Show a little more

Last week of November, and I was worried for a second there I won't be able to give my account for October. It was a bit of an insane month, yet nothing compared to November.

So let's get cracking. First show of the month was Space Karaoke on the 2nd, who did a great job at transforming the space at Barons Court. Great set design, good actors, unfortunately not a script to match.

First weekend it was Marius' visit to London, so I took him to London Cabaret Club to see London Never Dies, and I have to say I enjoyed the show more as a spectator than I did teching it.

Saturday they went to Harry Potter studios, but then on Sunday we wanted to see a West End show. Titanique at the Criterion ended up being the most attractive option. Not the best introductory show, but silly enough to not elicit too much of an effort.

Second week was the calm before the storm. I watched the last week of Reboot Festival on Tuesday, Molly's Four Sisters on Wednesday, and Emigrantii on Sunday, so spent the week locally.

The first week of Grimfest I only saw Unlikely and The Quiet Light, but Velouria was definitely the highlight of the month. Ella's Cabaret 4 Cause could have been great, but as it turns out, her producing skills are not as honed as she thinks they are.

Bit more Grimfest for the second week, seeing The Constant Cold, Falling For, Montselier, and culminating with October's Burlesque Idol, which I am marking as a separate show from the September one or from the final in November.

It was good to see Maggie Castro and her direction of This App is a Haunted House at the Etcetera even if Maggie won't work with us anymore. But it was during the day and close to home, so I could go and see Conspiracy at Barons Court in the evening. 

Quick flight to Italy on Tuesday morning to see Ambra in The Beauty Queen of Leanne (La Reginetta di Leanne) in the good old Franco Parenti, a lot less welcoming in the winter. But it's how I discovered Ivana Monti, who did a great job in the play.

Back in London the next day, and straight to Bread & Roses to see Roger's Lucifer, 'the play I inspired writing'. Which is a pretty big deal I guess, I just wish the play was better.

But then I went for the record. 7.30 at Bread & Roses, show finished 8.35, and I was aiming to get to CPT at 9 pm. Bike to Clapham North, Northern Line to Warren Street, and I was only 6 minutes late, which allowed me to get into CPT from the back for the first time. I did want to see Maria Telnikoff's Just the Two of Us though. Super-chaotic, yet still charming.

And on the last day of the month I went to Theatre Deli to see Jessie's reading of a very interesting script, Abortive Attempts at Explaining Myself. I hope it goes to production soon. This and Maggie's show I marked as halves, so both of them make one. Plus another 17 shows, that's 18 for the month, 115 for the year. It sounds pretty incredible to me too, but it does look like I'm actually seeing closer to 200 shows per year, and probably more than 300 performances. Though in fairness, this has been something of a busy year.

After Summer Coming Down

My monthly round-ups are coming later and later, to the extent that I worried whether I'll manage to keep it up until the end of the year. But November is the last busy month of the year, and once Voila Festival starts, my schedule should be looking a bit tidier.

Anyway, September. So tired was I after Camden Fringe that I didn't actually see any new shows until the 10th. And it was Rosemary's A Rose by Any Other Name, intensely sabotaged by the TfL strike.

As was out Kibo Autumn Season launch on 11 September. I still had a lot of fun though.

Melanie Branton's The Full English show went a bit better, and it was the first show where I saw signs of the audiences coming back after a dreadful summer.

Two more shows in our spaces at the weekend - I'm glad I managed to see To Mars, the first children show at Arches Lane, and The Bear & The Proposal as a one off script in hand at Barons Court (I think I marked this as the half-show).

Halima Rifi and Shilpa Varma in The Missing

The Bald Primadonna, transferred from RCI, was a fairly successful run, then I watched the first week of Reboot on the Wednesday, and then Burlesque Idol on the Sunday. By the way, burlesque is now well and truly at home in Arches Lane, and I'm all here for it.

Last show of the month was the second week of Reboot, one in which I got to direct John Mabey's play, The Missing. It was an adventure, but it marked a few big personal achievements. Hence, my pick of the month.

Adding 9 shows to the total so far, which now stands at 97. by the time of writing I have surpassed 100 unique shows for the year, which means my brag was not an empty one. Then again, I do spend most of my time in a theatre or other.

Festival Feast

It's been such a hit over the head, August and Camden Fringe, that in many ways I'm still recovering. Hence the August post coming so late.

Camden Fringe has been an extraordinary feat, one that we will repeat for sure, but some interesting things have happened. I've seen the greatest number of shows I missed in Barons Court and for the first time I have seen less shows than we have actually hosted. Only 7 shows out of the 24 we hosted for Camden Fringe.

Starting with Shedwood on 3 August, from Kailin Xu's company, whose 404 Reading Club I missed despite having more promise than Shedwood.

Sunk Into The Earth, by Charlotte Ritter and her very nice all female company, though this was very much where I had started to lose it. 4 August.

Nothing for that week until Sunday, but I'm really glad I managed to see Alexandra Jorgensen's Confessions of a Jane Austen Spinster in its last performance in the UK for a while, Alexandra being now back in the US.

Anthropocene by Ben Wendel on 14 August, an inspiring piece and one through which I discovered the amazing Naomi Paxton.

Oh, that's what it is! I was wondering why I haven't seen more, but of course, I had to rehearse for Lobster Pot. Because, on top of Camden Fringe, Copacabana and Arches Lane, I had to also direct a play, didn't I?

All in all, I was reasonably happy with how Lobster Pot came out, which is fairly unusual when I direct something. So I am worried that maybe I didn't care enough about it? I saw the opening night, buggered off to Edinburgh, came back on Friday for Copacabana and took over West End Musical Brunch, returning to Sway after a one year stint at Proud City. Guess how that turned out?

Oh, and by the way, I'm counting Lobster Pot as a show even though I've seen/done it once before in January, because it's a new space, a reworked script and altogether quite a different show. I am also counting WEMB as one, even though it is now a weekly occurence. I watched Maybe You Should Know on closing day of Camden Fringe, and next week I though I'm reentering some sort of normality/baseline. I have seen A Fan of War, but also been to two shows we've been invited to: The Last Black Messiah at Etcetera Theatre and A Microscopic Odyssey at 503.

But then Grimfest - which is more or less on track now, and then Voila, which is another blow to my mental health. Eh, we'll live.

Oh, and because I choose the picture from my favourite show of the month, a few words about A Microscopic Odyssey: seen at 503 on a random Thursday at 1 pm as part of LAMDA directors' showcase. I didn't not have high expectations. But boy did it blow me away! Phenomenal show, one of those that gripped me from the beginning and kept me engaged, one of those rare shows that restore my faith in theatre. I probably do come across one of them once a month, but that means top 10 percent of shows. Anyways, we're meeting the producers tomorrow.

The counter is looking steady, 10 shows in London plus 8 in Edinburgh to add to the 70 by the end of July, means that we're at 88 now.

Take me to the Fringe

Like a proper addict, I had to take my yearly dose of Edinburgh this year too, despite directing a show this week, running a festival in Barons Court, doing an LX op gig for 2 days a week and, apparently, revamping a venue little by little.

It was only two days, so much less than in other years, but a good, productive even, two days, with reality matching expectation almost 1:1.

Arriving in Edinburgh Wednesday morning off the night train, I knew I had to dose my efforts if I was to make something of the shows I'd be seeing. I did however jump straight into Ancient Coins from Forgotten Kingdoms, a children show I had eyed ever since Brighton Fringe, and I'm glad I saw it, if only to find out that no, it would not be a good fit for Arches Lane. Mark Saltveit is American, and the show is much more of a lecture than a story which, despite the great interactive bit where the audience can actually touch real ancient coins, would be a deterrent for the hedonistic crowds of Battersea.

Ah, I should mention the bit where I flyered for Stephen. Meeting Stephen was one of the goals of my trip, and smoothed the way for East of Adelaide this autumn at Arches Lane (this is an exclusive btw). Also, flyering on the Mile was fun. Of course it's fun without the pressure of actually trying to sell tickets, and I also shoved a few meetings in those two hours that in London would have taken 2-3 weeks to organize.

For my second show I had a choice between Windrush Secret and a dark comedy about cannibalism from a company of young graduates. I think I made the right choice, as wingman Olivia set up a good premise for a chat with Rodreguez, which led to a meeting, which might lead to a run. Olivia is always great company, even more so when it's unexpected. I enjoyed having an Edinburgh buddy for a bit, though I was annoyed that I had to leave her at 'What If They Ate the Baby?', one of the three sold out shows of Xhloe and Natasha, which I am very curious to meet. Olivia might come through once again.

The last show of the day was Rodney Black: Who Cares? It's Working, the most thought provoking show I've seen in a while and my personal pick of this year's fringe. Ben Willows always does great work, but I also suspect more ambition than I care to deal with. We'll see.

Weird to close the day with just three shows, but it was the right thing to do after 20k steps and a night of train sleeping. I'm not a young man anymore.

Also right thing to do: listening to Everleigh's showon Hoxton Radio and doing some work rather than chasing crazy early show. Rest was needed and was well received. Which meant I started my second day of shows with Eggs Aren't That Easy to Make by Maria Telnikoff. It's great to see Maria finally taking the big step forward into working collaboratively rather than being a one-woman band, however good she is at that. 

Being a bit aimless, I wandered into Zoe Coombs Marr's show, The Splash Zone. Better than her show I saw at Soho some years ago, but still nowhere near Wild Bore, once of the most amazing theatrical experiences I've had. She co-created that, so I'll always hold her to that standard.

The Unstoppable Rise of Ben Manager was a complete punt, only because the time fitted. And of course, it's one the highlights, a trippy moralist fable about the corporate world incorporating electronic music, puppets, mask, and a big nod to Kafka's Metamorphosis. Got in touch with the company and it would be a serious win if we manage to bring them to Arches Lane.

I had to see Ioana's show, Goodness Me, and I'm happy to see her maturing into her art. It's slow, painful and expensive, but there is a reward at the end of it.

And I closed the day with a recommendation from Ioana, Role Play (or the hottest day in Belgian history). An intense, very physical show about sexual awakening, love and relationships. Refreshing banality of the subject matter in the age of all-encompassing political discourse, but this show is sold on the performance. Cameron Murphy is an amazing performer, he was fascinating to watch and this was the fastest hour I spent in Edinburgh this year.

I closed the day at this, just 8 shows in two days, which is actually good going. It was short, but I had my dose of Edinburgh to last me for another year when again, I will probably not have the courage to take the dive and bring a show in. But soon...

Also, I have now become one of those motherfuckers who are stuck to their laptop on the train, which is where I'm writing this from. We just passed Durham.

July Morning

Beginning of July seems like a lifetime ago, and indeed it has been an intensely busy month. Too much time wasted with Copacabana in my opinion, and that show and that place could be so much better. Which is saying something, seeing that it's good enough as it is.

But anyway, I will count Copacabana as the first show I saw in July, on the 3rd, opening night. I have seen it 21 times since, but only counting shows, not performances, no?

Tough competition in July, but hosting Matilde Vigna
 was my favourite experience

We've had a solid month across our theatres, I loved having Matilde Vigna with A Dark Line Upstairs in Barons Court and I'm glad critics appreciated the show, it's fully deserved.

Reality Bites at Arches Lane felt like the first REAL show, and having Suzy (Eddie) Izzard and Rachel Zegler seeing it was beautiful.

Kill Drill did an excellent job on all fronts, with solid audiences in a time when nothing had solid audiences.

I saw Harry Conway's How to Kill Your Landlord at Drayton Arms and my main takeaway was how hot Frankie Weatherby is. But Harry has done well, and I'm glad his Edinburgh run seems to be so successful.

Caught the matinee of Pretty Witty Nell in the last day. Coming back two years later and with a different actress, I found Ryan a bit mellowed and the show marginally better, though it's the over-inflated ego that's still dragging him back. But hey-ho, Offie Award, who am I to comment? And plus, these three shows took us out of the 3-star slump we seemed to be stuck in this year.

Claire's Broadway Broads at Toulouse Lautrec was a nice surprise, and I'm glad to discover Claire's talents slowly slowly. She has been a reliable presence for us for the past two months, and I have grown to appreciate her. Also, Toulouse Lautrec does absinthe the traditional way, with melted sugar over a spoon, and it's been interesting to sample. £16 pounds a shot, Toulouse Lautrec must've been raking it in. Still, I prefer the raw, unfiltered ferocity of 80 degrees absinthe, very few things to get smashed quicker.

Camden Fringe has started like a bit of a tornado, and was about to blow my house up for a second there. It also marks the month with the most shows I'll miss at Barons Court. A bit unavoidable, what with shoving rehearsals for Lobster Pot in every second of the day I have off. I started the festival with two shows, Journey to the West at Rosemary Branch and Fly Trap at Barons Court. I watched Rabbie Burns' Bottom Drawer on Tuesday, which made me happy about the overall standard we manage to present at Barons Court this August, but unhappy about the discipline, experience and attitude of most of the companies.

I will make a separate passage about The Stupid Hug (El Abrazo Stupido), coming from Argentina for just two performances. It is a long time since I have seen a company, this friendly, this cooperative, this accommodating and this professional. The show was mediocre, probably very good for Argentine but I felt like the main big ideas of the show get diluted in the cultural differences. Regardless, I will keep a cherished memory to my new good friends from La Plata and I will pray the theatre gods will be good to them. It has been such an eye opener in regards to how privileged we are to be doing what to do and a stark reminder to fucking enjoy life more rather than dwell on the negatives.

Oh, and yeah, that was 30 July, that was the last show of the month, as Thursday, Friday, Saturday was Copacabana all over again. Still, 11 shows in July for a grand total of 70 shows in the first 7 months of the year. Averaging 10/month with more than half of the year gone, on track for 120. And I'm only next week going to Edinburgh.

Doing too many, seeing too little

It must've been a while since I've had a month as busy as this June, especially the latter half. Still, for better or for worse, I manage to add 10 shows to my total, counted as 8 full shows and 4 'half shows'.

Hard to define what a half-show is, but the London Pub Theatre Gala on 1 June is a good example: something happened and someone watched it, hence theatre, right? Well, there were bits of theatre for sure, extracts of previously successful plays, but I'd struggle to classify the event as a 'show'.

I did do the subtitles for Liana's Queen Mary show on 4 June, saw Street on 5 June and half of the Lexicon Lounge at The Water Rats on 8 June. I felt really sorry leaving at the interval of the Lexicon Lounge, but I was really tired and could not for the life of me get on board with a long evening of spoken word.

The rest is mostly stuff we hosted: Peter Pan on 10 June, Ruthless on the 11th, and the London Cabaret Club stopped me from seeing much more for the rest of the week.

I saw Precarious Theatre's 100 Percent with only one option of the cast, the a kids show by Stagecoach at Arches Lane on 22 June, and the latest iteration of The Room of Piss at Hen & Chickens in the evening of 22.

I saw Sharon's Provenance on the opening night, then nothing until Sunday, when we hosted two developing pieces: Bois at Arches Lane and Limerence at Barons Court.

Then a massive week spent in LCC without seeing too much else apart from Copacabana.

Still, add 10 shows for a 59 total by the end of June. Though I'm beginning to think that producing more than you can see is a weird thing.

Pay more attention to Brighton

Quick round-up of May as June is almost halfway through already. Life is pretty full when running a theatre, and it's so much fuller when running two theatres that I'm really worried I'm bad at it.

Anyway, let's rewind for a month and a bit. Started theatrical life on Friday 2nd May with the reading of It's Difficult by Wendy Fisher at Canada Water Theatre. Then straight to Southwark Playhouse to see Cockfosters, and hopefully we'll see Cockfosters again at Arches Lane Theatre.

On Wednesday 7 I went to a reading of three Eastern European plays at UAL Wimbledon, invited by Jozefina Komporaly. Global Plays in Translation. I really encourage the initiative and I hope there will be further iterations of this. 

Went to Brighton on 8 May. Got invited to about 8 plays at Brighton Fringe this year and actually managed to answer a few invitations. I was supposed to see at least two shows, but I was late for Gawa's Open Source Intelligence, so I got in to see Landlord's Wet Dream by Verity Sharpe. Missed United's thrashing of Bilbao at Old Trafford because pubs in Brighton seem to all be aimed at the LGBT+ community, and sports is not really on their agenda. But I wondered leisurely around city centre until 9 pm, when I got to see Dangerous to Know at Lantern Theatre. I was really happy to see the Lantern, lovely little basement theatre very reminiscent of Barons Court albeit bigger.

Sunday Fix on 11 June, which I count as half a show. Sunday Fix will go on in July and over the summer, but I feel a reform of the format is imminent.

Invited by Tim McArthur to see Eurovision Your Decision at RVT on 14 June, and really glad I did. Show of the month for me, and really good to have seen Tim's work.

Shelter at Barons Court was a nice surprise, a very solid show about trans love and about being othered.

Between women's FA Cup, the Europa League final and a very stressy producer, Shelter was the only show of the week, and the highlight of it, because both football and Roger have been shit.

I teched my last Speakeasy show for a while on 24 May, and there's some chagrin at leaving House of Burlesque after almost 4 years, and leaving the longest running show I worked on. But it's not a sad one, the relationship will continue and hopefully develop.

Due to difficult techs I missed shows in 3 Mondays in a row. Coronet, Riverside and Old Red Lion, but I did manage to see The Space's Season launch, and was impressed by some of the plays to come. Hopefully people will like Lobster Pot too. 

And Arches Lane is off and running, with Jen Tucker's Bog Body on 29 & 30, and The Electric Bill on 31 May. In between I've also rewatched Chop Chop on 30 May, bringing my total to 8 shows + 4 kind of shows (two readings, a scratch night and a season launch). I will count 10 for the month, 49 for the year, not including Mermaids Have no Tears which I saw 4 times, three more performances of Speakeasy and one more of Roxie does Chicago. Which I've seen twice more since.