Tezza's Theatre Place

  Meeting the man/woman/person of your dreams is difficult enough at the best of times, but in a lockdown situation, it’s pretty much impossible. However, all hope is not lost as, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, there are a preponderance of dating apps where swiping left or right may be the way to meet that special one. Into the field comes a new app,  Manimals , and I was lucky enough to attend a workshop on the App the other night. Before the workshop started, I received instructions on how to set up my Manimals profile, a lot less of a painful experience than for some dating apps. Then, at the appointed time, I opened Zoom and got ready to play – and who knows, meet the partner of my dreams – along with the other workshop members. When we arrived, we were given a briefing by Mimi on the workshop and the technical and access support available to us. We were also warned that the workshop wasn’t really SFW, which intrigued me even more. We then went off in pairs to...

As theatre has moved online, there have been some valiant attempts to make use of technology in order to bring productions to an audience, starved of live shows. The latest in these events is  The House That Slipped  presented by Teatro Vivo. Prior to the show, I received a quiz, or questionnaire to complete, Show starts with a very friendly technical run-through, which is interesting as the 2070 technology is far above ours in 2020. Soleen (Bernadette Russell) then came on and taught us our first bit of 2070 etiquette, how to say hello. Next, we were whisked off to 12 Laburnum Drive, where we got to meet the residents Kevin Baxter (Michael Wagg), his wife Sandra (Sarah Finigan), her sister Julia (Kas Darley) who is living with the Baxter’s, through no fault of her own and finally Yasmin (Tasha Magigi) from the flat upstairs. After the introductions, the group tells us what their current situation is. Whilst being on lockdown during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, they had some...

Fight Night. VAULT Festival. Photo Mark Senior. (Pete Grimwood and Edward Linard). Now here’s a conundrum. I love going to The Vaults Festival and I really enjoy immersive theatre. However, even my best friends wouldn’t call me sporty in any way and I am really not all that keen on boxing – two men fight in a ring and get paid millions, two men fight in the street and end up in the cells. So you can imagine that when I was asked to go to the Vaults and see an immersive production set around a boxing match I was in two minds as to what to do. However, FOMO being the mother of all necessity, along I went to see Exit Productions latest production  Fight Night . The production is set in the world of boxing where a new promoter has set up a match between an old boxing pro, Ian “Bam Bam” Bradshaw and an up and coming usurper to the crown, Joe Williams. However,  Fight Night  is so much more than a boxing match and over the roughly 90 minutes run time, the audience get ...

Unexploded Ordnances (UXO) I never knew but the Barbican is built over a piece of land that was laid bare by the actions of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. In fact, so many bombs were dropped on the area, that nobody is sure if they have all gone off yet. Sitting under the wonderful piece of brutalist architecture could be a surprise, primed and ready to change the face of London once more. This then was the starting point for  Split Britches Unexploded Ordnances (UXO)  at the Barbican. As this is a sort of immersive production and, by its very nature, every show is different, there is not much I can tell you about the show but let’s see how far I can go without giving away any spoilers. When you first enter The Pit, the scene in front of you will be very familiar – especially to fans of Stanley Kubrick movies. Basically, you will be entering into the war room from. A circle of white tables with lights over them and three large video screens above is the area wh...

The White Plague – Audience Immersive theatre is one of the most difficult to describe in a review. Probably more than any other type of theatrical production, immersive theatre is exceptionally personal to the person experiencing it. So it is with the latest immersive theatre show to hit London, but I will try my best to give you an idea of what it is like to live through  The White Plague  at the Landor Space. Things start off nice and gently when you arrive and are given a name tag which describes something about you – mine was ‘mauve jumper – and then go up the stairs to receive your opening briefing and whiteout goggles. Ah yes, this performance is experienced with the loss of your sight. The premise is that a mysterious and contagious virus which causes the population to go blind starts to spread. The government panics – as they often do – and takes immediate action by locking all the affected populace into an internment camp. And that’s really all I can tell y...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/198426/review-of-together-by-factory-irregular-at-camden-peoples-theatre/ Sometimes I get asked to review a production that turns out to be very difficult to write about. It could be that it is a one-off or something that can only be experienced or even something that simply defies description.  Together  which I caught at the Camden People’s Theatre is pretty much all three of the above. Together  is a sort of combination of immersive theatre and a free for all. It starts from the moment you receive your show notes and are given a website to open in order to communicate with the performers (Smaragda Kara, Piotr Mirowski, and Yujing Yan). All becomes slightly clearer when you go into the – for want of a better word – performance space. In three of the corners there is a screen and behind that a performer who is talking into a webcam – the screen, acting as a PC, showing them to you and the rest of the audience. You are then free t...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/197726/review-hidden-figures-ww2-colab-factory/ HIDDEN FIGURES: WW2 Time for some magic. I want you all to sit back and relax. Now name three people you can think of from  World War II  – but not anyone related to your family. Think hard about them. OK. I’m going to make a prediction. Everyone you are thinking of have three things in common: One, they are men. Two, they are white and three, they are English/American. Because those were the only people that took part and won the Second World War weren’t they? We all know, that in reality millions from all walks of life were involved in the war. Quite a lot will have fitted the stereotype above, but a significant number didn’t. All have a story to tell and some of these stories are truly amazing and can be discovered in the immersive show  Hidden Figures: WW2  at the Colab Factory. This really is an immersive production which starts well before you arrive at the location. The i...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/172953/review-whitechapel-suspects-lunatics-and-a-leather-apron/ The year is 1888 and the place is East London. As summer comes to an end the area is rocked by the horrific murders of two ‘working’ girls. The murders are bizarre and violent and the locals are running scared. Welcome then to  Whitechapel: Suspects, Lunatics and a Leather Apron  an immersive trip into this world. The experience starts before your actual trip back in time. After booking, the audience members receive various emails giving them information about the murders and the experience they will be going through. Interestingly, among the emails is a disclaimer – something I’ve never had to complete for an immersive production before – which needs to be signed before the adventure begins. At the appointed time, you arrive in a nondescript road in London’s East End standing by a blue door and waiting for kick-off. A friendly local confirms your name – and that you have...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/172060/guide-me-o-thou-great-redeemer-camden-peoples-theatre/ One of the most frustrating things about being a reviewer is when you see something and have to write about it but can say virtually nothing as the show itself is one of those site-specific shows where to say too much would really give everything away. A case in point is  Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer  which is getting its premiere at the Camden People’s Theatre. So let’s see how far I can go with telling you something of my experience. When I arrived, I was sent down into the basement to a door with a notice on the outside “Queen Mother Remembrance Society, please knock and wait”. A few seconds after knocking, the door was opened by our host David (David G. Lees) who welcomed each of us in turn with a personal remark. David himself is a tall Glaswegian who is currently living in London but is moving – albeit reluctantly – back to his hometown soon. And that’s the reason for...

http://www.carnstheatrepassion.com/review-hip-the-2017-vault-festival-until-feb-5th/ Remember the old song,”if you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise”? Well, let’s bring it right up to date with some new lyrics so, altogether now “If you go down to the Vaults this month you’re sure of a big surprise”. Yes, the annual Vaults festival is back causing thousands of people to go underneath Waterloo station, walk along the fascinating road known as graffiti street and enter a subterranean world where not just every night is a different but every hour brings surprises galore. Last night I had my first visit to the festival of 2017, to see Jolie Booth’s one woman show Hip. Now, the first thing about this show you need to know is that this is not an ordinary show. Any production that starts with a notice at the entrance stating “This is an Extra-live Performance. Audiences are invited to respond to a show in whatever way feels natural; Latecomers’ are permitted” is n...