Tezza's Theatre Place

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...

We think of the Restoration as being the start of a more enlightened age where things changed for the better. King Charles II learned from the mistakes of his father and, on the whole, his reign was not a bad one. However, the balance of power was, as had always been the case, very much skewed in favour of men with women very much in a secondary position. However, two ladies have gone down in history as being the ‘Spice Girls’ of their day. Intrigued? Then pop along to see  Oranges and Ink  by Claire Louise Amias which is having its world premiere at the Tristan Bates Theatre Nell Gwyn (Sarah Lawrie) and Aphra Behn (Claire Louise Amias) are two best friends united by theatre. Before becoming mistress to the King, Nell had been an actor and had appeared in a play written by Aphra. In fact, Aphra had pretty much given Nell her big break. Since then, Nell’s life has changed. Living in a lovely house in Pall Mall, dressed in exquisite gowns, today, Aphra has come for a favour....

Everyone has their own version of hell. One of mine is the idea of going on a cruise. Trapped in a metal box with nothing to look at most of the time except endless stretches of water. Still, at least on an Earth-based cruise, there are various stop-off points where you can explore the local scenery and get away from the rest of the inmates on the ship. For the passengers and crew of the Odyssey, the ship at the heart of new play  Floaters , getting away is not an option. The Odyssey is not one of the queens of the sea, majestically carving a path through one of the great oceans. Instead, she is a state of the art space liner, on her maiden voyage filled with crew and passengers, heading out on an 18-month journey around the solar system. This is the luxury cruise ship of them all, with a huge range of luxury amenities for the whole family. Including gyms, bowling alleys, archery ranges and yoga studios and three Olympic sized swimming pools! The beautifully prepared advertis...

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...

The Unbuilt City: Sandra Dickinson (Claudia) and Jonathan Chambers (Jonah) – Photo by PND Photography People keep secrets. They keep things from their nearest and dearest, their friends, random members of the public. They also have a tendency to keep things. When my grandmother died and we were clearing the house, we found every utility bill she had ever received kept in a folder in her desk. I mention this because the idea of keeping secrets and things is at the heart of Keith Bunin’s one-act play,  The Unbuilt City  which is getting its European premiere at the King’s Head Theatre The story takes place in the Brooklyn Heights townhouse of Claudia (Sandra Dickinson), a reclusive socialite. It’s a cold February and she is welcoming a visitor in the shape of Jonah (Jonathan Chambers) a young man on a mission, He has two things on his mind. One finding out if Claudia has certain, almost mythical, item in her possession and two, if she has it, convincing her to part with it....

Athena Stevens and Jonathan McGuinness – Photo by Stephen Cummiskey Playwrights like to manipulate people. When they pen a show, they will write certain characters from certain angles in order to get the audience to feel a certain way about them. Sometimes, this is just something that happens, based on where the show is meant to go. Sometimes though, this audience manipulation is a deliberate act on the part of a playwright determined to make the audience think a certain way. A prime example of this can be found in Athena Stevens play  Schism  which has just opened at the Park Theatre. Schism  is the story of two people and their twenty-year relationship together. It starts back in Chicago in 1998 where failed architect turned maths teacher Harrison (Jonathan McGuinness) is contemplating suicide in his small house. As the radio fills the air with the ‘wise words’ of Shumaker, Harrison starts to swallow tablets. He goes on doing this until he is suddenly interrupted by...

A sockful of custard Between 1951 and 1960, once a week virtually every radio set was tuned to the BBC Home Service and families would sit around listening to the madcap stories being transmitted on The Goon Show. At the heart of the show was one man, a comic genius by the name of Spike Milligan. For many youngsters, this name may not instantly draw gasps of recognition, but Spike was a comic genius of the first order and it was a sad day when he died in 2002. However, if you missed him, there is a chance to get a feel for the man with  A Sockful of Custard  at the Pleasance Theatre in Islington. A Sockful of Custard  is the work of Chris Larner and Jeremy Stockwell, two men who definitely know their Milligan. It is not a documentary by any means, but takes the audience from Spike’s early life in India, through to the family moving to the UK, his part in World War II – or as Spike memorably called in in his autobiography “Hitler, my part in his Downfall” – and on t...

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...

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...

Seeing work by new theatre companies is always exciting. So I was happy to head off to Styx, the new home of Theatre N16, to see  143 , the first production by Tiny Theatre Company. The numbers here refer to 1 writer (Isabelle Stokes), 4 actors (Olivia May Roebuck, Alexandra Brailsford, Aizaac Sidhu and Danny Merrill) and 3 plays. The first of which was  Pearl with Alexandra and Danny as Ava and Daniel respectively. Two young people who meet through a friend of a friend and somehow hit it off, despite Ava’s intense dislike of Daniel – not to mention his reputation of which he seems inordinately proud. Told as a series of inner monologues being shared with the audience, we follow their relationship from its very shaky beginnings through to the realities of living together and the fears that can become overwhelming when two people are together. The couple are not really suited, Ava is practical and logical, whilst Danny is a bit of a dreamer who always hopes that pro...

Kes at Jack Studio Theatre Back in my school days, I, along with everyone else had to read a book called ‘A Kestrel for a Knave’ by Barry Hines. At the time, I thought it was an okay book, but I didn’t really think too much about it. The book was made into a film by Ken Loach in 1969 and finally a play by Robert Alan Evans which is currently being presented at the Jack Studio Theatre in Brockley. A middle-aged man (Rob Pomfret) is troubled. images, sounds and memories are racing through his mind, taking him back to his childhood, in a northern mining town in the late 1960s. We travel back in time with him to a milestone day in his younger life when he was plain Billy Casper (Simon Stallard) a fifteen-year-old boy from a working-class home, with a brother down the mines, a flighty mother and an absent father. By any standards, Billy’s life is pretty bleak. School is horrendous for the young lad, and there is little to look forward to when he leaves and faces a future, like so many ...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/198816/review-philip-ridleys-vincent-river-park-theatre/ Vincent River – Thomas Mahy (Davey) Louise Jameson (Anita) Photo by David Monteith Hodge Losing a son or daughter must be devastating for any parent, but when that loss is the result of murder and nobody has been brought to justice then the pain and need for answers must be almost unbearable. This is the starting point for Philip Ridley’s one-act play  Vincent River currently in residence at the Park Theatre. Anita (Louise Jameson) has recently moved into a flat in Dagenham. The flat is a bit of a tip, and she hasn’t really done much about unpacking, but she is glad to be away from her old estate. Anita has moved because of the sniping and gossip following the murder of her son, Vincent, in a surprising and unlikely location. She is pleased to be away from everyone and is looking forward to starting a new life with no more prying eyes and wagging tongues. However, today she is not alo...

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/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/197527/review-father-of-lies-vault-festival/ Sasha Roberts and Tom Worsley in Father of Lies One of the amazing things about the Vault Festival – currently in full swing under Waterloo Station – is the sheer variety of productions that can be seen. I’ve watched a feminist show using the magic of Madonna’s music to get the point across, a farce based around the Holocaust, not to mention a dodgy one-act play about a bus stop and a cello. However, my latest venture to the festival was my first horror show as I went into the Cavern to see Bête Noire Productions’  Father of Lies . Father of Lies  is written and performed by Sasha Roberts and Tom Worsley, two very amiable young men with a taste for the macabre. Their production is based on a true story of a murder, or maybe a double murder, that took place in Würzburg, in what was then West Germany in 1973. It is part presentation and part reenactment as the two guys take the audience t...

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/194550/madonna-or-whore-the-vault-festival-review/ When you think about it in the great scheme of things, sixty minutes is not a long time. Two episodes of a standard sitcom or the average lunch break. Let’s be honest, I can put off writing a review for longer than an hour and not notice the time pass. However, Holly Morgan’s production  Madonna or Whore? , down at the Vault Festival, managed in just sixty short minutes to affect me so much, it may even have changed my life in some small way. The show itself is based on the “Madonna–whore complex” first identified by Sigmund Freud. Under the rubric of psychic impotence, this psychological complex is said to develop in men who see women as either saintly Madonnas or debased whores. I’m guessing right now you’re thinking “that sounds like it’s not for me”. I can understand that, as my first reaction was also along those lines. But stick with it as Holly has not only written a fantastic one a...