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Life upon the wicked stage: Already Perfect at Kings Head Theatre

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Performing two shows a day on a Broadway run sounds exhausting enough. But when you’ve just had a not-so-great matinee and are having a crisis of confidence, I would assume the last thing you’d want is to confront your past. Yet that’s the situation in Already Perfect, writer-performer Levi Kreis’s slightly autobiographical journey of confronting the past and his younger self. With a series of toe-tapping and emotional songs in a sleek production, you’re invited to experience someone else’s therapy session. And with a show title called Already Perfect, you know what kind of session this is going to be. It makes for a show where nothing is left unsaid, even if it is unnecessary,  unbelievable or best left on a greeting card. It’s currently playing at the King’s Head Theatre .  The story begins in his dressing room after a matinee, with Kreis alone. The show didn’t go so well. Struggling after being dumped by a lover, pressure mounting on the evening show being filmed for poster...

Brief encounters: La Tragédie de Carmen @popupoperauk

In La Tragédie de Carmen, Popup Opera have a distilled version of Bizet’s Carmen devised by Peter Brook in the early 1980s. The gypsies are gone and all that’s left is the love triangle. And some of the best tunes...

Carmen in some ways can survive being messed about with. The Royal Opera afterall is presenting Carmen in a gorilla suit. Cutting out large chunks of the story and setting it during the Spanish Civil War makes less sense. And in the venue of the Peckham Asylum the sightlines were a bit challenging. But it still works better than expected.

Popup Opera is known for their fresh take on comic operas that tour around the country. But they are on a winner with a more dramatic piece for their autumn season. It doesn’t mess about getting to the best arias. And it helps they’ve assembled a youthful and impressive quartet to bring out the passion.

Chloe Latchmore dazzles as Carmen, using her body and her voice as the seductive and sensual woman. She holds your attention with her clear and strong vocals.

Indonesian tenor Satriya Krisna is just as imposing as Don Jose. Escamillo is an officer haunted by the war here and played by a mildly heroic James Corrigan. Rounding out the cast is Alice Privett as a strong and feisty Micaëla.

Piano accompaniment is by regular Popup Opera music director Berrak Dyer, makes it seem like you’re hearing a full orchestra, bringing out all the subtleties of Bizet’s score.

The moody lighting and projections work well in the Asylum Chapel. The location is an astonishing relic in the heart of Peckham. Even if those who sat further back missed out on some of the drama, the venue made up with it with its chilly atmosphere. Other venues the production tours to may offer better sightlines but I suspect they won’t offer better ambiance.

Directed by John Wilkie, La Tragédie de Carmen plays at various locations until 23 November. Check their website for details.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Photos by Ugo Soffientini

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