Tezza's Theatre Place

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/193347/bitches-down-under-review-above-the-stag-theatre/ January must be the most depressing month in the calendar. Christmas is over, the decorations are down and everywhere is looking drab and boring. The weather is awful and the credit card bills for the festive season have arrived. The best thing to do to escape the January blues is to take a holiday somewhere hot but, if your wallet won’t quite stretch to that then the next best thing is to share someone else’s holiday. So, I would recommend that you get yourself down to the Above the Stag and join the folks for  Bitches Down Under . The plane has barely touched down at Sydney airport before Drew (Liam Nooney) and his fiancé Garth (Ethan Chapples), along with their favourite “fruit Fly” Pam (Hannah Vesty) are in a bar at Bondi Beach. This holiday is very special for Garth and Drew as not only is it their first visit to Mardi Gras but afterwards they are flying off to New Zealand – P...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/193202/edward-ii-review-greenwich-theatre-london/ Lazarus Theatre’s Edward II 2017 – Photo by Adam Trigg “ Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely ” or so the saying goes. But, what is power in this context? For example, an absolute monarch appears to have total power over their domain but, in reality, this is an illusion and their hold on the throne and all that goes with it is very fragile and subject to the will of many others. Lazarus Theatre Company demonstrates this superbly in their new production of Marlowe’s  Edward II  at the Greenwich Theatre. Edward I is dead and his fourth son inherits the throne and assumes the title of Edward II (Timothy Blore). Edward is young, only 23 at the time of his accession, and his youth shows when, despite all the warnings of his court, Edward invites his favourite minion Piers Gaveston (Oseloka Obi) to return to England and join his court. Although not a nobleman by bir...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/192760/review-this-story-of-yours-white-bear-theatre/ David Sayers as Baxter and Brian Merry as Johnson in ‘This Story of Yours’ – © Lesley Cook Headshots Often, when I go and see a show, part of the fun is trying to work out the ending as the story progresses. Sometimes though, the audience knows exactly what is going to happen at the end. For example in John Hopkins’  This Story of Yours  currently at the White Bear Theatre. The end is directly referred to throughout. In a dark sitting room, Detective Sergeant Johnson (Brian Merry) is sitting alone knocking back the whisky. In fact, he is drowning in it and is not so much three sheets to the wind as totally hammered. He attempts to put a record on the record player but fails to coordinate and ends up making so much noise that he wakes his wife, Maureen (Emma Reade-Davies) who tentatively comes in to find out what has upset her husband. Johnson explains that earlier that evening he ...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/192580/review-42nd-street-theatre-royal-drury-lane/ Everyone heading off to drama or stage school has a dream. They all want to be a star. Now some may deny it and say they would just be happy with an established career but secretly every one of them wants that five-pointed gold star on their dressing room door. The best way to achieve that stardom may be to start in the chorus then work your way up to lead actor. But, for the hero of  42nd Street  at the  Theatre Royal Drury Lane , there is a shortcut. 1933 and as the Great Depression really starts to bite, it’s announced that famous musical theatre director Julian Marsh (Tom Lister) is putting on a new show. Every hoofer in New York wants to be working on it and none is more determined than former Miss Allentown Peggy Sawyer (Clare Halse) but she’s too late to audition and everything seems to be going wrong for her. Can anything be done to rescue Peggy’s dream and get her on a B...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/192567/review-the-narcissist-the-hen-and-chickens-theatre/ Self-help books, CDs and DVDs are ten a penny these days. There are whole sections in Waterstones and Foyles dedicated to helping you improve yourself. However, while all of these try to teach the reader how to feel better about themselves, very few – possibly with the exception of Sarah Knight’s  “The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k ” take things to a real extreme. That is until Flux Theatre presented  The Narcissist  which I saw at the Hen & Chickens Theatre. How to describe  The Narcissist ? Now that really is a question. Well, writer/performer Will Adolphy has put together a sort of ‘Ted Talk’ with a difference. At the heart of his message is himself, me, you, everybody and the fact that we are, or possibly should be, the most important people in our world. That’s not to assume we are – particularly when confronted with the rather stark answer to the ...

https://www.lastminutetheatretickets.com/londonwestend/review-bananaman-the-musical-at-southwark-playhouse/ Bananaman The  Musical  – Matthew McKenna (Bananaman) Photo by Pamela Raith Ever dreamed of being a Superhero? Yep, me too. I would love to wake up one day transformed from my normal weeble-like body into a man of muscles who can fly, save the world and generally be loved and admired by everyone. However, as they say, be careful for what you wish for. A point that is nicely demonstrated in  Bananaman The Musical  receiving its world premiere at Southwark Playhouse. Living in 29 Acacia Road – possibly one of the most boring roads on the planet – geeky teenager Eric Wimp (Mark Newnham) dreams of excitement. Unfortunately, the most exciting thing in Eric’s life is finding out what strange combination of ingredients his mother (Lizzii Hills) has put together for his lunch. School life is no better for Eric and about the only positive in his life is his friend...