Category Archives: Uncategorized

Theatre, Uncategorized

Review : Testament of Yootha, Caroline Burns Cooke

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out of 5 stars (3 / 5)

If, like me, you don’t really know about Yootha Joyce, then you are in for a treat.

Caroline Burns Cooke brings her whole story, from her birth on Wandsworth common, through Yootha’s fantastic theatrical and sitcom career (and all the personal stuff alongside) to her death and alcoholism at age 53. You do not need to know Yootha to enjoy this intriguing, hilarious character, with a hint of nostalgia and glamour.

Cooke performs as Yootha, and many other character’s through this woman’s life, in what feels like one in take of air. She changes in physical form, from Yootha to an agent, a past husband, all with hilarious quips, foul language and the odd song. It is no argument that she shows what real glamour this woman was.

Cooke is very good at engaging with us – this may be a one woman show, but hell does she keep it this way. She flirts with the audience, agrees with them, ad libs and jumps in between us. She may be storytelling, but we are not just mere witnesses; we are part of the journey.

As engaging as she is, as I said, it does feel like one in-take of breath. Yes, there are emotional parts, that slow down the scene, taking you from laughing at a remark about grubby Clapham Grand, or ‘Crap-Ham Grand’ to the realisation of age and time wasted. But the rest is very fast paced, and at times you feel like you are playing catch up a little with where we are, who Cooke is at that present time and what is going on.

Now, as someone with little knowledge of Yootha Joyce, it could be that she in emulating her personality, and therefore this is very clever. But someone who may not know, it felt a little rushed through, and mostly I wanted Cooke to just take a breath in the room.

Testament of Yootha is a fun, engaging production and a great example of a one woman play – it just needed some time to settle in the room and therefore let us catch up with this woman’s dramatic tale.

Theatre, Uncategorized

Review : The Bacchae, Esmond Road Productions By Hannah Goslin

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out of 5 stars (3 / 5)

Everyone loves a Greek Tragedy – the Ancient Greeks had an
amazing way of telling stories, way beyond their time, with comedies, tragedies
and so forth, elaborate and convoluted (in a good way!).

The Bacchae, by Euripides is nothing short of this. The
story follows Dionysus, who carries out punishment on his Aunt and his cousin,
after their continued disbelief in him being the son of Zeus. What entails is a
story of deceit, blood and gore, and heartbreak.

Esmond Road Productions have modernised this – Dionysus and
his cronies are dressed in neon festival-chic attire, reminiscent of 90’s
ravers, notably taking pills and enjoying all life has to offer. His cousin,
Pentheus, has taken a more middle class, and political approach, showing stubbornness
and false maturity.  These contrasting
groups define the war zones and for whom each party is a part of. It is a clear
distinction in characters and makes this modern take very interesting.

However, the beginning gets off to a great start – a very
emotive Dionysus, who is engaging and with sultry tones to her voice, easy to
fall into her storytelling. But this party-rave-drug taking group lack a little
in this concept – a moment of them really raving to some techno, or a scene of
debauched fun would have solidified this and made their characters a little
less passing.

There is a brief lull midway, and at times feels as if this
is the part that has a little less work. It’s a shame for this lull, mostly
inhabited by normal conversation; it is understandable that this is part of the
story but perhaps another take on this would make it more engaging.

It is soon picked up at the end, when we see the tragedy
that Dionysus throws upon his cousin and her mother – there is genuine tears,
emotion and this is where we are thoroughly engaged – we feel for the
characters, we believe their pain and this moment to stop and take this in, pacing
the speech and actions, creates a very emotive and thoughtful ending.

The Bacchae is a great idea with its modernisation, featuring some great talent starting the piece and following up at the end, but lacks somewhat in the middle. With this part worked on, this piece could be very engaging all the way through.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GChzB9MByi8
Literature, Theatre, Uncategorized

Review: Total Immediate Collective Imminent Terrestrial Salvation, Royal Court / National Theatre Scotland By Hannah Goslin

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out of 5 stars (3 / 5)

I am going to start off, right off the bat, that it pains me
to write a sub-par review of something from The Royal Court. Usually, I cannot
come away from RC without being astounded, inspired and creatively shocked.
Unfortunately, this just did not happen this time.

Total Immediate Collective […] features the story of a
family, when faced with tragedy, separated, with the Father and Daughter
embarking on a cult-esque ideal about the world, and the Mother fighting back
for her Daughter. There is an essence of many likely groups across the World,
from terrorist groups to religious or cultural groups who create imaginative worlds
and predict the end, in one way or another. Therefore, it is not a strange tale
to believe.

We are asked to sit in a purpose-built circle, with a book
to follow the story. The book itself is full of impactful images and text; the
images tend to be accompanied by a sound scape, bringing it to life and making
it feel recognisable. However, while an interesting concept, the idea of
reading along felt school-like, and for me, provided plenty of distractions
from the play; from reading, to looking at other audience members, to waiting
for the performers to (intentionally) find their place – a lot of pausing, a
lot of waiting, a lot of missed action.

This did not exactly take to a good start of introducing us
to the book – as part of this cult-ideal, we are told with the word “okay” when
we are allowed to read – the Mother at the beginning explains this, however
with the natural urge to move on, the performers gave a strange and imposing
approach to anyone who defied this – leaving a audience member to sarcastically
comment ‘What? Are we in school?” to which the response, maybe not so much in
character, was an equally sarcastic “No, you’re in the theatre”. This made us
all feel quite uneasy, for both the performer and as audience members, and
perhaps tainted the next hour.

The performers themselves are wonderful and obviously very talented,
but rather than an impactful piece of theatre, I felt as if we were in a first
stage workshop.

I really wanted to like Total Immediate Collective[…]; an unusual concept, interesting writing, well performed; but all these elements just did not gel into a Royal Court standard piece.

Art, Theatre, Uncategorized

Review : Coma, Darkfield By Hannah Goslin

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out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

What would you do, what CAN you do when you can only hear
your surroundings but lack the power to help?

Coma by Darkfield, one of their many shipping container
immersive experiences, engulfs us in an idea of medically induced coma states,
while other frightening and disturbing things happen around us, completely out
of our control.

Darkfield are very good at creating experiences that mainly
function on the power of persuasion, listening to a narrative and following our
own imagination. But equally, what happens in our heads, can be just as disturbing.

In a clinical yet odd style ‘hostel’, we are asked to lie
down on 3 tier bunkbeds, encouraged to make ourselves comfortable and to take a
little pill – though this is our choice, as we are told taking it or not taking
it makes little difference either way.

Plunged into darkness, with our headphones on, we are
influenced by commentary, by sounds that sound very near us and at times further
way, adding to our imagination of what we already know the room looks like.
Like all of Darkfield, there are moments of fear, of climaxes, but to tell you
these only destroys what you experience.

My only problem with Coma, is more dependent on the audience
member. To really throw yourself into this piece, to feel in a ‘coma’ you need
to really engage in a meditative state and give yourself fully to the relaxation
in your body to get the full extent of what they are trying to achieve.
Unfortunately, for me, while used to meditation, it just didn’t come easily for
me this one night and perhaps lead to me missing out on being more immersive
that I would be another day.

Coma is equally intriguing, exciting, and scary – go on, be brave, and engage in something you have never experienced before – but fully commit, to come away with something fantastic!

Art, Theatre, Uncategorized

Review: Flight, Darkfield By Hannah Goslin

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out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

As someone who is scared of flying and therefore takes
sleeping pills to get through, this is probably not the best production to see.

Rightfully nervous, with knowledge of Darkfield, experiencing ‘Séance’ at the beginning of the year, my flight fear has gotten better after travelling, but the nerves are still there for this next experience.

I particularly liked how the Steward was very much into the
process of Flight – before entering the container, his language was all
reminiscent of a host on a flight, stating ‘We are a full flight today so please
sit in your allocated seating’

Like any flight, the inside is highly reminiscent of modern
planes, but with a hint of the past – small flip down screens above, which are
little know these days, playing a video of a hostess, which seems dated. From
the beginning, with out headphones on, things are already going wrong – the video
flickers, saying chopped and changed, and frightening phrases – we hear the
pilot and his conversation we should not hear.

Into the darkness, we hear through our headphones, cleverly
positioned to give the sense of encroaching hostess up the aisle. We give into our
imagination, and this unordinary flight feels calming, yet we anticipate what
happens.

As any Darkfield show, there are moments of shock, of fear,
elements of the set change, even now, with me thinking whether I dreamed seeing
that or not. They play on our minds; the experience feeling like a dream state,
when something disastrous happens, everything becomes normal again – did that
really happen?

If you have a fear of flying like me, you are in safe hands with Darkfield, and will come away having such a unique and unordinary experience. If you don’t, well… needless to say you will have equally an interesting and unusual immersive experience. These containers are for all.

Music, Theatre, Uncategorized

Review : Styx, Second Body By Hannah Goslin

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out of 5 stars (5 / 5)

In the belly of one of London’s newest theatre’s, I
experienced one of the most emotional and best nights of my life.

Entering the space, we are welcome to live music, played by
a band of 7 – with brass instruments, electric guitars, sound scapes and a drum
kit. The set basic, only light bulbs above each person and in the ceiling, and
all dressed smartly but shoeless – I cannot tell you how much this minimalist
band excited me – something unusual and live!

Styx is a true-life play developed by two of the band members
who are siblings – there is a cross over of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice Greek
myth and their own grandparents’ lives. It tackles the issues and reality of dementia,
of love, of life and ultimately how memory works.

Second Body chop and change, from true recordings of their Grandmother,
new and brilliant music composed, written and performed by the band on stage,
spoken word and recordings from interviews with the band. While this sounds
like a lot, it really works amazingly well. There is a pattern to the
performance, and it felt like a dark yet humorous, genuine and unbelievably
cool musical. The story is brought to us, from beginning to end, as we get to
know their family, their grandparents, but with musical interludes.

Both of these are so genius-ly done that you could happily take
them apart from one another and still love every second – but you don’t want to
do that. It is so wonderful composed that it is hard not to love every single
person, to love their family and to really see their emotion and passion for
the piece.

This review feels hard to write – I could gush all day about
how phenomenal this piece was. Dementia is something close to me, but even if
you have never experienced this, you would have experienced some kind of grief
or ending of a story – and so I would defy anyone to come away not feeling
tearful, feeling welcomed and honoured in sharing their story and a warmth at
how beautifully this performance is.

So enough gushing – I can only see that if you do not see this, you will miss one of the best pieces of theatre I have ever seen. Styx is unlike anything I have ever experienced before, and tantalised every theatrical and personal emotion.

Theatre, Uncategorized

Review: Rabbits In The Precambrian, Wrong Shoe Theatre By Hannah Goslin

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out of 5 stars (3 / 5)

A philosophical play – what happens when your whole word beliefs are shattered? Who are you? What has or is your life about? Rabbits in the Precambrian tackles this thought with comedy, contemplation and interesting character development.

Wrong Shoe Theatre Company, fresh from Royal Holloway
University and The Front Room Croydon’s resident artists bring the story of a
group of people contemplating life and existence, with the help of a con artist
Guru. It features slapstick, clever writing and a conclusive ending tying up
all loose ends.

We see the differences in relationships, with the writing
allowing the characters to contemplate their own worlds and interests –
everyone has as big a role as the next, hitting areas not unlike a sitcom as
they interweave into one another’s stories and lives.

The actors themselves do well to create their own in-depth character
– two married couples, both with a lecturer half and the other a little unusual
in their interests – they compliment each other but at times it feels a little
like the males are very similar and the females are just the annoyed wives.
Perhaps a reversal in roles could make this more interesting and balanced in
the controversy of gender roles in today’s theatre.

There is a balance of slapstick humour and then philosophical
discussion – both being very well done, it felt like the two still needed to
gel a little more, crossing over into one another to compliment the unusual
storyline.

Particularly the character of Reed, played by Liam Crocker,
was excellent. He struck the right balance of hilarity to rationale – when finding
out that his life’s beliefs are disproved, his downward spiral is believable,
but his character is quick witted, comical and we relate to him and his disbelief
of the unusual events. Moments of monologue are directed to each of us, and we
feel included, the fourth wall breaking down, and it creates a nice moment
between us and the character.

The Guru, while part of the main plot, is also a great comic
relief. Think middle class, hipster kid, meets spiritualist. She strikes the
right vocal notes for this character, making her wistful and flakey but at the
same time a believable con artist.

The ending felt like a little work was needed – as a theatre
creator and at times writer, ending a piece is always quite difficult and I get
that once all the questions are answered, it is sometimes at a loss on how to
do this; and this is what it felt like was a minor struggle at the end. While
the final note hit the nail on the head, a little work on how to get there
could absolutely solidify this ending.

Rabbits in the Precambrian is full of fun, comedy and rational thinking – A play definitely worth seeing and to keep an eye on through development.

Circus, Dance, Uncategorized

Review: Rouge, Underbelly Southbank London, By Hannah Goslin

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out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

Who couldn’t be excited by an adult only circus? We begin our night by our intro full of comedy, verbal notes on a good time and nudity – and this is exactly what we get.

Amongst awe inducing stunts, flying high in the air, balancing
on unstable chairs, fire, whips, you name it, we get a show full of attitude,
hilarity, tongue and cheek and lots of naughtiness. It’s true that this is a
circus unlike any other.

This isn’t a show for the prudish, or the shy. The group openly admit that their idea behind the show is breaking down gender and sex roles, and so we see plenty of sexual tension between all sexes – they throughout cross gender roles, with femme and androgynous looks as well as woman taking a lead in dominance. And this shows another great step towards more open and equal performances that are popping up across the theatrical scene.  

Don’t be shocked if you fall in love with these characters –
each with their own personality on show, they can be demure and intense with
more serious acts but none are afraid to make a fool of themselves, taking playful
approaches to S&M, hilarious dance routines with obscured faces by a lamp
shade and dancing to a song stating ‘turn me on’ – at this point a light switch
by their genitals can be flicked on with light blasting out. There’s no end to
the inventiveness and comedy with their routines.

And of course, the more intense stunts are beautiful, well-rehearsed
and stunning. The ability to make it look so easy, but with our full knowledge
of the strength and skill going into these. They keep their performance faces
on, even if the heat literally gets turned up as they swallow fire or keeping
their head as they are swung around the room.

Rouge is raunchy, a great degree of enjoyment and certainly a brilliant night out – For ADULTS ONLY!

Rouge plays at Underbelly as part of the Southbank Festival until the 15th September.

Festivals, Uncategorized

Tips and Tricks as a First Time Ed Fringe-r By Hannah Goslin

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Working in the industry for around 10 years, it is a wonder
I have only just made the essential pilgrimage for every Performing Arts
professional.

This is not for want of not wanting to. Time, money… all
those factors. And each year I have major FOMO through all the pictures and
social media, friends and colleagues attending; my insides screaming WHY AM I
NOT THERE!

So this year, I planned in January. And trust me, when I
say, this is the best time to plan.

But when researching, I firstly reached out to seasoned
friends and colleagues on their tips and tricks of the Fringe and Edinburgh
itself (as, a double whammy, I had never been to Scotland either!). I have
immense gratitude to these beautiful people, and it was a lovely euphoric
moment of realising the collection of talented beings I know and love in one
City, from someone who has made these connections all across the country. To
have all these people in one place was surreal but also completely beautiful.

However, there was nothing more I could find from others
with perhaps a list of things to consider when making this trip, and while I
certainly do not know it all, I thought I would write a little something of the
things I learnt at my first Fringe.

What to Bring

Scotland is Scotland after all. It can be cold. It (weirdly)
can be pretty hot too. It buckets down. It shines. But it is still the UK. So
here are a few things I found out you NEED to have with you:

  • Coat – bring a light one. You can bulk with warm
    stuff underneath. But when it rains, it bloody rains.
  • Wellies/Walking boots – I only brought trainers
    and flip flops (oh the hopeful part of me) but when it pours, parts of streets
    get quite flooded and soak through your socks. While I was suffering from quite
    a lot of chronic pain at the time which affected my decision also, bring
    hiking/walking boots with you if you plan on Arthur’s Seat. The day I wanted to
    do this, it rained and trainers would just not have done the job. Sadly I did
    not walk it this time due to all these contributing factors, but from what I
    know, you can walk it any time, so be prepared!
  • Socks – man oh man bring enough socks. While I
    came away with lovely highland cow socks, they cost me £4 and I probably should
    have just been prepared. (There are shops like Primark and H&M is the newer
    part, but if you’re busy you may not have the time).
  • Water – Yes you will drink a lot of booze. But
    get a reusable (all about the eco)
    bottle – pubs, venues e.t.c. will fill these up for you. And trust me, you will
    need a lot to drink with walking the city.
  • Pre-pack some food – Do not feel like you always
    need to eat out. It can get a bit pricey and if you are with limited time
    between shows, a protein bar or some fruit in your bag will save your life. It
    was delicious, but a £7 mini pizza was not healthy, rinsed my wallet and I
    rushed it, feeling pretty unwell after.

The City

  • The City is BEAUTIFUL. Take some time to
    explore, be a tourist, enjoy!
  • Stay in Old Town / Near the Royal Mile – easily the
    best part of the city, so beautiful but also a stone’s throw from most of the
    Fringe activity. Some happens in the newer part, and the half price tent is
    over there too but you will find most venues are in Old Town.
  • We’re still in the UK – Tescos, Lidl, corner
    shops are still around to grab anything you need. It can be stressful when you
    go on holiday and do not know the language or the area, but Edinburgh is
    littered with places to grab any essentials.
  • Walking is good – I loved walking the City. It’s
    pretty easy to do and the majority of things are pretty close together. But
    beware, it is all hills! (I found this out the hard way). However, if you’re
    struggling for time or feeling a bit lazy, public transport is amazing, and
    there is Uber!
  • Google Maps – Add at least another 10 mins to
    what google maps tells you. It is so busy and you will need to fight crowds at
    times. If you do not know the City, it’s easy to read a road not a bridge on
    the maps and end up going the long way. If you use public transport, there’s a
    lot of traffic so add time. And ensure you can grab a drink before your show!

Fringe

  • Get. Some. Sleep. – Part of this is planning
    where you want to stay. I chose a hostel but the experience made me realise I
    was A. Too Old for hostels now and B. It is NOT the place if you want to grab
    sleep, naps, relax e.t.c. So really think where you want to stay. This leads me
    onto…
  • Plan ahead – Get planning asap. Places sell out
    fast. Prices go sky high. The sooner you can book your travel tickets (train,
    plane, bus if you’re adventurous) and where to stay, the more you will save,
    the more selection and therefore can grab that private hotel room if you
    want/can afford and won’t end up sharing with a man who watches you leave/enter
    rooms and get ready for bed.. (yes this really happened).
  • Eat Healthy – I am still fighting the worse acne
    I have EVER had, and recuperating from lack of energy even a week and half
    after I finished Fringe. It’s so easy to eat bad food and let your health go
    down. Get some veggies. Drink some water. Practice serious self-care.
  • Have a freakin’ day off and organise your time–
    I packed around 50 shows in 9 days. I sadly cancelled a whole day because I got
    so unwell. 11am-11pm non-stop is insane, and why I thought I could do that for
    9 days straight is beyond me. And organise your time – try not to do a million
    shows a day. Spread them out; schedule time to have a drink with the acts
    after; see some friends for lunch or coffee in between; go for a walk or take a
    nap between shows. Because you cannot truly enjoy a show if you’re at the back
    sweaty, exhausted and feeling like you may puke.
  • Plan your shows by distance – My second day I
    walked back and forth from the centre of Old Town down to Summerhall (a 20 min
    walk each way) at least 3 times. And I was a mess. If you’re seeing a lot at
    Bistro Square/St George’s Square or all on the Royal Mile, you can take a seat
    between, grab some food, chill in the park or a coffee shop and you’re not
    panic walking half way across the city.
  • Flyers/Be adventurous – Artists put a lot of
    money and time into flyers and flyer-ers. I spent my first few days politely
    saying no thank you until I met up with a producer friend who put it in
    perspective. Take the flyer, have a look, take a chance if you have the time.
    And if you can’t go and see it, you’ve at least made that persons day a little
    brighter by taking their flyer and considering it.
    Equally, take a punt! I was lucky to be going for reviews and ended up seeing
    some of the most incredible, the weirdest, the wonderful-est shows ever. And I
    may not have chosen these on my own. Even if it looks crazy or odd, have a go –
    you may be pleasantly surprised.
  • I also missed a lot of great work because I did
    not look into them enough before. If you are reviewing, balance it! Do some
    review work, see some shows just for yourself. I only did this once and it was
    a lovely relief not to be writing about it and to just enjoy it alone; a little
    break in between.
  • Be polite and chat with people – we’re
    theatrical people. The locals are lovely. Make conversation, it will brighten
    not only their day, but yours too. Everyone is really friendly.
  • Try not to hog pavements, doorways e.t.c It can
    be so dangerous with the busy roads. Be mindful and helpful, and it will make
    the Fringe so much better.

It may seem like a lot, but I learnt a lot from my first experience. I believe you need to experience it yourself and find your own ways to enjoy the Fringe but this is just a little to get you started.

Ultimately – ENJOY IT. It is probably one of the best things
I have done with my life.

And maybe see you there next year – message me at any of the
below and we can grab a drink!

If you have any other tips and tricks:

Tweet us :  @hgoslin_2 @GetTheChance4U

Instagram : @the.only.culture.vulture @getthechance1

Facebook : The Only Culture Vulture – Reviews by Hannah Goslin or join the Get The Chance Wales group.

We would love to hear your thoughts!

Festivals, Uncategorized

Review: Leslie Ewing-Burgesse EXISTS! Edinburgh Fringe Festival By Hannah Goslin

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out of 5 stars (2 / 5)

Canadian born Leslie has come to London as she has always
dreamed. In her flat, she finds an unusual book with the conspiracy that Paul
McCartney died and all these years has been an imposter. And this begins a
journey into her insecurities, acceptance but also getting to know this
colourful lady through comedy.

Dressed magnificently (her boots are to die for, pink
sparkly platforms!) and her bright hair, it’s hard not to fall in love with
Leslie despite her fighting her own personal demons.

This work-in-progress performance is full of different
levels – from insight into her past, The Beetles and conspiracy theories, the
structure is well thought out and engaging as to what happens next.

There are times when Leslie needs to remind herself of what
is next, but takes this in her stride and her comical ability smooths over
these very brief breaks. Her ideas are all there, there just needs a little
more confidence and trust in herself and her writing, as when it goes well, it
is smooth and funny. This is not to say it never does not go well, but a work
in progress type show always has a little delay with the comedian working out
their material.

At times it felt a little more like a TED talk, and
thoroughly interesting in this way none the less. But there’s a little work to
do to deliver this as more of a comedy performance.

Leslise Ewing-Burgesse does indeed EXIST! She is flamboyant, loveable and we all want to be her best mate. Funny and insightful, she is one to keep an eye on as she inevitably rises through the comedy scene.