Black Superhero... "it's fine play, brilliantly acted, very funny and well worth 2 hours of anyone's time." @royalcourttheatre @royalcourt #BLACKSUPERHERO @dyllonburnside @RochendaSandall @AkoMitchell

Last night Stuart and I went to see black, queer comedy Black Superhero at the Royal Court theatre in London's glitzy Sloane Square.

 

Written by actor Danny Lee Wynter (this is their debut work) the plot concerns itself with a tight-knit group of black performers, some of whom are struggling to make a go of their careers while one has made it big. Very big.

 

Our hero, David (last night played by Lewis Brown), is one of the struggling ones. He is pretty angry all the time and has strong views on pretty much everything; race, representation, lifting-up, gay roles for gay actors, fidelity, fairness, food, booze, drugs, his friends, his sister - you name it. And he likes to argue. 

 

The one in the group who has made it big is King (Dyllón Burnside, yes, him off of Pose) who is the star of a successful superhero film franchise. King is also impossibly handsome. And everyone around him seems to be attracted to him. 

 

Including David. David loves King. Only King is married to Stevie (Ben Allen, an excellently satirised white liberal).

 

So, the play explores the black queer experience, racism, representation, self-identity, acting, open gay relationships, same-sex marriage, unrequited (and requited) love, and ultimately abuse within relationships - both romantic and familiar.

 

The on-stage debates are strong, robust, enlightening and energetic - and often very funny. The characters are mostly self-aware of their own situations. "Has fighting for the right to get married led the gay community to be more liberated or less", asks one character. 

 

The supporting cast includes Eloka Ivo, Ako Mitchell, and Rochenda Sandall - who are all excellent.

 

In the second act the reasons behind David's anger are revealed which is sad and strays into Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life territory.

 

That said, it's fine play, brilliantly acted, very funny and well worth 2 hours of anyone's time.  

 

The last play I saw at the Royal Court was Ryan Calais Cameron’s For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy. Another very funny, black play that has recently transferred to the West End. I only hope Black Superhero also gets a similar chance at a wider audience.

Get ahead. Get a hat.

Succession is such a fantastically dark comedy show. Jesse Armstrong is a genius. So well written.

Four children all looking in vain for their media empire father’s approval. So far, so Murdoch. 

 

Jeremy Strong’s Kendall is the most damaged of the four. Almost psychotic in his drive for his Dad’s love and attention. 

 

Connor played by Alan Ruck has all but given up on his Dad - he’s been rejected so many times. “He never liked me anyway”. 

 

Sarah Snook's finest performance is probably in the latest Season 4, Episode 3. She still holds out hope her Dad loves her. But she is a politician and knows he doesn’t. She’s brilliant as Shiv. 

 

But for me though Kieran Culkin steals the show as youngest sibling Roman. His funny, petulant, vulnerability is a joy. He loves his Dad to a fault. And gets wickedly abused for his misplaced trust. 

A Little Life... "You are left in no doubt of the corrosive effect of trauma." @haroldpintertheatre

**SPOILERS👇👇👇 - if you've not read the book**

 

Last Friday night Stuart and I went to watch A Little Life at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London's glitzy West End.

 

And five days later I still can't stop thinking (or dreaming) about what we saw. We'd heard a few things about it before we went in, but we were not prepared for the shocking cruelty of it all. The whole show was quite visceral. And I found it quite triggering. We had about 6 people walk out. It had me in tears.

 

It’s a play based on A Little Life, the 2015 novel by American writer Hanya Yanagihara. We start with four friends on stage at a birthday party. Four New Yorkers reaching 30 years old. Four college friends. Each has a story to tell. Only one, Jude, has a devastating secret too.

***SPOILERS***

 

As Jude's secret is very slowly revealed throughout the play it destroys the life of everyone around him.

 

It's a terrible secret to keep. It's a secret of child abuse, sexual and physical violence, rape, imprisonment, trauma, chronic pain, and disability. And all this gets acted out in front of us. It's not just hinted at. It's a pounding, relentless portrayal of abuse, blood and torture that left me quite breathless. And leads Jude to self-harm again and again and again. Cutting, cutting and cutting again. And due to the 3h 40mins running time of the play we see it again and again and again.

 

You are left in no doubt of the corrosive effect of trauma.

 

That said, it's brilliantly acted. There is a star-studded cast; James Norton plays Jude (him off of Happy Valley), It’s A Sin actor Omari Douglas plays JB, Bridgerton’s Luke Thompson plays Willem and The Witcher’s Zack Wyatt plays Malcolm. The rest of the cast is made up of Elliot Cowan (The Crown, 2:22 A Ghost Story), Zubin Varla (Tammy Faye, Equus), Nathalie Armin (Force Majeure, The Doctor), and Emilio Doorgasingh (Best of Enemies, The Kite Runner).

 

The much talked of stage nudity of the cast is mainly when portraying Jude as a 6-year-old, 8-year-old, 12-year-old and then 16-year-old boy being raped, beaten, or mutilated. Or in later life as a 40-year-old man as the beatings, abuse and rapes continue. Sexy it is not. Sickening to watch.

 

I can certainly see why when the Daily Hate published the leaked nude photos from the production - out of context - it must have seemed like it was publishing snuff movie child porn screen grabs.

 

I’m glad I’ve seen the play though. But goodness there is a lot of cruelty in it - physical and emotional.

 

I don't think I'll be reaching for the book anytime soon.

Blackstock Road. North London.

Blackstock Road. North London. I’ve lived in the area for 35 years. It’s barely changed in style yet constantly reinventing itself in content. 

African, Asian, European, Middle Eastern, and Central American cuisine. Crazy shops. Friendly staff. 

“It’s hardly scenic nor is it ritzy, but dig a little deeper behind the facades of this bustling shopping street and you'll find a microcosm of multicultural London”

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20230409-londons-blackstock-road-the-world-in-a-street

Eugenius! "great music, some super songs, knock-about humour, and fabulous singing made for a really enjoyable funny, feel-good night out" @TurbineTheatre @eugeniusuk

Last night Stuart and I went to the diminutive Turbine Theatre next to London's glitzy Power Station to see Eugenius! - a thrilling, high-energy 80s-inspired British musical with a superhero-sized heart and an uplifting score.

 

The show opens with comic book character super-manly-super-sexy-super-spandexed Tough Man (impossibly handsome Dominic Andersen) addressing the audience directly. He's a Tough Man but worried that the love of his girlfriend Super Hot Lady might weaken his powers. Which sets the tongue-in-cheek tone for the rest of the show. 

 

Tough Man has been created by our chief protagonist and comic book fan Eugene (cute Elliott Evans) who, along with his geeky best friends Janey (power-house of a voice Jaina Brock-Patel) and Feris (perfect comic timing James Hameed), go to school in the UK. 

 

Tough Man and his back story came to Eugene in a dream. Only unbeknownst to Eugene, his dreams are real. So, when Hollywood comes a-knocking and his Tough Man comic gets made into a film it's only a matter of time before Tough Man's real-life arch-enemy (and brother) Evil Lord Hector (a gloriously camp villain Joseph Beach) arrives on the film set to kill the actor playing Tough Man. So far, so Galaxy Quest.

 

Needless to say, the script is very funny and there are loads of geeky niche references to 1980s comics, movies, kids TV, and musicals. It is all as camp as Christmas. That said, there is panache to spare and everyone's tongues are firmly in their collective cheeks.  

 

Unlike the trend for many recent "jukebox" musicals Eugenius! has its own unique score with book, music and lyrics - all by Ben Adams & Chris Wilkins. A fact in of itself is to be greatly admired.

 

In short, great music, some super songs, knock about humour, and fabulous singing made for a really enjoyable funny, feel-good night out.

A Winter’s Tale "It's a beautiful production spanning both stages. And a genius exit, pursued by a bear." @The_Globe #TheWintersTale

A couple of weeks ago Stuart and I went to see Sean Holmes's production of A Winter’s Tale at the Globe Theatre and the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse on London's glitzy South Bank.

 

It’s a great show.

 

The audience start their journey in the aristocratic luxury of Sicilia’s claustrophobic court packed into the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. Then after the interval we move to the wide-screen, pastoral playground of Bohemia in the Globe Theatre, before once again returning to Playhouse for the end of the play.

 

Telling the story of two Kings (two brothers) we first witness one brother's jealously of his brother and his wife. The green-eyed monster takes over which leads first to despair, then death, and finally dismissal. Being Shakespeare all’s well that ends well with the usual mix of the banished returning, the once thought dead rising once again, and the regretful nobs kicking themselves for jumping to conclusions.

 

The use of the space is great, the acting is universally brilliant, and the comedic songs and stand-up routines in Bohemia are very funny. It's a deservedly sell-out production. Special mention does need to go to Ed Gaughan's Autolycus who is very, very funny. 

 

It's a beautiful production spanning both stages. And a genius exit, pursued by a bear.

 

Thumbing through the program I did notice the title of one of the creatives. "Candle Consultant."  Flaming heck!

Abuse of power comes as no surprise - Jenny Holzer

Guys & Dolls "In my humble opinion, it is the must-see show on the West End at the moment. If you can get a ticket!" @_bridgetheatre

Last Friday night Stuart and I found ourselves promenading around the Bridge Theatre watching Guys & Dolls - "one of the greatest musicals of all time. It has more hit songs, more laughs and more romance than any show ever written." Well, I'm not sure I would go quite that far but glitzy London Bridge Quarter was certainly rocking the boat. It was nearly flawless.

 

As you, dear reader, will no doubt be aware, if you have read me previous musings, I like a show. A big show. A musical with lots of punch. A throw your hands on the air all-singing, all-dancing, laugh a minute, gem of a show. And boy, this was one such show. It is deserving of all its five-start reviews.

 

We laughed, we sang along, we danced with the actors, we laughed some more. It was colourful, beautifully acted, amazingly sung, and even the show's sexism was largely turned on its head dispelling many memories of previous dodgy productions I could mention.

 

The plot is simple - in 1950s New York the men like to gamble, but the Salvation Army is there to save their souls. Our anti-hero Sky Masterson (hunky Andrew Richardson) takes a bet from Nathan Detroit (Daniel Mays) that he can woe Sally Army cold-fish Sally (geddit?) Brown. He tricks Sally (stunning Celinde Schoenmaker) to meeting him for dinner – in Havana! Sally brushes him off but eventually falls for Sky. Sky then falls for Sally. Both then try to change. So far, so Grease.

 

We then get taken on a whirlwind tour of Manhattan's seedy night clubs, midnight prayer meetings, and (most hilariously) to a Havana gay night club. The energy levels never drop. And of course, a happy romance is on the cards.

 

Nicholas Hytner has transformed the space so we were totally immersed as we moved among the action; its platforms rising up to reveal New York City’s bars, clubs and street corners. We loved it.

 

All the cast are great, although my personal highlight was Detroit's showgirl fiancé Miss Adelaide (the incomparable Marisha Wallace). Every song Wallace sang was a show-stopper. We were open-mouthed at both the fabulously rude A Bushel and a Peck and the super sexy Take Back Your Mink. 

 

Of course, the songs Luck Be Your Lady, Sit Down You're Rockin' The Boat (two encores), and If I Were a Bell got the crowd singing along.

 

In my humble opinion, it is the must-see show on the West End at the moment. If you can get a ticket!

The Unfriend... "an outstanding cast, a razor sharp script, and some neat directorial flourishes - a riotous hit" @theunfriendplay @CHIMPSINSOCKS @ReeceShearsmith @Markgatiss @CriTheatre @criterion_theatre

Last Thursday night Stuart and I went to see Steven Moffat's dark new comedy The Unfriend at the Criterion Theatre.

 

On the face of it, it's a simply idea. You meet someone on holiday who you sort of get on with when perhaps your normal decision making is out of kilter. You socially awkwardly say goodbye and you say must stay in touch. And then that person actually shows up on your doorstep. And they might be a murderer.

 

Add to this; an outstanding cast, a razor sharp script, and some neat directorial flourishes - and you have a riotous hit on your hands.

 

Yes, it's a comedy of manners. Yes, it's very West End. But it's very, very funny too.

 

Amanda Abbington is note-perfect as Debbie. Reece Shearsmith brilliant as her husband Peter. Frances Barber plays the murderous cuckoo-who-won't-leave Elsa with glee.

 

Whatsmore, when Elsa befriends Peter and Debbie's stroppy teenage son and daughter (brilliantly played by Gabriel Howell and Maddie Holliday) and further inveigles herself into their London home, it is more than apt that Debbie describes her as, 'Murder Poppins.'

 

I won't give the game away but in the second act we have a policeman, a downstairs toilet, and enough farce to fill a firkin.

 

Catch it while you can. Our sides were aching.

My Son’s a Queer (But What Can You Do?) “Are you filming?”

Yesterday afternoon I went to see My Son’s a Queer (But What Can You Do?) at the Ambassador’s Theatre in London glitzy West End. 

A decade before selfie culture kicked in, Robert Madge was a young child ahead of the curve, demanding their family home-video every flamboyant performance they ever staged in their Coventry living room. It’s as well they did: those videos have propelled Madge (who is non-binary) via social media celebrity to their own autobiographical solo show. The videos are the early focus of My Son’s a Queer, and it can feel self-centred as Madge, a Midlands Alan Cumming in vest and pants, replays the act-outs and homespun theatrics of their youth. But in time, this childhood diva melts into the background and their loving family emerge as the stars of the show. The question here, as per Madge’s lyrics, is: “Why does it have to be a choice of just two?” 

Disney buff Madge wants to wear Belle’s yellow dress but their dad buys them a Beast costume instead. In a shocking moment, their school discourages Madge’s theatricality, which “won’t help him make friends”. 

What is Madge, keener on stagecraft than soccer, supposed to do? Happily for them, and advertised here by abundant footage of their infancy, the Madge family closes ranks, love-bombing this domestic impresario and show pony in the making.

A great show. Funny and poignant. 

Sylvia “A tremendous show. Go see” #hiphop #sylvia @oldvictheatre

Yesterday afternoon I went to the Old Vic in London’s glitzy Waterloo to see Sylvia - the hip-hop musical about Suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst’s fight to give women the right to vote in the UK. 

It was a tremendous show. A great story with great music. Very similar in style to Hamilton (some, perhaps unfairly, have dubbed the show Lady Hamilton) it deserves all the awards coming to it. 

It was funny too. And intersectional. Although writing a musical about intersectionality might not have seemed a barrel of laughs at first. 

The intersectionality occurs between the fundamental feminist idea that women are equal to men and the then emerging socialist idea that all people are equal. 

In 1903, Sylvia’s mother Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), an all-women suffrage advocacy organisation dedicated to "deeds, not words". The group identified as independent from – and often in opposition to – political parties.

Later Sylvia broke from this apolitical stance and became a socialist believing all disenfranchised people should get the vote. This schism provides much of the drama of the show. 

Emmeline charges on for women. 

Sylvia charges on for women, men, the poor. 

It’s fairly clear where the show’s sympathies lie. 

Later after partial enfranchisement is achieved Emmeline Pankhurst actually stands as a Conservative political that caused great guffawing among the audience. 

Go see. 

RIP Lily Savage. He would say the unsayable. Tell it how it is. So many great one-liners. A man with a big heart. You will be missed.

RIP Lily Savage you fabulous loud-mouthed, Birkenhead drag queen. So many fantastic memories. So many hilarious performances. His eight-year residency at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern was a must in the 1980s. He would say the unsayable. Tell it how it is. So many great one-liners. A man with a big heart. You will be missed.

And his best one-liner? Back when the Met stormed into the RVT for it being a gay bar, all wearing rubber gloves to “protect” themselves during the HIV crisis, on stage Lily immediately quipped “Looks like we have help with the washing up!”

Beyond The Streets London: A celebration of graffiti and street art... "we loved it. Especially the pop-up record store." @saatchi_gallery

On Sunday lunchtime Joanna, Stuart and I went to the Saatchi Gallery in London's glitzy Chelsea to view the Beyond The Streets London exhibition.

 

A hugely ambitious undertaking, curated and founded by graffiti historian Roger Gastman, the exhibition attempts to highlight a vast range of artists with roots in graffiti and street art - some of whose work has evolved into highly disciplined studio practices. At its core it examines the fundamental human need for public self-expression - whether it was in 1960s Philadelphia where Cornbread’s tags invented modern graffiti, at the birth of hip hop in the Bronx in 1973, or in the 1970s punk movement.

 

Each of the exhibition’s chapters explore exceptional moments in the history of this artistic movement and how street culture’s enduring strong influence still resonates throughout pop culture, music, fine art, album covers, flyers, ads, graphic designs, fashion, and film.

 

Hundreds of artists are featured. Including Fab 5 Freddy, DAZE, Stickymonger, Broken Fingaz, Beastie Boys, Blondie, ZEPHYR, Keith Haring and Guerrilla Girls to name but a few.

 

The irony that street art takes place on the streets and not in an art gallery was not lost on us either. The commercialisation of street art is clear for all to see. The exhibition is sponsored by Adidas after all. Exit through the gift shop.

 

That said, we loved it. Especially the pop-up record store.

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead... "a thought-provoking piece, wry and otherworldly" @BarbicanCentre @Complicite @simonmcburney

Last Friday night Stuart and I went to see the Complicité theatre adaptation of Olga Tokarczuk's quirky, eccentric, and wildly popular eco-thriller novel Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead at the Barbican Theatre in London's glitzy Barbican Centre.

 

Set in a area that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany, the play focusses on an unreliable narrator Janina who tells us the story of locals who are dying one by one and her own struggle for animal welfare. Post-modern in style, Janina addresses the audience directly to gain our sympathy and trust.

 

Directed by Simon McBurney the play uses light and dark as its themes; the plot, characters, shadows, masks, music, sound effects, and back projection are all shady (in every sense).

 

The affect is for you to judge. Good or bad. It's a thought-provoking piece, wry and otherworldly. Swirling around the central murder mystery is also a tale about the cosmos, astrology, the poetry of William Blake, and the possibilities (and limitations) of activism.

 

Fun but, at three hours, perhaps a little too long.

The Way Old Friends Do... "well-meaning, witty, high camp, rather fun, but ultimately rather light on its loafers" @parktheatrelondon

Last night Stuart and I went to see new comedy The Way Old Friends Do at the Park Theatre in London's glitzy Finsbury Park.

Short review:
Two friends put together a drag ABBA tribute band. It's well-meaning, witty, high camp, rather fun, but ultimately rather light on its loafers. Best viewed with a drink or two.

Longer review:
Seemingly aimed at ABBA fans, but I suspect really aimed at gay men of a certain (middle) age, this Ian Hallard play serves as a vehicle to explore male friendship, homophobia and family.

Our two heroes, the loveable Peter (played by Hallard) and the campy Edward (James Bradshaw), are old school friends who meet up one night after a Grindr match. Grindr is of course just a plot device for them to get back in touch with each other and share stories of a certain Swedish band they have both worshipped since boyhood.

Before long their gender-reversed Abba tribute show is conceived, born, and launched onto the am-dram circuit. The boys always wanted to play the girls in the band so Peter plays Agnetha and Edward plays Frida. As for the boys, Sara Crowe as a show stealing Mrs Campbell plays Benny and Rose Shalloo as a nervous babbler Jodie plays Björn.

The cast is completed by Donna Berlin as their lesbian stage-manager Sally and Andrew Horton as Christian, a disruptive 'Chekov gun' of a role who resembles the young interloper in All About Eve.

Ably directed by Mark Gatiss, the production wisely keeps the band’s singing off stage. The rotating set (designed by Janet Bird) is neat though as are the costumes (also by Bird).

Peter and Edward have a lot of fun dragging up yet backstage talk openly and often of the toxic legacy of generational homophobia, the struggle to come out to family, and 'the shame that lingers' after they have. That said, in the show Peter comes out to his grandmother (voiced by Miriam Margolyes) on the telephone which is as equally beautifully awkwardly as it is sweetly tender.

Things get less good when the plot kicks in in the second half. And rather weak plot it is. The drama just gets a bit... thin and frothy. The end, when it does come, is perhaps all too predictable. That said, along the way there are enough jokes and ABBA references to keep us well entertained.

Hallard is certainly a good comic writer who brings lots of warmth to his work. But I think I'd like to see a bit more melancholia, a bit more sadness in his writing. It is, after all, these contrasts that make ABBA so wonderfully compelling. The light and shade. The Scandi noir with sequins.

Fun, if you're an ABBA fan. Of a certain age.

St Mary's Church, Islington "a great tour" "incredible 120-step high bell tower that commands amazing views of London"... @islingtonwalks

Last Saturday afternoon Stuart and I went to, entered in, had a tour of, and most excitingly went up St Mary's Church in London's glitzy Islington.

 

The tour was organised by Islington Guided Walks and was very informative. 

 

St Mary's Church, Islington, or to give it it's full title "The Church of St Mary the Virgin", has been on the same site for a thousand years. In fact, there are been five churches on this site in total. As the centuries have come and gone the first church was been replaced (12th-century Norman church), left to ruin and rebuilt (15th-century medieval), expanded and rebuilt again (18th century), and finally during the 1940 Blitz bombed (the first London church to be so) and rebuilt once again in 1956.

 

The current church is big, light and airy but, I have to say, a little bland inside. But it boasts an incredible 120-step high bell tower that commands amazing bird's-eye views of London.

 

From...

Alexandra Palace antenna to Crystal Palace antenna

The City

The London Eye

The Houses of Parliament

The Emirates Stadium

Hampstead Heath

The Shard

Centre Point

Canary Wharf

...to name but a few.

 

Great tour, and the tower is well worth a visit.

Oh, and one of the pews was a gift from The Arsenal Football Club in 1956!