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A Man For All Seasons: Seagull True Story - Marylebone Theatre

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It's not often that you see a play that tells you not so much a story but gives you a sense of how it feels to be in a situation, how it feels to be silenced, how it feels to be marginalised, how the dead hand of consensus stifles your creativity. However, in Seagull True Story, created and directed by Alexander Molochnikov and based on his own experiences fleeing Russia and trying to establish himself in New York, we have a chance to look beyond the headlines and understand how the war in Ukraine impacted a a group of ordinary creatives in Russia. And how the gradual smothering of freedom and freedom of expression becomes impossible to resist, except for the brave or the suicidal. Against the backdrop of Chekhov's The Seagull, which explores love and other forms of disappointment, it presents a gripping and enthralling depiction of freedom of expression in the face of adversity. After playing earlier this year in New York, it plays a limited run at the Marylebone Theatre . Fro...

I Can do That: Bring It On @swkplay

Some death-defying cheerleading stunts and a whole lot of energy make the British Theatre Academy’s youth production of Bring It On a slick and polished extravaganza. Even if perhaps the acrobatic-style choreography comes at the expense of the vocals. And at times seems to look painful. It’s currently playing at the Southwark Playhouse.

There’s no denying the excitement of watching talented individuals bend and snap their way through a series of complicated manoeuvres. It builds up to a finale that has enough throws, cartwheels and catches to have you gasping in amazement.

Bring it On is based on the 2000 movie of the same name starring Kirsten Dunst. It’s fascinating to contemplate how many of the cast may not have even been born then. It’s about a cheerleader who is transferred from a middle class school to a rough one so a rival can take her place. She then plots her revenge.

For a show called Bring It On, it takes a while to get going. The music has two composers. Tom Kitt and Amanda Green wrote the music and lyrics for the middle class Truman High School.  Lin Manuel Miranda wrote the songs for the rougher Jackson High. When the action transfers to Jackson you feel like the show gets its groove. 

Whether the world of cheerleading is your cup of tea might determine your enjoyment of the piece. But it’s also that new musicals tend to be made in America so you have to roll with that. As a vehicle to showcase the talents of the young cast it works well. 

There’s a small band under the direction of Chris Ma. This keeps the vocals and music balanced in the often poor acoustics of the Southwark Playhouse. 

Directed and choreographed by Ewan Jones, Bring It On is at the Southwark Playhouse until 1 September.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Photos by Eliza Wilmot

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