Category: theatre

reviews, theatre

Theatre Review: Plied & Prejudice – Waterloo Vaults

ramblingmads

On Thursday my friend and I went to the Vaults theatre in Waterloo, just round the corner from the Old Vic, to see five very enthusiastic and energetic Aussies play 20 characters in a parody of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, with a fab cocktail bar and despite the heat, driving us all a bit mad, a great night out.

The run has been extended into August, so get those tickets now – here – you’ll regret it if you don’t.

I laughed the whole way through, it’s absolutely hilarious.

The bar area is designed as a garden full of delights, the bar serves delicious frozen margs (and other drinks), there’s a selfie area, an Only Fans corner (see photos), and a Crystal Maze style money booth, where you could win the Marriage Mart with a Darcy or a Bingley or lose with a Collins or Wickham. It all sets the scene.

The show itself is in the round, with the audience sitting either side, the actors in their multiple role playing, quick costume changes, at one point it gets so fast, it’s dizzying. And they do this every night!

Mr & Mrs Bennett
Lizzie (centre), Jane (right)
The three younger Bennetts
The slimiest Mr Collins ever
Lady Catherine De Bourgh

If you play the video below with the sound on you will hear all the laughing, including my cackle!

Mr Collins and Lizzie

They whizz through the novel, skipping all the terribly boring bits. We do get Mr Darcy in his wet shirt (because deviating from the source material is fine) and even a kiss! The actor who plays Mr Collins *shudder* made him the creepiest, slimiest version I can remember, no idea why Charlotte marries him. 

Lady Catherine de Bourgh literally creaks as she moves. And everyone marries their cousins because well, it’s legal in Australia (Google it!). There’s lots of in jokes that will keep you giggling all night and marriage vows that sound very reminiscent of Rick Astley…

Honestly it’s a genuinely brilliant night out and we had a great time. It culminates in a dance party/wedding reception to which there audience is invited.

Dance time with cast and audience

We were gifted our tickets, as it was a press night, so thank you very much.

theatre

Plied and Prejudice – a theatrical night out

ramblingmads

Tonight a friend and I are going to see this amazing sounding show. Plied & Prejudice is a parody of Jane Austen featuring music, dancing and hopefully a riotous good time. I’ll be back later in the week with my review and recommendation.  But here’s what others have had to say and a bit more about the show in case you fancy booking tickets before then.

“A 90 minute whirlwind that had us crying with laughter. Five Stars.” The Sun

“Is it bonkers? Yes. Is it a lot of fun? Also yes.” Evening Standard

“A hilarious adaptation well worth a watch.” Metro 

“One of London’s most boldly interactive shows.” Time Out

“Definitely one of the most fun things you should be doing this month.” Stylist

“This hilarious gin-sloshing soiree is unleashing tongue-in-cheek charm

and infectious energy on London audiences.” Secret London

“Jane Austen like you’ve never seen her before.” Harper’s Bazaar

“A truly insane evening.” Glamour Magazine

Telling the tale of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy as you’ve never seen it before Plied and Prejudice invites you to Pemberley for Mr Darcy’s booziest ball. Equal parts performance and party, this immersive show delivers lots of audience participation complete with dance lessons, inappropriate proposals, free flowing drinks brought to you by the servants, that wet shirt scene and cameos from Keira Knightly (not the real one!).

With five actors scrambling to play twenty characters in this chaotic retelling, all notions of respectable theatre (and Regency etiquette) get thrown out the door! Direct from a sellout run in Australia, this is Pride and Prejudice as the BBC would never abide.



Whether you’re an Austen die-hard, or you’d rather be watching Die Hard, you’re sure to love it—most ardently! Bring your eligible bachelors, your unmarried daughters, and the lover you’ll settle for if your cousin won’t have you, for an unhinged night of love, lust, and libations.



Produced by Australian outfit Woodward Productions (The Woman In Black, Jersey Boys, A Very Naughty Christmas) and exec produced by London’s Glass Half Full Productions (The Lehman Trilogy, Ocean at the End of the Lane, 9 to 5: The Musical, Back to the Future: The Musical), Plied and Prejudice has been written by Matthew Semple, from the originating producer Alex Woodward and directed by Dash Kruck, having sold over 40,000 tickets in Australia. The stunning immersive set is designed by legendary theatre designer Penny Challen who has made sets for ROH, RSC, ENO and National Theatre, amongst many others.

Dates: Opened on 13th March 2025.Extended until 8th August 2025.

Performance times: 7.30pm – 9.30pm, Thursday-Sunday. 2.30pm – 4.30pm, Saturday-Sunday. 

Venue: The Vaults Launcelot St, London SE1 7AD

Nearest station:  Waterloo

Box Office Link: https://pliedandpredjudice.line-up.tickets/event/36387

Age Guidance: Strictly 18+. No under 18s will be admitted to the show.

Run Time: 2 Hours

Warnings: Drug and Alcohol references, Coarse Language, Sexual Language, Inappropriate Jokes, Loud Music, and the Wettest of Wet T-shirt Contests

ethics, life, theatre

The problem with access

ramblingmads

I don’t post about this often but it’s been on my mind recently and it’s weighing me down.

I love the theatre and I love ballet, have done since I was tiny (expelled from ballet lessons aged 7 for wanting to do ‘real dancing’ not endless good toes, bad toes, expelled from drama class at 13 for being “too dramatic” – I kid you not).

But since meeting the Mr a serious question has arisen – why are so many arts spaces hostile to the disabled?

My Mr broke his back aged 21 falling from a window at a party, he had extensive spinal surgery and rehab, he now uses a wheelchair to get around as he is paralysed from the waist down (yes he can still have sex before you ask, no I won’t explain in detail).

He wasn’t a massive theatre goer before we got together 6 years ago, he’d been to a few musicals and some live comedy. I took him to his first festival, first Shakespeare play and first ballet.

Some arts venues are brilliant, super accommodating and helpful (the Lyric Hammersmith, whatever the Hammersmith Apollo is now called, the O2, and a few West End theatres can’t do enough), others are a bit of a pain (Barbican, with its annoying registration process for example) and others are just downright obstructive.

We went to Sadler’s Wells a few years ago to see Matthew Bourne’s Gothic Sleeping Beauty, he’s my favourite choreographer, and I was delighted. The Mr booked the tickets and while they were a bit useless about it, we did get sorted in the end.

Christmas 2014 – Bourne’s Edward Scissorhands is at Sadler’s Wells. I want to go, the Mr says he’ll book, a Christmas present.

We don’t go, because SW have decided people lie about needing a wheelchair space and they want proof – a very particular proof, that even Government agencies don’t ask for, before they’ll make any booking.

We complain, it’s a really obnoxious policy and the access manager isn’t much better. We can’t find the document they want, and no other, even a note from his GP will do.

Who lies about needing a wheelchair space? They’ll look incredibly stupid when they turn up and have to stand, as chairs are removed to make room. You just refuse them then or ask them to pay the full value, or whatever.

It’s a policy I’ve never come across before or since. But it basically says “ballet is not for you” to anyone ringing up.

Ballet gets a lot of stick for being elitist, something many companies and venues are trying to change so to have the dance venue in London behave like this is extraordinary.

This Christmas just gone Sleeping Beauty was back, we didn’t even discuss going, we saw Bill Bailey in the West End instead (he was brilliant and the theatre’s assistance excellence) but I did ring Sadler’s Wells and they still have this mad policy in place. Way to tell disabled dance fans you don’t want them cluttering up your audience.

ramblingmads

reviews, theatre

Easily Offended?

ramblingmads

Took my boyfriend to the theatre tonight for his birthday. We went to see The Book of Mormon.

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We saw Avenue Q a few years ago, and this is by the same team (who also wrote South Park – which I can’t stand).

BoM is very, very funny but not for anyone who doesn’t like swearing, or sexual references. Basically, if you’re easily offended, skip this and see something else (Les Mis, Cats, Phantom, all good).

The story is that of two Mormon missionaries from Utah who are dispatched to northern Uganda for their two year mission – to convert and baptize the natives.

A lot of the jokes revolve around the fish out of water scenario these 19 year olds find themselves in. However, others are very crude and based on American stereotypes of Africans. There are jokes about Aids, poverty, FGM (I didn’t find these funny), warlords, rape (again, not so funny) and dysentery.

Fans of South Park will know this crudity, and find it amusing, and while I laughed at some of the jokes, others really grated. South Park has never been something I would choose to watch, I really don’t think it’s funny or clever.

I think it depends on your comedic taste and level of sensitivity to near-knuckle humour, as to whether this show would be for you.

The man sat in front of me laughed so hard at times, I was a bit concerned as he was bright red.

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ramblingmads

adventures, life, music, reviews, theatre

Amanda Palmer at Union Chapel

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I love music, I believe the right song at the right time can change your entire perspective. As someone with partial hearing loss (it’s genetic and will get worse) I try to make the most of the music I can still hear.

Tonight I went to Union Chapel in Islington, a beautiful church that also hosts concerts, to see Amanda Palmer perform on her last tour before she becomes someone’s mother (she’s 6 months pregnant).

I saw Amanda there about 4 or 5 years ago and that was amazing, tonight was even better. The acoustics and ambience of the building add a certain something to the proceedings.

Amanda’s shows don’t feel like a gig, more like An Evening With , as she introduces acts and brings her friend on stage to sing with her.

Kicking off proceedings is the joyful noise of London band Perhaps Contraption – a combination of a brass band with a punk aesthetic. They are tremendous fun.

Then comedian Andrew O’Neill comes on and does some very funny one liners, reads out some hilarious rejection letters and introduces Amanda.

She stands in the pulpit and sings ‘The Wind That Shakes The Barley’ unaccompanied, it is beautiful.

Then she descends to the piano to kick things off with ‘Astronaut’ and ‘Ampersand’ from her ‘Who Killed Amanda Palmer?’ album.

She talks about the previous night’s show – webcast live to Patreon subscribers, soon to be free to stream to everyone. She tells us tonight will be better as she can relax more. She takes requests from the audience, I ask for ‘I Google You’, but sadly there isn’t enough time to do them all. She performs some of them with her ukelele.

She reads a random extract from her book ‘The Art of Asking’, selected by an audience member, she talks about writing and her infamous Kickstarter.

Her special guest is drag performer and cabaret star Le Gateau Chocolat, who is magnificent, funny, clever, joyous.

Then she brings her friend Whitney on and they do a Garfunkel and Oates song about how smug pregnant women are and a few Ask Amanda questions.

Then they do a Dresden Dolls classic – Delilah – I think I last heard her do this with Georgia from Bitter Ruin, it’s a great song.

There’s time for a Ben Folds cover and a riotous Leeds United featuring Perhaps Contraption, before the standing ovation.

The encore is a Kimya Dawson song and Ukelele Anthem.

Normally she stays and signs anything you like, but she’s pregnant, her feet are swollen and she hasn’t been off stage to pee once.

So, as this is technically a book tour, there’s a signing tomorrow evening in Waterstones.

I think it’s the relationship she has with her fans, old and new, that makes her shows feel more intimate, she’s joking and waving, knowing we’ll sing along, that we’re in on it, whatever it is.

I leave buzzing, music always seems to bring me alive a little more.

We walk to Kings Cross, down Pentonville Road, past the park where clown Joseph Grimaldi’s grave is sited, the evening faded and the wind picking up, talking about the show, about ideas it’s given us – things we’re mulling over.

The way you should be, electric from the crowd, from the rhythm. Not bad for a Tuesday.

ramblingmads

adventures, life, reviews, theatre

Fat Sam’s Grand Slam…

ramblingmads

One of my greatest loves in life is the theatre, I wanted to be an actress but have crippling stage fright so I have to settle for a seat in the audience.

Last night we went to the Lyric theatre in Hammersmith to see their fabulous production of Alan Parker’s Bugsy Malone.

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Previously thought to be un-stageable, the Lyric’s talented director Sean Hughes and his cast of future megastars proved that completely wrong.

As in the film that introduced Jodie Foster to the world, all the roles are played by child actors, and let me tell you, I highly expect these insanely talented kids to go far.

From their breathtaking dance routines, to the (mostly) flawless American accents, to the beautiful singing voices (the girl playing Blousey Brown stood out in particular) and the brilliant comic asides from Fat Sam himself, this was one hell of a show and they deserved every second of the standing ovation.

I wasn’t applauding because ‘Aww look at how cute they are’, I was applauding incredible talent, which comes in all shapes and sizes(and ages).

Yes, most of them attend drama classes or stage school (as I did for a bit) but so do dozens of other young performers, and sadly some of them will never stand on a professional stage.

So hats off to the cast of Bugsy, and if you’re in or near London, go, it’s a great theatre, a fantastic show, and the tickets are £15. What more could you want?

ramblingmads