Reviews

Oh what a shambles! Not so much the acts themselves, but the so called Gala (I think they left the “H” off the end of that word) Opening. I have LOVED the previous Galas…. Everything from Sammy J to Mary Wilson in properly equipped and professionally run venues; but this was like visiting your favourite gourmet restaurant only to be told the award winning chef had left and the food was prepared in a microwave.

Sometimes a performer will take your breath away with the manner in which they joyfully push against the conventional boundaries of cabaret tradition. Lady Rizo is just this kind of exhilarating fresh-air blast, and you owe it to yourselves to put her name at the top of your list.

Just when you thought you had seen all theatre has to offer and it was safe to go back in the water, along comes a shark by the name of Churchill to turn all your pre-conceptions upside down.

Love and Information is a conceit – and is, in almost equal parts, infuriating and exhilarating. It arrogantly throws out everything we know about theatre, and the nature of drama and linear narrative, and replaces it with a gigantic Haiku where the sum is greater than the combined value of the words….and there are words a-plenty.

I must admit I have avoided Spamalot in the past, but I’m glad I took the plunge this time around. The show is a paradox. On the one hand being a 14 time Tony nominee and a Broadway hit, based on the work of one of the most iconic comedy groups in history; and conversely being a gigantic urine extractor full of old gags and corny music which surely has something to offend everyone (though I applaud its delicious political incorrectness). Oh, there is one other thing I should mention…it is abso-freaking-lutely hilarious.