February Recommends
February Recommends highlights shows in the area I think are just too good to miss.
DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS - CYGNET PLAYERS
Cygnet Players earn their place in this month's recommendations due to the quality of their productions. There are a wealth of productions of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels happening in the area at the moment, but this is the one I am most excited for. You may have read my review for Cygnet's production of Legally Blonde last September, and I am expecting equally good things.
The show brings together two con men and their bet to be the first to extract money from the same heiress after they find the small town they work in is not big enough for both of them.
Set in the French Riviera, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels has developed a reputation as a somewhat decadent musical - and when your leading men are competing to con $50,000 out of their target, it's easy to see why. It's about getting the good life and living the good life. Think The Producers or Catch Me If You Can. And like both these musicals, there's a little twist to grab your attention at the end.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels plays at the London Oratory School Theatre from 15th - 18th February. Tickets can be booked online here or by phoning 07941 448 689.
BLOOD BROTHERS - FETCHAM PLAYERS
I have heard so many people saying they are excited about Fetcham Players' production of Blood Brothers by Willy Russell. Don't go expecting 'Marilyn Monroe' and 'Bright New Day', but do expect the play version to be equally as tragic.
It follows the same story as its more famous musical counterpart- a set of twins separated at birth, one being adopted by a wealthy woman, one staying with his biological mother in the poor part of Liverpool. They meet by chance as children and their lives travel alongside each other until the ultimately heartbreaking ending.
Blood Brothers is performing at Fetcham Village Hall from 16th - 18th February. Tickets can be found online here or booked over the phone on 07789 657 136.
ROPE - CODA
If I were to name a precursor to the debauchery of Laura Wade's Posh, I would pick Rope by Patrick Hamilton. Arguable based on the Leopold and Loeb murder, it looks at two men who kill their classmate for the thrill of it; their presumed superior intellect being reason enough. They then host a macabre dinner party and invite the victim's family and friends.
It's as naturalistic as naturalism can get, taking place in real time after the murder. Many describe it as a classic thriller with perfectly increasing suspence.
Rope is being performed at Royal Russell School Performing Arts Centre Auditorium from 15th - 18th February. Tickets can be found here.
