A Small Mind At The Theatre

There is one thing that you always get from Flash Festival (as well as excellent performances) and that is an education. Whether it is a brand new learning of something, or with X Or Y about transgener, a much greater understanding, you frequently leave the shows much more enlightened. I follow Paris Lees on Twitter who I have great respect for with her campaigning for transgender rights, therefore I was slightly up with my understanding of the issues surrounding this piece. However Infuse Theatre's work, featuring Annalise Taylor, Rhiana Young, Stephanie Waugh and Grace Aitkin, Kathryn McKerrow, tells something I had never heard, that of the fascinating story of an 1870 court case concerning a certain Stella and Fanny, otherwise known as Ernest Boulton and Fred Park, arrested over transvesticism and a benchmark for the future. This is our way into a play of almost perfect construction and excellent education merit, as no matter who you are you leave with more knowledge of tra...

Following the rather poor play in the form of Days Of Significance (and a little bit of minor social media storm), I am happy to say that the third and final outing from this years third year uni shows was a much greater success. This despite the fact that Greek themed plays are well down in my own personal favourites. Written by Moira Buffini, Welcome To Thebes is an exploration of an encounter between the wealthy state of Athens under leadership of Theseus (Vandreas Marc) and the substantially poorer Thebes of the title under command of Eurydice (Sharni Tapako-Brown). Lurking in the background are Prince Tydeus (Charlie Clee) and lover Pargeia (Kathryn McKerrow) seeking to snatch power through their own stirred up anarchy. The direction from Eva Sampson is for me the best of the three plays, superbly whipping the audience into the world of Thebes with opening tension in the stalls of the Royal. Three soldiers; Megaera (Madeleine Hagerty), Scud (Daniel Gray) and Sergeant Miletus (...