Juicy with Zest
Tales from the Bitten Peach
Pan Asian Cabaret at the Underbelly Festival Cavendish Square, West End until 21st September
Review by Denis Valentine
As a show Tales from the Bitten Peach is first and foremost a highly entertaining affair, with some very impressive cabaret set pieces and acts, yet under the surface of all the lights, sounds, dancing, music and fire there are poignant messages interlaced throughout. For anyone really listening and watching closely, there is great room for thought and a chance for better insight and understanding of some of the trials and tribulations of Asian culture, whether it be in terms of being reflective in on itself or on a globally viewed level.
Read more…Stagey and Cagey
The Shatter Box
by James Lewis
Proforça Theatre at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre, Islington until 14th September
Review by Denis Valentine
Upon entering the Lion and Unicorn theatre space the audience is met with the striking visual of a darkened room with computer screens monitoring heartbeats and other vital signs and with a man lying in a cage. It is clear from the starting point that at the very least the production about to unfold will be visually bold.
Writer James Lewis deserves praise for coming up with such a bold theatre concept. Dystopian, torture, interrogation plays are not particular common and the fact that Proforça would look to put on such should be recognised as a bold and interesting choice.
Read more…L’Heure Exquise
555: Verlaine en Prison
by Logan Lopez Gonzalez and Eleanor Burke, music by Debussy, Hahn and Fauré
Green Opera, Grimeborn Festival at the Arcola Theatre until 7th September
Review by Patrick Shorrock
This is, essentially, an artfully crafted hour-long song recital with a bit of acting, narrative, and context thrown in, and featuring extracts from the poems and letters of Paul Verlaine. Those who love the French Chanson – and I do – are likely to be extremely happy. We have some glorious singing from countertenor Logan Lopez Gonzalez, who put this this show together with director Eleanor Burke. Accompanied nicely by Pianist Stella Marie Lorenz, he entrances with his long beautifully sustained high notes at the end of the sensuous phrases. This is just gorgeous.
Read more…Umbrella Understanding
Man In The Rain
by Tony Bell
Quiet Light at Stanley Arts, Norwood until 31st August, then on tour until 30th September
Review by Denis Valentine
One man shows, especially of an autobiographical nature, can often be challenging and brave pieces, and Man In The Rain written and starring Tony Bell is no exception.
It is clear from the start that Bell will take his audience on a journey through his life and explore and reflect on the relationships that have moulded him and display to the audience what makes a person the way they are … and what has led them to being in the same room as him now.
The main theme of the show is quite literally that of living and the moments going through life that shape a person. Bell begins at childhood and there are pieces and moments that most in the audience growing up in Britain will be able to directly relate to. A great depiction is the end of childhood innocence being met with the pitfalls of adolescence, where Bell’s singing of a childhood song is interrupted with increasing intensity with slurs and the confrontation of adolescent troubles.
Read more…Mirrored in the Memory
Swan Lake
by Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky, choreography by Alexei Fadeyechev and Nina Ananiashvili, after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov
The State Ballet of Georgia at the London Coliseum until 8th September, then on tour until 24th November
Review by Harry Zimmerman
It is often said that one of the purposes of artistic endeavour is to lift us from the harsh realities of day to day living. At this time, most of us need some form of escape from the trials and tribulations of everyday life; and the State Ballet of Georgia’s production of Swan Lake certainly offers an evening of sumptuous escapism.
The company has grown in stature under the artistic guidance of Nina Ananiashvili, former prima ballerina with the Bolshoi Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, and there was a packed and expectant audience in the London Coliseum, waiting to be transported into the well-loved fairy-tale. But would it have a happy ending?
Read more…I Know Thee Not
Before Nell and After Agincourt
by Peter Mottley
Crooked Billets Theatre Company at the Theatre at the Tabard, Chiswick until 31st August
Review by Andrew Lawston
With its enormous battles, rousing patriotic speeches, and labyrinthine Fifteenth Century European politics, Henry V is among Shakespeare’s most celebrated plays, and is endlessly quoted by people who haven’t seen it. Before Nell and After Agincourt, a brace of dramatic monologues by Peter Mottley that effectively bookend the events of Shakespeare’s historical opus, seeks to introduce a fresh perspective by focusing on two of the supporting characters, Nell Quickly and Pistol.
Read more…Figaro up Close and Personal
Le Nozze di Figaro
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte
Ensemble OrQuesta, Grimeborn Festival at the Arcola Theatre until 31st August
Review by Patrick Shorrock
This performance by Ensemble OrQuesta contains much to admire, but doesn’t quite come to life. In many ways, the Arcola, where the orchestra isn’t acting as a barrier between audience and singers, is an ideal venue for a piece as dramatic as this, but the impact here is muted in a number of ways.
Read more…Hampton Haikus and Eclogues
Poetry Café
compiled by Anne Warrington
Poetry Performance Events at the Hampton Hill Theatre, 24th August
Review by Denis Valentine
The Hampton Hill Theatre offers a lovely community space for performances of many different theatrical styles and variety. The poetry night it put on was a great ode to the medium and showcased the different forms poetry can and may take.
The evening began with The Beast, a fun theatrical tale, with good energy well told by writer and performer Sam Ball, which set the tone well of a fun, welcoming and supportive night. Heather Moulson’s Basket of Poems led to some amusing audience interaction and were delightful with their metaphorical cheekiness.
Read more…Buttonholed
The Button Jar
by Deborah Whitmarsh-Boyce
Sensible Footwear at the Hen and Chickens Theatre, Highbury until 25th August
Review by Heather Moulson
This intimate venue is a welcome return for me, one I frequented constantly last year for the Camden Fringe. We are greeted with a picture of studied disarray, the setting for The Button Jar, where two women select music on their iPhone. It becomes clear that they are sisters and it swiftly unravels that they are coping with the loss of their mother. Choosing music for a funeral is always contentious, and brief squabbles lead to the appropriate song being agreed.
Read more…Addictive Watching
La Bohème
by Giacomo Puccini, English libretto by Becca Marriott in an adaptation with Adam Spreadbury-Maher
Opera Makers and Arcola Theatre, Grimeborn Festival at the Arcola Theatre, Dalston until 24th August
Review by Heather Moulson
A chaotic set of unwashed plates and takeaway paraphernalia are the giveaway that this adaption of Puccini’s opera has contemporarily setting. Christmas day, and the casually dressed Mark is pining for his lost love Musetta and for their lost Christmas plans. In a smooth baritone, Thom Isherwood sets out Mark’s, and our, journey. He is joined by Ralph, an unsuccessful playwright, played by fine voiced tenor Martins Smaukstelis, and they reflect on their poverty and hide from the landlord. Their situation seems hopeless, yet with underlying humour and optimism, the friends fight back.
Read more…
Mark Aspen 