Tezza's Theatre Place

Remember when you were a child? Every year, along with all the other trials and tribulations of growing up and going to school, and extra layer of intensity would be added with the annual visit of your parents to your school to learn all about you. Fortunately, I was pretty much a model pupil and so my teachers always said positive things about me. Even so, I would always get worried when it was time for the folks to pop in and have a chat about me without me being there. One thing I never thought about though, was the effect of these visits on my mum and dad, something that has been partially rectified with the European premiere of Bathsheba Doran’s play  Parents’ Evening  at the Jermyn Street Theatre. In a nice bedroom, a nice middle-class couple are discussing their ten-year-old daughter, Jessica. The mother (Amy Marston) is sitting on the bed talking whilst reading papers, whilst the father (Peter Hamilton Dyer) is pacing the room, trying to discuss their child with h...

Ben Adams as Dad, Bea Holland as Mum and Guy Rhys as Bernard in Not Now Bernard at the Unicorn Theatre. Photography by Camilla Greenwell Want to get some peace and quiet and keep the little ones entertained for a while? Well, you can do no better than pop along to the Unicorn Theatre for their production  Not Now, Bernard . Based on David McKee’s book of the same name, this is the story of Bernard (Guy Rhys) a young boy who just wants to be noticed by his parents. Unfortunately, his Mum (Bea Holland) and Dad (Ben Adams) are too preoccupied with important things like watering plants, and watching the cricket to respond to his warnings that there is a monster in the garden that wants to eat him with anything more than a perfunctory ‘not now Bernard’. Then one day, he goes out to play in the garden and, while he doesn’t return, something larger and hairier does. Having not read the original book I wasn’t sure what to expect from this production, but as soon as I entered the aud...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/197791/review-red-squash-theatres-stuffed-brockley-jack-theatre/ I think there was a day, a long, long time ago, when I really wanted children. A youngster or two to look up to me, trust my judgement, call me Dad and support me in my old age. Luckily for me, and the world,, someone opened a bottle of wine, and the moment passed, never to return. So, no, I’m not keen to be a father but some people really do want a child of their own. Fortunately, if the standard method – kids ask your parents – doesn’t work, then there are a range of options available. Welcome to the world of Red Squash Theatre’s  Stuffed  at the Brockley Jack. Kim (Faye Maughan) and partner Jack (Ben Scheck) want a baby. Kim is forty and, as people are wont to say, the biological clock is ticking. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, the couple have found lots of advice on how to improve their chances of conceiving, such as drinking special teas or Kim spending a per...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/173480/review-punts-theatre503/ Punts, Theatre503 – Christopher Adams and Florence Roberts (courtesy of Claudia Marinaro) Parents always want what is best for their offspring. That’s a pretty fundamental fact of life really. For most parents, it’s fairly simple. Keep the sprog safe and warm, send them to school and provide a safe haven for them as they learn life’s various lessons before they are ready to stretch their wings and fly the nest. However, things are different as Jack has a learning disability. In these cases, Parents not only need to do everything above but will also try and provide as normal a life as possible for their youngster, even if this means doing things they themselves are not entirely happy with. This idea forms the backdrop to Sarah Page’s one-act play  Punts  at Theatre503. In a very nice West London house, a young lad is getting ready for an important night. Jack (Christopher Adams), a young man with le...