Topsie Redfern's Crystal Balls ★★★ Two Brewers | July 28 - 30, 2021


Nathan Kiley and Sarah Chew have written Topsie Redfern's Crystal Balls which is performed by Topsie's alter ego, Nathan Kiley himself. It is part autobiography and part the story of his grandmother's life, the renowned fortune teller, Madame Olga, who numbered Nancy Astor and Alan Turing among her clientele. We learn plenty about Nathan's development from "shiny little girly boy" in Yorkshire to Topsie, the drag queen appearing in "Chicago" in London's West End. Subtly accompanied by pianist, Conor Fogel, Kiley sings very well. Highlights include Sondheim's haunting "Anyone Can Whistle," referencing the long held belief that gay men can't whistle and Carmen's "Habanera" sung in full-on falsetto. Drawing on the experience in "Chicago," there is a show stopping reworking of "Cell Block Tango" emphasising the horrors of gay hate crime. This is not a 'Drag Show' as such and in the second half Kiley wears jeans and a T-shirt. The tone is frequently far removed from the cheap innuendo that is sometimes a hallmark of drag and can be quite melancholy at times. The show gets to the heart of the young man who was to become Topsie Redfern. The production isn't faultless: with two halves coming in at almost an hour each, it is a little long and also suffers from Kiley needing to read some of the script. Perhaps, a radio mic would would have permitted him more freedom and allowed for more subtle use of sound. However, with a little polishing, this could become an important and highly entertaining addition to the canon of gay biographical shows.

Reviewed by D.S.J.
Photo by Flavia Fraser-Cannon.

Rated: ★★★

Want to save on tickets? See our Tips page.

When, Where, Getting there:
Map & Location: 114 Clapham High St, London SW4 7UJ, UK

Most Popular

St. Martin in-the-fields: Lunchtime Concerts ★★★★ FREE

Image
Maybe the best musical value in London. The lunchtime concerts at St. Martin's are always a wonderful way to escape the hustle and bustle that is London and the sensory overload that is Trafalgar Square. This is a beautiful setting with great acoustics, and a church pew hard enough to make sure you don't nod off. Reviewed by J.C.  Our score:    ☆☆☆☆  WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE: Mon & Fri: 1 pm - 1:45 pm ( occasionally Tues & Thurs)  St. Martin in-the-fields, Trafalgar Square Nearest tube: Charing Cross https://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/whats-on
Full Details »

The Story of My Life ★★★★★ Stage Door Theatre | Sep 10 - Oct 19, 2024

Image
Thomas Weaver is a best selling author, who returns to his small town to deliver the eulogy for his childhood friend, Alvin Kelby, with whom he has almost lost contact. That moment causes him to recall the memories which he has mined for his stories, while simultaneously forcing him to reconsider the power of that friendship and his part in its decline. He comes to realise that nerdy and needy Alvin, who shared his obsession with the film, It's A Wonderful Life , has really been his muse. And, despite Alvin's seemingly small life, through his sharing of his sense of wonder at the world, he has actually had a far reaching effect. Neil Bartram and Brian Hill's musical riff on the perennial Christmas film's theme and also on the so-called butterfly effect produces a small touching tale that works beautifully in the intimate venue of the Stage Door Theatre. It is a setting which allows the two principals, Markus Sodergren and Tim Edwards, to make a direct emotional connect
Full Details »

Pride and Prejudice ★★★★★ Jermyn Street Theatre | Aug 19 - Sep 7, 2024

Image
This delightful and respectful version of Jane Austen's masterpiece should please both devotees of the novel and those who enjoy clever and innovative theatre. It is nothing short of incredible that Austen's intricate courtship classic can be condensed into two hours and be successfully performed by only three actors, but that is what happens here. This is a small gem of a production which manages to maintain all the interwoven storylines of the original and to bring to life all of Austen's iconic characters. April Hughes' Elizabeth is nicely headstrong and willful, and Luke Barton's Darcy is suitably standoffish and condescending. They both successfully manage to convey the chemistry that brings the two together despite initial misgivings, as they deftly perform their assigned social roles. Barton does a simply splendid job of slipping into and out of the other characters who populate this rarefied world. He beautifully captures Mr Bennet's ironic detachment an
Full Details »

Rocky Horror Show ★★★★ Dominion Theatre | September 6 - 20, 2024

Image
The show may not be as transgressive now as it was about 50 years ago, when the film, The Rocky Horror Picture Show , first came out, but it is still a great trip. From the moment we join innocents, Brad and Janet, on their accidental journey into Frank N Furter's pleasure palace we become part of a shared experience with an audience that usually gleefully shouts out commentary on the couple's experiences and enthusiastically sings along to great earworms like "Sweet Transvestite" and "Over at the Frankenstein Place." And, of course, everyone has to do "The Time Warp." This time out Connor Carson and Lauren Chia do a fine job as the naïve, young couple who stumble into a world of questionable pastimes and forbidden pleasures. As the Narrator, Maawan Rizwan, doesn't ad-lib as much as we've seen in the past, but he clearly enjoys his interactions with the audience. Edward Bullingham nails his role as Eddie with his suitably wild rock 'n&#
Full Details »

The Silver Cord ★★★ Finborough Theatre | September 3 - 28, 2024

Image
David Phelps is bringing to the family home Christina, the wife whom he married in Europe. His brother, Robert, awaits David's return with his fiancée, Hester. However, both boys have seriously underestimated their formidable mother's reaction to these rivals for her children's affections. Most famous for his adaptation of Gone with the Wind for David O Selznick's film, this work of American playwright Sidney Howard has not been produced in Britain for 95 years, and it epitomises the archetype of the controlling smother-mother who will go to any lengths to secure her control over her children. Mrs Phelps is a character we all quickly recognise as we perversely enjoy her machinations to detach her boys from their partners. There is no doubt that Howard taps into something deep in the psyche of many as we watch in delighted horror as the maternal monster and master of hypocrisy manipulates situations to destroy her perceived rivals and to infantilise her grown children.
Full Details »

State Ballet of Georgia: Swan Lake ★★★ London Coliseum | Aug 28 - Sep 8, 2024

Image
For the first time in its 175 year history, the State Ballet of Georgia is appearing in London, and to mark the occasion it is presenting its lavish, almost liturgical, production of Swan Lake . Except for the unusual happy ending, this is a version which stays very close to the traditional presentation of Tchaikovsky's masterwork, and it is satisfying to see a staging which does not feel the need to reimagine the piece. Artistic director Nina Ananiashvili of the Georgia Ballet and former Bolshoi artistic director Alexey Fadeechev have respected the original Petipa/Ivanov choreography and have trimmed and added judiciously so that all the treasured moments are intact. Under the baton of Papuna Gvaberidze the English National Opera Orchestra does an excellent job of mining the riches from Tchaikovsky's score, and kudos must go also to Vyacheslav Okunev for the opulent costumes and evocative set. On the night we attended, the role Odette/Odile was exquisitely danced by Chloe Miss
Full Details »

Death of England: Closing Time ★★★★ @sohoplace | Aug 22 - Sep 28, 2024

Image
With the third in any trilogy of plays, the question always is "Do I need to have seen the other ones first?" And, the answer here is a resounding "no." Clint Dyer and Roy Williams' Death of England: Closing Time stands on its own as a fascinating study of two cultures wedded to each other in an uneasy alliance. Denise and Carly are yoked together by the fact that the latter is the partner of the former's son, and they have also more or less gone into business together. Nevertheless, the personal and business ties are strained by their differences in race and heritage. They make tentative steps towards each other, but are always on the verge of mutual incomprehension. Dyer and Williams' metaphor for the complex nature of the new multicultural Britain has a wonderfully current feel with references to Kamala Harris and Liz Truss, and jokes that are full of clever contemporary allusions. The language simply soars, with lots of brilliant throwaway lines a
Full Details »

Silence! The Musical ★★★★ The Turbine Theatre | September 4 - 28, 2024

Image
Like the film it parodies, this show is not for the fainthearted. Trigger warnings: references to cannibalism, grisly serial murder plots, and some extremely raunchy humour. On the other hand, if you don't mind such things, here's a spoof of The Silence of the Lambs that may be just your cup of Chianti. It is difficult not to like a loony chorus of dancing lambs, and a serial killer singing about his sexual obsessions is disturbingly funny. Some familiarity with the original movie is definitely required, but the plot comes back quickly as the story unfolds. Rookie FBI agent, Clarice Starling, is assigned to interview psychiatrist and murderer, Hannibal Lecter, in order to gain his help in tracking down another psychopath who kidnaps, kills and skins his victims. In exchange for this information Lecter demands personal information about Clarice which includes reliving her own youthful traumas. While this may not seem like fertile territory for satire, the mixture of humour and
Full Details »

23.5 Hours ★★★★ Park Theatre | Sep 4 - Oct 5, 2024

Image
Popular teacher, Tom, is accused and convicted of having sexual relations with a 15 year old student. Carey Crim's play shows the devastating consequences of that event not only for him, but for his family and friends. While they alternate between support for his protestations of innocence and suspicion that he is actually a sexual predator, they also become victims of what has happened. Their limbo of unknowing strains relations, and the abuse and suspicion of the community becomes a penalty for Tom's defenders as well as the accused. His punishment does not end after he has served his time in prison, but equally, neither does theirs. While painting a powerful portrait of the personal toll taken on all connected to such an occurrence, 23.5 Hours also raises many serious social questions: the distinction between due legal process and justice, the differing definitions and notions of the age of consent, the balance between a community's need to protect itself and its concom
Full Details »

The 39 Steps ★★★★ Trafalgar Theatre | Aug 16 - Sep 28, 2024

Image
An old favourite returns to the West End and is just as funny as we remember it. The 39 Steps is a supremely silly spoof of Alfred Hitchcock's spy film of the same name from 1935. This version is a delightfully nonsensical take on the original and has lots of sly references to the other movies in Hitchcock's oeuvre. It also imaginatively sends up some of the cinematic conventions and tropes of the era. But even if one doesn't know the original or isn't a film buff, there is lots here that will strike the funny bone. The physical comedy is highly skillful and the running gags are wonderfully wacky. Clever employment of very basic props, ingenious use of musical cues, plus nimble pacing, all ensure that the audience's interest never flags, and one is blithely carried along through spy-catcher Richard Hannay's trials and tribulations. Tom Byrne is terrific as world-weary Hannay who drags himself to the theatre only to meet a mysterious stranger who will involve th
Full Details »

The City Life Magazine | Reviews & Ratings