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@hattydaze
London Theatre Week 2023
London Theatre Week 2023 begins today on Monday 20th February and lasts for two weeks! During this time you can book great ticket prices from £15, £25, £35 or £45. This is a bi-annual campaign which promotes brilliant cost-saving offers in London’s West End. Think of a theatre, and it will most likely be participating. Think of a show you fancied seeing, but didn’t fancy its prices. Now is the…
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Wave by Squidsoup at Greenwich Peninsula
Wave by Squidsoup at Greenwich Peninsula
It’s been a while! 3 and a half years I would guess (that’s when I started my current job, and stopped blogging about theatre). A lot has happened in the world since then (none of which I am going to go into here, you were there) but having found my camera again (physically and almost emotionally) I have some new photos to share. So hello! Lovely to see you again. Apologies in advance for any…
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The Three Musketeers, by Iris Theatre, at St Paul's Church (review)
The Three Musketeers, by Iris Theatre, at St Paul’s Church (review)
The Iris Theatre is the in-house theatre company of St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden, otherwise known as the Actors’ Church. It has been putting on performances there since 2007 and has become known for its outdoor theatre which is rooted in the interactive and immersive. It has won an Off West End award for Best Production for Young People Aged 8+ for its 2016 production of Treasure Island, and…
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The Sleeping Beauty (English National Ballet), at the Coliseum (review)
The Sleeping Beauty (English National Ballet), at the Coliseum (review)
The English National Ballet’s production of Sleeping Beauty, which plays this week at the London Coliseum, is a treat to behold. Kenneth MacMillan’s choreography is based on the original choreography by Marius Petipa from 1890. Peter Farmer’s set is beautiful, Nicholas Georgiadis’s costumes are stunning in their subtle hues and Tchaikovsky’s score supports the story perfectly (the resident…
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The BAC Beatbox Academy has been running at the Battersea Arts Centre for 10 years. It’s a free session for young people which nurtures vocal skills such as beatboxing and spoken word of all types. For the last two years they have been working on the gig theatre which is Frankenstein: How to make a Monster, and this week was the opening night. I don’t care what story they adapt next, or whether they take their charming wit and talent and inject it into the phone book, I want to be there. This group is absolutely magic. From the minute you step into the room, you are greeted warmly by one if not more of the performers on stage, and the vibe in the room continues throughout the evening until you leave with an aching face of too much smiling and a feeling of happy deep down in your chest.
It is not all laughs and jokes though. The cast members, who devised as well as perform the show, take the classic Frankenstein story and they question what makes a modern-day monster, and look at some of the modern day pressures like social media, bullying and how your appearance is always judged. Every minute of the too-short fifty minutes is used wisely – no preaching, no sermons – and they take the audience with them at every point. It is a totally inclusive performance: we are all invited to share the journey, to take photographs or video, and to get up and dance (which we all do gladly when we suddenly find ourselves in a rave). None of that elitist stuff here, this is a show to be experienced fully and to be enjoyed. At one point the loud shout of ‘’Oh my God!’’ by one of the members of the audience who is literally gobsmacked at the sounds he is hearing rings very true with the rest of us, and elicits yet another communal belly laugh.
BAC Beatbox Academy
From inventive beatboxing to singing of almost heartbreaking beauty, you cannot look away for an instant. The lighting (designed by Sherry Coenen) is simple but effective, and the sound (Richard Robinson) is astonishing, particularly given the importance of sound in a show where every sound is made by somebody’s mouth. As for the beatboxing, it is quite extraordinary. It is hard to properly grasp the fact that there are no instruments or computers, it is all just noise made by humans. The six devisers/performers all need a mention as they all bring something special to the mix: Aminita (Aminita Francis) with her angelic voice; Glitch (Nadine Rose Johnson) who has vocals, beatbox skills and a wicked comic touch; Wiz-rd (Tyler Worthington), the youngest in the crew who plays the ‘genius’ Dr Frankenstein and who is impressive at both his beatboxing and lyrical delivery; Native (Nathaniel Forder-Staple) who is clearly an advanced vocal performer; Germane (Germane Marvel) who is a lyrical poet and rapper, and the incredible champion beatbox ABH (ABH Beatbox) who makes sounds with his mouth you will probably never have heard before!
You may not think you are a fan of beatbox. You may not be a fan of hip hop. Neither of these things matter. The members of the cast work their styles into tunes of all genres that we know – like beatbox versions of Show Me Love, I Feel Good or Stir it up – and then they wow us by adding in new, original songs with a beautiful lyric or a bassline you literally cannot believe. The style is not monotonous, quite the opposite, it feels special, like you could do anything with it.
Conrad Murray is the mentor and co-director (along with David Cumming) and he sits dead centre of the front row, both visibly and audibly enjoying it along with us. He comperes the beatbox battle at the end with some established beatboxers in the audience, and as director of the Beatbox Academy at BAC it is clearly his passion which inspires these young people and brings out the best in them. When he introduces the younger members of the group before the show proper starts, and gives them a turn to perform in front of a live audience, it feels like a glimpse of the beginning of one great big, positive adventure for these young kids.
hattydaze rating: *****/*****
Frankenstein: How to make a monster runs at the BAC until the 7th April (you would be a fool to miss it). For further details, see the website here. I reviewed the show for Miro Magazine, where this article was first published. Big thanks to all at Miro. Photos by me.
How to Make a Monster by BAC Beatbox Academy (review) The BAC Beatbox Academy has been running at the Battersea Arts Centre for 10 years. It’s a free session for young people which nurtures vocal skills such as beatboxing and spoken word of all types.
Harold and Maude, at the Charing Cross Theatre (review)
Harold and Maude, at the Charing Cross Theatre (review)
Better known for the film version which has gained cult popularity, and based on the stage version written by Colin Higgins in 1974, Harold and Maude premiered this week at the Charing Cross Theatre. Harold Chasen (Bill Milner) is barely out of his teens, a young man more interested in faking his own death to shock his mother, than in dating women his age. His busy mother, Mrs Chasen (Rebecca…
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Tiger, by Joyous Gard, at the Vault Festival (review)
Tiger, by Joyous Gard, at the Vault Festival (review)
As writer Joe Eyre put it in recent conversation with Miro Magazine theatre editor Daniel Perks, his new play Tiger “has the right to be awful as it’s so new.” A couple of weeks ago – at its first night ever – I felt not only honoured to be watching a new show that has never been performed before, but actually moved to tears. Alice (Stephanie Lane) and Oli (James Burton) are in a relationship,…
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Be Prepared, by Ian Bonar, at the Vault Festival (review)
Be Prepared, by Ian Bonar, at the Vault Festival (review)
Be Prepared tells of a man Tom’s memories of his father as he slowly comes to terms with his death, a brave one-man-show by the writer Ian Bonar and based on his own personal experience with his own father, and stories of his grandfather. It is set within the framework of a Quaker funeral of a man named Matthew Chambers, whom he hardly knew. The only link between the two men is the fact that…
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Join us for this next Saturday 17th Feb, local friends! #Repost @wedogooddisco (@get_repost) ・・・ Less than a week to go until our Anti-Valentine's night out. Advance tickets available from https://bpt.me/3232455 or you can buy on the door. Discount off door price if you have a Lewisham Local card! #ValentinesDay #filmscreening #disco #WeDoGoodEvents #southeastlondon #smashhits #deptford #nightout #lewisham
Becoming Shades, at the Vault Festival (review)
Becoming Shades, at the Vault Festival (review)
The ‘dark, immersive circus’ Becoming Shades by Chivaree Circus is one of the headline shows at the Vault Festival, and plays for the full, extended eight weeks this year, in the rabbit warren of spaces underneath Waterloo Station. As we file into the performance space at one end of the Vaults, known as the Forge, we are given masks to put over our mouths and asked to keep them on throughout…
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The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, at the Jack Studio Theatre (review)
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase at the Brockley Jack is based on Russ Tunney’s adaptation of the book by Joan Aiken, originally written for children in 1962. It has a dark and eerie atmosphere, especially at the beginning when the threat of lurking wolves feels very real, and I would say the humour is more adult-orientated too, so it is definitely not the all ages entertainment which some families…
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The Lost Boy Peter Pan is Action to the Word’s take on Peter Pan, which plays this Christmas at the Pleasance in Islington. Spoiler: it wowed my children and had a lot of magical moments for me too – and I promise I am not only championing Action to the Word as they develop their shows in my more local neighbourhood of Catford.
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Even before the show starts, the pre-show music (like Strange Magic) is getting us in the mood for magic. It is important to believe in magic and fairies to watch The Lost Boy Peter Pan, and even the bigger kids like myself find this easy for the duration of this show, thanks to the warm heart and effervescence of the checked pyjama-wearing cast. The production also deals with the eternal themes of immortality versus growing old, adventure vs settling down, and talks of love, being a mother and also needing a mother.
The company is impressive and each one is a versatile multi-instrumentalist but the stand out performer has to be Toby Falla as Peter Pan. He draws the eye in every scene, looks the part and is acrobatic and proficient on a number of instruments, including voice. The kids really loved Michael (/Smee/Nana – played by Thomas Parrish) and I was also rather keen on John (played by Joshua Leese), whose instruments are bass and saxophone. Music-wise, we loved a brilliant rocky version of The Pretender by Foo Fighters, and the emotional No Surprises (with added tick tock) played on cello and keyboard with some lovely vocals. This family show really does appeal to all ages, from 3 years upwards, and to (almost) all music tastes.
I met director and writer Alexandra Spencer-Jones earlier in the year (see interview here) and was really impressed by her enthusiasm and verve. From this show, and from what I have seen and heard about her others, it is clear that she puts everything into her productions, and also that music forms an integral part to her shows. In interviews she speaks of actor-musicianship, to describe the multi-talented nature of her actors, and the initiative to use live music as part of the narrative. You need a special sort of chutzpah to mix songs by eclectic artists such as Foo Fighters and Barry Manilow (although you younger people may be thinking of Take That when you hear the first, romantic strains of Could it be Magic). Spencer-Jones also has quite a talent for casting. If you are looking to see something with your family in the days that remain of the school holidays, please do check out this show which is on until 7th January. You might have seen Peter Pan before, but The Lost Boy Peter Pan is something else.
hattydaze rating: ****/*****
We went to see The Lost Boy Peter Pan thanks to press tickets. It plays at The Pleasance until 7th January 2018. See website for booking details.
The Lost Boy Peter Pan, at the Pleasance (review) The Lost Boy Peter Pan is Action to the Word's take on Peter Pan, which plays this Christmas at the Pleasance in Islington.
The Fitzrovia Radio Hour's A Christmas Carol, at Christmas in Leicester Square (review)
The Fitzrovia Radio Hour’s A Christmas Carol, at Christmas in Leicester Square (review)
This Christmas, Underbelly is putting on a winter version of their South Bank offering, with a spiegeltent and food and craft stalls set up in Leicester Square. We went to the spiegeltent on an appropriately snowy Sunday in December to watch The Fitzrovia Radio Hour’s A Christmas Carol, and found it clever, witty and very well played. The Fitzradio Radio Hour bills itself as original vintage…
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It's like Piccadilly Circus up at the Princess of Wales pond (or the Prince of Wales pond as it seems to be called officially). So many geese, swans and ducks. And here starts my Christmas holidays! #geese #ducks #blackheath #pond #princessofwalespond #princeofwalespond #allsaintschurch #sky #ChristmasHolidays #prettycitylondon #prettylittlelondon #londonbylondoners #london500px #londonscene #southeastlondon
Waterloo Christmas #londonscene #waterloo #railwaystation #christmastree #clock #commuters
Keeping it simple and traditional at the Chiltern Firehouse #xmasdecorations #xmastrees #chilternstreet #chilternfirehouse #marylebone #firebrigade #londonscene #prettycitylondon #prettylittlelondon
St Christopher's Place Christmas #xmasshopping #xmasdecorations #xmaslights #stchristophersplace #baubles #londonscene #prettycitylondon #prettylittlelondon