Month: January 2023

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Ripe Tomato, After Peribañez – VAULT Festival

🎭 Ripe Tomato, After Peribañez
📍 The Cavern, VAULT Festival
🎫 PR invite
⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Jealousy is the price you pay for love.”

The story

Written by Siofra Dromgoole and Gráinne Dromgoole, Ripe Tomato is a modern adaption of the 16th-century Spanish tragicomedy, Peribañez. The premise remains the same but has been reworked into a ‘Queer Epic’, with a focus on relevant issues in our society today. Taking place in South London, Cass and Peri are celebrating their nuptials with their best friends, when a man has an accident right outside the home, they have been squatting in. As Cass tends to this wounded stranger, it’s revealed the man is the landlord of the property. The landlord, Jeremy, takes an instant liking to Cass, and we see his crush turn into a manipulative series of events.

My thoughts

Directed by Avigail Tlalim, this is a stripped-back production, with minimal props, allowing us to focus entirely on the characters and their interactions. The friendship between Cass, Peri, Ines, and Ben (Gráinne Dromgoole, Yohanna Ephrem, Camila Segal and Charlie Collinson) is endearing to watch. Their dynamic isn’t perfect, and even with each of them going through a personal struggle, they still looked out for one another.

Gráinne Dromgoole’s Cass is calm, soft-hearted, and reliant on her wife, Peri, and her friends. Peri is assertive and immediately questions Jeremy’s motives as he buys gifts for Cass. This contemporary take touches on relevant topics affecting us today, such as the housing crisis. Ephrem is a passionate performer and showed a great range of emotions throughout the play. From her impassioned speech about the state of the housing system to a more vulnerable side when she speaks about her love for Cass. There were powerful performances all round.

Os Leanse was another standout as they convincingly played the selfish and obsessive Jeremy. We could feel the desperation and couldn’t help but laugh at his attempts to woo Cass. From reciting (the wrong) romantic Shakespeare lines, arranging household repairs to even questioning her sexuality! Overcome with jealousy, Jeremy ultimately abuses his power, which leads to come conniving actions. He’s supported by his witty assistant, Lujana (Olivia Mills) who also forms a connection with Ines.

One improvement would be the accompanying music; at times, it was playing louder than the dialogue, especially with the acoustics of the venue space.

Siofra Dromgoole and Gráinne Dromgoole have written a strong piece of theatre, that had us engrossed from start to finish. It’s a clever take on a literary classic, and representative of our society today. I’m excited to see where this production goes next!

You can catch Ripe Tomato, After Peribanez at The Vaults Festival on 18 and 19 February.
Visit here to get tickets!

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Steel Magnolias – Richmond Theatre

🎭 Steel Magnolias
📍 Richmond Theatre
🎫 PR invite
⭐⭐⭐

Steel Magnolias revolves around a group of Southern women in Louisiana who regularly meet at the local hair and beauty salon run by Truvy (Lucy Speed). The play spans a few years, as we see the group laugh, cry, bicker, and, importantly, build meaningful friendships.

Written by Robert Harling, Steel Magnolias is based on Harling’s family tragedy and adapted into the 1989 film with an ensemble cast, including Dolly Parton and Julia Roberts.

The story

The first scene takes place on the day of Shelby’s wedding as all the women appear in the salon. Truvy introduces her new, eager assistant, Anelle (Elizabeth Ayodele) to the ladies. Shelby (Diana Vickers) is confident, cheeky and has a likeable aura about her and often disputes with her mother, M’Lynn (Laura Main). M’Lynn, who is quite the contrast, is overprotective and worrisome over her daughter’s choices – from wedding flowers to hairstyles. Completing the group is Clairee (Caroline Harker), former First Lady of Louisana and the incredibly witty, Ouiser (Harriet Thorpe).

We soon learn of Shelbie’s diabetic health condition, which risks her life as she desires to become a mother. The drama centres around this and the tragic events to come.

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

My thoughts

Steel Magnolias is a good representation of strength and the importance of being unified in tough circumstances. Directed by Anthony Banks, the first act did well to establish the varying personalities amongst the group. While I admired watching the bonds the characters formed, I couldn’t help but feel the play suffered some pacing issues. Act 1 felt drawn out, and almost as though nothing was happening. Once Ouiser entered the stage, their one-liners bought the much-needed humour and energy the show required.

The production takes place entirely in the salon; the set and costume design are quintessentially 80s, representing the era well. Laura Hopkins’ set includes neon signs, photos of Dolly Parton and a ‘the higher the hair, the closer to God’ poster. Kulkari’s costume choices similarly showcased typical eighties attire. The characters have several outfit changes, between bright, bold mismatched prints and varying wigs with scrunchies.  

There were a couple of moments where lighting cues were missed, and I also noted that the Southern accents were not as strong as we would hope. Described as a comedy-drama, some jokes fell flat, while others I didn’t really understand. This could be a case of the script being written for its time and not as culturally relevant today. It would be interesting to see a total revival of this play mainly as the themes are key.

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

The cast worked well together, and their friendship appeared natural. Diana Vickers’ was a standout and gave an authentic performance in the role of Shelby. Lucy Speed was also wonderful as the kind-hearted, reassuring friend to them all, especially in Act 2.

I liked how the salon signified a safe space for the characters. We watched them experience love, laughter, and loss. It’s unfortunate circumstances, with the final scenes proving to be the most powerful. The tragedy brings the group closer, emphasising the true meaning of friendship.

Steel Magnolias is playing at Richmond Theatre until 28 January 2023, before continuing its tour.

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Morveren – Barons Court Theatre

🎭 Morveren
📍 Barons Court Theatre
🎫 Gifted
⭐⭐⭐

Drawing upon Cornish mythology, ‘Morveren’ is a story that explores three generations of women and the importance of community.

Written by Kate Webster and directed by Lou Corben, Morveren includes a musical arrangement by Becki Jayne Reed and audio clips of the ocean breeze, setting the scene, and transporting the audience to Cornwall.

The story

The play begins with Keren (Charlotte Blandford), an ambitious banker, arriving at a coastal Cornish village for a work project, with her daughter, Ellie (Aysha Niwaz).

Keren is a workaholic, eager to please her boss and earn a promotion. Ellie is fascinated with mermaids and the sea, carrying around the Disney Princess Ariel backpack *and* an Ariel toy. Ellie’s curiosity, and desire to be a mermaid, lead her to take a swim in the sea, much to her mother’s obliviousness.

In another scene, Morwen (Alessandra Perotto) notices Ellie struggling in the water and sets out to rescue her. Here we learn that Morwen is Keren’s grandmother and has not seen Keren in years, nor has she met her great-granddaughter, Ellie. Morwen, the matriarch of the village, stresses the importance of protecting their home and passing down wisdom to Keren and Ellie. Keren displays snobbery about her hometown, wondering why the same people are still living and working in a village so rural, her GPS watch can’t track her.

My thoughts

The pacing did feel slow and it took a while for the story to unravel. Act 2 certainly had more dramatic elements and revealed details of an unfortunate accident, which caused Keren to leave the village.

I enjoyed the duologues between the characters; Ellie and Morwen’s conversation about mermaids was endearing. Although unclear how old Ellie was meant to be, Niwaz did a great job at portraying the innocence mixed with inquisitiveness you’d associate with a young child. I also liked the staging in this particular scene. The set design was simple, with a sole rock situated at the corner of the stage. A clever and subtle directional choice from Corben, having Ellie positioned in a way we’d imagine a mermaid to lay.

The actors all gave strong performances, especially during the tense scene with Keren and Morwen. Their role as grandmother and granddaughter was believable and their scenes felt natural.

While the strengths lay within the performances, the story felt disjointed. I would have loved more cohesion between the moments of drama.  In my opinion, certain scenes and even intervals of dialogue from Keren interrupted the flow. Other scenes felt like a filler and could have been minimised. I would have also liked more exploration into Cornish mythology.

Keren’s character journey was a standout – Blandford played the role exceptionally well and convincingly displayed a range of emotions. Keren went from being distant, even a bit rigid to showing a softer, vulnerable side.

With great characters, who shone in their individual roles, Morveren is a heart-warming family play, emphasising the value of having a community, forming family bonds and womanhood.

Morveren is playing at Barons Court Theatre until Saturday 28 January 2023. You can get tickets online.

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Nerubashenko Ballet presents Swan Lake

🎭 Swan Lake
📍Richmond Theatre
🎫 PR invite
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Nerubashenko Ballet’s production of Swan Lake glides its way to Richmond Theatre, for an enchanting evening.

Premiering in 1877, Swan Lake is considered one of the masterpieces of classical ballet. It has performed many productions and new choreography across the world, enjoyed by ballet lovers and newcomers. This was my first time watching ballet and I could definitely see why Swan Lake is hailed as one of the greatest.

The story

The classic tale follows Prince Siegfried, who falls in love with Odette, Queen of the Swans. Odette and the swans are under a spell by the evil magician, Rothbart. They spend their days gliding across the lake, only for their human form to be regained at night. Enthralled by Odette’s beauty, the Prince swears eternal love for her, and Odette believes his true love can save her and the other maidens from the spell.

When Prince Siegfried must choose a bride, the evil Rothbart tricks the Prince into declaring his love for Odile, the daughter of Rothbart, who bears a striking resemblance to Odette. Realising his mistake, Prince Siegfried begs for Odette’s forgiveness and fights against the evil magician until the spell is broken. The ballet has a fairytale ending, with Siegfried and Odette having their happily ever after.

Swan Lake is a love story, performed in three acts to the iconic Tchaikovsky. There is romance and sorcery, but no tragedy. I still enjoyed the story and watched with a ballet enthusiast who explained this production strayed from the traditional ending.

The production

The live orchestra was a standout, particularly the Harp solo, which had me captivated. Scores that were instantly recognisable and beautifully complemented the ballet. The company was perfectly poised, light on their feet, effortlessly gliding across the stage. I was most impressed with how brilliantly timed the dancers and orchestra were–it was fantastic!

Performed by a hand-picked company of international ballet artists, this production included various dance styles, which I was not expecting. In a colourful Palace celebration sequence, we watch an exuberant Spanish flamenco duet followed by an upbeat Russian folk dance. Act 2 was certainly more energetic, in both the story and performance. I noticed minor mishaps, which I assume were down to the smaller-scale staging. I imagine a larger stage would elevate the production even more. Still, the company did a great job at utilising the smaller space and did not let this deter the routines.


With no words, performers must rely on their movements and facial expressions to tell the story. I wished the Prince showed more emotion, particularly in Act 1 where he falls deeply in love with Odette. By comparison, the company was full of passion, especially the entourage of swans.

As the lead ballerina eloquently danced in her roles as Odette and Odile, personality shone on her face. Dressed in a gorgeous all-black outfit, Odile’s solo was impressive. It was seductive and confident, and I watched in awe at the number of fouette turns they did. I know we were supposed to root for Odette and Prince Siegfried, but Odile had us in a trance–no wonder Siegfried fell for it!

The dancer was expressive, showcasing a delicate, timid nature in the role of Odette when meeting with the Prince. She certainly embodied the movements of a swan as the duo immaculately danced across the stage.

With a talented company of dancers, beautiful, detailed costumes, and stunning choreography, I can see why Swan Lake is a masterpiece!

Nerubashenko Ballet presents Swan Lake will continue its UK tour throughout January 2023.