Raindance: Dance the night away

Approaching closing night, the 33rd Raindance Film Festival continues with a range of fascinating independent films. I'm running a bit behind on reviewing them, but I'll catch up this weekend with a final post. Here are three films that take very different looks at love and community. And my Critical Week is below...

Somewhere in Love [Une Vie Rêvée]
dir-scr Morgan Simon; with Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Felix Lefebvre 24/Fr ***.
Warm and full of life, this French drama follows a woman who finds herself in a difficult situation but refuses to give up. Writer-director Morgan Simon sets this out as a slice-of-life character study about a mother and son, using a realistically sparky humour and emotions. The narrative structure contrives to create some drama, but there's something more intriguing, and remarkably hopeful, going on under the surface.

If You Should Leave Before Me
dir-scr The Andersons; with Shane P Allen, John Wilcox 25/US ***
While this low-budget comedy-drama feels rather deliberately offbeat, it's also warm and observant as it explores things that remain unspoken between a middle-aged couple. Filmmakers Boyd and Markus Anderson ambitiously use colourful hand-made effects, visual flourishes and goofy jokes to tell interwoven stories that touch on love and death. With its overriding existential afterlife narrative, there's plenty to chew on, even if the movie feels indulgent and overlong.

Flamingo Camp
dir Chris Coats; with Nova, Poe, Cecil, Emmit 25/US ***.
Chronicling life for a group of people who live far off the grid, this openly emotional documentary observes residents of a colourful queer community in the California desert. It starts as a slice of life before turning into something much darker and more intense, as an eerily predictable tragedy strains relationships and opens wounds. This creates a loose narrative that's fascinating, largely because the setting is so unusual.

Full reviews of festival films will be linked here in due course: SHADOWS @ RAINDANCE >

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C R I T I C A L  W E E K

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Sorry, Baby • Ponyboi
Rent Free • Wolf and Dog
ALL REVIEWS >

The big movie this week is F1 starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, a viscerally whizzy blockbuster with a script that never even remotely surprises us. River Gallo and Dylan O'Brien are excellent in the dark drama Ponyboi, even when it turns into a thriller. The indie comedy Rent Free takes an offbeat look at friendship that's funny and thought provoking. I also attended the premiere for the TV series Too Much, complete with a Q&A featuring creator Lena Dunham and stars Megamn Stalter and Will Sharpe, plus a very starry party. And I saw three live performances: Quadrophenia at Sadler's Wells, Jonah Non Grata at Soho Theatre and Botis Seva's Until We Sleep at Sadler's Wells East.

This coming week I'll be finishing up Raindance movies and also watching Charlize Theron in The Old Guard 2, Jon Cena and Idris Elba in Heads of State, David Cronenberg's The Shrouds, Sam Riley in Islands and a couple of live shows: Otto & Astrid: The Stage Tour at Jackson's Lane and Kiki & Herb Are Trying at Soho Theatre Walthamstow.

Dance: Defying gravity in the gloom

Botis Seva / Far From The Norm
Until We Sleep
choreographer-director Botis Seva
dancers Victoria Shulungu, Jordan Douglas, Larissa Koopman, Margaux Pourpoint, Rose Sall Sao, Naïma Souhaïr, Joshua Shanny Wynters
music Torben Sylvest
costumes Ryan Dawson-Laight • lighting Tom Visser
Sadler's Wells East, Stratford • 24-28.Jun.25 ★★★★

Choreographer Botis Seva and his Dagenham hip hop theatre company Far From The Norm bring this astonishing production to the stage in a way that creates a mesmerising dark cavern out of the deep rake at Sadler's Wells East. Because the set is drenched in smoke, the audience never quite gets a clear view of the seven dancers. And there's not even a curtain call. But the movement and staging are dazzlingly conceived and performed to create a powerfully involving look at mortality.

Because of the smoke, the lighting can quickly shift the stage from inky blackness into a shimmering glare. And a series of tall angled rods along the periphery look like a wall or bars around a cage until they begin to light up, shimmering on their own to add colours and create what appear to be doorways between dimensions. Most impressive, and impactful, is how the lights, music and movement are so precisely connected to hit the audience. Indeed, Torben Sylvest's soundscape-style score pulses with deep bass vibrations that literally rattle us to the core. The effect is almost overwhelming, a skilful display of stagecraft on every level. 

The dancers circle around the imposing figure of Victoria Shulungu, who takes the lead role as she faces a mysterious being who appears to be beckoning her from the afterlife. Her yearning desperation drives the narrative, pulling us into each encounter with the other gifted dancers. Sometimes these are tender and hopeful, and at other times menacing as elements of horror and violence heighten the tone. The performers expertly deploy bouncing, tightly contained movements that shift from individualistic to coordinated group expression.

This gravity-defying choreography continually takes us aback, evoking powerfully visceral emotions with military-style actions that explode into darkly unnerving moments such as an active-shooter incident. Each sequence carries a strong kick, including slow-motion walking that seems to be battling against the wind. Costumes have a post-apocalyptic feel, augmented by the way they remain hidden by the murkiness. It's the kind of show that holds us very tightly in its grip over the course of an hour, conveying feelings rather than openly stating ideas. And it leaves us reeling in all the right ways. 

For info, SADLER'S WELLS > 

photos by Tom Visser • 24.Jun.25

Raindance: Find your family

The 33rd Raindance Film Festival continues in central London, with a programme of amazing independent films that you're unlikely to see anywhere else. There's also a chance to mix with the filmmakers in ways that are far more relaxed than most festivals, including workshops and panel discussions at the festival's super-cool headquarters right next to Bafta on Piccadilly. Here are comments about three properly chilling movies I've seen over the past couple of days. More to come...

Dirty Boy
dir-scr Doug Rao; with Stan Steinbichler, Graham McTavish 24/UK ***.
Dark and brooding, this shadowy thriller opens with glimpses of nutty, violent religious rituals as seen through the eyes of a young man who knows he's unhinged. Writer-director Doug Rao makes clever use of effects to add freak-out flourishes alongside glorious Austrian landscapes that echo with The Sound of Music. All of this plays out in a way that's over-serious and sometimes ponderous. But it's impossible to look away.

Our Happy Place
dir-scr Paul Bickel; with Raya Miles, Paul Bickel 24/US ****
Opening with an intense swirl of home-movie clips, this increasingly gruesome horror is assembled with remarkable skill, making terrific use of Californian mountain locations. Along with the spurts of jarring editing, actor-filmmaker Paul Bickel also grounds everything in an eerie emotional honesty regarding love and mortality. So as the film encompasses elements of ghost stories and slasher movies, it also becomes a staggeringly twisted exploration of subconscious fears... FULL REVIEW >

Row
dir Matthew Losasso; with Bella Dayne, Sophie Skelton 25/UK ***
With visceral cinematography by Zoran Veljkovic, this hushed thriller skilfully pulls the audience into its chilly, windswept North Atlantic locations. Even with the fragmented, out-of-sequence editing, director Matthew Losasso manages to build a creeping sense of dread by revealing that this story will turn very grisly along the way. There are logic and point-of-view problems in the indulgently overlong running time, but the unfolding central mystery remains compelling.

Full reviews of festival films will be linked here in due course: SHADOWS @ RAINDANCE >

Stage: We're all perfectly safe

Jonah Non Grata
written and performed by Simon Kane
Soho Theatre, London • 21.Jun.25 ★★★★

It's been nearly a decade since Simon Kane last performed his show Jonah Non Grata, but be brought it to Soho Theatre for one night on midsummer as a preview before its run at this year's Edinburgh Fringe. There's a reason why this show has such a following: it's a near-perfect display of surrealist comedy, brain-bending and utterly hilarious in ways that feel downright biblical.

That's of course intentional, as the title suggests, as does a scattering of fish on the floor of the theatre. The topic here is extremism, but it is presented in such an original way that it sneaks up on us, kind of like Kane first appears from inside a shopping bag then continues to produce random props from his pockets. His presentation has a disarming puppy-dog charm to it, so we hang on his every earnest word, even when he begins to evoke the tone of British folk horror movies with his religious pronouncements. This includes leading the audience in the singing of the hymn O Spanky Axe.

There's a lot of audience interaction along the way, which gives the show an improvisational kick and adds to Kane's conversational tone. One audience member reads out passages from a choose-your-own-adventure novel, as Kane urges all of us to be unanimous in our decisions about what to do next. Or at least to try. Yes, this is an exploration of the choices people make, changing destinies and more in the process. And while there seems to be some sort of linear path to the narrative, the absurdity of it all keeps us on our toes.

Kane's clownish physicality makes superbly inventive use of old and new technology. He continually tries to put on a blindfold, but can't bear it. He draws X's on pieces of paper and encourages us to see something else. And he continually alludes to an outside force that is pushing him. This leads to a segment in which he mimes travelling on a plane before being swallowed by a whale. All of this is very funny, simply because Kane plays it with such conviction. It's a skilful performance that brings out hauntingly deep, dark ideas about humanity in unimaginably amusing style.

For info: LONDON CLOWN FESTIVAL > 

21.Jun.25

Raindance: Take your shot

The 33rd Raindance Film Festival kicked off on Wednesday with the world premiere of the British drama Heavyweight and a properly epic afterparty at with special honours were presented to screen icons Celia Imrie and Jason Isaacs. The festival runs over the next 10 days with a flurry of independent films. I'm trying to limit how many I watch, aiming for one per day. So here are the first two...

Heavyweight
dir-scr Christopher M Anthony; with Jordan Bolger, Nicholas Pinnock 25/UK ****
Unfolding in real time and largely in a single room, like a stage play, this British boxing drama has a propulsive pace as it traces the run-up to a championship bout. Writer-director Christopher Anthony keeps the tension high with edgy dialog, beefy performances, prowling camerawork and a churning underscore. The sheer machismo on display is perhaps a bit exhausting, but it's balanced by a terrific sense of underlying emotion.

A Cell Phone Movie
dir-scr Will Sterling; with Will Sterling, Tessa Glanville 25/US ****
As the title indicates, this meta-comedy was shot on a mobile phone. It looks great, skilfully filmed in wide-screen and sharply well-edited too. Actor-filmmaker Will Sterling is a charming lead, and the comedy is warm and off-the-cuff, with a continual stream of witty gags about trying to make a no-budget movie. Even more engaging are the thoughtfully serious sequences that dig deeper into the characters and situations.

Full reviews of festival films will be linked here in due course: SHADOWS @ RAINDANCE >

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C R I T I C A L  W E E K

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Red Path • 28 Years Later
Love & Rage: Munroe Bergdorf
ALL REVIEWS >

This week I got to attend the glamorous world premiere of Jurassic World: Rebirth, with the full cast and crew in attendance, including Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali. And the film is great fun. The new Pixar animation Elio is an enjoyable if familiar space romp, but it's packed with dazzling touches. Danny Boyle and Alex Garland are back with 28 Years Later, a superbly ripping addition to the franchise. John Travolta stars in the wobbly but watchable caper comedy High Rollers. Harry Melling and Caleb Landry Jones lead the cast of Scottish period weirdness Harvest, which struggles to make its point. Writer-director Eva Victor stars with Naomi Ackie in the beautifully written and directed Sorry, Baby, putting a truthful spin on a big event. Leonie Benesch is excellent as an overworked nurse in the expertly shot Swiss drama Late Shift. And the properly stunning Tunisian drama Red Path tells a riveting true story with power and emotion. I also attended the opening night cabaret for this year's London Clown Festival

This coming week there are many more films at Raindance, plus Brad Pitt in F1, Dylan O'Brien in Ponyboi, the indie comedy Rent Free, the French comedy Colours of Time and the Colombian drama Salt Water, plus the premiere for Lena Dunham's TV series Too Much and three live performances: Quadrophenia at Sadler's Wells, Jonah Non Grata at Soho Theatre and Botis Seva's Until We Sleep at Sadler's Wells East.

Stage: Send in the clowns

London Clown Festival 2025
hosts Dan Lees and Neil Frost, aka The Establishment
with Sarah Woolfenden, Tom Penn, Julie Nesher, Josh Glanc, Lil Wenker, Rob Duncan, Paulina Lenoir, Patricia Langa
Soho Theatre, Jackson's Lane and other venues • 16.Jun-4.Jul.25 ★★★

This year's London Clown Festival, an annual event that previews shows that will be playing the Edinburgh Fringe, kicked off with a rather uneven two-hour cabaret that unfolded in typically riotous style at Soho Theatre's Upstairs space. The evening was hosted by the Establishment (Dan Lees and Neil Frost), adept goofballs who continually ask the audience if we think the show has started yet. Their rolling improv is properly nutty, as they decide on songs to sing, impersonations to perform, news headlines to read, games to play and audience members to play with.

The first act is Sarah Woolfenden, painted and dressed in white as she surreally wanders around the stage urging the audience to embrace the clown within. She then takes her place in the house band, alongside Lees, Tom Penn and Julie Nesher. Their music has a wonderfully bouncy rhythm to it, and Sarah provides all manner of noises, whistles and horns. They accompany most of the acts that follow, including Josh Glanc, who charges through his hilariously awkward material, singing a series of very similar songs while taking on audience members who challenge him. This makes his set feel somewhat tense, as if it is spiralling out of control, but his scrappy charm keeps us on his side.

Up next is the baddest man in Texas (Lil Wenker), a strutting Wild West drag king with a Groucho moustache and cigar, plus spoons on their ankles. With a flirtatious and very silly attitude, he uses his growly voice to get audience members to repeat key phrases that then play out in an epic story. It's utterly ridiculous, and very funny. And now it's Rob Duncan, who triumphantly introduces himself as having been crowned Printer of the Year, then launches into an absurd demonstration of performance printing. This involves two portable printers that spew out pages that feed into his punchlines, just like magic! Indeed, he even prints a rabbit from his hat.

Emerging on his own, the band's bassist Penn takes the stage dressed as a chef wearing a set of red curtains (complete with the rod), singing and dancing, before his manager-wife Nesher emerges perched on his back to take over the show. Their goofy act is packed with riotous sight gags as they dive into one random joke after another. 

And finally we have Conchita and Lola, or Conchola, freaky flamenco-style black widows played by Paulina Lenoir and Patricia Langa. They speak in eerie unison, perhaps the least improvisational act of the night, as they recount the epic saga of their witchy lives and deaths. Their hyper-dramatic performance is hugely amusing, as they stare down the audience and perform their nutty choreography.

All of these acts and many more are performing in the festival. For info, see LONDON CLOWN FESTIVAL >

See also: notes from the 2024 CABARET > 

Soho Theatre, 16.Jun.25

Critical Week: Always say yes

After wrapping up the first SXSW London festival over the weekend, I had a flurry of screenings to keep me busy this week. This included the action comedy Deep Cover, with Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom and Nick Mohammed as improv comics on police business in the London underworld. It's ridiculous but a lot of fun. Even more absurd was the silly action romp Shadow Force, rescued by the sheer charm of Kerry Washington and Omar Sy as parents with secret black ops skills, pulled back into the mayhem. The tired premise nearly sinks it, but the actors make it watchable, including a villainous Mark Strong.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Tornado
Love & Rage: Munroe Bergdorf
ALL REVIEWS >

The week's other big screening was the live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon, which looked amazing on a huge Imax screen. While not strictly necessary, the film is still rousing enough to be worth a look. Karan Soni and Jonathan Groff star in the romantic comedy A Nice Indian Boy, which is funny, engaging and delightfully pointed. The French romcom Jane Austen Wrecked My Life takes a low-key approach to its engagingly astute story of a blocked writer. Shakespeare's classic is reimagined as a lavishly produced pop musical for Juliet & Romeo, simplifying things in the process, but remaining entertaining too. And the clearly low-budget independent drama Franklin centres on two aspiring actors in Los Angeles as they navigate career and love-life issues.

I also attended the premiere of the third season of Squid Game, which included a terrific on-stage Q&A with stars Lee Jung-Jae, Lee Byung-hun and Park Gyuyoung, plus creator Hwang Dong-hyuk. And the dance show Inside Giovanni's Room, based on the landmark James Baldwin novel, was simply gorgeous at Sadler's Wells East.

This coming week will be rather busy with the Pixar animation Elio, Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth, John Travolta in High Rollers, Harry Melling in Harvest, Naomi Ackie in Sorry Baby, Leonie Benesch in Late Shift and the Tunisian drama Red Path, plus the first week of movies at the 33rd Raindance Film Festival and the annual opening night cabaret for the London Clown Festival.