A Small Mind At The Theatre

For two previous years the Flash Festival had been a highlight of my theatre year. Full of energy, invention and talent, the University Of Northampton BA Actors students had created many a magic moment. So once again I was back at the brand new locations for 2016 for six days and thirteen shows of entertainment in the company of fellow "independent reviewers" Mudbeast76 and new recruit The Real Chrisparkle . The first thing that must be said about this years Flash was that of the three I have attended, it was significantly the best organised. Our five event organisers, Vicky Cooper, Aisha Ruth-Francis, Lucy Taylor, Daniel Gardner and James Broomfield were without doubt more organised and enthusiastic than any previous ones, and more importantly they had the stamina for the whole week. This coupled with a much improved schedule over the previous year, a better website design, more busy hub space and the impressive videos that were recorded made this without doubt the best y...

Clowns. We hate them or we love them (if you are really weird). I am not particularly enamored really (although I am weird). So a Flash show based around them, what would there be to like? Not a lot I would imagine. However in the hands of Two Funny formed of Cynthia Lebbos and Benjamin Williams, they are really very appealing. It helps that this is more silly behaviour than strange noses and big feet. This is a sort of Mr Bean situation, but with a modern edge. Indeed Benjamin reminded me a great deal of Rowan Atkinson during the show, full of the awkward social problems, bizarre pulling of faces and tremendous physical ability, literally bouncing off the walls at times. Both characters are magnificently cute and endearing as their burgeoning romance over reduced bread and cheese slices develops. It helps also that this is the most interactive of all the shows as nearly everyone in the audience gets involved at some point, if only to have their hair stroked or a peg put on it (the...