When I heard that Harry Hill was behind a new Tony Blair rock opera, I confess I was sceptical. How wrong I was. Hill’s book and Steve Brown’s music and lyrics combine to create a riot of an evening, with something in it for everybody. This show has been honed through multiple workshops and a … More TONY! [THE TONY BLAIR ROCK OPERA] – REVIEW – RICHMOND THEATRE
With gorgeous vocals, storytelling, and movement, Without is a delightful watch for those who love new musicals with depth. With an original story, music, and lyrics by Ben Tomalin and book by Maisie Fawcett and Sophie Holmes, Without is a story of finding hope through friendship when you’ve given up on yourself. Rose (Marianne Steggall) … More WITHOUT – REVIEW – NEW WIMBLEDON THEATRE STUDIO
Kit Sinclair’s 30 And Out is truly a diamond; a gem for theatre, women, the lesbian community, and the queer community. Kit has just turned 30 – and they’ve just come out the closet. They’re ready to lose their girl-ginity; they’re ready for their first female relationship; first lesbian clubbing experience; first Pride. But as … More 30 AND OUT – REVIEW – PLEASANCE THEATRE
Stefania Licari is a comedian, actress, and an NHS intensive care Doctor. Her comedy hour Medico details her experiences of working within our National Health Service, and of being an Italian living in Britain. You can expect songs, jokes, and even some urine-tasting. There has been a rise in the number of comedy shows and … More MEDICO – REVIEW – MUSEUM OF COMEDY
Sean and Daro Flake It ‘Til They Make It is a new play by Laurie Motherwell currently showing at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh. The show chronicles the (mis-)adventures of Sean and Daro, childhood friends who have drifted apart since the former went off to university. The death of Sean’s mother has brought him back … More SEAN AND DARO FLAKE IT ‘TIL THEY MAKE IT – REVIEW – TRAVERSE THEATRE
PUBLIC, a new pop/rock musical created by queer-led theatre collective Stroud & Notes, was presented at Vault Festival as a work in progress production, shown to a public audience for the first time. Stroud & Notes is led by multi-hyphenate Kyla Stroud, who has collaborated with fellow Theatre Maker Hannah Sands, along with movement director … More PUBLIC THE MUSICAL – REVIEW – VAULT FESTIVAL
In the realm of visual art, abstraction pulls away from meaning and into pure experience. Lines, shape and colour take the place of figuration, and story gives way to a sensory flow of feeling. Or so the story goes. In You Are Going to Die, Adam Scott-Rowley presents a series of nude vignettes, starting with … More YOU ARE GOING TO DIE – REVIEW – VAULT FESTIVAL
Abby Vicky-Russell’s one-person show, Gush has gone from strength to strength, with a sell-out debut, plus a run at Soho Theatre, it’s not hard to see why – this is a masterclass in character comedy. As the audience takes their seats to watch a contemporary dance piece about pomegranates and vulvas, a leak appears above … More GUSH – REVIEW – VAULT FESTIVAL
Breach Theatre is an award-winning devised theatre company. They bring a brand new documentary musical to the New Diorama, After The Act focuses on Section 28, an Act of Parliament, passed by Margaret Thatcher’s Tory government, which forbade the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality within schools. Ellice Stevens and Billy Barrett’s show is verbatim, taken from interviews … More AFTER THE ACT – REVIEW – NEW DIORAMA THEATRE
Pinch Punch are an improv comedy troupe based in London. Last weekend they spent a couple of days at the Vault Festival, with their show Locomotive For Murder: The Improvised Whodunnit. Lottie Davies as Jane Marbles guides the show, by incorporating audience suggestions to form the story’s background and characters, on this occasion the show … More LOCOMOTIVE FOR MURDER: THE IMPROVISED WHODUNNIT – REVIEW – VAULT FESTIVAL
I was already very familiar with the true story of zoologist Juliane Koepcke, so my interest was piqued when I read the summary of Her Green Hell, created by the emerging theatre company TheatreGoose in their professional debut. Juliane Koepcke became famous at age 17 when she was the sole survivor of a plane crash in … More HER GREEN HELL – REVIEW – VAULT FESTIVAL
FlawBored is a disability-led theatre company, and It’s A Motherf**cking Pleasure is their debut show, a darkly comedic satire. The cast of three enters the space, introducing themselves to the audience and explaining that their aim for this show is to be as accessible as possible. They each audio describe themselves, and the show is … More IT’S A MOTHERF**KING PLEASURE – REVIEW – VAULT FESTIVAL
If you love improv and medical dramas… this one’s for you. The Free Association are a London-based improv group, they are a firm favourite and the largest improv training provider in the UK. Their approach to this show was quite different to the improv I’ve seen in the past, in that instead of asking for … More REVIEW – ST. DOCTOR’S HOSPITAL – VAULT FESTIVAL
A hilarious and multi-dimensional queer Gothic puppet show builds a story of sexual awakening in this joyously metatheatrical extravaganza. Lachlan Werner repeatedly astounds with both technical mastery and a bold creative vision that simply delights. ‘Lachy’, the wide-eyed, fragile, boyish puppeteer expertly manipulates his chaotic, witchy alter ego, the velvety hand-puppet, Brew, who could give … More REVIEW – LACHLAN WERNER: VOICES OF EVIL – VAULT FESTIVAL
The driving beats of Scissor Sisters and Bronski Beat, thundering from the speakers as the audience enters, set an energised precedent for what is to follow in writer Ben Fensome’s one-man show. In this respect, David O’ Reilly’s foot-off-the-brake performance as a gay, newly single, plus-sized primary teacher, does not disappoint. From the start, he … More REVIEW – BUFF – VAULT FESTIVAL
Expial Atrocious brings a potent punk sensibility to this dark fable of unquestioned service and subjugation to duty. As the audience assembles, Master Sausage and Apprentice are going through the repetitive choreography of a work shift in the cavernous confines of a basement factory. A terrifyingly visceral sound design accompanies their crisp, intensive movements along … More REVIEW – BUTCHERED – VAULT FESTIVAL
This bracing yet genial piece of activist theatre uses the 1983 murder of Scottish sex worker Sheila Anderson as a launch for exploring the aftereffects upon four of her fellow colleagues. The intention is not to play out as a dry procedural, as the opening scene clearly demonstrates. The cast blasts boisterously onstage with declarative … More REVIEW – SALAMANDER – VAULT FESTIVAL
Zach Zucker — what a name. And what a revelation! The self-professed ingénue of the ‘Hollywood scene’ is as cute, funny, and weird as they come, and the show presents a totally insincere yet undeniable avalanche of talent. The premise is simple: Zach wants to become a star by making us laugh and ultimately love … More REVIEW – ZACH ZUCKER: SPECTACULAR INDUSTRY SHOWCASE – SOHO THEATRE
