Theatre Review: Thrill Me

Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story at Hope Theatre UPSTAIRS

Review by Marc Major

Set at a parole hearing in the 1950s, and using flashbacks to the events leading up to 1924, this is the story of Nathan Loeb; a love story without boundaries.

Told partly in dialogue and interspersed with bursts of songs, it is hard to categorize this play, is it Comedy Horror? is it Black Comedy? or is it an LGBT RomCom?.

It will have you glued to your seat wondering what the next twist will be, while you go through a roller-coaster of emotions in your head.

The Hope Theatre in Islington is a very 'compact and bijou' space above a pub, with what has to be said is an eclectic but friendly team of barstaff; that said what little space there was, was very well used, the props designed to be easily re-purposed as the story unfolded.

A sterling and believable performance by Bart Lambert (definitely one to watch out for in other productions in the future), supported by Jack Reitman as his charismatic lover and play-pal Richard.

Theatre Review: Murder She Wrote

Review by Marc Major

Once again I hand the blog over to Marc for another theatre review - we went to see Tim Benzie's presentation of "Solve-along-a Murder She Wrote" hosted at the London Irish Centre, Camden Square on Saturday.

Did not quite know what to expect from this one from the description, but was pleasantly surprised.  After some initial technical issues which delayed the start by about an hour we were all ushered into a 1970s style ballroom, with a small bar at the back and handed a goodie bag.

In an explosion of enthusiasm the host bursts forth appropriately dressed as 'Jessica Fletcher' and the fun begins, with the solving of the mystery, using original video from the 90s, as well as some very high tech props.



The whole event is in three acts with plenty of time to refresh your drinks and your lungs, as well as a merchandise stall run by an unfortunately named company (Fascist Pants), but they have some great products for sale.

Despite there being a number of issues with the technology throughout the evening (which I am sure will be sorted for the next time), this was a really fun evening with raffles, bingo and even a sing-along thrown in for good measure.

GUEST POST - Theatre Madness

This week I've handed the blog over to my editor, Marc Major, to resurrect the theatre reviews for the blog site. This week we had the pleasure to see The Cabinet of Madame Fanny Du Thé by Riddlestick Theatre at The Pleasance Theatre.

Utter Madness!

Review by Marc Major

But you will leave this quaint theatre above and below a pub thoroughly entertained, part farce, part musical, part tragedy you decide. 

Plenty of audience participation, and watch out for the cow with the oversized violin. Some clever writing and some comedy stars of the future in the making. 

It is a shame it has such a short run in London, but definitely one to watch out for, 86 minutes of fun from start to finish!

You can still catch them in Southampton NST City 3rd-4th April, Exeter Phoenix 28th April
and at Brighton Fringe at The Warren: Theatre Box 4th-6th May.