Tezza's Theatre Place

Bad Girls – Photographer Lidia Crisafulli Ever thought about going to prison? I have to admit that there are times when the idea has quite appealed to me. No real worries, three meals a day, do an OU degree/Masters for free and get fit in the gym. Of course, that is not the reality for many and prison is often a dark, frightening and violent place best avoided at all costs. Still, there’s a fascination with the idea of prison life. Look at the various films and TV shows set in one of the world’s jails. Not to be outdone, musical theatre has its own salute to life inside in the shape of  Bad Girls: The Musical  which I have just seen at Upstairs at the Gatehouse in Highgate Village. HM Prison, Larkhill is welcoming a new inmate today. Rachel Hicks (Megan Jobling) is young, terrified and totally unsure of what is going on as she goes through prison induction under the brusque and impersonal eye of Senior Officer Sylvia “BodyBag” Hollamby (Carol Sharp) to whom, Rachel is jus...

LEAVE A COMMENT Our Country’s Good Transportation was a horrific punishment in many ways. People convicted for, what would be today, the tiniest crimes were taken from their families and friends, stuck on a ship for months, travelling in appalling conditions and then dumped in the colonies to serve out their time which could be anything from a few years to the rest of their lives. Not just that but when they got to the colonies, there were none of the trappings of a civilised country. Everything was rough and ready, living in tents, limited food and horrendous punishments for any misdemeanors, inflicted by, on the whole, rather brutal members of the army forced to be moved from their comfortable billets and look after the prisoners. For some, the worst aspect of life in the penal colonies was a lack of anything to do. But in Timberlake Wertenbaker’s 1988 play  Our Country’s Good  at the Bridewell Theatre, both the convicts and the guards definitely find ways to pass the ti...

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...