Tezza's Theatre Place

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/174739/my-country-a-work-in-progress-theatre-royal-stratford-east/ My Country, Penny Layden (Britannia) and the company by Sarah Lee It’s only been a year, but the effects of the Brexit referendum are still being felt by the country. In fact, whatever your opinion of the outcome, Brexit is going to drag on for years to come. So, you might think this is an opportune time for the National Theatre to go on tour with their Brexit play My Country; a work in progress which I caught at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East. June 2016 and Britannia (Penny Layden) has called an emergency meeting of the six parts of the United Kingdom – Caledonia (Stuart McQuarrie), The North East (Laura Elphinstone), Northern Ireland (Cavan Clarke), Cymru (Christian Patterson), The East Midlands (Seema Bowri) and the South West (Adam Ewan) – to discuss the Brexit referendum. Britannia represents Westminster and the ruling heart of England and the other parts represent variou...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/174379/interview-with-adam-wollerton-lovestuck-musical/ People go to university for many reasons. Some to get an education, some to escape from their town and/or family, and some to just expand their horizons. Whatever the reason, going to university is a life changing experience for everyone. There is so much that happens in a university that it is really time for a new musical about life for a new student.  Luckily, writer Adam Wollerton, has taken up the challenge and his new show  LoveStuck  opens at the Cockpit Theatre in July.  Recently I managed to catch up with Adam and find out more about the show Terry: So, Adam, tell me a little bit about LoveStuck Adam:  LoveStuck is a new musical written by myself, with lyrics by PJ Neilsen and music by PJ Nielsen and Jake Few. It’s a musical truly about finding your LoveStuck – that one thing you can’t live without, however big or small this might be. Everyone has a Love...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/174252/review-i-know-you-of-old-hope-theatre/ Shakespeare could be said to be the most abused playwright. His plays have been performed a million different ways. In two years I’ve seen six performances of  Romeo and Juliet  and four of  Midsummer Night’s Dream  and each one has been completely different to the other. However, when you look at the prose of a Shakespeare play, there is always the possibility to use them and move them around to produce a completely different outcome. Not sure exactly what I mean? Then nip down to the Hope Theatre where Golem is staging  I Know You of Old . Based on Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ the play is set in a chapel where a lace draped coffin is sat waiting for the funeral tomorrow. The occupant of the coffin is Hero who collapsed and died when, at the altar, her fiance Claudio (Conor O’Kane) denounced her as a wanton woman. Now although he feels so much sorrow and guilt that ...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/174088/review-taj-express-peacock-theatre/ Taj Express – Photo by QUINTESSENCE ENTERTAINMENT Say the word “Bollywood” and what springs to mind? If you are like me, then you will have heard the word in connection with Indian film-making. So, a few facts for you. The term ‘Bollywood’ was coined in the 1970s when Indian cinema overtook America as the world’s largest film producer, producing an estimated 1,000 movies every year. This is not surprising when around 14 million Indians go the cinema every day. I could go on but, instead, I’m just going to recommend that you get a real feel for Bollywood by heading to the Peacock Theatre to see  Taj Express . Young Composer Shankar (Mikhail Sen) has a dream. He wants to compose for a Bollywood movie. Then he can be discovered and maybe one day be heralded as the new A. R. Rahman. Then one day, he gets a call from Bollywood producer Raj Pakora (Denzil Smith) who wants to hire Shankar to work on his n...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/173806/review-the-whos-tommy-theatre-royal-stratford-east/ William Grint as Tommy – Photo Credit Mike Kwasniak It’s often good when an old classic musical comes on again, particularly if the original writer has been involved in the new production, even contributing a new song to the show. This is particularly true of production company Ramps on the Moon who are currently touring with  The Who’s Tommy  which I was lucky enough to catch at the Theatre Royal Stratford East this week. World War II and two people fall in love. Captain Walker (Max Runham) and Nora (Donna Mullings, voiced by Shekinah McFarlane) meet and after a whirlwind romance they marry. As Captain Walker goes off back to war, he leaves his pregnant wife at home waiting for his return. Time passes, and Nora gives birth to a son who she names Tommy (William Grint, voiced by Julian Capolei and Matthew Jacobs-Morgan) who, like his mother is anticipating the day his father re...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/173595/review-the-investigation-the-bread-and-roses-theatre/ You probably know that following the end of the Second World War, the victorious allies prosecuted senior members of the Nazi hierarchy in a series of trials at the Nazi Party’s spiritual home in Nuremberg. What you may not know is that in the 1960s there were more war crime trials – specifically around events that happened in Auschwitz – and these form the basis of Peter Weiss’ new play  The Investigation  which I saw at the Bread & Roses Theatre in Clapham. There didn’t appear to be a plot as such to this production and, I have to admit, I was a little sceptical of where it was going after the opening sequence. Whilst I do not necessarily think that Donald Trump and Theresa May are the best leaders of their respective country, I’m not sure that lumping them in with Idi Amin, Robert Mugabe, and Adolph Hitler was entirely appropriate or relevant. However, once this openin...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/173546/review-common-olivier-theatre-national-theatre/ Anne-Marie Duff (Mary) in Common at the National Theatre (c) Johan Persson Enclosure may be something you haven’t heard of before. Okay, you will have heard the word but if you go back in history, enclosure had a different meaning than today. This was a time when wealthy landowners decided to change the way their property was farmed. Instead of all the locals individually working on a plot, the landowner created a proper farm by putting a fence around his property. He would then employ locals to work the farm for him. Of course, not everyone was required to work on the new farm, so those that couldn’t find work started migrating towards the towns fuelling the industrial revolution. This is the backdrop for DC Moore’s new play Common at the National Theatre Rural England in 1809 and the peasants are revolting – literally as it happens. The local Lord (Tim McMullan) has decided to enclose al...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/173480/review-punts-theatre503/ Punts, Theatre503 – Christopher Adams and Florence Roberts (courtesy of Claudia Marinaro) Parents always want what is best for their offspring. That’s a pretty fundamental fact of life really. For most parents, it’s fairly simple. Keep the sprog safe and warm, send them to school and provide a safe haven for them as they learn life’s various lessons before they are ready to stretch their wings and fly the nest. However, things are different as Jack has a learning disability. In these cases, Parents not only need to do everything above but will also try and provide as normal a life as possible for their youngster, even if this means doing things they themselves are not entirely happy with. This idea forms the backdrop to Sarah Page’s one-act play  Punts  at Theatre503. In a very nice West London house, a young lad is getting ready for an important night. Jack (Christopher Adams), a young man with le...