★★★★

“A disturbing experience but a pleasure to witness the stagecraft”

There are some stories that shock because of their subject matter and some that are disturbing due to the knowledge that they are true. Claudio Macor’s one-act play, “Savage”, has both of those qualities. And more. One minute we feel as though we are in a horror fantasy spoof (the psychotic doctor injecting monkey testosterone into an innocent victim’s testicles), the next we are watching a searingly tender love story.

There are further layers added – some explored with deeper insight than others – as we are transported back to 1940s Denmark during the Nazi German occupation. Macor takes us beyond the stolen kisses in darkened doorways into what was really going on behind those doors. And although a screen shields the operating table, we can clearly see the vicious cogs that powered this savage regime. Danish born Nikolai Bergsen (Kerill Kelly) and American Zack Travis (Matthew Hartley) meet at the notorious Corner Light Club in Copenhagen, a place under constant watch by the Schutzstaffel (Hitler’s paramilitary police) for evidence of the “disease” of homosexuality. Late one night, Nikolai is picked up, beaten up and dragged into Nazi sympathiser Dr Vaernet’s surgery for the so-called corrective treatment that will cure him of his ‘sickness’. It is a Kafkaesque scenario that beggars belief – the temptation to storm the stage and intervene is strong, such is the authenticity of the performances.

Both Kelly and Hartley capture the mix of passion and danger inherent in their love affair with enough realism to suggest that it might not survive the forces that oppose it. Mark Kitto’s Dr Vaernet cuts a gruesomely sadistic figure made more horrific by his detached coolness and willingness to kowtow to the SS. His assistant nurse, Ilse (played with a potent stillness by Claire-Monique Martin), is all subservience on the outside, but inside the fire of resistance burns passionately below the skin. Meanwhile Tom Everatt is the symbol of oppression in the form of Obergruppenführer General Heinrich von Aeschelman – a nasty piece of work. Reflecting Macor’s writing, Everatt’s performance borders on comedy, strengthening the cynical, satirical parody that is warranted.

There are dark secrets – that I won’t spoil for you. Jonathon Nielsen-Keen is a striking presence as drag cabaret artist Georg Jensen, who rises above victimhood to expose the hypocrisy and deadly double standards of the authorities. Rounding off the impressive ensemble is Simon Chappell’s Major Hemingway whose late appearance in the story in no way undermines his importance.

Macor beautifully marries the tenderness with the savagery, and the skill of the writing is in the detail. Callous asides speak volumes. “The cure will make more space for the Jews” is the appallingly sickening justification for the rush to free up the camps. Lines like these are simultaneously easy yet impossible to miss in the dialogue that is finely researched. Last staged in London ten years ago, Macor has shortened his script into a finely honed drama, condensing the action into one act. It is an important and frightening piece of history that, in this team’s hands, doesn’t come across as a documentary. Director Robert McWhir’s simple staging allows the emotion to shine without overshadowing the brutal reality of the events. Aaron Clingham’s music provides an authentic sense of the period while Richard Lambert’s minimal lighting enhances the stark atmosphere – although the use of two small, flat-screen monitors to pinpoint the various settings is unnecessary, and anachronistically out of place.

Perhaps a little too much pruning has taken place. There are times when we feel the characters could be explored even further. But on balance, Macor has pretty much hit the spot. A succinct epilogue reminds us of the cold fact that this is a true story. A disturbing experience but a pleasure to witness the stagecraft. Heart-breaking and savage, it would be a crime to overlook.

THE LIAR, THE BITCH AND THE WARDROBE

Union Theatre

★★★

“the overall effect is chaotic in a largely positive way”

There are few tasks in theatre more thankless than performing panto to a press-night crowd: a regiment of grey-faced curmudgeons who ration their laughs like wartime sugar and offer all the bounce-back of a soggy mince pie.

Even so, the rambunctious cast of The Liar, The Bitch & The Wardrobe, the adult seasonal panto at the Union Theatre, generate enough camp voltage to send C.S. Lewis spinning like a gigawatt turbine.

And spin he would. Devout Lewis would likely gasp at what writer Joshua Coley has done to his beloved tale, steeped as it is in Christian mythology. Here, heroes Peter (James Georgiou) and Edward (Joe Pieri) are aged up appropriately and reimagined not as brothers but as lovers, recast as the romantic leads of this messy but sweet adventure.

Familiar staples get similarly anarchic makeovers: Mr Tumnus becomes Mr Topless, while Aslan transforms into Arselan, a mythical lion sporting a BBL and the attitude to match. The cast lean into the absurdity with relish — Katie Ball’s multi-rolling is a particular delight, full of sharp physicality and crisp character work — but it’s Tom Duern who consistently walks away with scenes in his back pocket. As resident dame The Tight Bitch, he gurns, pouts, spars with the audience and belts his numbers with aplomb. It’s a performance that knows exactly what show it’s in and how far to push it, even when the crowd doesn’t always return the energy.

As a panto, it arrives armed with all the expected trimmings. There’s pop culture references, (some niche enough that only the terminally online would fully get) audience participation (this writer was hauled onstage for an excruciating dance — which I promise isn’t influencing the score…), and musical numbers that come thick and fast: Beyoncé riffs, Matilda nods, a splash of Defying Gravity, plus rewritten hits from Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and more. All four performers are capable singers, though the sound mix occasionally betrays them, with vocals swallowed by overly dominant backing tracks.

The material feels at its strongest when it toys with panto convention and then gleefully subverts it. Though a recurring issue is the script’s reluctance to trust its audience: some jokes are glib references rushed through rather than actual punchlines, while others are hammered a beat too long, over-explaining what would have landed better if left to breathe.

Supported by sharp sound design from Josh Mroczynski — whose recurring audio gags escalate beautifully — the cast make the most of what their creative team provides. Sasha Regan’s direction and choreography give the set pieces real lift, while Janet Huckle’s costumes chart the show’s camp excesses with wit and flair. Reuben Speed’s set offers a pleasingly ramshackle playground; at times the panto looks like a hodgepodge hastily stuck together, and the ladder used in one musical number seems borrowed from a decorator’s van, but that scrappiness quickly becomes part of its charm.

There are momentum stumbles, and moments where the script can’t quite keep up with the cast’s gusto, but the overall effect is chaotic in a largely positive way. And for all its rough-and-ready edges, it’s worth remembering that panto is a far slicker business than it pretends to be. Even at their most ramshackle, productions like this rely on tight cues, rapid character swaps and physical comedy that only works with real discipline. The Liar, The Bitch & The Wardrobe is a testament to that craft — both in its brightest moments and in the occasional weak spots that remind you how demanding the form truly is.

Even the dourest critic was laughing and cheering by the finale, which ends in a triumphant burst of queer joy — fitting for a panto that doesn’t so much open the closet door as kick it clean off its hinges.

Tag Archives: Janet Huckle

SAVAGE

★★★★

White Bear Theatre

SAVAGE

White Bear Theatre

★★★★

“A disturbing experience but a pleasure to witness the stagecraft”

SAVAGE

White Bear Theatre

Reviewed on 27th February 2026

by Jonathan Evans

Savage

Savage

Savage

THE LIAR, THE BITCH AND THE WARDROBE

★★★

Union Theatre

THE LIAR, THE BITCH AND THE WARDROBE

Union Theatre

★★★

“the overall effect is chaotic in a largely positive way”