Chapel Street II

So well received was Chapel Street, that it had its run extended and got itself reviewed.

Chapel Street

A night out on the town for an Essex boy and girl. This wonderful two-hander from Luke Barnes is definitely worth watching. Barnes, a Liverpudlian, has not only perfectly captured the zeitgeist but also the very natural rhythms and language of a couple of disillusioned young people. The acting is quite sublime but ultimately it is the script that hypnotises, crackling with energy and dripping with humour. Chapel Street is on at the Old Red Lion in Islington and I urge you buy a ticket now. This really is a cut above the rest - and it's Barnes first play.

Fighting For The Crown

Last night I travelled via the Overground Line to Kentish Town, to see The Giant Olive Theatre at the Lion & Unicorn. Hidden in a leafy wide street, the pub is an absolute delight offering a selection of standard gastro-pub fair and some nice wines. The theatre itself is a decent size with comfortable loose seating for about 60 people, I would guess. From a production POV as with most theatres of this sort, there is only one entrance to the stage.



I was planning on seeing Beauty Is Prison-Time, written and performed by Zoe Mavroudi but I was also invited to attend the opening night of the play beforehand - I'll Show You Mine. Both plays were of a particularly high calibre and Mavroudi is well worthy of her nomination for Best Actress.



Next week I am back at the venue seeing Nine - not the musical, I hasten to add - but another one-woman show, which has also been nominated for an Offie.

Needless To Say....

I now ache like buggery in places I never thought I had thanks to the gym work-out. Swimming today had all the joy and frivolity of climbing rope. Still here is my design for this years Halloween costume and I need a body to match. Here's hoping.

The Star & The Fan

Wednesday saw my first visit to the gym unsupervised, a round up of Autumn highlights in the West End for What’s On Somerset Magazine and finally The Fan and The Star and The Star and The Fan, a new play by Jan Harris staring Jenny Logan as fading singing legend Ezzlie and Janice Day as Fran, the not so pliable fan of the title. TF&TS&TS&TF has a lot going for it, although certainly not the daft title. The plot is pretty predictable but sadly most of the best bits have been left out. There are a wealth of ideas here, gagging to be thrashed out on stage with a larger cast and more time. I understand the commercial advantages of a two-hander, the writing wasn’t anywhere near as accomplished as it should have been to pull the idea off.

Logan as Ezzlie (with two ‘zees’) is rather fun, relishing the opportunity to play the imperious lush to the hilt. Day’s performance as Fran is a little more hit and miss and frightfully difficult to pitch, undoubtedly due to the thinness of the script. Andrew Ward performed his minor role as if he was the Stage Manager.

TF&TS&TS&TF (that’s GOT to change!) as presented here is less like a first draft and more like a collection of interesting ideas. Whether it is developed is anyone’s guess.

Soho Unplugged

In a week dominated by riots firstly in the capital and then reverberating throughout the country it seemed vaguely suitable that I was in a theatre when it all kicked off. I had been invited to review David Hoyle: Unplugged as part of the opening season at the new and dare I say wonderfully appointed Soho Downstairs. A cabaret venue to rival the Pizza Express and the Leicester Square in all but affability – some of the staff there do appear to need the stick removing from their behinds! As if to add to the tension that had gradually risen through the day, Soho had a power cut. Not an uncommon occurrence but one that added to the uncertainty of the encroaching evening.



Riots and Soho aside, I was rather looking forward to Hoyle’s performance as I had heard much of his exploits and whilst I had not seen him live, I did watch with wonder at his early Channel Four broadcasts. As I mention in my review, Hoyle seemed remarkably tame compared to my memory of him. He also looked particularly dapper, swathed in scarlet, sequins with the trademark barnet tamed into rigid jet atop his carefully made-up face. I was expecting chaos but was served an almost gentle evenings entertainment complete with the third rendition of You Made Me Love You that I have heard in a month – (Liza and Rufus) – and in my opinion, the best. Bereft of his Divine David persona, Hoyle is reminiscent of an amiable, veteran Northern comic, made all the better as we are never quite sure if the demons might escape at any moment.



On an unconnected note I felt an overwhelming desire to paint him and then I realised Otto Dix had got there first. Hoyle’s image stayed with me all the way home as I caught up with the tweets of other Londoners either in the thick of the riots or completely oblivious to them, praising the latest production of Crazy For You at the Open Air Regent’s Park.

Warming

I am warming to the new look of my blog. Hopefully I shall be able to start posting soon!

New Design

Rather than change all the settings I decided to go for a different look. It's getting there....