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The greatest show and other bromances: Adam Riches and John Kearns ARE Ball and Boe @sohotheatre

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Alfie Boe and Michael Ball seem to be a bit of a joke act anyway. Their endless interpretations of popular songs (also known as covers) and their double-act bromance make them quintessential crossover artists where popular music meets opera and Broadway. And a perilous choice for the discerning listener. It’s not that they aren’t talented musicians and performers in their own right. Still, their musical choices are always safe, predictable and less than their potential. But every country deserves to have a pair of self-described national treasures that can tour the local arenas and give people a good time for the bargain price of £175 a seat.  And so the concept of Adam Riches and John Kearns - two world-famous from the Edinburgh Fringe comedians taking on this bromance seems like a curious choice for a Christmas musical fare. One can only hope that over the fourteen nights, it is playing at the Soho Theatre that the show evolves into something more substantial than a series of po...

Finishing the hat: Far Away @Donmarwarehouse


Young Joan can't sleep. Was there a bump in the night? Or a scream? She is staying with her Aunt Harper, and she reassures her it's probably an owl. They seem to be in the English countryside. But with her aunt's responses becoming less and less convincing as she pauses and thinks about them, young Joan knows she has stumbled on something sinister about the world. And not just because aunty isn't a convincing liar or her armchair is filthy and worn. Thus begins the short descent into a dystopia where people are rounded up for inexplicable reasons, and you're never sure who is with you or against you. It’s currently playing at the Donmar Warehouse.

It's a short descent as Caryl Churchill's piece runs only forty-five minutes. But in that time it's an unsettling enough to leave the audience nervously laughing. In the twenty years since its premiere, the fears of all controlling entities have only grown thanks to a vibrant network of social media, pseudo-news organisations and spin. What may have seemed far away then looks a bit prophetic now.


But it’s funny too. There's a scene with grown-up Joan (Aisling Loftus) and Todd (Simon Manyonda) making hats for an event.  As the days go by, marked by a blackout, they grow increasingly outlandish, until what they will be used for is revealed.

It's evocative with it's staging by designer Lizzie Clachan. There's a block glistening on stage. Is it the reflections of the night, the back of a lorry or prison wall? Christopher Shutt's sound design underscores the tension of the piece.

A brief encounter about fear and paranoia. It's almost over as quickly as it started, but still manages to leave an impression. Directed by Lyndsey Turner, Far Away is at the Donmar Warehouse until 28 March.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


Photos by Johan Persson

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