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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

Those underground Italian girls: L’Italiana In Algeri @popupoperauk


Popup Opera’s second summer show is full of energy, enthusiasm and some fine singing… Even if it is a rather silly show, it is great to see a piece that has not been performed in London for a while in such an unusual space.

This minimalist opera group has pared back Rossini’s work and taken away all that business of harems and bad Turks. Instead it moves the story to a modern day den on iniquity - Las Vegas - and the Algiers Hotel.

Popup Opera’s unusual choice of venues and performing lesser known works (with a modern twist) is a great introduction to opera.  Silly plotted operas work well with this format and so moving the piece to Vegas gives the tale of gambling, infidelity and cheap thrills a new dimension. Although perhaps a few cuts in the second half to bring things to a quicker conclusion might help.


There are two casts that perform the show. On Tuesday night we had the lovely Catrin Woodruff as the faded showgirl Elvira and Helen Stanley as the strong and feisty Italian-American lover of Lindoro. Oliver Brignall as the hero Lindoro with his clear vocals and wonderful phrasing was also a delight. Rounding out the cast was Bruno Loxton as Mustafa, Oskar McCarthy as Taddeo and Amy Payne as Zulma.

Keeping everything together was the ever resourceful regular Popup Opera MD Berrak Dyer, with just an electric piano as the accompaniment and a sometimes unforgiving acoustic that only a round brick tunnel shaft with a metal roof can provide.

Still the venue provided plenty of atmosphere and not just from the regular rumbles from the adjacent London Overground line. Apart from the experience of entering the space through a teeny tiny opening (and descending temporary stairs to get to the ground floor), there was a sense that the space fitted the Vegas theme particularly well. I had the opportunity to walk through parts of Vegas last year and I could see the parallels with the veneer of glamour and decaying structures surrounded by freeways.

Of course Popup Opera will be playing the piece at far more civilised locations throughout the summer. They are back in the shaft in July if you want the true underground experience, but check their website for other locations.

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎

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