Lulu *** TNT

Lolly, Mignon, Eve, Katya - who is Lulu? German playwright Frank Wedekind’s turn of the century creation is all things to all men – precocious child, femme fatale, innocent whore and knowing tease renamed by each lover.

Plucked from the gutter, she’s been groomed to give pleasure and is fully aware of the power she exerts. In Anna Ledwich’s contemporary adaptation (which she also directs for Headlong) Sinead Matthews’ blonde, pouting, posing Lulu is petulant, frightened, capricious, a manipulative Lolita whose succession of besotted husbands all come, one by one, to a terrible end.

The deep, narrow staging gives the effect of peering down a telescope at the receding layers of her inevitable decent from rich man’s plaything to cheap prostitute. It makes for uncomfortable, voyeuristic viewing, a feeling intensified whenever she interacts with Sean Campion’s paedophilic Schoning – the man who made her what she is and, in spite of himself, ends up as husband number three.

Gate, Pembridge Road W11 3HQ Tube: Notting Hill Gate (020 7229 0706) gatetheatre.co.uk
Until 10th July £16

Like A Fishbone ** TNT

Subtitled “An argument and an architectural model,” Aussie playwright Anthony Weigh’s short new play raises interesting issues and sticks to its brief, but it gets off to an unconvincing start from which it never really recovers.

On a dark, rainy evening, an unnamed Mother, obviously not a townie, turns up unannounced at the sleek offices of the architectural firm commissioned to create a memorial to the young lives tragically lost when a gunman ran riot in a rural church school.

Though she maintains that her daughter told her to come, it soon becomes apparent that it is only an internal voice which has prompted her to make the long bus journey to try to understand the nature of the proposed structure.

Blind and with a profound faith, she is the antithesis of Deborah Findlay’s well-groomed, sophisticated Architect (concerned, professional but with her mind on the imminent presentation of her design) who intends to conserve the schoolhouse – “like jam” - just as it was.

The bereaved Mother wants the building to be razed to the ground rather than remain as a monument for tourists to gape at.

The repetitious dialogue between the two rarely rings true and barely scratches the surface of the religion versus reason argument which divides them. But Lucy Osborne’s set convincingly restructures the intimate space, whilst Phoebe Waller-Bridge does what she can with the underwritten role of the Architect’s eager intern. And, finally, the closing image of the Architect singing down the phone to her own child says more about motherhood and loss than anything that has gone before.

Bush Theatre, Shepherds Bush Green, W12 8QD (Shepherds Bush tube) 020 8743 5050
bushtheatre.co.uk Until 10th July £20 (Saturday matinees £15)

Women, Power And Politics - Then And Now **** TNT

Over two sessions, in nine short plays interspersed with verbatim extracts, this ambitious season charts the still inadequate changes to the role of women in the political arena.

From suffragettes in Belfast to a present day politico canvassing a dressing-gowned family on welfare, the experience provides ample food for thought as well as comic insight, particularly in a sequence of handbagged encounters between the queen and Maggie Thatcher.

The writers are all women, but ironically there isn’t a member of the fair sex in sight in the most accomplished and perhaps most telling contribution – Zinnie Harris’s “The Panel” in which an all-male white board, forced to chose from an all-female shortlist, decides none of the candidates is suitable as the one who perfectly fits the bill is, simply, too good.

Tricycle, Kilburn High Road, NW6 7JR Tube: Kilburn Tube 020 7328 1000 tricycle.co.uk
Until 17th July £15 for single part, £25 for both parts, £10 midweek matinees

After The Dance **** TNT

Despite critical success in 1939, the advent of war contributed to the early closure of this “lost” play by Terence Rattigan.

All credit to the National, then, for Thea Shurrock’s fine revival of his study of the Bright Young Things of the twenties who, now no longer young, are desperately holding onto their frivolous existence, closing their eyes to the imminent threat to their hedonistic Mayfair lifestyle of constant partying.

At the centre is Benedict Cumberbatch’s suave, moneyed, would-be historian, encouraged by his cousin’s determinedly bright-eyed fiancée to abandon not only the booze that’s killing him but his wife (a moving Nancy Carroll, her true feelings hidden under a flippant façade) as well. And, observing from the sofa, Adrian Scarborough is deliciously droll as a parasitic relic with surprising insight.

Lyttelton at the National, South Bank, SE1 9PX ( 020 7452 3000) Tube: Waterloo tube
www.nationaltheatre.org.uk Until 11th August £10 - £44.00

SUS **** TNT

“Sus” (Suspect Under Suspicion) gave police the power to stop, search and arrest a suspect without a warrant. Believing, with considerable justification, that they were being unfairly targeted, various black communities rioted and the controversial law was repealed in 1981.

Yet although it’s over thirty years old, Barrie Keeffe’s short, powerful three-hander (set in a bleak police interview room as the election results pronounce Margaret Thatcher the new leader) still resonates.

Delroy, an unemployed black man has been brought in for questioning. It’s not the first time he’s had to face the fuzz, and at first he treats the whole business as a routine joke, assuming he’s been picked up, yet again, without cause. But this time things are far more serious. Whilst he was out drinking, his wife has been found dead in her bed and he’s the chief suspect.

Keeffe paints a damning portrait of police racism with Simon Armstrong’s older, suited D.S. Karn all fake bonhomie and cruel intent and Laurence Spellman’s quieter, dog-loving D.C. Wilby itching to give Delroy a sadistic beating. Clint Dyer is utterly convincing as Delroy, his cocky nonchalance giving way to outrage and despair when he’s handed his wife’s blood-soaked nightdress and is up against these two figures of authority determined to find him guilty.

Director Gbolahan Obisesan’s simple staging gives an up-close, ringside view, and provides an effective reminder of how the current stop-and-search laws (brought in by the 2000 Terrorism Act) still offer the possibility of similar discrimination and misuse of power.

Young Vic, The Cut, SE1 8LZ Tube: Southwark / Waterloo (0207 922 2922) youngvic.org
Till 26 June £15.00 (under 26’s £10 )

The Fantasticks ** TNT

Can The Fantasticks really be not only the longest running show in America’s theatre history but also the longest running musical of all time, anywhere? Something must have happened in its journey across the ocean, because this Japanese influenced restaging of a production which first opened in 1960 isn’t even going to last the summer over here.

In the hippy trippy 60’s, with all sorts of mellowing substances to smooth its path, this whimsical hybrid which purports to have a message (you’re better off with the girl next door than risking the horrors of the world beyond your backyard) might have suited the spirit of the time. The opening number - Try to Remember – is still hauntingly beautiful, but, in the sober light of the 21st century, this cutesy, self-conscious mix of material filched from Shakespeare and Rostand falls uninspiringly flat.

With only minimal props and scattered handfuls of glitter to create an atmosphere, the music and the plot (in which neighbours Luisa and Matt fall for each other both despite and because of a separating wall and the faked feud between their fathers) need to be far stronger.

A fine-voiced Hadley Fraser (the puppet-master Narrator, donning a Zorro-like cloak to play the bandit El Gallo) deserves better, the leads are easy on the eye, and Edward Petherbridge almost saves the show as a quixotic, doddery old thesp.

Closing notices have already been posted – but at least the producers can take some comfort in the knowledge that it won’t take long to strike the almost non-existent set.

Duchess, Catherine Street, WC2B 5LA ( 0844 412 4659) Tube: Charing Cross nimaxtheatres.com
thefantasticks.co.uk Until 26th June (£25 - £49.50)

All My Sons **** TNT

Multi award-winning playwright Arthur Miller had his first stage success with this powerful 1947 drama of a family held together, then torn apart, by a Second World War cover up.

David Suchet (of Poirot fame) is superb as shrewd munitions manufacturer, Joe, who let a colleague take the rap for supplying the faulty equipment which cost the lives of 21 US pilots. His transformation from jovial paterfamilias to shamed old man is matched by Zoe Wanamaker’s performance as his anguished wife, her three year refusal to accept that their missing son is dead implicitly colluding in Joe’s denial of responsibility.

Stephen Campbell Moore grows in stature as their surviving son who plans to marry his dead brother’s girl, and Howard Davies’ gripping revival deservedly brings an audience to its feet.

Apollo Shaftesbury Avenue, W1D 7EZ Tube: Piccadilly Circus tube 08444124658 amswestend.com
£21- £50.50 Until 3rd October

No Expense Spared ** TNT

I’ve rarely seen actors trying quite so hard to make a play work, but it’s an uphill struggle in Richard Stirling’s new comedy which concerns itself with the vexed question of politicians’ expenses.

Newly elected minister Anthony Fleming and his glamorous wife Bea have just moved into their new residence where they’re playing host to her old school friend (whose husband scandalously crossed the parliamentary floor) and the unidentified party’s no-nonsense Vice Chairman (whose ill-advised mauve tint is at incongruous odds with her gung-ho army background).

Apart from Bea’s sudden transportations into theatrical reverie and the new housekeeper’s detour into a game of charades, there’s barely a line which isn’t either a joke or feeds into a punch line or a pun, and the relentless attempts at humour prove wearying.

The plot (involving the reappearance of a face from the Minister’s student past and a dubious expense claim hidden in a vase) is as weak as they come, and I can only extend my sympathies to the valiant cast (including Joe McGann and Lysette Anthony as the Flemings and Susan Kyd as her friend) who night after night will be faced with the impossible task of trying to turn this pig’s ear of a farce into a silk purse of a play.

Jermyn Street Theatre SW1Y 6ST Tube: Piccadilly Circus 020 7287 2875 jermynstreettheatre.co.uk
Till 26th June £20

Paradise Found ** TNT

With a plot as daft as any operetta, the world premiere of this misjudged musical about an ageing Shah of Persia who can’t get it up boasts a creative team laden with awards (Harold Prince and Susan Stroman co-direct) and a
score of rearranged Strauss.

In search of rejuvenating female flesh (and accompanied by Mandy Patinkin’s Chief Eunuch, whose bemused, beatific expression suggests one who can’t be troubled by desire but has read all about it) he visits Austro-Hungarian
Vienna – and lusts after the Empress.

There’s vigorous support from the all-American cast, whilst Shular Hensley’s licentious, rich voiced Baron and Kate Baldwin’s prostitute try to add credibility to a sombre second half.

But the lyrics are uninspired and the bawdy comedy often proves as limp as the Persian potentate’s penis.

Menier Chocolate Factory , 53 Southwark Street, SE1 1RU Tube: London Bridge ( 020 7907 7060)
menierchocolatefactory.com Until 26th June £32.00 & Meal Deals available £39.50

Ingredient X *** TNT

What’s worse - sitting with your eyes glued to The X-Factor or playing computer games, drinking yourself legless or consistently choosing partners with their own drug problems?

Nick Grosso’s repetitive new play looks at four individuals who are all victims of addiction and seems to come to the conclusion that, in one form or other, we’re almost all guilty of indulging in compulsive behaviour of a potentially destructive nature.

He brings together an unlikely quartet - co-dependent Katie and her recovering drug addict husband Frank (her first spouse was a junkie rock star), mother of four Deanne whose kids each have a different father, and vitriolic single parent Rosanna who split from her druggie ex years ago and still can’t find a kind word to say about him.

What was intended to be a relaxing night in watching telly turns increasingly unpleasant as mouthy Rosanna tries to undermine the fragile security of her hosts’ relationship and, virtually singlehanded, Deanne drinks the rum bottle dry.

There’s too much talk about unseen characters (all with their own damaging obsessions, of course) and, no matter how tolerant she may be, it’s hard to understand why Indira Varma’s Katie, with her “Love is a doing word” philosophy would choose to spend Saturday night on the sofa with either of the other two women. They may be neighbours, but their toxic influence is unlikely to help keep Frank on the straight and narrow or (after the novelty of Lesley Sharp’s peculiarly accented Rosanna and Lisa Palfrey’s guzzling Deanne has worn off) hold an audience’s interest.

Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS Tube: Sloane Square (020 7565 5000) www.royalcourttheatre.com Until 19th June £10-£15

The Man **** TNT

Completing a tax return is never fun as anyone who’s had to submit a self-assessment form to Her Majesty’s Customs & Excise will know only too well.

And if you’re as insecure and indecisive as 20-something Northerner Ben, all those little boxes to fill out are an overwhelming nightmare. But in James Graham’s clever and touching new play, the story behind those unsorted receipts turns this 75 minute near-monologue into an unexpected delight – not least because of a perfect fit between performer Samuel Barnett and a role that could have been written for him.

In fact, though, it was first taken by the playwright himself and, on different nights in this current season (the centrepiece of the Finborough’s month long anniversary celebration) is played by one of a pool of four actors. Similarly, the voice of the Inland Revenue (perky Lisa from Wrexham on the other end of the telephone line) is also provided, live, by one of an unseen trio of actresses.

As you enter, receipts are randomly distributed among the audience. Ben (now based in London and setting up his own on-line business) has got as far as organising two empty cardboard boxes – one for items he can legitimately claim, the other for the rest of his life. Prompted by the slips of paper which he collects, one by one and in no set order, he recalls the events surrounding them before depositing them in the appropriate container.

It’s been a year of highs and lows, of relationships ended and begun, of illness and bereavement and of those little moments which could so easily be forgotten but are brought poignantly to life in this highly recommended and unpretentious little gem.

Finborough, Finborough Road, SW10 9ED Tube: Earl’s Court (0844 847 1652) finboroughtheatre.co.uk Until 19th June £11 - £15

Canary **** TNT

Jonathan Harvey has made no secret of being gay, but at the centre of his new play Police Chief Tom has spent a lifetime denying his sexuality. Now the tipped-off paparazzi are baying at his door and, although his neurotic daughter initially relishes the media attention, the threat of imminent exposure compels him to look back over his past and realise that he has spent almost fifty years lying, not only to those closest to him but also to himself.
Harvey uses Tom’s story to illustrate the changes in attitude to homosexuality over the last half century. The ground has been covered before – Tony Kushner’s epic Angels in America and the more recent The Pride and Holding the Man immediately come to mind.
But Harvey’s writing is never dull. From London to Liverpool, he intersperses scenes of outrageous humour (homophobic Christian campaigner Mary Whitehouse wanting to “shine light into murky tunnels” as porn-wielding gay activists in drag and Ku Klux Klan outfits disrupt her 1971 Festival of Light) and surreal flights of fantasy (Tom’s time-travelling wife, Paula Wilcox, floating through the air in a fur coat) with poignant moments of truth (young Mickey whirling joyously in his mother’s wedding dress, love letters fluttering down like avian omens at Tom’s wedding) and unflinching reminders of the not so distant past (barbaric aversion therapy and the fatal toll of AIDS).
Philip Voss is excellent as the troubled older Tom and great comic value as both Mrs Whitehouse and the camp, moustachioed violinist who offers runaway best friends Mickey (Ben Allen) and Russell (Ryan Sampson) a temporary roof over their heads but inadvertently bequeaths a far more momentous legacy. And Kevin Trainor leaves a lasting impression as Billy, left to take the rap when young Tom chooses marriage and his police career over forbidden happiness with his first and only true love.

Hampstead, Eton Avenue, NW3 ( 020 7722 9301) hampsteadtheatre.com Until 12th June
£15-£25 (under 26’s £10)

Holding The Man **** TNT

Based on the posthumously published best-selling 1995 memoir of Aussie actor and activist Tim Conigrave, the ending of Tommy Murphy’s quirky stage version is already a given.

Tim’s journey from adolescent fumblings in the 70’s, through to the final devastation of AIDS, takes in career aspirations and casual encounters along the way.

It’s slickly told and ultimately affecting, with four actors (including Tim’s real life school friend, Kath and Kim’s Jane Turner) swapping niftily between a host of subsidiary roles, and Guy Edmonds (a flamboyant Tim) and Matt Zeremes (his more reserved partner John) convincingly reprising the roles they created in the 2006 Sydney premiere.

The topic is far from groundbreaking, but this personal story proves both crudely comic and heart-wrenchingly tragic in its honest depiction of an enduring gay love.

Trafalgar Studios 1, Whitehall, SW1A 2DY (Charing Cross tube) 0844 871 7632 Till 3rd July

£26 - £44

Ditch ** TNT

posted at Jun 01 2010, 03:22 PM

Dark, dank and murky, the unused railway tunnels under Waterloo Station would seem the ideal location for Beth Steel’s post-apocalyptic play, Ditch, a co-production between HighTide and the nearby Old Vic.

Entering the cavernous space via a makeshift box office, you’re free to explore the various scene-setting installations - a dead rabbit hanging by its legs, a tree suspended above a circle of crimson, piles of mud-coated junk, a cute illuminated fawn – and visit the unexpectedly plush bar before taking your (thankfully) padded red seat to watch the conventionally staged play as trains rumble noisily overhead.

Steel’s gloomy view of what Britain might be like in the near future – flooded by water, governed by fascist strongmen intent on rounding up the last of the “illegals” still roaming the countryside, and with food in short supply – is as unappealing as designer takis’ evocation of the remote Peak District farm turned Security outpost.

Here, with the help of Matti Houghton’s young Megan, Dearbhla Molloy’s strict Mrs. Peel caters as best she can for a trio of soldiers (Sam Hazeldine, Paul Rattray and newest arrival James Gethin Anthony – none of whom have much of a future to look forward to) under the control of Danny Webb’s newly promoted Burns, a whisky-sodden old-timer waiting in vain for his son to return from fighting over a pipeline in Venezuela.

There’s nothing wrong with the performances, and the chilly location adds atmosphere. But Steel’s scenario lacks originality and - despite a handful of well-written scenes, the occasional witty retort, and a single striking act - this drama (her first) is only as nourishing as Mrs Peel’s solitary early spud with its promise of better things to come.

The Old Vic Tunnels, Station Approach Rd, SE1 (Waterloo tube) 020 7566 9767

hightide.org.uk oldvictheatre.com Till 26th June £20-£25 (under 25’s £12)