*Say in a Southern American drawl*

The Bourbon Room, 1987.  

Image Credit: www.orchardtheatre.co.uk

Does your partners out of tune humming piss you off? Or their inhumanly loud chewing? Maybe the constant snoring is unbearable? Well forget couples counselling, what you need is to commit the perfect murder!

Ok, so you've been warned...

Firstly, you are right to question, why would there be a Panto in January? Surely, you've had enough of all that cheesy Christmas spirit and 'fun' family time'? Hell yes!! But this Panto is a great way to look back at Christmas and... take the absolute piss!!

I paid £5 for my ticket. Yes, it was a bargain. I got it on the cheap because I quoted 247Fest. So thank you 24:7 Festival! They definitely encouraged me to attend the theatre, thanks to the kind discount.

This project is a collaboration between Manchester School of Theatre's graduate class of 2011, and the Royal Exchange. It is a first for both parties. The Exchange have initiated this project, as a way to keep on developing UK drama school talent. Therefore, giving the new graduates a chance to gain invaluable experience working on a professional and renowned stage! What better platform. Thumbs up to The Royal Exchange!

Lets get on with the review of Single Sex by Rory Mullarkey. This was the first of the double bill, and by far my favourite! A story that follows Greg, a first class student of an All Boys Grammar School. You can predict his typical life; ludicrous Latin lessons, boisterous bullies, drooling over damsels and protective parents. But, trust me, there are deeper issues slowly taking control in this play.

So, the lights went down and we witnessed smart young boys reciting Latin. There is a short monologue by an obviously upper class student, explaining their routine life at school. Until you are hit smack bang in the face with another students vulgar description of sex! It comes out of nowhere, and sets the tone for the rest of the play. There is tonnes of crude language to work alongside the cleverly structured and fast paced dialogue. Laughter filled the Studio, ricocheted off the walls and the actors bounced off this with more comedy timing.

I would like to commend Kevin Lennon (The Father - Philip) on his brilliant portrayal of a pushy parent. He paired down to earth fathering, with that sense of awkwardness with your son. The script obviously plays a major part in the humour, but the acting is what really sells the 'funny'. And I bought thousands of pounds worth of 'funny' off him, especially in the uncomfortable father/son 'sex talk' scene. Lennox has a powerful stage presence with the talent to match.

However, as I mentioned before, there is a dark seed planted in this play. A seed that starts off very innocent, but slowly grows into a monster. And I feel that dark seed is a poem by Ovid (Roman Poet) that they mention. It plays a subtle but integral part in the movement of the story.

Gregg is teased about sex, as many teenage lads are. His mate encourages him to watch porn, but Gregg sees it as lifeless. He wants love, and he finds this in one of Ovids poems. But Ovid is famous for writing about sex and violence. A bad combination in most peoples eyes. He starts over analysing Ovid's poetry, and over thinking the idea of sex. Suddenly he takes an interest in 'borderline rape' videos. He becomes obsessed with his idea of what sex 'should' be. He recites, 'she thought she didn't want it but she does.' The innocent inclusion of poetry in education, results into corrupting a boys mind. Art isn't life, but you can't tell that to a confused boy engrossed in such poetry.
I warn you, some of these scenes are disturbing and I found them hard to watch.
Which isn't a criticism, more a compliment as it shows the strength of the script and actors!

The minimal style stage, helped us focus in on the acting. Sarah Frankcom (Director) really played around with the empty space, and kept the energy up through dismissing scene changes. The actors smoothly ran into each scene by performing their line immediately, keeping the plays movement fluid; a perfect marriage with the quick paced dialogue.

Sam Lupton (Gregg) was a stand out. His slow character transformation was excellently performed, etching his obsessive nature up a notch each scene. He portrayed both the childhood innocence and manhood obsessiveness with passion. His eyes told the story, as much as his voice and physicality. Keep an eye out for that one!

So, on the surface a witty, laugh out loud play about teenage life. Underneath lies a truly disturbing and twisted tale of obsession. If you dare to watch this play, get ready for an emotional ride! Go on, buy a ticket and strap yourself in tightly!

The week has come to an end, and the final play I had the pleasure of watching was, 'The Crimson Retribution'. As a volunteer at this festival, and because I'm such a rebel, I liked to simply shorten it to, 'Crimson'. Or maybe I'm just lazy... Or maybe I struggled to pronounce the last word... I'll leave you to decide which.


So, 'The Crimson Retribution' (said in a superhero strong manly voice) follows the story of a superhero freeloading in another woman's house, with retribution to seek. However, I would say there wasn't much dramatic story to follow. You kind of just sat and watched them 'be'. But before you judge this play, you need to understand there are other things that make it a 'must see'.

Before I let you in on the gossip, I should let you know what I endured, just so I could get to see it and review it for you lovely readers. (if there are any) I firstly pretty much pleaded to sit in. One volunteer front of house always has to sit in. But as you are probably aware, this show was a constant sell out! So my chances were slim. But not slim enough, as I was granted entry in to this prestigious event!
...
BUT. And it's a big but. I had to hold the door closed. It was faulty. This big, heavy, squeaky door was faulty. So within 5 minutes of lights down, my arms were aching. I had to constantly shift to relieve them of the pressure. My muslces were bulging after 60 minutes. My weight training for the decade that was!
...
Oh, you think it stops there? No, no, no, no. There was a huge pillar structure standing right in view of the stage. The most inappropriate block of bricks I have ever come across. I had to duck, dive and lunge every different direction to simply watch the action! But I went through it for you lovely reader(s)...

Back to the review. The first thing I noticed was the excellent use of projection, something I criticised 'Rainbow Connection' for. They maybe should have took notes from 'Crimson' as it really added to the play. It helped show change of scene, venue and time. It was cleverly drawn in comic book style too! The bonus of a comic strip without the bore of reading it. Watching the action on stage was much more fun!

Something else that made it special was the variety of locations we were taken to in just one environment. We were not limited to the living room of the house. The characters performed outside, in cars and in pubs through using the space on stage. I liked being transported over to the door step of an old woman, were Kyle and Sean were successfully scamming her. Wait, that sounded wrong. I don't agree with the scamming, I agree with the inventive scene structure. I particularly liked the sofa which transformed into a car.

Another cleverly written (Steve Pearce) and directed (Clare Howdon) aspect of this play, were the time passing scenes. Imagine a montage in a film, well this is the same but on stage. The actors mimed specifically choreographed actions, interacted with each other and successfully portrayed weeks passing. I felt like the writer and director really played around with the possibilities of theatre. Straight drama plays are great, but this show was as varied as a drunkenly mixed cocktail at your work leaving do! And we cannot deny enjoying treats like that every now and again.

Regarding the characters, two stood out for me. The superhero Crimson (Paul Sockett) gave the play most of the witty humour. I would describe him as Mary Poppin's stronger, cooler brother. He regularly cleaned the house, made tea and settled arguments gracefully. He also wouldn't leave until his job was done. Is that how you imagined a superhero? Me neither. He's practically perfect in every single way. (Marys Poppin's reference if you didn't 'get it') The actor, Paul Sockett was brilliantly versatile, evolving into many different characters and performing them with confidence.

Kyle (David Degiorgio) played the typical villain. He was most definitely the 'baddie' of the play. I would like to commend Degiorgio on his appropriate physicality. He had an exaggerated walk, claw like finger extensions and smug look on his face. He played this character with focus on the body and facial expression. Great actor. Very well performed!

Overall an inventive and inspiring idea, with modern twists on how to bring scripts to life on stage! Entertaining, current and unique! I think it's a great first timer show for theatre virgins too!! Give it a go and you'll be hooked!

Easily, this was the funniest play I watched at the 24:7 Festival. It oozed humour by the bucket load. I don't think a minute went by without at least a chuckle from the audience. As a comedy writer myself, I know how difficult it is to make people laugh. So, well done to the writer Joanne Sherryden, who executed comedy with precision.

There isn't a story to follow exactly. Just the journey of a gay man and a straight woman, who have more things in OPPOSITE than that! However, what's that famous saying, 'opposites attract!'. So we all know from the word go that their friendship has to work, no matter how many obstacles are thrown in the way.

I would suggest, this play simply revolves around the two main characters interaction. Shelley (Danielle Henry) and Joe (Anthony Crank). Shelley was your typical loud, over confident and gobby woman with the hidden vulnerability that was inevitably existent. She would fit right in down here in Rochdale! Her entrance reflected this perfectly as she barged into Joe's home, looked around as she pleased and chatted nonsense without an intake of breath.

Where as Joe began fairly reserved, but don't you worry, he soon turned into that 'bitchy' gay man lurking inside. The more comfortable he became, the more gay qualities he let loose. His claws were well and truly sharpened with some of his hilarious comebacks. A great example being when Shelley advertises her new dresses, holds one up to her body and enthusiastically asks Joe, 'What does this dress say to you?' His very simple, somewhat harsh reply, 'Leave £10 on the table, love.' Comedy genius. The dialogue was realistic, and was a smooth as my dove moisturiser. Sherryden has a real flare for the natural rhythm of  speech and conversations.

Shelley was the ultimate faghag! They argued, laughed, mocked, criticized and bitched knowing it was all in good humour. There are no consequences in a relationship like theirs. You do follow them through their highs and lows, slowly realising they help each other out in the process. Nearer the end of the play, more emotional and serious scenes jumped out at you! So much laughter, turns into a lot of sorrow. But still, hints of humour were present, even through their tough times. The characters make this play, and the actors definitely did them justice.

I feel the ending was a little disappointing. The energy fizzled out, and I think the last two scenes were unnecessary. I like to be left at a crucial point of a play, and a resolved ending seems a bit of a cop out. However, this may have suited the nature of the play better. One other small problem, was their use of projection. They used it at the beginning to show clouds and then right at the end to show a rainbow. I don't think it helped the play in any way, and there wasn't a real point in using it.

Otherwise, a light hearted, heavy, happy, sad, witty, simple, cultured, common mess of a play! Most definitely an entertaining watch. Great if you want to get out of the house, leave your troubles behind, sneak into another world of drama and earn an evening of laughter! After all, we all love a a bit of gossip, right?!

This is the first family show EVER to be involved in the festival. And a magical one at that!


This is a story that follows Peggy's (and rovers) mission to meet the spaceman!  She wants to go into space to escape Mean Janine, but first has to get to the town hall to see you're a banana... sorry I mean Yuri Gagarin.

I had the chance to see the audience before the event. The adults bantered in groups around the bar, whilst the children happily played 'tig'. Admittedly I got a little tired watching them play, where do they get the energy from! Anyway... once the children were let into the room they ran straight to the colourful mats that had activity books laid out for them. I glanced over to the children during the play, and adorably their mouths were rested open in concentration, wide eyed in fascination and head titled up to admire the exciting performance!

The play is set in 1961 and is based around Yuri Gagarin's visit to the wonderful land of Manchester. It uses factual references throughout, so us adults 'get' them! The script isn't as straight forward as I expected it to be, and in honest truth... educated me on this historic event! (I hated history, so well done for making me listen guys!)

Saira Chowdry (Peggy) was suitably cast as the naive, energetic and determined girl. Her big wide eyes really captured the innocence of a child. Eve Robertson (Mean Janine and many others) added a great sense of humour to the piece. Her portrayal of a dog was excellent, and stole a lot of the laughter. She really did research dog like qualities. She was versatile and played a variety of characters with ease. Luke Walker (Father and Yuri Gagarin) performed the emotional roles, where he genuinely seemed like a doting father and role model. The warmth of his character glowed off him only to burn into my heart.

The design by Olivia Du Monceau was simply genius. There was one box, which could have been mistaken for a Transformer! It changed into a blackboard, cupboards, spaceship, time capsule and probably more! It was a skilfully designed piece of equipment, adapting to the needs of each scene. Very clever. It even had lights that twinkled on the side... I think I was more amazed than the kids at this point!! I was admittedly fascinated by a box... a box!

I didn't want Peggy's story to end, but she needed to go back home. The question is, was this adventure her creative imagination at work, or did it really happen? Come and watch to find out!!

A colourful, fascinating and enjoyable piece of theatre. And they didn't lie in the flyer, it is fun for all the family. I don't have children, but if I did, they'd be there. Just so I could see their little faces light up!

I said goodbye to the audience as they left, and bent down to a little boy to ask if he liked it. His reply, the most memorable of the day was:

'The Shadow Of Your Hand's' plot could be described very simply; the events that follow when a man invites a homeless woman into his flat.

Now, I know what you're all thinking. You think you can predict what happens. Go on, decide now what happens. Done? HAH. You're wrong. I know I was. This play was far from predictable.

Firstly, we are introduced to Steve (Steven Pinder - apparently he was in Brookside for a long time, but I'm too cool to watch that...) who is a rich, socially difficult and agitated business man. I must admit, Steven Pinder stole the show for me. He played the character with style.

He invites the surprisingly un-naive homeless woman (Rosie Fleeshman) into his flat for a home cooked meal. Steve is extremely caring towards her, treating her almost like a queen. This immediately made me 'like' his character. Yes, the whole situation seems a bit iffy, and yes, I know something bad is inevitably going to happen, but... Steve seemed adorable. His nervousness and OCD like qualities made him the vulnerable party! Even when he finally snaps and has her tied up and gagged, I thought 'aww, he just wants some company'. I know! I was freaked out myself that I was thinking like that. But I liked Hannibal Lecter, so it might just be me...

Rosie Fleeshman plays a strong young woman who has clearly lived a hard life. She strolls in with her baggy top, 'chavvy' trakies and quite frankly stinks of ASBO (her character that is, Rosie was actually lovely!) She begins the play quiet, with the hint of an attitude but grateful for Steve's kindness. Then slowly transforms into the tough, loud and manipulating villain.  

Throughout the play you see a power struggle between them both. The protagonist and antagonist roles swap numerous times until you start to get slight nausea. But I loved this, as the performance stayed fresh. Their hidden pasts are slowly revealed as their relationship becomes more intense. The annoying noises coming from backstage did affect my viewing, but I guess its hard to walk around in the dark without some clumsy trips. So I made do.

Even though it was a dark play, there was so much witty dialogue; primarily from Steve's character. The writer (Michael Stewart) hit the tragicomic timings perfectly! Evident through this simple line;
'I won't touch you... I'll be wearing pyjamas'
The jokes seemed to leak out through the characters mannerisms and reactions. All the little details staged by the director (Sue Jenkins) were beautifully placed. Resulting in presumably, sought after laughter.

The hint of a possible future between them at the end is an eerily uncomfortable thought. The scene itself reflects that of my thought! The ending was a little weak as I didn't exactly understand some of it. I did feel the momentum began to fizzle out nearer the closing stages. I'd of preferred a hard hitting ending, to compliment the hard hitting theatre. However, I guess opposites attract, and a serene ending worked in a weird way.

It is a dark, surprisingly witty and definitely gripping piece of theatre! My favourite of the day!!