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One hundred people’s ninth favourite thing: [title of show] @swkplay

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[title of show] takes you back to a time before the fast paced social media where word of mouth for a positive show came from chat boards, video diaries or (god forbid) blogs. A simple staging makes it an ideal (and economical piece to stage), but it’s sweet and earnest take on just putting on a show, and putting it out there and taking a chance gives this show its heart. With a strong and energetic cast and endless musical theatre references, it’s hard to resist and it’s currently playing at the Southwark Playhouse .  It opens with Hunter (Jacob Fowler) and Jeff (Thomas Oxley) as struggling young writers in New York City. An upcoming New York Musical Theatre festival, inspires them to write an original musical within three weeks to make the deadline. As they discuss ideas, writers block, distractions and endless other good and bad musicals, an idea for a show emerges. Which is about writing a show for a musical theatre festival.  Their friends Heidi (Abbie Budden) and Susan (Mary Moor

Movies: Only Connect / Bermondsey


How many cheap jumpers can one take in an evening? Well I guess it was the 1970s... And it was Bermondsey...

Wednesday evening I caught a double bill of 1970s television movies at the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. I was dreading the experience thinking that it would feature a lot of cheap woolen knits and moaning about socialism. It did of course, but the treat of the evening was catching the 30 minute play Bermondsey which was described in the programme as Brokeback Mountain in a south east London Pub.

It was a bit more sophisticated than that, and told the story about a love triangle and how the wife and gay lover conspire to keep a man from running off with his mistress. Written by Sir John Mortimer and filmed in 1972 it was definitely a cut above the usual fare that is served up at these festivals. There was plenty to talk about over post cinema drinks at the smart new bar at the BFI Southbank (not that an excuse was really needed for that anyway)...

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