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The greatest show and other bromances: Adam Riches and John Kearns ARE Ball and Boe @sohotheatre

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Alfie Boe and Michael Ball seem to be a bit of a joke act anyway. Their endless interpretations of popular songs (also known as covers) and their double-act bromance make them quintessential crossover artists where popular music meets opera and Broadway. And a perilous choice for the discerning listener. It’s not that they aren’t talented musicians and performers in their own right. Still, their musical choices are always safe, predictable and less than their potential. But every country deserves to have a pair of self-described national treasures that can tour the local arenas and give people a good time for the bargain price of £175 a seat.  And so the concept of Adam Riches and John Kearns - two world-famous from the Edinburgh Fringe comedians taking on this bromance seems like a curious choice for a Christmas musical fare. One can only hope that over the fourteen nights, it is playing at the Soho Theatre that the show evolves into something more substantial than a series of po...

It's a wonderful life: The Me Plays @ORLTheatre

Growing up in Wembley seems like fun in Andrew Maddock's The Me Plays, currently showing at The Old Red Lion Theatre. 

Two forty-five minute monologues delivered by Maddock present a semi-autobiographical look at his life growing up there.

Male body image, internet pornography, Catholic schools, surgical procedures are all covered in this brutally honest account. The cleverness in the work is its frankness and his matter of fact delivery, which makes for a fascinating evening that will linger with you after leaving the show.

The first piece, Junkie, looks at how the internet and the bombardment with constant information and potential suitors has transformed the dating game. It helps if you are familiar with the mobile application Tinder (nowadays dates are not arranged on a computer that would be so old fashioned) and how connections are based on mutual likes. But the piece shows how fleeting and superficial the modern dating world can be, the efforts taken to hook up that can be abandoned on a whim. 

His second and darker piece, Hi Life, I Win, sees Maddock waiting on the results of biopsy and looking back on his teenage years, and how events can change your life. It is a unique perspective on universal themes of loneliness, isolation and fears in a smart looking production that deserves to be seen.

Maddock’s training and previous work has been with the Playing Up programme - which gives young people who are not in education, employment or training a chance to take part in the National Youth Theatre. The entire run of performances will also offer £6 tickets to selected groups in the Brent and Islington area working with young people who are not in education, work or training.

It runs through until September 20.

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