Featured Post

Heavy meta: Why am I So Single? @sosinglemusical

Image
Being young and single never seemed so fun, full of energy, yet full of contradictions in this high-concept meta-musical, Why Am I So Single? The fourth wall is not so much broken as endlessly pummelled as the cast talks directly to the audience. Frequently. But essentially, it’s about young people with neuroses and smartphone addiction exploring why they can’t find love in present-day London. Told with a series of spectacular songs and dance scenes in this new musical from the creators of Six, Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss. But while we don’t necessarily get an answer that rings true to the question posed by this show, you are likely to be distracted mainly by the energy and the songs. It’s currently playing at the Garrick Theatre.  A new musical based on an original idea, the premise is that Oliver (Jo Foster) and Nancy (Leesa Tulley) - which are not their real names but names taken from their favourite musical, Oliver - have to write a new musical but are stuck for an idea. So, after e

Boom and bust: Eldorado @arcolatheatre

Property deals, war, angst and a healthy dose of absurdism mark Eldorado, the stylish new production currently playing at the Arcola Theatre in Dalston.

It is beautiful to look at and so well staged that you might feel inclined to seek out investment opportunities in Iraq afterwards, even if it has your recalling the worst excesses of the Iraq war.

The play opens with a description of a post-apocalyptic description of a war-torn land, that is open for a "unique investment opportunity".

We are then introduced to Anton (pictured). He has it made. He has a wonderful house, a wife who is a talented pianist and they are expecting a baby.
But all is not quite what it seems. As news of civil unrest grows and bombings increase, he finds himself out of a job. His wife, after a disastrous concert at a community centre, slams the piano lid on her hands. And a property deal that he has signed with his mother-in-law, seems to be not the sure things he convinced her it was. Soon he is hearing voices and noises and hiding on top of wardrobes so people can't find him.

The piece by by Marius Von Mayenburg (and translated by Maja Zade), is having its UK premiere here. It is a wonderful opportunity to explore the gulf between aspiration and reality, with some sharply observed scenes as the characters are pushed beyond their coping points among the insurgencies and fine dining.

It is also well acted by the ensemble. Michael Colgan as the confused and increasingly delusional Anton holds the piece together with his borderline sane performance.

Meanwhile Sian Thomas as Greta (pictured opposite with her young toy boy played by Nicholas Bishop), the somewhat practical mother-in-law gets many of the best lines, and as @johnnyfoxlondon notes in the Audioboo below, the best frocks.

This is the first production from Mongrel Thumb, which aims to bring to London audiences new and unusual works. They have succeeded here and looking forward to their future endeavours. First impressions follow, but this is a piece that lingers in your mind long after you have left the theatre...

Eldorado runs at the Arcola Theatre until 3 May. Tickets can be booked direct from the theatre website. The Arcola also runs "pay what you can Tuesdays".

****

listen to ‘Apocaboo: Eldorado’ on Audioboo



UK Premiere of Eldorado by Marius von Mayenburg - Official Trailer from Mongrel Thumb on Vimeo.

Photo credit: production photos by Mongrel Thumb

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 security
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...