I’m delighted to have been cast in Identity Theatre’s latest production: Oh! What A Lovely War. It’s a strong cast and I feel honoured to be part of it. Multi rolling, singing in a full on musical – fantastic. And the choreography, however simple it might be to otherwise non clumsy people, I’m finding that the most challenging as usual! It looks gorgeous when we get it all right. I’m looking forward to “Sister Susie’s Sewing Shirts for Soldiers” which is enormous fun!
So watch this space and don’t forget to book your tickets for June!
I am stoked to be bringing my new play to Brighton Fringe this May. Rehearsals are under way. It’s going to be brilliant. I’m positively fizzing with excitement.
I’ve seen so much great theatre recently. It makes my little heart happy. And most of the time I love crafting a review about it. I mean I want to wax lyrical about things I’ve seen, so why not do it in writing?
The Snow Queen produced by This Is My Theatre was one of those. Gorgeously magical and ethereal and yet grounded. They have a style all of their own which I absolutely love. It reminds me of reading Famous Five books when I was little: taking you to a place where your imagination can still play with what you are seeing. My Brighton Source review is here.
Then I’d actually bought a ticket to see a production at New Venture Theatre: NVT, not with the intention of reviewing, but just because I wanted to see it. But I was so taken with it that I spoke to the director afterwards and offered to review, which he was delighted with. So my intended night off didn’t pan out as planned, but writing about it was so worth it: it helped me process what I’d just seen, as I sat in the theatre after it finished and said out loud “someone needs to explain to me what I’ve just watched…” BUT, thinking about it, sleeping on it, I was fired up with ideas and concepts. It’s more abstract than things I usually go for as I love a good story more than anything, but having said that, this was exceptional. My Brighton Source review is here.
Both productions are still available to see – if you’re quick, so enjoy the read!
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
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!
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
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.
A sneak preview to one of the lighting states, and my desk for the week: the view from the lighting box
Wick Theatre were so kind to nominate me for the 2021 “Outstanding Contribution to the Arts” for which I was awarded a Commendation. It was so gratifying to hear that the calibre of entries had made it very difficult to choose an overall winner, and that the quality was so high, each of the nominees received a Commendation.
It’s amazing to be recognised, very unexpected, and huge thanks to Wick Theatre for their nomination and to Brighton & Hove Arts Council for the Commendation. But – these things are never in isolation, there were loads of other people that committed time and effort and skills to all the projects I’ve been involved in or led on. I couldn’t have done any of it alone, so massive huge thanks to all of those people: Wick Committee, all the people who contributed films to the Wickanory project and to Ghost Stories for Christmas. Special thanks in equal measure to Phil Nair-Brown, film maker extraordinaire, and to Guy Steddon, horror story officianado and curator of the Ghost Stories.
It’s important to celebrate achievements! Here we are:
Martin Oakley, nominated by Southwick Players and me(L ro R) Martin Oakley, Sarah Papouis from Southwick Players, Kate Armes from the Arts Council and Southwick Players, me and AndyExcerpt from the Arts Diary
I continued my Lighting Design training with the brilliant Martin Oakley for Wick Theatre’s Pygmalion in January. It was brilliant to be able to use my maths and logical brain for the computer part, and my artistic brain for the actual lighting design, including creating a wonderful sky colourscape for big scenes set in a conservatory: I loved every bit of it!
I also ran lights during the show and was able to amend and add things that needed it on the fly, during a show, which was amazing.
Plus – never one to shirk a challenge, I did the Deputy Stage Manager: DSM role. At Wick Theatre, and some others I’ve worked with, the DSM runs the show: following the script with a detailed eye and calling all the cues: lights, sound, projections, haze, actors to the stage and anything else that’s going on. This did give me sleepless nights as so much was depending on me but I also loved every second. I benefitted from training from Julian Batstone who has been part of every Wick production since he joined, and is our most experienced DSM. I couldn’t have done it without his support.
It was really cold in the Lighting Box, by the end of the week I had brought in scarves and hats and blankets and so had the very lovely Doffey who was running sound – also for the first time! We had a great time in the box. A lovely friend had just made me fingerless gloves and I wore them throughout!
I also organised the publicity campaign of course! But it was amazing to learn 2 brand new roles in theatre. You’re never too old to learn new things or develop your skillset.
