Tom Stuart is Josh Kilmer-Purcell and this is a love story. John performs as the drag queen Aqua. Josh meets Jack (who is a sex worker), and they move in together. Stuart is sensational. He portrays both Aqua and Jack, and an array of other characters. However, he is dressed as Aqua and manages to capture her…
Read more I Am Not Myself These Days (Pleasance Courtyard, Saturday 8th August 2015) *****
Tom Crawshaw is Boris Johnson, and we are taken on a very funny journey through Boris Johnson’s life. Boris is doing a run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival because he wants to win the Foster’s Comedy Award. This conceit allows the production to be self-referential and highlight the elements which make great comedy. There is much to keep…
Read more Boris: World King (Pleasance Courtyard, Saturday 8th August 2015) ****
A drunken night out, but full of humour and engaging. We follow Sheffy on a night out and meet his work colleagues and friends. On the night out Sheffy falls in love. This is an extremely energetic performance from both performers. Of course, there are lots of shows about a drunken night out on the…
Read more Night and Daze (Underbelly, Friday 7th August 2015) ****
It took me some time to get into this show. The young cast were extremely enthusiastic and they were clearly enjoying taking part. Onions become a metaphor for several issues (drug taking, immigration, familial love). The story worked on several layers, like an onion, I suppose. The piece was an exploration of young people’s lives,…
Read more Takeaway by Jackie Kay. (Space one, Friday 7th August 2015) ***
This was my first show of the Fringe this year, and I really enjoyed it. Basically, it is about two people falling in love. The protagonists are both very different men, but they both share a passion for the music of Divas. That’s singers like Dusty, Aretha and Diana Ross. The story is told by the…
I visited the Manchester Royal Exchange to see this production because I wouldn’t be able to catch it in Leeds at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, which is nearer to me. I’m glad I saw it and it was an extra treat to see Robert Gilbert just out of the RSCs Henry plays playing Sam. Rolling…
Read more The Rolling Stone (Manchester Royal Exchange, Wednesday 22nd April 2015)
“I am lead lined. I am tungsten”. Last time I saw Oppenheimer was the last performance in the Swan Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon. This was on the Swan’s thrust stage and when I left the theatre, the stage was covered in chalk and daffodils. Here was another transfer from Stratford that has moved from a thrust to a…
Read more Oppenheimer (The Swan Theatre and Vaudeville Theatre, 7th March and 4th April)
I saw Pilot Theatre’s Antigone at York Theatre Royal in the Summer. This was Roy William’ss modern dress version, and Williams updated by setting the play in an urban cityscape and exploring gang culture. Williams’ version worked really well. In presenting the play in a modern setting, it explored some of the issues relevant for…
Read more Antigone (Barbican, 22nd March 2015, and Pilot Theatre production)
For this season, the Hampstead upstairs has rearranged the space so the audience are sat round the stage. The obvious effect of this is that the performances are close and intimate. The set is the sitting room of the house that Stevie Smith lived in with her aunt in Palmer’s Green. It’s the kind of…
Read more Stevie (Hampstead Theatre, Saturday 21st March 2015)
When I visit the Donmar, I usually get a little grumpy. I’m reminded though I got through on-line in priority booking, and I’m stuck out at the back, and down the side. Today, I was in C37 which is stage right. When the audience enters the space, they are confronted with a black box set…
Julie Raby: A Dyslexic Writer 