Tezza's Theatre Place

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/197662/review-bismillah-an-isis-tragicomedy-vault-festival/ Bismillah! An Isis Tragicomedy The media likes things to be easy. Everything is black or white. You’re a Brexiteer or a Remainer. Jeremy Corbyn is an inspired leader or a closet Trot, etc. Obviously, this approach ignores the shades of grey that are between the two extremes and sometimes leads to very skewed reporting. Still, there are some absolutes in the world and in the war against the Caliphate, it’s really easy. ISIS is bad and everyone that fights them – especially our brave troops – is good, simples! Let that be your starting point as you head into the Vault Festival for Wound Up Theatre’s one-act play  Bismillah! An Isis Tragicomedy . The show started when we entered the performance space. There, in the centre of the room surrounded by the audience – was a man in army uniform tied to a stake as the music of Queen blasted out. This is Dean (Matthew Greenhough) a soldier who...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/177561/review-of-yank-at-charing-cross-theatre/ The company of YANK! at Charing Cross Theatre, credit Claire Bilyard 50 years ago, in 1967, homosexuality was partially decriminalised in England. In 2000 it became legal to be gay and a member of the UK armed forces. In the USA, the ban on gay folk serving wasn’t fully lifted until 2011. Why do I tell you this, you may ask. Well, the reason is that during WWII it was illegal to be gay in the armed forces and, despite the desperate need for men and women to serve, LGB personnel were persecuted by the military police for being who they were. Yet, when general conscription has been announced and the military machine is desperate for manpower, it’s inconceivable that the odd gayer didn’t slip past and serve their country. Their stories were never told until now as Joseph and David Zellnik’s musical  Yank!  opens at the Charing Cross Theatre. It’s 1942 and the USA has finally noticed that E...

http://www.carnstheatrepassion.com/review-henry-v/ I n 2015, Antic Disposition celebrated the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, the 400th anniversary of the death of Shakespeare and the 100th Anniversary Battle of Loos in Northern France with a production of Henry V which I saw in Temple Church. Two years later and they are back with a cathedral tour of the play which I was lucky enough to catch at Southwark Cathedral. Photo Credit Scott Rylander Using a play within a play format, this version of Henry V begins in a field hospital in France in 1915 a group of French and English patients decide to put on a version of Henry V. Shakespeare’s play takes place 500 years earlier and concerns the young King Henry (Rhy Bevan) being maneuvered by his court to take up some dubious claims to Dukedoms in France. Following a visit from the Herald Montjoie (Marious Hesper) who brings, shall we say, a less than complimentary reply to Henry’s demands from the French Dauphin (Dean ...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/158767/review-glockenspiel-tristan-bates-theatre/ Military life isn’t for everyone. Even in peacetime, it puts a lot of strain on not only the serviceman or woman but also their family and friends. In a time of conflict, that strain gets even more intense. This gets worse if the service man/woman doesn’t fully believe in the cause and justness of the action they are being ordered to take. However, possibly the most difficult part of military life is when it ends. After a lifetime of service, adjusting to civilian life can be traumatic, to say the least. All of these themes and more are examined in Steven Dykes  Glockenspiel  at Soho’s Tristan Bates Theatre. Glockenspiel tells the story of the funerals of three current and former members of the American armed forces. Whilst none of the deceased died on active service, they are all entitled to and receive a military funeral. At each, the Defence Department has supplied an Honour Gua...