Tag Archives: Hammersmith

THOROUGHLY MODERN MAN: The Ruby Dolls, Rubies in the Attic, Riverside Studios

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Entering the studio we are immediately greeted by the glamorously dressed dolls – a suitably warm welcome from the gracious hosts.  We are invited into “the attic”, filled with old, dusty paraphernalia that sparks an exploration into the dolls’ (and the audience’s) ancestors.  It’s an appropriate start to the evening which has a homely, old-fashioned, almost wartime feel.

The show is a cabaret act filled with inventive storytelling, incorporating everything from song, dance and monologues to comedy and puppetry.  The stories take us around the globe, visiting South Africa, Paris, Italy and (charmingly) the tale of a Jewish tailor.  Music is integral to the show, the chanteuses singing in the respective accents and languages and the whole show is commendably underscored by Benjamin Cox on piano.  The dolls themselves have a lovely blend of voices that enchant from song to song.

With the focus on the dolls’ own ancestors, there’s a personal feel to the proceedings that’s touchingly played.  Yet there’s plenty of humour here too – frequently laugh-out-loud hilarious – and everything is performed to the audience with a knowing wink that keeps things light-hearted.  Clearly good friends, the dolls have great rapport with each other – laughing, smouldering and bickering – and often include the audience in their interactions.

The Ruby Dolls are a surprisingly sexy and unique act that deserves a much longer show.  Make sure to catch them at the Edinburgh Festival – this act is a little gem worth seeking out.

Written by a Thoroughly Modern Man, Ed Nightingale.

THOROUGHLY MODERN MAN: Three Kingdoms, Lyric Hammersmith

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This was my first time visiting one of London’s most successful off-West End playhouses, the Lyric Hammersmith.  With its luscious red interior and vast stage, I was left questioning why I hadn’t been there before.  Three Kingdoms is the second show of World Stages London, which is an exciting collaboration between eight leading London theatres and twelve UK and international co-producers that celebrates the exhilarating cosmopolitan diversity of London.  This collaboration has been taking place throughout April and May, and will continue through June.

This play, on paper, makes for a very exciting spectacle, and on stage it certainly does not disappoint.  The synthesis across three languages, countries and theatre cultures – a British writer, German director and an Estonian designer, with actors hailing from each of the three countries – creates a unique and unfailingly engaging production, that boggles the mind and tickles the ribs in equal measure.  Writer Simon Stephens deserves full recognition for binding the complex and myriad elements of this project together in a homogenous form that rings true with each of the three distinct cultures.

Without wanting to give too much away, the story starts simply (yet grotesquely!); a detached female head washes up on the banks of a London river in a waterproof bag, and the police seek to find the culprit.  Their search, beginning in London, eventually leads them to Germany, and later Estonia, with the clashes across cultures becoming more and more evident by the acting, staging, costume and use of props and audio; effectively a full range of dramatic crafts are exploited to give the true impression of the cultural conundrums that the writer wishes to convey.  The result is that the second act descends into what appears to be some kind of mental marathon, laced with themes of sex trafficking, political and police corruption and brutality, and ultimately, some sort of steely and chilling patriotic pride.

The acting is strong across the board.  I was extremely impressed by the stamina of Nicholas Tennant who played Detective Inspector Ignatius Stone; the seeming protagonist.  This role is something of a tour de force, and Tennant did not at any stage falter.  Steven Scharf’s performance as Steffen Dresner was a comic injection that was consistently entertaining.  The inventive casting in this production is another note of praise, as a number of the actors played different roles across the different countries.  The standout of these for me was Rupert Simonian, who played Tommy White and a German and Estonian Receptionist.

This play will leave you breathless and pondering the whole tube journey home.  I thoroughly recommend it!

Continues until 19 May – book tickets here.

Written by a Thoroughly Modern Man, Mark McCloskey.

THOROUGHLY MODERN MAN: Oedipussy, Lyric Hammersmith

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Spymonkey are a physical comedy theatre quartet, formed in 1997, who have offered up many successful and acclaimed shows over the past decade and a half. The most recent of these is Oedipussy, billed ambitiously as ”Greek tragedy meets Bond”. As the audience enters the theatre, they are met with a sign warning of “nudity, smoke, strobe lighting, loud bangs, strong language, bodily mutilation, scenes of incest, rape, infanticide, suicide, pestilence and animal sacrifice”; as one might imagine, this makes for an enjoyable, frantic and thoroughly entertaining two hours.

The shameless silliness that is Spymonkey’s trademark is well exhibited in this production, as they turn the story of Oedipus and his terrible fate into a comedy one can’t help laughing at. From rudimentary slapstick to well-scripted jokes based on the classic Greek tragedy itself, there was almost certainly a joke for every member of the audience, and many that received universal approval. The music, a truly impressive feature of the show, as much for its comedic value as for the talent of the performers, added some clever “Bond” flavour to the production. Some of the most successful comedy was in fact found in the musical numbers, from “Leprosy’s not funny” to the saxophone soundtrack to incestuous wooing, to the poignant, bittersweet finale. Here especially, Spymonkey test their own theory established in the first half, that it is easy to make people laugh with silliness, but much harder to make them cry. Woven into the famous story are asides from each of the cast, who all have their own backstory to tell; while some of these are more successful than others, there are nevertheless laughs included in many of the moments when they jump out of character, as the audience sees two storylines developing on the same stage. The obvious chemistry between all four actors is a joy to behold, and contributes no end to the ultimate enjoyment of the production.

While they tried their best to maintain the brisk tempo that such comedy requires, some of the asides directed to the audience drag slightly, slowing down a first half that is already perhaps too long. Nevertheless, I have to recommend it as a must-see for fans of fast-paced silliness, Greek tragedy, and dire David Bowie impersonators. If you’re lucky enough to have time for dinner before, the restaurant at the Lyric does a fantastic line in table-sized pizzas to share, and the terrace is a beautiful place to have a quiet drink before or after a show.

Oedipussy runs until the 21 April at the Lyric, book here.

Written by a Thoroughly Modern Man, James Bomford.