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More sex and violence: Playfight @sohotheatre

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The funny thing about three girls growing up under a tree is that you never quite know when they're being serious or just messing about. One time, they might be talking about giving blow jobs on a tennis court at school and another, they might be yearning for a connection that they can't quite explain. That's what happens in Playfight, an Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2024 hit currently showing at Soho Theatre .  Writer Julia Grogan doesn't give us much time to dwell on the lives of these three young teenage girls. One minute, they're fifteen and giggling, and then the next thing, they're off getting married or going to University. But underneath all the smutty talk, humour, and quick scene changes, there is a darker underbelly about relationships, power, and consent. It's about finding your way in a complex world that can dehumanise and degrade you. But as things move so quickly, you could blink and miss it. This is too bad as the performances capturing this co...

Dancing in the streets: The Theatre Channel


The Theatre Cafe continues its online series of showcasing performers with well-known songs from Broadway and the West End and available through  Stream.Theatre. The site has become a source for West End-flavoured entertainment over the past year, and its a musical revue and showcase for some of the West End's best-known performers.

Shot at the Theatre Cafe and locations around the West End The Charing Cross Theatre, the production uses the empty spaces that would typically be where tourists, workers and Londoners would be. The episodes are a celebration and reminder of what we've been missing with the closure of theatres. 

The performers include Kerry Ellis singing Always Starting Over from If/Then, Layton Williams singing Hold Me In Your Heart from Kinky Boots. And Katie Deacon performing Music And The Mirror from A Chorus Line across the empty streets of London, serving as a reminder about the pandemic's toll on both the city and the industry. 

There's an additional commentary for A Chorus Line as a tribute to choreographer, director and producer Bob Avian, who passed away in January. John Breglio, Baayork Lee, and Antonio Banderas talk about the background of the show and the 2019 Spanish Production. There are hopes to take this production to Broadway in the not too distant future. 

Directed by Thom Southerland with musical supervision by Michael England and choreography by Ashley Nottingham, The Theatre Channel's latest episode is available to stream now. Previous episodes are also available to download and enjoy at your leisure. 

Photo by Edward Johnson

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