'Bend It Like Beckham' Pheonix Theatre ****

Sometimes musical theatre adaptations from film sources can be perceived as quite a bizarre decision, however and more often than not there are circumstances that they can work and prove us all wrong and beguile you. The West End musical production of Paul Mayeda and Gurinder Chandra’s 2002 film, ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ was a colourfully pulsating production of a British Asian girls dream of pursuing a career in football, plus, the portrayals were amazingly played in its entirety.

‘Bend It Like Beckham’ is set abundantly in Southall London over the period of May to August 2001 where we’re familiarised with Jess Bhrama who is obsessed with football, but her family are hell bent at ensuring that she remains close to her Indian heritage. Jess’ parents, Mrs Bhrama (Natasha Jayetileke) and Mr Bhrama (Tony Jayawardena) are fundamentally opposed to anything that they do not agree with. They are immensely gratified that their eldest daughter, Pinky is about to be getting married to her childhood sweetheart, Teetu (Raj Bajaj). On the other hand, even though Jess’ parents know about her love for David Beckham but they have no idea that she wants to play football for an actual career. When Jess impresses the local women’s football manager, Joe (Jamie Muscato) and fellow up and coming women football hopeful, Jules with her football skills. Jess is given the chance to play in the team; nonetheless, to ensure that her parents are not informed about her playing for this team, she enlists the help from friend, Tony (Jamal Andreas) to cover for her.  Throughout the performance, Jess becomes a much valued member of the team and starts to form a friendship with Jules. Whereas, unlike Jess’ parents, Jules’ mother, Paula (Sophie-Louise Dann) is aware of her daughter’s dedication to the sport but her sexuality is causing a concern to her as she thinks she’s a lesbian. However, Jules has a crush on coach Joe and things to a head in Germany where Joe admits to fancying Jess whilst at a club after a triumphant victory and Jules finds this information out and hers and Jess’ friendship is put to the test.  Over the course of the show, Pinky’s wedding plans turn for the worst when Teetu’s Dad (Irvine Iqbal) and Mum (Sohm Kapida) disapprove of Pinky’s family; especially with Jess’ defiance to her Asian background and family history. There’s an important match coming up where a scout from an American university is on the hunt for the next lot of female recruits where in this instance he is coming to inspect Jess and Jules’ sporting performance. Sadly, the match is happening on the same date as Pinky’s wedding which is now back on track so Jess’ aspirations for the future seems quite bleak.  At Pinky’s wedding, Jess’ dad recognises that Jess is unhappy and says that in order for the wedding to be a success and a joyous affair; he states that she must go to the match and come back when it is over. When Tony takes her to the match where Joe and the rest of the team are so delighted to see her and with her involvement in the game, their team wins the season.  At the finale, as Jess and Jules are given scholarships to America and in the airport they say their final goodbyes as their life is only just beginning and it seems that their friendship is stronger than ever. Mayeda and Gurinda’s narrative with Howard Goodhall’s music and Charles Hart’s lyrics are incredible as the story of a young British Asian woman who is desperate to become a football star and the class of her two cultures shows what determination she has in achieving her ultimate goal. Musical numbers such as; “Girl Perfect”, “People Like Us”, “Glorious” and “Sadaa Chardhdi Kalaa” emancipates the combinations of cultures and with the actual heritage musical beats you really want to get up and dance a little bit of Bollywood.  

One found the performances by the company of, ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ to be masterfully depicted through lovely vocal singing to dazzling choreographic sequences and the whole football element was pretty awesome too as it really works. Also the performers did not try to copy the interpeations of the actor's in the original film. Natalie Dew is tremendous as central protagaonist, Jess Bhrama; principally where she seems to beam with confidence when she is kicking a football and the trials and tribulations she has with a family that is quite out of touch with the world and what she can and cannot do, as well as, with Joe at the German nightclub she looks incredibly pretty in the dress she is wearing. Lauren Samuels is grand as Jess’ friend, Jules; explicitly in the scenes with her mother, Paula and how she always tries to reassure her that she isn’t a lesbian, moreover, you can see how competitive she is with everything in her life from who she fancies to her passion of football.  Preeya Kalidas is fabulous as Jess’ stupid sister, Pinky; essentially how silly she comes across in how she speaks which is too South London and her pink tracksuit looks horrendous which is the whole point as she’s quite chavy compared to how her sister is, furthermore, she is drastically overbearing which would put off any man, but with Teetu she has him wrapped round her little finger.

Gurinder Chandra’s direction is brilliant here and with Aletta Collins’ fantastic choreography we are taken on Jess’ incredibly voyage where her dreams of being a professional football player seems to be on the cards. Into the bargain, the mix of football style sequences and with football consultancy has aided this to be so flawless and no like its being acted and the characterisations were fundamentally developed. Miram Buether’s set designs and Katrina Lindsay’s costume designs are exceptional as the scene changes found its place to be well considered such as where the football match and wedding are moulded together and you don’t lose focus whatsoever, besides this, the costumes were vibrant and colourful specifically the traditional Indian clothing i.e. sari’s etc.  Overall, the experience of, ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ to be such a thrilling one and I like how the Indian culture was undertaken with such sincerity and not overdone either. 

'Mrs Henderson Presents' Noël Coward Theatre ****

Mrs Laura Henderson brought more than just a continuous variety performance to London’s theatre landscape she gave the male audiences what they most desired which was to have women with little or no clothing and a musical based on the controversial Windmill Theatre (now a table dancing club) does exactly what it says on the tin. The West End musical adaptation of Martin Sherman’s 2005 film, ‘Mrs Henderson Presents’ was mind-blowing version that brings an essence of glitz to the equation, plus the interpretations were awe-inspiring and fabulous.

‘Mrs Henderson Presents’ is set in London from 1937-1941where we’re acquainted with recently widowed and highly quirky 70 year old, Mrs Laura Henderson who has just purchased the Windmill Theatre as a form of interest. To ensure that the theatre is a success, she hires theatre manager, Vivian Van Damm to manage the theatre on her behalf and to search for the performers needed for the shows.  Moreover, he enlists the help and guidance from whipper-snapper, Bertie (Samuel Holmes) to discover the new talent on offer as well as the nurturing and developing of unknowns. Some of the Windmill’s performers are unlikely hopefuls such as theatre cleaner, Arthur and talentless women which men would be able to lust over. There’s an amusing amount of sparring matches between Mrs Henderson and Vivian over every single element of the productions through to the whole atmosphere of the theatre such as the façade outside. Over the course of the performance, an ill-fated romance blossoms between Maureen and backstage worker, Eddie (Matthew Malthouse), however, this coupling is not set to last though. When Vivian states that the girls would be paid considerably more if they had no clothes on whatsoever and as you’d expect the girls aren’t that impressed, but, Peggy (Katie Bernstein), Doris (Lizzy Connolly) and Vera (Lauren Hood) are up for the challenge.  Due to the fact that theatre censorship is in action, the scenes would be have to be in a tableau vivant and it is then approved by Lord Cromer (Robert Hands) who is one of the official Lord Chamberlain’s. The Windmill Theatre’s shows prove to be an almighty success in particular the male audiences. As the Second World War is declared by the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, Eddie is called up to serve his country and this inevitably means that Eddie and Maureen’s romance is basically over. In this period of time, the Windmill Theatre remains the only London theatre to be open and there are some lovely moments of the roof of the theatre with Maureen, Laura and Vivian, however, Maureen breaks the news that she is in fact pregnant with Eddie’s baby and she decides to hand in her resignation because of this. When Peggy, Doris and Vera come to visit her in a wartime bunker as she’s working as part of the war effort and plead for her immediate return. Tragedy strikes for the Windmill Theatre and for Maureen especially as Eddie has been killed in action and to respect his memory, Maureen comes back to the Windmill and resumes her role in the tableau vivant. At the finale, Arthur informs the audience of the theatre’s impact on the capital and how Mrs Laura Henderson and Vivian Van Damm created a revolutionary form of British entertainment. Johnson’s theatrical narrative along with music by George Fenton and Simon Chamberlain and lyrics by Don Black are smashing as there’s a healthy balance of hilarious to the moving aspects of a building and personalities that were renowned for the unclothed women. Furthermore, the musical numbers for example, “Everyone Loves The Windmill”, “What a Waste of a Moon”, “We’ll Never Close” and “If Mountains Were Easy to Climb” were excellently composed and special too. 

One found the performances by the company of, ‘Mrs Henderson Presents’ exceedingly polished with tenacious vocals and flawless dance sequences that engrossed the wartime atmosphere and amusement. Tracie Bennett is whimsical as the eccentric, Mrs Laura Henderson; principally where we see how her lack of theatrical knowledge and expertise is really irritating Vivian, plus, the moments that are on the roof of the theatre shows us that her age and health is no exactly the greatest. Ian Bartholomew is sublime as the Windmill’s manager, Vivian Van Damm; chiefly at the point that he is trying to get Mrs Henderson’s vision on its feet with some level of difficulty but along the way he starts to like what they’re creating, in addition to this, his vocals in “Living in a Dream World” were awesome. Emma Williams is remarkable as the still image masterpiece performer, Maureen; especially where her under-confident persona at the beginning deteriorated into someone who is confident with her body image even if she is covered with a humungous feathered fan, and her behaviour towards Eddie is not exactly love in the right sense of the word. Jamie Foreman is notable as, Arthur; exclusively in the introductory and conclusion parts, on the other hand, he could be more prominent in the show and increasingly charismatic master of ceremonies and that is a shame as he’s a adaptable actor like his role as Derek Branning in soap opera, ‘Eastenders’. 

Terry Johnson’s direction and Andrew Wright’s choreography is terrific here as they have been able to present us with a fun and interesting insight into this specific time in British theatre history, as well as, there’s a fabulous camaraderie that resonates through the entire musical and the characterisations are dreamy. Tim Shortall’s set design and Paul Wills’ costumes designs are opulent and wondrous as the Windmill Theatre has been crafted into another theatre building with such precision and the costumes were constructed and envisaged with the time and the female costumes specifically were beautiful. Overall, the experience of, ‘Mrs Henderson Presents’ was a marvellously entertaining story that gives us the opportunity to see how Mrs Laura Henderson and her controversial theatre impacted the theatre landscape.

'The Rolling Stone' Orange Tree Theatre ****

What is most perplexing is the fact that in even in the 21^st Century, an astronomical amount of countries still treat homosexuality as a sinful where it is illegal and death penalties can be given to gay men and lesbian women if they are found out due to religious connotations. The Orange Tree Theatre production of Chris Urch’s, ‘The Rolling Stone’ was a thought-provoking and shocking plot about having to keep your sexuality secret so that isn’t exposed to the press, what is more, the depictions are excellently conveyed.

‘The Rolling Stone’ is set in Kampala, Uganda where we’re habituated with Ugandan, Dembe and Irish Ugandan, Sam who have been seeing each other for some time and yet to introduce Sam to Dembe’s family would not be wholeheartedly welcome as you cannot be openly be gay in Uganda as the consequences would be indescribable. There’s a humungous risk as a local publication called, ‘The Rolling Stone’ publically outs gay men and as such this would give a barrage of people an opportunity to hunt them down and savage them, also the whole family for that person would face exile and a possible prison sentence. Over the course of the performance, Dembe and Sam meet each other at a secret location to have their top-secret rendezvous’ as Dembe is concerned by the repercussions of this, on the other hand, are they actually alone or is someone on to their tails already? In order to keep his sexuality private, Dembe has been dating an increasingly muted, Naomi (Faith Alabi) which is probably quite a good strategy as she won’t be able to tell anyone about Dembe hiding in the closet. Namoi’s mother, Mama (Jo Milton) seeks out Joe to heal her daughter from her silence as she along with millions of African people use religion as a way of a form of a remedy. As the story advances, Dembe’s sister, Wummie is intrigued and worried about her brother and questions him over his relationship status and when Dembe musters up the courage to tell his sister that he is gay, she is horrified about what this may do to the reputation of the family and to her brother, Joe’s career as he has just become to local pastor. Sam invited Dembe to move to the UK as he knows that their relationship would be accepted there compared to how it is in Uganda. It appears that Dembe’s name has been listed in ‘The Rolling Stone’ and when Joe realises this when Mama shows him the paper he is repelled by this news; on the contrary, he stands by his brother which is moving to see. At the finale, Dembe, Joe and Wummie are in their house where they are expecting for a large group of homophobic people who are obviously about to drag poor Dembe out of the house where he will be sent to prison and a death penalty may be set.  Urch’s narrative is immensely wondrous as it is clear to see that he has comprehensively researched the topic and to show a relationship that isn’t welcomed by the community shows that there’s not much progress happening in the African continent. 

One found the performances by the company of, ‘The Rolling Stone’ to be fabulously portrayed through impressive voice delivery and movement executions. Fiston Barek is grand as Ugandan gay, Dembe; especially where you can see that he is worried by the fact that his sexuality could be wide-open to the public realm and when it does he is understandably scared by this, also the scenes with Sam was nice to see.  Julian Moore-Cook is terrific as Dembe’s love interest, Sam; principally how his love for Dembe is very much real and how he declares that his life has needed a boost where he is working as an international doctor, plus the awkward moments with Dembe’s sister shows he isn’t liked by his boyfriend’s family. Sule Rimi is splendid as Dembe’e pastor borhter, Joe; specifically where at the church we see how strange and laughable is by the methods that he uses to try to heal people with God’s power and wisdom, in addition to this, when he stands by Dembe in his hour of need shows how much he really loves his brother and this is quite a tender aspect. Faith Omole is tremendous as Dembe’s brash sister, Wummie; expressly when you can see that when it comes to her and her brother gaining a place into medical school that she’ll allow her brother to venture off to it and that she’ll take on a mundane job where her career is never going to be realised. 

Ellen McDougall’s direction is abundant here as she has been able to captivate us into a scenario where I was surprised by how the LGBT community are treated in the African continent, furthermore, the characterisations of the relationship between Dembe and Sam shows what could be so sweet and cute, but due to the foreseen circumstances in Uganda it is impossible. Joanna Scotcher’s set and costume designs are marvellous as with the in-the-round staging configuration you can be transported to the Ugandan environment and this is done quite simplistically but effective too and the costumes work to the contemporary time period. Overall, the experience of, ‘The Rolling Stone’ was a bold statement that suggests that more progress is needed to countries who put the death penalty on innocent people who love people of the same gender and this shows an outdated society especially from Uganda.

'Strictly Come Dancing Live!' The o2 Arena ****

There’s always something in the year that you’re aware that you will have a really gratifying time and how a television programme can be transported into a theatrical touring experience to 10,000 people. The annual ‘Strictly Come Dancing Live!’ tour was an exhilarating production where the programme is brought to life into an arena; furthermore, the performances by the company were excellent.

‘Strictly Come Dancing Live!’ is set in the replica of the set that is used of the TV series where we are introduced to a slightly modified version of the BBC hit show where seven celebrities from the history of Strictly Come Dancing are partnered by some of the much loved professional dancers dance two different dances. They are judged by Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli just like the TV show and as such they will offer the couple and the audience a critique on each dance. Hosted by comedienne, Mel Geidroyc we are taken on the Strictly journey where 2015 champion, Jay McGuiness along with fellow 2015 contestants, Helen George, Ainsley Harriott, Georgia May-Foote and Anita Rani are joined with 2014 contestants, Frankie Bridge and Jake Wood who are contending for the glitter ball trophy and declared winners of the Strictly tour. There’s an immersive element to the whole production where the audience are given the sole responsibility to vote for the couple they want to win that specific performance and the cameras are on hand to film the production. The celebrities are couples with the ever popular professional dancers, Kevin Clifton,  Aljaž Skorjanec, Karen Clifton, Giovanni Pernice, Aliona Villaini, Gleb Savchenko and Janette Manrara  who offer some stunning dance routines and it shows how Ballroom and Latin American dancing can be really cool. Over the course of the performance, the judges’ score each dance similar to how it works on the TV series and as you’d expect from Craig his comments can be quite blunt compared to how Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli offer a more positive critique.  The dancers and celebrities perform with a live band, led by the marvellous Allan Rogers and sung by the familiar singers, Tommy Blaize, Andrea Grant, Hayley Sanderson and Lincoln Jean-Marie so it’s a full Strictly Come Dancing experience in the space of three hours.  Mel Geidroyc’s hilarious hosting style adds to the beauty of the show and her reference to hit baking show, ‘The Great British Bake Off’ depicts how funny she is. Wonder if she will be joined by her comedy partner Sue Perkins next year and let’s hope that this becomes a reality? At the finale, the audience’s text votes are tallied up and the eventual victor of this specific performance was Jay McGuiness and Aliona Villani who lift the glitter ball trophy and the whole company dance one final routine and that’s a wrap.  The narrative is glistening as we are increasingly transported to the Strictly Come Dancing show where humour, applause and emotion are all brought to the fore to 10,000 people and it’s a very natural plotline which is a talent show theatre extravaganza. 

One found the performances by the company of, ‘Strictly Come Dancing Live!’ tour to be ecstatically sensational as the dances were brilliant as the celebrities and professional dancers bring vibrancy to whole thing. The host and judges are thoroughly entertaining as they seem to bicker with each other just like you would see in the TV show. The ensemble dancers, Charlie Bruce, Jake Leigh, Besola Peters and Jasmie Takeras brought danger to the entire production such as the acrobatic elements which conveys that evolution of dancing. 

Craig Revel Horwood’s direction and Jason Gilkin’s choreography is fabulous here as they have helped bring a TV show into a gargantuan arena where all of the elements have been brought together to portray the splendid programme that is Strictly Come Dancing to people who would not have the opportunity to visit the studios in Elstree. Patrick Docherty’s set design is awesome as it’s very similar to the one use on the actual show and the LED screens on either side brings the viewpoint to great effect, in addition to this, Vicky Gill’s costumes designs are gorgeous as the female dresses to the male clobber were tremendous as it brings the glitz and glamour to it which is dreamy. Overall, the experience of, ‘Strictly Come Dancing Live!’ was a spectacular one and I cannot wait for next year’s nationwide tour and this is definitely a theatrical piece of entertainment that is most enjoyable.

'Battlefield' Young Vic ***

What some people may not realise that theatre productions can last longer than the traditional two and a half hours, yet if a re-working of a nine hour show into the space of sixty minutes piece really affects the flow and pace of it? The Young Vic’s production of Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne’s , ‘Battlefield’ which is originally based on Jean-Claude Carriere’s, ‘The Mahabharata’ was an adequately depicted story of waring families and a voyage of discovery and the interpretations were watchable.

‘Battlefield’ is set in the Sanckrit myth of the Kurukshitra War which apparently lasted for eighteen days as well as conveying the fact that millions of people’s butchered bodies have been left all over the floor. Firstly, we are given a brief but comprehensive analysis of the homicide and we are soon familiarised with Yudishitra tries to track down the ancient king, Dritarshatra and in addition to this, he takes advice from the queen, Kunti on his whereabouts as he does with many other philosophers. To instil the entangled old family saga reachable to us the audience is the fables and chronicles of their eradicated kings who are desperate to choose the direction of the light. Over the course of the performance, we can see how each character interconnects with one another even though there’s a somewhat dislike due to the fact that there’s a rivalry between the quarrelling families. In addition to this, there’s a pleasing amount of still moments present here which is helped with Toshi Tsuchitos’ drumming as well as conveying the voyage of trying to not be murdered in the hellish environment where a large proportion of people have been exterminated.  There’s a reasonable amount of amusing aspects where the materials are being used to represent humans, animals and others; such as where a scrunched up cloth is pirouetted into a baby and a snake to portray a biblical reference. Moreover, another is where one character moulds into a worm where it is trying to cross the road without being stepped on, yet even a miniscule animal may not be able to escape the battleground. At the finale, it appears that Yudishatra has been able to find the old ancient king and it feels that the quest has been fruitful but the warzone atmosphere may not help his new rule regime. Brook and Estiene’s narrative is reasonable as it is quite challenging and difficult to so where the characters are going and I couldn’t focus well on how the bickering families are coming across and this should have been an integral element to the whole plot.  

One found the performances by the company of, ‘Battlefield’ to be passable as the four performers do well to encapsulate the feeling of a world which is full of calamity and destruction. Jared McNeill is agreeable as, Yudishitra; in particular how his journey to find the old ancient king has taken him to several different avenues in which he didn’t think he would have ended up going to nut he does do this. Sean O’Callaghan is so-so as old blind king, Dritarashatra; especially how effective he comes across as a man who has ruled for such a long time but due to his impaired vision his reign as king has ultimately come to an end but his powers of wisdom would be thoroughly welcomed by all who speak to him. Carole Kremera is acceptable as queen, Kunti; specifically how she does her ultmost best to help guide Yudishatra to search for the ancient king and her advice does work with great difficulty and her persona is slightly motherly. Ery Nzaramba is okay as the many bit-parts; for example how adaptable he is to convey all the other characters which were in the original version 30 years ago played by nearly 60 performers and this is pleasing to see as it shows the performers versatility. 

Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne’s direction is reasonable here as they have been able to capture the understanding of the a mythical war that is quite well known in many civilisations but some may not be aware of it, furthermore, the representations were conventional too but it wasn’t as brilliant as I was expecting.  With no set design but with Oria Puppo’s costume design and Phillipe Vialatte’s lighting designs were quite good here as they have tried to give us an idea if the atmosphere of the war but the all black costumes were disappointing as I would have wanted more of an idea of who was which character etc. Overall, the experience of, ‘Battlefield’ was a substandard production that could have had such more potential that it kind of displeased me as Peter Brook is world-renowned for his intriguing theatrical masterpieces.

'Botallack O'Clock' Old Red Lion Theatre *****

It can be immeasurably strenuous to entertain an audience where a play only features one role, nonetheless, if the show is about the obscure abstract artist, Roger Hilton and the process of his working it’ll be quite painless to do so. The Old Red Lion Theatre’s production of Eddie Elks’ 2011 play, ‘Botallack O’Clock’ was an outstanding performance about the weird and wonderful process of Hilton’s artistic nature, besides this, the performances were incredible.

‘Botallack O’Clock’ is set in Roger Hilton’s studio which doubles up as his sleeping quarters in Botallack, Cornwall where we’re introduced to the abstract artist, Roger Hilton who is at present slumped down on his bed and when he awakens it looks like he doesn’t really care about his appearance; i.e. his cleanliness leaves a lot to be desired. Hilton is a particularly lonely individual who seems to seek comfort in smoking cigarettes and gormandizing a large consumption of whisky. We are soon surprised that the radio in the studio can talk with free will and has complete and intellectual conversations force of their conversations with Roger. Moreover, the radio soon becomes the Radio, its own unique character where humour and niggling is the prominent force of their associations. Over the course of the performance, Roger dabbles in his painting and writing a bit of poetry, yet, with the Radio speaking to him his loneliness is beginning to fade. However, is the Radio actually conversing with Roger or is he a little bit crazed? One such conversation that Roger has with the Radio is about how the Radio is preparing a fictional edition of Desert Island Disks where the shows allows us an insight with Roger’s life in which his life is extremely discombobulating to realise and comprehend. As the production advances, Roger’s intriguing personality enables us to observe his more gentle, virtuous and incredibly droll sense of funniness; as such, when he tries to grab a pickle from a jar with a spoon and it drops back down into the jar it portrays a microscopic moment of sadness.  There are some flashbacks where Hilton morphs into his younger self where he was a student studying in Paris, France and this is due to the fact that Roger’s drinking is causing him to think about his past. Furthermore, you can see how his obsession with whisky is really affecting his health and he never wears freshly cleaned clothes. Before the end of the performance, we are shown some of his most famous or for some infamous works; nonetheless, this is slightly moving to what an impact the man has in the arts and culture sector. At the finale, Roger switches the Radio off and falls to his bed snoozing away and as the morning arrives, he carries on his daily routine where he’s obviously inebriated. Elks’ narrative is preternatural as it’s rather interesting to see the artist manages to paint in a drunken state, but so did the late Francis Bacon and what is pretty fantastic is the decision to make the Radio a fundamental part of the plot just like Roger Hilton is and the communications with the two do make you chuckle. 

One found the performances by the company of, ‘Botallack O’Clock’ to be ingeniously depicted with regards to how the one actor can perform realistically to an inanimate object which has a kind of human feeling. Dan Frost is miraculous as the painter, Roger Hilton; in particular how you can see him with his own unique ways of working which is to drink heavily and religiously, plus the dynamics with the Radio is a mix of side-splitting elements and frequent bickering and it appears that in the process of this they form some kind of bond. George Haynes is sensational as the voice of the Radio; notably how some of his one-lines come out quite with a dry sense of delivery which is always a joy and his voice does sound quirky and at times you do forget that the Radio is a radio where the objects presents an actual physical and human like existence which I find vastly innovative.

Eddie Elks’s direction is transcendent here as you can see that a lot of time has been taken to ensure that there is an air of mystery and a desire to think about Roger Hilton’s somewhat twisted mind and how the Radio gives him the courage to get on with the work that he has planned to do today. In addition to this, what I do find stimulating is that the Radio appears to be a conscience to Roger and how the hilarity and the more tougher aspects reveal more about Roger’s own desire to make a clear and political statement through his artworks. Ken McClymont’s set design is extraordinary as with the intimate Old Red Lion’s space you become instantly a part of the environment and atmosphere of Roger Hilton’s studio come sleeping quarters. Also the scenic art and construction is wonderful and with Christopher Naime’s terrific lighting design and Liam Welton’s phenomenal sound design it complements the dark mood that emancipates the piece. Overall, the experience of ‘Botallack O’Clock’ to be a faultless production that suggests that delving into an artist’s working process can categorically be enchanting.