In Basildon, Royal Court

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Walking into the Royal Court Theatre, I immediately noticed a radical new layout. ‘In Basildon’ is performed in the traverse with the plush red seats on either side of the action rather than the more conventional staging at this famous theatre.

It is a simple but touching story… a working class family dream of making a better life for themselves, and try to realise this by moving from squalid but expensive East London to a more affordable area, Basildon in Essex. All grown up, the relationship between sisters is no longer amicable. When their wage earning brother dies his money grabbing family argue around him desperate for the lion’s share of the will.

“Money makes the world goes round”, is sadly the underlying theme throughout ‘In Basildon’. The cast present the problem beautifully adding reason and rhyme to David Eldridge’s thoughtful script. Director Dominic Cooke should be commended on his insightful vision for this exciting new play.

Phil Cornwall is wonderful as the optimistic and fiercely loyal brother Len… he also manages to fake death rather convincingly! His horribly bitchy sisters put up a good fight: Ruth Sheen is silently vicious as mean Maureen and Linda Bassett is vile as the older sister Doreen. There is some witty and well judged interchange between the two of them. Of the smaller roles, Max Bennett is brilliant as Tom, ridiculously and hilariously pompous in comparison to the rest of the characters.

As ever the stage is dressed for the occasion, beautifully designed by Ian MacNeil and cleverly arranged so neither side of the audience miss out on the detailing that make this production visually so special.

Continues 5 April. Visit the website and book here.

Thai Rice, Fulham

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I love Thai food… the combination of creamy, spicy, nutty, and sweet flavours make it totally irresistible to me. If I’m miserable my dad makes his insanely good Thai curry to cheer me up and for a treat dvd night in, a Thai takeaway is my ideal meal. So I was delighted to be reviewing Thai Rice – a friendly restaurant in Fulham that I heard cooks particularly good Thai food.

I went along with my best friend on a Saturday night to try out this eatery. Only a couple of tables were occupied when we arrived at 7pm, but when we left a couple of hours later the place was packed with a waiting queue of hungry diners. The menu has all the favourites and more… suckers for the classic dishes, we ordered what some might describe as boring choices. Chicken Satay and Duck Spring Rolls to start, with a large basket of amazingly good prawn crackers. For mains, we tried the Vegetable Pad Thai and the Red Curry with chicken and prawn. We ordered pots of delicate jasmine tea to accompany the meal.

Some restaurants are obsessed with offering thrilling and complicated specials, but I always think it is interesting to sample the favourite dishes as these are the options that will be ordered most. Each cuisine has it’s speciality, for me if a Thai restaurant serves a good Red Curry then it has succeeded. Thai Rice exceeds expectations with fresh and delicious food using high quality ingredients. The Satay were marinated perfectly served with a sweet peanut sauce and the spring rolls were unusually light with soft aromatic duck filling and sweet Hoisin sauce. Thai food has a tendency to be oily but Thai Rice avoided this stereotype completely. Our curries were wonderfully creamy and light with ample meat and well cooked vegetables. The noodles were light with a sprinkling of crunchy peanuts and bean sprouts, a delightful mix of contrasting textures.

I usually omit pudding in Thai restaurants – I really don’t like those strange jelly-like dumplings! At Thai Rice though there is the option of half a coconut filled with coconut ice-cream and this was the perfect refreshing and palate-cleansing end to the meal.

For a reasonable and ravishing Thai treat, Thai Rice is a great restaurant you can rely on.

Visit the website here to book.

THOROUGHLY MODERN MAN: The Mikado, King’s Head Theatre

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This was a night of firsts for me: my first visit to the Kings Head Theatre in Islington, which I had heard so much about; my first time watching (ashamedly!) a Gilbert and Sullivan production and; my first time reviewing solo without the company of one Thoroughly Modern Milly!

Each of these novel experiences lived fully up to expectation as I was thrilled and entertained by Charles Court Opera’s intimate version of The Mikado in the warm (literally!), inclusive atmosphere of this fringe venue. The quick witted and sparky action of this production kept the audience constantly engaged while the actors bounced off each other with lightning quick reactions. John Savournin’s choreography made creative use of the small space he was confined to, and suitably complimented the fine singing. The stars of this show were the comic counterparts Pooh-Bah and Pish Tush, acted out superbly by Savournin and Ian Beadle respectively. These men sang with impressive resonance and acted with a very clear awareness of their characters’ motivations. Also worthy of mention is Catrine Kirkman’s Yum-Yum, who sang with admirable clarity, control and poise in her famed aria ‘The sun whose rays are all ablaze’. I also take my hat off to Nichola Jolley, whose comedic interjections as Pitti-Sing were perfectly timed, and communicated with the most captivating and amusing facial expressions.

Aside from the action, the pianists, David Eaton and James Young, played with remarkable dexterity and sensitivity. It is some task for four hands at one keyboard to be responsible for accompanying this entire tour de force, and this duo deserves the highest praise for the skill and gusto with which they fulfilled their role.

I was fortunate enough to catch this production just before it closed but never fear! Charles Court Opera will return to The King’s Head in September with what will no doubt be an innovative and spunky production of The Pirates of Penzance. This burgeoning young opera company is certainly one to watch. I must insert a health warning at this point though: the wine served at the King’s Head is very drinkable and the craic is mighty – DO NOT MISS YOUR LAST TUBE HOME! (Not that this happened to me of course…)

Written by a Thoroughly Modern Man, Mark McCloskey.