Tezza's Theatre Place

Peter Groom in Dietrich Natural Duty – Photo by Monir El Haimar Sometimes it’s amazing how a celebrity is well known but actually isn’t. Take Marlene Dietrich for example. I grew up knowing Marlene and her songs, especially “Lili Marleen” and “Falling in Love Again” but have never seen any of her films or even seen a recording of her performing. In fact, beyond the image, I knew nothing about Dietrich until I made a visit to Wilton’s Music Hall to see the amazing  Dietrich: Natural Duty . Created and performed by Peter Groom.  Dietrich: Natural Duty  is a wonderful tribute to a truly remarkable singer, actor and all-round performer. Peter, looking absolutely stunning, really brings Marlene Dietrich to life in a one hour show co-written and directed by Oliver Gully. Everything is there. The flawless makeup, the beautiful hair, the gorgeous gown by Kathleen Nellis, and the attitude are on a simple stage and Dietrich is back in the limelight once more. The show is basica...

Laura Rogers & David Haig in Pressure. Photo by Robert Day Any time you fancy doing something that involves leaving home, what do you do? You check the weather. Be it, watching a forecast on the TV, hearing it on the radio, checking on your phone or reading it in the paper, we all rely on a dedicated team of forecasters to let us know if the BBQ is on or if we are sitting in watching Bad TV this bank holiday. Now, for a moment turn your thoughts to the forecaster. If they get it right, then nobody remembers, but if they get it wrong, then they are never allowed to forget it – Michael Fish’s 1987 hurricane for example. Ultimately, we rely on the weather forecast most days to decide what we will wear or where we will be going. But imagine if you need to know the weather before going ahead with something not just important but which could ultimately change the course of human history and just think about what it would be like to be the person tasked with producing that forecast. Tha...

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/196133/a-serious-play-about-world-war-ii-vault-festival/ When you have won every comedy award possible, what else is a production company to do? Well, in the case of Willis & Vere, who did so well last year at the Vault Festival with their show  The Starship Osiris , the next challenge was to move from comedy to drama. So this year, they have brought their new show  A Serious Play About World War II  to the Vault and I was lucky enough to get to see it. This is no ordinary production. It begins with Ian Fleming (no relation I think) playing some mournful music on a violin. The music sounds like it is Jewish in origin and the reason for that becomes clear when George Vere and Adam Willis come on to the stage to talk about this project. George and Adam have carried out a lot of research before writing their show which tells the story of holocaust survivor Hirshel Günzberg. A Jewish boy was taken to Auschwitz when he was ju...

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/177561/review-of-yank-at-charing-cross-theatre/ The company of YANK! at Charing Cross Theatre, credit Claire Bilyard 50 years ago, in 1967, homosexuality was partially decriminalised in England. In 2000 it became legal to be gay and a member of the UK armed forces. In the USA, the ban on gay folk serving wasn’t fully lifted until 2011. Why do I tell you this, you may ask. Well, the reason is that during WWII it was illegal to be gay in the armed forces and, despite the desperate need for men and women to serve, LGB personnel were persecuted by the military police for being who they were. Yet, when general conscription has been announced and the military machine is desperate for manpower, it’s inconceivable that the odd gayer didn’t slip past and serve their country. Their stories were never told until now as Joseph and David Zellnik’s musical  Yank!  opens at the Charing Cross Theatre. It’s 1942 and the USA has finally noticed that E...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/173806/review-the-whos-tommy-theatre-royal-stratford-east/ William Grint as Tommy – Photo Credit Mike Kwasniak It’s often good when an old classic musical comes on again, particularly if the original writer has been involved in the new production, even contributing a new song to the show. This is particularly true of production company Ramps on the Moon who are currently touring with  The Who’s Tommy  which I was lucky enough to catch at the Theatre Royal Stratford East this week. World War II and two people fall in love. Captain Walker (Max Runham) and Nora (Donna Mullings, voiced by Shekinah McFarlane) meet and after a whirlwind romance they marry. As Captain Walker goes off back to war, he leaves his pregnant wife at home waiting for his return. Time passes, and Nora gives birth to a son who she names Tommy (William Grint, voiced by Julian Capolei and Matthew Jacobs-Morgan) who, like his mother is anticipating the day his father re...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/173595/review-the-investigation-the-bread-and-roses-theatre/ You probably know that following the end of the Second World War, the victorious allies prosecuted senior members of the Nazi hierarchy in a series of trials at the Nazi Party’s spiritual home in Nuremberg. What you may not know is that in the 1960s there were more war crime trials – specifically around events that happened in Auschwitz – and these form the basis of Peter Weiss’ new play  The Investigation  which I saw at the Bread & Roses Theatre in Clapham. There didn’t appear to be a plot as such to this production and, I have to admit, I was a little sceptical of where it was going after the opening sequence. Whilst I do not necessarily think that Donald Trump and Theresa May are the best leaders of their respective country, I’m not sure that lumping them in with Idi Amin, Robert Mugabe, and Adolph Hitler was entirely appropriate or relevant. However, once this openin...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/171373/review-miss-nightingale-the-musical-the-vaults/ Nurse Brown – Tamar Broadbent ‘Miss Nightingale’, Miss Nightingale the musical 2017 Before 1933, Berlin was the place to be. There were bars, clubs and parties to satisfy every taste. Unlike most of Europe at the time, it was possible in this pre-WW2 city to be openly homosexual and enjoy a relatively normal – whatever that is – life. However, things changed in 1933 when the Nazi party under Adolph Hitler, took control. Bars, clubs, cabarets were shut down in droves and hedonism was discouraged by extreme measures. If you happened to be a poor Jewish homosexual man, then your options were very limited and the best move was to get out of Germany and seek more friendly skies. Welcome to the world of  Miss Nightingale  which is currently enjoying a successful run at The Vaults, Waterloo. London 1942 and the war is at its height. The Americans have finally turned up to join in and Lond...