Ajaxpost Plays: Beyond The Game

Two films appeared on stage on this day Before The Lockdown: in 2015 I don't think I'd even heard about the film so when seeing the Rocky Horror Show 'equal' Shock Treatment on the King's Head Theatre stage in London I had no preconceptions. Like RHS, Brad and Janet are key to the story but this time faced with a bizarrely nightmarish reality TV show rather than transexual Transylvanians! It's similarly sprinkled with catchy songs and comically outrageous characters but didn't quite have the magic that made Rocky Horror such an iconic work. The design, in this cosy pub theatre, was fun and the cast were wonderfully engaging and enthusiastic so you would have to be very hard-hearted not to enjoy yourself. At the end of the day, though, it is just "that other Richard O'Brien play". in 2019 I've not read the much lauded novel, and it's so long since I last saw the film that, once again, I had little pre-knowledge to apply...

Some days are heartbreaking, some days are joyous, some days Before The Lockdown are both: in 2018 I was initially unsure of this one, a play about some fat guy? Did I really want to see that? But it was at the Ustinov in Bath, and over the years I have come to trust their judgement. Yes, there have been some productions that didn't work for me but the vast majority are excellent and many have been outstanding. On this day in 2018 I saw The Whale and it was, most definitely one of the latter! In fact, I would go so far as to say that it was one of the most emotional and powerful plays I have ever seen in over twenty years of going to the theatre. Such is the reputation of the Ustinov that Shuler Hensley, who played Charlie, the 'fat guy' (actually grotesquely, morbidly, obese guy) for the play's off-Broadway premiere came over to Bath for this, the UK premiere. His understanding of the character was quite likely the key that really unlocked the piece. The play...

Suspenders at the ready on this day Before The Lockdown: in 2003 Oh dear, this is rather embarrassing! I loved the film, it's iconic and a standard reference point for all of us who do not believe in conformity. Yet. I've only seen the stage show, on which the film was based, once. What is even worse is that I remember so very little of the Rocky Horror Show when I did get to see at the Wimbledon Theatre in London! It must have been fun, how could it not be? But no, I recall nothing. 😢 For some reason, I do not have a programme for this show, and I am almost fanatical in getting programmes! so the image here is one I have found on the Internet and, as far as I can tell, is correct for this particular tour An interesting side-note to this is that when searching for that image I discovered that at the time this show was running Wimbledon Theatre was in severe financial difficulties and did, in fact close for several months until it was rescued by the Ambassador Thea...

As much as I've tried I really can't find a cute thematic bon mot to apply to the theatrical rundown on this day Before The Lockdown... in 2003 Still working out what I really liked about theatre one simple selection method was recognisable names from TV. Office Games at the Pleasance Theatre in London fitted that bill quite nicely With relative stage newcomers Adam Rickitt and Charlie Brooks fresh from Coronation Street and EastEnders respectively and the well established Richard O'Callaghan. A basic office comedy with all the usual shenanigans that follow a important figure being embarrassed by a mistake that is then blamed on a junior who then seeks some sort of revenge. With being set in the British Foreign Office after the first world war this one had the added comedic value of historical attitudes. A modestly entertaining evening I recall little of the plot or the characters but what I do remember is that we bumped into Adam Rickitt at the tube station on...

Going back, back in time, Before The Lockdown... in 2019 Back in 2017 I saw a wonderfully energetic, joyful, and also savagely poignant play about the promise of the Tony Blair's 1997 election victory so I was delighted that the same company, the Bristol born Wardrobe Ensemble, were bringing their earlier hit 1972: The Future of Sex back to the Bristol Old Vic. It was just as good. The same great soundtrack, energetic precision choreography, sharp humour and genuinely heartfelt personal stories. By deftly alternating through several stories of emergent sexual awareness in the, supposedly, simpler 70s we're reminded that getting to grips with sex, sexuality, gender, and the associated 'politics' is as it has always been ... a minefield.

A mathematical conundrum Before The Lockdown in 2013 There are many reasons for why I might enjoy a particular play but I never thought mathematics would be on that list! The conceit that is at the centre of Proof , which I saw at the Theatre Royal Bath, is the death of a mathematical genius and the discovery of a new world-changing mathematical proof amongst his unpublished papers. Around this swirl issues of family loyalty, guilt, thwarted ambitions, and mental health. In this production, as well crafted and performed as it was, the emotional bonds and needs that should have been at the heart of the play weren't quite as clear as they needed to be so I left thinking that it made valid points about sexism in intellectual circles and how guilt can fester within families but I didn't feel the story, which is what I particularly enjoy about good theatre Interestingly, a few years later I saw an amateur presentation of the play and enjoyed it a whole lot more.  Whether i...