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More sex and violence: Playfight @sohotheatre

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The funny thing about three girls growing up under a tree is that you never quite know when they're being serious or just messing about. One time, they might be talking about giving blow jobs on a tennis court at school and another, they might be yearning for a connection that they can't quite explain. That's what happens in Playfight, an Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2024 hit currently showing at Soho Theatre .  Writer Julia Grogan doesn't give us much time to dwell on the lives of these three young teenage girls. One minute, they're fifteen and giggling, and then the next thing, they're off getting married or going to University. But underneath all the smutty talk, humour, and quick scene changes, there is a darker underbelly about relationships, power, and consent. It's about finding your way in a complex world that can dehumanise and degrade you. But as things move so quickly, you could blink and miss it. This is too bad as the performances capturing this co...

Music: Dreamgirls (revisited)

As a sometime fan of Dreamgirls since discovering it after the concert recording that was made in 2001 featuring Audra McDonald, I was chuffed to find out that the original Broadway cast recording has been remastered with a few additional tracks included ahead of the movie release (in February in the UK). It arrived today and I have been giving my colleagues a drip-feed on the musical brilliance of this show. This special edition also includes orchestral versions that could become... Karaoke versions... I can just see after a few work drinks me trying to lead everyone in a version of "And I'm telling you, I'm not going".

As for the movie soundtrack... That's out December 11, but thanks to the wonders of YouTube you can see just what Beyonce is like in the movie with the song "Listen" (below). Beyonce performed this last week on Oprah and the copyright lawyers haven't spotted this infringement yet... This movie is going to be huge... It's release is being covered by dreamgirlsfans.blogspot.com...

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Fantasies: Afterglow @Swkplay

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Play ball: Damn Yankees @LandorTheatre

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