Alan Bennett's Talking Heads

(May 2017)

Directed by Annalisa Rossi.

At Bastionen, Malmö and at HIT - House of International Theatre, Copenhagen.

www.houseofinternationaltheatre.dk

★★★★★

Theatre Review: Turning heads and the talk of the town

★★★★★

...It’s a rare occasion that a series of monologues, served only by modest (but precisely arranged and coloured) staging, can evoke such a vivid series of images and a rich sense of period and personality... What’s striking is this cast’s obvious affinity with the material. Each of the three members give soulful, hilarious, full-blooded performances, perfectly embodying their roles, so as to disappear into them to delicious effect. And this is absolutely by design: in order to adapt the works for a 90-minute stage production, Italian director Annalisa Rossi challenged three British, Malmö-based actors from Playmate theatre to select a single character study from the original series – one that would play best to their individual strengths....

Standout performance...Of particular note was Graham, as portrayed by Robin Gott...The result being that each role is performed with an immaculate ear for the text by all three players, lending a hyper-real emotionality that, like the heightened social realism of Mike Leigh’s best work, veers toward caricature but never mockery, nor does it fail to hit its mark."

http://cphpost.dk/activities/theatre-review-turning-heads-and-the-talk-of-the-town.html

May 9th, 2017 12:46 pm| by Mark Walker/

With Kevin Benn, Robin Gott,Vanessa Poole.

Music by Claudio Rosati.

About the play Talking Heads :

These comic and brilliant Talking Heads stories were first written by Alan Bennett for BBC television in the 1980’s and 90’s, arguably his finest writing ever; and performed on BBC television by the greatest British acting talent of a generation - Patricia Routledge, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters, Penelope Wilton, Thora Hird...

Playmate Theatre Malmö put their heads together to tackle one of the BBC’s most iconic and hilarious cult TV classics, in this new version of three Alan Bennett monologues, adapted by the actors themselves for the stage.

Vanessa Poole plays Lesley, the has-been starlet cast in bikini B-movies of the shadier sort.

Kevin Benn plays the faded antiques dealer who despite his best intentions misses the deal of a lifetime, as well as the hand of God.

Robin Gott plays Graham, the closeted Mummy’s boy, in his plastic mac and sandals.

Poignant, side-splitting, these witty confessions of oh-so-human wannabes and yearning, will have you laughing out loud as you wipe a tear away.

Alan Bennett is one of the brightest intellects of contemporary British writing; Beyond the Fringe, the Lady in the Van, The History Boys, The Madness of George III. Talking Heads is social realism at its grimly humorous best.

Talking Heads has been performed on BBC radio, as international theatre, and translated worldwide. It is one of the bestselling audio book releases of all time, taught at highschools all over the world.

The monologues are cutting, witty, hilarious and poignant, showcasing Alan Bennett's powers of observation, comic timing and exquisite turn of phrase.

David Ives' Venus in Fur

(September 2017)

Directed by Jeremy Thomas-Poulsen

http://jmthomaspoulsen.com/

At Bastionen, Malmö and at HIT - House of International Theatre, Copenhagen.

★★★★★★

A six star review from CphPost

Playmate Theatre Malmö presents, in collaboration with Down the Rabbit Hole Theatre, Copenhagen, :

David Ives' Venus in Fur

(September 2017)

With Vanessa Poole as Vanda & Alex Lehman as Kushemski.

★★★★★★

Audience response:

"I SO enjoyed it. I was literally, honestly, sitting forward on the edge of my seat... I was excited to see what was coming next… I was drawn in."

"a wonderful performance...no mean feat to keep the tempo going... Excellent!"

"What a play. Wow."

"Impressed and inspired"

".. så bra som ni var... Jag ser fram emot nästa föreställning!"

"Grym föreställning"

"Superb föreställning"

"Fantastiskt!"

"GO SEE THIS PLAY. Cast amazing. Script fascinating. Thoroughly enjoyed it."

About the play Venus in Fur by David Ives:

It is night-time in rainy downtown Manhattan.

Thomas Novachek, (played by Alex Lehman) a director/playwright, has suffered through a long day of abysmal auditions for his adaptation of the German sadomasochistic novel Venus in Furs, until Vanda, (played by Vanessa Poole) a brash and pushy actress, stumbles into his audition room. While Vanda shares the lead character’s name, she lacks her sophistication. However, when Thomas reluctantly agrees to let Vanda read for the role, she displays a surprising understanding of the material.

Working through the script with Thomas playing the masochistic male lead, the roleplay between Vanda and Thomas on stage becomes intense and less like acting. The two jump in and out of the script, in a cat and mouse relationship game. The ending of the play is as surprising as it is disturbing.

David Ives’ mesmerizing play explores themes of submission, domination, and power with the fast-paced language he is known for. Reality and fantasy become blurred in Venus in Fur, and the question of “who’s on top” always has a different answer. In the repartee between Thomas and Vanda, the play also has some of the smartest and funniest dialogue in contemporary American playwriting. The play keeps audiences giggling and glued to their seats till the breathless finalé.

A dark, funny, sexy and powerful comedy thriller.