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Scaramouche Jones or the Seven White Masks | 4 Star Review

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How does one measure a life and one’s progress from baby to a corpse? According to Shakespeare, “ All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. ” The seven ages of man is a concept that resonates with many people, and none more so than the aged clown in Justin Butcher’s moving play   Scaramouche Jones or The Seven White Masks . Shane Richie, Scaramouche Jones (credit Bonnie Britain). The play starts late on the 31st of December 1999 with the white-faced clown Scaramouche (Shane Richie) coming down the stairs to his dressing room after finishing his last show of the 20th Century. Scaramouche has plans to mark the millennium in a unique way, for tonight is not only his 100th birthday but also, the final day of his life. However, before shuffling off this mortal coil, Scaramouche wants to tell his story. One which starts at the end of the 19th Century and ru

Manimals by Michelle Hudson | Review

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  Meeting the man/woman/person of your dreams is difficult enough at the best of times, but in a lockdown situation, it’s pretty much impossible. However, all hope is not lost as, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, there are a preponderance of dating apps where swiping left or right may be the way to meet that special one. Into the field comes a new app,  Manimals , and I was lucky enough to attend a workshop on the App the other night. Before the workshop started, I received instructions on how to set up my Manimals profile, a lot less of a painful experience than for some dating apps. Then, at the appointed time, I opened Zoom and got ready to play – and who knows, meet the partner of my dreams – along with the other workshop members. When we arrived, we were given a briefing by Mimi on the workshop and the technical and access support available to us. We were also warned that the workshop wasn’t really SFW, which intrigued me even more. We then went off in pairs to breakout

Interview with Scott Le Crass

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Scott Le Crass As the pandemic spread, and the country went into lockdown, then out, then back, then out then back, creatives everywhere had to adjust their lives and their modus operandi in order to bring theatre to the people and keep their art alive. One of those who has worked very well in this way is Director  Scott Le Crass , and I recently caught up with him for a chat about theatre in the age of COVID. TE: Welcome along Scott. I’ve just been looking back and the last time we talked was in June 2019 just after the opening of your show  Country Music  at the Omnibus Theatre. That was a successful run, wasn’t it? SLC: Yes, we ran for four weeks. I was quite keen for that to happen as a lot of fringe shows I’d done prior to that had had a maximum run of three weeks and I felt that to make it work and try to attract as much of an audience as possible it made sense to do a longer run. I sort of co-produced that production as well, and with a producing hat on as well, I really wanted