Nick Hennegan celebrates some of the greatest love songs and poems on BohemianBritian.com and Resonance 104.4fm.
Literary London: Carl Chinn on Birmingham’s Peaky Blinders
On my radio show ‘Literary London’ on Resonance 104.4fm, I chat to Carl Chinn about Birmingham, his writings and the REAL truth about the Peaky Blinders gang. A new film is due soon from fellow Brummie Stephen Knight.
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Theatre Review – Hogarth vs Garrick: A Whimsical Theatrical Encounter
Round About Hogarth By Gareth Armstrong.
Tabard Theatre, Bath Road, London W4 1LW.
🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷– 5 out of 5 glasses of fine claret!
I wasn’t sure a show about a Roundabout in West London would be able to hold me for a whole 75 minutes! Sorry… West London (bad) joke. There is a roundabout named after the painter William Hogarth. And his house in Chiswick is still here, and open to the public.
This new play by Gareth Armstrong is a two-hander which is quite light on story or plot, but is an entertaining look at an apparently real-life friendship between well‑respected theatre actor David Garrick and the satirist painter William Hogarth. The set by Rachel Griffin works marvellously well too, with three golden‑framed portraits, emblematic of the era, a table covered with written pamphlets on one side of the stage and an easel and canvas at the other.
We first meet the two artists in Westminster Abbey, musing over Shakespeare’s monument and the Latin inscription above it. Garrick can understand the inscription and Hogarth can’t, which defines this duo’s personalities. After a second meeting, Garrick reluctantly agrees to sit for Hogarth and the two slowly begin to develop a friendship. It’s a battle of sorts of pompous wit and conversations around love, art, and its meaning.
Miles Richardson plays Shakespeare fan Garrick, the century’s greatest actor, with ease and familiarity. Terence Frisch is brilliant as a rougher, tougher, socialist Hogarth, bringing wit, humour and a slice of self‑deprecation to his portrayal.
Gareth Armstrong also directs and manages to keep the production moving. It’s an intelligent play peppered with historical context and commentary, but also with contemporary references which also asks very modern questions about aspiration, charity, social depth and personal legacy. The play explores the contrasts between the two. Patrician versus Plebeian, Latin versus English, Elite versus Popular.
For example Hogarth shares stories of his pug dog, Trump, named for his remarkable flatulence! The unfavourable mutterings about Trump the pug serve as a double entendre about current politics. There are other occasions when the dialogue tips dangerously close to being almost farcical and breaking the fourth wall at the end is a gamble, but one that pays off brilliantly.
There are also some surprisingly tender moments. The whole result is enjoyable and strangely informative and you should get to the Tabard for a quality wine and a quality production. I hope I’ve painted an accurate picture of this great show. I’ve been to both the Garrick Club and the Hogarth Gym in London!
Photo: Matt Hunter.
‘Round About Hogarth’… the aftermath of the opening – Press Night.
A new theatre production is always a big deal… possibly more so in smaller studio theatres like the Tabard in London, Chiswick W4, than in the West End, where finances are possibly less ‘life or death’.
This is a new, two hander and I went to the press night. And managed to get the cast and creatives into the reception area of the theatre for a quick chat. Here it is! Notice another local business offering drinks…
Show Review HERE.
January Literary Birthdays: Celebrate Woolf, Tolkien, and Jones
This time Nick Hennegan celebrates Literary birthdays in January. With Virgina Woolf, JRR Tolkien and Monty Python’s Terry Jones’ music and material.
Celebrate Burns Night with Nick Hennegan.
Nick Hennegan, a recent fan of Robert Burns since he wrote the Edinburgh (NOT London!) Literary Pub Crawl presents a celebration of Burns Night, the annual celebration of the Scottish poet.
More Literature, Pubs and new friends in London!
Another fantastic night out in Fitzrovia and Soho with The London Literary Pub Crawl. This time we had cybersecurity company owners, Silicon Valley giants … and published poets, from the USA and Australia. Join us every week and make lovely new friends.
New Year in London – Literary Requests!
Celebrating another New Year, Nick Hennegan plays your literary requests which include Beat Poets, Dylan Thomas and West End Musicals.
Touring ‘Henry V – Lion of England’ and New Productions: What to Expect in 2026
SO! 2026 -will see the first London People’s Theatre Company (an idea originally presented in Birmingham… Britain’s Second City!)
We’re planning two new original productions.
A reprint of the Maverick Theatre story book will be available.
There will be a tour of the show that started it all. This is ‘Henry V – Lion of England.’ The tour will take place in the autumn.
Plus the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – and the London Literary Pub Crawl is now out twice weekly!
This retirement lark isn’t going too well..! 😊
Love, Nick.
A wild year just done.. and a new one now to come! Maverick Theatre (and other!) News.
I thought I’d add our Maverick Theatre newsletter here… with some extra photos!
A personal message from Artistic Director Nick Hennegan.
“Thank you so much for your support – and for being on our newsletter list!
2025 was a frantic year – I had to move home (A BIT stressful!) although fortunately we still have our lovely Maverick broom cupboard … sorry, office!
We created the first demo episodes of our audio drama. ‘George Holmes and the Seven Dimensions’ showcases a brilliantly talented young cast.
Then we reprised my award-winning play ‘A Ghost of A Chance’ with an equally brilliant cast at the Tabard Theatre in Chiswick at Easter.
(The Tabard won London Pub Theatre of the Year for 2025! Well deserved. Clever Them!)
Thanks to Bob Paisley, and Central Standard Theatre, I went to the beautiful Kansas City, Missouri , USA (there’s a difference between that one and Kansas City, Kansas, I now know… I think!)
I met some lovely creative people and saw some great theatre at the BlackBox Theatre where we created a new, multi-media, multi-city Literary Pub Crawl (coming to an online screen near you very soon!)
Then we were at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the summer.
We started Thursday evening ‘London Literary Pub Crawls’ around Soho and Fitzrovia.
And we ended the year raising seed funds for the first ever London People’s Theatre Company.
For the sixth year in a row, the version of Charles Dickens ‘A Christmas Carol‘ I Adapted and Directed is once again selling out theatres in the UK. Performed and Produced by Olivier-Award Winner, Guy Masterson.
I started to take part in my first NotNanNoWriMo, where you write 50,000 words of a novel in a month. I got to 37,000 words, but I did start ten days late. Soooo…! Watch this space!
Phew!
So in 2026 – we are presenting the first ever Maverick People’s Theatre Company production in London – ‘Romeo and Juliet F.C.’
We are celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the play that started it all. ‘Henry V – Lion of England’ will have a UK and overseas tour in the autumn. And a number of on-line projects which I hope you might like.
We are once again running our Diploma in Creative Producing three evenings a week. It’s online for anyone who wants to make their own Theatre.
Oh… and my messy little blog, BohemianBritain.com (The one you’re reading now!) has been voted Number Two of the Top Ten Bohemian Blogs in the world! Get me!
I have another couple of mad ideas. Which might create a new female-focused musical. And also lead to a unique celebration of Birmingham AND London!
Maverick is a tiny not-for-profit charity started in 1994 on a Birmingham (Britain’s Second City, by the way!) council estate housing project, so your support – just being here – is hugely appreciated.
Have a lovely and peaceful Christmas. And hopefully we will see you live (or virtually) soon!
Oh, here’s the main website if you want to know more… www.MaverickTheatreCompany.com
(And I’ve cheekily added a donation box if you fancy helping out our little endeavours!)
Yo-Ho-Ho! See you next year ❤️”
Nick Hennegan. x
Artistic Director (and tea boy.)
The Maverick Theatre Company.
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