Review: Alphabetti Spaghetti "3 Shorts" at the Dog and Parrot
3 Shorts - Alphabetti Spaghetti Theatre Production @ The Dog
and Parrot Friday 14/6/2013
The upstairs room of The Dog & Parrot has been
transformed in recent years. Now the Alphabetti Spaghetti Theatre group have
taken over we have theatre and comedy up here in addition to the music.
3 Shorts is one such theatre production. Local script
writers were asked to come up with 30 minute comedy scripts. Their work has been produced and performed by
the company that was described by the BBC
as ‘Original, off the wall and clever’. The result are 3 shorts, in a lovely
venue, that are both full of humour and pathos in equal measure.
Tonight’s first short play was “Spear Carriers” by Andrew
Thompson. 2 actors who have roles as “attendants” in a production of a Shakespeare
play featuring Ian McKellen. They discuss the problems of trying to get
noticed in a non-speaking role. The two actors also describe their private
lives and this ultimately leads to an uncomfortable climax. The 2 actors are
believable as their stress is played out and there are many laugh out loud
moments. There are a number of scene changes and these slow down the pace and
flow of the show, fortunately this is not an issue in the plays that follow.
After a short comfort break “Fantasy and Reality” by Jacob
Turner entertains the crowd. A play that reflects life in 2013, we have a
guitar hero player who needs support living his dreams and wants a successful
encounter with a girl in the local BHS café. The boundaries between what we
watch on tv and our lives becomes blurred as the cast perform a number of
costume changes in a limited space. The
clever staging and contemporary references help to produce a number of comedy
moments.
“The Bumps” by Rob Walton is tragic comedy at its finest, as
a group of actors living on take-aways are given the opportunity to make their
big break on TV. They have the songs and the comedy routines but will their
private lives and personalities allow them to work as the happy team that they
try to portray to the kids? The audience are allowed to reflect on what it must
be to live in the land of ‘CBeebies’. Jenga will never be the same.
3 Shorts was an insightful journey into live in the 21st
century in a venue that understands old fashioned values. The next show to
appear upstairs at the Dog and Parrot is from Rundown Theatre who will perform
'Run'. Written by Liam Tweddle, it is a short, charming piece of theatre which
concerns the eternal question: do we listen to our heads or our hearts? It is their first solo
venture as a company, the 90 minute long
show costs just £5.
You can catch “Run” at the Dog and Parrot:
Monday 17th
Tuesday 18th
Wednesday 19th
Wednesday 19th
Thursday 20th
Thursday 20th
Oblivious Productions will then present “Whom” in which two
small time crooks are sent to kidnap a rival gang member. What could go wrong?
Well apparently, everything. Enter a world where crime could pay well if the
criminals could only get it right and heroes come from nowhere. This runs from
June 24th to June 27th.
Music returns as two JoWhereToGo musical favourites
entertain the Dog & Parrot - “Biscuithead & The Biscuit Badgers” plus
“Holy Moly & The Crackers” play on Thursday 4th July.
.
http://www.alphabettispaghettitheatre.co.uk/dog-and-parrot
has details of each show that is coming up and how to get tickets.
Twitter: @TeethInEggCups
Words: Steve Oliver
Words: Steve Oliver
Comments
Post a Comment
Due to repeated spam with dodgy links comments are now moderated before posting.