Review
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‘I Met All My Friends on Dating Apps’ at the Alma Tavern review – ‘touchingly sincere and wholesome’
‘I Met All My Friends on Dating Apps’ is the latest work by writer, performer and theatre maker Jess Andrews. It certainly gets kudos for a noticeable title, and for its pitch: happily married Jess has decided to explore polygamy. Her husband knows, the dates know, and we’re following along on her journey. We start with a relatively bare stage; a small unit with make up and a mirror on it, and a pile of clothes.
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‘The Arms’ at the Alma Tavern review – ‘an intriguing and inventive show’
The Arms, an original work by South Korean theatre maker Moon Kim, comes with a compelling hook – one of the two characters has been making herself extra arms in order to provide more help to the struggling people of the world. We start with Domi (Rosalind Jackson Roe) – as she introduces us to her story, commanding the stage with purpose.
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‘Fella: show us ur fruitcake’ at The Alma Tavern review: ‘endearingly giggly and chaotic’
It’s a chilly evening up in Clifton at the newly air-conditioned Alma Tavern Theatre. We’re a slightly thin but nevertheless game audience here to see ‘Fella: show us ur fruitcake.’ Fella ambles into the audience entrance minutes before showtime, resplendent in a leopard print zip-up top, silver face paint and wig cap and makes her way down the stairs, merrily chatting un-mic’d to the audience even before she begins.
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Tim Minchin: Songs The World Will Never Hear – review ‘immense affection …. and winking showmanship’
Tim Minchin came to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2005 for the first time with his debut show Dark Side, which was nominated for and then won the Perrier Award for Best Newcomer. Winning this for your debut show is the kind of wildest fantasy for aspiring comedians that is so vanishingly rare, such a golden ticket to the upper stratosphere of the comedy ecosystem, that it’s not really worth bothering to dream about.
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‘Ewins Some You Lose Some’ at the Wells Comedy Festival review – ‘brilliantly specific and immediately funny’
Another year, another Wells Comedy Festival. It is dusk on Friday evening, the first night of the festival, and we have just sped from Bristol through the cowslips and lush greenery of the summer Somerset countryside to Mat Ewins’ 9.30pm show. Flicking through the programme, I was pleased to see that there were only two more men in total on the line-up than women, although I didn’t do any sort of calculations as to whether men on average had more prestigious time slots or more shows in the bigger theatres.
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‘Pull My Goldfinger’ at the Alma Tavern review: ‘some genuinely inventive moments’
Carlos Sandin’s one-man show Pull My Goldfinger starts before the lights go down, as he lightly commentates on the incoming audience, warning several in jumpers and coats to take them off and promising to restart if someone comes in late. We are here for a one-man show about James Bond – hence the title – with our fully naked actor initially performing as a caveman being bequeathed a traditional black briefcase and becoming the famous spy.
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‘Kool Story Bro’ at the Bristol Old Vic review: ‘a glut of talent and skill’
I sprinted into the theatre with seconds to spare to watch ‘Kool Story Bro: Kiell Smith-Bynoe and Friends,’ mainly because we were – literally – running late, and also because I was very excited. It was the first night of their UK tour, having previously performed it for a 3-day run at the Edinburgh Fringe and in London.
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Review: Melanie Bracewell at the Hen & Chicken – ‘inventive, solid gags and big laughs’
NZ Taskmaster winner Melanie Bracewell comes to south Bristol on the brink of what reports are suggesting could be spring, specifically to the Hen and Chicken studio on the heels of a successful UK tour in 2024. This time around, she’s touring her sold-out Edinburgh Fringe show Attack of the Melanie Bracewell. After a ten minute set – wearing a fantastic sparkly short suit – she moves aside to introduce her support, fellow Kiwi comic Becky Umbers.
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‘Wicked’ review: ‘an interesting riff on a stage classic’
This review is riddled with spoilers. On a dark autumn evening many moons ago, I walked into a local pub to attend a freshers’ social for my university’s musical theatre society. I bought a drink from the bar and sat down at one of the tables where the group was gathered. Finishing his conversation, an older member turned to me and said ‘So, what’s your favourite musical?’
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Review: ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ at the Dominion Theatre – ‘fun and flashy but ultimately disappointing’
A sequel to The Devil Wears Prada may be inching its way back to screens, as I wrote about here, but in the meantime a musical has made its way to the stage. An initial 2019 version was delayed several times due to the production needing more time and the pandemic, and following a poorly-reviewed 2022 Chicago run, returned to the rehearsal room to be further fine-tuned.