Tag Archives: Hope Theatre

CREAM TEA AND INCEST

★★★★

The Hope Theatre

Reviews, , , , , , , ,

CREAM TEA AND INCEST at The Hope Theatre

★★★★

Incest

“a well written piece of fast moving satire “

 

Walking into the Hope Theatre I was a little unsettled about the content of the play I was coming to see. The title of ‘Cream Tea and Incest’ is slightly misleading as it is about neither. What it is though, is a very funny and well crafted production presented by four exceptionally talented actors. Written by and featuring Benjamin Alborough, the play has nods to Jeeves and Wooster in that a rather gormless, but optimistic member of the landed gentry embarks on a series of adventures with his intelligent and loyal valet Jeffrey. Along the way they meet a cast of outrageous characters and experience adventure, murder, romance and some very interesting dancing.

The audience is greeted by seeing Eddie Spangler, (Alborough) respondent in shorts and a barbershop striped jacket, seemingly asleep on a chair that is essentially the main prop on the stage area. Behind him is an interesting wall with artefacts made from corrugated cardboard. It is however, described by Alborough as an effective 2.5 dimensional set. Two of the other characters are within the audience and slowly make themselves known.

The basic story is that Lord Wiggins is set to inherit Rhodesia upon his marriage to the off stage Emily Rhodes but their romance is faltering so Eddie and Jeffrey set out to deal with Wiggins as quickly and violently as possible. Meanwhile the evil Lord Biggins lurks in the shadows with schemes of his own.

The cast of four have clearly worked hard to hone this piece into a sharp and well crafted one. Benjamin Alborough plays Spangler with style; Aidan Cheng is excellent as Wiggins and is also exceptionally funny playing the northern policeman. Edward Spence often steals the stage as the evil Biggins and Eoin McAndrew is the perfect straight man Jeffrey.

This is a fast moving production, driven along by director Benedict Philipp, with a storyline which on occasions did seem a little difficult to follow – but the gags came one after the other to make this a most enjoyable hour at the theatre. Special mention should go to Holly Ellis’ lighting plan that managed to keep up with the requirements of the frenetic pace of the play. The actors seemed to enjoy the play as much as the audience and their hilarious dance routine prompted spontaneous applause. It was brilliantly choreographed by Hector Mitchell Turner and executed to perfection.

The evening had a feel of Edinburgh Fringe about it. In fact the show had a sell out run at the 2017 festival and is booked to return there for a three week run later this year. It is without doubt a well written piece of fast moving satire with perfect comedic timing from an energetic and competent cast. It is a marvellous, though bonkers, anarchic comedy that deserves a sell out run in London.

 

Reviewed by Steve Sparrow

Reviewed – 12th April 2018

Photography by Olivia Rose Deane

 


Cream Tea & Incest

Hope Theatre until 28th April

 

 

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com

 

 

Our Big Love Story – 2 Stars

Reviews, , , , , , , , ,

Big

Our Big Love Story

Hope Theatre

Reviewed – 22nd March 2018

★★

“only manages to prod at each topic when you want it to punch”

 

The events of the 2005 7/7 bombings were a tragic, life changing moment for many Britons. Nearly thirteen years later, with distance it is possible to examine how the lives of British Muslims may have altered alongside the willingness for some to engage with more nationalistic tones. Stephanie Silver’s Our Big Love Story is a piece with ambitious questions. These fly between the rise of racial tension to the struggles of a generation bombarded by suffering. Unfortunately, this show at The Hope Theatre ends up rather thin.

The plot threads between two paths. The first follows a group of four teenagers in the lead up to a house party, full of insecurities around relationships and the constant presence of sex. The second moves away to a teacher present at the attack, and his mental health following his difficulties in dealing with his faith in the wake of devastation.

The trickiness comes from the range of topics that Silver puts into her script, thoughts and ideas that are interesting but fail to delve in with enough complexity to provide any real insight. Characters are broad, clear but quite often flat, motivations shifting instantly to move the plot forward sufficiently. This is combined with an arc that fails to earn any of the redemptive qualities it seems to reach for, lumbered by an unforgiveable act that loses any sympathy for all involved.

Calum Robshaw’s direction is functional but bitty, and can get sucked into the stilted nature of some of the scenes with a lack of drive in enough places to propel us forward as an audience. Gemma Bright-Thomas’ minimal design utilises two frames to imaginatively create the tube, partnering with Rose Hockaday’s lighting design to create a number of locations with minimal fuss.

It is a shame because the cast bring moments in which you feel they could shine. Holly Ashman’s Destiny has spark but cannot hold up stiff dialogue in her relationship with Naina Kohli’s Anjum. Similarly, a monologue from Alex Britt’s Jack provides some reasonably engaging insight but is lumbered in clichéd conversation. It is Osman Baig’s Teacher who suffers most, crippled with monologues that fail to release much and interrupt any dramatic flow.

This is a piece that admirably attempts to cover a huge amount, but only manages to prod at each topic when you want it to punch.

 

Reviewed by Callum McCartney

Photography by Jennifer Evans

 

Hope

Our Big Love Story

Hope Theatre until 7th April

 

 

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com