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Brief awakenings: White Rose The Musical @MaryleboneTHLDN

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A fascinating and daring act of defiance in Nazi Germany by a group of university students in Munich is given a slightly perplexing rock musical treatment in White Rose, the musical. Something seems amiss in this earnest and occasionally tuneful show. It lags more than it inspires, which is surprising given the tragic and compelling history of the real-life characters the show depicts. Given that young people are increasingly likely to vote for far-right parties across Europe, it’s an opportunity to look at a time when they had a different perspective on the future. Perhaps something has been lost in the translation or the larger space of the Marylebone Theatre where it plays.  The White Rose were a group of university students in Munich who sought to undermine the Third Reich through publication of a series of pamphlets urging passive resistance to the Nazi regime. Over a brief period between June 1942 and February 1943, they distributed their pamphlets across campus using ...

Giving a toss: East @KingsHeadThtr

Dirty, smutty and just a little bit Shakespearean. East takes you back to the rough and tumble of the good ol’ days of London. A time when fascists roamed the streets, baked beans on toast was considered cuisine and street brawls were just for laughs. Some time between the 1950s and the 1970s in East End London. It’s playing at the Kings Head Theatre.

But in the forty or so years since it premiered something seems amiss with this piece. It feels desperate to shock rather than the genuine article. Every c-bomb and mother-son jerk off seemed telegraphed in advance rather than something new, fresh and gross.

Perhaps nothing surprises us anymore in the city where the horrors are real. Modern day enslavement, sexual harassment, acid attacks and the Grenfell disaster. A punch up in a bar and a wank in the cinema are cute by comparison.

Still it’s energy is fascinating. If a tad exhausting to watch. A series of scenes and monologues explode in front of you before disappearing. Leaving you to piece it all together...

You might get dad (Russell Barnett) chatting you up before the show. But later he’s spitting baked beans at you about the march on Whitechapel of the fascists. There’s Mike (James Craze) and Les (Jack Condon) who fall out over a girl (Boadicea Ricketts). And mum (Debra Penny) trying to stay out of the way most of the time.

Adding to the energy is a series of acrobatics. There’s also some old time pub music from musical director Carol Arnopp, which gives the piece it’s flavour.

You might need subtitles to understand what they’re saying at times. Other times you might not care. We’re not exactly dealing with the most likeable of characters. They’re the kind of people you’d cross the street to avoid. Staying with them for two hours can feel like a stretch.

Directed by Jessica Lazar, East is at the Kings Head Theatre until 3 February. Take the family.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Photos by Alex Brenner


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