Edinburgh Fringe

Something About Simon

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Opening Night verdict ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Reviewed by Nikki Cotter

Gary Edward Jones has one of those rich, warm voices you could happily listen to for hours; gentle, melodic and comforting he is a natural storyteller who has channeled his passion for performance into a real labour of love.

Often told he bears a resemblance to the legend that is Paul Simon, Jones decided three years ago there could be something special for audiences in an evening of music and storytelling punctuated with well crafted delivery and so Something About Simon was born.

Partnering up with musical director Jon Fellowes and communications director Bill Elms the trio have produced a piece that’s been touring the UK to great acclaim ahead of its current Edinburgh Fringe run.

Elfin Bow’s simple set sets the scene nicely, there are two microphones and four large black and white cut-outs: a reel to reel tape recorder, a gramma phone, an ABC TV camera and a railway bench.

Jones launches into the instantly recognisable Sound of Silence to open the show; from the off he delivers a masterclass in musicianship as he interweaves anecdotes and stories about the legendary singer with beautifully delivered pitch perfect renditions of fan favourites as well as offering audiences an opportunity to hear some lesser known pieces.

Jones expertly guides us through Paul Simon’s musical journey from learning his craft in the folk clubs of North West England, his strained relationship with long term musical partner Art Garfunkel as well as his turbulent marriage to Carrie Fisher. Witty and warm Jones drops in little nuggets about his own life and love for music along the way.

With each different song comes a guitar change allowing further opportunity for Jones’ musical talents to shine as he strums and plucks complex rhythms with ease.

The second mic which has remained unused for the majority of the show: a nod perhaps to Art Garfunkel takes centre stage during final song ‘Wristband’ which Jones delivers with his own unique twist giving a fascinating example of how he uses technology to build up layers of the song through recording rhythms, beats and beautiful harmonies.

Something About Simon is a hour of great entertainment, beautifully delivered music paired with Jones’ natural warmth and clear affection for the songs translates into an uplifting and engaging piece. It feels a little like a big hug on a cold day, comforting, welcoming and entirely uplifting.

Catch Something About Simon at Edinburgh’s Assembly George Square Studios until 26th August tickets available here.

Letter To Boddah

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Reviewed by Matt Forrest

Opening Night verdict ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In the song Hey, Hey, My My (Out of the Blue) Godfather of grunge Neil Young muses the statement: “It’s better to burn out, than to fade away”.  Sadly, this was a question posed in Kurt Cobain’s suicide letter, tragically titled Letter to Boddah.

Writer Sarah Nelson has used this desperately heart-breaking event as the inspiration behind her play, also titled Letter to Boddah. Set entirely in the disabled toilet of a Tesco store, we find childhood friends Billy (Sam Glen) and Neil (Jordan Reece): the pair are dressed in full military combats, armed to the teeth and carrying a ruck sack packed full of explosives ready to blow up the supermarket, its customers, and if necessary themselves.  What has brought these two to this point? Is there any going back for the pair?

Nelson has written a pitch-black comedy drama which explores themes of friendship, grief, domestic abuse and lost potential. Taking a setting more associated with that of a British ‘sitcom’, we are treated to some razor-sharp one-liners and darkly comedic dialogue, mixed with moments of heartbreak, as well as a few twists that will have you on the edge of your seat.

Both leads are excellent. Sam Glen puts in an intense, gut-wrenching turn as grief-stricken Billy, whilst Jordan Reece plays Neil to perfection, striking the right balance between comedy sidekick and unhinged psychopath.  The chemistry between the two is outstanding and fully believable, which makes their actions seem all the more desperate. The two manage to captivate and entirely hold your attention throughout.

This is an important production that addresses issues of male depression and suicide, as well as containing strong political themes of globalisation, and commentary on a lost generation without a voice. Powerful, dark, shocking and packed full of humour, with a finale filled with tension. This is an outstanding piece of work that deserves to be seen by as many people as possible, and on the strength of the quality on display tonight, will surely find an audience.

Letter to Boddha is on at the Edinburgh Fringe throughout August at C CUBED (Venue 50) daily at 1:15pm tickets available here.

 

Interview | Jenny May Morgan talks eVULVAlution

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Jenny_May_Morgan_Photo_Credit_Nathan_Chandler

In tackling that difficult 29th erotic fiction novel, author Pamela DeMenthe has hit a stumbling block, her time travelling prehistoric erotic fiction romp, set in Hull, eVULVAlution needs a little help; luckily for Pamela Lowry audiences’ creativity is there to be called on in this brand new comedy.

Following on from her hugely successful debut show ‘Pamela DeMenthe presents: Sticky Digits, Jenny May Morgan returns to The Lowry her brand new show eVULVAlution. We caught up with Jenny to hear a little more about the show, her involvement with The Lowry’s Artist Development programme and inappropriate offerings from her audiences.

Opening Night: For anyone unfamiliar with Pamela can you tell us a little bit about her?

Jenny: Pamela is a self-published erotic fiction author; she started writing erotic fiction a few years ago writing 28 books in the first year and then brought out Sticky Digits which is the title of my original show. Now a year on she’s writing her new book eVULVAlution which is a pre-historic erotic fiction story with time travel set in Hull, so far it’s been a bit of a stumbling block for her and she has a bit of writers block .

ON: I read that Pamela might be seeking help from her loyal readers; does this mean some audience interaction?

Jenny: Definitely, in the original show there was a bit of audience interaction, the original show was hosted a little bit like a TED Talk/Audience With… this one has a similar sort of premise but the audience will be expected to help Pamela complete the book as she’s left the book a little bit open-ended. I don’t get anyone up on stage or anything like that but there are definitely opportunities for audience interaction.

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ON: Are you fully prepared for a wild variety of offerings from the audience?

Jenny: Ha ha oh yes, to be honest when audiences say things you maybe don’t expect it can be a bit of a gift and you end up getting something hilarious. It’s amazing how many people actually come up with the same kind of suggestions. When I did the original show I did a part with a bespoke original erotic fiction story and asked people to come up with a body part, I’d say around 80% of people said elbow, which was bizarre. I did around 25 shows up in Edinburgh and almost always they said elbow. So who knows what will happen this time around.

ON: Have you ever been thrown by any suggestions?

Jenny: I have been yes, I’m not sure I should say ha ha; in Edinburgh there was an older couple in the audience and at one point I ask the audience if they have any questions and the guy asked when was the last time Pamela had an orgasm and his wife just shot him a look, it was just so unexpected he went bright red!

ON: You’ve toured the show in different areas do you notice different responses around the country?

Jenny: There are definitely different reactions, some people enjoy the cruder aspects of the show, some audiences enjoy more of the storytelling nature of the show. I don’t know if you could draw any geographical comparisons to that; I did the show in Bristol at the end of last year and that was really interesting as Pamela the character is from South Gloucestershire so there’s lots of references to Gloustershire that are a little bit obscure and funny if you don’t know it but even funnier if you do know it so doing the show where people really get the references is a lot of fun.

ON: When you’ve had such a successful first show how do you find your starting point for show number 2?

Jenny: I’ve been thinking about the show for quite a long time so I’ve been slowly writing it in my head for the last couple of years. There is a pressure to deliver something funny, that’s remains true to the character but also you want to do something a little different to the last show. I quite like the fact that not only do I have that pressure but Pamela has that pressure so part of the show is about the follow-up and the pressure on her to write a new novel and the struggles with that. I guess it’s a bit of an analogy of my situation and the pressure writing a new show; I like those things colliding a little bit.

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ON: How did you get involved with The Lowry’s Artist Development Programme?

Jenny: I live in Manchester so I know The Lowry well; I’ve been involved in their studio programmes as a performer engaging with workshops for quite a number of years. I invited them to come and see the original show and they kindly then programmed the original show last April. I was aware of the development programme so put an application in and luckily they agreed that they could develop me. It’s been fantastic, they create a bespoke package of support to help further your career, that’s exactly what I’m getting at the moment and it’s just lovely.

ON: As a female comedian, are doors harder to open or are things shifting now?

Jenny: I think it’s definitely changing, I think how things are for women in general are changing, the last few years certainly feels like there have been huge changes across the board. In the bigger cities there feels like there are more opportunities and you definitely see more female comedians about, I have done a few gigs in more remote places where you feel a little like you’re the token woman and the audience can be a little ‘Right come on then, make me laugh’ but I don’t actually mind that; I see it as a challenge. It’s still a male dominated industry but things are definitely changing, when you go to Edinburgh there are loads of brilliant females creating and that’s a wonderful atmosphere to experience.

ON: Will you be heading to Edinburgh Fringe this year?

Jenny: Not this year, but I’m hoping to take eVULVAlution up there summer 2020 so really looking forward to that.

ON: What do you think Pamela would make of online dating apps?

Jenny: Well she’s been married for 10 years so hasn’t been participating in that sort of world; I would say Pamela hasn’t got the most straight forward of private lives with her husband. There’s a slightly complicated relationship going on there in the background so I’d say a lot of her erotic fiction is perhaps wish fulfilment coming out through her writing. I don’t want to give too much away but there’s definitely been a bit of a development in her personal relationship with her husband, there’s been some talk about maybe becoming polyamorous so I think she might have to start engaging with the dating world which I think will be a bit of a whole new world for Pamela.

ON: So we need to book our tickets and see what happens next for Pamela then don’t we?

Jenny: That would be wonderful!

Catch eVULVAlution at The Lowry on Thursday 4th and Friday 5th of April tickets available here.

 

Interview | Natasha Hodgson | Kill the Beast

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KTB 1

Lowry associate artists Kill the Beast return to the Salford venue next week with their new show Director’s Cut before they head off to Edinburgh Fringe for a summer of hilarious and a teeny bit haunting comedy japes.

Opening Night caught up with one fifth of the ‘Beast’s’ Natasha Hodgson to hear a little more about their latest offering and what exactly Lowry audiences can expect from the award-winning troop when Director’s Cut opens in the Aldridge Studio on 7th June.

Welcome to the worst film never made. Thankfully, there’s only one scene left to shoot… 

The fire has been contained, the wigs have been sterilised, and the star has been replaced after “The Accident”. Surely, nothing else can be waiting in the dark…

Director’s Cut, a madcap mash-up with a generous sprinkling of spoof horror introduces us to a 1970’s lead actress determined to take her revenge from beyond the grave, will she manage to stop filming on the most truly terrible and blisteringly bad movie she ever made?

Natasha Hodgson described to us where the idea for Director’s Cut came from. “We were chatting in a lovely sunny garden one day about our favourite horror films (classic sunshine chat) and how amazing, iconic films never seem to manage iconic sequels. We started talking about Rosemary’s Baby (one of our favourites) and imagining what a terrible sequel to Rosemary’s Baby – Rosemary’s Toddler? – might look like. And what if, whilst filming this terrible sequel, the spirit of the original film came back to wreak vengeance on this terrible follow up!”

Like previous shows The Boy Who Kicked Pigs, He Had Hairy Hands and Don’t Wake The Damp, Kill the Beast’s signature style of fast-paced action, original music and brilliantly bonkers comedy will lend itself perfectly to this silly yet sinister escapade. Natasha explained “I play a couple of characters, but my favourite is an older actor called Judy Goose, she’s been in the industry forever, and although she’s done a whole host of arthouse films, she’s always most excited about her adverts for Simpkin’s Soapy Scrubbers (“for wives and for mothers”) because of their big, fat pay-cheques. You’ll also learn that she’s a dab-hand at dealing with a dead body. But you’ll have to see the show to find out which one…”

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Here at Opening Night we are enormous fans of Kill the Beast’s deliciously dark humour and inventive staging, Natasha confirmed while the humour remains there will be some new and rather exciting changes to the staging of this new production, “Our hearts belong to ridiculous, dark and silly jokes, and that’s always going to be at the forefront of everything we make. However, we’re ditching the projections this time around, in favour of actual AV screens – it makes ghost trickery a lot more fun. We’ve done three shows with projected sets, and this time around we wanted to build something solid from scratch – we’ve got a real life 70s film set on stage, and we can’t wait to cause catastrophes within it.”

Now in their sixth year as Lowry associate artists Natasha explained just how important the support from The Lowry has been, “We feel so, so lucky to be supported by them, and if more theatres provided the sort of 360 care and help that they do, the emerging theatre scene would be able to take a lot more risks, and make a lot more fantastic stuff. But hell, it’s a hard time for the arts. It’s a hard time for a lot of stuff. Best thing we can recommend? Come see a silly, fast-paced comedy about a vengeful, opinionated ghost. That will probably sort everything out.”

Director’s Cut opens at The Lowry on Thursday 7th June and runs until Saturday 9th tickets priced at £12 (£10 for concessions) can be found here. here.

 

 

 

From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads

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From Ibiza

Opening Night verdict –

It was, of course, the immortal allure of David Bowie that drew us like a siren’s call to ‘From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads’… an irresistible opportunity to hear his music; to listen to his voice (albeit brilliantly mimicked by comedian Rob Newman); to see his otherworldly face projected front and centre stage…

So, inhabiting protagonist Martin’s world – where Bowie shines perpetually like an ephemeral ‘Diamond Dog’ – takes no leap of the imagination at all. We first encounter him aged seventeen, and he is a broken bird of a boy: gripped by an eating disorder, he is prone to occasional self-harm and leads a reclusive, dead-end existence with his alcoholic mother.

Martin’s father left the family home when he was two years old, so when he stumbles across his estranged patriarch’s treasured collection of Bowie albums and memorabilia, an obsession is born.

On the morning of Martin’s eighteenth birthday, he is gifted an envelope; left to him by his erstwhile father, it contains a map of London that treads in Bowie’s footsteps.

Galvanised by the hope that it may ultimately lead to his father’s whereabouts, Martin scrapes together enough money to head to the capital – beginning his quest outside the wrought-iron gates of Stockwell Infants School, where David Robert Jones was the small boy with anisocoria eyes and a huge future…

First thing’s first, this is a ‘one-man show’ in the truest sense – a tour de force solo performance by the impressive Alex Walton [After the Blue, ISM, London Calling, Macbeth], who is seemingly inhabited by a cast of thousands. You see him morph from all-knowing narrator to angst-ridden teenager to wizened record store owner within seconds. Each character is as fully formed and believable as the last – leaving you with the impression of having been entertained by a whole company, rather than a single performer.

Walton’s emotional range is vast – taking him from an overexcited karaoke performer in a rough pub to the victim of an all-too-real panic attack in a greasy kebab house within minutes. (Anyone who has experienced crippling fear and breathlessness when anxiety strikes could find this a particularly triggering scene, although credit must be paid to him for a startlingly accurate portrayal.)

Curiously, although Bowie’s spectre engulfs the production from start to finish, anyone expecting a musical of smash hits is going to be sorely disappointed. His music is purely incidental – utilised to hint at Martin’s mental state, rather than a succession of rousing choruses taken from the hit parade. (Expect to hear snippets from Bowie’s more experimental side of his oeuvre.) Likewise, Set & Costume Designer Andie Scott delivers a pared-back aesthetic, which merely hints at Bowie – providing no more than window dressing to Walton’s considerable talent.

Writer & Director Adrian Berry (Artistic Director of Jacksons Lane Theatre in London) is to be especially praised for delivering a truly innovative narrative and production that is heart-breaking and humorous in equal measure, as well as avoiding all temptation to conclude with a definitive ending. Part of the great joy of this experience is walking away from the theatre and ruminating over what the final scenes mean for Martin, his father and the Thin White Duke himself.

Hugely acclaimed at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe – playing to sell-out audiences – the show is currently on tour nationally, with concluding performances at Jacksons Lane Theatre (6-10 March 2018). For tickets, click here.

Reviewed by Michelle Ewen

Bucket List

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(c) Alex Brenner

Following an award winning Edinburgh Festival Fringe run, the internationally acclaimed Theatre Ad Infinitum bring their latest powerful piece Bucket List to the Lowry.

The all-female cast tells the story of Milagros, a spirited Mexican orphan who tragically sees her mother murdered during an anti-corruption protest. Milagros is left with only a bloodied list of names, names of those responsible for her mother’s death. Milagros soon realises her only option to make them pay and find her vengeance is to destroy them, one by one.

(c) Alex Brenner

Ad Infinitum’s style of story-telling is exceptional, physical, effusive and hugely powerful. The piece at 90 minutes straight through with no interval flows rapidly and packs a punch, raising a fist of defiance to the powers that be. The ensemble cast successfully take on a number of roles; once you get into the flow of how this innovative company share their tales you are soon scooped up and hooked by their charismatic and emotive style.

(c) Alex Brenner

(c) Alex Brenner (info@alexbrenner.co.uk)

Director Nir Paldi perfectly illustrates through her cast the desperation and frustration of living in a place where poison not only flows through the rivers but right to the core of the establishment. The cast made up of Tamsin Clarke, Charli Dubery, Luisa Guerreiro, Orian Michaeli, Deborah Pugh, Shamira Turner portray this tangled web of hurt and pain magnificently, there are many light-hearted moments of joy as we see Milagros childlike, innocent as she has fun with her young friends before the brutality of real life takes over. An interesting and clever narrative of a chess game flows through the piece, offering tactical advice on how best to make the next and most deadly move whilst offering up the suggestion we are all just pawns in a bigger and much more terrifying game.

Bucket List is passionate and incredibly moving, intricate and brilliantly delivered, physically charged theatre at its best. On at the Lowry until Thursday 27th April tickets available here; https://www.thelowry.com/events/bucket-list

Kill The Beast – Don’t Wake The Damp

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After delighting audiences (me included) with previews earlier this year before heading up to the Edinburgh Fridge and receiving 4 and 5* reviews like they were going out of fashion, not to mention the small matter of wining The Stage Edinburgh Award, glorious comedy quintet and Lowry Associate Artists Kill The Beast, return to The Lowry with their revamped and rebooted Don’t Wake The Damp.

Set in a crumbling concrete tower block, doomed for destruction by the almighty Council planning department due to the rising of some devilishly dangerous damp we find our heroin June (Natasha Hodgson). Former Science-Fiction screen siren now more at home cradling a casserole June is determined neither the Damp nor the Council will take her down. After kidnapping Council worker Terry Brambles (needs must….we’ve all been tempted right?) June is unwillingly thrust into the company of her nerdy and narcissistic neighbours to tackle the deadly damp that’s rising all around them.

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Directed by Clem Garritty who also co-writes with performers David Cumming, Oliver Jones, Zoe Roberts and Natasha Hodgson, Don’t Wake the Damp it a riotous jape full of glorious gags, bonkersly brilliant songs and electric performances. The team are fantastic, playing weirdly wonderful characters to perfection; their strong characterisation makes even the most deliciously daft totally lovable. The writing is brilliant; the speed at which the gags come is seriously quick, you’ve barely stifled your snorts from one joke and you’re laughing your socks off at the next. The use of projected animations designed by Alex Purcell displayed on three large moveable screens behind the performers allow this quick paced piece to move from scene to scene effortlessly and adds perfectly to the unique charm of this retro sci-fi comedy mash-up.

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There isn’t a more marvellous way to while away an evening than in the company of Kill The Beast, an absolute treat from start to finish, get yourself to The Lowry before the Damp overcomes us all! On until Saturday 29th October, tickets available below!

http://www.thelowry.com/event/dont-wake-the-damp1