Tezza's Theatre Place

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/192567/review-the-narcissist-the-hen-and-chickens-theatre/ Self-help books, CDs and DVDs are ten a penny these days. There are whole sections in Waterstones and Foyles dedicated to helping you improve yourself. However, while all of these try to teach the reader how to feel better about themselves, very few – possibly with the exception of Sarah Knight’s  “The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k ” take things to a real extreme. That is until Flux Theatre presented  The Narcissist  which I saw at the Hen & Chickens Theatre. How to describe  The Narcissist ? Now that really is a question. Well, writer/performer Will Adolphy has put together a sort of ‘Ted Talk’ with a difference. At the heart of his message is himself, me, you, everybody and the fact that we are, or possibly should be, the most important people in our world. That’s not to assume we are – particularly when confronted with the rather stark answer to the ...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/184224/review-absolute-certainty-at-the-white-bear-theatre/ Absolute Certainty – Credit Brittain Photography Mental illness is something that we are all terrified of in some respects. How many times have articles about mass murderers, serial killers and the like included an interview with someone who is dumbfounded as the perpetrator ‘ looked and acted just like everyone else ’? In fact, an awful lot of the thriller genre relies on mental health issues not being identified in order to keep the suspense going. And mental health is at the heart of Laila Bouromane’s debut play  Absolute Certainty  having its first run at the White Bear Theatre. At a fairly nondescript greetings card manufacturer, someone is slightly out of kilter with the rest of the team. That someone is Michael (Mike) Dunhill (Andy Murton) a member of the accounts team who basically likes to keep himself to himself. He doesn’t get involved and attempts at conversation ...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/155934/review-matthew-bournes-the-red-shoes-5-star/ THE RED SHOES. Ashley Shaw ‘Victoria Page’. Photo by Johan Persson Occasionally a show is so overwhelming in its awesomeness that I have real trouble translating my thoughts and feelings about it into words on a screen. Just such a show is Matthew Bourne’s new production  The Red Shoes  which is firmly ensconced for the Christmas period at Sadler’s Wells. Based on the cult movie of the same name by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and using music by acclaimed composer Bernard Herrman, arranged by Terry Davies,  The Red Shoes  tells the story of Victoria Page (Ashley Shaw) a ballet dancer who is discovered by Boris Lermontov (Sam Archer) and becomes a member of his touring ballet group. As well as Victoria, Lermontov also discovers composer Julian Craster (Dominic North). Lermontov is a hard taskmaster who believes the only thing his dancers should have an interest in...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/153579/swan-lakeloch-na-heala-by-michael-keegan-dolan/ Swan Lake by Michael Keegan-Dolan. Photo by Colm Hogan Sometimes a review is the easiest thing in the world to write. Everything works with a show and the words flow so fast I can’t type them fast enough. At other times, it is the opposite. For whatever reason, or reasons, the words don’t run smoothly. Michael Keegan-Dolan’s  Swan Lake/Loch  na  hEala  at Sadler’s Wells is an example of the latter type. Loosely based on the traditional tale, this version has been transferred to contemporary times and moved to a small town in Ireland. Loosely based on the traditional tale, this version has been transferred to contemporary times and moved to a small town in Ireland. The princess is a thirty-six-year-old man (Alexander Leonhartsberger), with mental illness, living with his mother (Elizabeth Cameron Dalman) in a run-down house in rural Ireland. Unusually for what...