show – The Orbital

19Mar

By Michele TheilNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

A Glass Slipper is No Match for MTS

As a self-proclaimed Musical Theatre geek, I was surprised that I hadn’t heard of Musical Theatre Society’s (MTS) spring term production, Soho Cinders. It is described as ‘Cinderella with a Twist’, adding in elements of contemporary London and bringing in an LGBT+ relationship as well. It is an interesting show, with catchy up-beat numbers that definitely stick in your head long after it’s over. The show starts slowly, with the ensemble filing in to the room subtly – people barely notice until cast members interact with and speak to audience members, catching their attention and keeping their focus for the first number. A narrator, played by Reuben Havelock, appears to introduce us to the characters as they sing Old Compton Street. Bryony O’Hare as the sassy best friend Velcro shines fro...

Through The Lens of a Camera: Comedy Virgins

30Nov

By Lina PavlovaNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Through The Lens of a Camera: Comedy Virgins

On Thursday November 15, Royal Holloway’s very own Comedy Society had their first show of the year, and what a blast it was! Going to a comedy show is always exciting, and a great night full of fun and laughter is almost always guaranteed. But what happens when you’re not just there as an audience member? I attended as a videographer to film the event, and while you might assume the excitement would be pretty much non-existent due to the mere fact that I was there to do my job and be ‘professional’, this was not the case! Just seeing the enthusiastic faces of the people performing on the stage, even if only from behind my camera, was enough to make me happy for days and days to follow. From the name of the performance itself - ‘The Comedy Virgin Show’ - which immediately stirs up cur...

Full Disclosure: The Addams Family Musical

18Nov

By Emma HalahanNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Full Disclosure: The Addams Family Musical

After wowing us with campus hit Love Island: The Musical, Director Harriet Williams, Musical Director Daniel Looseley and Choreographer Bryony O’Hare take on the musical adaption of cult film and TV series, The Addams Family. With a puff of dry ice and a scarily sombre prologue, the SU main hall ‘moves towards the darkness’ into the disastrous Addams Family mansion – and full disclosure, you are greeted immediately by some stand out performances. Newcomer Emily Quillin makes a delightfully macabre Morticia Addams with both a stellar acting and singing performance that draws every laugh, gasp and blush. From motherly mentor to seductress señorita, Quillin carries that signature Morticia mannerism with her throughout the show, providing an energy unmatched – a testament to Harriet William...

28Oct

By Amal AbdiNo Comments

Opinion

Love Island and Racial Diversity

This year, Love Island saw its first black woman, Samira Mighty, entering the villa and the show failed her. From the moment Samira was not chosen by any of the Love Island men in the first episode, I knew that she would be facing this kind of rejection for the rest of the series. Throughout the show, she was either seen as a second choice by the men or served her role as an asexual agony aunt there to save the relationships of her white friends. Unfortunately, Samira’s experience on the show is simply representative of black women’s experience in the real world. Misogynoir is a portmanteau that combines ‘misogyny’ with the French word for black, ‘noir’. The term, coined by the black feminist Moya Bailey, is often overlooked by mainstream feminist discourse as it describes the racialise...

20May

By Michele TheilNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

“A Delightful Evening of Delights”

This weekend sees Musical Theatre Society’s (MTS) final performance of this academic year, a fun show that stretches each member’s creativity and shows us the vast expanse of Musical Theatre. There are 23 numbers, of varying types, from a wide variety of musicals and it was, as Musical Director and Compere Flynn Sturgeon states, "a delightful evening of delights". The entire show was a spectacle, with loud and enthusiastic accompaniment from the band seated at the front of the SU Main Hall and bright flashing lights all around us. Act 1 begins with a rendition of Joyful Joyful from Sister Act 2, with people coming from every corner and interacting with the audience and amping them up for the rest of the show. Connor Wood and Robbie Carprari-Sharpe, both incoming committee members for MT...

19Mar

By Jordan ThorneNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music, Theatre & Performance

Setting sail with HMS Pinafore

Savoy Opera’s production of ‘HMS Pinafore’ set sail last night amidst a sea of laughter. Niamh Dunne did a brilliant job directing the show, successfully combining the heart wrenching with the hilarious. Gilbert and Sullivan’s comedic Operetta is set on board HMS Pinafore. The story follows the plight of Josephine Corcoran and her forbidden love for the sailor Ralph Rackstraw. Tasha Crossley played Josephine convincingly, successfully conveying the false innocence of the character. The contrast of sweet naivety with awareness of sexual humour was delivered with capability. Will Maxwell brilliantly played Josephine’s unfortunate lover Ralph. He brought to the stage the injustice of their separation. I was particularly struck by his solo ‘The Nightingale Sighed’ in which the character’s e...

14Mar

By Michele TheilNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Bare: A Glowing Review

Musical Theatre Society’s (MTS) exceptional performers and crew members were laid bare last night in the explosive Bare: A Pop Opera. This largely niche musical by Jon Hartmere and Damon Intrabartolo has been brought to our attention due to Director Anthony Underwood's brave decision to stage it - a decision that paid off immensely. George Lambourne and Daniel Edwards were amazing in their roles as Peter Simmonds and Jason McConnell, the couple that this entire show was centred on. They were extremely convincing and effective in portraying the emotion required of the show - which is a testament to their skills as actors. The chemistry between Lambourne and Edwards was really great, as was the chemistry between Edwards and Molly Cheesley, who plays his sister Nadia. Their brother-sister ...

19Feb

By George WhiteNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

A Comedic Break from Valentines Day

The Comedy Society has put on a number of shows since the start of the year: having tested the waters with early shows, they’ve definitely had the chance to improve over time. However, there is certainly still plenty of room for further improvement - I look forward to seeing said improvement. But, for now, they’re still quite rough around the edges. Despite this, every performer did manage a couple of laughs from me, at the very least. This isn’t the Apollo, the odd awkward silence or distastefully joke is to be expected and it’s safe to say there were certainly significant peaks and troughs. However, after a somewhat slow start, things began to pick up, and it was pretty much all uphill from there. There was however a small collection of significant blunders, most of which were, t...

19Feb

By Emma HalahanNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Review: Love Island The Musical

Love Island: The Musical transports us to a sunny island resort in the unlikely venue of Jane Holloway Hall. Incredibly innovative production skills use a projector, a voting app and a star performance by Director Connor Wood as the hot tub, to produce a lot of laughs and a substantial suspension of disbelief. The performances mimics the style of the hit reality TV show that swept the nation last summer, Love Island, which sees couples deserted on an island to find love and win some hefty cash prizes. It is clear that the production team from the beginning have thought long and hard about how to squeeze what they can from an incredibly low budget production. There are pre recorded ‘ad breaks’ that left the audience in hysterics and the infamous Love Island texts show up on the projecto...

6Dec

By Michele TheilNo Comments

Sports & Socs

Celebrating The Comedy Society

RHUL Comedy Society performed yet another show on Friday December 1 to high praise from the audience, judging by their laughter. It was their third show of the term and was marginally centred around the theme of Christmas and the holiday season. The show was called ‘Celebrating the Birth of Christ’, with the Facebook event espousing that there is “no better way to kick off your advent calendar”, accompanied by a charming poster that has host Archie Brooks-Watson’s face on the body of a baby. We can only assume the baby is meant to be Baby Jesus, bringing this Christmas-themed show full circle. The show itself consisted of 12 performers, including the host, of mixed age, degrees, gender and ethnicity, bringing different perspectives to their humour and to the whole evening. Ewan B...