Skip to main content

Flash Festival: Part One - Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover & Sell By Date at the Looking Glass Theatre, Northampton

May 12th 2014 saw the beginning of the Flash Festival presenting the dissertation performances for the Northampton University students and A Small Mind clasped ten tickets for as many as he could muster time for.
*
The first was Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover by Pure Industry (aka Kathryn Alice and Emily-Claire Potter). A clever piece of work using both real life and stark personal material, this little play told us quite clearly that when we look at someone, perhaps we do not see the whole picture.

The staging was simple and clever with books aplenty scattered around and used well throughout, culminating in a well presented final part where their beavering away out of sight becomes clear. During the show there are also some well choreographed scenes, depicting personal distress.

 The final scene is also stark and clear with the two performers laying themselves bare with Kathryn Alice visibly suffering for her performance. Powerful and meaningful, with a strong and very true message.


I confess, I liked this little play quite a lot.

*

My second play was the very dark, very funny and very powerful Sell By Date. From Marbleglass and featuring the talents of Marcus Churchill, Ashley Cook, Joseph Derrington and Sophie Murray, this was a gem. Setting the bar even higher for the week ahead.

Mixing music, dance, comedy, strong drama and in one particularly outstanding part, some very clever puppetry.

The performers in this group were particularly strong and I remember them well from their parts in Animal Farm (Animal Farm review). Whether playing the clown or deadly serious moments, they were at the top of their game. Even this early in their hopefully very successful careers.

The play itself was broke up into many parts, cleverly interchanging the aforementioned clowning, with the heavy and, yes, very emotional parts.

The previously mentioned puppetry scene was my pick for the best part. However the very rude, offensive, politically incorrect and therefore very funny, stand-up routine performed by Derrington had to be my second pick, particularly with the emotional pay-off.

I will also remember fondly the slightly ruder Two Ronnies bar scene and the best set change joke I have yet heard.

Overall this was a very clever, well written piece in need of your viewing as you may not find a better hours entertainment for a while for £6. Go see!


Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover is on at the Looking Glass Theatre on Wednesday 14th at 7pm and Saturday 17th at 2pm

Sell By Date is on at the Looking Glass Theatre on Wednesday 14th at 10am and Thursday 15th at 7pm.



Popular posts from this blog

Review of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

I have seen a few touring shows of extremely well known shows like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and a few have been quite a disappointment. Producers sitting back happy to sell the tickets on the name of a show, and deliver on stage not necessarily a terrible production, but one that sometimes never really leaves you feeling you have got value for your money. Music & Lyrics/West Yorkshire Playhouse's  Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is far from one of them. An exemplary and large cast, costumes both in multitude and wonderful to look at, a set of infinite invention and a hidden but quality and large orchestra. Jason Manford as Caractacus Potts Perhaps more importantly this show also doesn't fail on its casting of "stars" over stage talent, for in the lead is Jason Manford as Caractacus Potts, an artist known for his comedy more than his acting history, and certainly little known for his singing ability, is a revelation. Likable, dominant on stage with clear chara...
Read more

Review of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at Birmingham Rep

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street first appeared in this musical form in 1979. Adapted from an original play by Christopher Bond, the work was set to music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, with a book by Hugh Wheeler. It quickly became a huge success, opening on both Broadway and the West End within a year. Following Tony and Olivier wins, the show has seen revival after revival over the years, as well as a musical film starring Johnny Depp. Now, Birmingham Rep presents its own pared-back version of the show, featuring some big stars of the theatre world. So, the question is, is Sweeney Todd as razor-sharp as it once was? What is clear to all at the outset is that director Joe Murphy, also artistic director at Birmingham Rep, has assembled a remarkable and bold cast for the show. Leading as Sweeney is Ramin Karimloo, whose bio speaks for itself and is the biggest draw for this show, especially for theatres outside London. His Sweeney is a perfectly brooding affair, broken...
Read more

Review of The Spy Who Came in From the Cold at Milton Keynes Theatre

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold is one of John Le Carré’s more well-known titles in his world of spy fiction, and having been adapted into a highly rated 1965 film with Richard Burton, it is perhaps surprising that it took until 2024 for this stage adaptation to appear, adapted by David Eldridge, and now at Milton Keynes Theatre. In many ways, it feels like a ripe story for a stage play, with locations and theatre folk often liking the cerebral storytelling it offers, so this should be perfect for the stage? The Spy Who Came in From the Cold depicts Alec Leamas, a British intelligence officer, being sent to East Germany as a faux defector to sow disinformation about Hans-Dieter Mundt, a powerful East German intelligence officer. However, as expected in the spy world, all is not as it seems, and with the lurking figure of the supposedly retired spy George Smiley in the background, Leamas finds things moving far from his control. It has to be said that Eldridge’s adaptation struggles...
Read more