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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...

Fitting in: The Canary and the Crow @Arcolatheatre

What do you do when you're the only working-class black kid who has a scholarship to a prestigious grammar school? Written and performed by David Ward, The Canary and The Crow is a funny and lively story about what it's like growing up black in Britain. And how trying to fit in leads to all sorts of unexpected life lessons. It's currently playing at the Arcola Theatre.

It's a bit like joining a party coming to see it. There's a party atmosphere happening on stage thanks to the music by Prez 96 (Nigel Taylor). As the show gets going, he becomes Ward's neighbourhood friend. They're joined by musicians Rachel Barnes and Laurie Jamieson on cellos, keyboards and vocals to tell a story about identity and belonging in modern Britain. It may be called gig theatre here, but it's also a compelling and funny piece of storytelling.

It's kept in focus by Ward. He's constantly reminding the audience of being that young kid so excited about finding a place in the world.  Even when others already have made up their minds about what exactly that place will be.

Observations about casual racism and bias delicately land throughout the piece and put you squarely in his shoes. They serve to remind you that you have to be carefully taught to understand your place in this tolerant and lovely country.

The piece has been around for a while but seems to have extra resonance at the moment. It opens describing how a bunch of white people at acting school complained about the black students having a special session with a famous black actor. It's as if it could have been written last week after the BBC platformed some white actor moaning about how he's a victim of racism. We've come a long way, but there's still a long way to go.

Directed by Paul Smith and produced by Middle Child Theatre, The Canary and The Crow is at The Arcola Theatre until 8 February. Look out for a tour to Birmingham, Hull and Bristol in May.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



Photos by The Other Richard



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