Featured Post

Two Ladies: La Bella Bimba at Barons Court Theatre / Canal Cafe Theatre

Image
T hey sing. They dance. They clown around. They even wash clothes! Such is the story of La Bella Bimba, part of the Voila Theatre Festival, which highlights new and emerging artists. A tale of two Italian ladies who land in 1920s New York, trying to break into Broadway without speaking a word of English. It’s harmless, primarily even if a little nonsensical, and is currently playing as part of the Voila! Theatre Festival .  I caught the performance at the Barons Court Theatre , where the intimate setting created an evocative atmosphere reminiscent of dark New York alleyways. The space was almost claustrophobic with a distinct smell of rising damp, making you feel immersed in the story of two Ladies hanging around the theatre doors of Broadway. On the plus side, the theatre has some of the most comfortable seats you will find in any pub theatre in London. As the naive and hopeful singers, Co-creator Lucrezia Galeone as Carlotta and Sarah Silvestri as Cecilia are fine singers with co...

Theatre: Silence The Musical


The Silence of the Lambs is a movie that calls out for a parody... At least to take the edge of some of its more intense moments. Therefore it was with much anticipation that I ventured to Above the Stag theatre in Victoria to see Silence! the musical. For anyone who has seen the Silence of the Lambs more times than they care to remember, this is a great little musical that doesn't disappoint, which even bases its main theme on what the composers call a "pleasant major mode variation" on Howard Shore's Silence of the Lambs theme. This production in the intimate (or cramped) Above the Stag theatre is full of fine detail from the movie, such as Jodie Foster's inexplicable accent, her lesbian relationship with her roommate, and her cheap shoes...

The music includes such little gems as I can smell your .... complete with slightly suggestive ballet and a tango Quid Pro Quo. Throughout the show a chorus of lambs can be found running on and off stage... The cast were particularly good and managed to keep the laughs coming for the most part.

Probably the only slightly unnerving thing about this show is the venue itself. Given its location, the Stag seems to be a pub that is mostly populated by creepy gay civil servants who would not look out of place in Buffalo Bill's home... And you do have to make your way past them to get to the upstairs space. The entire place also smells like a toilet. However, if you just pretend the grimness it is all part of the atmosphere for the show you'll be fine... It runs all this month and is worth catching...

Popular posts from this blog

Opera and full frontal nudity: Rigoletto

Image
David McVicar's oddly modern production of Rigoletto is back at the Royal Opera House . This modern and minimalist dark production has evolved over the years. It is better lit now but there is still an orgy and full frontal nudity within the first thirty minutes. This enables anyone not in the stalls an excellent view of a flaccid penis and a nicely shaved bush. But as time goes it seems more and more superfluous to the main focus of this tragedy of a court jester who seeks revenge. Here is hoping that the production continues to evolve... Conductor John Eliot Gardiner keeps the music well paced. Dimitri Platanias in the title role sounded great and received a rapturous applause for his interpretation of the role. You get a sense more of the doting father rather than the court jester or cursed man here. Vittorio Grigolo plays the Duke and sounds too lovely to be the cad the role calls for, but it is hard not to like when he is on stage anyway. And it is easier to understan...
Read more...

Fantasies: Afterglow @Swkplay

Image
Nowadays no self-respecting gay play can be staged without full frontal nudity of some kind. It feels like the default response for the modern gay play now that gay rights are no longer an issue .   Afterglow, currently playing at Southwark Playhouse , serves it up in spades. From the beginning, three men are in a bed, naked. There’s what appears to be a very brief exhalation of ecstasy, before the obligatory rush to the shower. But the gratuitous nudity and excellent performances can’t conceal this is a pretty conventional and predictable story about a fantasy couple.  The three men in the simultaneous orgasm at the start of the piece are Josh, Alex and Darius. Josh and Alex seem to live in a New York world where they can afford a rooftop apartment in Manhattan while holding jobs as a theatre director and a grad student in chemistry. As writer S. Asher Gelman based it on his own experiences, perhaps gay plays with full frontal nudity are the way to achieve financial ...
Read more...

Play ball: Damn Yankees @LandorTheatre

Image
Damn Yankees at the Landor Theatre is one hell of a fun, sexy show. A great cast of dancers and singers give this show about a man who sells his soul to get on his beloved baseball team (and give them a chance of winning) new legs and balls. It also helps to up the ante with the sexiness with some healthy doses of cleavage and legs (and that's just the men). The musical is a retelling of the Faust story set in the 1950s when the New York Yankees dominated the game.
Read more...