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The brown word: Death on the Throne @gatehouselondon

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We’re warned at the start of the show with an upbeat number that this is not the usual sort of musical. And it turns out to be just that. But with boundless enthusiasm and energy from its two leads, who deploy a range of voices and breathtaking energy to create a series of voices for puppet characters, a bedtime story becomes a silly oddball tale about four souls stuck in purgatory. With puppets. And various toilet humour references. It’s currently playing at Upstairs At The Gatehouse . The piece starts as a bedtime story. Daddy (Mark Underwood) is about to read a bedtime story for Louise (Sarah Louise Hughes). But her stomach felt funny, and soon, she went to the bathroom. Then, for reasons that seem to only make sense in the confines of the show, they start telling the story of four people who died in unfortunate circumstances in the bathroom. Depicted as puppets, they’re stuck in purgatory as St Peter doesn’t have enough space for each of them in the afterlife. And so begins a puppe...

Man caves: Blue On Blue @TristanBates


The vagaries of co-dependency, self harm, rehabilitation and a lot of blue language is the subject of Blue On Blue. But what sets the piece apart are the strong performances by its leads as they explore the traumas past and present in a man's world.

Written by Chips Hardy, the piece is getting a revival at the Tristan Bates theatre. It is a dark piece which doesn't always land its jokes given the seriousness of the subject matter. But it's worthwhile all the same.


Losing his legs from friendly fire, army veteran Moss lives in flat with his nephew Carver. Carver is on parole having been caught following a botched burglary. But he also likes to cut himself up. Usually in the legs.

Their world is disrupted when Marta, a young and beautiful carer from Budapest, enters their lives. And her actions, although well-intentioned, lead to unforeseen consequences.

Blue on blue is a military term for "friendly fire". Here it is how the three characters help and hurt each other.

Darren Swift, who lost both his legs in combat in Northern Ireland, gives a brutal honesty to the role of Moss. He has command of the stage whenever he is on it and is both engaging and hilarious. Daniel Gentely as Carver, serves as a contrast with his intense seriousness, serving to hide his demons. Together they make a terrific sparring couple.


Ida Bonnast as Marta has the more difficult role as she seems to have the character that makes the least sense. She is tasked to do a range of things to propel the story along that at times feel contradictory. It is as if the role is just to be a spark to ignite the fires that will follow rather than serve as a real character.

Still, there is a wonderful scene where she offers Carver a mug of tea. The tea is served in a mug with the words "unt" on it... It's that kind of play... A gritty expose from the man cave from The Skullcap Collective.

Blue On Blue plays at the Tristan Bates Theatre until 14 May.

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎

Photos: production photos by Gavin Watson

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