Month: April 2023

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Love’s A Beach – Drayton Arms Theatre

🎭 Love’s A Beach
📍 Drayton Arms Theatre
đŸŽ« PR invite
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Katie Sayer and Will Johnston’s hilarious comedy play unveils the life of influencers and the impact of wanting to be social media famous!

The story

Ben and Cyrus (played by Iain Ferrier and James Akka) are runners-up in a popular reality TV dating show. Months after leaving the villa, the couple finds themselves drained by the sponsored content they participate in, trying to increase their social following. Promoting lawnmowers and adult ‘Happy Nappies’ was not on their bucket lists! While Ben seems content with returning to his old life and using his platform to raise awareness of the environment, Cyrus wants to do whatever it takes to alleviate his fame and reach his dream of having 1 million Instagram followers. 

Cyrus and Ben receive a luxurious million-pound influencing deal in Dubai to promote a new hotel chain. Ben is hesitant and reminds Cyrus of the UAE laws when it comes to being LGBTQ+ and the dangers they face. However, Cyrus doesn’t think of morals, focussing only on money and his follower count. 

My thoughts

Akka and Ferrier displayed the most hilarious comedic timing that had the audience laughing out loud right from the start. The actors’ palpable chemistry created an authentic performance. Akka brilliantly plays Cyrus, the self-centred, social media fanatic. Ferrier’s Ben is patient, practical and tries to bring his boyfriend back down to earth. The writing is witty, fast-paced and packed with several jokes and references that were delivered perfectly by the cast. 

I appreciated the writing having a balance of comedy and seriousness, especially as we saw a glimpse of vulnerability from Cyrus. The topic of gay rights in UAE is brought up when we learn of the couple’s invitation to Dubai. I was expecting just a bit more on this, considering Cyrus’ decision to stay in the country.

While the script pokes fun at influencer marketing (Ben attending an 8 am opening of ‘Pets At Home’ had me creasing!), ‘Love’s A Beach’ also highlights the incessant media reporting and pressures of being in the spotlight. In a series of sound bites, we hear a chorus of tabloid headlines and talk panels, discussing influencers, consumerism, and fake gossip about Cyrus’ haemorrhoids!

Even with a minimal set design and the occasional props, Phoebe Barrett’s direction keeps us fully engaged, with the actors utilising the entire stage. I enjoyed watching the duo reenact their text messages; Akka particularly caught my attention with their humorous facial expressions.

With slick direction, a satirical script and brilliant acting from the cast, ‘Love’s A Beach’ is a great piece of comedy theatre, that is incredibly relevant to our current digital climate. I’d love to see where this show goes next!

‘Love’s A Beach‘ is playing at Drayton Arms Theatre until 29 April 2023. You can buy tickets here!

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Wish You Were Dead – Richmond Theatre

🎭 Wish You Were Dead
📍 Richmond Theatre
đŸŽ« PR invite
⭐⭐⭐

Peter James’ best-selling novel, ‘Wish You Were Dead’ returns to the stage with a thrilling production and star-studded cast.

The story

Detective Superintendent Roy Grace and his wife, Cleo (George Rainsford and Giovanna Fletcher), head to France with their newborn son, for their first holiday together. Cleo hopes the holiday will finally be a chance for her and Roy to spend quality time, without the interruption of his demanding, crime-solving job. They are joined by Kaitlynn (Gemma Stroyan), the fiancee of Roy’s colleague Jack, who agrees to babysit Noah. 

As they arrive at their French chateau, which resembles more of a haunted house, the guests notice a strange atmosphere and suspicions arise. From flickering lights to no mobile signal to a knight in shining armour (yes, really). The sarcastic host, Madam L’Eveque (Rebecca McKinnis) appears to greet the guests, but her demeanour sparks even more doubt about their stay.

DS Roy and Cleo’s dream holiday quickly turns into a nightmare, as a dark past comes back to haunt them.

My thoughts

My first impressions were of Matthew Holt’s intricately designed set, which featured a split-level stage of the living room and bedroom. I loved the clever use of gauze that revealed the secret room, adding to the mystery. The stuffed animal heads and an obnoxiously large painting of The Crucifixion added to the haunting atmosphere and led up to what the show was going to entail.

The sinister music throughout the play certainly added to the suspense, as did the bursts of thunder and lightning however, these were played too loud and were not always necessary. 

Although it was revealed quickly, the twist was good. It made an appropriate ending to the first act, however, I couldn’t help but feel it veered into a farce – the audience’s laughter didn’t help either. Once we discovered the villains’ motivations, the second act featured several witty back-and-forth dialogues between the characters. Despite the brandishing of weapons, there was still a lack of tension and just an overall threat to the guests.

Clive Mantle’s villainous role as Curtis provided humour, with some comical lines/delivery. Whether this was intentional, I enjoyed their portrayal as the bitter, grief-stricken father, seeking revenge. Rainsford and Fletcher are convincing as a couple, and I enjoyed Rainsford’s strong performance as the determined detective. They had me fully engaged, particularly during those final scenes. 

While ‘Wish You Were Dead’ did feature a predictable plot, I still enjoyed this crime-thriller and can see why Peter James’ stage adaptions have been a success!

‘Wish You Were Dead’ is playing at Richmond Theatre until Saturday 22 April 2023.

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Family Tree – Brixton House Theatre

🎭 Family Tree
📍 Brixton House Theatre
đŸŽ« Gifted
⭐⭐⭐

Mojisola Adebayo’s play, ‘Family Tree’, brings to light a dark history of the scientific world. 

Directed by Matthew Xia, the powerful drama is told through a blend of spoken word, interpretive dance and harrowing historical truths about race, health, the environment and the forgotten legacy of Henrietta Lacks – a Black woman whose influence on modern-day medicine is extraordinary. 

The story

The story is inspired by Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman who died in 1950s Maryland from cervical cancer. Before she passed, doctors took samples from Lacks’ biopsy during the treatment, sharing them with researchers who discovered her cells had the capacity to survive and reproduce. This created the HeLa cell line, which was (and still is) involved in medical research in cancer, immunisations, HIV and most recently, vaccines against COVID-19. Despite saving thousands of lives, Henrietta did not have any knowledge or consent over the actions, nor did her family years after her death. 

‘Family Tree’ is a thought-provoking play that unpacks the injustices Black women faced in medical care over the years. Adebayo’s intertwines historical stories of enslaved women in America, subject to cruel experiments by white medical staff. We also see a trio of Black women play present-day NHS nurses, passionately discussing racism in healthcare, among professionals and patients, ‘WHY’ people and the Black Lives Matter movement.

My thoughts

Aminata Francis plays Henrietta Lacks, opening the show with a powerful, rhythmic monologue as an immortalised being. Francis’ presence is captivating; I admired their strong storytelling as they glided barefoot across the stage, delivering Adebayo’s poetic script with deep emotion. 

Photo by Helen Murray

 Mofetoluwa Akande, Keziah Joseph, and AimĂ©e Powell play the trio of women, and were strong in their individual roles, seamlessly transitioning between the contrasting characters. I also loved how they tended to one another’s hair during their scenes as NHS nurses. Throughout the show, a smoking cowboy (Alistar Hall) sinisterly walks across Simon Kenny’s set, presumably embodying a version of the ‘Marlboro man’ and also death.

As we weave between the different generations, I admittedly struggled to find the plot. The play could have benefitted from a longer run time as there was a lot of information packed into this 90-minute piece. The poetry and prose were beautiful, but the scenes swiftly moved on to the next. I wished there was time for Adebayo’s writing to linger and let us reflect. This was expedited during the final scenes with the appearance of Oshun, the Yoruba goddess of water, fertility and love. Whilst Akande’s performance in this role was enjoyable, it felt out of place and almost rushed as the play was nearing the end.

Photo by Helen Murray

‘Family Tree’ is both an important exploration and celebration of Black women’s contributions to healthcare and their undeniable strengths. The uncomfortable truths of racial inequalities over the years are revealed. From a personal viewpoint – I’m a Black woman living in the U.K., where these inequalities are still occurring, so parts of the show were difficult to hear. Nonetheless, I commend Mojisola Adebayo and Matthew Xia for creating a play that doesn’t shy away from revealing the harrowing, untold experiences of Black women as well as shedding light on Henrietta Lacks’ story.

I thoroughly enjoyed Diane Alison Mitchell’s movement direction, as the cast danced together in sync to an African drum beat. The joyous ending serves as a celebration of Henrietta Lacks’ legacy and generations of Black women.

Family Tree is playing at Brixton House Theatre until 23 April, before continuing its U.K. tour.