UK Theatre Network

It’s a pity Crimson Fair Ltd only appears to have one more booking before Christmas.

For The Twist: Great Songs Never Die is the ideal show for office parties wanting to celebrate the festive season. It’s bursting with the feel good factor; you really can’t fail to have fun and let your hair down.

It’s a simple concept, and it works: Tony Tremendo, an irritatingly enthusiastic rock and roll fan played memorably by David Peyton-Bruhl, runs The Twist Diner where ‘the stars’ of the 50s and 60s hang out after hours and sing with his band The Twisters. During the course of the evening just about everybody who is anybody pops in: Elvis, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Petula Clark, Connie Francis, Brenda Lee, Billy Fury, Dusty Springfield… singing the great songs of the era and all accompanied by backing singers Lindsey Cleary and Chris Madin and all singing, all dancing, hand-jiving waitresses The Twistettes.

The show is a great vehicle for Suzi Jary, who not only plays the roles of all the female singers but also wrote and directed the show. She’s got a cracking voice, a bit too full on for the husky Dusty and too tall for the likes of Pet Clark and Brenda Lee, but a great performer all the same.

Gavin Stanley is cute as Billy Fury and Eddie Cochran, Chris Madin, who wrote the original music with Simon Woodroffe, makes a believable Buddy Holly, but Ivor Potter doesn’t quite do it for me as Elvis.

The second half of the show is a ‘live broadcast’ on Real Music Radio, coming from The Twist Diner with more of the same, only bringing it together this time is DJ Danny Dellany, played by Jack Harding whose southern American accent is something to admire.

For me the real stars of the show were The Twisters, musicians Rob Eckland on keyboards, Dave Manning on drums, Charlie Wilkinson on guitar, and especially bass player  Clayton Stocker who played his instrument every which way… upside down, underneath it, by standing on the side of it; a real showman if ever there was one. It's a pity they are not mentioned in the programme which, although lavish, has very little information in it.

The Twist continues at the Theatre Royal Windsor until 3 December and then tours

9 December: The Lyric, Carmarthen

2012

21 January:  Grand Opera House, York

4 February: Princess Theatre, Clacton

8-10 February: Beck Theatre, Hayes

11 February: Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone

1 March: The Anvil, Basingstoke

17 March: Civic Theatre, Darlington

20 April: St George’s, Bradford

21 April: Civic Hall, Bedworth

16 June: The Playhouse, Harlow

21 July: The Hawth, Crawley

1 August: Landmark, Ilfracombe

29-30 September: Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage

12 October: Civic Theatre, Doncaster

18 October: Civic Hall, Bedworth

 

 

 

The Stag’s adult pantomime Sleeping Beauty – One Little Prick, offers the ideal night out for seekers of a saucy giggle and a pint.

Lady Gargoyle’s gorgeous, gay and permanently horny son Beauty, is cursed by the wicked fairy Carabosse, to die from a prick on his 21^st birthday. The spell is reversed to a sleeping one by the good fairy Glowstick, and Beauty and his extended family awake in modern Stratford in 2011 just before the Olympics. Beauty has been stirred by a vampire prince who has survived the long sleep, and is devoted to him. Yet there are fit lads everywhere, and Beauty wants to try all the temptations that are on offer on the 2011 Vauxhall gay scene.

Written by Jon Bradfield & Martin Hooper, the creators of the Stag’s past two Xmas smashes Dick Whittington – Another Dick in City Hall, and last year’s sell-out smash hit Robin Hood – Queen of Thieves, Sleeping Beauty adds another winning notch to their collaboration. Despite this the evening is not without flaws. Occasionally the script could have been tightened up with a few cuts, and the night was slowed down by poor pacing. However these are minor issues that will no doubt be resolved under Paul Taylor-Mills astute leadership.

Matthew Ferzdenzi gives a wonderfully committed performance as Beauty, and this is mirrored by Greg Airey as his sexy vampire lover. Samantha Ridings is fabulously nasty as Carabosse, and Steven Rodgers wins the hearts of the audience in a lovely under-stated performance as Sydney the Tortoise. Sounding very much like Victoria Wood’s ‘Kitty from Cheshire,’ Matthew Baldwins’s gentile Lady Gargoyle is nicely contrasted with Phillip Lawrence’s hilariously gruff Aggy.

Sleeping Beauty – One Little Prick, is apparently already sold out, but if you are lucky you may get  returns on the night.

 

OLIVER VALENTINE                                                                        Runs till 08 Jan 2012

   www.abovethestag.com

Propeller present

Henry V

By William Shakespeare

At Milton Keynes Theatre

 

This Shakespearean company is, like Shakespeare’s original company, all male. Propeller combines an authentic rendition of the text with a modern approach that sets it apart from the run of the mill, period piece.

On entering the theatre, the set is visible to the audience and comprises a metal scaffold which surrounds the stage. There is a flagpole at the rear displaying the flag of St George. On the stage there are some munitions boxes. Suddenly the actors appear  wearing camouflage fatigues and black balaclavas,  they are singing a Pogues song, A Pair of Brown Eyes and having entered via one of the audience entrances, walk past the audience as they make their way to the stage.

This play, written by Shakespeare in 1599, focuses on events prior to and after the battle of Agincourt (1415) during the Hundred Years’ War. Henry is urged to go to war with France by the Archbishop of Canterbury (Gunnar Cauthery) and the Bishop of Ely (Robert Hands). King Henry V is played by Dugald Bruce-Lockhart, who is excellent in the role. The French Ambassador (Nicholas Asbury) presents the King with the Dauphin’s gift of a bin full of tennis balls and a mocking message. Henry uses this as a reason to invade France, although he had already decided to do so.  The Chorus encourages the audience to use their imaginations to overcome the limitations of the stage to visualise the crossing of the channel and the battlefields of France.

 

Henry discovers a plot to assassinate him at Southampton involving the Earl of Cambridge (Richard Dempsey) Lord Scroop (Karl Davies) and Sir Thomas Grey (Nicholas Asbury). Henry is ruthless in his treatment of the plotters.

Before the battle of Agincourt victory appears uncertain and the King, in disguise wanders around the English camp to comfort the soldiers and to glean what they truly think of him.

Following his victory at Agincourt Henry tries to woo the French princess Katherine, brilliantly played by Karl Davies. This is quite amusing as Henry doesn’t speak French and Katherine doesn’t speak English. Chris Myles plays Alice, Katherine’s gentlewoman who attempts to teach her English whilst she is taking a bath. I think it was made more hilarious by the fact that Chris Myles was playing two roles simultaneously, Henry’s uncle, the Duke of Exeter and Alice. He had a moustache and wore a soldier’s uniform top, with a navy pleated skirt.

Most of the cast took more than one role and performed well, with some of them playing various instruments. They performed the Clash’s London’s Calling during the performance. In the interval some of the cast came out into the foyer and performed some songs including Sloop John B and Wild Rover. They collected donations for Lifeworks, a charity that helps children with special needs.

Credit must be given to the director, Edward Hall, Ben Ormerod for the lighting and David Gregory for the sound.

This is a very enjoyable, energetic production that is well worth seeing.

Henry V plays Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday 3^rd December 2011. Milton Keynes Theatre Box Office 0844 871 7852 (bkg fee).

The tour continues playing Festival Temporada Alta, Girona, Spain from 6^th to 8^th December 2011.

www.atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes http://uktheatre.tv www.propeller.org.uk

Reviewed by Sue Marks at Milton Keynes Theatre on Tuesday 29^th November 2011.

 

As the house lights dim to clock bells chiming, the scene is set for Dickens’ dark tale – only to be broken by some beautiful company singing of various Christmas songs in a wonderful “round” arrangement.

 

Like a picture postcard of Dickensian London, the set and costumes are a big clue to the sumptuous production that lies ahead – and the audience are not let down in anyway. With fantastical effects from illusionist Paul Kieve (famous for being Magic Consultant on the Harry Potter films and also to Derren Brown, as well as creating the spectacular effects for the current west end production of Ghost The Musical) there really is no expense spared in this production. The orchestra create a wonderful sound and are accompanied by a very tight company on stage, whose vocal talents and energy do well to overcome what is really a forgettable score. The best effect of all however is Tommy Steele himself. Leading the show at the age of 75, he is very rarely off stage and has the energy of men a third of his age. It is difficult not to like Ebenezer Scrooge when played by Mr Steele and his disparaging remarks and “bah-humbug” throw-away lines provide great humour, in what is already a charming and witty script. He also shows that he still has the voice to carry off songs like “A Better Life” and “Begin Again” with great style and control.

 

A show however cannot survive on its leading man alone, and luckily this is an exceptionally talented company, with a real community feel . Barry Howard is a greatly grumpy Jacob Marley – a far cry from the role that made him famous, as Barry the Ballroom dancer in Hi-De-Hi. He was also involved in one of the most exciting effects in the show, and his first appearance in Scrooge’s bedroom saw the whole audience jump with surprise. Sarah Earnshaw and James Head make exceptional ghosts too, in very different ways. Miss Earnshaw’s rather serene and sweet Ghost Of Christmas Past was a very gentle start to Scrooge’s change of heart, quickly followed by the Brian Blessed style presence of James Head’s Ghost Of Christmas Present. His view of the Cratchit family Christmas gave us a chance to see some lovely performances from the local children procided by Ann Edmonds’ Starstruck Stage School, in particular young Ethan Kerr as Tiny Tim whose touching rendition of “The Beautiful Day” was beautifully sung and would bring a lump to any throat.

 

Director Bob Tomson has put together a very slick production utilising a clever set from Paul Farnsworth. Lisa Kent has created some nice touches in the choreography too, making good use of the set, particularly in the number “Thank You Very Much”. The only downside I can find for this Christmas show is that it is not here for longer, as it would be a lovely treat for the family on Christmas Eve (although I’m sure Sleeping Beauty will be an adequate replacement – either the Ballet in this theatre, or the pantomime in sister venue The Kings). As you only have until Saturday, make sure you don’t feel like the miser and treat yourself to one of the best shows you’ll see this year.

 

Listings

 

Mon-Sat Evenings – 7.30pm

Thu & Sat Matinees – 2.30pm

 

Tickets £11-£32

Box Office: 08448 717 647 (bkg fee)                 
Web: www.atgtickets.com/glasgow (bkg fee)

Steeleye Span dominated the uncluttered, simple stage decorated with just 3 white hanging banners emblazoned with a simple band logo and with almost none of the ubiquitous flashing lights one expects at a concert with the word rock in the genre label. This is a band who knows their music speaks for itself and are totally comfortable in each other’s and our presence. I will confess I am not a big fan of folk rock and only knew Steeleye Span’s bigger hits but they completely won me over with their impeccable musicianship, fabulous voices, range of songs and gentle humour. Amid the five male musicians, in a coat of many colours, stands the charismatic Maddy Pryor with a shock of blonde hair. The image in my mind from the last time I saw her with the ‘Maddy Prior band’ back in the 80’s, is with long raven hair but perhaps this is just a trick of my faulty memory.

The first half of the night is dedicated to a revisiting of the ‘Now we are Six’ album to coincide with a brand new recording called ‘Now We are Six Again’ some 35 years and change after the original. One wonders if it is not also a chance to reclaim their album from the corporate clutches of Chrysalis records, long gone having disappeared in a whirl of corporate mergers, now Sony by my reckoning but don’t quote me on that.

When Maddy and fiddle player Peter Knight perform a playful combative version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star the penny drops as to the origin of the ‘Now We are Six‘ title, the much loved Winnie the Pooh book. In contrast to children’s nursery rhymes was the fabulous ‘Edwin’ with a dark moody start and the classical acoustic violin swapped for a solid electric with a big fat sound to it all backed by the solid driving rhythm section of Liam Genockey on drums with Rick Kemp on bass. For me the surprise end to part one was Phil Spector’s ‘To Know Him is to Love Him’, they told us, on their original recording the sax part was played by David Bowie though we got to hear the excellent multi instrumentalist Pete Zorn play.

Not one to put her feet up, during the interval Maddy was in the foyer tirelessly selling raffle tickets to support causes dear to her heart as she laughed and joked with the audience. The second set started with a Xmas flavour, ‘Today in Bethlehem’, the medieval ‘Sing We the Virgin Mary’ and, a personal high point, an a cappella rendition of ‘Bright Morning Star’ showing off the bands rich harmonies; beautiful. This was followed by some of the rockier moments with tracks from the ‘Bedlam Born’ album followed by a positively psychedelic rendition of Bonny Black Hare.

The night could only end with All Around My hat and to send us off in the Christmas spirit Gaudete. A great night was had by one and all.


Future tour dates visit http://www.parkrecords.com/tourdates.php
Tue 29th Nov Borough Theatre Abergavenny
Wed 30th Nov St George's Bristol
Fri 2nd Dec Hall For Cornwall (HFC) Truro
Sat 3rd Babbacombe Theatre Torquay
Mon 5th Dec Reading Concert Hall Reading
Tue 6th Dec Birmingham Town Hall Birmingham
Wed 7th Dec Roses Theatre Tewkesbury
Thu 8th Dec Roses Theatre Tewkesbury
Fri 9th Dec Salisbury City Hall Salisbury
Sun 11th Dec Farnham Maltings Farnham
Mon 12th Dec New Theatre Royal Portsmouth
Wed 14th Dec Bedford Corn Exchange Bedford
Thu 15th Dec The Castle Wellingborough
Fri 16th Dec Apex Bury St Edmunds
Sat 17th Dec Eastbourne College Theatre Eastbourne
Sun 18th Dec Martlets Hall Burgess Hill
Mon 19th Dec Barbican Centre London
Tue 20th Dec St George's Concert Hall Bradford

To find out What's on at The Waterside and book tickets: Box Office: 0844 871 7607 (bkg fee) Groups Hotline: 0844 871 7614 Access Booking: 0844 871 7677 (bkg fee) Online Booking: www.agt.com/aylesbury (bkg fee)

Reviewed by:
Pete Benson
28th November 2011

Goodbar Productions in association with Arcola Theatre present

Goodbye Barcelona

Book by Judith Johnson

Music & Lyrics by K S Lewkowicz

Goodbye Barcelona is a moving musical that eulogizes The International Brigade, a group of volunteers from over 50 countries who came to Spain in the late 1930s to help fight General Franco's fascist coup, which seized power from the newly elected Republican government in July 1936. Around 35,000 people came from over 50 countries, to fight fascism in the Spanish Civil war, 2000 of whom heralded from England and Ireland. Goodbye Barcelona is dedicated to keeping the memory of their brave efforts alive.

The story follows a young idealist from the East End called Sammy, (Tom Gill) who decides to risk life and limb to fight in the Spanish Civil War for what he believes in and stop the spread of fascism, despite his mother's (Lucy Bradshaw) protests. When Sammy arrives  with a few British volunteers, he discovers thing are not as straight forward as he imagined. Led by George (Jack Shalloo) and teased by Jack (Mark Meadows), a first World War veteran; under equipped and poorly organized, the platoon embark on a two year campaign armed with antique rifles and a steady supply of beans, bread and wine. Eventually Sammy's mother, takes it upon herself to find her son and winds up working as a nurse in Spain, only to fall in love with a Spanish man, Ernesto (John Killoran).

Politics and history are interesting topics for a musical and I imagine Goodbye Barecelona is what you get if you crossed Evita with Oh What a Lovely War. La Pasionaria (Laura Trebbutt) issues impassioned songs of freedom and revolt which bring to mind Madonna's performance in Evita and the whole spirit of the performance is buoyed up with that wartime, upbeat spirit. Unfortunately the whole play tends to drag a little and the music is slightly repetitive. Nevertheless, Rabinowitz staging is excellent and there is strong enthusiasm within the cast with their voices creating an uplifting chorus. Gill is a decent actor with an adequate singing voice, believable as a young idealist whose beliefs are stronger than his understanding. The musical asserts a clear message, that we should commend those who die for their beliefs, which in this case is certainly true, but it lacks sufficient depth for us to really engage with the characters. Jack the grizzeld war veteran is an enigmatic character and Meadows does a good job of really conveying a menacing, bitter cynic but we can't get beneath the surface of his character and we are left with an unsatisfying explanation of his harsh exterior. Katie Bernstein as Pilar, Sammy's love interest has a captivating singing voice and does a god job of portraying a tender young girl, caught between desperation and destitution. 

The songs themselves are jaunty entertaining numbers with a live band of drums, piano and violins  providing the soundtrack from behind dirty white curatins. The lyrics themselves are passionate and rebel rousing while the songs work best, when the whole ensemble join in and bring their insatiable energy and gusto to the performance. One song in particular called,  Factions, is a clever send up, which mocks the confusion of the whole movement, mentioning the anarchists, socialists, communists and their abbreviated groups, the PNT, the COV etc. which despite all sharing a common hatred of fascism, are incapable of uniting with one other.

The sub plot concerning Sammy's mum, Rebecca and Ernesto was rather weak and despite Killoran making a decent effort at portraying a Spanish man, his hot blooded Spaniard was as clichéd as Meadow's cynical war veteran.

One of the hardest things about making a historical play is allowing the audience a fresh insight into a bygone world of traditional values and Johnson and Lewkowicz have made a good effort, but like the crutch that Ernesto depends upon, the play relies a little too heavily on the stereotypes that film and theatre have already made us accustomed to.  

http://www.arcolatheatre.com/?action=showtemplate&sid=487 

CHRISTMAS CROONERS

WHITLEY BAY PLAYHOUSE

It may not be Christmas just yet but, with the temperatures dropping, winter is definitely upon us, so why not kick off the festive season a little early. With pantomime season nearly upon us, Theatre 1^st Ltd is bringing Christmas Crooners to various theatres around the UK and Ireland to provide a bit of seasonal cheer – and, judging by the large audience tonight, it’s something people really want this year.

As the lights went down the curtains opened to reveal a simple but practical set, consisting of a fire place, Christmas tree, rocking chair and a few other items.  Its design succeeded in bringing a homely feel and brought back memories of the video for Bing Crosby and David Bowie’s “Little Drummer Boy”. The live band “The Jazz All Stars” were also on stage and blended in well with the overall feel and visual.

The four piece band led by the show’s Musical Director (Martin Hughes) on piano, was excellent and played with a perfect laid back swing feel. The show itself pays homage to Christmas favourites from Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra, with a few other swing numbers thrown in for good measure.

To perform the music of such legendary vocalists is challenging enough, but to become those singers in look, manner and voice is a huge ask of any performer. The show, therefore, really requires three exceptional performers to achieve what it sets out to do.

Chris Vincent as Bing Crosby is very much the glue that holds the show together and he produced a great performance. Not only does he have a more than passing resemblance to Bing, but the attention to detail in his mannerisms, vocal tone and inflection were superb. A few times, when the lighting was subdued, you could actually be mistaken for thinking you were watching the original. Robert Grose , as Nat King Cole, brought a fantastic level of energy and charisma to the role but, while his songs were all well sung, he never quite got the gentle and subtle Nat King Cole tone.

As I previously mentioned the show requires three exceptional performances and unfortunately this was where the production fell slightly short. While Bing and to a large part Nat were brought to the Playhouse stage, unfortunately Frank didn’t make an appearance. Instead we got Jonny Parker whose suspect vocals and lack lustre characterisation (an American accent and a hat does not make you Sinatra), really pulled the show down. 

That being said, Director Stephen Leatherland, has created a solid show with a great relaxed, almost informal feel about it. The song selection was fantastic featuring all the classic Christmas songs (White Christmas, Jingle Bells, Let It Snow), add to that some cheesy gags and a bit of audience participation, and the audience headed out into the cold, humming a tune and feeling suitably festive.

Reviewed by Gareth Hunter 

By Mirrorcradle

Second Skin Theatre presents an updated version of six of Edgar Allan Poe’s best known tales and makes them politically relevant as well as thrilling. Rob Johnston, Richard Allden, Mike Carter, Jacob Hodgkinson and Nadine Hearity have taken Poe’s stories and transformed them whilst keeping the essence of the tales. The production is set in St. Mary’s Old Church, the oldest Protestant church in England, an amazing venue perfectly suited for Poe’s stories, yet sadly threatened by lack of funds. The setting could not be more unnerving and Andy McQuade has wisely chosen to make it a promenade play to take full advantage of this great venue. The audience is extremely close to the actors at times, which makes the action even more intense. The lighting team (Sarah Grogan and Anna Shokou) uses every nook and crevice to make the setting even more eerie. 

As we are seated in the pews, the Preacher (a mesmerizing performance by Stephen Connery Brown) sets the mood by cheerfully warning us that we might be scared to death - but no worries, there is a graveyard right outside. This announcement is followed by an unsettling  performance of The Preacher and the Raven, with a truly ghoulish Raven (David Hugh). After that we are invited to join Montresor and Fortunato for a tasting of Amontillado. The character Montresor is changed into a woman (Sarah Scott) and Fortunato (Owen Nolan) is coming on to her quite strongly which makes Montresor’s revenge appear even sweeter. She lures Fortunato into a room complete with cobwebs and stairs that seem to lead down into an abyss. The audience is so close to the action that we can feel Fortunato’s fear when he notices that the handcuffs might not be meant as sex toys. The Pit and the Pendulum is set in a Guantanamo like torture chamber. Beaten up by two thugs, Maheen (Priyank Morjaria) is then thrown into a window less dungeon. Pained by the death and suffering of his family, he finds a little bird.

Fully recharged after the interval we are led outside to the cemetery to witness a Premature Burial. Set in Afghanistan, Michael Amariah truthfully conveys the fear and terror of his character who feels buried by the horrific conflict before he is even dead. Safely back inside, we experience the woes of a widow (the charismatic Mia Zara) who is unable to cope with her husband’s suicide in The Black Cat. Overwhelmed by grief she turns to drink and falls prey to a pathological jealousy regarding her 3-year old son’s cat. As the widow describes the “simple enjoyment of cruelty”, we are pulled into a torrent of evil. Mask of the Red Death recalls George Orwell or any Fascist dictatorship. The dictator Prospero (an equally menacing and charming Conrad Williams) hides away in a church with his lover as the search for an antivirus to combat the red death has been unsuccessful so far. This is, without a doubt, the most thrilling performance of this story that I have ever seen. The ending made my blood run cold.

The show continues until 4 December 2011

St Mary's Rectory, Church Street, London

Carolin Kopplin 

The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, Richmond Theatre

 

Cast:          Zaraah Abrahams

Louisa Lytton

Wendi Peters

           
              © Writer: Tremayne

 

The Foreword by Gloria Steinem at the beginning of The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler gives us a flavour of what to expect in the monologues themselves. She writes ,‘I come from the “down there” generation. ..those were the words.. ..that the women in my family used to refer to all the female genitalia, internal or external.  ..I never once heard the word clitoris. It would be years before I learned the females possessed the only organ in the human body with no function other than to feel pleasure. If such an organ were unique to the male body, can you imagine how much we would hear about it.’

Quite an alternative opening to The Vagina Monologues when the announcements are given out to the audience!  One such example would be when it came to the switching off of mobile phones, and the following suggestion was made of ‘alternatively, switch your mobile to vibrate, lay back and..’  I shall allow for your imagination to wander here!

A set of facts follow.  In brief, how Eve Ensler, the Writer of The Vagina Monologues interviewed more than two hundred women, and through the material they shared she was able to change their responses into what has come to be referred to as ‘poetry for the theatre.’ Women were said to have ‘entrusted her with their most intimate experiences, from sex to birthing’, and ‘from the undeclared war against war to the new freedom of love between women.’  Then, through the use of careful wording, the three performers: Zaraah Abrahams, Louisa Lytton and Wendi Peters, address the Richmond Theatre audience directly saying, ‘a reliable source in Richmond says that “Spunk Satchel” is how you refer to a vagina!’

 

One woman, Ensler spoke to, underwent therapy that involved her going down with herself, and when she finally found her clitoris she apparently cried.
The monologue ‘The Flood’ [Jewish, Queens accent], is dedicated to her, ‘Like the cellar.  There’s rumbles down there sometimes.  You can hear the pipes.. ..it gets wet, and sometimes people have to come and plug up the leaks.  Otherwise, the door stays closed.’

When it came to the ‘Vagina Fact’ monologue, or a kind of insertion placed between two different monologues, the most memorable fact to jump out at me was that, ‘the clitoris is simply a bundle of nerves’, made up of ‘8,000 nerve fibres.’  I was absolutely astounded!We are then informed that ‘it is a higher concentration of nerve fibres than is found anywhere else in the body, including the fingertips, lips and tongue.’ And to emphasise this very fact Ensler writes that, ‘it is twice…twice…twice the number in the penis!’  Funny how the vast majority of women would not be aware of this!

A prizewinner of a line is delivered by Actress, Wendi Peters, and refers to the rampant rabbit, suggesting that it might be sewn into the gusset of cotton underwear to make you come a little more easily. That, and travelling along the London Underground’s Northern Line, which had the audience, predominately made up of women, laugh immediately.The production sets itself up well to break for an interval as the cast members talk amongst themselves about what beverage they will be having but they cleverly invite us in on the conversation, and with the mention of a gin & tonic from one of them, I feel up to having the same interval drink!  Manipulative, and clever marketing one might argue!

We return to our seats for  Part II, and the three Actresses: Zaraah Abrahams, Louisa Lytton and Wendi Peters interact with us as a way of settling us back into the show after a 20-minute interval.  They test us to see how well we took in the stand-out facts we were given through the ‘Vagina Fact’ newsfeed, or ‘The Clit Factor’as Zaraah Abrahams coined it.   This prompted me and the friend I had gone to see it with to re-name it ‘The Clit Factor’ and had us giggling for a fair amount of time afterwards, but not too much mind. We did not wish to spoil what still remained of the performance!

 

..the shape we call a heart – whose symmetry of the organ that shares its name – is probably a residual female genital symbol. It was reduced from power to romance by centuries of male dominance.’ (Gloria Steinem)

 

I was pleased to see that Zaraah Abraham got the opportunity to take another stab at a monologue that was darker in  tone, as she clearly had the most versatility out of the three.  She was able to shift from a lighthearted and more upbeat monologue one moment to one that would cause your tears to well up, the next. The first monologue she took on dealt with a Rape Camp in Bosnia, where the vagina is described, at first, as a village with ‘water soft pink fields’, and then that of a probable village but with an uncertainty of what actually lies there since its unwelcomed invasion. I am pleased to add that this was the most poignant monologue, and as a result, my favourite. My enjoyment of listening to it was not effected by the nervous laughter that could be heard from the auditorium.

 

‘My vagina a live wet water village.

They invaded it. Butchered it and burned it down.

I do not touch now.

Do not visit.’

Miraculously and professionally the Actress was able to remain focused and find her way to the end of the monologue without even so much of a blip.

I raise my hat to Louisa Lytton who had the hard , or enjoyable task, depending on how you look at it, of playing out live on stage the various different orgasms there are before the ultimate climactic fireworks.

My only real criticism would be that Part II of the performance is considerably shorter than the first. Therefore,it might not be a bad idea to re-work the show  to level it out better, making each part similar in length. But overall an enlightening piece which has you embracing you and every inch of your womanhood!  A great way to start my week having got to see it on a Sunday night!

‘The Vagina Monologues’, offers a personal, grounded-in-the-body way of moving toward the future.’ (Gloria Steinem).

V-DAY: UNTIL THE VIOLENCE STOPS

● V-Day is a movement: an organized effort to finally end violence against women.

● V-Day is a vision: we see a civilization where women live in freedom and safety.

● V-Day is a spirit: affirming that life should be lived creating and thriving rather than surviving or recovering from terrible atrocities.

● V-Day is a catalyst: by raising wide public awareness of the issue, it will reinvigorate efforts already under way and commence new initiatives in publicity, education, and law.

● V-Day is a vital ongoing process: we proclaim Valentine’s Day as V-Day until the violence against women stops, and then it will become Victory Day.