Tanya from Boston, USofA, and Dave from High Wycombe, come to the end of a fine evenings perigrinations and refreshment, in The Toucan, Soho. With writer/guide Richard.
Literary Lovies!
Gwenda’s Garage: A Must-See Musical at Southwark Playhouse
Photo: Chris Saunders.
Gwenda’s Garage roars into Southwark Playhouse with a vibrant, politically charged musical that blends activism, history, and heart. Inspired by the true story of a women-run garage in 1980s Sheffield, the show opens with a rapturous musical number that promises brilliance—and largely delivers.
The cast of six actors and a live band (with standout drummer Liz Kitchen doubling as comic relief) bring infectious energy and emotional depth. Lucy Mackay as Dipstick and Eva Scott as Carol are particularly magnetic, with nuanced performances that shine even when off-focus. Each actor is given space to showcase their vocal and dramatic talents, and the ensemble chemistry is palpable.
The music is catchy and well-performed, with tunes that linger long after curtain call. The set cleverly evolves throughout, with the gradual construction of a car mirroring the unfolding narrative.
At times, the script feels a little uneven. The first half could benefit from tighter pacing, as it occasionally drags despite the strong performances. While the show is rich in important themes—sexism, racism, LGBTQ+ rights, and political activism—it sometimes struggles to weave these threads seamlessly into the central story. The garage, which is based on a real and compelling historical premise, ends up feeling more like a symbolic setting than the driving force of the narrative. Although this may have been intended it wasn’t what we had anticipated.
Still, Gwenda’s Garage is a thought-provoking, relevant piece. It resonates deeply with audiences who lived through the 1980s, while offering younger viewers a glimpse into a turbulent era that echoes today’s challenges. It’s a joyful, reflective night out with West End-calibre performances from all six actors —and well worth seeing before it closes on 29 November.
Review by Joostar.
🍷🍷🍷🍷 – 4 out of 5 glasses of fine claret! (but don’t drink and drive!)
On the ball!
So an American women’s league Football player and Brentford and Wanderers supporters walk into a pub. No, not a joke, but a brilliant (and social) night with @londonliterarypubcrawl
Join us every Thursday and Saturday! Beer, 🍻 books 📚 and occasionally ⚽️! What’s not to like! Cheers! 🍻
More London Literary Pub Crawling…
Megan, visiting us all the way from not so sunny, Alaska. Amazingly, she didn’t complain once about the chilly London evening!
Literary London – Lest We Forget.
Nick Hennegan presents poetry and music from the War To End All Wars!
www.BohemianBritain.com
The new book!
Preparing for another marathon writing session for the new book! It’s hell…!
California in Soho! The London Literary Pub Crawl.
Writer Richard hosts brace of Californians, expanding their consciousness (by the pint!) in Soho!
Join us every Thursday and Saturday and discover some of the greatest artists and writers in the world. All with a pint! 🍺 📚❤️
An Introduction To Creative Theatre Producing…
THIS SATURDAY via Zoom – details at http://www.TheatreProducerTraining.com
Another Literary Pub night in Soho!
Another brilliant @LiteraryPubs night ends in Soho, talking AmDram, ‘The Toast of London’ and writing. Join us every weekend and now on Thursday evenings!
Review: Montselier – A Unique Apocalyptic Cabaret Experience.
Montselier by Cathy Wippell – Barons Court Theatre, London.
🍷🍷🍷🍷 (4 our of 5 fine wines… while wine is still available !)
As someone who has been attending the Edinburgh Fringe Festival since 1992, I’m no stranger to small-scale, one person shows. In fact I’ve written and directed a few myself.
But I’m consistently blown away at the level of talent some of these solo writer and performers exhibit – especially the younger ones – (or at least younger than me!) and this is no exception.
‘Cabaret For The End of the World’ is actually quite bleak – but it’s also very funny and often very moving too. Cathy Wippel plays Montselier, an Apocalypse surviver. (And, we soon find out, the only surviving accordion player in London!)
It’s the 453rd day after the Bomb has dropped, destroying London and maybe the rest of the UK and the world. This, unsurprisingly has TERRIBLY limited general entertainment, so Montselier has decided to have a cabaret performance in the Barons Court Theatre with us, the audience, assumed fellow apocalypse survivors.
It’s a clever conceit and works very well. We’re easily drawn into her world.
She first appears as a cross between a vamp and a vampire and starts with a striptease! Although it is only her hazmat suit, rubber gloves and goggles and we’re soon talking about acid rain and people growing extra limbs. But it’s a clever way of breaking the fourth wall and giving a slightly surreal conceit a contemporary relevance.
Wippel is wonderful with a perfect physicality. Her accordion is also a perfect partner. The script is coupled with subtle but perfectly-aimed commentary on our (actual?) current society, to the point of making everyone feel a little uncomfortable about the ‘real’ future. The hints as to why this whole mess happened, are perhaps chillingly relevant in current times. There are little asides like ‘maybe I should have signed a petition’ and ‘maybe I should have loved the world a little more’ which cleverly reflect on the increasing feeling of futility many people feel in the current political minefield, without being at all ‘preachy’, as Wippel brilliantly works us, the audience, too.
It’s a tidy and talented theatrical treat. So go see the cabaret for the end of the world. Before… well… before the end of the world? Without or without an accordion.
