Miss Nightingale - Hippodrome Casino

Miss Nightingale

Hippodrome Casino
Cranbourn Street,
Leicester Square,
London, WC2H 7JH

Wow! This has been a week filled with some amazing nights at the theatre and Miss Nightingale was a perfect finish to a lovely week, before we fly out for a short break.

A casino isn't the first place you would think of as a site for an evening of entertainment (which did not include some fun at the tables). I had however been to this venue before for an excellent brunch and was quite excited when Joanne of Love Pop-Ups London mentioned the opportunity to review Miss Nightingale at the Casino Theatre.

Friends who had watched Miss Nightingale at the vaults last year, had really enjoyed it, but I had missed the opportunity given their short run and my over-full calendar.

We arrived at the Hippodrome. This time, I wasn't asked for my id  (as this is a casino, it is one of the few places in the UK that does ask for id with age proof, so do remember to carry one). I guess I'm finally showing my age ;)

We headed up to the first floor, perusing the fascinating display cases of memorabilia from previous theatre performances at the venue.

We stood in line to get our wrist bands that would allow us entry and exit of the small theater. The tickets included a complimentary drink coupon. The drinks coupon was valid on some house wines, so the waitress was really surprised when 3 of us asked if we could use the coupon for a non-alcoholic beverage. She got permission to accept our coupons for sodas and orange juice and we were set.

This is a really small and intimate theatre. Seating for the show was arranged around 4 seats to a table. There were a few comfortable looking booths towards the rear. There are around 3 rows of tables, if you include the booths. We got a seat in the middle and this was the perfect distance to the stage. The whole seating arrangement fit in completely with the show which is set mostly in a nightclub.

The location and seats were good, the only criticism of the theater is that around half way through the play, it got really cold inside and we had to put our jackets back on and order hot coffee.

Miss Nightingale is set in an underground cabaret club in the heart of London in 1942. Maggie Brown, a nurse and aspiring singer and her best friend George Nowodny, a songwriter and Jewish refugee, become the headliners at 'The Cockpit', the newest night club in town, owned by wealthy socialite and RAF war-hero, Sir Frank Worthington-Blythe. Maggie’s married, black-marketeer beau Tom Connor, paves the way for ‘Miss Nightingale’ to be born, and the musical duo quickly find themselves with a West-End hit!

However, what the leading lady doesn’t know, is that George and Sir Frank are hiding a secret and as Miss Nightingale’s success grows, so does a forbidden love between the two men.

The play deals with so many pressing issues of that period. The rampant homophobia, where homosexuals were suspected of being spies simply because it was thought that their sexual preferences made them susceptible to be  blackmailed by the enemy. Class differences, Jewish refugees, Unwed motherhood are all themes that are touched upon in this cabaret musical by Matthew Bugg.

The six member cast is multi-talented. They act, they dance, they sing, they play multiple musical instruments. They sing like angels... even though a lot of it is double entendre.

While Lauren Chinery plays the lead as Miss Nightingale (also playing the piano, clarinet, flute & saxophone), for me the star of the show was Matthew Floyd Jones who plays Jewish refugee George Nowodny. His role was more nuanced and his voice is sublime.

Oliver Mawdsley as RAF war-hero, Sir Frank Worthington-Blythe and Adam Langstaff as Maggie’s conniving beau Tom Connor are also excellent. Matthew Bugg has researched WWII era London extensively and it shows, in every setting and all the lyrics of Miss Nightingale from Meine Liebe Berlin to Stand Up & Be Counted. From Let Me Play on Your Pipe to You've Got to Get Your Sausage Where You Can.

The lyrics may be double entendre, but they are so much more than that. They convey the hardships of war time Britain, the deaths of young men at war, women being compelled to step out into the work space, but still expected to look beautiful and well made up all the time, the lack of basic provisions like tea and sugar that were considered luxuries and the black market that grew up to supply these and clothing items like nylons and silk.

Overall, Miss Nightingale was a much better experience than Chicago, which I watched on Monday. And, I FINALLY got to see some tap dancing!

Miss Nightingale is playing at Hippodrome Casino Theatre until 6th May. Tickets start at £22.50. I would definitely recommend this one.

The Ferryman - Gielgud Theatre

The Ferryman

Gielgud Theatre
Shaftesbury Avenue,
London, W1D 6AR

Northern Ireland, 1981. The Carney family prepare for the annual harvest with a day of hard work on the land and a traditional night of feasting and celebration ahead. But this year they will be interrupted by a visitor.

This is just the simplest possible introduction to this play directed by Oscar winner Sam Mendes. The writer of this play that has been nominated for EIGHT Olivier Awards this year is Jez Butterworth whose most recent work on television was the fantastical Britannia - which I quite enjoyed, but after being addicted to "Game of Thrones", that's a difficult genre for anyone else to measure up to.

The Ferryman however is a different matter altogether and here Jez Butterworth has hit it out of the park. The play lasts just over 3 hours, but the intensity is maintained throughout and there isn't a single moment where audience interest lags. It has a huge ensemble cast including some kids, a baby, a goose and a rabbit! I don't remember any play in the recent past which had live animals on stage...

Rob Howell's set is picture perfect and is literally a character in this ensemble cast.

The play is rooted in the tragedy of "the disappeared" during the Irish Troubles : where family members just disappeared with no body to be found, sometimes for decades. Butterworth has said When somebody disappears for 10 years time stops, which is what I really think the play is about.” Laura Donnelly (who originally played the role of Caitlin Carney) was just a child when her uncle was taken away by the IRA, shot and dumped in a bog — a story that is retold in The Ferryman.

While this is the heart of the story, the play is also about family dynamics and relationships, teenage angst, patriotism and how it can be twisted into radicalisation and the private devastation by wars.

When the play started, we were a little concerned about being able to follow the Irish brogue, but after the first few minutes, we quickly fell into the cadence and were thoroughly drawn into the family drama.

The acting is absolutely brilliant and as an audience member, it feels like you have stepped into a charged Christmas family dinner at the most inopportune moment, when you don't know if it would be politer to stay or go.

Rosalie Craig as Caitlin Carney, Owen McDonnell as Quinn Carney, Sian Thomas as bitter Aunt Pat, Justin Edwards as slow Tom Kettle, Stella McCusker as faraway Aunt Maggie, Mark Lambert as Uncle Pat trying to steer the conversation away from explosive topics are each outstanding. But for me, the absolute stand out in this fantastic cast was Alex Warburton as Declan Corcoran.

The Ferryman is very very powerful storytelling and definitely worth a full 5 stars. Its running at the Gielgud Theatre until 19th May. It has been extended a couple of times in the last few months, but if you can find tickets, don't wait, just go.

Disclainer : Images taken from The Ferryman website

The Grinning Man - Trafalgar Studios

The Grinning Man Musical
Trafalgar Studios
14 Whitehall,
Westminster,
London SW1A 2DY

In April 1869, Victor Hugo published a French Novel L'Homme qui rit. The English translation was The Man Who Laughs. It has since been adapted for stage and screen.

In 2016 a musical adaptation titled The Grinning Man opened at the Bristol Old Vic, followed by a transfer to the Trafalgar Studios in London's West End from December 2017. The writer is Carl Grose and Tim Phillips & Marc Teitler are the Composer-Lyricists. The tragi-comic musical is directed by Tom Morris who co-directed War Horse.

The adapted story tells of an orphan boy Grinpayne who finds another orphaned baby girl in the freezing forest. They are rescued by a wolf Homo and taken in by a carnival vendor Ursus. Grinpayne has a mutilated face (and is perhaps the inspiration for the Joker in the Batman series) and Dea (the girl) is blind. They grow up together, with Grinpayne's disfigurement being used as a carnival attraction.

The carnival comes to London where royalty happens to see Grinpayne and instead of being horrified or disgusted or treating him as an object of humour or ridicule, Prince Dirry-Moir arrives at some kind of self-awareness and self-actualisation which pulls him out of his ennui. He introduces Grinpayne to Princess Josiana who wants to marry him.

But who is Grinpayne?
How did his face get so thoroughly mutilated as a child?
Why can't he remember his past?
Whose love is true? Dea's or Princess Josiana's?

The story itself is a tale about class differences and the vagaries of Royal edicts. Originally set in 17th Century England, under the reign of King James II it was also a political commentary of the times.

At the Trafalgar studios, the stage sets encompass the whole theater and it feels as though you are actually under the big top of a carnival. The sets by designer Jon Bausor are stunning, the music hummable and memorable, the acting is very good and the story makes you laugh and cry in turns. However, THE stand out of the show for me is the outstanding puppetry by Finn Caldwell and Toby Olié for Gyre & Gimble (best known for their work on War Horse). The puppets aren't caricatures, but characters themselves. The wolf and the younger versions of Grinpayne and Dea. So life like and relatable, it is very easy to empathise with them.

Louis Maskell as Grinpayne and Julian Bleach as Barkilphedro are phenomenal. Amanda Wilkin as Josiana hits some fantastic notes.


Definitely a must watch. Whether you enjoy, theater, musicals or puppetry there's something here for everybody. Its running until April 2018 at Trafalgar Studios.

Dry Powder - Hampstead Theatre

Dry Powder

Hampstead Theatre
Eton Avenue,
Swiss Cottage,
London, NW3 3EU

Rick runs a private equity firm. The play begins with him caught in the middle of a publicity nightmare since his firm forced massive layoffs at a supermarket chain at the same time as he was celebrating a lavish engagement party, which even had a live elephant.

His two partners Seth and Jenny have completely differing views on how to salvage their reputation. Seth has brokered an opportunity to buy a firm called Landmark Luggage. Seth believes they need to do something to develop the firm and improve its market share, increase jobs within the country and which will bring them positive publicity to outweigh the negative, but Jenny is all about maximising returns, by any means necessary.

The title Dry Powder refers to marketable securities that are highly liquid and considered cash-like.

The set was different. The mirrors in the backdrop reflected the audience, very unique.

I originally bought the tickets blindly as a chance to watch Tom Riley (whom we loved in Da Vinci's Demons) and Hayley Atwell (who we admired in Conviction much more than in her role as Agent Peggy Carter - but then I also think that Captain America and Agent Peggy Carter are the weakest superheroes in the Marvel universe) live.

It was a thrill to watch them live and Hayley Atwell's performance as Jenny was brilliant. While it would be easy to turn Jenny into an evil caricature hellbent on profit at any cost, Atwell humanised her as a mathematical genius, albeit one for whom the human cost (jobs, emotions, families) is irrelevant to any calculations. In fact, it is Riley's Seth who ends up looking naive in the end, especially given Joseph Balderrama as Jeff's about face in the end.

Dry Powder has plenty of moments that make you laugh and others that make you think. We quite enjoyed Sarah Burgess script. I can't remember the last time we watched a play which felt like a dramatised version of office life. This hedge fund drama is a good peek into the life of private finance. Anyone who is fairly aware of financial markets would enjoy this performance. There are a lot of technical terms bandied about and if numbers and finance make your head spin, then you would lose out on a lot of the dialogue.

Given that the Hampstead Theatre is a newer theatre, the seats are all comfortable and have a good view of the stage. No pillars in the middle of seating to create one of those dreaded "restricted view" spots.

 

Edited to Add : Dry Powder has been nominated for Best New Comedy at the 2018 Olivier Awards

Rum Masterclass at Cottons - Vauxhall

When Joanne from Love Pop Ups London mentioned that Cottons at Vauxhall (the newest of four branches - opened last month) was looking for some bloggers to sample one of their Rum Masterclasses, I jumped out of my eating/writing ennui and applied.

Every single rum that we tried was amazing enough to be drunk on its own. The experience has forced me to rethink rums as just an alcoholic base which needs a mixer, to something that can be savoured on its own. They are great in cocktails and some rums go partuicularly well with certain specific mixers - like Ginger beer. But a lot of them can be slowly sipped on and enjoyed for just what they are.

Read the entire post on my Food Blog - Kim Eats n Blogs.

There's such a large variety out there, that an experience of a masterclass like this one really helps start you down a wonderfully interesting path. Priced around £20 per person for rum masterclass only or £35 per person which includes a 2-course dinner after the class, its money well spent.

Cottons -Vauxhall.
Unit 12 Flagstaff House,
St Georges Wharf,
Vauxhall, SW8 2LE
-
T: 0207 091 0793

Read the entire post on my Food Blog.

The Camden Watch Company and The Stables Market , London

 

The Camden Watch Company,
88B Stables Market
Chalk Farm Road
Camden Town
London NW1 8AH
Phone number 020 7485 7963
Open everyday 11am-6pm

I was wandering around Camden Market last weekend, I was there for the Cheese festival and "discovered" the Stables Market. Despite visiting Camden multiple times and wandering around the area, I never even realised that this beautiful historic section existed behind the rest of the market.

This is such a beautiful historic market with intricately designed gateways and interesting bric-a-brac on offer. I've never ventured this far in Camden and so I was quite surprised and how Alladins Cave like this section of Camden is compared to all the cut price London souvenirs and generic tshirt stores on the outside.

The Stables Markets date back to 1854 and has been loving restored. It's worth walking through, even if you don't buy a thing.

One of the wonderful shops that I discovered here was The Camden Watch Company, and I loved what I saw. Limited edition watches. About 20-30 different types in glass cases. Beautifully displayed with descriptions on the inspiration for each of them - gave it an almost museum like feel.

I learned from their website that The Camden Watch Company is an independent British watch brand, founded by two Camden dwelling watch lovers, Anneke Short (a British watch designer trained in Switzerland) and Jerome Robert (a Swiss native, born and raised in the heart of the watch valley of Neuchatel, before moving to Camden Town in 2010). Together, they founded a thriving watch design studio, AMS Design Studio, before embarking on their next step – creating their own brand. The aim was simple; to create a brand that not only reflected the vibrant and dynamic Camden that we see today, but that also encompassed the rich heritage of the area. And so The Camden Watch Company was born.

In June 2014, The Camden Watch Company flagship store opened its doors to the public to the very first time in the Victorian building locally known as the Horse Hospital.

Camden Market was originally developed in 1839 as the Camden Goods Depot, the London terminus for goods traffic from both the railways and the canals. As the area continued to grow, more warehouses for the goods and more stables for the Victorian working horses moving the goods were needed, leading to the construction of the Stables Yard. In 1883, a two storey building was erected in the North-West corner of the Stables Yard. It accommodated 92 horses over 2 floors, including 12 loose boxes that were provided for resting tired or injured horses and led to this building becoming known as the “Horse Hospital”.

The watch designs are all identified by numbers that are significant to Camden. I ended up buying a watch for myself and the husband and both of us are very happy with the way they look. Plus, they come with a one year warranty.

I didn't take any pictures inside the store, but they have a lovely instagram account and you can see pictures of their shop and products on their website.

I struggle to find quality gifts made in the UK/London to take back home. The Camden Watch Company fits the bill perfectly and I'm sure I will return multiple times. They have an online store too if that works better for you.

Chambers of Flavour V2 - The Gingerline Experience

So excited to finally get a chance to do this.

I'd heard about the Gingerline experience before, but their tickets are so darn hard to lay hands on. So, when Alex gave a couple of yelpers the opportunity to try them out, I threw as many hats in the ring as I could and was chosen for a 6pm slot on Tuesday. So much excitement to get into Version 2 of the Chambers of Flavour.

When they send you your ticket, they ask you if you have any food allergies / intolerance. A friend with me had a shellfish allergy and she was well catered for during the experience.

Now everything is kept super secret until the very end, including the location, until 4pm on the evening of. I received my text message at 4:30 and I just about managed to reach in time for my 6pm time slot. Thanks to the wonderful chaos of Oxford Street Station during evening rush hour in the midst of Christmas Shopping mania, making it a herculean effort to change lines.

You have to reach on time, given their format, if you reach late, they won't be able to accommodate you in the next lot. This is not the WB studio and they only take a maximum of 16 people in at a time. So plan to be around the Liverpool Street / Islington area by 5pm, if you have an early slot.

We were served a welcome alcoholic drink on arrival that was appreciated after the biting cold outside. A lovely machinist explained the concept to me and ran through a few rules (no photographs inside etc)

The pre-experience space includes:
- The bar which opens at 5pm.
- A complimentary coat check where you can leave all bags and purses (recommended to leave your hands free during the experience)
- Washrooms (best to use them here. There is one more opportunity mid way through the experience, but you will miss out a bit on the banter)
- Seating space with tables.

The bar had a nice variety of cocktails. Some could be consumed in the waiting area and there were 4 options that could be bottled for takeaway during the experience. (No other opportunity to buy drinks inside) They pack it in cooling bags and you can even choose a bottle of wine instead of cocktails. These drinks have to be paid for and are not covered in the ticket price. Prices are around 8-9 Pounds a glass. Mocktails too are available.

The experience flows through a story, each phase takes you into a new space where you meet new characters, enjoy a nibble or a drink. Each room was equipped with water bottles, glasses and napkins.

The performers were lovely, having so much fun. There's a lot of audience involvement at every stage. The food was much better than I expected (supper theater doesn't always have the best food, but ginger line has designed the experience around the food and that makes all the difference)

Tips:
1. Leave everything at the coat check and leave your hands free.
2. Buy drinks at the bar, before you handover everything to the coat check.
3. Use washrooms at the start to maximise your experience inside.
4. Arrive early if you can.
5. Flat shoes and comfortable trousers/jeans make it easier to move around.
6. When you finally arrive, you may not be certain that you have found the right door and there's no one outside that you can check with. Just read the instructions carefully and you will know when you are at the right place. As you walk closer to the doors, you will hear some muted chatter.

Have fun.

I did love the experience and if I'm lucky enough to get tickets for the next one, I'd definitely return.

The Twelfth Night @The Actors Church / @IrisTheatre #iris12thnight

A Shakespearean Play set in an Actual Garden in the heart of the City with multiple locations and the audience moving around the garden with the actors? Whats not to love about that?

The minute I heard about the concept (from Anne Marie's twitter feed - We LOVED her in These Trees are Made of Blood), I knew we had to catch this play.

And so we found ourselves on a Friday evening, among a select group of people with access to St Paul's Church (also known as The Actors Church) in Covent Garden, while others contented themselves with street performers in the piazza.

The play by Iris Theatre was set out in 6 locations across the church and the gardens, each one more atmospheric than the other.

The Twelfth Night is a typical Shakespearean comedy with mistaken identities and love triangles / quadrangles etc. We had watched a recording of the play performed at The Shakespeares Globe on Star Arts, but that was so pale and insipid compared to this version.

This version, directed by Vik Sivalingam was light and airy and fun and even the young kids in the audience seemed to be loving Shakespeare. The music by Anne Marie Piazza and Nick Howard Brown was perfect at setting the atmosphere. The open air settings, the fairy lights, the minimalistic sets, the gorgeous church.

The cast was stellar - Anne Marie as Maria, Nick Howard as Feste, Henry Wyrley-Birch as Sebastian /Aguecheek, Pepter Lunkuse as Viola, Olivia Onyehara as Olivia, Tony Bell as Malvolio, Robert Maskell as Sir Toby and Julian Moore-Cook as Orsino.

I loved the costumes and how beautifully they were transformed from clothes that could be worn on the streets today with just a few touch ups.

I would heavily recommend this play to everyone, especially if you believe that Shakespeare is too heavy to enjoy.

And in case you were wondering why St Paul's Church in Covent Garden is called the Actor's Church :
It was designed by Inigo Jones in 1633 and is regarded as the masterpiece and focal point of his piazza. Inigo Jones was an architect, but also a set and costume designer to the court. Hence the name.

Elizabeth Street Veterinary Clinic & Emergency Service, London

Elizabeth Street Veterinary Clinic & Emergency Service
55 Elizabeth Street
London SW1W 9PP
Belgravia

020 7730 9102

The vets here are brilliant! As are its nursing staff! When we returned home late on Saturday night, our normally healthy cat had thrown up and continued to throw up at 3 hour intervals.

Our regular vets are shut on Sunday, but have a tie-up with this clinic for emergencies. The nurse on the phone was very helpful and helped calm us down. She gave us some recommendations, and told us to call again in the evening if the symptoms didn't abate.

We had to call them again and were given an appointment quickly. The nurse in the waiting room was efficient and calmed us down as well as all the other people who came in with their pets in emergencies.

The doctor when we saw her was brilliant. Attentive to all our input and handled our temperamental + sick cat beautifully. Given the problem we have getting a tablet down her throat, she gave us a paste to feed her in 2 hours and she has promised us that cats LOVE the taste. She also gave her an injection for the nausea and discomfort and put in a bit of a pain killer too to ease the cat.

As soon as we got home, our cat who was on 15-20% energy levels and 60% stubbornness for the past 24 hours, is now at 60% energy and 90% stubbornness ( in 30 minutes)

Very very impressed and happy with every interaction that we had with this clinic today.

http://www.esvc.co.uk/

Notting Hill Cat Boarding

Notting Hill Cat Boarding
21 Blenheim Crescent
London W11 2EF
Notting Hill
07813 547461

We requested Dominique's assistance when we had to leave for 3 weeks and I'm so glad that we chose her.

We chose the cat sitting option where she visited our home daily to check on Cookie, feed her and spend some time with her. Dominique sent us daily updates with photos on whatsapp which helped alleviate our separation anxiety greatly.

When our mischievous brat managed to open a shut door and lock herself in a room one night, she made 2 visits the next day to check in on her.

She really cares for cats and our cat loved her. We will definitely request her help again, the next time we travel.


http://www.nottinghillcatcompany.com/

Stanfords - THE Shop for Travel Related Books

Stanfords
12-14 Long Acre
Covent Garden
London WC2E 9LP
020 7836 1321

Stanfords ranks among my top 2 specialist bookstores in London at the moment. (the other is the one at the Wellcome Collection premises)

3 floors of travel and London related books. Lonely Planet, Bradt Guides and DK EyeWitness are obviously all available, but they are just the tip of the iceberg among the selection available here. Other than the guides and maps, they have fiction and non-fiction from specific regions too and a sprinkling of cookbooks.

Travel guides and travel accessories (toothbrush covers, walking sticks, waist pouches, games for kids to play when traveling - the range is vast) make up the bulk of the collections.

Half the top floor is the frame-able maps and globes section. Very reasonable and loads to choose from. I also love their travel themed furniture - if only I could fit them into my pokey London apartment.... Maybe, I can pick up something just before I leave the country. Those trunk style bars look wonderful as did the Ritz Lobby Cabinet. Maybe I can finally get my messy desk in order.

The staff is extremely helpful and not in the least bit pushy, so its always a pleasure to shop here. They often have a couple of discounts running and a few author signed copies.

There are quite a few London themed souvenirs on offer that are much higher quality than the 2pound stuff available elsewhere. The store has been around since 1853. They are obviously still doing something right to be going strong in these days of Online Book Bargain Shopping.

Its a great place to pop in for a respite or hunt for your next holiday trip. And there is a coffee shop - Sacred Cafe - on the premises if you want to give your feet a rest.

Scudamore’s Punting, Cambridge

Scudamore’s Punting
Granta Place
Cambridge
CB2 1RS
01223 359750

Its traditional to go punting along the river (Cam at Cambridge and the Thames in Oxford), but inspite of having a family of marine engineers, Brajesh and me knew we would not be able to steer one of these craft ourselves, so we settled for taking a guided tour by a punter.

The long pole that is used to the steer the boat is called a "punt" which is where the name comes from.

We prebooked our tour with Scudamore’s Punting and I have to say that they are one of the best managed punting tours in Cambridge, they were the only company that provided umbrella's for protection and blankets for warmth on their boats.


All the craft and companies follow the same path along the River Cam which takes in all the main colleges of Cambridge - King's College, St John's. Trinity and St Catharines And the bridges - Bridge of Sighs, Kitchen Bridge, Mathematical Bridge.

Mostly the buildings are Gothic except for a couple of modern monstrosities along the way, which sadly cannot be demolished because of "heritage" status.

The river is filled with punters reeling out facts, figures and fiction and bantering with each other along the trip. But sometimes that gets a bit noisy, when there is a lot of crowd at a particular spot.

There are multiple options for punting and you will be assailed with offers from the time you start approaching King's College. We found Scudamore's the best equipped, even though there are many cheaper options around.

Scout for online offers before you head there. National Rail is currently offering a 2FOR1 deal with them.

Personally, our experience wasn't as good, because it started to rain mid-way through the tour. The umbrellas did help keep us dry(ish), but we couldn't see the sights along the river as well, with the umbrellas blocking our view.

We hope to be able to make this trip again when the weather isn't so bleary. The trip takes about an hour from the time you "Check In"

Word of Warning : Don't be fooled by how effortless the professional punters make it look!

These Trees are made of Blood @ Southwark Playhouse

Thanks to Anthony of our Meetup group, we caught another brilliant play at the Southwark Playhouse. This time the play was held at the smaller of their 2 stages and walking in was such a pleasant surprise.

The entire theater had been converted into an Argentinian Night Club - The Coup Coup Club - the perfect setting for "These Trees are made of Blood" by Theatre Bench The performance was a combination of musical, cabaret and hard hitting drama.

I have never before seen such a powerful piece of Political Theatre.

Recipe for every Fascist Regime -> Self Righteous High Decibel Discourse + Religious Support of Actions + Oppression of Free Speech & Expression. This play was about the disappearance of 30,000 people in Argentina between 1979-1984. But the lessons are every bit as relevant for the World and especially India of today. This was art of a transcendental nature.

The band members welcomed us with some beautifully haunting music and I was completely mesmerized by Anne Marie Piazza's voice and musical capabilities. I finally understood the term "a voice like melting honey". However, hitting the high notes was left to Rachel Dawson who also played a CIA operative and a prosecutor. Josh Sneesby on guitar and keyboards, Neil Kelso on keyboards and doubling up as a magician and mind reader, Eilon Morris as percussionist were all wonderful.

This is definitely a multi-talented cast. Greg Barnett as the Argentinian General was amazing. His justification for his actions was so convincing, that even while hating what he did, his reasons still seemed so compelling as he held forth on why the worst parasite is an idea. Val Jones as Gloria - the frantic yet powerless distraught mother is spot-on. Alexander Luttley initially came across as awkward and then the comic relief, but it takes guts and conviction to put on a performance like his.

Tickets are just 18GBp and the play is on until the 11th of April. I highly recommend watching this one.