how shocking the casting of a white man in a role that should have gone to an Asian actor shows how little to the imagination and realism to the community of Agrabah and some parts of his performance just kept crashing down around the show in itself.

Casey Nicholaw’s direction and choreography is horrendous here as he has not successfully presented an original story that incorporates the film but with a fresh twist and for me, the clichéd elements just did not work in increasing my engagement to what could have been amazing, sadly this is no the case and characterisations lacked fluidity. Bob Crowley’s set design and Gregg Barnes’s costumes designs were not that exceptional as the set was too in-yer-face and the costumes were too vibrant and words could not describe how unimpressed I was by what was shown here and I think the set  could have been toned down a considerable amount and I didn’t like it that much. Overall, the experience of, ‘Aladdin’ was not Disney Theatricals’ most polished pieces of work and I just hope that ‘Newsies’ turns up to the West End really soon. 

'Motown: The Musical' Shaftesbury Theatre ****

Berry Gordy Jr did revolutionise the music landscape forever as well as how the general public treated black musicians due to the fact that racism was colossally larger than racism is today and this is all thanks to the genre of music that is Motown. The West End production of Berry Gordy Jr’s 2013 musical, ‘Motown: The Musical’ was a phenomenally stimulating tale of how Motown radically transformed the music industry and as such has inspired the music acts of today, additionally, the offerings were outstanding throughout.

‘Motown: The Musical’ commences in 1983 where famous signers are brought together to celebrate Mowtown Records’ 25^th Anniversary, however, we are transported back the 1950’s and acquainted  with Berry Gordy Jr who is meeting with Smoky Robinson and his bandmates from ‘The Matadors’ where Gordy says that they have to rename their group to ‘The Miracles’ to make an impact. He soon launces his own record label in 1959 called Motown Records in Detroit from money he inherited and because of this a musical juggernaut was born. Over the course of the performance, Gordy goes on a search for more artists and signs such groups and solo performers like;  The Marvelettes, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas to increase his catalogue of pop stars.  As the show progresses along, Gorky’s label Motown Records begins to become increasingly popular with listeners and when it is revealed that the artsts are in fact black, some racist comments obviously materialise.  Throughout the course of the 1960’s, Motown Records’ music dominates the Billboard Charts and in this moment of jubilation, we see that The Supremes’ lead singer, Diana Ross and Gordy are in a relationship and noticeably the cracks are forming  and this is only because of Gordy’s behaviour and it only gets worse when Diana goes solo. With the popularity of Motown increasing daily, numerous artists such as; The Jackson 5 sign up to the label and in the background, Gordy has been experiencing changes to the music that is produced and written when song writing/production team, Holland-Dazier- Holland AKA, ‘H-D-H’ dispense of their services to Motown which in turn leads to Gordy taking them to court because of breaches to their agreed contract. The 1970’s shows a slight decline in popularity especially in the late 1970’s and in the 1980’s, Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye decide that it is time to leave Motown and find other labels to work with and the music mogul begins to become despondent with his work and life in general. This is displayed by the fact that he is apprehensive to turn up to the 25^th Anniversary, nonetheless and at the finale, Gordy’s former flame and former star, Diana Ross nudges him along and he does make an appearance to the party which basically is a thank you to Gordy as he modernised not only the music industry but attitudes towards the black and ethnic communities all over the rest of the developed world. Gordy’s narrative is particularly excellent as we get to the rise and fall of Gordy himself from music magnate to a depressed mess and even though some may find the narrative a bit pretentious as Gordy has written the show himself, I find that there is nothing wrong with the show being a little aloof. And with such musical numbers e.g. “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”, “Singed Sealed Delivered”, “Dancing In The Street” and “I’ll Be There” did make you want to dance in the aisles as they are tunes we do know mostly lyric by lyric.

One found the performances by the company of, ‘Motown; The Musical’ to be luminously spiffing as the vocal abilities and chorographic sequences were categorically gripping and spellbinding actually and a cast of mostly black performers suggest that there was a true representation of the black community on stage. Cedric Neal is wonderful as central protagonist, Berry Gordy Jr; mainly how similar he is to the real Gordy himself and his persona of the character has enabled me to delve deeper into who Gordy was a man and a businessman who wanted a minority community to triumph in a creative industry that was dominated by white music. Lucy St Louis is fabulous as the music icon that is Diana Ross; specially in how we again like Gordy, we see how Diana proved herself to be a terrific performer and how hard it must have been to be in a relationship with not only a colleague but her boss too and her vocals in Ross’ numbers were remarkable. Obioma Ugoala is grand as Gordy’s first music signing, Smokey Robinson; for example how with the initial meeting with Gordy in 1957, a musical giant was born and the music scene was changed forever but for the good and I found the performer himself conveyed the brutal and cutthroat moments that happens in music. Sifiso Mazibuko is blissful as the sensational and smouldering singer, Marvin Gaye; predominantly how we see that he and Gordy had a rather pleasant and loving friendship and the two of them supported each other through the tough and amazing times and it is truly upsetting when he decides to leave Motown and in less than two years he was murdered by his own father for strange reasons.  

Charles Randolph-Wright’s direction is gloriously magnificent here as he has been able to bring us the audience into the music label Motown Records and focussing in on Berry Gordy’s journey of fame and fortune and the characterisations were comprehensive throughout and with the fabulous choreography by Patricia Wilcox and Warren Adams we are transfixed by music and sparkles that Motown was and is still popular even to this day.  David Korins’ set design and Esosa’s costume designs were extraordinary as the finest details from the set to the costumes brought an abundances of sparkle and glitter which is what you would hope from a show that is based on the Motown Records’ label and the work of Natasha Katz’s lighting, Peter Hylenski’s sound and Daniel Brodie’s projections captured the glitz and glamour that the music industry is supposed to be like where gold recorded are presented aplenty all over the walls. Overall, the experience of, ‘Motown: The Musical’ was clearly a blast from the past where Berry Gordy Jr, a talented music executive and creative helped a decline in racist attitudes and developed the talents of artists like Michael Jackson to superstardom. 

'A Pacifist's Guide to the War on Cancer' National Theatre, Dorfman ***

Cancer is the illness that just will not go away and when you or someone you love is diagnosed with a form of the cancerous cells in their body it becomes even more personal and the fight for the cure is increasingly desperate. The National Theatre’s production of Bryony Kimmings, Brian Lobel, Tom Parkison and ‘Complicite’s musical, ‘A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer’ was actually an enjoyable musical effort unlike the Arcola Theatre’s horrendous musical, ‘Happy Ending’, moreover, the enactments were rather divine over the entire show.

‘A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer’ is set in a conventional NHS hospital where we are made known of mother, Emma who clenches her baby son in which she has brought him in for tests as there is a possibility that he may have some form of cancer. The writer, who is in fact a performance artist, explains that no one would visit a theatre with such an upsetting scenario so her purpose is to portray a scenario into a more uplifting manner. Over the course of the performance, as one of the nurses takes Emma’s son to be comprehensively tested, Emma meets those who have been affected by cancer, specifically a terminally ill Laura (Golda Rosheuvel), young man Stephen (Gary Wood) and Gia. Furthermore, it is clear that from this journey of Emma who is still awaiting the results to see whether her baby son has cancer, we are given an interesting opportunity and lesson into some of the biology but through glittery clad cancer cells, on the other hand, despite the funny aspects of this, there are the harsh realities that instils what cancer is. We also understand that cancer affects family members and this is shown through Stephen’s overly protective Mum (Amy Booth-Steel) and this is exactly what it is like in real life. Throughout the performance, we learn that cancer can be inherited and this is conveyed through the young girl, Shannon (Rose Shallos) who in actual fact massively courageous and displays a more philosophical approach to a cancer diagnosis. Additionally, we do get to see the pressure that nurses and doctors go through on a daily basis and these in this plot include Dr Lacey (Jenny Fitzpatirck), Dr Jones (Lottie Vallis), Jackie (Francesca Mills) and Ben (Max Runham). The room is engulfed with some blobby figure in order to bring Emma even  more into an anxious state and at this explicit moment Emma only wants to know if her son is okay and is growing even more frustrated. Emma comes into contact with chain smoker, Mark who because of the fact that he has somewhat aided in the progress of his cancer to become worse that he has become estranged from his daughter and he explains this to Emma so eloquently and desires for a reunion. At the finale, Emma is given the tragic news that her little boy has cancer and Emma’s world comes crashing down all around her and it appears that after each performance, a cancer survivor is brought onto the stage and says their own story of their personal battle with cancer and we are allowed to stand up and say one person that we know who has passed away due to cancer. Kimmings’ narrative accompanied by Lobel and Parkinson’s music and lyrics were reasonably accomplished and on the cusp a little bit amusing as the topic of cancer states that we should all try to remain positive despite the fact that this is a life-threatening illness and this is displayed through sympathetic musical numbers.

One found the performances by the company of, ‘A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer’ were superb and impressive through beguiling vocals and dance sequences that somewhat reminded me of the National’s musical, ‘wonder.land’ which is the style that Norris has envisioned for the musical works that are staged there.  Amanda Hadingue is smashing as central protagonist, Emma; essentially how throughout the entire show we see that she that the nervousness of her son’s diagnosis is just what any mother would be like no matter what age they are and it was interesting to see her interact with people who are dealing with the cancer in their bodies allows her to learn about cancer. Hal Fowler is striking as chain smoker cancer victim, Mark; primarily how over the course of the show itself, we at first have a misconception about him as he is not exactly well dressed but this opinion is soon changed as we get to see that his relationships has been shattered due to the fact that he consistently smokes that this is why he has a fractured father-daughter relationship.  Naana Agyei-Ampadu is exceptional as another cancer sufferer, Gia; generally what most impresses me about her performance is her actual vocals in a lot of the musical numbers that she is in is so excellent and shows how large her vocal range actually is and the story of her cancer is rather moving too and fully engages Emma as it is also about people learning from others who have cancer cells.

Bryony Kimmings’ direction is rather imposing here as she has been able to work with her own narrative and present a heart-warming take on cancer which in writing would be a look of pure shock, nonetheless, the tale of a mother who receives such devastating news shows how cancer is around everywhere and it is a virus no matter if you have it or not, plus Lizzi Gee’s choreography was exceedingly good too. Lucy Osborne’s set design and Christina Cunningham’s costume design was particularly triumphant as I was transported to the NHS hospital and it really worked well on the Dorfman stage and the costume designs especially the glitter cancer cell costumes showed a sort of educational element to the show design.  Overall, the experience of, ‘A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer’ to be rather grand but for me the subject has been undertaken with such a sympathetic viewpoint which adds to the impressive nature. 

'Blue Heart' Orange Tree Theatre ****

It is comprehensively safe to say that some playwrights have an odd and peculiar way in how their plays are displayed due to such themes with regards to social and political contexts to an audience of varied ages. The Orange Tree Theatre’s revival production of Caryl Churchill’s 1997 play, ‘Blue Heart’ which combines two one act plays, ‘Heart’s Desire’ and ‘Blue Kettle’ was an intriguing and positively bizarre show, in addition to this, the interpretations were pleasantly acted.

‘Blue Heart’s first act, ‘Heart’s Desire’ is set in the kitchen of a family house who are awaiting the return of their daughter, Susy (Mona Goodwin) who has been travelling across Australia. Over the course of this section of the play, father Brian (Andy de la Tour), mother, Alice (Amanda Brown) and aunt Maise (Amanda Boxer) go through the same scene over and over again, however, as the same moment is repeated, some increasingly strange things occur such as a giant emu costume with someone inside of it. In addition to this, Susy’s brother, Lewis (Alex Beckett) appears to the family disappointment and this is due to the fact that he is a compulsive alcoholic and is dressed only in just a pair of Y Front tiny pants which suggests that there is a rivalry between the two siblings as Lewis perceives that Susy is their parents’ favourite child. In a rather interesting trail of events, Susy is only ever present at the end of the first act which only suggests that the repetition of the same scene but with extra moments added as the most poignant part of this story. ‘Blue Heart’s second act, ‘Blue Kettle’ takes on a completely different path where fraudulent man, Derek (Alex Beckett) cons a mammoth amount of women in which he tries to convince them that he is their long-lost son, in order to obtain all their money. Throughout this section, the women that Derek is lying to, Mrs Plant (Amanda Boxer), Mrs Oliver (Amanda Brown), Mrs Vane (Janet Henfrey) and Mrs Clarence (Mourousia Frank) are lead to believe that they are in fact Derek’s mother and we all know that this is a long list of lies and deception. Derek’s Mother (Gillian Axtell) is unaware of her son’s illegal activity, nonetheless, Derek’s girlfriend, Enid (Mona Goodwin) knows of Derek’s role as a con artist and is appalled and declares that she and Derek are over and at the finale of the entire show, Derek is left all alone and in my viewpoint, he deserves not the have an easy time as conning elderly people is vile and immoral as you should respect your elders. Churchill’s narrative is riveting as both of the short plays have an array of atypical moments are momentous and to be truthful I kind of knew what I was expecting with the likes of her previous work i.e. ‘Love and Information’ which means that Churchill’s work does not go through a linear route.

One found the performances by the company of, ‘Blue Heart’ to be eminently portrayed as the two roles that most actors depict encapsulated the versatility of Churchill’s play  and there were a lot of funny bits especially in ‘Heart’s Desire’. Alex Beckett is brilliant as both Lewis and Derek; mainly as Derek in ‘Blue Kettle’ and how realistic he comes across as a dastardly villain who thinks it is good to manipulate older women and for him to thieve their hard earned money and there is an intensity that resonates in both the physical and vocal aspects of the character.  Mona Goodwin is great as both Susy and Enid; predominantly how even though Susy is not that visibly present in ‘Heart’s Desire’ we can see that she is warming and overjoyed to be reunited with her family and in ‘Blue Kettle’ we see the difference in Enid and this is exactly what true drama training is all about.

David Mercatali’s direction is swell here as he has been able to present a rather thought-provoking take on Churchill’s play and this has been captured with such splendour as both of the short plays have both been given the same amount of time to give the revival a fitting chance and I liked the characterisations too. Angela Davies’ design is pretty cool as we are transported to both locations and the transformations which has been seamlessly and flawlessly aides by the stage management team and the lighting by Chris Swain and sound by Max Pappenheim was of a terrific level of finish and they portrayed the themes and the flow of the story which is what design is supposed to achieve anyway. Overall, the experience of, ‘Blue Heart’ to be a inexplicably compelling show that connects two short plays in one way or another and yet again, the Orange Tree Theatre has produced another excellent production. 

'Dead Funny' Vaudeville Theatre ****

Without any shadow of a doubt, British comedy is the best in the entire world as us Brits are widely known for our dry and witty sense of humour and British situation comedies AKA sitcoms have provided us with some of the most hilarious moments broadcast on British television and British comedians and comediennes are hugely admired. The West End revival production of Terry Johnson’s 1994 play, ‘Dead Funny’ was a roll on the floor play about a group of comedy enthusiasts who cherish their hobby; furthermore, the performances were thrillingly funny.

‘Dead Funny’ is set in 1992 where we are introduced to husband and wife, Richard and Eleanor who are hosting an annual meeting where they discuss and re-enact classic sitcom moments that we should all know and love. Eleanor is not as much of a fan of comedy unlike her husband; Richard who is a bit of an obsessive, nonetheless, when Richard’s friends, Brian, Nick and Lisa come over to Richard and Eleanor’s the drama is soon started. Over the course of the performance, we see that the group show their love for the comedians especially Richard and Brian and it appears that both of the men are a little bit too obsessed with their hobby and Eleanor knows that this passion is really ridiculous. There’s a dark undertone within the story as Eleanor is yearning to have a baby with spouse Richard, nonetheless, Richard does not want to be a father just yet which makes their marriage to become rather awkward. Progressively, Richard and his best-mates wife, Lisa commence an illicit affair and they even have the audacity to have sex in Eleanor’s living room and in order for both their marriages to survive they vow to keep this hush hush. Apparently they are supposed to be joined by more guests coming to the gathering and it is obvious that they’re not coming as they are at someone else’s. Throughout the duration of the plot, it is revealed that Lisa has become pregnant and you can guess who the father is and when the secret is exposed, Eleanor throws Richard out of the house and he stays at Brian’s as he has nowhere to go and it is obvious that Richard and Nick’s friendship is over. Both Eleanor and Nick are completely betrayed by their spouse’s deception and it takes a relatively long time for the group to patch up their problems and at the finale, Nick unleashes all of his anger onto Richard and the meeting is sprung a huge astonishment when the rest of the members of the group are actually coming so a huge clean-up operation is needed. Johnson’s narrative is rib-tickling and startling at the same time as the comedic lines and the discussion of British comedy icons suggest that we have down to earth humour, moreover, the shocking elements such as; dishonourable cheating does wonders in capturing a different spin to the plotline which is lovely.

One found the performances by the company of, ‘Dead Funny’ to be terrifically spiffing as the entire company have created a joyous amounts of vocal abilities and the fight sequences to the imitations of the Brit comics were majestic. Katherine Parkinson is awesome as the desperate hopeful mother, Eleanor; mainly when she begins shunning and mocking Richard’s hobby and how much she disapproves these meetings and over time we see her upset by Richard’s cheating and how the only thing she has ever wanted has somewhat been taken away from her. Rufus Jones is fantastic as Eleanor’s lying husband, Richard; especially when he attempts to imitate the legend that is Benny Hill and how realistic he comes across, furthermore, even though I hate cheating spouses, the sex scene with Lisa is actually quite funny and it does show a sinister black humour there. Steve Pemberton is brilliant as Richard’s friend, Brian; largely by the fact that Brian is even more of an obsessive of British comedy such as his re-enactments of Frankie Howerd and Sid James, but when he has to collect Richard’s stuff you can see that he really wants to have the group to be re-united and let bygones be bygones. Ralf Little is excellent as another one of Richard’s friends, Nick; for example how you can see that he is the more quieter member of the men but still a massive lover of Brit comedy, on the other hand, as the secrets and lies are exposed his character portrays his rage and I did get moved as he became a bit teary eyed and the scenes where he smashes cakes into Richard’s face shows that Richard deserves it. Emily Berrington is grand as Nick’s wife, Lisa; predominantly where when she has sexual activity with Richard, it shows that she has totally forgotten the “girl code” and you can see that Eleanor and Lisa aren’t actually haven’t got the strongest of friendships so she doesn’t appear to feel too guilty towards Eleanor but to Nick it is noticeable that she regrets it.

Terry Johnson’s direction is voluminous here as he has presented such an amusing revival which encapsulates to wonder of British comedy and with so many legends passing away it is important to keep remembering what impact these people had on a nation and the fight direction by Ruth Cooper-Brown connects the tension and the destruction of a vital friendship group and this has been shown in a funny manner. Richard Kent’s design is ceaseless as Richard and Eleanor’s house has been realised through outstanding construction and scenic art and I was impressed by Paul Pyant’s lighting and John Leonard’s sound, also the safety curtain with Ian William Galloway’s video design and animation portrays that all elements of design have been brought together in a gracious way. Overall, the experience of, ‘Dead Funny’ was a laugh out loud show that celebrates the British comedy greats that will instantly make you want to watch a show on ‘Gold’ or ‘Dave’ when you venture off home. 

'Deny, Deny, Deny' Park Theatre ***

In today’s sporting culture, athletes are resorting to taking performance enhancing drugs in order to triumph in their sports events and this has lead to the rules and regulations to be increasingly tightened, so which of the athletes are actually genuine and winning fairly? The Park Theatre’s production of, Jonathan Maitland’s play, ‘Deny, Deny, Deny’ portrays how manipulative trainers can be and how relationships are put to the test, likewise, the offerings were of a good standard.

‘Deny, Deny, Deny’ is set in the present where we are made known of runner, Eve and her sports journalist boyfriend, Tom  who even though they’re from the opposite ends of the sporting landscape, it appears that their bond is immensely strong. At first, Eve follows the rules by drinking healthy protein shakes that is full of the nutrients and this is because Eve is striving for an Olympic Gold medal but by winning it in a genuine way. However, when Eve who is currently searching for a new coach and when she meets scary and disturbing sports coach, Rona, Eve’s honestly will cease to exist as her quest for success will ultimately damage all aspects of her life. Over the course of the performance, Rona forces Eve to dump her boyfriend, Tom because Rona explains that Tom will ruin her chances of the gold medal and Rona introduces Eve to a radically awful solution where the athlete injects chemicals with a protein solution that increases levels of red blood cells that intensifies oxygen delivers into the muscles which in turn aids in the athletes performance. Rona for me personally is a vulgar piece of work where she uses transphobic language to ridicule a transgender athlete in a press interview and as such; it appears that she will resort to great lengths to promote Eve despite the fact that she is hurting a community that I most admire. Progressively, when Eve’s ex-boyfriend, Tom who forms an alliance with Rona’s former protégée, Joyce who has a few scores to settle and Tom and Joyce are increasingly keen to expose Rona’s disgraceful methods in order to get her rising star to the top and this is also due to the fact that Eve is moving more to the top of her game. Throughout the performance, we see an almighty class between Tom and Rona where again, she goads him and states that what he does for a living as a spots journalist is pathetic and that his positon in the sports world is non-existent.  A full investigation is soon launched and Rona is suspended from sport for the foreseeable future and at the finale Eve and Tom somewhat reunite and unfortunately their relationship can never be resolved which shows that Eve thought about herself and not the consequences that taking these shots would do to her career and her reputation in the sporting arena.  Maitland’s narrative is rather stylish as the scenes are slick and quick  which is a bit like an athletics event and in actual fact in today’s sporting doping scandal is quite prominent and poignant as this is exactly what is going on and many athletes are suspended for doing the same thing as Eve has done.

One found the performances by the company of, ‘Deny, Deny, Deny’ to be excellent as an array of the moments in the plotline conveys the bitterness and the not truthful tensions that exudes from the characters from the proxemics specifically. Juma Sharkah is impressive as the wannabe gold medallist, Eve; principally how we see that with accepting Rona’s offer as her sports coach would lead to her downfall and it is a shame to see that as she basically pushed her boyfriend Tom to the bottom of the pile which makes her an unsympathetic individual. Zoe Waites is fantastic as the villainous sports coach, Rona; expressly the vindictiveness that she shows when she presses peoples buttons i.e. Tom and with this it suggests to me that she does not have a decent side to her and that she has destroyed Eve’s chances for success and this is not right. Daniel Fraser is lovely as Eve’s journalist boyfriend, Tom; largely how pretty upset he becomes as Eve shows a lack of trust and when she dumps him, I see that with Tom that he has to get revenge in order to make him feel much better and I liked the moments that he has with Rona and it is obvious they hate each other. Shvorne Marks is pleasing as Rona’s ex-star, Joyce; predominantly how at the beginning of the play we see that she has the correct attitude when it comes to earning her trophies and when her coach knows she won’t partake in any activity that is not appropriate then she will be sacked and pulled down to the dumper.

Brendan O’Hea’s direction is stunning here as what he has accomplished with Maitland’s plot allows the audience to be transfixed in a momentous story about what really goes on behind the scenes in the world of sport and the unjust acts that sports coaches can put on their athletes and how the relationships of people can be finished because of pressure from an individual and the movement direction by John Ross really captured the athleticism of the track and field parts that are there in the show. Polly Sullivan’s design is sound as a pound as she has tried to show how athletes are trained such as the gymnasium and the actual track and field stadiums and with the lighting by Tim Mitchell and sound by Mic Pool aided in the movement sequences that could be compare to the West End hit, ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’. Overall, the experience of, ‘Deny, Deny, Deny’ to be an insight into what can occur and that you need to be really careful with which coach you should choose. 

'Where Do Little Birds Go?' Old Red Lion Theatre ****

For some of you, you might perceive that ‘EastEnders’ characters, Phil and Grant Mitchell are the toughest brothers imaginable, however, you would be thoroughly mistaken as the notorious sibling duo, Ronnie and Reggie Kray definitely caused an almighty stir in London during the 1960’s along with their many accomplices and proved how ruthless they were.  The Old Red Lion Theatre’s production of, Camilla Whitehill’s one woman play, ‘Where Do Little Birds Go?’ takes us on an enticing journey of one woman’s story in which she was physically kidnapped by the Kray Twins, additionally, the presentations were earnestly illustrated.

‘Where Do Little Birds Go?’ is set in 1972 where we are familiarised with 24 year old, Lucy Fuller  who at the age of 18 commenced work at the very same club in which Ronnie and Reggie Kray spent many days guzzling booze and obviously plotting some kind of criminal activity. Lucy explains how she became involved with not only the Kray Twins, but with London’s most villainous gangsters such as; Frank Mitchell. Lucy left Hastings, Kent to London at the age of 18 to become a first-class performer, unfortunately the realisation of the situation is that she ends up working in a rather sordid club which is crammed full of that are involved in criminality but she was unaware of who they were and how brutal they were. Over the course of the performance, Lucy goes on to say how she initially came into contact with the Kray Twins and how much of a smooth operator the both of them were and throughout the many conversations they had and how sleazy they became. It appears that Lucy had a rather positive relationship with her Uncle Keith and the countless good times they had; specifically when they spent Christmas with him and her Aunt Val. Progressively, with regards to Lucy’s career it seems that her career desires are falling down the plug hole which lead to her resorting to prostitution which in turn is not exactly how she figured out how her life would plan out. When another infamous criminal, Frank Mitchell escaped from Broadmoor mental institution with the assistance of Ronnie and Reggie Kray, but unluckily for Lucy, she falls victim for being somewhat involved with the Kray’s and is kidnapped and forced to have sexual intercourse with the crazed criminal and the explanation of the night with Frank suggests that Frank is physiologically damaged and his frustration show that he is a danger to everyone and himself too. At the finale, Lucy conveys that the Krays were arrested for the abundant amount of crimes and Lucy is now in a flourishing relationship with a gentleman who treats her like a princess and her career is going well too. Whitehill’s narrative is truly fascinating as we get a full understanding of the powerful influence that Ronnie and Reggie had on London and a journey where it is seen through the eyes of an employee makes you see that dreams are dreams and that these hopes and aspirations are not realistic whatsoever.

One found the performances by the company of, ‘Where Do Little Birds Go?’ were compelling and for a company that consisted on one person allows you to fully concentrate on the one character, not an array of many. Jessica Butcher is dazzling as the only character of the entire play, Lucy Fuller; for example how she transported us into how manipulative the Kray Twins were towards her and what was incredible was how Butcher could carry the story without me becoming bored and learning all those lines was outstanding  as this is a challenging task for any actor.

Rosalyn Newberry’s direction is wonderful here as she what she has completed is engage an audience to just the one character and how the chilling stories of the Kray’s forcing a woman to have sex with a mentally unstable criminal portrays that in an environment on London that was a hotbed of criminal activity that Lucy could easily be messed up, but in this case, it doesn’t happen here.  Justin Nardella’s set and costume design is smart as we are brought into the life of a London bar to such panache and I liked all the textured from the set to the costumes that captured the early 1970’s vibe and the lighting by Jamie Platt and sound by Benedict Taylor complemented to dimness of being an element of the Kray Twins’ life. Overall, the experience of, ‘Where Do Little Birds Go?’ was a superb and gratifying monologue performance of working with the Kray Twins and the life of a prostitute who was pushed to having sex with crazed maniac Frank Mitchell.

'Magnificence' Finbourough Theatre ***

Surprisingly, the United Kingdom have endured quite a few moments where poverty, homelessness, rising inequality, unemployment and industrial disputes have caused people to actively protest against the political powers of the time and in the 1970’s it occurred rather a lot. The Finborough Theatre’s production of Howard Brenton’s 1973 play, ‘Magnificence’ was an acceptable revival and poignant due to Brexit etc. moreover, the executions were modestly portrayed.

‘Magnificence’ is set in London, 1973 where we are habituated with five young activists who have sought refuge in an abandoned flat who are hell-bent at protesting against the political powers of the day. The activists consists of their leader, Jed, Cliff (Tyson Douglas), Mary, Veronica (Eva-Jane Wilkins)and Will (Will Bliss) and for all five of the group, it is integral for them to challenge how the social and political struggles are affecting the people of the United Kingdom; specifically the young men and women as they all envisage that their future is in jeopardy. Of course we see that some of the group have completely opposing views of their protest such as; Veronica thinking that some of Jed’s motives are pretty stupid. Over the course of the performance, the police are on to the group where the Constable and Slaughter (Chris Porter) are spying on the squat in which the activists are living in and due to this, they are planning to seize entry and arrest them. It appears that the group will resort to great lengths to prove their worth against government figures and it soon known that from Jed and Will that other protestors have been attacking MP’s and for this group in particular are making homemade bombs in that Jed will be responsible for the detonation of it.  Throughout the performance, Mary becomes pregnant with Jed’s baby and when the Constable forces entry into the squat and in turn he hurts Mary rather forcefully and because of this, Mary loses the baby, as well as, the rest of the group are arrested and are sent to prison for some time. We the audience are soon transported on a different tale where ancient school teacher is wanting a bit of action with a student by the name of Babs (Hayward B Morse) in which the student obliges to. At the finale, Jed who has been released from prison and despite that he has supposedly reformed his behaviour and his hate for the powers to be and when he meets Alice, he loses his marbles and viscously punches him to the ground in his own back garden and Jed tries to use one of his old homemade bombs onto Alice himself so as you can see, Jed has not really learnt his lesson and that his protest is hardly working. Brenton’s narrative is satisfactory as yes we do understand what the group are attempting to protest about but what I did not really see was what was the conclusion of the initial protest and to be honest, was the scene with Jed and Alice truly necessary? You can be the judge of that yourself.

One found the performances by the company of, ‘Magnificence’ to be quite agreeable as they have captured the harshness of a group who had a plan, but then their plan of a riotous protest is soon prevented by a lovely stint in a prison cell (well not that lovely).  Joel Gilman is good as leader of the group, Jed; predominantly how we see that he has a real desire to change the treatment of the people through radical methods, however, this becomes a load of nonsense and he is convicted of acts of terrorism and this is why he takes all over his bitterness of his failure onto an innocent man and this shows he may need to have some counselling.  Daisy Hughes is adequate as Mary; especially how we see that just like Jed, she wants to make a difference but not as extreme and when she miscarries due to the Constable, she then comprehends that this fight against the government is not going to work and this fundamentally closes the door on her and Jed’s relationship and she has lost her baby because Jed would not stop.  Tim Faulkner is tolerable as both Constable/Alice; mainly how as Alice we get to see a little vulnerability that is present in this play and his versatility to the Constable to someone who is of an authority figure allows you to see that this performer can be completely different and indicates that his training has been rather fruitful as his voice changes between the two diverse characters.

Josh Roche’s direction is plausible here as he has presented a decent revived production of a play that has not been performed for a long time and with the United Kingdom leaving the European Union it has an important statement as protests are obviously going to happen but hopefully not to the extent that Jed had organised, furthermore, the characterisations were congenial too as you get into the minds of the characters; largely from Jed. Phil Lindley’s design is amenable as for me, I liked how that in the squat the layers of ripped wallpaper suggests that the country and the world keeps moving forward and the other locations were helped with the pleasant lighting by Joe Price and soundscape by Hugh Sheehan which makes it more intriguing.  Overall, the experience of, ‘Magnificence’ was an appropriate political play which actually has a number of moments that are related to contemporary issues such as Brexit. 

'The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures' Hampstead Theatre **

You can sometimes tell that a play can be a bit of a mouthful because of its title, specifically the Bush Theatre’s production of, ‘We Are Proud to Present…’ a number of years ago and for me individually the play’s title can be exceedingly pretentious and longwinded too. The Hampstead Theatre’s production of Tony Kushner’s play, ‘The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures’  was rather aloof and for me it appeared there was an array of nonsense and actually quite dull, additionally, the performances were tedious.

‘The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures’ is set in Brooklyn, New York City in 2007 where we are acquainted with the Marcenatario family who have been brought together due to the fact that the Patriarch of the family, Gus (David Calder) is yearning to commit suicide as he is suffering from Alzheimer’s and is seeking acceptance from his family. Fractious energy intensifies as Gus’ three children, lawyer Empty, gay history lecturer Pill and labourer V (Lax Shrapnel) have opposing views on this as Gus is their parent, and furthermore, Gus’s sister and ex-nun, Maoist Cleo (Sara Kestleman) has her say on the subject too. Over the course of the performance, the Marcenatario’s relentlessly quarrel with one another when they talk over one another as they discuss the pressing issue of Gus’ suicide plans and this is a regular occurrence in the play. The tension becomes rather overwhelming when the ex-spouses and present partners enter the fray and begin to argue about Gus’ own self-destruction and this includes Pill’s soon to be former boyfriend, Paul Davis (Rhasan Stone), Empty’s ex-husband, Adam Harvey (Daniel Flynn), V’s wife, Sooze Moon (Katie Leung) and Empty’s girlfriend, Maeve Ludens (Sirine Saba). One sources of the conflict is who will be the new owner of Gus’ house and we soon learn that Adam has already purchased the house which leaves the family gob-smacked. On a slightly different note, Pill has a been visiting a male escort, Eli who in actual fact is one of Pill’s students and it seems that Pill does have a soft for Eli despite that Pill is seeing Paul and Eli is in need of the cash. Throughout the performance, Gus has some deep and meaningful scenes with all three of his children and how he is a much needed person in their lives. Nonetheless, Gus is adamant that he will go through his suicide plans and the instruments are placed neatly on the table and in the process he is interrupted by Pill’s toy boy, Eli and at the finale, Gus goes through with what he originally planned to do and now the children are left to mourn and of course bicker. Kushner’s narrative is enormously verbose as the political elements within the plot does not cut the mustard is just vague and boring and the actual premise is disjointed and simply ludicrous and a bit of a shambles if I am brutally honest.

One found the performances by the company of, ‘The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures’ were slightly horrible as I couldn’t get into the characteristics of the roles due to an abysmal lack of emotions and this is truly disastrous and garbage. Tamsin Greig is surprisingly lacklustre as Gus’ daughter, Empty; mainly the moments where she is with her apparent love of her life, Maeve and these moments appeared rather limited and this is a shocker as Greig is an awesome actually normally and also there wasn’t a decent amount of realism within the dynamic she has with her father. Richard Clothier is average as Gus’ gay son, Pill; especially how false he comes across where he tries to persuade Paul to stay, then again, it is rather harsh to see how he treats his toy boy,Eli and this is not exactly how you should be with anyone a part from the fact that he is an escort. Luke Newberry is satisfactory as Pill’s male escort, Eli; primarily how at times he does prove quite normal because the Marcenatario family are a bunch of nutters and more often than not he has quite an intelligent mind and he must like Pill enough for the constant sexual advances.

Michael Boyd’s direction is horrendous here as he has not really been able to smooth round the edges of a plot that just doesn’t do it for me and the appalling characterisations from the company means there must have been a limited amount of rehearsal time and I just lost too much enthusiasm and excitement as the performance went on.  Tom Piper’s set and costume design is extremely cruddy as the set itself may be rather large and this could not improve the show itself and the costumes did not impress me either and I was not taken to a Brooklyn atmosphere and did not look that great on the proscenium arch stage whatsoever. Overall, the experience of, ‘The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures’ wasn’t that appealing and probably one of the shoddiest shows I have seen at the Hampstead Theatre and a waste of three and a half hours of my life which I won’t get back. 

'A Man of Good Hope' Young Vic ****

In some continents on the globe, nationalities are enduring a troublesome experience with poverty and wars etc. and for some people, their only escape is to move out and become immigrants in countries that are more wealthy i.e. the UK and the USA. The Young Vic’s production of Isango Ensemble’s sort of musical of Johnny Steinberg’s book, ‘A Man of Good Hope’ was such an astonishingly gripping tale of a specific civilisation having no choice but to breakout of their home nation in the hope for better lives, furthermore, the depictions were tremendous all over the whole shows duration.

‘A Man of Good Hope’ in set in Africa from 1991-2011 where we are acquainted with eight year old, Asaad who along with his Mother (Zannelle Mbatha) are living in a rather precarious situation where they’re basically residing on the breadline and due to this, Asaad’s future appears rather bleak. Asaad’s young life takes a turn for the worst as this mother is brutally murdered right in front of him and due to the fact that his in now orphaned, his cousin has to take responsibility for him. When Asaad and another one of his cousins decide that their only option for a better life and that is to move to the USA, however, the two try and gain entry to the border and immigration forces, Asaad’s cousin is allowed to take the voyage but Asaad is refused a ticket for the boat so once again he is left on his own. Over the course of the performance, Asaad transforms from boy to man and it appears that in order for him to have an opportunity for a good life is that he is educated in English by an English Teacher (Noluthando Boquana) and as such; he begins to work from his mobile phone so he was earning quite a bit of money. Nonetheless, he builds up a business by running his own grocery store and he becomes married to Yindy, then again, it is obvious that Yindy’s mother (Sindywa Sityata) and Yindy’s father (Ayanda Eliki)do not think Asaad is the most suitable person for their daughter. Regrettably, for Asaad, his life is turned upside down as his wife decides ro move out of Africa and makes it clear that this is the climax of their marriage. As such; it is notable that Asaad’s life is jam-packed full of disasters and another instance is that his business is ran-sacked by a rogue force so basically it is the tip of the iceberg and due to this, Asaad’s luck is an increasingly rare existence. At the finale, Asaad’s journey culminates in his first meeting with the writer, Johnny (Mandio Dyanto) where they are sat in a car and Johnny asks him to offer his side of the story which quite frankly is tragic and therefore the commencement of a story is in the pipeline. Isango Ensemble’s narrative is rather fascinating as we are taken through a bleak life story of a boy who became a man and the countless level of terrible situations is honed in with such considerable detailing.

One found the performances by the company of, ‘A Man of Good Hope’ to be eloquent with impressively dynamic movement sequences that grab the African environment with such vibrancy and colour. Ayanda Tikolo/Zoleka Mpotsha/Luvo Tamba/Siphosethu Juta/Phielo Makitle is resplendent as Asaad; in particular how we see that Asaad’s life really has been chaotic and with what he has been through, it would be understable if he was bitter but in actual fact he isn’t and the emotions shine through. Pauline Malefane is joyous as Asaad’s wife, Yindy;  principally how we see that she is rather bossy towards her husband and when she explains that she will be leaving Asaad with his unborn child where he will not be allowed to have anything to do with he or she, we see that Yindy has no clue what this might do to Asaad’s confidence so she is altogether not a pleasant person.

Mark Dornford-May’s direction is dazzling here as he has captured Isango Ensemble and Jonny Steinberg’s story of a boy who became a man and how each and every chapter of his life leads to nothing but despair and this is conveyed through the enthralling characterisations and the musicianship of the African beats did actually make you want to do a bit of a jig and the sadness makes you moved too. The design by an unknown designer was definitely interesting as the set itself changes through each stage of Asaad’s journey through the west of Africa and the lighting by Mannie Manim really worked in showing the hot temperatures and the loneliness that Asaad must have felt. Overall, the experience of, ‘A Man of Good Hope’ was one of such intrigue and signifies that visiting companies can bring different cultures to a British audience who may not be aware of these issues which has been done so successfully here. 

'The Go-Between' Apollo Theatre ***

For me, personally there are moments in my life that I wouldn’t appreciate being reminded of and I am sure that some other people would feel the same; on the other hand, some would like to revisit their childhood memories. The West End musical production of Richard Taylor and David Wood’s, ‘The Go-Between’ which is based on L P Hartley’s novel of the same name was quite an amiable show on a part of a person’s life and with delightful presentations all round.

‘The Go-Between’ is situated in 1900 where we are introduced to elderly gentlemen, Leo Colston who guides us through some of her childhood memories; in particular when he used to go on his summer visits to Brandham Hall in Norwich with his best friend, Marcus (Samuel Menhinick/Matty Norgen/Archie Stevens). Nonetheless, when Marcus becomes exceedingly ill and as such; it is Leo’s responsibility to be the enigmatic messenger to one of the ladies of the manor, Marian and local farmer, Ted as it appears that they are having some sort of a love affair. However, Marian is in fact already engaged to Viscount Tremingham (Stephen Carlisle) and due to this very fact, Marian makes it increasingly clear that the young Leo that if the note-passing is found out by Tremingham , Leo will have to face the consequences for his failure. Over the course of the performance, when Leo is sent to deliver one of Marian’s letters to Ted, Leo has a rather nasty accident and because of this, Leo is the subject of interrogation; especially from the likes of Mrs Maudsley (Issy van Randwych) and her spouse, Mr Maudsley (Julian Forsyth) as he has been making an abundant array of disappearances. However, Leo begins to think that he sending these letters may not be such a good idea and that Marian has been vulgarly using Leo’s immaturity and youth as he would not question her motives and he wants to cease all involvement. But Marian pushes him to continue. Throughout the performance, Leo is discovered as the go-between  messenger which ultimately climaxes with horrendous consequences for Ted as he uses his shotgun to shoot himself  in the head so both Leo and Marian have questions to answer. Years and years plod on by and Leo, now an older man returns to Norfolk for what might be the last time where he meets Marian’s grandson who states that Marian indeed married Viscount Tremingham and is a widow and practically near the end of her days so he visits her to say one final goodbye. At the finale, it is obvious that the effect that being a go-between has had to Leo’s mental state and that he has been forced to keep this situation to himself for all those years and not to blab about it all over the place. Wood’s narrative and Taylor’s music and lyrics were pleasing due to the fact that because of Marian’s vindictive nature has actually impacted on a young boys life which is rather bad as he has traumatic scars and the musical numbers were of an acceptable standard too.

One found the performances by the company of, ‘The Go-Between’ to be quite appealing as there was a good balance of the tension of Leo’s childhood through to the scenes with Leo and Marian and the vocals and choreographic sequences were acceptable.  Michael Crawford is reasonable as Leo “Colston”; predominantly how very well cast he was in the role as someone has been forced to revisit a moment that he probably didn’t want to be reminded of, moreover, when it came to seeing his childhood self, it was interesting to see as he was standing behind him and narrate us through the whole plotline.  Johnny Evans-Hutchinson/Luka Green/William Thompson is satisfactory as the young version of, Leo; mainly how we see that as he has a big crush on the lady, Marian where at first of being the go-between he rather likes doing this task, nonetheless, when he realises what he is doing, he shows that he is starting to mature slightly.  Gemma Sutton is conventional as the sneaky vixen, Marian; for example where we see that she has a rather distasteful manner with how she speaks to the young Leo when he says he wants to stop doing her dirty work and she actually does come across vile. Stuart Ward is alright as Marian’s secret lover, Ted; essentially how when he tries to help Leo with his rather bloodied leg suggests that he doesn’t want any repercussions and throughout the show we see that if he remains alive when all is exposed that he may be murdered by the Viscount Tremingham for being her love-interest so he shockingly commits suicide.

Roger Haines’ direction was reputable here as he has been able to convey how Leo’s summer holidays as a child was not exactly the most cherished memories one could have had as an end result for one of those holidays caused someone who was pretty lovely to kill himself all because of a relationship that could not have occurred in reality due to social classes. Michael Pavelka’s design was appropriate as we were taken to the house of Brahdham Hall and its grounds will a sense of panache and this was aided with Tim Lutkin’s dark lighting design and as the set in really static the darkness does help with the whole atmosphere. Overall, the experience of, ‘The Go-Between’ was a fully clad production, then again, it could have been more flawlessly realised as there are elements that were not that outstanding so not perfect all round really. 

'The Plough and the Stars' National Theatre, Lyttleton ***

When the beginning of World War I first exploded on the globe in 1914, no one knew what tragic consequences it would cause to not only the nations that were most effected, but to the families of soldiers who had lost a loved one. The National Theatre’s revival production of Sean O’Casey’s 1926 play, ‘The Plough and the Stars’ portrayed how an Irish community was completely annihilated and the psychological issues of a death of a husband could ensue, in addition to this, the interpretations were transcendent throughout the length of the show.

‘The Plough and the Stars’ is set over the course of a year from 1915-1916, in Dublin, Ireland where we are familiarised with Nora Clitheroe, the wife of respected Irish soldier, Jack Clitheroe, it appears that they are a happily married couple who live in a well-decorated flat. However, when Captain Brennan (Adam Best) comes to their home and refers to Jack as “Commandant Clitheroe”, of course Jack is extremely perplexed as he was not aware that he had indeed been promoted and has to report to General James Connolly as Nora had burnt the letter; understandably Jack is enraged at Nora as she was not honest with him. We are soon transported to a typical Dublin pub where speeches are occurring outside, yet inside, gigolo Rosie Redmond (Grainne Keenan) is disappointed that these speeches are going on outside as it may not be too great for her trade. Over the course of the performance, an array of confrontations happen from Bessie Burges and Mrs Gogan (Josie Walker) and also from The Young Gogan (Tom Vaughan-Lawler) and Fleuther Good (Stephen Kennedy) . Jack now bedecked in his army uniform enters with his colleagues, Captain Brennan and Lieutenant Langon (Kieran Gough) and all of the three men promise to fight to their deaths in order to protect the people of Dublin. Throughout the Easter celebrations, the Rebels are on top form and are obliterating the enemy and as such; the Dubliners think it is okay for them to break into the shops and shoplift, nonetheless when Jack and Brennan arrive with a wounded soldier; Nora grovels to Jack to not go back. Unfortunately, Jack refuses and a return to face the opposition and a heavily pregnant Nora goes into labour. As World War I is destroying everything, Nora, Bessie, The Young Gogan and Fleuther have fled to an abandoned flat where Nora has become delusional as she has had a still birth and Brennan has arrived with the sad news that Jack has been killed in action. As the pressure intensifies, two British soldiers lead The Young Gogan and Fluether out, at the finale as Nora and Bessie are alone where a crazed Nora goes to the window screaming for Jack and when Bessie tries to grab Nora, Bessie is shot in the back and dies because she was wrongly identified as a sniper.  O’Casey’s narrative is brilliant as we get to see what the war what was supposed to end all wars has done to excessive amount of families, moreover he presents a realistic account of the mental pressures the women had to endure and the loss of a husband can completely destroy someone’s mind.

One found the performances by the company of, ‘The Plough and the Stars’ to be sophisticated and increasingly poignant due to the hard-hitting moments throughout the show, and the annunciations of the Irish accents were spoken with such excellence.  Fionn Walton is wonderful as the soldier husband, Jack Clitheroe; mainly how we see that he is horrified by his wife’s deception for not telling him the truth about his promotion, then again, when he wears his uniform, he feels the sense of pride as perhaps this is his true calling and fight for his country. Judith Roddy is grand as the Jack’s wife, Nora; for example how she knows that due to the fact that the war itself may end up in her losing her husband forever and I liked how that with the many tragedies she has faced in a small amount of time , her mental expressions made her look rather insane.  Judith Mitchell is pleasing as the rather boisterous, Bessie Burges; expressly when how at first, she is quite unpleasant, but as the play develops, when she is caring for Nora and when it leads to her ultimate demise, we observe all areas of her person and I particularly admired how her diction and projection was in her death monologue.

Jeremy Herrin and Howard Davies’ direction is decent here as the two gentlemen have showed us how the Dublin community in that time period were pushed to the absolute limit and this was the same for many nations and the actual characterisations were polished to a degree as I would have liked a bit more tension between all characters in the fourth scene as Nora makes it harder for people to be rational. Vikki Mortimer’s design is vivid as each of the four sets that comprise of the Dublin environment work wonders here as there is an intense nature of bleakness especially in the third and fourth scenes and the scenic art and construction was awesome and the costumes were just right. 

Overall, the experience of , ‘The Plough and the Stars’ to be a somewhat riveting and strong revival performance about what war can do and that that we way be on course for another World War which would be a catastrophic disaster. 

'Funny Girl' Savoy Theatre *****

The diminutive Menier Chocolate Factory has a bulky list of triumphant West End transfers such as; the 2013 production of Sondheim’s, ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ which won an Olivier Award and this year has guaranteed another success for the theatre. The West End transfer of, Isabel Lennart, Julie Styne and Bob Merrill’s 1963 musical, ‘Funny Girl’ was an extraordinary production about a person who may not have and the best talent, but her personality shone through, additionally, the offerings were tremendous throughout.

‘Funny Girl’ is set in America where we are habituated with performer, Fanny Brice who is sat in her dressing room awaiting the return of her spouse, Nick Arnstein who has been facing a stint in prison and for Fanny, she has to figure out what the future of them is. She remembers a time when her own mother, Mrs Brice (Marilyn Cutts) and her poker playing friends mocked Fanny’s dreams of becoming a performer, on the other hand, when Fanny is introduced to manager, Eddie Ryan (Joel Montague) they become friends and he then agrees to sign her and as such; Fanny’s career in the entertainment industry could just be around the corner. When she is performing her act, Fanny meets suited and booted, Nick Arnstein and she instantly becomes besotted by him, then again, her career comes first as producer, Florence Zeigfeld (Bruce Montague) wants to employ her for his upcoming Follies. Over the course of the performance, we see Fanny and Nick develop a relationship with one another and this is due to their yearning for being together. After a bit of time apart, Fanny and Nick reunite as Nick had to go back to his farm in Kentucky, so the two have dinner with each other. It appears that Fanny is completely smitten by Nick and decides to cancel a part of her tour to be with Nick in New York City as she seems that her only chance of happiness so she does not care that her performance career could take a tumble. Fanny and Nick soon marry and live in a gargantuan Long Island mansion and with their family and close friends who join them in their celebration; Fanny is so overjoyed with her life.  Throughout the performance, Fanny’s mother, Mrs Brice is being pushed by Eddie and neighbour, Mrs Strakosh (Gay Soper) to find another husband as her daughter’s career has sky rocketed which is a huge change to Mrs Brice’s immediate reaction to Fanny’s hopes for the future when she was a child. Fanny’s husband, Nick has quite a lot of money problems because of a business deal that has fallen through and Nick is rapidly arrested and convicted for embezzling money and Fanny’s mother states that Fanny is also to blame for Nick’s capital troubles.  At the finale, Nick is about to be released from prison and it seems to Fanny that their marriage will ultimately bring pure sadness despite the fact that the two still love one another no matter what. Lennart’s narrative is world class here as we get to see how novelty acts can actually have such long lasting careers and in today’s modern world we have Jedward who have forged a fruitful career and to be honest I do love Jedward. Also musical numbers from Styne and Merrills such as; “I Want to be Seen with You”, “You Are A Woman, I Am Man”, “Who Taught Her Everything She Knows?” and “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat” were excellently composed and the lyrics were captivating.

One found the performances by the company of, ‘Funny Girl’ to be phenomenally depicted with exemplary vocals and choreographic sequences from a brilliant ensemble and there is a marvellous camaraderie from the entire team. Sheridan Smith is out of this solar system as central protagonist, Fanny Brice; specifically how we see that a person with such aspirations of a future in the entertainment becomes a reality and there is a deep sadness that exudes from her as her marriage to Nick is diminishing as money hasn’t done them any favours; moreover, her vocal ability in, “Don’t Rain On My Parade” was amazing. Darius Campbell is remarkable as Fanny’s husband, Nick Arnstien; for example how we see that he may try his best to be the top husband for Fanny but he has a lot of disadvantages because of the problems he is having with obtaining investments for his businesses , yet he has an array of respect for his wife which does show to us that he loves her and that he can be a good man to her throughout their marriage.

Michael Mayer’s direction and Lynne Page’s choreography is fabulous here as Mayer has categorically presented a revival that is magical and compelling and with Page’s choreography we are brought back to Follies and the whole Vaudeville era to such elegance and the flawless energy states how wonderful the show is. Michael Pavelka’s set design and Matthew Wright’s costume design are extraordinary as the set itself has been designed to bring us into Fanny Brice’s rise to fame and notoriety and the costumes were blissful and constructed with the finest detail so nothing was taken to chance here. Overall, the experience of, ‘Funny Girl’ was distinctively dreamy and a worthy addition to the West End theatre landscape so it would not surprise me if the show is the big winner at the 2017 Olivier Awards.  

'If We Got Some More Cocaine I Could Show You I Love You' Old Red Lion Theatre ****

Love and passion are remarkable things to achieve in relationships and when race plays quite a bit of the troubles in the relationship, can drugs help resolve those difficulties? The Old Red Lion Theatre’s production of John O’Donovan’s play, ‘If We Got Some More Cocaine I Could Show You How I Love You’ was such an enlightening tale of an interesting love story between a young gay couple, what is more, the performances were delightfully compelling.

‘If We Got Some More Cocaine I Could Show You How I Love You’ is set in Ireland where we are made known of Mikey and Casey wo are at present sat on the top of a roof of quite a grand house. However, the small town of Eniss has been caught up in Ireland’s financial struggles where most people have been forced to turn on each other due to the fact that money is a major issue and as such; community spirit is non-existent. We are soon informed that Casey has stolen money from his own mother and had the audacity to steal his step-father’s stash of cocaine. Over the course of the performance, Mikey who has previous criminal acts against himself with the police and he explains to his boyfriend that he has been the victim of homophobic bullying which has somewhat contributed to his behaviour in the past. There is a lot of excitement from the two young lads where Mikey has even stolen from his friend at a local petrol station; it appears that they feel a sense of freedom for doing so and being together fighting against the odds. You can see that despite their differences of personalities they are extremely compatible as there are moments of such tender love between them. During the entire show, the two boys are immensely apprehensive that they’ll be found on top of this roof and carted off to the local police station which probably is a second home for Mikey.  It appears that Casey is not that experienced with being in a relationship so it seems that it’ll have to be up to Mikey to teach him how to be passionate and we really see that Mikey has so much respect for his partner, Casey.  Casey who was born in South London really misses his grandmother and is desperate to return to his natural home, and understandably Mikey becomes upset, then again, for Mikey, he is soon reassured by Casey that they will not split up. At the finale, the owners of the house return home so Mikey and Casey make a quick exit so that the authorities won’t catch up with them and because of this, they abseil down the roof and down the wall very much together as a pure partnership. O’Donovan’s narrative is wonderful as he has really captured the spirit of the relationship of Mikey and Casey and it is pretty cool that we are observers of how they are as a gay couple which makes us a fundamental part of the whole plotline and the flow of the plot is smooth and less than lovely.

One found the performances by the company of, ‘If We Got Some More Cocaine I Could Show You How I Love You’ was so alluring and engrossing through deliciously juicy scenes of romance of love and affection, moreover, the voice work and movements were very much pleasing. Ammar Duffus is flawless as the slightly reserved, Casey; especially how we learn that he hasn’t has it easy not only with the fact he is gay, but he has had to face a massive level of racist abuse from people, yet, when he is with Mikey, we see that nothing will ever come between them and they will stand up for true love. Alan Mahon is superb as the rather confident one of the couple, Mikey; particularly how his experiences that he has had to go through in his life has actually lead him on the wrong path, nonetheless, it appears that when he is with his beloved Casey, he becomes quite the charmer and even though it is not visible, I felt that he was the protector of Casey and this was pretty interesting to understand.

Thomas Martin’s direction is acceptable here as he has brought together the themes of O’Donovan’s writing with such visualisation where the characterisations of the relationship of Mikey and Casey was so thorough and increasingly mesmerising because there was so much positive body language and eye contact was such a pleasure and joy to watch, also I liked how differences in the character’s personalities worked with the context of the play itself. Georgia de Grey’s set and costume design was impressive as the detailing of the roof of a rather massive house was definitely easy on the eye and with the costumes really worked with the identities of the characters and the lighting design by Derek Anderson helped create the atmosphere of the cold and the darkness of the lack of money in this Irish town. Overall, the experience of, ‘If We Got Some More Cocaine I Could Show You I Love You’ was a brilliantly engaging piece of LGBT Theatre which is full of love and passionate moments and a good show from a highly regarded fringe space.

'Jess and Joe Forever' Orange Tree Theatre ****

There are numerous occasions that theatrical experiences that give me so many surprises, but there are surprises that leave you open mouthed as I was not expecting it and it is intriguing to find out the secret. The Orange Tree Theatre’s production of Zoe Cooper’s current play, ‘Jess and Joe Forever’ was an absorbing and colossal show about friendships and gender in particular; furthermore, the representations were amazingly delineated.

‘Jess and Joe Forever’ is set in Norfolk where we’re acquainted with Joe, who is naturally born and bred in Norfolk himself is a rather reserved individual who appears to be lacking in friendships with people who are of the same age. He soon comes into contact with, Jess who frequently spends her summer holidays in Norfolk with her au pair, in addition to this, she has a somewhat lack of confidence as she us quite chubby as her summer dresses do not fit her too well. Their initial meeting occurs when both Jess and Joe are nine years old where she sleuths Joe who is skinny dipping in incredibly tight Speedos and when she is caught by Joe, we can see that Joe does not have an abundant amount of body issues. However, as Jess keeps visiting Norfolk annually, the friendship between Jess and Joe flourishes as both have to deal with the challenges of growing up; especially their teenage years where both are experiencing puberty and the other life difficulties. Over the course of the performance, Joe who at first was exceedingly sceptical of Jess in the first place begins to become more comfortable with being in Jess’ presence and some lovely moments with the two friends. Joe seems to think that everything happens for a reason and even when he discusses his own mum’s funeral, he appears to be somewhat emotionless and declares that his mum’s death was just meant to happen.  Throughout the performance, we learn a lot more about Jess and Joe as the two really like one another and they have a real understanding of each other’s stories and what is most fascinating is that in a number of scenes that a promising romance could be on the cards and that the proxemics of the two of them may be rather close but in actual fact they are miles apart. At the finale, in what could possibly be one of the biggest shocks in a play that the real reason that Joe has a mammoth amount of body issues that he reveals that he is transgender and even though Jess is perplexed, she doesn’t reject him and the two carry on with their relationship development. Cooper’s narrative is so enchanting as she has taken us on a journey that is crammed full of twists and turns all the way through which makes us the audience desiring what is about to occur, moreover, I really admired how she has crafted a charming relationship of Jess and Joe.

One found the performances by the company of, ‘Jess and Joe Forever’ be fascinating as both characters go through a whole range of emotions that keeps you wanting more which in turn the movements and the voice delivery were rather polished in depth. Nicola Coughlan is sublime as, Jess; mainly how we see that in the shows duration we come to see that she wants to make Joe become increasingly more confident and this is so decent for someone to do despite the fact she has issues too and this shows that she likes to help others first before herself. Rhys Isaac-Jones is outstanding as the shy and quiet boy, Joe; specifically how with the way in which he tries to cover up his body shows that there is more about his bashfulness and when it is revealed why he is body conscious then we can see how people within the transgender community still today have stigmas attached and this should not occur.

Derek Bond’s direction is out of this world as he has brought Cooper’s plot to such brilliance as we are not only witnessing the story of friendships and the development of the relationship, we are given a perspective of gender and how the transgender community still have a long way to go before it is accepted in the world and the understanding of it, plus the characterisations were directed with such accomplishment. James Perkins’ design is grand too as we are definitely transported to the Norfolk landscape and the set really works in conjunction with the sound equipment which is quite tricky to do but this is rather fruitful here and the actual costumes work within the personalities of the characters that are Jess and Joe. Overall, the experience of, ‘Jess and Joe Forever’ was a worthwhile visit to a space I have really come to like and the gripping tale of twists and turns reminds me of an episode of ‘Big Brother’ were twists and turns are a part of the norm.

'Allegro' Southwark Playhouse ****

I am certain that most people would know the musicals from the iconic duo, Rogers and Hammerstein such as; ‘The Sound of Music’, ‘Oklahoma’, ‘The King And I’ and ‘South Pacific’, but there are some shows from them that have not been staged for some time or in actual fact never been performed professionally whatsoever. Southwark Playhouse’s production of Rogers & Hammerstein ‘s musical, ‘Allegro’ which receives its European premiere was a beautifully captivating story, by the same token, the interpretations were exquisitely acted over the whole shows duration.

‘Allegro’ is set in the USA where we are familiarised with the birth of Joseph “Joe” Taylor Jr who’s father, Joseph Taylor Sr (Steve Watts) is the local town’s doctor and his mother, Marjorie Taylor (Julia J Nagle) are overjoyed by the birth of their first child. The locals of the town think that Joe will be immensely successful as we see Joe Jr progress through his childhood, Joe Jr experiences the death of his own gran, Grandma Taylor (Susan Travers) and as such; he is helped through his grief by Jennie Brinker and from this the two form quite a good bond. However, he hasn’t got any knowledge of what romance is and has not got the foggiest about asking her out on a date and due to the fact that Joe Jr is going to be going to university to study medicine it appears that any relationship will be out of the question. When Joe is at university, he meets Charles Townsend and the two form a good friendship where Charles instructs Joe on the many methods on how to woo the girls for example, Beluh (Leah West), on the other hand, he seems to be more concerned to what Jennie is doing and when they are reunited with Jennie, he quickly proposes to her and she accepts his proposal. Then again, not everyone is pleased by his choice of woman; specifically the ghostly figures of his mother and grandmother as well as, Jennie’s living father, Ned Brinker (David Delve). Over the course of the performance, Joe isn’t doing so well with his career as he is the assistant for his father-in-law, yet, when Joe is given a job in a posh Chicago hospital where his friend Charles is working and with a good push from Jennie, he welcomes the offer with open arms and because of this, he has to leave his father behind. The hospital itself is increasingly pretentious and Joe has become too heedless in his practices and is caught by the nurse, Emily West and thankfully lead physician, Bigby Denby (Matthew Woodyatt) is pleased with his work. On the contrary, during the countless of parties that they have to attend, Joe Jr’s wife, Jennie becomes infatuated by a sponsors charms and his name is Brook Landsdale (Samuel Thomas) whos wife, Mrs Landsdale is being treated with drugs by Joe Jr no less.  When Joe Jr is informed that his spouse has been having an affair, he decides to resign from his job and return to his hometown and work with his father, Charles and Emily in a place where the health of the patients are more important so at the finale, Joe Jr is now proud of what he has achieved in his work because he has proper morals and with a team that he respects, what more can he ask for. Oscars and Hammerstein’s narrative is awe-inspiring as we are taken on a journey of Joe Jr from his birth to his career as a doctor and with musical numbers such as; “Poor Joe”, “You Are Never Far Away”, “Money Isn’t Everything” and “Come Home” were so marvellous and brilliant composed and written. 

One found the performances by the company of, ‘Allegro’ to be stupendous as the vocals from all and the dance moments were really terrific and they really incorporated the audiences as part of the whole performance. Gary Tushaw is gripping as lead protagonist, Joe Jr; especially how we see his journey as a student through to his job as a doctor and it was pleasant to see that he understood that he should go back to his routes and divorce his wife who is rather duplicitous; also his vocals in the musical numbers were wondrous. Dylan Turner is sublime as Joe Jr’s university friend, Charlie; primarily how different he is compared to that of Joe Jr as he goes with the flow rather a lot, but the friendship with Joe Jr and himself is very truthful and exceedingly pleasant to witness i.e. the scenes where he teaches Joe Jr about the art of seduction. Emily Bull is brilliant as Joe Jr’s appalling wife, Jennie; mainly how selfish she comes across where to be honest she should be focussing on the love she should have for her husband all she seems to care about is money and forces Joe Jr away from the people that he cares about and for her to cheat shows how horrendous she is. Katie Bernstein is nice as the nurse, Emily West; predominantly how we see that from her introduction to Joe Jr, we can see that she is the one that Joe Jr should have married as she makes Joe Jr comprehend that Joe Jr needs to return to his home town and help those who will appreciate his care. 

Thom Southerland’s direction is dynamite here and with Lee Proud’s choreography have helped present a premiere in the European continent with such tenacity and ease as we can see that people need to think about is that “Money Isn’t Everything” and that it is those who have helped you in some way mean more and that it’s them who should be given more love like Joe Jr realises about his father’s compassion for him. Anthony Lamble’s set design and Jonathan Lipman’s costume design were exceptional as we are transported to the many places of the USA and with the simplicity of using a contraption to move really worked and the costumes looked so attractive and greatly made by the costume makers. Overall, the experience of,’Allegro’ was one of pure delight and another miraculous production produced by Danielle Tarento who is one of the UK’s most prolific theatre producers.

'The Threepenny Opera' National Theatre, Olivier ****

To those who are currently training in theatre or to those who have been trained in the performing arts, we all have either productions or practitioners who have inspired us to get into it in the first place one way or another, and for me Bertolt Brecht and his Epic Theatre was what galvanized my passion for theatre in the first place. The National Theatre’s production of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s 1920’s musical, ‘The Threepenny Opera was such a masterpiece of a revival and adapted so well by Simon Stephens, as well as, the delivery of the depictions were impressively conveyed throughout.

‘The Threepenny Opera’ is set in East London where we are habituated with crook, Captain Macheath AKA ‘Mack the Knife’ who has just become married to Polly Peachum and due to this, her father, Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum is frustrated that his own daughter has become the spouse of a crook. In order to wreak revenge of Macheath for marrying his daughter; as such, Peachum forms allegiances with Chief Inspector ‘Tiger’ Brown (Peter de Jersey) to get him arrested for his crimes, nonetheless, he was once one of Macheath’s former army colleagues. Over the course of the performance, we can obviously see that the nuptials between Macheath and Polly is not that truthful as Macheath is involved sexually with prostitutes and appears that Macheath will never be trusted especially in the company of women. In addition to this, Macheath is told by his wife, Polly that her father and mother, Celia Peachum (Haydn Gwynn) are conspiring against him and will get him arrested and eventually be hung for his acts of criminality and he has to depart London so this doesn’t occur. Due to this he states to his gang, Robert AKA The Iceman (Dominic Tighe), Matthia AKA The Shadow (Jamie Beddard) and Walter AKA The Scholar (Andrew Buckley) that his wife will be in charge whilst he is away.  Prior to his departure, he visits his favourite brothel and says a fond farewell to his ex-girlfriend, Jenny Diver (Sharon Small), on the other hand, she has deceived him and is involved with police and Peachum’s quest  to have him arrested and therefore he is captured and taken to jail and face his fate.  Throughout the performance, we see that there could be a cat fight between Polly and Lucy, another one of Macheath’s conquests specifically when they see him in jail at the very same time. Macheath escapes his incarceration, but as soon as he is recaptured rather rapidly and due to the fact that Jenny is being paid by the Peachum’s, yet they won’t pay her and slam the door in her face. Macheath, who is back in prison is notified that he will be executed and he begs his gang members and wife to pay for him to not be hanged, nevertheless, no one will help him and at the finale, he prepares to face his ultimate destiny and luckily enough for him the queen pardons him and he is then released and sent on his way out of the jail. Brecht and Weill’s narrative is pretty amazing as there are a lot of Epic Theatre techniques present in the plot such as sets being used only once and constantly being reminded that we are in a theatre space etc. Moreover, musical numbers like, “Cannon Song”, “Jealousy Duel”. “Song of the Insufficiency of Human Struggling” and “Cell from the Grave” added a lot of spectacle to the whole to do.

One found the performances by the company of, ‘The Threepenny Opera’ to be exceedingly charismatic and brilliantly thorough with regards to the vocal abilities and the execution of the movement sequences. Rory Kinnear is outstanding as central character, Captain Macheath; expressly how we see that his love life is rather complicated and because he has just become married, we know that this marriage could just be a stunt, then again, when he is near his final few seconds, you can see there’s a hint of remorse for what he has done in his life.  Nick Holder is tremendous as the large, Jonathan Peachum; mainly the moment where he does a sequence that involves him wearing high heeled shoes and he does this with such poise and elegance and to be honest he was so light on his feet and appeared natural wearing them. Rosalie Craig is excellent as Macheath’s new wife, Polly; for example how somebody who does have the facial features and personality that is rather geeky can actually be married to a man such as Macheath, on the contrary, you can see that there is an inner strength when she refused to offer her husband any money and leave him to perish.  Debbie Kurup is wondrous as Macheath’s supposed girlfriend, Lucy Brown; predominantly the fact that she has a fearless nature and is not afraid to be so harsh and ballsy to Polly and there is a tense atmosphere that is shown through her personality. 

Rufus Norris’ direction is incredible here as he has been able to transport us to an era of theatre that made you question what you had seen which is another one of Brecht’s Epic techniques and a revival that shows how gangsters can actually be given their comeuppance, furthermore, with Imogen Knight’s choreography, there is a slight modern twist to the dance arrangements yet with the expressionist detailing. Vicki Mortimer’s design is joyous as she has been able to capture the whole Brechtain atmosphere to an audience who may not be aware to what a revolutionary he was in theatre as a whole and I was taken through Macheath’s journey from marriage to his near death expeience and this is done by fantastic scenic welding and construction and simple scenic art and just great. Overall, the experience of, ‘The Threepenny Opera’ was a production that excited me actually brought me back to my GCSE Drama days and leaning about Bertolt Brecht and Epic Theatre from the phenomenal teacher that is, Kate Soper.

'The Past Is a Tattooed Sailor' Old Red Lion Theatre ***

The undeniably extravagant and flamboyant Stephen Tennant which supposedly was the catalyst for characters, Cedric in ‘Love in a Cold Climate’ and Sebastian Flyte in ‘Brideshead Revisited’ and the great uncle to orphan, Simon Blow due to the fact that he lost both parents gives us a personal story about someone who he respected. The Old Red Lion Theatre’s production of, Simon Blow’s current play, ‘The Past Is a Tattooed Sailor’ does itself justice presenting a biographical play but with different character names etc., what is more, the portrayals were greatly acted.

‘The Past Is a Tattooed Sailor’ is set in the mansion of Uncle Napier where we are introduced to orphaned Joshua who is a penniless youngster has chosen to visit his great-uncle Napier who is rather affluent with money and resides in a large mansion. Luckily enough for Joshua, Uncle Napier develops a soft spot for his great-nephew and asks Joshua to become his carer and new heir to his estate and as such; he has to be by his great-uncle’s bed side despite the fact that he already has a servant by the name of Matthew (Paul Foulds). Uncle Napier’s cousin, Patrick (John Rayment) is competing for the money and because of the progression of Uncle Napier’s relationship with Joshua, he is alarmed that he may not be successful in obtaining the money and estate that he most desires. Over the course of the performance, we see that Joshua and his builder boyfriend, Damien are having problems with their fledgling relationship as Joshua is constantly visiting his uncle as well as the fact that Joshua thinks that Damien could be perceived as a bit of a ruffian if he eventually meets Uncle Napier. On a slightly different note, Uncle Napier has regular visions of his younger self where he had sex with French escorts and how the presence of his mother, Helena (Elizabeth George) still has in his life because the both of them are living in the mansion as ghostly figures.  As the relationship between himself and Joshua is strengthening by the day, yet when Joshua introduced his boyfriend, Damien to his great-uncle, Uncle Damien is less than thrilled that Joshua has brought him into his home. Throughout the performance you can see that Uncle Napier just sits around listening to show tunes, nonetheless, he has been finishing an unfinished novel which is in the process of being published. Nevertheless, Uncle Napier quite frankly is exceedingly perverted and even has the fearlessness to make a move of Joshua’s boyfriend, on the other hand, Damien does agree to having sexual intercourse with Uncle Napier but when they have done the deed, Uncle Napier lays back in his bed and passes away with Young Napier and his mother, Helena by his bed side so he isn’t on his own at his last breath. At the finale, Joshua is informed that Uncle Napier did not amend his last will and testament in time so the selfish cousin, Patrick is the heir to the whole estate leaving Joshua with nothing and basically back to square one but with Damien holding his hand all the way. Blow’s narrative is reasonable as we can see how his own personal story into a theatrical experience of he (Joshua in the play) had formed a strong bond with his great-uncle, but I would have liked to have seen some more scenes with Joshua and Damien as we see too much of Uncle Napier lying on his bed like a Greek God, then again, not a bad plot line just needs more refinement. 

One found the performances by the company of, ‘The Past Is a Tattooed Sailor’ to be charmingly portrayed and I can see that there has been a sturdy camaraderie with the company as I had a decent conversation with them after the performance.  Bernard O’Sullivan is pleasant as the flamboyant, Uncle Napier; predominantly where he seems to have a sense of safety with his mother’s ghostly figure being in the mansion, also, the moments with Joshua could suggest that he did want to a father but his sexuality affected that from happening. Jojo Macari is great as Uncle Napier’s great-nephew, Joshua; especially how we see that there is pain in the core of himself due to the fact he hasn’t got any living parents, however, when he is with Damien there are some lovely moments with the two as two levels of class in a relationship can be rather delightful. Denholm Spurr is attractive as Joshua’s boyfriend, Damien; for example how you can see that he is not happy with the fact that his partner is always with his great-uncle and that he should be spending more time with him and this is shown with the tension that is conveyed when he is acquainted with him. Nick Finegan is good as the Young Napier; specifically in the flashback when he is in France and we can see how the older form of Napier has become the way he is as it appears that he has never had a long running relationship and uses escorts as the means to smooth over this missing aspects of his life. 

Jeffrey Mayhew’s direction is agreeable here as he has presented a fair effort of showing us how the life of Simon Blow and his great-uncle’s relationship in a dramatic piece of artistry, on the contrary, I would have liked it is he could make us a little bit more enthralled in some parts, but that was rather minimal and the characterisations were fully clad. Rosie Mayhew’s design is pretty excellent as I was definitely transported to this part of Joshua and Uncle Napier’s life, plus Sam Waddington’s lighting design and Jack Lord’s sound design was terrific as it helped justify the dark and vibrant environment of the whole show and for two graduates who graduated this year, they were so on point with their work. Overall, the experience of, ‘The Past Is a Tattooed Sailor’’ to be a gracious one and one that must have been rather interesting for Simon Blow to have written and acted on a stage that I very much love.