Stage: Finding connections

Strangers in Between
by Tommy Murphy
director Adam Spreadbury-Maher
with Alex Ansdell, Matthew Mitcham, Stephen Connery-Brown
design David Shields
music Aaron Climgham
lighting Richard Lambert
Golden Goose Theatre, Camberwell • 19.Sep-7.Oct.23 ★★★★

While Tommy Murphy's 2005 play is now a nostalgic period piece, it also continues to powerfully capture the community between three very different people who find themselves creating an offbeat family unit. So while it's set in a specific place and time, what it reveals about the queer subculture continues to resonate, especially as it sensitively explores issues of internalised homophobia.

It's set in Sydney's once-rough Kings Cross suburb, as runaway teen Shane (Ansdell) finds a job in a bottle shop and begins to learn about life in the city and also explore the world as a young gay man. He flirts awkwardly with customer Will (Mitcham), beginning a tentative relationship. And older customer Peter (Connery-Brown) befriends Shane as well, showing him the ropes. As the months pass, Shane begins to confront his past, most notably his sometimes violent relationship with his brother Ben (also Mitcham), and he also begins to plot a way forward with the help of his new friends.

Focussed on Shane's inner journey, the play is structured in a series of scenes that offer insight into his personality and emotional life, revealing some seriously frightening mood swings that are a result of damage inflicted by both child abuse and societal prejudice. This emerges dangerously in the hatred he has for himself, frightened of what his sexuality means. So while the play unfolds with lightly comical elements, the dialog is often piercingly intense.

Ansdell is excellent in a demanding role as a lost boy trying to find his footing in a place that scares him. Even in some shocking mood swings, his open-handed performance is hugely sympathetic, offering beautiful connections with the other actors. Connery-Brown brings just the right balance of pathos and sassiness to Peter, a middle-aged man who is world-weary but still kicking. And Mitcham has a terrific matter-of-fact physicality as the muscly Will, a young guy who is confident in who he is, but perhaps sees something worth pursuing in Shane. 

The intimate staging at the Golden Goose uses lighting and cleverly designed sets to pull the audience into the deeper issues the play is grappling with, never becoming preachy or sentimental. Detailed touches in the direction, such as food preparation and working taps, add a zing of connection. Perhaps the only thing missing is some more honest lustiness, as the one sex scene is played coyly for laughs. But the nakedly emotional final moments are gorgeous. 

For information, GOLDEN GOOSE THEATRE >

photos by Peter Davies • 30.Sep.23

Dance: A defiant cry for peace

Kyiv City Ballet: A Tribute to Peace
director Ivan Kozlov
dancers Oksana Bondarenko, Vladyslav Bosenko, Mykyta Chudovsky, Stella Fedorovych, Kateryna Floria, Andrii Havryliuk, Larysa Hrytsai, Kristina Kadashevych, Mykhailo Shcherbakov, Yevhenii Sheremet, Artem Shoshyn
Peacock Theatre, London • 26-30.Sep.23

The Kyiv City Ballet were on a three-week tour in France when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and they have been in exile ever since. Their aim is to share a message of peace through their performances, and this programme is a superb mix of greatest hits-style pieces, focussing on classical ballet but adding in touches of modern dance and folkloric tradition as well. It's a bit fragmented, but packed with wonderful performances.

The company has a bright, youthful energy as they leap and spin spectacularly through pieces that were largely conceived and choreographed by Russian ballet icons, which allows the entire show to boldly defy politics. The stage is bare, with projected backdrops and elaborate costumes that set the various scenes. Then in the middle there's an emotionally resonant visual tour of the company's beloved hometown.

Dance highlights include an expressionistic pas-de-deux to Mascagni in Servant of the Muse featuring Floria and Shoshin as a couple pushing and pulling in a beautiful, sexy struggle for power. The show's star, Floria also shines in a moving solo piece from Minkus' La Bayadere that's moody, impressively athletic and very emotional. And she's even more stunning in a gorgeous performance to Saint-Saens in The Dying Swan. Her full-on physicality is simply astonishing.

There's also a flourish of comedy as Greek gods Kadashevych and Sheremet try to one-up each other to the escalating beat of Sirtaki. There are also a couple of pieces styled after traditional Ukrainian dance, including a Chudovsky's solo and a gloriously engaging all-male dance battle-style finale. And there are nods to flamenco and Bollywood, Beethoven and Elgar, accompanied by a range of moods from playful to swoony. All of which makes this a thoroughly enjoyable sampler of this company's considerable talents.

For details, SADLER'S WELLS >  

photos by Andy Weekes, Tom Arber • 27.Sep.23

Critical Week: Making Music

We're charging into both festival and awards seasons here in London at the moment, led by the London Film Festival and followed by a flurry of niche festivals over the coming months. And the movie awards season is already underway as my inbox fills with for-your-consideration emails. But this means I can finally start catching up on the year's high-profile movies. And with the writer's strike settled, we can hope the actor's reach an agreement soon so red carpets can get back to their former glitz. 

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
The Old Oak • Flora and Son
The Exorcist: 50th Anniversary
PERHAPS AVOID:
The Plus One
The Re-Education of Molly Singer
ALL REVIEWS >

Films this week included John Carney's latest gorgeous music-infused Irish drama Flora and Son, starring Eve Hewson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (above). I attended the very cool UK premiere of Gareth Edwards' The Creator, a hugely involving and expertly made sci-fi thriller with John David Washington and a wonderfully villainous Allison Janney. And Benicio Del Toro is excellent in the crime drama Reptile, an overlong plod livened up by strong performances. 

For the youngsters, there was a return to Robert Rodriguez's franchise with the enjoyably silly reboot Spy Kids: Armageddon and the animated adventure Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie, which only very young viewers will love. There were two American comedies: The Plus One is a destination wedding comedy, while The Re-Education of Molly Singer is a back-to-university romp. Both have their moments, but aren't original or funny enough to stand out. 

I also attended the lively world premiere of I Am Urban, an authentically gritty 1990s-set British true-life drama that's more experimental than narratively engaging. This year's Palme d'Or winner Anatomy of a Fall is a riveting drama starring the magnificent Sandra Huller. The lovely Sundance award winner Smoke Sauna Sisterhood is a powerful doc featuring Estonian women ... naked. And finally there was the Kyiv City Ballet's Tribute to Peace at the Peacock Theatre.

This coming week looks just as busy, with the 50-years-later sequel The Exorcist: Believer, Emerald Fennell's Saltburn, David Fincher's The Killer, British comedy Mind-Set and acclaimed doc The Eternal Memory, plus even more as the 67th London Film Festival kicks off next Wednesday.

Shadows @ Fragments

Fragments Festival
28.Sep-1.Oct.23
at the Genesis Cinema, London #Fragments2023

Fragments features, shorts and events that are inclusive and accessible. Audience awards are presented for best feature, short and young filmmaker...

Opening film: 
The Old Oak
dir Ken Loach; with Dave Turner, Ebla Mari 23/UK ****
Ken Loach and Paul Laverty once again take an unflinching look at the English psyche, this time highlighting the deep-seated racism and xenophobia that are delivered with hideous foul-mouthed vitriol right after the words "I'm not a racist, but..." or "I don't mean any disrespect, but...." Shot in a remarkably loose, authentic style, the film ultimately offers a glimmer of hope that is presented here as a challenge... FULL REVIEW >

Closing film: 
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood
dir-scr Anna Hints; with Kadi Kivilo, Maria Meresaar 23/Est ****
Immersive and visceral, this documentary takes the audience into the intimate setting of a smoke sauna in southeast Estonia. In addition to capturing cultural traditions, filmmaker Anna Hints is provocatively exploring the nature of being a woman in society, including a range of big issues. It may sometimes meander into metaphysical swirliness, but this is a remarkable depiction of the importance of having a profound human connection with no barriers... FULL REVIEW >

Big Boys
dir-scr Corey Sherman; with Isaac Krasner, Dora Madison 23/US ****
There's an internalised, autobiographical tone to this warm comedy-drama about a young teen on a journey of self-discovery. Writer-director Corey Sherman knowingly observes small details and larger themes, which helps the audience resonate strongly with this witty, sometimes sexy odyssey. This is a story about a boy realising that it's time for him to come out to those closest to him. And taking that first step is terrifying... FULL REVIEW >

Unidentified Objects
dir Juan Felipe Zuleta; with Matthew August Jeffers, Sarah Hay 22/US ****
Wildly inventive, this lively road comedy has a wonderful fantastical streak, even as the story grapples with seriously grounded themes. It may be a bonkers adventure involving a gay little person and female sex worker, but the writing, direction and acting have a lot to say about overcoming fear. It's also a hugely engaging journey that's packed with wonderfully surreal touches and moments that are both hilarious and moving... FULL REVIEW >

Hidden Letters
dir Violet Du Feng; scr Violet Du Feng, John Farbrother 22/Chn ****
Beautifully shot and edited, this fascinating documentary finds a sharply knowing perspective on a little-known way women learned to express themselves throughout China's history. Because she keeps things specific and personal, director Violet Du Feng finds enormously powerful echoes in the wider world. It's a riveting, moving film, assembled with a remarkable fluidity to make its important points almost subliminally. And the observations are unusually complex and nuanced... FULL REVIEW >

Oink [Knor]
dir Mascha Halberstad; with  Hiba Ghafry, Kees Prins 22/Ned ****
With brightly energetic and wonderfully detailed stop-motion animation, this Dutch adventure is like a balm for the soul. Witty verbal and visual touches fill each scene, creating superbly complex characters, including a cuddly pig that simply can't control itself. The story takes a series of riotous twists and turns along the way, and at its heart centres on the sweet connection between a young girl and her beloved pet...
FULL REVIEW >

GINGER & HONEY MILK
dir: Mika Imai, Japan

SUBJECT
dir: Camilla Hall, Jennifer Tiexiera, USA

For information, FRAGMENTS >

Stage: Always take sides

The White Factory
by Dmitry Glukhovsky
director Maxim Didenko
with Mark Quartley, Pearl Chanda, Adrian Schiller, James Garnon, Matthew Spencer, Olivia Bernstone, Lewis Hart, Rachel Barry, Cameron McColm, Lucas Allermann, Paul-Hector Antoine, Leo Franky, Aron Yacobi
sets & costumes Galya Solodovnikova • music Louis Lebee
lighting Alex Musgrave • sound Julian Starr
Marylebone Theatre • 14.Sep-4.Nov.23

Jewish-Polish playwright Dmitry Glukhovsky finds chilling present-day resonance in this account of the Łódź ghetto during World War II, during which Jewish community leaders negotiated with Nazis for the least horrific outcome, ignoring larger issues beyond their borders. Staged in a bracingly visual way by director Maxim Didenko and designer Galya Solodovnikova, this is a frightening exploration of the insidious creep of totalitarianism and fascism.

In 1939 Łódź, Jewish atheists Yosef and Rivka Kaufman (Quartley and Chanda) live with their two young sons and Rivka's disabled father (Schiller), and none of them take the rising tide of Polish racism seriously. Even when Nazis turn up and force Jews into a ghetto, they expect the best. Orphanage director Chaim Rumkowski (also Schiller) is appointed leader, setting out to make the Jews indispensable through manufacturing, turning the Catholic church into a "white factory" making pillows. But Nazi boss Koppe (Garnon) is creating a death machine, demanding that Rumkowski hand over Jews for deportation. In 1942, he is ordered to send 20,000 children and elderly, and he begs the ghetto to cooperate to save as many lives as possible.

These events are bookended by scenes in 1960 as Koppe is arrested and put on trial in Brooklyn over 340,000 people who died under his orders. But he points the blame at Yosef, who says he was following orders as a ghetto police officer. Of course, Wilhelm also plays the victim, claiming to have merely followed orders himself. The fine performances bring out nuances in each character with often shocking resonance. Quartley's role is particularly demanding, with full physicality and intense emotions that are lightened by his chemistry with Chanda, who plays both Rivka and his unknowing new American wife.

All of this may be very familiar, often dramatised on stage and screen. But it's given a new slant with clever touches that fill the abstract stage, which is cube-shaped like a TV screen. Onto this, live video is projected documenting scenes period style with striking closeups, plus some lively storytelling sequences with eye-catching special effects (although an audio delay makes this awkward to watch). The earthy, naturalistic acting adds a beautiful counterpoint, as does the way this cube splinters and shifts, dirtied with blood and ash.

Yes, this is a grim, violent story that's powerfully moving and often gruelling to watch. The writing is talky, and the muffled sound makes it difficult to follow so many characters with inaudible names. But the issues are razor-sharp, taking on inaction, collaboration, compromise, resistance and even suicide. The Nazis maintain a false sense of hope within the ghetto, encouraging belief in a positive future while also dealing in fear, threats and manipulation. All of this is horrifically familiar in the world today. And the question of whether it's possible to achieve either justice or peace echoes loudly.

“Wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation, we must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” —Elie Wiesel

For information, MARYLEBONE THEATRE >

photos by Mark Senior • 20.Sep.23

Critical Week: Aye aye

Now that the key film festivals have taken place, the movie landscape shifts into awards-season mode. I've actually been working on the London Critics' Circle Film Awards since June, but everything kicked up a gear this week, as I've sent our voting roster to studios and for-your-consideration screenings are starting to appear in the calendar. Meanwhile, London Film Festival is revving its gears, and several of these films are already screening two weeks before the festival even starts. 

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
It Lives Inside
Accused • R.M.N.
PERHAPS AVOID:
Expend4bles
ALL REVIEWS >

As for films I've seen this week, there's the reunion of the fabulous Glenda Jackson and Michael Caine in The Great Escaper, based on a true British story. It's sentimental but also beautifully played by its expert cast. And then there was Expend4bles, nearly a decade after the third movie. But the less starry cast can't explain why the script is so undercooked or the direction so sloppy.

More fun was the breezy crime comedy The Kill Room, starring Uma Thurman, Samuel L Jackson and Joe Manganiello as the art world meets the mob. Accused is a ripping British thriller starring Chaniel Kular as a guy the internet decides is a terrorist, which is something from all of our nightmares. Rhys Darby stars in the goofy time-travel comedy Relax I'm From the Future, which is charming and enjoyably messy. From Northern Ireland, Ballywalter is a comedy with a dry, emotional heart as two unmoored people find a connection. And I also saw the harrowing World War II Poland-set stage play The White Factory at Marylebone Theatre (review up soon).

Films this coming week include the sci-fi epic The Creator, the animated adventure Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie, the comedies The Plus One and The Re-Education of Molly Singer, British runway-kids drama I Am Urban and the Hong Kong police drama Where the Wind Blows, plus live events with the Kyiv City Ballet's Tribute to Peace and a street performance called Code of Justice.

Stage: I'll drink to that

Deeper and Deeper
written and directed by Tim McArthur
with Scott Afton, Stewart Briggs, Dickon Farmar, Robert Hook, Hari Kanabar
produced by Above the Stag
lighting Vittorio Verta
costumes Michelle Taylor Knight
Union Theatre, Southwark • 13-17.Sep.23

Kanabar and Hook

There are some provocative ideas gurgling within this drama, which explores the lives of five men whose lives are intertwined over nearly two decades. Much of the interaction features barbed humour, but it's not quite appropriate to call this a comedy, as the jokes reveal limited perspectives and awkward attitudes. The dialog may elicit laughter here and there, but much of this is because it's so easy to see how these guys are struggling to connect on a deeper level.

It opens with a first meeting in a Camden flat in 1997, as Andrew (Farmar) is looking to rent a room with a group of younger guys. He's welcomed by Simon (Afton), an eager and very naive kid only recently arrived in London from Cornwall. Then the sexy Joe (Hook) turns up, flirting shamelessly and then some. The fourth tenant is the cheerful owner Paul (Briggs). And over the years, these four get very drunk together and expose their thoughts and feelings about a range of issues relating to gay life in Britain. A new boyfriend arrives with French twink Louis (Kanabar), relationships come and go, and revelations continually shake their trust in each other.

Afton and Farmar

On a nicely simplified set with black furniture, white props and a scene-setting video wall, the play's first half progresses in sequence, jumping ahead through five years. Then after the interval the narrative fractures, flashing back to reveal connections made earlier than expected, secret ongoing relationships, a surprising sudden death and various years-later encounters. Through all of this, there's a lot of banter about  the usual gay topics like sex, dating and clubbing. And there's continual spicy interaction, although it's more barbed than playful. Indeed, their insults have a brittle, queeny sting to them, usually fuelled by alcohol.

Performances are strong on the whole. Aside from one miscast role, the actors find clever ways to mix sexual posturing with bristly sarcasm while continually revealing underlying emotions. Hook and Kanabar have the most engaging presence on-stage, creating a strikingly realistic bond together. Their roles are more naturalistic than the others, so they're easier to identify with. Hook is remarkably good at holding audience sympathy even as Joe is vilified for his promiscuity and deception. All of them nicely convey the way these men change over the decades.

Briggs with Hook & Kanabar

Alongside pop cultural references and Madonna music from 1995 to 2013, the play is packed with witty observations, sassy opinions, screaming rows and darkly emotional introspection. And while it feels rather fragmented, it adds up to an involving depiction of a relationship over time within the gay subculture, including the way it ripples out to encompass other people. As these five men fall in and out of love and then find lingering embers of affection, a profound honesty emerges that's ultimately moving.

For details, ABOVE THE STAG >

photos by PGBStudios • 13.Sep.23