★★★★

“a wholesome and welcoming atmosphere which continues into the bar after curtain-down”

Theatre has long benefitted from pop stardom. Whether by using featured artists to draw in the crowds, or more directly providing the soundtrack to the drama. Hits & Pieces from Matchstick Theatre Company draws on this happy relationship by asking four writers to create a 15 minute piece related to a pop song.

Previous selections have included Sisqo’s Thong Song, Don McLean’s American Pie, and Meat Loaf’s I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That). This time, the song of choice is the Spice Girls iconic hit Wannabe – scientifically proven to be the most recognisable and catchy pop song of the last 60 years (look it up!).

Each writer can interpret the cue in whatever way their heart desires – leading to some quite surprising results. Matchstick Theatre Company member, writer and director Mark Daniels also acts as MC for the evening, creating a delightfully homespun atmosphere.

‘Gotta Get with my Friends’ written by Sophie Underwood kicks off the proceedings with a totally whacky, conceptual take on the theme. We meet a couple in crisis, played by Emma Read and Aaron Phinehas Peters, who need a shock to get the blood pumping in their relationship again. But her suggestion of an orgy with her best friends is not the most outlandish idea she has to get them to open up to each other. Kooky in theme and performance, including the bizarre use of vegetable props that are very visibly not what the actors are saying they are, it’s a bold start to the night with a very left-field interpretation of the piece’s title.

‘Ginger’, written by Annette Brook and performed by Roli Okorodudu, is a gear change towards a dose of realism. Okorodudu plays a woman who stumbles upon a queue of other women waiting for their chance to audition for a Spice Girls tribute act. After being assumed to be there for the part of Scary Spice, she muses on why she can’t be Ginger who aligns more with her own conception of herself, rather than just how she is perceived as a black woman in the world. It’s a confidently relaxed and laid-back performance with Okorodudu’s dry delivery enhancing Brook’s wittily written script.

After a short break Emma Read is back, this time as writer of ‘Tomorrow Land Tomorrow Land Tomorrow Land (It Never Ends)’. It’s a brilliant piece of comic misdirection, skilfully performed by Niall Hemmingway and Aisling Groves-McKeown. Groves-McKeown is a highly strung TV producer trying to capture Hemmingway’s experience of being part of a cult, but things aren’t quite as they seem. You’d be hard-pressed to see the link to the song choice of the evening with this one – but that does at least mean the night benefits from variety.

The final piece of the programme is the only one that really deals in the 90’s nostalgia one might have expected. However, writer Mark Daniels takes a unique perspective in the piece ‘Friendship Never Ends’ – that of a pencil case. Ails Duff and Zahra Jennings-Grant are Pencil and Rubber, two items in a woman’s Spice Girls themed pencil case that has been left in a cupboard for twenty years finally being taken off the shelf. Their personification and memories of a well-spent youth will delight any Toy Story fans – as well as the pencil case themed puns.

Matchstick Theatre Company does well to create a sense of community in this short evening of works. The involvement of various Company and cast members as writers, directors and actors, creates a spirit of collaboration for this cabaret-style entertainment. Coupled with audience engagement through polls and suggestions for future song-themes, it’s a wholesome and welcoming atmosphere which continues into the bar after curtain-down with a 90’s themed playlist. You’re gonna ‘Wannabe’ at the next event to check it out.

GISELLE: REMIX at the Pleasance Theatre

★★★★★

“a must-see – a piece of queer performance that is not to be missed”

Adolphe Adam’s romantic ballet Giselle tells the story of a young peasant girl who falls in love with the disguised duke, Albrecht. Driven mad by the revelation of his true identity, Giselle joins the deadly sisterhood of the Wilis, the ghosts of spurned women who seek revenge on their former lovers by dancing men to their deaths. GISELLE: REMIX – created by Jack Sears and Hannah Grennell and produced by Molly McGeachin at The Project People – reworks these universal themes of love and the loss of innocence through a queer perspective, reimagining Giselle (Sears) as a heartbroken queer individual who turns to the community’s sometimes overly sexual nightlife to satisfy their need for belonging.

Accompanied by a lively dance troupe (Harri Eiffert, Elle Fierce, Spike King and Marie Astrid Mence), Giselle explores her feelings of shame, assimilation and anger before eventually finding comfort in the camaraderie of the queer community, looking up to her elders and setting an example of queer joy and liberation for the next generation.

GISELLE: REMIX is a tour de force of lip sync, comedy, dance and cabaret. The choreography – a collaboration between Sears, Grennell and the troupe – is truly wonderful. The cast’s energy is incredible – the dancers writhe around the stage with outstanding finesse and Sears provides a powerful focal point. A particular highlight is a highly erotic dance to Anal Sex by Only Fire – the cast move seamlessly together, using their few bodies to successfully create the feeling of a packed, sweaty club. The production is accompanied by a brilliant soundtrack of queer icons and hyperpop bangers from Natalie Cole to the late SOPHIE.

The show features some wonderfully playful sound design (Rhys Cook AKA Oberon White) – most memorable being a hilarious mashup between sounds from male gay porn and famous declarations of love from television and film. The lighting (Lucy Adams) is masterfully atmospheric – it changes flawlessly between scenes and the mood on stage.

The set (Blythe Brett) is very plain – a round stage that has audience seated at its very edges for maximum engagement opportunities. There are no props and only rare appearances from a stool. Good use however is made of the stages various entrances and exits – the troupe regularly disappear and reappear from a staircase at the back of the stage as well as tumbling from the left, right and back for more dynamic entrances.

The costumes (Laura Rose Moran-Morris) are well conceived. The cast begin wearing soft pastels and tulle ballerina skirts before casting these off in favour of leather and fetish wear. Their movements also change significantly throughout the show – what was once smooth is now erratic; Giselle’s innocence from the opening scenes completely discarded. Sears puts on an especially amazing performance when dressed in a gimp suit, lip syncing aggressively to a rather frightening audio about various fetishes. Positioned on all fours, he bangs and grips the floor and fabric around him, violently ejecting a near-nonsensical stream of conscious.

My only criticism is that of the guest performer. Each show is to feature a guest performer – Kit Green, Jonny Woo, or Lavinia Co-op – depending on the date and the foremost present for press night. GISELLE: REMIX began with a lip sync from Green that was unfortunately wholly lacklustre.

Their choice of song was far too slow and though they injected some humour through breaking their lip sync and requesting the audience undress them, their asides were lost on anyone not in the very front row. Their performance was also quickly forgotten when the commanding stage presence of Sears and the captivating movement of the dance troupe took over. Green appeared again at the very end of the show – offering a comforting hand to Giselle-cum-Sears as they realised the power in standing united with your fellow marginalised people, but their particular presence added no real value. Hopefully, subsequent guests bring a matching vigour to the show.

GISELLE: REMIX is a must-see – a piece of queer performance that is not to be missed. It is exciting to think of what Sears, Grennell and The Project People may do next.

HITS AND PIECES #5 (SPICE GIRLS) at the Cockpit

★★★★

“a wholesome and welcoming atmosphere which continues into the bar after curtain-down”

HITS AND PIECES #5 (SPICE GIRLS) at the Cockpit

Reviewed on 14th April 2024

by Amber Woodward

Photography by Natasha Vasandani

Previously reviewed at this venue:

HITS AND PIECES

HITS AND PIECES

GISELLE: REMIX at the Pleasance Theatre

★★★★★

“a must-see – a piece of queer performance that is not to be missed”

GISELLE: REMIX at the Pleasance Theatre

Reviewed on 12th April 2024

by Flora Doble

Photography by Ali Wright

Previously reviewed at this venue:

GISELLE: REMIX

GISELLE: REMIX