By: Charlotte Fox Reviewer: Simon Topping Promises of a stand-up show with a mix of music, sketch and character are not fully realised in this piece, which raises a smile here and there but sadly rarely ignites into laughter. It is never in doubt that Charlotte Fox is a ball of energy. From the off she bursts onto the stage full of beans and continues at pace throughout her performance. The high kicks, yoga postures and constant movement are all impressive. However what the performance gives in high energy it lacks in the quality of her material. Fox seems nervous…
Author: The Reviews Hub - Brighton
By: Julia Masli Reviewer: Simon Topping This Malcolm Hardee Award winning comedian wows the Brighton Fringe with her debut show; an homage to migration in the form of fabulous absurdist physical comedy, with a sprinkling of Choosh! (a slang term for bullshit). Coming onto stage like a warped and clean shaven Charlie Chaplin, dressed all in black with massively oversized stuffed trousers and a broken umbrella, Julia Masli delights the audience with her gently provocative and regularly hilarious clowning antics. Tonight’s show follows the story of a hungry clown from an Eastern European village who voyages to America for a…
By: Peripeteia Theatre Company Writer: Anna Pellegrini Director: Adam Cachia Reviewer: Lela Tredwell This bold, striking play will provoke much discussion around its themes concerning relationships, gender and abuse. At the heart of the piece lies the dehumanising process that takes place in abusive relationships. It cleverly explores this through the ‘eyes’ of a sex doll and it’s interactions with the woman who has bought it for her partner. Given the subject matter, this could be crude, or even comically handled, but on the contrary, this show explores complex relationship dynamics and doesn’t shy away from depicting the darker side…
By: Agent November Escape Rooms Reviewer: Lela Tredwell From the winners of 5 consecutive Certificates of Excellence / Travellers’ Choice Awards from Trip Advisor, comes Agent November’s outdoor mystery experience with a new creative collection of puzzles to solve. Agent November creates enigma experiences for participants to enjoy around a central spy theme. Major X Ploe-Shun is one of these mysteries which takes place outside. Having signed the unofficial secrets act, there is little this reviewer can reveal about the assignment itself, or indeed any of the components needed to solve it. It can be reported however that equipped with…
Created by: By K&A Reviewer: Lela Tredwell This unusual show takes the form of a Q&A session with an actress playing Sophia, a social robot. The real Sophia, we are first introduced to through a video clip of a guest appearance she made on a television programme. Before us, is a different entity but we are invited to see this stand-in Sophia as the real deal. The actress playing Sophia helps us with the illusion by imitating robotic mannerisms. This show relies heavily on audience participation. When we are given the opportunity to ask our ‘Sophia impersonator’ questions, the audience…
Created by: Urban Foxes Collective Reviewer: Lela Tredwell Winner of the Pulse Suitcase Prize, this intensely dark comedy includes physical theatre, clowning, audience participation and a multimedia overload. During this extraordinary show, we are exposed to a TED talk given by Mother Earth. She’s not in the best of shapes. She’s hooked up to some tubes, she’s ailing, but like a misguided grandma, she initially seems pleased to see us. Elena Voce’s portrayal of Mother Earth is innovative and forceful. This show is bold, off the wall, and has a brashness to cut through the most apathetic audience members. The…
By: CLAIR / OBSCUR Writer: Deborah Clair Director: Dominique Gerrard Reviewer: Lela Tredwell S.O.E. is a shattering tale of espionage, bravery, endurance, brutality and hope. This extremely moving piece of theatre puts two incredible women at its heart. The touching story, beautifully told, centres on the bond between Vera Atkins and Noor Inayat Khan, both working in special operations during World War Two. There is a mesmerising fluidity to the storytelling. The set is minimal but extremely well used. Natasha Jayahendry is captivating as Noor Inayat Khan, an Indian princess who was recruited as an operative into ‘The Ministry of…
Writer/Performer: Adam Drake, Edward Easton and Kath Hughes Writer: Ben Rowse and Kiri Pritchard-Mclean Reviewer: Simon Topping There’s a fine line to being too comfortable on stage, luckily Tarot tread it well, in this amusing hour which produces a nice selection of funny sketches, very well performed, from the Goose and Gein’s Family Giftshop stars. The group come on stage dressed in white nighties and bright red make-up across their eyes, it’s a striking look. They are here to perform twenty minutes of older material to warm us up before the main event, their new show Cautionary Tales. It’s an…