Tezza's Theatre Place

An Honourable Man The problem with politics at the moment is that there is just far too much of it about and if we take the human element out, it makes rather good theatre. With Brexit, Trump and questions as to who will be PM this time next week, do we really need another political play? Well, let’s find out with a visit to the White Bear Theatre for Michael McManus’ play  An Honourable Man . It’s by-election time in Teesside Central and, against all the odds, the incumbent MP, Joe Newman (Timothy Harker) has won a famous victory and increased his majority. The reason for the surprise is that Joe is standing as an independent rather than as the Labour candidate he had previously been. His constituency party has been infiltrated by Momentum and tried to have him deselected. After a battle with the activists, particularly the young Josh Phillips (Thomas Mahy), Joe gave in, resigned his seat and forced the by-election that he has now won. Now, the problem facing Joe and his t...

Brexit – photo by Steve Ullathorne Back in 2016, the then Prime Minister thought it would be a good idea to ask the British public the following question “ Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union? ” After a hard fought battle, 52% (of the electorate that voted) voted to leave the EU and this has dominated everyone’s life ever since. I have seen a couple of plays about the effects of the referendum, and most of them are very slanted in one particular way. So, when I was asked to go and see Robert Khan and Tom Salinsk’s  Brexit  at the King’s Head, I set off prepared for a seventy-five-minute ear bashing on how the UK was going to hell in a handcart because of the referendum. It’s been six years since the referendum and the country is still in the Brexit transition period. The conservative government have jettisoned their leader and Adam Masters (Timothy Bentinck) is the new Prime Minister charged with completing the EU wi...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/191040/review-expat-underground-tristan-bates-theatre/ Political plays are all the rage at the moment and taking centre stage in the narrative is the effects of Brexit – even the Archers talk about it every so often. A lot of these plays irritate me as they are based on supposition as to what will happen once the hard/soft/slightly flabby at the edges Brexit goes through – something that nobody knows right now. However, for a really good one-act play about the life – past, present & possibly future – of a European migrant, then I can heartily recommend Cecilia Gragnani & Jvan Sica’s  Expat Underground  which I saw at the Tristan Bates Theatre. This charming one-person (well sort of, as I will explain in a moment) production is the story of Cecilia, a young girl who decides to leave her Italian village and, after a sojourn in Paris, decides to move to London to seek her proverbial fortune. We follow her adventures from the mome...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/188466/review-hiding-heidi-a-tale-of-love-and-hate-in-stoke-on-trent/ Hiding Heidi (A Tale of Love and Hate in Stoke on Trent) On the 23rd June 2016, the UK went to the polls to decide whether the country should stay in or leave the European Union. The vote went 52% to vote leave. The political fallout of the referendum is still being felt as the negotiations start on the Brexit process and will no doubt continue to rumble on over the next few years. In his one-act play  Hiding Heidi (A Tale of Love and Hate in Stoke on Trent) , Ian Dixon Potter has tried to envisage what life will be like once Brexit has happened and the UK is once again outside of the European Union. Ralph (Richard de Lisle) is trying to find a new carer for his mother Dorothy (Maxine Howard). Unfortunately, with the expulsion of all the foreigners, this is not an easy task. However, he thinks he has found the perfect candidate in Heidi (Siobhan Ward). She has loads of ...

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...