A Small Mind At The Theatre

Eight Pounds Sixty from TaBoo Productions is over almost before you get the chance to settle. At 20 minutes roughly, it is the shortest Flash that I have ever seen, however, during that time, it makes a tremendous impact, and perhaps more would have been too much to take. Solo performer Naomi Ell presents two people, both, it turns out, with a common health link, mental illness. As is sadly often the case, both first present as being well hidden by the individual. The first Annie, in her twenties, is full of success, her own flat and a job that she mostly appears to like, but has pleasure in relaying the quirks of her colleagues as she clears up her "floordrobe". It quickly becomes clear that there are issues there, she is seeing a counsellor, and although she presents to us the fact that she likes doing so, we all know deep down, seeing a counsellor isn't really a leisure pursuit. She is taking drugs to help her problem and has to mine through a ridiculous NHS sys...

Let's all laugh hysterically at dementia! That is the winning principle behind Blue Shift Theatre's Deciding What To Do With Dad , with black comedy of the highest order, they create one of the best Flash shows I have seen. However, before you think we are talking cruel humour, this is far from it, it is understanding very clearly of the situation, and is far from nasty in its writing. It can be expressive certainly, we get plenty of poo references, and it isn't a play you would take granny to. In fact, it starts rather wonderfully, breaking the fourth wall and a reading of a disclaimer, that is in itself, more offensive than many plays. The playing to the audience is truly brilliant in this and creates much humour as a result, and the cast is clearly both in their element and comfortable in this. Jac Burbidge, Jake Statham and Hal Gallagher play three brothers, one sensible and rational, one who has been a wandering, and one a clown, literally. They are an immense tr...

Following the sexual abuse led Screw You , my second Flash of the week was Athena Theatre's domestic abuse-themed Lay Me Bare . They were clearly not going to break us in gently this year at Flash. However, if there is one thing that Flash does brilliantly, it's tough subjects. The students in the group are clearly passionate about the themes they choose, and nearly always, this translates into a quality, if often tough, watch. Lay Me Bare depicts the very different characters of Monica Brown (Xara Chisano), Fola Balogun (Maddy Ogedengbe) and Elsie Smith (Farrah Dark), all who though share one despair in their lives, they are victims of domestic violence from their partners. We first meet them all, nursing black eyes, and in a stark opening sequence, they all attempt to hide the visual appearance of this with make-up. It's a powerful opening, and what follows is a tough exploration of these three peoples lives, one a partner to a guy who uses the prison door like a ...

So, I return once again for the annual Flash Festival, the moment where the graduating BA Actors get their moment to show in their dissertation piece, what they have learnt over their three years at the University of Northampton. Opening my fifth year of shows was Sonder Ensemble's topical offering, and interestingly titled, Screw You, This group of three performers created a snappy (just 25 minutes) piece influenced by Harvey Weinstein and the fallout from those revelations. Delving into a mixture of stories based upon real cases (some more obvious, about who they refer, than others) to create a brief piece exploring what has been one of the biggest stories of the last year. The three performers in this show are Ceara Coveney, Gemma Leigh and Katie Lawson, and the first two already have already proven themselves to be extremely talented from past shows, and here they perhaps show themselves at their best. Lawson though had lurked a little more in the background in the main ...

It is hard to imagine what crossed the minds of the producers of Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em when they decided to recreate a TV sitcom, that hadn't been seen as a series for 40 years, as a stage show. Although the world of entertainment is so full of remake and reboot at the moment, that perhaps everything is doomed to return at some point. However, perhaps few will be quite as successful, and certainly deserve to be, as this remake of something that was so of its time and so much in everyone's memory as being made by one performer, a certain Sir Michael Crawford. This gem of a stage show though, while never being 100% perfect (it is very sluggish for a while in the opening of the second act and I am not a fan of a play with mics), brings that sitcom to the stage with a style and panache that the frankly (pun intended) ridiculous material of the original almost doesn't deserve. This is Frank Spencer for the 21st Century, the stage might be dressed like that 70's sitco...

Funny Faces written by Steve Dimmer and presented by Next Page Productions bring to life an hour in the life of two British comedy icons of yesteryear. We are in a props room and then a dressing room where Joan Sims and Sid James respectively chat with us like we are occupying one dusty, cobwebbed corner of the room. The first of the evenings solo shows is titled SIMply Joan and stars Caroline Nash. For those of a certain age, Joan Sims is and always will be the Carry On star, and while my memory of these films is fairly prominent in my mind as well, despite the series finished by the time I was around, my biggest memory of Sims comes more curiously from a role in a BBC sitcom starring Dennis Waterman titled On The Up . In this, Sims played the rather posh Mrs Wembley, who was rather fond of a tipple or two, with her show catchphrase of "Just one more" a regular feature. It is apt that I recall my own memory of Sims here, as the shadow of drink hangs over the life of ...

Kneehigh, the Cornwall based theatre company, has created an immense recognition over the 30 years or so they have been formed, and Emma Rice, who directs here, has come out as one of the more recognisable people from the group. Here, with The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk , they, and Rice are in incredible form. Writer Daniel Jamieson tells us the tale of artist Marc Chagall and his wife Bella as their love blossoms during some of the most turbulent times in history. This tale, by Jamieson, first saw a life on stage over 25 years ago, back then titled Birthday (the name of a painting by Chagall, which depicts he and his wife doing their "flying"). In the original production, Jamieson played Marc, and Rice played Bella. Now many years later, Rice has taken the original and created a brand new vivid version. It's easy to fall in love with The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk very early on, as two things occur. The first is as you are seated in the theatre, you become captivated...