Tezza's Theatre Place

A scene from My Brilliant Friend Part 1 centre Catherine McCormack – image by Marc Brenner. Some stories cannot be told in a single sitting. Think Harry Potter. The last book was made into two films and the ‘The Cursed Child’ is two plays. The reason I’m mentioning this is because after seeing  My Brilliant Friend Parts 1 and 2 , at the National Theatre, it struck me that making one book into two plays is hard enough but April De Angelis must have really had their work cut out in converting the four books in Elena Ferrante’s ‘Neapolitan Novels’ into two individual shows. My Brilliant Friend  concerns the friendship of two ladies. When we first meet them Lenù Greco (Niamh Cusack) and Lila Cerullo (Catherine McCormack) are 8-years-old and living in a run-down area of Naples where poverty and small-time crime families are the name of the game. They bond over an incident where they swap dolls and then toss them through a grille into a cellar belonging to the local loan shark. S...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/198881/review-adam-hannigans-game-night-drayton-arms-theatre/ There is nothing better when you have exciting news than getting your friends together to share it with and help you celebrate. At least that’s what the two boys in Adam Hannigan’s new play  Game Night at the Drayton Arms Theatre believed at the start of their night. It’s going to be a big night for Michael (Adam Hannigan). Not only is it the regular monthly get together with his friends, but he has exciting news for them all. He has got engaged to his partner Jacob (James Labdarbs). Okay, maybe the terminology isn’t right and the night should be focussed on both of them, but Michael is very excited about telling their friends the news. Unfortunately, things may not be as easy as Michael, and Jacob of course, hope. For a start, the first people to arrive, married couple Kate (Amelie Rose) and Tom (Jimmy Jameson) seem to be in the middle of a world-class row. Not only that, but th...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/197345/harold-and-maude-charing-cross-theatre-review/ Harold and Maude – Bill Milner and Sheila Hancock PHOTO by Darren Bell What exactly is the relevance of age? I’m in my fifties but have good friends ranging from twenty-five to sixty. Yes, we all have different experiences of life but it is our interests that unite us. Ultimately, age is just a number and if you find a spark with someone older or younger than yourself then you should give that a chance and see what happens. Who knows, it might even change your life. This then is the basic principle behind Colin Higgins’ play  Harold and Maude  enjoying a limited run at the Charing Cross Theatre. Set in New York in the 1970s  Harold and Maude  tells the story of two very different people. Harold (Bill Milner) is a nineteen-year-old boy with a peculiar outlook on life. Whilst most teenagers are interested in sex, drugs, alcohol, rock & roll, or at least some combination ...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/189516/priscilla-queen-of-the-desert-review-bridewell-theatre-london/ Sedos Priscilla Winter is definitely with us. It’s cold, windy and the shops are full of Christmas tat. This is the time of year that the world needs something spectacular to bring a bit of happiness and raise the spirits. And, right now, the brightest show in town is  Priscilla Queen of the Desert  which has just opened at the Bridewell Theatre. Sydney, Australia and drag queen Mitzi Mitosis (Richard Upton) needs a break. Luckily, he has received a phone call from Marion (Natalie Harding-Moore), the manager of the Alice Springs Casino. Among other things, she wants Mitzi – real name Anthony “Tick” Belrose – to come and perform at the casino. Tick leaps at the idea and ropes in fellow drag queen Felicia Jollygoodfellow (Ian Thiele-Long) and Trans woman Bernadette (Alexander McKinven) to join him on the epic 1,723 miles (2,773 kilometres) journey. Bernadette and Felic...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/189248/review-xposed-lgbtq-new-writing-night-hen-chickens-theatre/ Fluid (Jack O’Neill) There are times when I really wish I could write. Not these reviews but something worthwhile. They say everybody has a book inside of them but I’ve yet to find mine. As for writing a play, fat chance. Maybe that is why I enjoy nights such as  Xposed  which was a new writing night of eight short plays at the Hen & Chickens Theatre. The evening started with a play called  Fluid , written by Nick Maynard, Directed by Shafeeq Shajahan and performed by Jack O’Neill. This was a monologue with Jack’s character being a rough, ‘chavy’ boy from Bolton on a stage supposedly performing a rap for the eager audience – which included his mum, brother, girlfriend and friends. Only our lad has other ideas and is going to use this opportunity to tell everyone something that he has been hiding. Immediately the play started, my thoughts turned to “ oh great...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/179910/review-trouble-with-men-the-kings-head-theatre/ Sometimes a show can start a conversation just by its title. And this is particularly true of the latest addition to the King’s Head Theatre Queer Festival 2017 –  Trouble with Men . This 45-minute production consists of three gay plays, all written and directed by playwright Nick Myles and performed by a company of three outstanding actors. The evening opened with ‘The Farce’  Three Men and Some Baggage . In a regular flat, Fin (Freddie Wintrip) is getting ready for the arrival of his new boyfriend (William McGeough) but before he arrives, Fin is joined by his best friend Ray (Reece Matthews) and not to put too fine a point on it, stereotypical ‘twink about town’. Fin really wants Ray to leave before the boyfriend turns up but Ray wants to stay and check out the new guy in Fin’s life. When he does arrive, complete with a large bulging suitcase, Ray is instantly, and possibly unfai...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/179849/review-pluto-the-cockpit-theatre/ As humans, we often talk about Mother Earth, as if the planet was a real person. Well, what if she was? What if all the celestial bodies observed in the night sky were real with personalities, thoughts and ideas of their own? How would the universe look then? Welcome my friends to Callum O’Brien’s  Pluto  which, after a very successful run at the King’s Head has just touched down at the Cockpit Theatre. It’s party time and Pluto (Liam Joseph) is really hoping everyone will turn up. However, so far only his local moon Charon (Charlotte Price) has arrived and, while she is a good companion to the lonely Pluto, she is also the only body that ever turns up to Pluto’s parties. However, this evening is going to be different. Firstly an unexpected metal probe marked with the logo of Earth’s NASA has arrived for Pluto and secondly, Charon has secretly arranged for some extra entertainment tonight in th...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/162673/the-kite-runner-wyndhams-theatre-review/ You have to love the wide variety of shows currently in London’s West End. Musicals may dominate but there are some fantastic straight plays on as well. And 2017 has started well with  The Kite Runner  opening its doors at Wyndham’s Theatre. Based on Khaled Hosseini’s 2003 novel of the same name,  The Kite Runner  takes the audience on a roughly thirty-year journey through the life of Amir (Ben Turner). Amir is a middle-class Afghan boy living with his merchant father (Emilio Doorgasingh). The two live together but are not very close. Amir believes it is because his father blames him for the fact his mother died in childbirth. Amir is not really interested in business and wishes to pursue a career in writing. His father doesn’t understand this and often chides the boy for his perceived weakness and lack of courage. Luckily, Amir can talk to his father’s closest friend Rahim Khan...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/158698/the-trackers-of-oxyrhynchus-finborough-theatre/ Many plays that are performed take place over a limited time span. Anything from a few hours to a couple of days. However, there is the odd one that spans a time period from the 5th Century BC to 2017, a range of some 2500 years. Not an easy feat you may think and to cover this in seventy-five minutes is nigh on impossible. However, it is not only possible but is currently happening at the Finborough Theatre where  The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus  has returned to London after nearly thirty years. The story starts in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt where archaeologists and Oxford Dons Grenfell (Tom Purbeck) and Hunt (Richard Glaves) are searching amongst the ancient papyrus fragments matching the pieces to make documents. Whilst most of the re-united fragments are fairly mundane – mostly pleas from the local peasantry – Grenfell is looking for something in particular. Prodded by a vision of the God ...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/155230/review-my-gay-best-friend-the-space/ One of the accepted facts of life is that of all the essentials in a woman’s life the GBF is one of the most important. It’s about the only relationship that a man and a woman can have together where the possibility of sex is guaranteed not to raise its ugly head. What’s a GBF you ask? Why it’s  My Gay Best Friend , and there is a wonderful one-act play of that name written by and starring Louise Jameson and Nigel Fairs which I was lucky enough to catch at The Space performing arts and community centre. The story starts with a ringing phone and an outgoing voicemail message saying Gavin (Nigel Fairs) is not available to take your call, please leave a message. As the lights go on, we see a grubby toilet in which stands Rachel (Louise Jameson) shining in a gold sequined dress and ‘matching’ silver sequined jacket. Rachel is distraught. She is about to take to the stage in an Eastbourne club’s annual ...