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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...

Chats and swipes: Love Me Now @TristanBates

Casual encounters are in the spotlight in Love Me Now. It’s a new play by Michelle Barnette playing at Tristan Bates Theatre. Not so much about love gone wrong but about the young and the loveless. There are no names in this piece as three characters move in and out of each others lives with sex and idle chatter. 

Set over a series of hookups, the main focuse of the piece is on a  woman (Helena Wilson) and her regular date (Alistair Toovey). Much of the piece is set in and around the bed. Before and after sex. She wants something more from the regular encounters. He’s more blow and go. And her attempts to get equal treatment only lead to disaster.  

Later she finds another man (Gianbruno Spena) who says the right things but it turns out to be the same man in a different package.

Along the way the hedonism and partial nudity are at times hilarious. Wilson is engaging as the frank and seemingly carefree woman with one-liners about blowjobs. Toovey is convincing as a fit young man who’s alternatively loveable and to be feared. Spena is enjoyable as the smooth and patronising alternative lover. 

Told in fragments, the piece comes together towards the end where experiences taint what could be. The conversations build as an attack on the woman at the centre of the story. A mistake becomes the work of an evil bitch. Wanting something more becomes being needy.  But this also darkens the piece and reduces the male characters to mere villains in a battle of the sexes. 

Still there’s enough in the provocative writing and strong  performances to hold your interest throughout the piece. Although it’s probably not a show to take someone on a first date. Especially if you met them on Tinder. 

Directed by Jamie Armitage, Love Me Now is at the Tristan Bates Theatre until 14 April. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️


Photos by Helen Murray

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