CAMP

          A Lesbian, a bisexual woman and a gay man walk into a bar ……. well, they walk into the theatre space above it. I was very much looking forward to this show as the concept sounded interesting. "Join Felix, Becky, and Mary as they attempt to learn what we were never taught; same-sex-sex-ed, voguing & queer history. Do you have what it takes to get your GAY-CARD?". I was immediately intrigued. How could I say no to their invitation to go along? As someone who is part of the LGBTQIA+ community, I wish as a younger person I'd had lessons or been made aware of the communities history. I had to do the research myself, either on purpose or finding stuff completely by accident. Oh, interesting fact. The county with the second highest readership for my blog is Russia, so it will be interesting to see how this post does. Haha. 

          This show was at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre. That's twice in two days. I arrived slightly earlier as I knew I like the environment of the pub, and so I was able to relax before the show. As was the same when I went to see The Cardboard Kitchen Project, once the audience was let in we had to wait for maybe two minuets before the show started. I love it when I'm not sat down and made to wait for ages. Once again thought he theatre space was boiling hot. I felt so sorry for the actors. My view was also partially blocked by the people in front as the seating is mostly on one level. From the word go, the show throws you into the deep-end of queerness. I think one needs at least a little queer knowledge to actually enjoy this show, and I think this is the point. The show is full of references to queer culture. I think I got almost every reference, well at least I think I did, and I wont ruin anything in case anyone reading this goes to see the show.

          The show started a little slow, but gained speed exceptionally quickly. The three actors were very relatable, with all of them taking one or two different roles. As the only man in the cast I related heavily to Felix, played brilliantly by Nicholas Marrast-Lewis. There were so many of Felix's characteristics that reminded me not only of myself but EVERY gay man I've ever met. It was just a shame that Nicholas stumbled over one or two of his lines, but it didn't really cause much of an impact. Fizz Waller was also brilliant as Mary. She was extremely comedic yet had just the right amount of realism. She was probably the most interesting of the characters, in no small part to how Fizz portrayed her.

          There was however something that any reader of previous reviews will know that I hate. Audience interaction/participation. This wasn't too bad, with a little gay quiz thrown in part way through. It seemed totally out of place and unnecessary, but was at least interesting. There was another moment of interaction and that was the audience being asked to Vouge. again, it seemed very out of place. This was the bit I hated most, and thankfully I wasn't dragged up on stage to do it.

          It is not only funny, but has a couple of hard hitting messages. Firstly, Bisexual people are often discriminated against from within the queer community. They are often told they are 'going through a phase'. Gay people think they aren't ready to fully come out as gay, and straight people just get confused and call it a "phase". The second issue they picked up on was discovering your sexuality later in life. This is something lot of people within the LGBTQIA+ community struggle with. Many older people have, for whatever reason, been unable to be their authentic selves until they've settled into life. This can make coming out a scary and unnerving situation, to suddenly been thrown into a world completely different to the world you've been living in for years. Lastly, the show talks about the expectations within the queer community. What you should know. If you don't, then you are harshly judged. I've made it a mission of mine to research queer history. I feel I owe it to all the people who came before me. For all the people unable to be their true selves. For all the people who had to hide in the shadows. For all those who lost their lives. I try really hard to educate myself so I can educate others. This show tries to put a lighter spin on that, and so I must be grateful they are trying to get that message out there.

          A bit of light hearted fun, bit with a completely serious message. You don't need a 'Gay Card' to be a good member f the LGBTQIA+ community, but you should at least know a little of the communities history. The show is playing on August 21st, 22nd and 24th 2019 at the Lion and Unicorn Pub in Camden.

To book tickets or to find more about the show, please click here

The Cardboard Kitchen Project

          I was intrigued when I was asked to review this show. A cardboard kitchen? I went along hoping for something interesting and new. However I'm sorry to say I left rather deflated.

          The show is on at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre as part of the Camden Fringe Festival. The theatre is above the Lion and Unicorn Pub, a lovely modern pub on the corner of a quiet residential street. Away from the main hustle and bustle of Camden. It was so relaxing I was glad I had time to take in the pubs atmosphere before the show. Not to mention it has a lovely little pub garden. anyway, the theatre itself is like the majority of pub theatres in London. Upstairs and small. It was also surprisingly warm.

          I sat three rows from the front and realised something annoying. The seating is all on the same level. Well some seats further back are raised by maybe two inch but not enough to make any difference. This means you struggle to see the stage, which is just part of the floor. I knew this would likely be a problem, but I don't know the show so I might have been wrong. I wasn't. She sat on the floor for what felt like half the show. I dread to think of the poor people sat at the back of the audience. What exactly could they see? probably the head of the person in front of them and some disembodied voice complaining about the husband she left in Singapore. 

          Varshini Pichemuthu, a recent graduate from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama with a masters in Applied Theatre, was the actress in this show. She has a wonderful voice, so I was looking forward to listening to it for an hour or so. I was unfortunately disappointed however with her overall performance. Towards the end, as the show was progressing, she seemed to relax but this was certainly not the case at the. She had been very robotic and there was nothing naturalistic about her performance. I couldn't believe a single part of it. I also feel the show was maybe half an hour too long. There was a lot of filler. going over the same material multiple times, or using the same 'gag' such as trying to put the cardboard kitchen together.

          Maybe the issues I had with the show were with the writing rather than the performance, but either way I felt it was just far too long. The story was there, but not very developed and this didn't help in keeping my concentration. It just dint go anywhere. Its always a bad sign when I keep looking at my watch. the director has called it a "really relatable story around a space in our lives that we don’t often think about." Now I tend to think about my kitchen a lot. Its the heart of the home. when there are gatherings its where much of the time gets spent. It needs to be practical but also be friendly and inviting. This made the story totally unrelatable. I still don't understand why she was sent a cardboards kitchen. How's that going to make her feel any better or make her want to spend more time in the kitchen. I just don't get it.

          I'm sorry to say I was left disappointed. I can see it has potential, but it really needs to have some drastic work done to it.