more than one string
After watching and reviewing over 20 shows in the Brighton Fringe Festival, you’d think I’d want a little rest. Absolutely not. You can never have too much theatre.
Went to Worthing to see “A Different Song” as part of the Worthing Festival, with all three performers from Brighton. Really enjoyed it. Brighton Source review here.
The Wedding Party comes to Sussex! It’s coming to Seaford, honestly so easy to get to from Brighton. This is the immersive dinner theatre: guests come to a wedding reception of the wedding where everything goes wrong. It’s fabulous fun. I play Davina: Essex based caravan owning Tinder loving mother of the Bride.
More info here
Link to tickets here
One production at a time? Don’t be silly. I am cast as Helga ten Dorp in Ira Levin’s Deathtrap, directed by my brilliant friend Julian Batstone. I’m also production manager and publicity and promotion.
Well, I like to be busy.
So I’ll be flouncing around trying to perfect an understandable Dutch accent as an eccentric (but hopefully not over the top) psychic. Those two last parts will be so far from the truth of course, as I keep being reminded by friends…
This has a stunning cast: Guy Steddon and Jake Marchant in the two lead roles, plus Anna Quick and John Garland – book your tickets early, this will be popular! Link here
This is going to be enormous fun – don’t forget to book!
Ticket Link to Brighton Open Air Theatre here
Very sad to share that the Gin Palace Productions and Twilight Theatre co-production of “Loyalty – Lady Montague and Lady Capulet” at this year’s Fringe has had to be postponed. Really heart-breaking, but unavoidable. These things sadly happen. We’re currently planning and plotting and looking at our already busy schedules for the coming year to bring it later this year.
In the meantime, why not book your tickets for Identity Theatre’s “Oliver Twist” adapted by Neil Bartlett? I play – drum roll please – Mr Bumble! I’m super thrilled and excited and I can’t wait. Plus it will be at Brighton Open Air Theatre so you can have a picnic at the same time. Get booking now – I’m told tickets are already going… click here for link to book
More reviews this week at the Fringe – my absolute favourite was Karaoke at the SU. Absolutely BRILLIANT. Honestly blown away by this young – just graduated – group of creatives. Here’s the link to the review on Brighton Source.
I did see 5 shows in two days and that was enormous fun: One Way Mirror, FOUL, That Witch Helen and RANK. All completely different and in the first one in that list I ended up being on stage being in it. That was an interesting challenge!
It takes an enormous amount of work and courage to put on your own production: to everyone who has and everyone is about to – massive well done, good for you, you follow your dreams. And if there is something in a review that you can learn from: please listen to that – if the reviewer is anything like me they will have thought long and hard about how to put feedback in a way that helps you for the future.
Tomorrow: 2 productions, Friday 1, Saturday 1, Sunday all day theatre event. Ah life. Always interesting!
So 11 days later – I’ve not been as busy reviewing. Why you ask? Because somewhere along the line I have to prioritise time to rehearse my own show of course! Oh, have I not mentioned it? Really?
As to Brighton Fringe, there has been less these past 11 days to rave about but there have been some true gems. Great Britons (reviewed for Broadway Baby) from The Foundry Group are always superb – they have a unique style that is hilarious, but not just meaningless fluff, it’s really rich writing. I will continue to go and see every show they put on because they are always brilliant. Always!
Another amazing show – so packed and so informative – is The Empress and Me (reviewed for Brighton Source). From the same people who bring us The Ballad of Mulan and the same actress: Michelle Yim – who is rapidly becoming one of my favourites to watch.
We also went to see Born and Bread as a family – developed by Brighton People’s Theatre with real stories of food and nurturing and nourishing and belonging. And bread and soup. We all loved it, Mia loved the movement and singing and all the coloured lights. Found myself nodding, lighting up, and then crying at the end (in a good way). I always love being moved.
AND GREAT NEWS!!! Magpie – that I went on and on about – and am still going on about – is returning for two more shows at the Lantern Theatre. Here is my review again, and here is the booking link. Just go, honestly, just go see it. You’re welcome. In fact, on 30th May you could come see Loyalty (click for booking link) at 6.45 for an hour, then pop up to the Lantern to see Magpie at 9.00. You know it makes sense!
Happy Fringe!
How’s your Brighton Fringe going? Seen any good stuff?
I’ve been lucky enough to see some phenomenal shows so far. The most surprising has been “Paul and Laura Don’t Give A Sh*t (Sorry)” which I reviewed for Brighton Source, and I absolutely LOVED. I laughed until I cried and nodded so vehemently in agreement with things that I’m surprised I didn’t wreck my neck. It was so incredibly inspiring too. “What would you do tomorrow if you didn’t give a sh*t?” they ask, genuinely wanting to know everyone’s answer.
“Twisted Tales” (also Brighton Source) is so slick and clever – physical theatre done well is like a warm hug. Another little joyful gem (again Brighton Source) is “The Ballad of Mulan”: such power in this petite framed woman, such a fascinating story of war and fear and hiding your true self, and a really interesting exploration of gender labels. That potentially makes it sound academic – it’s not – read my review instead – it’ll tell you more.
But the biggest standout so far has to be “Magpie” (Broadway Baby). I was blown away. I was literally speechless at the end, took a minute to recover, and when I found my voice again I have been going on about it to anyone who would be polite enough to listen.
I can’t stress this enough – if you get the chance, go and see these shows. Don’t even hesitate, just go.
You’re welcome.
Happy Merry Fringe everyone!
First of all – thank you everyone who attended the Brighton Fringe press panel event and everyone who wrote inviting me to your show. I’ve now programmed in 21 shows to see in 3 weeks as a result.
I had hundreds of emails so if I didn’t reply please don’t be offended – it doesn’t mean your pitch wasn’t good or that you won’t get reviewers – it simply means that I couldn’t fit it in.
I wish everyone putting shows on in Brighton Fringe the best time and a great run!
So here is my show – collaborating with the fantastic Sam Nixon from Gin Palace Productions, with “Loyalty – Lady Montague and Lady Capulet”:
What happens after ‘Romeo and Juliet’?
Lady Montague waits for Lady Capulet – a long standing family rivalry hides a long forgotten friendship. What happened to them? What have they become? And is there any way through this minefield of feelings, trying to remember who they are, versus what is expected of them as wives and mothers?
A play about loyalty: to family, to your children, your partner – and most of all to yourself: what you know and feel to be right. A poignant, sometimes funny, sometimes tragic look at the lives of two women who we know so little about.
Wednesday 29, Thursday 30 May, Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 June
6.45 – 1 hour
at Bar Broadway (off Broadway), Brighton, BN2 1TY
It’s been an amazing journey in support of this fabulous production. I have some really good friends in the cast, among them Phil Nair-Brown playing the Creature, and Sam Razavi playing Victor Frankenstein. These actors are incredible professional actors, super talented, and also super lovely humans. Their scenes together are electric – they positively sizzle.
So if you’ve seen any publicity on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, that will be my doing. Or press, for example this lovely article across the Worthing Herald Group of newspapers thanks to Phil Hewitt: click here. Or if you see the show and like the programme, thank you very much!
I’ve also been part of creating the lighting for the show, and I will be running lights (and there are a lot of changes) during the show. I don’t expect you to notice necessarily unless you are involved with theatre yourself – it’s there to add ambiance, to improve your theatrical experience – so people usually only notce if it’s wrong or jarring! Which is the same for sound of course. It’s been full on, lighting tech until 1.25 in the morning, then back in the Theatre 2 days later as there seemed to be issues (which it turned out there wasn’t) but changes and tweaks were requested: another 3 hours. It’s all worth it if it looks amazing, and it does.
And working with some brilliant friends while you do all this? Priceless. Absolutely priceless.
I eventually finished my latest arcylic on canvas paper painting. It’s amazing how long something takes when you only work on it 2 hours every other week for a couple of months.
