Tezza's Theatre Place

You can get overwhelmed by the amount of Christmas themed shows currently in theatreland, so it’s quite nice when a venue decides not to mount a traditional style production for their festive offering. So, it was with great pleasure I headed off to the Jack Studio Theatre for  The Invisible Man . A mysterious stranger (Shaun Chambers) has arrived in the quiet English village of Iping and taken up residence in the Coach and Horses, presided over by Mrs Hall (Matthew Parker). The stranger, whose name is Griffin, is indeed mysterious. Muffled up with a broad brimmed hat, dark glasses and a ‘kerchief covering the lower part of his face, Griffin, is impatient to have his things brought up from the station. As he explains to Mrs Hall, Griffin is an experimental investigator, and his luggage contains equipment for his work. He also emphatically tells her that he does not like to be disturbed when he is working and that he had been in an accident that left his eyes weak and sensitive. ...

Dracula – Sophie Greenham and Bart Lambert (Mina and Jonathan Harker). Between 1890 and 1895, the Business Manager (Bram Stoker) from the Lyceum Theatre could be found in the London Library pouring over some very interesting books as diverse as “The Devil: His Origin, Greatness and Decadence” through to “A Glossary of Words used in the Neighbourhood of Whitby”. Subsequent research has shown that during this time, Bram Stoker was working on one of the most famous works of fiction known to humanity. 121 years later Creation Theatre have returned to the London Library to bring Dracula home once more. This version of  Dracula  is very different to any other you might see. For a start, it takes place in the reading room of the library, an atmospheric location that is steeped in history and which Director Helen Tennison uses very effectively. The second unique thing about this production is that there are only two cast members (Sophie Greenham and Bart Lambert). And finally, th...

Radiant Vermin by Philip Ridley Getting on the housing ladder these days is no easy task. There are lots of schemes to help but in order to get that first rung on the ladder, many couples have to compromise their wishes to get something. One plan is to buy a property that needs renovating. The idea being, get it cheap, spend a couple of years with the old DIY manual then sell it on for a fortune. This is great plan unless you are someone like me who is to DIY what Liberace was to subtlety, in which case you might need a helping hand and in Philip Ridley’s  Radiant Vermin  at the Brockley Jack, that help comes in the strangest way possible. Ollie (Matthew John Wright) and Jill (Laura Janes) have both good news and a problem. The good news is that they are expecting their first child. The problem is that they are living in a poky flat on an exceptionally bad estate – where drug dealing and suicide (even in the same family) are the norm – and there seems little chance o...

Chutney – © Rah Petherbridge Photography A few years ago, my dad and I had a long and heated discussion about attraction and what attracts one person to another. And when you look around at couples you know or see, I’m sure at some time you’ve thought to yourself ‘why are those two together?’ Attraction can be based on many things. Physical appearance, background, interests, religion, all of these can be factors. Sometimes though, as in the case of the protagonists of  Chutney  at the Bunker Theatre, the real reason they were attracted to each other doesn’t become fully apparent until long after the relationship has begun. University sweethearts Claire (Isabel Della-Porta) and Gregg (Will Adolphy) have been together for 6 years. They are the classic DINK, settled into their nice middle-class life. Gregg is a teacher and Claire has some high powered job with a long, long title in an agency. They are the ultimate example of an up and coming power couple. What more could...

I enjoy writing, but I’m certain nothing I write will ever change the world, and that’s probably true of most writers. However, in 1897, a certain Irish author by the name of Bram Stocker wrote a book that not only changed the world but also set the standard for every book, play, radio show, film, etc that followed. The book was, of course  Dracula and 121 years after first being published a new version of the play has arrived at the Jack Studio Theatre in Brockley. I’m assuming that most people will know the basic story but just in case you don’t here’s a quick synopsis. Newly qualified solicitor Jonathan Harker (Conor Moss) is on his travels. As he goes he writes to his fiance Mina Murray (Beatrice Vincent) telling her of what he has seen and how much he is looking forward to arriving in Transylvania where he will be meeting his client, Count Dracula (Christopher Tester). Back in England, Mina excitedly shares news of Jonathan’s travels with her best friend Lucy Ioannou (Lu...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/171908/review-room-theatre-royal-stratford-east/ Fela Lufadeju, Harrison Wilding and Witney White – Room (c) Scott Rylander One of the strongest bonds on the planet is that between a mother and her child. Very little can break that under normal circumstances but what if that mother has brought her son into the world under conditions of extreme and continual duress? Welcome to Emma Donoghue’s  Room  which is receiving its world premiere at the Theatre Royal Stratford East this month. Little Jack (Harrison Wilding) is five years old today. To him, this is a momentous day as he is now grown up and his inner voice, Big Jack (Fela Lufadeju) can’t wait to celebrate his birthday with Ma (Witney White). However, unlike other children, Jack and Ma will be celebrating in Room, the single space in which they live and Jack’s entire world. Seven years previously, Ma – then a 19-year-old girl – was abducted by Old Nick (Liam McKenna) who has impriso...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/156215/the-hound-of-the-baskervilles-brockley-jack-studio-theatre/ For many families, Christmas means that along with decorations, presents, too much food and the Dr Who Christmas special, there is the annual trip to the theatre to see a well-known face appearing in one of the many pantomimes currently in theatres up and down the country. That’s all well and good but, if you fancy taking your family to something a little different this festive season, then I would definitely recommend you head off to the Jack Studio Theatre and go and see their Christmas offering  The Hound of the Baskervilles . If you don’t know the story, the  The Hound of the Baskervilles  concerns the curse of the Baskerville family which appears ready to work its evil way on Sir Henry Baskerville (Andrew Fitch) unless there is some skillful detective work by Mr Sherlock Holmes (Joey Bartram) and his erstwhile companion and assistant Doctor John Watson (Adam El...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/155565/m-r-james-ghost-stories-for-christmas-review/ Robert Lloyd Parry as M R James – credit Shelagh Bidwell For some reason, Christmas and ghost stories seem to fit together very well – think Charles Dickens and ‘A Christmas Carol’. One of the best writers of such stories is currently having his work celebrated as Nunkie Theatre Company bring  M R James: Ghost Stories for Christmas  to The Old Red Lion Theatre in Islington. Over three nights, Robert Lloyd Parry sits, the epitome of a late nineteenth/early twentieth century Cambridge don, and recounts six of Montague Rhodes James atmospheric stories. The two I saw were “Canon Alberic’s Scrap-Book” and “The Mezzotint”. Although the show was completely sold out, with audience members sitting on the steps around the stage, there was barely a hint of sound as the intro music – a gentle Elizabethan style singing by a countertenor which put me in mind of the closing credits number from B...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/152125/review-tonight-with-donny-stixx-at-the-bunker/ One of the great tasks of a parent or guardian is to protect their offspring from harm and danger. However, is it possible to protect them from the realities of life? And what happens when they find out that everything they have believed about themselves is fundamentally wrong on every level? The consequences of this can be seen in Philip Ridley’s play  Tonight with Donny Stixx  at South East London’s newest theatrical venue, The Bunker. As the lights go down, a figure edges his way onto the stage. Compared to the size of the performance space, he seems very small and looks nervous. He tries to speak then chickens out, then tries again and eventually Donny Stixx (Sean Michael Verey) starts to talk. The format of Donny’s show is the standard ‘Tonight With’ variety, questions from the audience and anecdotes about his life and fame, some humour, some tears, and – like all celebrities do...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/151981/mule-is-a-seriously-great-production-from-start-to-finish/ According to the old song, “ A mule is an animal with long, funny ears, He kicks up at anything he hears, His back is brawny and his brain is weak, He’s just plain stupid with a stubborn streak ” However, there is a much nastier side to the word and demonstrated in Kat Woods harrowing one-act play  Mule  at the Omnibus in Clapham. Based on a true story,  Mule  starts with a series of projected text messages (good work by Video Designer Carrie Shearman) between two sisters from Ireland. One having recently lost her job is heading off to spend the summer in Ibiza, while the other stays home and relays messages. As time goes on, things seem to be going okay, and then suddenly the messages stop, the phone goes unanswered and voicemails aren’t replied to. The home-based sister is getting more worried and upset and eventually calls in the Police to find her sibling, w...

http://www.lastminutetheatretickets.com/londonwestend/trumpageddon-simon-jay-the-kings-head-theatre/ Once in the the theatre, we get to meet the shambolic figure of Donald J Trump Trumpageddon  which I saw at the King’s Head Theatre on election night. (Simon Jay) who has ‘flown in’ after voting to be with us this evening. Donald is an orange faced affable(ish) character who, very bravely, not just talks to the audience about how great he is but allows them to question him on his campaign, thoughts and potential actions as President of the United States.So, I’m sitting writing this review as Donald Trump is declared the winner in the US Presidential Election. If you are on Twitter then just take five minutes to search for #Trumpageddon and you will see a huge reaction to the victory. You will also see comments about Simon Jay’s one-man show  I am going to be really honest and say my feelings about Trumpageddon are really conflicted. Simon Jay has really captured th...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/151683/review-of-139-copeland-road-a-really-superb-production/ I am really bad with horror stories. I don’t like scary movies and can still remember, and am frightened by the ‘nursery’ rhyme at the end of the first – and best –  Nightmare on Elm Street . My other problem is one of theatrical FOMO – Fear of Missing Out. So, when asked if I fancied going to review an immersive horror show called  139 Copeland Road , I naturally decided to put myself at risk of nightmares and go along to it. 139 Copeland Road  is a real house in South East London where a bad thing happened in 1974 when the occupier Mary Collins and her two children were burned to death in a very unusual house fire. Since then, the property has remained empty and picked up a certain reputation in the neighbourhood for strange phenomena occurring within it. But now, forty-two years after the original fire, a leading psychic is trying to find out if the reputation is des...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/150491/apocalypse-cruise-ship-love-affair-above-the-arts-theatre-review/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter Apocalypse Cruise Ship Love Affair (c) David Monteith Hodge, Photographise Cruising, and by that I mean getting into some sort of boat and traveling aimlessly on the high seas, has become a very popular pastime, in fact over 21 million people – 60% of them American – go on a cruise every year. A quick Google (other search engines are available) search reveals that there are cruises designed for every type of person. For example, there is Blues Cruise, which has just docked in Soho’s Above the Arts Theatre, which seems to cater for those that would like an  Apocalypse Cruise Ship Love Affair . Beginning with a flashback to the night when Captain Bleufonde (Joe McArdle) lost the love of his life overboard. Twenty years later and Blues Cruise journey no 666 and with warnings about the end of the world coming soon, Captain B...