Posts with the label off west end
Showing posts with label off west end. Show all posts
Showing posts with label off west end. Show all posts
Saturday 11 March 2017
The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Southwark Playhouse | Review
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Southwark Playhouse
Reviewed on Wednesday 8th March 2017 by Olivia Mitchell
Reviewed on Wednesday 8th March 2017 by Olivia Mitchell
★★★★★
Adapted for film in 2015 and based on the 2002 graphic novel by Phoebe Gloeckner, The Diary of a Teenage Girl tells the story of Minnie, a teenager in San Francisco in the 1970s and her scandalous affair with her mothers boyfriend Monroe. There's drugs, sex, drama and a whole lot of growing up. This a fresh, shocking and overall moving piece of theatre done wonderfully in the intimate space of the Southwark Theatre.
Rona Morison's fantastic performance is central to the whole production and she executes each moment with ease and brilliance that is both innocent and experienced at the same time. Morison's performance is detailed and nuanced at times and just full out in your face crazy at others but each moment and movement seems well thought out and gets the story across smoothly and inventively.
The rest of the small cast give equally as wonderful performances, working together to create a disquieting parade of unsatisfactory adults. Rebecca Trehearn's portrayal of Minnie's lost, Bohemian mother is erratic but thoughtful and her time on stage brings a freshness to the production. Jamie Wilkes as Monroe comes across as more self-loathing and alone than a sexual predator and throughout the blame for Minnie's harsh coming of age is not really placed on him. Instead the focus is on the coming of age itself.
Cleverly mixed into the performance are projections of Gloeckner's original illustrations which are charming and witty. The story telling is powerful with the actors putting their all into each moment and being helped along with lighting and staging.
James Nicholson's sound is done super effectively, with uncomfortable noises accompany the harsher moments of the story and portraying the torment the characters feel.
At 90 minutes straight through, this is an extraordinary look into the dramatic development of a young woman. The audience are taken on a whirlwind ride from start to finish, full of stand out performances, humour, sadness and quirkiness. All in all its a brilliant production, extremely crude at points but absolutely wonderful and crazily enjoyable.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl is at the Southwark Playhouse until March 25th
Photo credit: Darren Bell
Sunday 5 March 2017
Swifties,Theatre N16 | Review
Swifties
Theatre N16
Reviewed on Wednesday 1st March 2017 by Esther Matthews
Reviewed on Wednesday 1st March 2017 by Esther Matthews
★★★
Swifties…To start, I didn’t hate it. Overall I could see what the script writer and director were trying to do however somewhere in the mix something went slightly wrong.
Swifties, based on the French play The Maids written by Jean Genet, follows the lives of two girls who claim to be Taylor Swifts “Biggest Fans” and how their attempt to murder the superstar doesn’t quite go the way they wanted. Isabella Niloufar and Tanya Cubric were brilliant as the plays main characters. Their portrayal of two slightly mad teens was humorous but terrifying at the same time. They are ones to watch out for in the wider theatre circle.
Theatre N16 is situated above a pub in Balham, it was the perfect setting for a play like this. The theatre itself was very small with only a handful of chairs to sit on making your experience very inclusive and intimate. The set was very minimal with simple lighting which pulled you into the scene. As an audience member sometimes big sets and props can capture your attention but the actors managed to keep you captivated throughout.
I had a problem with the script. There didn’t seem to be any structure to it. The girls did a good job at improvising but overall the script lacked good dialogue and felt slow. The Maids is rarely done in large venues or professional theatre but I think it is a very relevant story with many important themes. In the current social climate this is the kind of work that needs to be noticed. It highlights the trouble that we as a nation have with race, gender and social media/celebrities.
For such a small stage the director did a good job. Luke Davies has had rave reviews from his previous production and if this play transferred to a larger venue I can understand what his vision would be.
I would recommend seeing Swifties, there are good and bad points to make about this production. It certainly leaves you with questions.
Swifts runs at Theatre N16 until March 11th
Saturday 25 February 2017
Lizzie, Greenwich Theatre | Review
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Lizzie
Greenwich Theatre
Reviewed on Friday 24th February 2017 by Olivia Mitchell
Reviewed on Friday 24th February 2017 by Olivia Mitchell
★★★
I've been finding it very hard to write this review because I honestly don't know what I thought of Lizzie. There were parts I loved and parts I didn't but overall I was kind of confused.
I suppose that could be seen as a good thing though. The show seems to get more disjointed as Lizzie's own mind gets more confused and crazy so it seems natural that after a well told story I, as an audience member, should leave feeling affected by the characters. So maybe confusion is a good thing?
Funny story, when I first saw this advertised quite a few months ago, I thought it was my wildest dreams coming true with Lizzie, meaning Lizzie McGuire... I was very wrong! The aforementioned Lizzie is in fact Elizabeth Andrew Borden who allegedly killed her father and stepmother with an axe in 1892. Whilst it's not the obvious choice of storyline, it works well with the rock music and insane lighting.
The show has recently finished a run in Denmark and has now made the transition to the Greenwich Theatre in London where it feels more like an arena concert than a stage show. There are minimal props so we are really able to focus on the story and impeccable voices of the four leads. The show opens with an eerie music-box tune which sets the dark, suspense filled show up perfectly. The powerhouse vocals are out of this world, with the ladies belting higher and higher with perfect technique throughout. The lyrics by Steven Cheslik-Demeyer and Tim Maner are cleverly tweaked and shaped depending on what's happening in the scene or in Lizzie's mind.
The cast are sublime with each woman holding her own and commanding the space. Bjorg Gamst as Lizzie Borden is impeccable, switching from innocence and sweetness to sheer and utter madness. Her eyes portray a thousand emotions and every movement she makes shows her transition to the manic killer who is truly revealed in act 2. Her sister, played by musical theatre royalty, Eden Espinosa, really comes into her own in act 2 and shows off her superb voice wonderfully. I previously saw Jodie Jacobs in 27: The Musical and was blown away by her killer voice. As Bridget Sullivan she gets to show off that voice again but also provides humour in this otherwise dark drama, often indirectly telling Lizzie to kill her parents in witty ways. Although it is unclear what her motivation for this is, she does it very well. Alice Russell, Lizzie's friend is played greatly by Bleu Woodward who again has a stunning voice and works very well with the other ladies. Her performance is tasteful and delicate and often provides a nice contrast to the loud, rage filled numbers in the show.
The lighting fit well with the erratic feeling but I felt at points it was too much with the lights and smoke covering up a lack of plot and coherence. My opinion is that with some developments and tweaks this could be a wonderful production. The cast are there, the songs are there and the basic ideas are there but it need to be refined to make it really flow. Again, the roughness does fit with with the story but to me it felt more like a piece of performance art than a show to come and just sit in your seat watching. If it's going to be performed like this then it would be good to somehow incorporate more audience interaction, like at a rock concert.
However, Lizzie is a fun show and it's wonderful to see a performance led solely by women. With a few tweaks this could be something incredible. I would still go and see it if you can because I guarantee it'll be like nothing you've ever seen before, and the vocals will blow you away!
Lizzie runs at the Greenwich theatre until March 12th 2017
photo credit: Soren Malmose
Lizzie runs at the Greenwich theatre until March 12th 2017
photo credit: Soren Malmose
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