Reviews: Close To You @ Southwark Playhouse

Close To You

Southwark Playhouse, March 12, 2014

(Short-Form Review)

In just under an hour, Jennie Eggleton explores her own personal struggle with anorexia on stage in relation to her personal idol, Karen Carpenter. Following her downward spiral and daily weigh-ins, we see Jennifer transform from 48 to 38 Kilograms, as she strives to be what she thinks is ‘perfect,’ like her idol, Karen, who died due to anorexia.

Jennifer if a performer, and at the beginning, when watching her, it did seem over-acted; but as the story progressed, the falseness faded, allowing an honesty to shine through. Using characters from Karen’s life to give an outside perspective of anorexia, Eggleton takes on the roles of Karen’s best friend and mother with a quick layering on of clothes. She also briefly took on her own mother, best friend, and eventually a psychiatrist – all attempting to convince Jennifer to eat and help herself.

Telling her own story in a fringe production soon moving to Brighton, Eggleton has taken on the difficult task of telling her own painful struggle with disease on stage. A short and intense exploration of personal image, Jennie delivers an intense drama that enlightens an audience to the internal perspective of a woman living with an eating disorder.

Reviews: Superior Donuts @ Southwark Playhouse

Superior Donuts

Southwark Playhouse, February 11, 2014

            The quality of the writing and acting last night at the first Preview for Tracy Lett’s new play certainly lived up to the first half of its name, while the latter half was available for purchase in the interval.  

            After a season of shorter shows at Southwark, this almost three-hour drama was a bit unexpected halfway through the season, but worth every minute. A deeply humorous simultaneously touching tale of and the owner of a donut shop and his new employee. Arthur is the son of two Polish immigrants who opened up a donut shop in Chicago in 1950, the same year Arthur was born. Arthur is now nearing 60 and his donut shop isn’t doing too well. After a burglary and the loss of his last employee, Arthur needs a little help, when Franco comes through his door. Franco is young blank man in Chicago, taking a break from school to earn a little bit of money. Franco challenges Arthur, encourages him and gives him a new outlook not only on his donut shop, but his current path as well.

            The main focus on the show, Mitchell Mullen as Arthur, was almost difficult to watch for the first ten minutes, so bereft and unfocused. Here is a man who has obviously fallen apart, after divorce and then the death of his first wife, along with the death of his parents, Mullen seems to have given up. It is not until Wicks strolls in that we see the energy brewing underneath the surface, held back for such a long time. Sharing a number of moments from his past with us in direct address, Mullen invites us in and shares his powerful story with heart and honesty, using the intimacy of Southwark Playhouse’s ‘Little’ space to really connect with each person.

With a near perfect American accent, Jonathan Livingstone plays the endearing and hilarious Franco Wicks. Sauntering onstage with his backpack slung over his shoulder, Wicks at first seems to present the average slacker city-kid, applying to work in donut shop just to have a little money. Then out of nowhere, suddenly he switches from laid-back to business conscious and we see a driven, a bright young man with a lot of ideas in head as he starts spewing out business ideas to Arthur. It becomes clear very quickly that this is a bright young man in an unfortunate situation and we can’t help but be taken in by his enthusiasm, charm and perfect sense of comedic timing.

Also worth mentioning were Nick Cavaliere as a very Russian, very funny and somewhat strange owner of an electronics store, Max, and his young friend TJ Nelson who, while perhaps only appearing in one scene stole the scene as an adorable speechless young Russian. The entire ensemble was fantastic, from the rough, hockey loving lady cop, Sarah Ball as Officer Randy Osteen, and her Star-Trek loving partner, Alexander James Simon to the bookie suffering from a hernia, David Partridge as Luther Flynn. It was a wonderful production of a fantastic script, and not too expensive either. For £18, this show is a steal for 2.5 hours of entertainment, and there are donuts for sale as well, if the subject matter gets your tummy rumbling!

Reviews: The Mistress Contract @ The Royal Court

The Mistress Contract
Royal Court, February 3, 2014

Once again, published on The London Student's website.

You can read it HERE

Enjoy.

Review: PoleFactor @ The Vaults

PoleFactor

The Vaults, February 4, 2014

As I was writing, I was interrupted by my Course Tutor for ‘Reviewing Performance’ who said: “Turn your review into a Haiku”
Hence:

Shit Pop-cult dance show

Stalker Boyfriend beats main girl

Acid Attack. End.

There it is. Your £13.50 would be better spent on a nice bottle of wine. 

Reviews: Body of an American @ The Gate Theatre

Body of an American

The Gate Theatre, February 1, 2014

            “Snow and Sand” From Somalia to Minnesota, LA to the far north of Canada, the chill in the air reaches the heart as two men disclose and debate their haunting pasts. The title, ‘Body of an American’ comes from a graphic image from war-torn Somalia in 1993 by Paul Watson, a Canadian war photographer. This image of a killed and mutilated American Soldier haunted Paul Watson, while other images of his inspired young playwright, Dan O’Brien. Body of an American tells the story not only of Paul Watson, but the relationship between him and Dan and their exploration of their separate personal hauntings.

            Upon entering The Gate Theatre in Notting Hill, every member of the audience must cover their shoes with a sort of plastic ‘booty’ as the stage is heavily covered in artificial snow. There is a cold, closed in atmosphere to the space, with no set except for two plastic chairs and projection screens on either end of the long stadium-style seating. On these screens, we learn that everything we see and hear has come directly from the mouths of Dan O’Brien and Paul Watson and their conversations with others.

            As a photographer, Paul’s photographs tell a large portion of his story, while memoir-style dialogue by and about Paul fills in the rest. War to war, we follow Paul on his journey, occasionally getting snippets as Dan and Paul start to email back and forth. The images shown are graphic while the stories that accompany them are equally horrific, but William Gaminara delivers them with such simple candor that they almost bypass the brain, touching the heart directly. The small space of The Gate demands truth, and Gaminara delivers, whether being shot at in Somalia or drinking in the vast winter wasteland of the far north in Canada – what I saw before me was simple reality.

            Matching him completely, Damien Molony is shockingly versatile as he plays not only the playwright, Dan O’Brien, but also a Somolian Translator and psychologist just to name a few. I had trouble believing I was watching Molony and not the actual Dan before me, as every word that came from his mouth seemed easy, truthful and experienced. As far as I was concerned this man had gone to Princeton, was disowned by his family and spent a large portion of his life pursuing the man who’s photos touched him so thoroughly.

            In a non-stop, interval-free ninety minutes, Body of an American dissects two men who’s lives have been dictated by moments from their past. We as the audience join these two men through the journey of their lives and their relationship, with the truth shining through the photography and dialogue – this play bypasses the brain and hits the heart straightaway.

Reviews: What the Women Did @ Southwark Playhouse

What The Women Did

Southwark Playhouse, January 24, 2014

            If I had to look for a common thread of themes for the ’13/’14 season at Southwark Playhouse, I would be hard-pressed not to say ‘double-casting’. What the Women Did is a triple bill of three short plays set during the first World War, Luck of War, Handmaidens of Death and The Old Lady Shows Her Medals, all focusing on the experiences of the women who were left behind in England.

            Each of three plays featured a different generation of women during 1915 up until 1918 after the war. Luck of War gave insight into the confusion that followed when soldiers went missing and their wives were left to believe the worst. The second play of the night, Handmaidens of Death, seemed almost a cautionary tale of bitter young women who never had a ‘boy’ during the war to be careful what they wished for. Finally, the evening closed with a focus on mothers’ who’s sons were fighting in the war as The Old Lady Shows Her Medals told the unorthodox tale of a not-quite mother and son relationship and the ownership of war that comes from sacrificing a loved one.  

            Because of the nature of putting on three different plays, and the small size of companies today, double-casting actors was necessary for this project. One actor who appeared in each piece and as the male lead in two was Simon Darwen. Impressive in his transition from a bitter and injured English soldier to a rough young Scottish man of The Black Watch, from footless to kilted, with two completely different accents, Darwen was able to deliver completely separate characters for these two very different pieces. Also impressive in their portrayal of two completely separate characters was Mia Austen, playing a young ‘munitions girl’ in Handmaidens of Death and then switching drastically into a hilariously pompous almost elderly mother of a soldier in final show of the night. With a simple change in costume, voice and physicality, Austen somehow aged herself about forty years during the fifteen-minute interval.

            With three plays taking place in the span of just over two hours, an audience might expect a very simple set with minimal props and changes, but Set Designer Alex Marker was more ambitious than that. What at first appeared a simple box set of the inside a home, changed quickly to the outside of a tea and lemonade café for the second piece. The set again transformed before the audiences’ eyes to the interior of a London Apartment similar to but with noticeable differences from the first interior at the beginning of the third piece. By creating three noticeably different sets, Marker gave the audience a clear distinction from piece to piece, so that even if an audience member had not received a programme, they would have still understood the transition to a completely different work. 
            This year marks the centenary of the Great War, and thus this play was supported by Arts Council England as well a number of other Feminist and Charitable Foundations. Often times when we remember back to that time, our thoughts are with the soldiers who fell, but we often forget the women they left behind. What the Women Did is a poignant and heartfelt look at the lives of the women working and waiting at the home front. Each play originally premiered between 1917 and 1918 and the writing is not a style most modern audiences are accustomed to, but the dedication of the company gives clarity, truth and a voice to a time that should never be forgotten.

Reviews: Much Ado Abouth Nothing @ Park Theatre

Much Ado About Nothing,

my review published in The London Student from December 6, 2013

http://london-student.net/theatre/12/17/much-ado-nothing/