Theatre Reviews
1 KING, 2 PRINCES, AND SHAKESPEARE'S LIE - Slade Wolfe Enterprises Limited
This sold-out show, written and performed by Andrew Slade, gives audiences the opportunity to re-evaluate Richard III’s life and his enduring reputation. Richard III’s association with the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower still fascinates today and it was no surprise to see that so many people had turned out for this debut performance.
Richard III appears in front of us, to tell his story and present the facts surrounding his life. We see an alternative physical view to that of Shakespeare’s twisted crookback. Richard begins his tale with a question – Who first made him a devil? Was it the Tudors or Shakespeare himself? We the audience, become a jury of sorts.
Andrew Slade’s characterisation is both measured and believable and the audience were drawn in as he described the shocking image of seeing his Father’s head in York at the age of eight, next to that of his brother and uncle, before being sent abroad for his safety. Richard makes his case plainly – we learn of the early battles he fought in supporting his brother at Barnet and Tewkesbury and the rewards he received for his loyalty and bravery. Slade’s performance reveals the human side of the man.
We also learn about the improvements Richard introduced during his reign that benefitted the poor and still exist today, including the Court of Requests (the pre-cursor to legal aid) and standardised weights and measures.
Interspersed sounds and voices are dotted throughout the performance. Added to the physicality of Richard and his impassioned argument, you are immersed. Richard lists the people who have denigrated his memory, Shakespeare, Thomas More, Polydor Virgil and others.
Andrew Slade has clearly done a huge amount of research before writing this show. Whether you believe Richard is responsible or not for the murder of his nephews, you cannot deny the sympathy he evokes for his character.
At the show’s climax, the audience are asked to weigh the facts that have been presented and confirm whether they believe Richard III’s guilt or not.
I would definitely recommend this show, but be quick if you want to see it. Yesterday’s sell out was I suspect, the first of many. Andrew Slade’s performance is excellent and was made more poignant by him revealing to us after the show, that this was his first performance in five years, following a protracted illness that has resulted in him losing his memory. To write, research and memorise this show is an achievement in itself, without taking into account his bold, and nuanced performance.
April Irwin
3 MINUTES INSIDE MY BRAIN - Jennifer Jordan
3 Minutes Inside my Brain is Jennifer Jordan’s solo show in which she aims to ‘help people tackle their own anxiety when it pops up’.
A skilled improvisational actor Jennifer has created a charmingly chaotic fringe show. The piece started with a little bit of science (woooah science) about the different sections of the brain before the audience is then shrunk and taken on a tour of Jennifer’s own brain. The way her mind works is not straightforward (but is anyone’s?!) However, her brain seems to have a bingo caller and an obsession with Kermit which I can only respect her for.
Audience interaction was gently played and only those wanting to join in did so. However, this show does need a level of interaction to work. The voluntary dance at the end was a fun challenge to take part in due to the lack of space. Size was an issue in general as Jennifer seemed to struggle at times with the compact dimensions of the stage.
My favourite part was Jennifer talking for 3 minutes on a topic an audience member had chosen. This really showed off her improvisational talent. I also loved a guest appearance from an ant who had a brilliant voice.
The performance I saw had a mild air of panic to it, this could have been due to a few technical issues, but this did emphasise the non-linear chaos of the mind which the show was exploring!
Overall, the show is light toned taking many twists and turns as it races down through Jennifer’s mind. We leap from a science lecture, to a burlesque show, to an operating table and onwards to nudity! We are getting a glimpse inside a chaotic mind that takes its owner down paths it never wanted to travel. However, at times the pace drops and is reliant on the audience to make some noise in order to keep things going. That being said it is an interesting watch.
Jayne Fanthorpe Walker
ALMOST FAMOUS BY ANDY MOSELEY - NoLogoProductions
Anyone with a love of and respect for the acting profession or just the world of theatre really ought to see this show.
It's warm, reflective, sardonic, funny and very human as it shows us an older actor coming to terms with age, return to the UK from Broadway & Hollywood, the end of the high life, having to audition for a part she needs but neither wants nor will enjoy.
After descriptions of the glamour of that past life, we hear with disgust "This is a part with no scripted lines - I'd have to make them up as we go along. Why, why, why - writers don't do our job as actors, why on earth should we do theirs?".
And how delightful it was to hear her voicing the idea of a downmarket theatre tour playing in theatres like the oxymoronic Wolverhampton Grand and Liverpool Hope.
She's coming down from the high life and reflects on a career and life full of promise, excitement and achievement even if the immediate future is less appealing.
But as we come to learn, things aren't quite as they seem. To say more about the storyline would be unfair. But it's a compelling warm-hearted look into the acting profession, that world of pretence, the risks, the hopes, the stresses, the eventual burn-out until over time, while your ambition survives, the only parts you are seen to be suited for are people at the back end of their own lives.
Jac Wheble makes the part her own, giving us the excitement, the (faded?) glamour (think from time to time of Margot in the Good Life), and so successfully changing manner and pace once a different reality is exposed. The script by Andy Moseley is sharp, beautifully observed, and makes a good many fascinating observations about the world of theatre and performance. It's a compelling and entertaining tale about individuals' hope and ambition set against a world where others have their own purposes.
Michael Quine
ALMOST HAUNTED - Northern Powerhouse Theatre
Almost Haunted by Northern Powerhouse Theatre is a ‘paranormal parody’ based in the fraudulent world of TV ghost hunting. Paranormal is by its dictionary definition impossible to explain by known forces or by science. This play is also tricky to explain!
Vincenza Van der Ven and her husband Callahan Baudelaire-Van der Ven are the power couple of TV ghost hunting, or so she thinks. She is desperate to be loved and relevant, but Callahan (Cal) is a snake oil salesman who can’t be honest with her. All the characters are larger than life, apart from the put-upon Hollie and the good-natured Nathan who have a gentler side to them. The standout performance came from Kimberly, her comedic timing and characterisation skills were excellent
Almost Haunted had the audience laughing out loud, the interplay between Baz the make-up artist and Flatline the technician was well pitched. The play had moments of extreme extravagance…Vincenza at one point seemed to be channelling Sigourney Weaver channelling Zuul in Ghostbusters!
History can prove anything in the world of Dr Penny, the historian of the show. She also thinks things are ‘entirely possible’ even when ‘there is no evidence’. She was an extreme caricature who had the audience chuckling. Vincenza delivers an obvious google search history of Buxton to camera with deep sincerity.
I think the stage was crowded at times which made movement a little inhibited, but this was inevitable with a set and eight actors on a small stage. Also, the two ‘TV lights’ on stage were troublesome as they created a glare for the audience and made it harder to see the facial expressions of the actors who were near to the lights. I think the technical side struggled to meet the ambition of the piece. However, the séance lighting really caught the atmosphere of the moment.
Overall, a fun show with some well-pitched moments.
Jayne Fanthorpe Walker
THE BAKER STREET LADIES - Slade Wolfe Enterprises Limited
The characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are two of the most celebrated in fiction, archetypes of the detective duo who have lingered long in the imaginations of readers, filmgoers, TV viewers and enjoyers of all the media in which these characters have appeared.
But what of the women in their lives? This remarkable play delves into three of the most important female characters to appear in Conan Doyle’s stories, and gives them an inner life perhaps lacking in the books.
There’s Holmes’ redoubtable housekeeper, Mrs Hudson, tut-tutting about the bizarre lifestyle of her charges (bullet holes in the wallpaper, unexplained syringes left lying around). There’s Watson’s wife, Mary, sadly and stoically coming to the realization that she cannot change her husband, and that there will always be a third person in their marriage. And there’s the femme fatale Irene Norton (née Adler), caught up in a battle of wits with the great detective. In this extremely well written trio of monologues, each of these women lets us in to their relationships with Holmes, but also give us a view on what it was like to be a woman in Victorian England.
And the remarkable thing about all these characters is that, in The Baker Street Ladies, they are played by the same actor. Lexi Wolfe has proven herself a rare talent in previous Buxton Fringes and here, once again, she displays the skill and attention to detail that have always characterized her shows. With only minor changes of costume, but with subtle and nuanced tweaks to performance – the tilt of the head, the shape of the mouth, the thoughts behind the eyes, Wolfe gets to the heart of each character. Mrs Hudson is a motherly Scot, warm and loveable, Mary Watson is reserved and brittle, repressing pain and heartache, while Irene is a fierce intellect, determined to free herself from the humdrum ambitions of her class in a way that is delightfully surprising to anyone who likes a Holmes story.
This is the sort of performance that really comes to life in a small Fringe venue, when the detail of the performance can be played subtly, and it is a mark of Lexi Wolfe’s skill that one audience member told me he hadn’t realized it was the same actor throughout. This is an acting tour de force, and one I would highly recommend.
Robbie Carnegie
BARD EDUCATION - ICA Company of Fools
ICA Company of Fools is made up of Year 7-10 students from Irlam and Cadishead Academy. Company of Fools have been in rehearsal for three months for this show and the whole piece has been directed by year 9s.
Bard Education’s central concept is why do we study Shakespeare in schools when it has no relevance? This show brings in the idea of strong women. A bit of Kelly Clarkson and The Prodigy gives the show a contemporary feel. What we see in the piece is described as a whirlwind tour of Shakespeare’s greatest hits.
The large cast begin in a classroom performing an ensemble piece of movement as a quick way to engage the audience’s interest. From there the show was split into 9 sections each looking at a different Shakespeare play. Yes, the classic school Shakespeare plays are there: a Midsummer Night’s Dream and Macbeth however, they also covered Anthony and Cleopatra and Henry V. Simple costume changes were effectively used to show character.
I loved Macbeth’s witches’ punchy spell which was performed confidently and clearly. The ghost father in Hamlet was also a great concept.
Overall, the cast seemed nervous, generally the parts that went a bit wrong could have been covered with a little more confidence. I would have liked to have seen these young actors relax and really use all their characterisation skills. If they had been confident with lines, then I’m sure the vocal and physical skills would really have come to life. The piece would have benefited from an overall director guiding continuity and the flow of the piece transitions would then have been smoother.
I think this group should be proud of itself for staging such an ambitious piece with such a large cast. Their teachers have come up with a brilliant plan to motivate students in year 9. Well done to you all.
Jayne Fanthorpe Walker
THE CANTERVILLE GHOST: THE MUSICAL - Magpie Theatre
The URC on carnival day in the sweltering heat was a tough call for Magpie Theatre, however they rose to the challenge. This is their third time visiting Buxton Fringe with their popular retelling of Oscar Wilde’s The Canterville Ghost and I am so glad I finally got to see it.
The Sir Simon de Canterville murdered his wife in 1575, and her blood cannot be cleaned from the spot upon which she was murdered. Yet the new American homeowners are not scared of him. As they seek to control yet another aspect of their lives Sir Simon finds himself to be a spirit with no spirit and it is up to Virginia, the new family’s daughter, to save him.
I loved the way the cast were all fully visible as the audience walked in, setting the atmosphere for a larger-than-life show. The overly melodramatic style of acting, especially from Mrs Umney the ever-fainting housekeeper, enabled the show to move along in with pacy timing. This style also helped in the clarity of the dialogue, the URC green room can be tricky for dialogue however excellent over enunciation and clearly sung vocals helped counter this.
This piece is funny and brilliantly sung. The music itself is catchy with well crafted lyrics. The set simple, but practical. The accompanist is visible throughout and appears to thoroughly enjoy the show he is part of.
The Canterville Ghost Musical is theatre at its most stylishly overdramatic.
Jayne Fanthorpe Walker
DAYDREAM EXTREMER - Mike Raffone
How does someone with ADHD manage to present a coherent show with a start a middle and a finish lasting an hour? The answer is he doesn’t. Mike Raffone allows us into his addled mind, and a pretty murky place it is.
He spends four hours packing his suitcase and becomes so distracted he only manages to pack one sock thereby missing his plane. Not trivial distractions you understand; there were emails to read, a CD - to check it loaded properly, a trip to the toilet (mid-show) etc. etc. He is just “time blind”.
We are told the story of how Mike’s life has been blighted by his condition: he has been bankrupt three times, made homeless, lost his inheritance and all his investments. He has tried various money making schemes – street performing, selling, eBay – but none worked so he had to return to street theatre to get some ready cash even when he had a painful hernia.
One thing he did succeed at was dancing. A games period at school wasn’t the usual football or cricket but a sort of line-dancing. Being time blind he was still dancing after everyone else had left and he was sent on his way by a teacher to his next class but forgot to stop dancing – arriving at the classroom still dancing in the doorway and being told by the teacher to stop showing off.
Mike has a light touch in telling his story and reveals how he had a reset when he found an ADHD support group which didn’t criticise but understood him. This sets up a positive ending to his show where he urges us to be kind to ourselves.
We are told that Mike is a classically trained actor and this was his world premier. The audience warmed to him and wished him well in his renewal.
Further performances on 25th and 26th July.
Brian Kirman
DEATH OF THE AUTHOR - GAP Theatre
This debut thriller promised lots of twists and turns, and from the first scene it is clear there is more going on than first meets the eye. Would-be best-selling novelist Tom and his best friend Dave have a sure-fire plan for fame and fortune, but will it all work out the way they intend?
This is a four-handed play, which can be challenging for a Fringe production, where time and space are limited. Peter Sleigh, who plays Dave, also wrote the play, and Graham Winter, who plays Tom, directed it. Carol Spencer and Michelle Watson play their girlfriends. All four actors put in strong performances, but Michelle Watson was particularly convincing as Tom’s media-savvy girlfriend.
This production makes clever use of the space in the Peveril Room at the Palace Hotel, with actors moving between items of furniture as the scenes changed. This allowed quick changes between scenes, which would have been cumbersome in a more traditionally staged performance where furniture is brought to the actors. Audience members have to keep their wits about them as the plot thickens, but this isn’t hard as the action is compelling.
GAP Theatre is a new venture for Peter and Graham, and this is the group’s first production. The audience at this premiere certainly enjoyed the performance. There are more plays planned, and we hope to see them back at Buxton Fringe next year, but in the meantime you’ve got two more chances to see Death of the Author, on 18 & 19th July at 7.30pm.
Georgina Blair
DESTINATION: 'OLD HAG' - (uncredited) presents
This exhilarating production takes us into a theatre broom cupboard where three ‘Ladies of the Chorus’ are busy making themselves up to play the witches for the opening night of Verdi’s Macbetto.
All dealing with varying degrees of career disappointment, they hang onto the hope that being middle aged might just make them eligible for a new set of roles. Could it be that they are “on the cusp of ‘old hag’ stardom”?
With their witches’ noses hanging round their necks, they apply green make up and compare terrible wigs, chatting against a backdrop of urgent stage announcements (“Who’s helping Roger out of his undergarment?”), warm up warblings and regular toilet flushings. We eventually follow them onto the stage, witnessing their cheeky asides to each other when the spotlight is no longer on them.
In some hilarious dialogue, they recall the indignities of unglamorous past roles, from chairs to chickens, and rail against shoddy sets, egotistical male directors and poor wardrobe choices like plastic vampire teeth that make it impossible to sing.
The three co-writers and stars of this piece, Bridget Hardy, Penny Rossano and Samantha Houston, are all opera singers and are clearly mining some of their own experiences. This gives the comedy great authenticity but there are moments of poignancy too. “I hoped for so much more than this”, one reveals. “It’s the hope that gets you…”, counters her colleague and friend.
Whilst the subject matter might seem niche, I think the characters’ feelings will be relatable to anyone who has found themselves compelled to put a lot of energy and time into work that is their passion but is never going to make them rich.
This is a real ensemble piece with the writer/stars experimenting with different modes of presentation, some more stylised than others, and periodically delighting the audience with their excellent and well integrated opera singing.
The company is calling it “the world’s first Situation-Operatic-Comedy” and it certainly has a delightful freshness about it . I can’t praise it enough, my only disappointment being that there are no more performances of it at this year’s Fringe.
Stephanie Billen
DR KORCZAK'S EXAMPLE BY DAVID GREIG - Shadow Syndicate
For a number of years, Shadow Syndicate has been coming to Buxton Fringe, the group’s ever-changing rosta of talented young actors bringing with them an enthusiasm for the Fringe experience, and a committed outlook to producing quality theatre. This year’s production, David Greig’s allegorical play, Dr Korczak’s Example very much continues that tradition.
Based on real events, the play is based on the work of Janusz Korczak, a pediatrician and educator, who ran an orphanage for Jewish children in the Warsaw Ghetto. His ideals, which he articulated in a children’s constitution, led to, for example, the orphanage having its own court, where infractions of rules would be judged by a jury of other children, rather than punishments being imposed from above.
David Greig’s play lends itself to inventive staging and Shadow Syndicate bring all of their visual flair to this production, with naturalistic performances intermingling with mime, puppetry and ensemble vocals to create an unsettling mood throughout. There were particularly striking scenes in which imagined objects would be passed from one cast member to another, creating a seamless flow to the physicality of the image.
There is no attempt to make this play literal in its style, something that is clearly encouraged by the text. The 11-strong, gender-neutral cast are dressed uniformly in black t-shirts and jeans with just flashes of costume to denote characterization. Toni Brocklehurst brings a quiet integrity the character of Dr Korczak and is consistently believable. The young lovers, Abigail Newman as Korczak’s idealistic intern Stephanie and Lenny Brady as the angry, defensive Adzio, both bring youthful intensity to their roles. Amongst the smaller roles, I was also very impressed by Lottie Darby as Korczak’s friend Stepan.
The moral ambiguities of the play are well handled by this serious and hard-working cast. Korczak’s belief was that, by setting an example of tolerance and kindness, he could show his charges that there were other ways than the violence and depravity of the Nazis. In today’s complicated world, it feels like we’re no nearer to achieving that ideal, but it is an ideal that is still important to be articulated, as Shadow Syndicate do in this sincere and striking performance.
Robbie Carnegie
THE EASY WAY OUT - Eli Yim
The Easy Way Out was a one-person, dark comedy exploring the idea of waiting to be seen in the NHS, and dealing with challenging mental health issues. It brilliantly balanced some difficult emotions, humour and beautifully written songs. One thing is for certain, Eli Yim is an incredibly talented young person and is someone to watch as their career in music progresses and flourishes.
Eli’s exploration of generational trauma was very effective and provoked an emotional response from the audience. They managed simultaneously to convey deep messages whilst including some hilarious comedy moments such as the repeated use of a kazoo! Their exploration of gender was done well and in such a way as to deepen the audience’s connection and understanding of Eli. You truly felt for the character, especially in the songs where Eli pleaded for someone to help them. Their expressions and tone of voice had such a gut-punching effect.
Another thing to note was Eli’s exceptional piano playing throughout. The songs ranged from almost Celtic whimsy to jazz. This contrast really showed off Eli’s ability as a pianist and a singer.
I also appreciated how few props and sets Eli used; it left more to the audience’s imagination and allowed Eli to move easily and purposefully between the two seats. This created an immersive atmosphere and Eli had the audience’s whole attention on them.
All in all, The Easy Way Out was a complex, engaging performance that reflects Eli Yim’s endless talent. It is a simple must see while it is on at Underground at the Working Men’s Club!
Isabel Fletcher-Shaw
FICTION ROMANCE - Fetch Theatre
To the sounds of a sea shanty, we enter the theatre to find an old sea dog carefully painting a model boat. This is Antonio, immortalized in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, who proceeds to tell us the story of his relationship with the sea, and also with Sebastian, who he saved from drowning (in an unusual manner) and proceeded to fall in love with.
In Patrick Kealey’s one-man performance, the connections are beautifully drawn between Antonio’s relationship with the sea, at once dreading it and attracted to it, and his ability to fall in love with unattainable beauties. He describes himself as addicted to love, the feeling of falling in love, as much as the realization of it. He is enchanted by Sebastian, and we feel his sense of betrayal at the younger man’s engagement to the lady Olivia, compounded by Sebastian’s seeming rejection.
Ultimately, however, this is a tale of redemption, with Antonio eventually finding a place where he is wanted and can call home. Like the sea, Kealey’s performance draws you into a world that is at once alluring and dangerous, while his relaxed stage presence and warm, mellifluous voice make the audience feel totally secure in his company. With a few simple props and this accomplished actor as your guide, you’ll be as enchanted by this play, as Antonio is by Sebastian.
Robbie Carnegie
FLAT 4 - Isabel Songer
Isabel Songer has written an immense piece of work. A full hour of high impact drama about the joys, fears and difficulties of leaving home and becoming independent.
Isabel, as Alexandra, is at first excited to be at university but the novelty quickly becomes disappointment with her environment and after only six days she finds another university that will ‘rescue’ her. She lands a flat share with a girl of similar outlook and they have happy times cooking what is described as ‘social media meals’. It’s not a good meal if its not on Instagram. Alexandra and Becks delight in ‘creative meals’ where everything is better in a toastie: lasagna toastie anyone? Cottage pie toastie? They have delightful conversations about never becoming middle aged and both describe themselves as a bit ditzy. They get drunk and party together, and share their lives and vow they will never change from this zenith. They describe their freedom as behaving like naughty teenagers whose parents had just gone out. We know, as they do, that this can’t last.
They comfort each other on issues like body shaming but Alex’s insecurities come out and she needs constantly to be told she is pretty leading her into an abusive relationship that she, through her immaturity is unable to handle. But Becks has a far darker experience and calls out to Alex for help. Alex is drunk or drugged on some random boys bed and doesn’t answer the call. The failure to help when Becks needs her most leads Alex to a dark, introspective, self-destructive place.
The hard lesson they learn is that the childlike fantasy of being always protected and safe doesn’t fit easily with the freedom and independence they want.
Both parts are played word perfect by Isabel Songer at high pace and with many sections written in rhyme. A very impressive performance both in writing and acting.
Further performances on 24th and 25th July.
Brian Kirman
FLORA MACDONALD AND ZOMBIES by Debbie Cannon - Sweet Productions
Debbie Cannon's previous visits to Buxton have taken us from myth, in her fabulous retelling of the Green Knight from the perspective of Lady Bertilak, to history, with Alice Thornton, a woman from 17th century England who left a detailed record of her life and her Remarkable Deliverances. This time it’s another historical figure, Flora MacDonald, who famously helped Bonnie Prince Charlie evade capture after the battle of Culloden. However, there are also Zombies. This show may not be completely factually accurate.
300-year-old Flora is a Jacobite pin-up, Zombie Slayer Queen and, for the last 100 years or so, a tour guide who thinks facts are over-rated. Cannon is having a lot of fun with Flora’s story and those whose path she crosses, each of whom she captures beautifully. There is Charlie himself as inept posh boy, a mysterious and very sexy cat, the King of the Zombies, and a 10-year-old nihilist schoolgirl. The story fairly cracks along between historical moments, gore-filled Zombie massacres and occasional songs, some of which may not be entirely traditional.
There are some brilliant lines that kept the audience giggling, and the script has a spiky satirical undercurrent. You may recognise a certain US leader in her arrogant King of the Zombies as the industrial-military complex is parodied with some scarily convincing corporate speech advocating for 'war-based conversion' to the ranks of the undead, or 'enhanced living'. But the sharpness of the humour never becomes heavy handed and there is plenty of fun and silliness.
Flora MacDonald and Zombies is every bit as irreverent and fun as you might expect. Cannon is a versatile and talented performer and it is a joy to see her flex her comedy muscles and let rip in such an enjoyable romp.
Stephen Walker
GRANDMA'S SHOP - Julie Flower / The Specialist Generalist
As a girl, Julie Flower didn’t know whether she wanted to be an actress or a historian when she grew up. With this exuberant one-woman play, she’s found a way to do both, combining personal family history and performance to create a delightful piece of theatre.
Julie’s grandma, Hilda was something of a Sheffield legend (known universally as ‘Aunty Hilda’), a woman who turned her personal passion into a thriving business. Hilda loved the stray cats of the neighbourhood and so opened a shop in order to pay to feed them. The shop sold second-hand clothes, and was packed from floor to ceiling with them. It became a highly sought out destination for budding Sheffield pop stars in search of a bit of vintage costume, students in search of nighties for the University’s notorious ‘Pyjama Jump’ – basically for anything you might want. Julie regularly worked there as a child, and her personal recollections of that time infuse this show.
Julie’s love and admiration for her Grandma – whose fame went far beyond Sheffield due to articles in the national press – runs through this delightful play. Her effervescent performance and her connection both to the subject matter and to the audience draws everyone into the eccentric world of this remarkable woman and makes us want to embrace the eccentricity in ourselves. Hilda was a woman who lived her life in the way she wanted, and there’s something immensely uplifting in that.
The play is also deeply nostalgic. I was a student in Sheffield in the ‘80s and Grandma’s Shop – with its Sheffield musical soundtrack and fashion – took me back to that happy time. I could picture exactly where the shop was, and I think I may even have once bought a diamante broach there, to wear on my jacket for a night out at The Limit club (it was the 80s after all). However, even if you don’t remember the 80s, even if you have no connections to Sheffield, this warm hug of a show transports you to a world where family ties, memory, community and individuality are embraced, and where you can’t help but feel welcomed, just as Hilda would have done, to her shop.
Robbie Carnegie
I BELIEVE IN ONE BACH - Two Foolish / Sweet Productions
Once upon a time there was a boy who found music and lost himself in it. Alan Gottlieb fell in love with music as a boy and has made it his career. Never a stellar career, as he remains on the back desk of the second violins, but his love for Bach, and the magnificent B Minor Mass, has kept him going through years of playing Classic FM fodder.
However, he is up for appraisal, and his time in the orchestra may be coming to an end. There is a clever subtleness to the script. It is not as simple as bad corporation gets rid of older musician. Alan is not the musician he was, and for all of his devotion to Bach and professed commitment to the highest standards of music, his actions are often more prosaic. He is forced to confront what it means if the thing he has defined himself by is taken away.
On a spare set, using white boxes rearranged into chairs, podia and desks, Chris Brannick shows great range as Alan, moving from gentle enthusiasm through despondency to some unnerving aggression. The remaining parts are played by his co-writer Karen Kirkup, all in white echoing the set, who gives us wonderful characters in Maggie, Alan’s closest colleague, and Elizabeth, legendary musician and his mentor. They provide alternative examples of how to deal with a career coming to an end, as well as sparkling repartee in some breathtakingly good dialogue.
Kirkup also provides narration reflecting on the action with a repeated motif riffing on the opening line of the play which is also the opening line of this review. If at times slightly over-written these are also beautiful meditations.
A two hander with a good script and the actors sparking off each other is a real treat. I Believe in Bach is a fascinating play that will leave you thinking about where we find beauty, and pondering how we define ourselves and what it means to lose that.
Stephen Walker
JAMES ROWLAND'S PIECE OF WORK - Worklight Theatre
James Rowland is a master storyteller whose inventive tales roam far into the unexpected yet always within – just about - the feasible, and he narrates and acts them with rare good humour, developing a warm relationship with his audience. With a minimum of props, he creates a context within which we can see and appreciate – and live with – the absurdities that become reality, often, he tells us, rooted in his own life: and leading the audience to create its own reflective thoughts.
This show is the second of a trilogy, and is about family relationships - him, his father and his rather younger brother and more: about dealing and coming to terms with age and childhood, stress, mental health issues, death. That may seem like a depressing menu, but there is rare good humour, a number of very amusing observations, a self-conscious use/abuse of puns to get a rise out of the audience. And some set-piece comments 'Why do babies cry? Well, wouldn’t you cry – it must be so confusing to go to sleep and wake up and come to somewhere else, somewhere you’ve never been, in the arms of someone you’ve never met.'
He quotes from Hamlet, cleverly, to reinforce our reflective meditations and there are, as just one example, comments on Hamlet’s 'To be or not to be': does the way we live our lives really have to be a simple binary matter – there must be other ways to deal with conflict and doubt.
A very warm response from the audience throughout the show with lots of strong laughter, and enthusiastic applause afterwards. It’s a pity that this is having just one performance here in Buxton – it came here to fill the gap when something else had to be cancelled - but is well worth looking out for when it goes back on tour.
Michael Quine
JOE AND DYLAN SAVE THE WORLD - Worklight Theatre
Award-winners and Buxton Fringe regulars Joe Sellman-Leava and Dylan Howells were going to give us not one but two work in progress comedies in their show Joe and Dylan Save the World. They intended to jointly tackle apocalypse anxiety through mindfulness and disaster-prepping. Then Dylan was going to perform solo about the horrors of growing up in a haunted DIY nightmare.
That was the plan but as we all know the best laid plans often go awry! Underground alert ticket holders in advance to a change due to 50% of the cast being unwell, and that the company are working hard to give us a show by extending one of the pieces.
Dylan steps into the spotlight and explains that 'selfishly' Joe is too ill to go ahead with either of their shows, though his disappointment is clear. In a professional ‘The Show Must Go On’ way the good news is that other members of the team have rushed to Buxton (one of them on their birthday!) to help Dylan develop some new material and give us a show.
The show write up made it clear that this would be two works in progress and given Joes indisposition this is doubly the case. As Dylan makes clear, the excerpts we are about to see are not due for their full premier till next year. None of this puts the mixed age audience off, in fact we are willing Dylan and his team to pull it off.
Dylan starts by explaining that due to long covid his short-term memory was badly damaged, a disaster for a performer. He has been working on a number of techniques to help overcome this.
There follows a demonstration of this with members of the audience being invited to choose pages from a book at random and Dylan quoting the first or last words. He then asks us to take part in a visualisation exercise and from this he invites three of the audience onto the stage. The volunteers are reduced to one and an amusing section ensues with cards and sleight of hand/misdirection, the audience and the volunteer (me) enjoy this 'demonstration' even, or especially, when Dylan doesn’t get it right. We are reminded again that this is a work in progress as Dylan shouts timings to the backstage team.
We then move onto the DIY nightmare section of the performance, 'are you seeing this the way I am?' Dylan checks with us several times, yes, we assure him, and he is so engaging that the audience have been completely drawn in to his dad’s house with the weird staircase. I wont spoil the scary bits, but it made me jump several times!
This is far from a polished piece, and this was made clear in the show write up so don’t go along expecting perfection. But if you are willing to keep an open mind and enjoy a bit of audience participation Dylan offers an amusing, engaging and entertaining hour. Do go along on Sunday afternoon and support him in developing this work, there are a lot worse ways to spend a rainy afternoon in Buxton!
Hopefully both Dylan and Joe will be back at Buxton Fringe next year.
Carole Garner
THE LAST DAYS OF TRUMP (A LIBERAL FANTASY) - Eoin Carney (Creator/Producer)
The Last Days of Trump (A Liberal Fantasy) promises us a scenario where the aging two-term president is about to be replaced for good. At last, a play about contemporary politics that doesn’t leave us in the depths of despair!
We’re in Trump’s chamber in the White House, complete with multiple flagpoles bearing the Stars & Stripes, stuffed leather armchairs, and most importantly, a TV remote control. It’s just after the 2028 Presidential election, and Trump is facing his last few months in office with declining influence. His overworked young Chief of Staff is the only person who seems to have any time for him. The thought in everybody’s mind, on stage and in the audience, is will he go quietly?
This darkly comic play is both wish fulfilment and a cautionary tale. It’s very believable, which makes one wonder how we’ve reached a world where an American president being distracted by TV channels about gorillas and sharks seems perfectly reasonable. Events conspire, again in a scarily believable way, but fortunately this is a liberal fantasy. Any MAGA supporting audience members may prefer to call it a nightmare.
Whatever their political persuasions, the audience on the opening night certainly enjoyed the show. The four strong cast is superb, and the voiceovers, which play an important part, well incorporated. This is an accomplished piece of theatre, in fact a very very accomplished piece of theatre, maybe the most accomplished piece of theatre you’ll see at this Fringe.
Don’t miss your last chance to see this in Buxton on Thursday 24 July at 7pm.
Georgina Blair
LIV: SAPPHIC SHAKESPEARE - Headache Creative Productions
This is an extract from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and edits out much of the roundabout contrived parts of his plot. 'Twelfth Night Fanfiction' present us with a simplified version that can be briefly summarised:
Liv (Olivia) is being courted by Lord Orsino but she prefers his young messenger, Cesario. In order to make sure he keeps on visiting, Liv tells Cesario to keep Orsino’s hopes alive. Fairly quickly, Liv and Cesario fall in love. Meanwhile, in a modern take, the law has changed to allow females to have equal rights to inheritance as males and Liv soon becomes the ruling lady of her late father’s estate. This elevation in her status provides a further obstruction to Cesario who is seen as lowly, a mere messenger.
There is another obstacle: Cesario was actually lost, presumed dead in a shipwreck while Viola, his twin sister, survived and took on her brother’s identity, thinking she would have better prospects as a male. After much soul-searching, Viola makes another life-changing decision which will point the way to a satisfying outcome.
If this sounds complicated you should try the full Shakespeare version.
The actors: Beth Birss and Tanieth Kerr guide us through the plot with clarity, emotion and passion. Their warmth as Liv and Vi comes through and we want happiness for them. This comic modernisation of the story uses contemporary dress, radio news, and intrusive paparazzi, while the language remains ‘Shakespearean Style’.
One wonders if Shakespeare had written in a society such as ours where same sex relationships are common, would he have followed a similar story line?
An even more simple summary would be: Shipwreck. Identity theft. Cross dressing. Queer love. Female emancipation. Pursuit by media. Happy Ending – and we all need more of these.
Not bad in less than an hour.
There are further performances on 16th, 17th and 18th July. Go see it.
Brian Kirman
LUNCHBOX - Lubna Kerr
This was the first performance of Lunchbox and apart from the occasional pause, everything went according to plan! It’s the dramatisation of the author and star of the show Lubna Kerr’s memories of life as an immigrant child in Glasgow.
Now Glasgow has a reputation as a tough city at the best of times, so to grow up in an alien environment, Pollockshields, in the east end of the city, where culture is what posh people do, must have been doubly hard. Lubna’s story hangs on her quest to negotiate growing up, bullying and the casual everyday racism of the city (and the rest of Britain to be fair) at that time.
She attempts to find solace in lunchtime clubs at school and becomes enamoured with drama and the possibilities it holds. However, her chief tormentor also joins the club… This story of how they both come to terms with life and each other includes an update which may surprise.
It is confidently performed by the author, who paints a vivid picture with her words. Do go and support the show – it is on again on the 14th; it merits it.
Ian Parker Heath
MAEVE AND HOWARD - SUDS
Setting a high bar for drama on day one of the fringe we have this engaging two hander.
The publicity for the play suggests a serious, intensive drama with doom-laden characters making their way to tragedy. While the opening is a sad lament sung by Maeve there are many light moments and many positives can be taken from the close and evolving relationship between the characters. On the surface they could make a perfect couple but Howard is a closet gay and Maeve is torn between nostalgia for Ireland and restlessness. And alcohol.
The Jewishness of Howard is not explored as a theme but the hidden nature of his relationship with Mark (unseen) suggests his sexuality is hidden from his conservative family. The play spans almost 50 years and attitudes towards homosexuals and Jews changed significantly through this time. There is background as to how they separately came to be living in New York both of them traumatic; hiding variously from the Nazis in Lithuania and the British in Ireland but this is not central to the play except to give the characters a background of seeking refuge and restlessness. Both of them are seeking a ‘home’. There are many levels in writer Clara Nel Haddon’s play.
Ian Gledhill, who plays Howard, is a stereotypical New York Jew; looking very like Woody Allen, while Anne Padget flips her Dublin brogue from mournful to frivolous and successfully and frequently manipulates Howard. The actor’s interactions feed on a great chemistry and it is easy to empathise with both the characters in very different ways.
The play ends with a lonely and homeless Maeve plaintively writing to her mother to find comfort saying, “I don’t eat much, just crumbs and kindness”.
Further performances 22nd and 23rd July.
Brian Kirman
MARIE LLOYD STOLE MY LIFE - Blue Fire Theatre Company
What's better than a theatre show about theatre itself?
Those of us with a love of theatre are likely to have fond recollections (if not actual memories!) of the era of the Victorian Music Hall - the songs, the choruses, the other acts, the chance to join in and sing along or on the contrary to boo a performer off the stage. Towards the end of the nineteenth century over 300 music halls gave entertainers the chance to earn and create their independence, to make fun of the high and mighty.
This is the warm and loving tale of just one performer, Nelly Power, played by Lottie Walker, as she made her own independent career, fighting bad marriages, illness and more to become a great performer in her own right. Only to find that Marie Lloyd the "Queen of the Music Hall" stole Nelly's great hit "the Boy in the Gallery" and made her own enormous reputation with it.
It is an enjoyable and enthusiastic picture of part of the Music Hall era, the good and the bad, and along the way we hear some of those well-known songs and choruses with gentle piano accompaniment from James Hall. It's a show which conveys the energy of the Music Hall while pointing out some shadowy aspects as well.
Michael Quine
MURMURATION - Steve Vertigo
Steve Vertigo returns in a show seen before at Buxton Festival Fringe - it is much changed and has evolved for the better I must add so it is well worth a watch again even if you have watched it in the past.
The main change is that the tech has gone and we start the show with Steve standing on stage dressed like a starling with his dark clothing and wings. He behaves a lot like a starling too as he flaps away at the audience entering the room.
The show starts with a lot of great movement around the stage - so much what you would expect from a starling. There is also great commentary on the modern world of AI Alexa and smart watches and Fitbits, not forgetting the ring doorbell that lets you know when you are entering your own house.
Much of the world is being taken over by AI devices - what does it all mean? Steve will tell you as well as letting you know what it is like to be part of a murmuration and asking what it means to the world, exploring a few of Stephen Hawking's theories and along the way revealing the physicist's association with Peter Stringfellow.
Is this theatre? Is this comedy? Is this spoken word? Is this a surreal adventure through time and space as well as flying high above the clouds? It is in fact all these things and so much more. It was once described as Jackanory on drugs; as the show has evolved it is probably now more like prose on Prozac.
Go and see Steve. It's a fun, really enjoyable show that makes you think a little about modern life. You wont get many better days in a Fringe venue.
The show is on again at Underground at Spring Gardens on 20th and 21st July at 4pm.
Robert Harrison
OVERWHELM - Working Progress Collective
This powerful play begins with a phone call from a friend, Riley, who is a bit of a loser and in need of help. Jake is not initially receptive but wants to help but he has his own problems: agoraphobia which has kept him self-imprisoned in his flat for years.
Jake’s flat mate, Miles, makes a determined effort to shake Jake from his torpor but haunted by their friend’s decline and issues with shared girlfriends and broken relationships this is not easy. As a summary the plot seems simple but the interplay between Jake and Miles carries the story, brilliantly acted by Sam Bates opposite Louis Martino, and the lonely Max Burnett as Riley.
The stand out feature is the communication between young men. There is lad-banter but also serious discussion. They actually talk to each other. If only young people communicated as openly as this in real life. As Jake explains in relation to Riley, 'you can’t change people by shouting at them. You have to meet them where they are'. There is a nod towards the trend of shutting out the world or conversation by immersing into video games – here shown as a more stage-friendly chess game. The alcohol fuelled dialogue becomes intense when Miles sets himself up as Miles’ therapist.
The characters are completely believable, uncomfortably so and reactions will vary from ‘sort yourselves out’ to sympathy with the mental health of the characters.
Further performances 23rd, 24th, and 26th July
Brian Kirman
RAILWAY 200: THE NEW THEATRE SHOW - Gare Du Nord Theatre/ Avanti West Coast
This new production from Gare Du Nord Theatre is part of Railway 200, the nationwide celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern railway, and it promises to retell the story of how the modern railway came into being. This could make for a very long, rather dry lecture, but as we sat under the glorious colours of the atrium roof in the Cavendish Arcade it was a relief when the first person who came out before us was not a dusty suited lecturer, but instead a grandfather, taking a train journey with his granddaughter Beth.
The conversation between Grandpa and Beth, as they enjoy their journey on a Pendolino (Beth’s favourite type of train), provides the narration between a number of scenes from railway history. These are energetically acted, sometimes with songs, and we learn about the key moments that shaped the railway we have today. The show also puts into perspective the role the railways have played in developing things we take for granted today, like the nationwide use of Greenwich Mean Time and internet shopping.
The show doesn’t just focus on the inventors and investors who shaped the early days and ensured the growth of the railways, but also features those responsible for cutting many lines and services. Transport Minister, Ernest Marples, who was closely involved with a road building company bearing his name (an early example of somebody compromised by fossil fuel interests), instructs the infamous Dr Beeching to reduce the rail network to make savings. Cue audience boos, but it should be noted that the person responsible for severing Buxton’s direct rail connection with London did not feature in the show. The loss of the Midland Railway between Buxton and Derby in 1968 was due to Barbara Castle, when she was Transport Minister.
The use of a flat area in front of the audience for the stage meant some of the action may have been hard to see from the back rows, although this was mitigated by props used at the front to elevate actors, and much of the action took place standing up. Gare du Nord Theatre are known for their immersive theatre experiences, and there were elements of this as we had our tickets checked by the Avanti guard and were part of the crowd welcoming George Stephenson and his brother to Stockton. There is also a clever device at the end which ensures a standing ovation!
The audience greatly enjoyed this romp through railway history, and the full house showed how much interest there is in our railways. If you missed this show at Buxton you might be able catch it on tour - see the Gare Du Nord Theatre website for details.
Georgina Blair
THE TEMPEST - Buxton Opera House Youth Fringe Company
A group of 14-18 year olds have a week to produce and perform The Tempest, including designing and creating the set and costumes, arranging and learning to operate the sound and lighting, and performing the parts. It would make even the boldest contestants on the Apprentice quake.
Buxton Opera House run a yearly summer work experience scheme that challenges young people to do just this, and once again they have produced an impressive production. This is a condensed version of The Tempest, tweaked to the company’s own interpretation. Given the option to move the setting to somewhere more prosaic, they chose to keep the production on a mysterious island, to allow the fantastical elements of the play to be fully explored.
The performance starts with an effective storm scene, as Antonia and her shipmates are wrecked on Prospero’s island. The staging is simple but evocative, and changes between scenes were swift and faultless. The action is lively, and there are several funny scenes which had the audience in giggles. The actors were confident and word perfect, but some were a little hard to hear at times.
This was a sold out performance, and the audience certainly enjoyed the show. ‘I thought that was inspirational’ was overhead on the way out. You too can be inspired by the next performance, at Buxton Community School on 11 July at 6.15pm.
Georgina Blair
THERE IS A LIGHT AND A WHISTLE FOR ATTRACTING ATTENTION - Play Nicely Theatre
In this wonderfully named production, Henri Merriam, who many will recall from Smooth Faced Gentlemen’s all female Shakespeare of a few years back and particularly her Titus Andronicus, stars as a woman desperate for love, and to love, but gradually bent out of shape as things go wrong.
In a tale as old as time, a woman with a big personality is cramped into a small marriage, limited and constricted by the conventional strictures of a man who seems to want to change the woman he fell in love with in the first place.
It is a vibrant performance as Merriam goes on a journey from the manic energy of a young woman with a lust for life, through obsessional questioning as she tries to remake herself to fit what seems to be desired. It’s a wonderfully physical performance, but the emotions are laid bare on Merriam’s expressive face, making her heartbreak viscerally real.
Merriam’s own script works through how this reshaping of the self can happen by deftly weaving in references to the many tales by which we learn about love and how a woman is expected to be. From her delightful 12-year-old dancing with a teddy to Celine Dion, through Eve and the apple, to the Taming of the Shrew. It's combined with pin-sharp observations of what it is like to be in love and even more so of the moments when you know that love has gone.
Shahaf Beer’s set design makes ingenious use of a sturdy chest of drawers on a roll of astroturf, but from it come all manner of props and the drawers themselves do time as podiums, seats, steps and even dioramas. The wonderful use of this set and a super sound design by Fraser Merrick ultimately support a great combination of script with a tour de force performance by a very fine actor.
Stephen Walker
TRIAL BY JURY - Utopia Unlimited
Utopia Unlimited are a newly formed youth theatre group, and Trial by Jury is their first production. After a successful premiere in Bakewell in June, this was their first visit to Buxton Fringe.
A one act operetta in a single setting is a perfect choice for a Fringe performance. We knew we were in for a treat when the Court Usher (Karl Morewood), patrolling his courtroom before the judicial proceedings began, told us we could keep talking as the action hadn’t started yet! Then the courtroom started to fill, and we waited for the protagonists to arrive. Although most professional G&S productions rely on large choruses, this production managed admirably with a chorus of one, as all cast members joined in where necessary. Tom Hale was a wonderfully expressive Defendant, making his desire to escape his romantic entanglement clear.
The standard of singing throughout the production was high, with an outstanding performance from Lie Jennings as the Judge. And they all steered well clear of the perpetual amateur performance problem of not being able to be heard. This was a lively performance which made the most of the comic opportunities of the operetta, and often had the audience chuckling, when they were not busy applauding.
This production of Trial by Jury is a super introduction to Utopia Unlimited, and bodes well for their next production, which apparently might include some pirates! Trial by Jury can next be seen at the New Mills Festival in Sept. And of course we hope that they’ll be returning to the Fringe next year.
Georgina Blair
THE UNKNOWING HERO - Clickers and Benders Drama Group
Buxton writer Leslie Oldfield has built up a distinctive body of work in recent years, creating a series of plays with subject matter culled from local social history, whether it be striking shoemakers, WWI Canadian soldiers convalescing in Buxton, or this latest piece.
In 1902, the village of Eyam was due to hold a celebration to commemorate the Coronation of King Edward VII, but when the Coronation was postponed, they had to come up with something else to celebrate. They hit upon the idea of honouring a local lad who was returning from the Boer War. He’d been injured (a cooking accident not a war wound as such), but the powers-that-be in the village felt that he should represent all those involved in the conflict in South Africa.
Oldfield’s play nicely builds up the characters of the different village types – the priggish busybody, the hard-drinking farmer, the silly girls who set their sights on the returning ‘hero’. Central to this is Nic Wilson, giving a very assured performance as the self-important Parish Council leader, while Chris Wood plays Billy, the soldier, with a nice level of wide-eyed bafflement at the fuss being made around him.
It was nice to see an element of comedy entering into Leslie Oldfield’s writing, and if anything, I’d have liked to have seen more of it in the play, as the situation and the characters lend themselves to it. Likewise, at the end of the play, the characters break into song, which feels slightly jarring at first, but is so simply and touchingly rendered by Rachel Judge and Zara Williamson (as Billy’s mother and sweetheart), that I was left wishing there had been more of this musical element sprinkled throughout the play. It is a gently affecting way to close a heart-warming piece of local theatre.
Robbie Carnegie
A UTOPIA STORY - Late Arrival Arts
This is a hard show to describe. That doesn’t mean it isn’t good – its very good, but where do I begin?
From the moment the audience arrived we were surrounded by sound – a thrumming, ambient sounds that vibrates inside you and I for one couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.
Although the staging area is small the three performers use it to maximum effect. No space is wasted or unused.
The audience are drawn into a multi-sensory journey that uses music, cinema, physical action and discourse.
At the root of the show is a question – What is Utopia and what does it mean to us individually? We learn about Thomas More, but which Thomas More?
Initially I found myself trying to think about the performers words and prompts in the moment, but my advice to audiences would be to just go with the flow and experience the content in the moment. The combination of different media, visual stimulus and sound washes over you and at the end of the show you emerge feeling like you have genuinely been on a journey – I can only try and describe it as feeling like a guided meditation – completely stimulating, but also relaxing.
The three performers Cole Tinsley, Allan Purves and Dan Gribben are excellent. Dan provides the music and sound, a mixture of deeply relaxing synth and saxophone. Allan and Cole deliver their words lightly, but with conviction.
I wasn’t sure what t expect when I signed up for this show. If you are looking for an escape from the everyday and a show that will stay with you long after you leave the venue, I would really recommend this show. I don’t think I have done it justice in my description, so you need to experience it for yourselves.
April Irwin
WAITING FOR ELVIS - plush tiger productions
The world has just left the 1950s and entered the decade of what will become the swinging sixties, bringing along with it the teenager and the pop star. Set on March 3rd 1960, reluctant National Service recruit Albert "Briggsy" Briggs has made his way to Prestwick airport hoping to see his pop idol and hero, Elvis Presley, who is due to arrive at the airport on his way home to the USA following completion of his own military service in Germany.
Hampered by Fog in London, flights to the capital are badly delayed causing one famous passenger, the actress Margaret Rutherford and Briggsy to share many hours in each others company. Miss Rutherford, who is married to fellow actor Stringer Davis ,has just been offered the role of Miss Marple in an upcoming film. The young, star struck and unworldly Briggsy and the mature, formidable, straight talking and no nonsense Margaret quickly strike up a rapport which allows them to describe beautifully to the audience their two vastly different worlds.
The glamorous theatrical society of New York and London for Margaret and the simple and unglamorous Headingly near Leeds for Albert, with a war widow for a mother seem without compare - until the couple dig deeper into their past. Tragedy and heartache are shared in common by the two characters , letting them develop a mutual understanding and offering Margaret the opportunity to share words of wisdom with this young stranger.
Well delivered by both actors , this hour long production expertly took the audience into a very different post war era . Written with empathy and insight these two characters were given the opportunity to illustrate how despite having vastly different life experiences, we can also have much in common.
There are two further shows on Friday 25th & Sunday 27th July 2.30pm to 3.25pm at Underground at Spring Gardens
Julie Alexander
WHAT A KNIGHT! - One Night Only
This evening we joined friends Lynn and Marie as they yet again set off to follow their pop idol Sir Bobby Rock on his latest tour. Super fans of Bobby Rock's for over 6 decades, the duo share with us their total and ultimate devotion to him. From the military style planning of ticket acquisition, to their expensive travel experiences and even the observations of the wider fan base, this is a story of loyalty, unquestioned devotion and unperturbed dedication. However, it soon becomes apparent that these personality traits are being applied to their personal lives as well as to the idolising of celebrity Bobby Rock, with less than satisfactory consequences.
The play cleverly interacts with the audience, and the skill of the actors imparts the adrenalin charged and often exhausting pursuit of Lynn and Marie's ultimate goal - to meet Bobby Rock in person - to perfection. A poignant and at times tragic tale of hero worship and its effect on the worshipper "What a Knight" provides a cautionary tale about admiration morphing into obsession.
An excellent two actor play, reminiscent of female characterisation often deployed by the late and great Victoria Wood , Lynn and Marie, whilst amusing their audience , also unquestionably invited empathy and sadness from it too. Well written and excellently delivered, this show is indeed a very worthy watch.
"What a Knight" returns to The Palace Hotel - Hadden Room on Friday 11th & Saturday 12th July from 6.00pm to 7.20pm
Julie Alexander
WUMMY - Charis King
Wummy is in Lulu Lemon active wear, married to an old money banker, living in Chelsea with a bin hidden in a kitchen island, and the most extreme duckface pose ever. She seems like she has it all…
But no, she is manifesting, realisation starts with visualisation after all. Wummy is actually a high school teacher in London, living in a shared flat with people she hates, and trying to dispose of a nice boyfriend back home in Dorset. Unfortunately, she’s managed to manifest a pregnancy before a rich husband. Wummy is going to have to do some serious manifesting to get what she wants.
There is a lot of manifesting in this show, but also a lot of fun, as Charis King takes us on a high energy rollercoaster through Wummy’s pregnancy as the lies (and the debts) get bigger and the stakes get higher. King dextrously switches between the characters Wummy encounters. There’s Isabella, the monstrous successful Yummy Mummy, Charles the rugby playing ex public school banker that Wummy sets out to ensnare, her down-to-earth Dorset sister, and many more.
To expand the cast further, there is some nicely judged audience participation, where they can do no wrong, and King appears increasingly ridiculous. The humour is well timed, with some laugh out loud moments, and the physicality and athleticism King displays is remarkable.
The music choices are spot on, Ciara’s Level Up as we wait for the show to start, rugby’s World in Union for Charles and the muzak for manifestation, as are the sound effects, especially the grosser elements as Wummy’s body confounds her.
Behind the chaos of Wummy’s life, there is a satire lurking there, how can a generation of young people, even those with decent jobs, survive in London? And how will Wummy get out of it? Will she find true happiness? Or will she get what she wants? It is a riot finding out.
Stephen Walker
YARDS APART - A ONE-ACT PLAY - Amazing Performance
If you like your drama with a side-order of woodwork, then get yourself along to Yards Apart.
In fact, come and see it anyway, regardless of your views on carpentry. This charming one act play at St Anne’s Parish Centre is well worth it. Mark and Viki are new neighbours who meet over the garden fence. The title gives you some idea of what is to come and you think you know what is going on. But the perspective shifts and then it shifts again.
The script is extremely rich - clever and multi-layered. At any given moment, you’re aware of at least one subtext beneath the top level of genuine emotion and some great jokes. There are some excellent visual gags too. Watch out for the water spray but be reassured that no cats were harmed during the making of the show!
The two leads are immediately believable and accessible. They do an excellent job of developing their characters and making us care about what happens. In fact, this is one of those very rare pieces that might benefit from being a little longer. The show is only about thirty minutes long and it felt as if there was more room in the story arc that could be usefully filled in.
Finally, we have to mention the fence. As a prop, it commands the space and provides much of the action. As a visual symbol for the piece as a whole, it was perfect.
Anna Girolami
