Tezza's Theatre Place

PBGSTUDIOS: Ashley Byam, Keeran Blessie, Declan Spaine. People go to university for many reasons. For the majority, the main one is to get a degree and, following that, a good job. However, along with the educational aspects, university is also a place to make life-long friendships and maybe even meet your one true love. But what happens afterwards? A question that is addressed in Jake Brunger’s  Four Play  at the Above the Stag Theatre. Seven and a half years after having met, and fallen in love, at university, Pete (Keeran Blessie) and Rafe (Ashley Byam) are still together and still in love. They have a lovely apartment and live the perfect DINK life – wearing designer clothes, shopping at Sainsbury’s, drinking Chablis and enjoying snacks containing sun dried tomatoes. Life couldn’t be any better for these two. But there is a niggling doubt that has wormed its way into their relationship. After over seven years together, Rafe and Peter couldn’t have a firmer relationshi...

My first show of 2020 sees me, once again Islington bound, to the fabled King’s Head for Unleash the Llama’s production   JEW…ish . This is the story of TJ (Edie Newman) and Max (Saul Boyer) two millennials that met at university, were members of the polyamory society and shared many experiences together. Now they have left Uni and are in the real world – Max is a not very successful stand-up comic (and part time barista) whilst TJ is a performer who expresses herself through the world of creative interpretive dance. They are still together – sort of – and probably have as many differences with each other as they do things in common. For example, Max is Jewish, and has the stereotypically large overbearing family to go with it, whilst TJ is definitely a Gentile and firmly believes that Max’s family hates her. Given their history can, and indeed should, these two try and make a go of things, or should, and indeed can, they let each other go their separate ways? What a great sta...

Games For Lovers – Photo by Geraint Lewis Back in the mists of time, relationships and love were two separate things. A match between and a boy and a girl would be arranged and terms agreed between the respective families and that was that. If the couple were lucky, they might, over the course of their life together, fall in love with each other but, if not, as long as the relationship was stable, everything was good. Nowadays, things are much more complicated. Singles bars, speed dating, apps and the various rules around dating, make finding the ‘right one’ more like work than fun. That’s the theory at the heart of Ryan Craig’s play  Games for Lovers , receiving its world premiere at The Vaults Theatre. In contemporary London, four millennials are searching for love, each using their own method to find what they seek. Radiologist Martha (Evanna Lynch) spends much of her time either pining over co-worker Dr Robert, or her best friend Logan (Calum Callaghan). For his part, PE t...

Rupert Street Lonely Hearts Club – Photo by PBGstudios In ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ Harper Lee came up with one of the most quoted sentences of all time. “ You can choose your friends but you sho’ can’t choose your family, an’ they’re still kin to you no matter whether you acknowledge ’em or not, and it makes you look right silly when you don’t .” Most people only know and use the first part of the quote, especially if a member of their family has exasperated them – I use it all the time about my brothers – but, in writing these words, Harper has perfectly summed up the central theme in Jonathan Harvey’s 1995 play  Rupert Street Lonely Hearts Club  which has just opened the Above the Stag Theatre. At No 15 Rupert Street, hairdresser Shaun (Tom Whittaker) is living a good old life. He is happily cohabiting with his girlfriend Juliet. His life isn’t bad. The business is doing OK and his home life is good. Well apart from the fact that Juliet has had to go to Barbados for a fe...

Open Clasp Snake Coercive controlling domestic abuse may not sound like a good subject to turn into an entertainment for the masses. When the play is based on real-life stories from women that have suffered and survived such abuse, then it starts to sound even less like something I would want to see. However, being nothing if not professional, I went along to the Soho Theatre to see Open Clasp’s production  Rattle Snake . In a cube-shaped stage, two women sit at a dinner table facing each other. They don’t speak to each other but they are interacting by carrying out a set of what looks like ritual moves with the glasses on the table. As they get faster, one of the women makes a mistake and the two freeze, looking around in fear, waiting for something or someone to react to the mistake. When nothing happens, the two relax slightly, then start again. After a while, they stand and talk to the audience. We learn that they are Suzy (Christina Berriman Dawson) and Jen (Eilidh Talman...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/198412/review-old-fools-tristan-bernays-southwark-playhouse/ OLD FOOLS – Frances Grey (Viv) Mark Arends (Tom) Photo Nat James Photography Remember in school being taught that “ For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction ”? Although this is Newton’s third law of physics, I believe that, in reality, it is applied in many walks of life. For example, it often feels that as soon as something positive happens in my life, then along comes a big fat negative to even it out. The effects of this law certainly apply to the couple in Tristan Bernay’s play  Old Fools  at Southwark Playhouse. Old Fools  is the story of Tom (Mark Arends) and Viv (Frances Grey) and their lives together from their first meeting until final parting. Theirs is a pretty ordinary tale really. They meet, fall in love, get married, have a child and after a lifetime of unforgettable experiences, look set to spend their twilight days together watching the s...

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/197662/review-bismillah-an-isis-tragicomedy-vault-festival/ Bismillah! An Isis Tragicomedy The media likes things to be easy. Everything is black or white. You’re a Brexiteer or a Remainer. Jeremy Corbyn is an inspired leader or a closet Trot, etc. Obviously, this approach ignores the shades of grey that are between the two extremes and sometimes leads to very skewed reporting. Still, there are some absolutes in the world and in the war against the Caliphate, it’s really easy. ISIS is bad and everyone that fights them – especially our brave troops – is good, simples! Let that be your starting point as you head into the Vault Festival for Wound Up Theatre’s one-act play  Bismillah! An Isis Tragicomedy . The show started when we entered the performance space. There, in the centre of the room surrounded by the audience – was a man in army uniform tied to a stake as the music of Queen blasted out. This is Dean (Matthew Greenhough) a soldier who...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/195858/review-mad-as-hell-jermyn-street-theatre/ Vanessa Donovan and Stephen Hogan in Mad as Hell, credit of Eddie Otchere. There is always a frisson of real excitement when I find out the production I’m off to see is a world premiere. Knowing I will be one of the first people to view and comment on a show is both exciting and humbling at the same time. So, it is with some trepidation that I write about  Mad as Hell  receiving its world premiere at the Jermyn Street Theatre. In a Jamaican bar, a local girl is having a good time. Her name is Eletha Barrett (Vanessa Donovan) and works as a dance hostess with an enlarged moral sense. Yes, she will accept money to dance with men but that is as far as it goes. Sitting watching her is a middle-aged white guy (Stephen Hogan) in a rumpled suit. The two strike up a conversation and Eletha seems unimpressed with the man, even when he boasts that he is the renowned actor Peter Finch. Peter may be...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/195750/review-the-soul-of-wittgenstein-the-omnibus-theatre/ Wittgenstein: Richard Stemp and Ben Woodhall- Photographer Lidia Crisafulli When looking for a profound opening statement to a review, it’s not often I delve into the world of musical theatre. But this quote from  The King and I  immediately sprang to mind as being very appropriate to  The Soul of Wittgenstein  which has opened the Omnibus Theatre. The quote goes – “If you become a teacher, by your pupils you’ll be taught”, and it fits the bill perfectly. Late 1941 and a middle-aged man – real name Ludwig Wittgenstein (Richard Stemp) – is getting ready for work. He is unhurried in his preparations and meticulously irons each item of clothing before putting it on. We move now to Guys Hospital where, in a private room, a young man by the name of John Smith (Ben Woodhall) is lying in bed. He is joined by Ludwig dressed in a porter’s jacket and here to administer John’s ...

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/188725/review-awkward-conversations-with-animals-ive-fcked/ Some things really should not be written about. If a writer has the temerity to write about the subject, then that writing definitely should not be turned into a play. And, if it is turned into a play, it should never be performed with the original title. And if all the above have been ignored, then we are left with Rob Hayes one-act play  Awkward Conversations With Animals I’ve F****d  at the Lion & Unicorn Theatre. Told as series of individual monologues,  Awkward Conversations With Animals I’ve F****d  is the story of Bobby (Linus Karp), a young man with serious social issues. Bobby lives alone in a bedsit with very few possessions and the first time we meet him, he has spent a night of ‘passion’ with a dog he met wandering the streets the previous evening. Whilst the conversation is one-sided, it flows rather well. Bobby is obviously an intelligent and articu...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/186056/review-skin-tight-the-hope-theatre/ Tom (Philippe Edwards) and Elizabeth (Louise Hoare) in Skin Tight Over the course of a lifetime together, a married couple must go through an awful lot. Initial romance, wooing each other, living together, marriage, children, growing old together and finally death. Could you summarise a life spent as part of a couple in only one hour? I know I couldn’t, but luckily Southern Magpie Theatre have brought Gary Henderson’s play  Skin Tight  to the Hope Theatre in Islington to do the job for me. Tom (Philippe Edwards) and Elizabeth (Louise Hoare) have been together for a long time. Since meeting as children in their small New Zealand town, the two of them have had a life together of ups and downs. Together they have faced life and all it could throw at them. They’ve loved, each other, fought each other, argued, made up and generally been a normal married couple. Tom went to war, while Elizabeth stay...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/185309/review-the-busy-world-is-hushed-finborough-theatre/ Michael James and Mateo Oxley – Credit Scott Rylander Let’s start this review off with a quote “ I refuse to prove that I exist ,” says God, “ for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing .” If you aren’t sure where this is from I will let you know at the end of the review. However, this quote get’s nicely to the central crux of Keith Bunin’s play  The Busy World is Hushed  which is having its European premiere at the Finborough Theatre. Hannah (Kazia Pelka) is a happy Episcopalian minister and widow. She is working on a book about a recently discovered gospel which may predate the ‘famous four’ – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – and, if the dates work out correctly, may have been written just after the death of Jesus. Like many academic types, Hannah is really enthralled by her work but dreads the thought of writing it out, so she is interviewing Brandt (Mateo Oxley) f...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/178307/review-of-lazarus-theatre-companys-the-taming-of-the-shrew/ Lazarus Theatre Company’s The Taming of the Shrew Shakespeare wrote his many plays, sonnets, etc over 400 years ago, when times were very different. Should his work, therefore, be judged against current standards of morality and political correctness? Well, probably not but I have a confession to make. There is one Shakespeare play that I have assiduously avoided. This is mainly because I have thought that no matter how the text is treated, the basic premise of the play will always be wrong from every standpoint and, rather than be entertained, I will end up incensed by the production. However, I was recently persuaded to give it a go and so headed to the Jack Studio Theatre to see Lazarus Theatre Company’s production of  The Taming of the Shrew . The production starts before it starts and, there is a great deal going on as the audience take their seats, so it is definitely w...