Posts

Showing posts from August, 2015

1984

4/5 rating 1984 | The Playhouse One thing with old West End theatres is that they are all cramped, tiny and have bad views. So I'm generally not fond of West End theatres. This one was the same. So obviously the set was bare and the little furniture in it changed frequently for a "set change ". And when a completely different set was required, it was telecast on the screen which looked to me like it was pre-shot. But at the very end, the entire set changes completely. That was really well done. I had not read the book before I watched the play. So to me, the first 30 mins were very confusing. I didn't understand that it was a book shop and I didn't understand whether the people around Winston were real or if they were living inside his head. Though now I know that it was Winston who was living inside peoples' heads who were all sitting together and reading his diary. At least that's what I think. It's a deeply disturbing play. What is mo

Simon Evans In The Money

3.5/5 rating Simon Evans In The Money | Soho theatre It was a very different comedy night; I give him that. What do you get when you mix money, economy and a very British man? House prices! To be fair that was only a part of it. Generally speaking it was very British humour. Everyone laughed a lot. I laughed some times. The jokes I felt, were not jokes but extremely long winded explanations and people laughed at his explanations and I couldn't understand why. Thankfully at least he didn't go total left and misinform people like all other comedians. If anything he went total right. All his explanations were correct and normal which is why I didn't find them funny. I also found the extremely long winded sentences funny for the first few times but having to listen for more than an hour with every sentence going at least 3 mins long was a bit tiring. And I seemingly dozed of mid sentence to wake up after its over and everyone laughed. All in all, I suppose he was funny and

Shadowland

2/5 rating Shadowland It seemed like a great idea. To go to a theatre show that's about a play on lights and shadows (see what I did there? Play haha). It was good, when they did their psychedelic stuff. I could have watched it all day listening to pink floyd. But the actual stuff was crazy. I never understood why the girl becomes a dog. It's not even that hard. And the girl nearing the end of the show, gets topless for no apparent reason. It's not much of a difference considering that to begin with the girl and her parents were just maniquins in underwear who suddenly become parents and people when they wear clothes. It's probably to show that they are not using props to create the shadows. Some times they do and they show you the props. The dreamy sequences with all the well built guys with knees caps and in underwear, and the one guy who can compete with Undertaker is not too bad. I probably didn't understand it because I was a little too bored to care. It&

It's a song! It's a movie! ...

... No! It's SIRO-A !!! 4/5 rating SIRO-A | Soho Theatre These guys are amazing. They use technology to the fullest extent. They had a projector feeding in lights and colours. They also used it to create clones of themselves. They had a live projector to create a large scary being out of the little guy sitting in one corner. They had a camera that helped produce a song live, even though nobody sang it. They made a music video with audience dancing even though nobody danced. They had a bit of a laser show. They had some live DJs too. What more could you want !!!

Bears in Space

Image
5/5 Bears in Space | Soho Theatre Hilarious as hell!! Now now, it's not really a play with a traditional story or sets so a high rating may not be warranted. But they wanted to make us laugh and they did. It's a 4 member team called Collapsing Horse that told us an absolutely random story of two bears in space using all kinds of random home made props and puppets in a cosy setting in Jerrwood Upstairs. The story was so random that you laugh, and then you laugh some more. A story keeper tells us the story of two bears traveling through space along with the frozen body of their dead captain. They have no idea what their mission is, and when they run out of energy they must go to the nearby industrial city country planet system of Metrotopia. Metrotopia is known for its evil dictator, crazy man with daddy issues who imprisons anyone and everyone. And of course at the end the bears save themselves and save the day, helped moderately by the spirit of the captain. We book

Motherf***er with the Hat

Image
4.5/5 rating The Motherf**ker with The Hat | National Theatre Did I ever have obscenities in my blog? Don't think so. This time though I can't help it because there is one in the title of the play - The Motherf***er with the Hat. Did the play need an obscenity in its title? Probably not, but I'm sure it got a lot of attention for it. The play itself has a lot of obscenities but it doesn't sound weird or angry, just hilarious. It's currently playing at the National Theatre in Lyttelton. We got cheap but amazing tickets because we bought on the day the bookings opened, right in front on the stage, close enough to see every single expression. The sets were not very special but immaculately done. Every time there is a set change the walls come from above and the floor from behind. There were only 3 sets but very detailed. The story is so complicatedly simple it could have been a soap opera. There was nothing new, nothing extraordinary or nothing outr

The Elephant Man

Image
2.5/5 rating The Elephant Man | Royal Haymarket Theatre We watched The Elephant Man in the Royal Haymarket Theatre. It was weirdly surreal because the theatre is so old and maintained that way. The play is set in 19th century London and the sets were simple and the use of lights basic. So when the lights were out and the actors were on the stage you felt like you were transported back in time. I suppose that was the intended effect. Now before we go any further, let me just copy and paste the synopsis from the play's website: Based on the real life of Joseph Merrick,  The Elephant Man  tells the story of 19th-century London man Merrick (Bradley Cooper)  who became a star of the traveling freak show circuit. When the renowned Dr. Treves (Alessandro Nivola)  takes Merrick under his care, he is astonished by the man’s brilliant intelligence, unshakable faith and, most of all, his resounding desire for love and understanding. He introduces Merrick to the beautiful actr