REVIEW: Tarantino Live at Riverside Studios

If you put all of Tarantino’s biggest hits, some classic 70s rock and 15 musical theatre legends in a big gory blender, you would come out with Tarantino Live. The blood-red concoction you’ve just whipped up packs a punch. It’s strong, it’s spicy, and it’s maybe just a touch too sickly sweet. 

The smashing together of all of Tarantino’s best characters to the music of his iconic soundtracks could have been a car crash, and, to For The Record’s credit, this show was far from that. It bursts with talent, enthusiasm, and fun, and managed to weave an impossible tapestry between each of the great director’s bizarre worlds. 

Alexander Zane firmly set the tone as an MC turned film critic, as he leads the audience through the thick web of lore that the performers must carefully pick their way through. Often an actor will switch characters mid-song, which if you aren’t familiar with all of the films on display is probably quite jarring. 

REVIEW: Ava: The Secret Conversations at the Riverside Studios

The portrayal of Ava Gardner’s story in this performance is a pivotal example of how women are far more interesting than just being partners and wives to the men they are associated with; despite how society views them. Gaby Dellal’s and Elizabeth McGovern’s adaptation of this story stays true to the key points of Peter Evans’ 2013 novel: ‘Ava Gardner, The Secret Conversations’. Both the original novel and the newly written play expose the reality behind the glamour and success, conflicts within marriage, and the lack of consistency between male and female actors within the film industry. After all, Ava herself says ‘Men would win awards for the life that I live.’ 

This powerful one-act play delivers an in-depth exploration of a fading star of Hollywood’s golden age. From the safety of her London home in the 1980s, Ava Gardner hires journalist Peter Evans to write her biography in order to bring her a greater income. While Evan’s is set on his idea to create a classic ‘rags to riches’ novel, Ava is determined to tell her story in her own way; not to be skewed by the way the film industry has shaped her to be since she was 18 years of age. Ava then exploits the reality of her marriages with her three ex-husbands: Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw and Frank Sinatra.