Encore bed1/2/2024 ![]() ![]() BL The Stand’s New Town theatre, 2-10 August Mog the Forgetful Cat This is a show that perfectly marries blustery campaigning material with blithering clown comedy. This show is about life as “a 50-year-old menopausal woman”, and hesitation, forgetfulness – and hot flushes – are all part of its carefully worked-out modus operandi. The critic sharpens his pen: is Christie under-rehearsed or – perish the thought! – might her supreme comic powers be on the wane? But the comedian is a step ahead of the crowd. AR Roundabout Summerhall, 2-27 August Bridget Christie: Who Am I?Ī handful of times in the opening stages of Bridget Christie’s new show, she stumbles over or forgets her lines. Following the lives of two apparently unconnected strangers, Bangers weaves their stories of self-discovery together seamlessly. And with a DJ ruling each scene from behind his decks, we’re in for quite the party. Bangers, written by Danusia Samal and co-produced by Cardboard Citizens and Soho theatre, is a tribute to the sounds of early 00s R&B and garage. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/the Guardian BangersĬue the music because here comes a play that feels like a club night. Self-discovery … Danusia Samal, Duramaney Kamara and Darragh Hand in Bangers. A scintillating monologue, co-created by Ad Infinitum’s Pugh and George Mann, which contains centuries of ancient Greek drama in 75 minutes. She begins by telling us how it got there and proceeds to other swashbuckling stories: of the Amazon queen Penthesilea, the seer Cassandra, the wronged mother Clytemnestra. Deborah Pugh speaks as the decapitated Medusa whose head is emblazoned on Athena’s shield. “This is the story of my severed head.” As first lines go, it’s hard to beat for drama. KW Pleasance Courtyard, 2-23 August Beautiful Evil Things Since we’re here already, we may as well help her out. With the pandemic, the scarcity of Arts Council funding and the unignorable pull to grow up and out of the arts, her co-performers have dropped out, she tells us. The disruptive artist’s new show is an intensely haphazard cabaret evening, in which she performs every act. The floor is littered with confetti and broken glass. Lucy McCormick’s half-naked body is covered in tomato puree. BL Pleasance Courtyard, 18-26 August Lucy and Friends It dramatises (I use the world loosely) an arch rivalry between aristocratic Sylvester String, reigning king of the west London party circuit, and from-the-streets TikTok upstart MC Spitta, kids’ favourite and pretender to String’s throne. Ed MacArthur and Ghosts star Kiell Smith-Bynoe’s show String v Spitta is as delightful as those predecessors. The world of children’s entertainment has provided a rich seam for comedians: see Justin Edwards’ alcoholic clown Jeremy Lion or the delinquent gameshow Funz and Gamez. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/the Guardian String v Spitta Rivals … Ed MacArthur and Kiell Smith-Bynoe in String v Spitta. Adam Spreadbury-Maher’s exhilarating production plunges the audience into the world of Leith drug addicts and hardmen with a pulverising force. If that is you, then Trainspotting Live will be right up your street. Yes, it had scenes of drug-addled bed soiling, mindless assaults and fatal child neglect, but perhaps you wish it had been more visceral. Maybe you thought Irvine Welsh’s novel was on the restrained side. Perhaps you thought Trainspotting was too coy. AR Underbelly George Square, 2-27 August Trainspotting Live Armed with only their Twitter feeds, their “murder gang” of limited online devotees and no experience, can they do it? This murder mystery musical presented by Fleabag producer Francesca Moody is a thrilling foray into silliness. ![]() That means they’ve got the chance to take on the job they were born to do. Their favourite author, Felicia Taylor, has just been killed. Kathy and Stella are the murder-obsessed hosts of Yorkshire’s least successful true crime podcast. ![]()
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