The Duchess of Buckingham Regrets to Inform You that her Husband is Dead, Paradise in Augustines.
Well one thing is clear – the Duke of Buckingham’s death is a blessing for his bankrupt and money-grabbing wider family. The Duchess will, of course, benefit from his death; but there is a caveat – she must marry a titled person within seven days. If not, the money goes to his social-climbing upstart of a mate, and that’s hardly the way to deal with old money. Ruckus Theatre Company’s Duchess of Buckingham Regrets… has a fun premise and the audience is intrigued to find out how the story resolves itself. Sadly, however, despite a lot of effort and hard work in evidence, the play is neither well-written nor well-acted, apart from a couple of exceptions. Saisha Maynard delivers the best performance as the no-nonsense Kate, and there’s good support from Saraswathi Sukumara as Celia and Niamh Smith as Harry. An engaging story, but it’s not for me.
September 11, 1973: The Day Salvador Allende Died, C Arts C Venues C Aquila.
The overthrow of Chile’s Allende government in 1973 was a pivotal moment in the history of the 20th century. The American-backed Pinochet’s forces wiped out the democratically elected socialist government for purely political motives. But what were Allende’s own personal motives? Was he, in fact, a Marxist ideologist who sought power for the purest of reasons – to further his political beliefs and establish a Marxist Utopia, or was he in it, like so many other politicians, for his simply own power and influence? And did he ignore the poverty of his people because it got in the way of his plans? Luigi Laraia’s intense, thought-provoking play raises the questions of motivation and personal responsibility, and provokes you into wanting to research the history of this period for yourself. Dan Owen is superb as Allende, his clear, resonant voice expressing the power and charisma of the man; and Richard Tanenbaum’s Agent D – his conscience, perhaps? – is brilliant at never letting Allende get away with avoiding his difficult questions and suggestions. A fantastic production, a fascinating play and two excellent performances.
All The Fraudulent Horse Girls, Pleasance Dome.
I can remember horse girls from school. To be honest, most of the girls I knew were horse girls. It would not remotely surprise me to discover that they had a sixth sense and could telepathically connect with their counterparts all over the world, as if participants in some big equine conspiracy theory. Audrey has that ability. It’s so refined that she can spot fake horse girls a mile off. No wonder they don’t want to be her friend. To call Brooklyn Rep’s All the Fraudulent Horse Girls a flight of fantasy is to underestimate the concept of fantasy. From Audrey’s uncontrolled obsession about horses, to her dreaming about Cormac McCarthy’s book All the Pretty Horses, to Audrey’s over-the-top final speech, this is a pot-pourri of unpredictable horsey mayhem which somehow gels together to become a delightfully positive homage to overcoming childhood anxieties, paving the way to becoming a fulfilled responsible adult who then goes and blows an enormous fortune on bringing a show to the Edinburgh Fringe. Tremendous performances by Cazaleon, Beth Graham and Alice Morgan-Richards, the show is accompanied by evocative live music and a whole load of horseplay. Simply irresistible!
Stuart Laws Has to be Joking?, Monkey Barrel Comedy at The Hive 2.
At the start of the show, Stuart Laws uses a set of question cards – the kind that stimulate a conversation when on a first date – to break the ice with the audience. In the past he’s always expected relationships to have a cut-off point when the two people no longer have much left to keep them going. As a result, he has some great material about being long-term single but now in a steady relationship with a serial cheater, the five (or more) reasons for going to the toilet, and a boast that he has been to all seven continents… but has he?? A very engaging and likeable performer, he puts the audience at ease, and even though there is some audience participation it’s never stressful or alarming, always kindly. If you go to bed early, don’t mention it (that’ll make sense if you see his show). A nicely structured and extremely funny set, but, knowing what he’s like with relationships, expect yourself to get dumped at the end.
Best in Class, Laughing Horse at the Three Sisters.
Sian Davies’ Best in Class project is an inspired way of enabling working-class comedians to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe, with all its hidden (and not-so-hidden) hurdles and costs. For our show we had Tasha Cluskey as our host, and what a brilliant host she is. Larger than life and twice as loud, the pride of Romford has an ebullient stage presence who gets to know everyone in the first couple of rows and does an amazing job of putting us at ease, but not without a little merciless teasing first. Our first act was Maxine Wade, a riotously funny comedian, all leopard-skin and blue hair, who delivered her excellent material with punchy confidence and a knowing look. Apparently she’s a nurse in her day job; cue lots of laughs about which plugs she’d be pulling out given the right circumstances. And our other comedian was Sam Ayinde, an imposing guy from Nigeria, but with an even more imposing mum by the sound of it. He also has a strong presence and voice which he uses to tell his string of entertaining anecdotes – although I confess I’m way too old to understand some of his references! Nevertheless, this was a cracking compilation show, creating more laughter than is decent at 7pm on a wet Wednesday.
Josh Jones: Put a Sock in it, Monkey Barrel Comedy at The Tron.
A masterclass in comedy from someone who’s way too young to be a master in anything! Josh’s funny, warm and confiding nature gives us an insight into his life at home in Manchester again after two years in London – some very enjoyable therapy got him out of his depression and now he’s back where he’s happy. Topics up for consideration included the romanticism of grave-sharing, the safety levels of his grandparents still driving, whether it’s better to be Northern or gay (a poisoned chalice question if ever there was one) and the benefits of having your O.B.E. bestowed on you by Queen Camilla. Josh’s style is irresistibly engaging, full of heart and sincerity; one of those comedians whose words you believe implicitly, even if it’s just delivered as part of a funny line. One of the best comedians out there!