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For the fans: An Evening Without Kate Bush at Underbelly Boulevard

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I’m not a fan of Kate Bush. But as Sarah-Louise Young in her show An Evening Without Kate Bush says, that’s ok. She appears, initially illuminated only by a red lamp, dressed in black, and moving across the stage in the style of Kate Bush. Or given that I’m not a fan or that familiar with her works, what I would assume Kate Bush might do if she had full run of the Underbelly Boulevard theatre. It’s evocative and a little bit funny. But soon it becomes clear that this is a show for the fans of anything out there. Be they Kate Bush fish (what the fans call themselves), friends of fish or foes. Ultimately, it’s a show about how music is often the soundtrack to our lives, capturing the spirit of being a performer, a fan and being alive. It’s currently playing at the Underbelly Boulevard .  This wasn’t my first evening without Kate Bush. A little over four years ago, I saw Ms Young writhe about the stage, gaze at the audience, and drag the odd audience member on stage as she recounted h...

The Monster chills: Frankenstein @Blackeyedtheatr


There are more than just the usual chills in Blackeyed Theatre's Frankenstein. And it wasn't due to the lack of any perceptible heating at Greenwich Theatre last week during a particularly bitter cold snap.

Mary Shelley's tale is given a theatrical flourish in this adaptation by John Ginman. Percussion instruments underscore the tension and the monster is depicted by a giant puppet. He isn't particularly hideous and that makes you even more sympathetic towards him.



Perhaps that is the intention. Designed and built by Yvonne Stone (of Warhorse and His Dark Materials fame) and worked on by three actors, it is an impressive thing. It breathes. It leaps about the stage. It stares. It looks abandoned and unloved.  And when he starts to kill as revenge for his treatment even if you're familiar with the story, it still manages to surprise and shock.

The piece takes a little time to get going, but once it does it is worth the wait. With music, tension  and the giant puppet it becomes quite a spectacle.

It opens with Frankenstein (Ben Warwick) in pursuit of the beast near the North Pole and Frankenstein telling his tale to Captain Walton. Here he is pretty unsympathetic. He is a man obsessed with the meaning of life while letting life (and others) pass him by.


Max Gallagher as Henry and Lara Cowin as Elizabeth give the piece its human element and its heart.

The rest of the cast fill out supporting characters and provide the evocative musical accompaniment.

Directed Eliot Giuralarocca, it has concluded its run at the chilly Greenwich Theatre.  But is continuing its tour around the country until 22 March. Catch the beast if you can. Check their website for dates.

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎

Photos: production images by Alex Harvey-Brown

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