Lucky Pigeons is a circus show with real heart, and a story that is simultaneously satisfying and leaves you wanting more. Touching on themes of homelessness and belonging with sensitivity and spirit. Rika Fujimoto stars as the heroine, who just wants to go about her day. Already hampered by the rain, she’s just about to settle down and enjoy a sandwich when some pesky pigeons come and spoil play. This is a problem many a Brightonian in the audience will empathise with, as our food remains under constant threat from seagulls. This early section of the show is simple but perfect.…
Author: The Reviews Hub - East Anglia & South East
The Reviews Hub - East Anglia & South East
The South East team is under the editorship of Peter Marcus. The Reviews Hub was set up in 2007. Our mission is to provide the most in-depth, nationwide arts coverage online.
Written and performed by: Gaylien De Mars Drag, meditation, yoga and Elton John are combined in this voyage through the solar system led by our softly-spoken interstellar guide Gaylien De Mars. The Flow State Yoga studio in Hove provides the serene setting for a relaxing workout of the imagination that shoots for the moon but doesn’t quite reach. We begin by visualising ourselves blasting off from Earth in our private starships, which we are invited to name. There’s a backing track that begins with the rumbling of the rocket’s ignition, but the immersive sound effects remain fairly sparse throughout the…
A dizzying hour of cabaret entertainment. Electro-pop titan Laurie Black is a Brighton Fringe staple, her Bad Luck Cabaret an always-diverse mix of interesting art far from the complacency sometimes seen in this genre of tent-based vaudeville. A Spiegeltent refugee – Black explaining to the audience how this year’s replacement “Spiegelgardens” is run by a crappy pub chain – a full room enjoys a brilliant show that if anything could have been even longer. She’s a wonderfully captivating performer and effortless MC, strikingly dressed in yellow high vis, opening the show with a doom-laden tune that has, sadly, not dated…
An uneven hour of musical comedy with some confusing interludes. With character comedy, it’s important to get one’s persona’s status and power relationship with the audience confirmed quickly. Here, Tasmin Sarkany plays Amelia Crotchet, a “semi-failed” classical musician in a double-act with her violin. There’s a lot going on, and Sarkany is a confident performer and a great violinist. But the audience are confused: is this a comedy show, a lecture about Bach, or a musical recital? Is this Sarkany, an actual person, bumbling their way through a gig, or Crotchet, a character, intentionally bumbling their way through a gig?…
An inventive idea that needs more effort to be top fry. The Moulin Bouge is a potato-themed cabaret variety show. A fun concept that unfortunately falls flat in its execution. It’s a Friday afternoon at 5pm and the crowd are mixed. Mostly adults, a few couples. A front row full of pre-teen girls armed with crisps. The host arrives adorned in a dress covered in crisp packets, and has some funny moments. A rap has the front row in stitches, and a branded Star Wars cap adapted to ‘Starch Wars’ shows some thought has gone into the details. Most of…
Former wedding singer turned up-and-coming comedy star, Kayleigh Jones, shares the true story of how she fed her dad to a pelican in this heartfelt and humorous hour. Part-confessional and part-musical-comedy, this engaging show takes the audience on a journey through Jones’ discovery that her supposed dad may not be her biological father. As her possible stepfather is a distant Australian racist, this proves to be somewhat of a relief. As a fully-paid-up member of the ‘Owner of a Dysfunctional Parent’ Club, Jones shares stories from her family that feel true-to-life and somehow familiar, despite their eccentricity. From having her…
A triumphant theatrical exploration of Hitchcock’s classic Cold War caper, North by Northwest. Director and Deviser Emma Rice’s celebrated theatre company, Wise Children, are becoming known on the theatre scene for their adaptations. Fresh off the back of an international tour of Wuthering Heights, the company now unveil their latest production, North by Northwest. Katy Owen, as the Professor, narrates this tale of mistaken identity, with simple soul, Roger Thornhill (Ewan Wardrop) accidentally believed to be a fellow called Roger Kaplan, who happens to be wanted by the bad guys. There’s romance, drama and a whole host of scene-shifts in…
A heartfelt and dizzyingly inventive show that could do with a bit more laser focus. We’ve all experienced it, but it doesn’t make it any easier: two idiots arrive late and decide the show is, in fact, all about them. Showing the artist no respect, these schmucks decide what the evening really needs is: Their own running commentary on the material, like some terrible DVD extra. Their shouted-out unfunny asides, like Statler and Waldorf if they were genuine muppets. Them talking loudly to each other whenever they lose interest in what is happening onstage. “I nearly threw a pen at…