Tezza's Theatre Place

The Night Alive Have you ever been banjaxed? I first heard that word a good many years ago when Terry Wogan used it in his radio show. It’s a good Irish word meaning among other things confounded. The reason I mention this is because I was left feeling banjaxed after seeing Conor McPherson’s The Night Alive at the Jack Studio Theatre in Brockley Tommy (David Cox) is in his early fifties. He is a bit of a jack-the-lad but he is also lonely. He is estranged from his wife and kids and is currently living in a little room in the house owned by his uncle Maurice (Dan Armour). Tommy doesn’t really work in the conventional sense of the word. He has a van and, with the help of his friend Doc (Eoin Lynch), he makes some sort of living doing odd jobs and moving things for people. Doc and Tommy rub along just fine until one night when Tommy rescues a young girl called Aimee (Bethan Boxall) from being beaten and takes her home, which like Tommy himself, may not be much to look at but is at lea...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/164080/sex-with-a-stranger-pleasance-theatre-review/ I remember being in my twenties. A lot of my weekends were spent out in town with my friends with two rather basic plans in mind. Either get very drunk or pick up someone. Was this something I wanted to do? Well, yes and no. Part of me enjoyed the fun and the thrill of the chase but at the same time, I was aware that as a twenty-something I was expected to behave in a certain way. Now, I’m not just pontificating here but providing an introduction to Stefan Golaszewski’s play  Sex With A Stranger  which is currently having a run out at the Pleasance Theatre. Told in a series of non-linear scenes,  Sex With A Stranger  tells the story of Adam (Tomm Melody), his girlfriend Ruth (Emily Thornton) and Grace (Rebecca Rayne) a young lass picked up by Adam in a club during a ‘lads’ night out. We follow Adam and Grace as they wend their drunken way back to Grace’s place – via a nig...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/163247/review-fiona-doyles-play-abigail-the-bunker/ Abigail at The Bunker – Tia Bannon and Mark Rose – Image courtesy of Anton Belmonté “ Some enchanted evening you may see a stranger. You may see a stranger across a crowded room. And somehow you know, you know even then….. ” and so the song goes on. Often it is true as well. Two people meet, something clicks and something starts between them. All well and good you might think. But people are complicated things. Everyone comes loaded with a trolley full of luggage behind them which affects their relationships in profound and sometimes quite unexpected ways. Not sure if I’m spouting a load of drivel here? Well, pop along to The Bunker and the world premiere of Fiona Doyle’s play  Abigail  then decide. A man (Mark Rose) and a woman (Tia Bannon) meet. There is a distinct difference in age between them but despite this, there is an obvious attraction between them. They get involved in a rel...