Tezza's Theatre Place

A sockful of custard Between 1951 and 1960, once a week virtually every radio set was tuned to the BBC Home Service and families would sit around listening to the madcap stories being transmitted on The Goon Show. At the heart of the show was one man, a comic genius by the name of Spike Milligan. For many youngsters, this name may not instantly draw gasps of recognition, but Spike was a comic genius of the first order and it was a sad day when he died in 2002. However, if you missed him, there is a chance to get a feel for the man with  A Sockful of Custard  at the Pleasance Theatre in Islington. A Sockful of Custard  is the work of Chris Larner and Jeremy Stockwell, two men who definitely know their Milligan. It is not a documentary by any means, but takes the audience from Spike’s early life in India, through to the family moving to the UK, his part in World War II – or as Spike memorably called in in his autobiography “Hitler, my part in his Downfall” – and on t...

Front Adrienne Warren (Tina Turner), back Francesca Jackson (Rhonda Graam). Photo by Manuel Harlan On November 26, 1939, Anna Mae Bullock was born at Poindexter Farm on Highway 180 in the small town of Nutbush, in Haywood County, Tennessee. For those that don’t recognise the name, my advice is to get yourselves down to the Aldwych Theatre where the story of the girl who grew to be a megastar is being told in the world premiere of  Tina . Tina  is the story of how young Anna Mae (Claudia Elie/Serena Mukuna/Reya-Nyomi Brown), abandoned by her mother, Zelma (Madeline Appiah) and is brought up by her maternal grandmother GG (Lorna Gayle). As Anna Mae (Adrienne Warren) gets older, GG realises it is time for her to leave Nutbush and head for the lights of St Louis to be reunited with her mother and sister Alline (Aisha Jawando). There, Anna Mae went to the Club Manhattan and met a singer/songwriter/bandleader by the name of Ike Turner (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith) who signs her ...

https://www.carnstheatrepassion.com/review-loved-lucy/ ★★★★★ Review By Terry Eastham One of the most difficult things for an actor to be asked to do is to play an icon, whether living or dead. No matter how the actor may be able to portray every facet of the individual there will always be some who say it’s not right and it will be impossible to please everyone in their portrayal. However, at the Arts Theatre, you will find an actor who is her subject to the tee as Lee Tannen’s lovely two-hander  I Loved Lucy  returns to London. Photos by Alessia Chinazzo Background Based on Lee’s book of the same name, the story follows the relationship of Lee (Matthew Scott) and his idol Lucille Ball (Sandra Dickinson) in the last ten years of Lucy’s life. She may no longer have been a massive film and television star but Lucy was still a Hollywood star and Lee had a wonderfully close relationship with her. Lucy is everything Lee hoped she would be. Warm, friendly, feisty an...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/168586/wisdom-of-a-fool-lost-theatre-london-review/ Wisdom of a Fool (c) Jack Lane In order to put on a really successful one-person show, there are two main elements that have to be in place. The first is an engaging story that will capture the attention, and secondly a performer that can instantly connect with the audience and have them on his or her side throughout. A brilliant practitioner of the one man show principles described above is writer/actor Jack Lane who has brought his show  Wisdom of a Fool  to the Lost Theatre. Wisdom of a Fool  is a lovely walk through the life of one of the funniest entertainers ever to have graced the stage – Sir Norman Wisdom. Jack plays Norman and plays the part to perfection. From the moment he walks onstage, Jack brings every mannerism and quirky gesture so beloved of the great man to life. In addition, though, Jack also plays thirty other characters that Norman encounters through his life...