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.

Marc's Walk for our Furry Friends

Has everyone finished throwing buckets of water over their heads? Yes? Good. Now can we have your attention please? To paraphrase what they say on the BBC, “Other charity events are also available.”

Marc in training wearing the
Thames Path t-shirt...

Marc, a long time friend and editor on the Karl trilogy, is endeavouring to walk 100km in a 24 hour period as part of the Thames Path Challenge in September. He will be walking to raise money for the Celia Hammond Animal Trust.

This charity walk/run takes place over a 24 hour period and goes from Putney Bridge to Henley over weekend of the 13th/14th September.

...and in the Celia Hammond vest

As far as I know he is the only entry raising money for Celia Hammond at this event.

He has chosen this charity because of the special care they provided for the boys during their lives, two little furry fellows commonly known and Bertie and Pilch. (You can find out their full names on his JustGiving Page where you can also help by sponsoring him. You can read more as well on his Facebook Event page)

I absolutely adored these two, and so did everyone else who met them.

Celia Hammond Animal Trust run clinics in Canning Town and Lewisham, and have a sanctuary in East Sussex and a branch in Tunbridge Wells. They provide refuge for cats and kittens who for various reasons cannot be taken elsewhere. Provide low cost neutering and veterinary services for those for those unable to afford private veterinary bills and do not qualify under other charities, and help rescue and re-home animals in need, amongst other things. 

You can find out a lot more about them by visiting their website:   http://www.celiahammond.org/

Bertie taking up editing duties

Some of you will already have seen a photo of Bertie in the past. On occasions when Marc was away the boys would come to stay with me. Even after Pilch had passed away Bertie still came to me for his holiday and on one occasion took up editing duties on book 2 of the Karl Trilogy.

Until recently the internet was only good for one or two things, cute cat pictures being one of them. So here I present some cute photos of the boys along with some fond memories I have of them. I know there are plenty of warm, loving, affectionate little critters out there, but in my experience I have never met another pair like them.  

Two brothers planning something.

It’s in their memory that Marc is doing this walk and it’s in their memory that I post this and ask that you do more than just like the post but make a donation, no matter how small, every little will help Marc reach his target.

Or you can text your donation by sending a text with the code MMCH69 and the amount you want to donate to 70070.

For example: text MMCH69 £5 to 70070

I remember one time staying over at Marc’s, whilst selling my flat and buying a new place. Now selling and buying is very stressful. The woman I was purchasing from phoned me on the Saturday morning and practically screamed at me that she had heard my buyers were pulling out – which was complete rubbish. As a result she would be pulling out and was going to put the place I was buying back onto the market. After the call I was on the point of cracking, two little furry heads appeared at the window – they had gone out to play earlier – and within seconds they had both bounded over to give me kitten cuddles.

Two little terrors at dinner time.

Pilch was quite a cheeky boy at times.  But it was harder to get him to pose for a photo.

Bertie decides to take up the WiiFit.

If ever I stayed over I would always wake up with either or both of them snuggled up against me. Even in summer when it would be too warm, Bertie always made sure he lay in touching distance. It’s this sort of trust and affection given by an animal that to me is very humbling.

Whatever it was Aunty, we didn’t do it. Promise.

He might have always been slightly smaller than his brother , Pilch could sure eat. 

‘Please Aunty Derek can I have some more, my brother ate mine.’

We got here first.

No idea where you're going to sleep tonight.

Now which of these do I want to listen to?

Bertie and I posing for a selfie.

Whenever I went over to Marc’s, Bertie would always dash into the living room from 

where ever he was, leap up onto the arm of the sofa and wave a paw at me, meowing profusely 

until I sat down so that he could nuzzle me then snuggle up against me. What a welcome.

https://www.justgiving.com/marcmajor/

https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/933124803368160/

Many thanks,

Derek, Marc, Bertie, Pilch, Karl & everyone in Miltonburg & Esmay