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One hundred people’s ninth favourite thing: [title of show] @swkplay

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[title of show] takes you back to a time before the fast paced social media where word of mouth for a positive show came from chat boards, video diaries or (god forbid) blogs. A simple staging makes it an ideal (and economical piece to stage), but it’s sweet and earnest take on just putting on a show, and putting it out there and taking a chance gives this show its heart. With a strong and energetic cast and endless musical theatre references, it’s hard to resist and it’s currently playing at the Southwark Playhouse .  It opens with Hunter (Jacob Fowler) and Jeff (Thomas Oxley) as struggling young writers in New York City. An upcoming New York Musical Theatre festival, inspires them to write an original musical within three weeks to make the deadline. As they discuss ideas, writers block, distractions and endless other good and bad musicals, an idea for a show emerges. Which is about writing a show for a musical theatre festival.  Their friends Heidi (Abbie Budden) and Susan (Mary Moor

Camp as Christmas: Hot Gay Time Machine @Trafstudios

Watching Hot Gay Time Machine by yourself at first is a bit like being the designated driver at a party. You’re just not drunk enough to appreciate it. But this high energy, high camp, gay gore extravaganza grows on you. The piece was a hit at Edinburgh Fringe and now has a brief run on the West End in the downstairs space of Trafalgar Studios.

Written and performed by Zak Ghazi-Torbati and Toby Marlow, the time machine part of the story are the pivotal gay moments of Zak and Toby’s young lives. Mostly this involves gay sex and brief encounters in changing rooms. But from the moment Zak and Toby burst into the theatre foyer introducing themselves, the scene is set for a party of shimmying and sashaying.

The stories are set to music performed by Marlow on keyboard. His lyrics tend to be less innuendo and more in your face. But even if artistically suspect, the filthier he gets the audience only seems to appreciate it more.

Marlow with Lucy Moss had the hit show Six, which was about the ex wives of Henry VIII. That was presented as a Tudor-style Spice Girls show. Here they give us something looser here. In every sense of the word. There’s plenty of audience participation, musical theatre references and life size cut outs of Beyoncé. With all that to contend with, it’s inventive and evocative.

Definitely not for all tastes, you get the sense with such a catchy title it could be the start of an enduring act. If those tiny pink shorts can go the distance.

Co-written and Directed by Lucy Moss, Hot Gay Time Machine is at Trafalgar Studios until 5 January. This Christmas go gay.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


Photos by Pamela Raith

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