10
Presumably we have E4 to thank
for the fact the UdderBELLY I’m guessing this is Aslan then,
Folk tales galore in this children’s
is so fashionably purple. The given this is filed under the photo
show over at C - ‘Under The Dragon
large E4 logo parked next to it is gallery section called ‘The Lion,
Moon’
presumably there to remind us of The Witch & The Wardrobe’.
that fact.
06-10 // THEATRE
Dropping To Zero distractions to a minimum. Come if you theatre-goers may end up squirming
Natasha Wood: Rolling With
Ratatat Theatre Company feel brave - you may well hate the play, in their seats hoping not to be picked.
Laughter
Reading the synopsis, you might suspect but it might just get you thinking. There is a quasi-panto atmosphere at
Park Ravine Productions
awful zeitgeisty rubbish cobbled C cubed, 2 - 27 Aug (not 13), 5:45pm times which will not please everyone,
Sometimes the simplest stories
together by a few guffawing students (6:45pm), prices vary, fpp 182. but this is a unique show with skilled
are the best. Natasha Wood’s
on a cider fuelled bender. In actuality, tw rating 3/5 performers - worth seeing if you
performance is marked by the it’s a thoughtful, blackly comic piece [csm] don’t mind a bit of potential public
fact that it is purely a re-telling that casts a very critical eye over the embarrassment.
of her story up to now, but it
‘ Auschwitz thin’ body dysmorphia Denied Pleasance Dome, 2 - 27 Aug (not 14, 21),
makes an extraordinary show,
phenomenon. Both cast members Humble Theatre Company 3:45pm (4:30pm), prices vary, fpp 199.
chronicling the life she has
turn in decent performances; Dominic East meets West in this play that tw rating 3/5
spent in a wheelchair. Her
Goodwin in particular laces his cheery explores a range of issues, pertinent [mc]
power to move you is achieved
chef persona with layers of palpable in today’s political climate: Islam,
through relating those everyday
anger and brooding menace. Lighting terrorism and the role of women are The Local Stigmatic
and sound are used efficiently - though all addressed against a pre and post Playground Productions
emotions that we can all
one gag involving a defibrillator gets old 9/11 backdrop in both Baluchistan and This is a confusing play where subject
recognise - I defy anyone to not
very quickly. I suspect the playwright London. The acting is of a high caliber matter and purpose remain elusive
be touched. Wood maintains
is to blame for the odd pacing, - particularly that of the young and old throughout. Apart from recurring
a very natural rapport with
reminiscent of an afternoon play on Franchesca (Jennifer Bryden and Emma conversations about dog racing, most
the audience throughout the
Radio 4, that renders the whole thing a Vale respectively), while the scenes of of the dialogue was clouded with
performance, and it is clear
little disjointed. Trifling quibbles aside; domestic violence are heart-wrenching. obscure and cryptic language. Although
she enjoys being under the
this is topical and passionate stuff well There are also several successful scenes an impassioned performance was
spotlight. Put simply, this is
worth watching. where the two worlds collide, portraying given by Rupert Savage as Graham - at
life-affirming stuff that is C cubed, 2 - 18 Aug, 3:45pm (4:35pm), parallel situations in their different times a trifle too impassioned - the
guaranteed to put a smile upon £8.00 (£7.00), fpp 186. communities. Unfortunately, despite predominant theme of Heathcote
your face.
tw rating 3/5 a striking ending, the play attempts Williams’s play - envy - was not
Pleasance Dome, 1 - 27 Aug (not
[cmg] to encompass too many issues and in communicated in an effective manner.
13, 14, 20, 21), 6:15pm (7:15pm),
doing so, sometimes ends up embracing When the two male protagonists turned
prices vary, fpp 210.
Cherry Smoke cliché over nuance. to violence, it appeared to be desultory
tw rating 5/5
Barebones Productions C cubed, 2 - 27 Aug, 8:15pm (9:35pm), rather than developed; the two working
[jm]
Superb performances unfortunately prices vary, fpp 184. class Londoners, although clearly
serve to underline the problems with tw rating 3/5 indignant, do not seem sufficiently
James McManus’ script, in this drama [mo] malicious for their acts of aggression.
about amateur boxing, abuse and The play would do better by being a
devotion. We follow no-good Fish from Doing My Bit little less opaque and the acting was also
childhood to disaster, and the boxing Calm Productions occasionally stilted. Overall, a sense of
aspect is well-integrated and interesting. Are we all racists? Does everyone have implausibility reigned.
Jason Planitzer is fantastic as Fish’s a tiny Bernard Manning inside them? C cubed, 2 - 27 Aug, 4:45pm (5:35pm),
long-suffering brother and kudos goes Do kebab shops ever run out of meat? prices vary, fpp 204.
to the actors for flawlessly executing All questions forthrightly asked by Zoe tw rating 2/5
85 minutes of complex dialogue, in Lewis as Lesley - a single woman who [mo]
dialects built to match their down- works at Gap and wants to bridge the
and-out characters. So much the worse gap (geddit?) between East and West. Shakespeare for Breakfast
then, that McManus gives them such Fortunately the majority of the humour C theatre
unbelievable things to say - at one point, is less forced in this one-woman Everyone’s favourite tights-fancying
a stomach ache is caused by “something monologue, with some great throwaway Elizabethan receives another timely
vicious behind the eyes”. Autumn Ayers lines, as she narrates the worst night out update from the Breakfast ensemble as
also deserves a more complex character of her life. Lewis’ characterisation is they return for a 16th year of silliness
than the can’t-live-without-her-man spot on, with knowing nods to common in their ‘Carry On Shakespeare’ of
stereotype. But withhold your judgment experience engaging the audience. Only a show. ‘Shakespeare For Breakfast’
and go see the show - this young a repeated set-up involving a dance has much to recommend it - Damian
company is one to watch. by Lesley and a racial epiphany with Sandys’ direction makes shrewd use
C cubed, 2 - 26 Aug, 4:35pm (6:00pm), each character she encounters, detracts of the available space, with characters
prices vary, fpp 180. from what is otherwise a more subtle exploding from all sides of the
tw rating 3/5 treatment of well-trodden themes. auditorium to deliver their lines with
[alm] Rocket @ Demarco Roxy Art House, 2 pace and verve. Gemma Whelan stands
- 27 Aug (not 12, 19), 9:10pm (10:00pm), out in a strong cast as a vampy middle-
Crave by Sarah Kane £7.00 (£5.00), fpp 186. European Cleopatra determined to
Little Agitations tw rating 3/5 shag the bollocks off anything in sight.
Do not come to ‘Crave’ expecting an [lo] Sadly their energy and enthusiasm
easy time: the late Sarah Kane was a can’t compensate for a very variable
playwright who challenges and riles Inside Private Lives script; there are moments of genuinely
her audience never allowing them Kristin Stone Entertainment sharp and witty writing, but an over-
to relax. Being squeezed into a seat “I might as well be working for them”, reliance on puns and poor running gags
uncomfortably close to the bare black mutters one audience member fifteen prevents it from being a true Fringe
stage was certainly claustrophobic and minutes into this ‘interactive theatrical classic, rather more authentic ‘Carry
unnervingly intimate - but that was the experience’, having already been called On’.
intention. ‘Crave’ is not so much a play upon to dance with Christine Jorgensen, C, 1 - 27 Aug, 10:00am (10:50am), prices
as a series of disconnected voices, and America’s first transsexual, and confront vary, fpp 223.
pretty damn miserable voices at that. David Koresh, the ill-fated cult leader. tw rating 3/5
Each voice speaks over each other in And he has a point - this is a show [cmg]
pain, but very occasionally a moment made or broken by the audience, who
of real beauty surfaces. The production are called upon to pass judgment on
does a competent job of a difficult controversial figures from Twentieth
more reviews online daily
piece, notably keeping set and character century history. The less extroverted
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