REVIEW: Sexy Laundry at the Tabard Theatre

Michele Riml's play Sexy Laundry was written in 2002 , and has apparently been produced multiple times since in the US, Canada and Eastern Europe but makes its UK premiere at the tiny Tabard Theatre above the pub in Chiswick. It's cultural references date the play as the couple remember Bosley and Charlie's Angels Tv series (1976 to 1981) and Babycham, the seventies sparkling drink but the topic, what happens after twenty five in a marriage to your love life, remains timeless.

Henry, played with the hangdog expression of Walter Matthau by Nick Raggett, works hard and hopes for a job promotion, likes to watch the news for an hour when he gets home and has settled into a routine of conservative sensibility through which he resists change. He has forgotten how to romance her. Alice, played by Felicity Duncan has planned a weekend in room 219 of the L hotel to spice up their life with the Sex for dummies handbook. She recalls that she never used to care how much he chewed, fantasises about sex with two men in a cafe or being on a cruise full of men between 40 and 60. She hopes the weekend will help him relax and loose his inhibitions but he is disturbed by her fantasies. However the romantic intention soon turn to a sort of Jeremy Kyle show and a battle of bickering and shouting at each other.

Natasha J Barnes to star in the first London revival for 20 years of the thriller TRYST

Natasha J Barnes, who famously took over to rave reviews from Sheridan Smith in Funny Girl in the West End will get her first starring role in a new production of Tryst by Karoline Leach.

Based on a true story, this tense drama tells of serial fraudster, George Love, who encounters a naïve and vulnerable shop-girl, Adelaide Pinchin. Seduced by his charm and elaborate stories of a life she’s never known, Adelaide agrees to run away with him in a secret tryst. What ensues shocks them both as their plans begin to unravel in frightening and unpredictable ways. The story begins as a romantic drama but soon evolves into a riveting thriller with a startling climax. Tryst is a tense, passion fuelled thriller which will stay with you long after the curtain comes down.

Natasha J Barnes said: “I read, or devoured, Tryst in one sitting and knew straight away I wanted to be a part of it. After learning so much taking over the lead in Funny Girl at The Savoy, I knew I would want my next project to be something really challenging. I’m not frightened of making myself vulnerable and I feel a straight play with such a small cast will be so different to what I’ve been doing recently and so exciting. I am a massive advocate for seeing the work of more female directors and I can’t wait to see what Phoebe will bring to the piece.”

HERESEY to make its World Premiere at the Tabard Theatre

Heresy, a new play from Tilo Ulbricht, produced by Questioning Productions receives its World premiere at The Tabard Theatre.

The Spanish Inquisition is at its height. Two men, both searching for meaning in their lives, but whose paths have led them in different directions- one to the Church, the other, to the Cathars, and both with the same woman in their hearts. 5 years later in Granada the extraordinary happens. Three strangers have appeared whose presence touches all whom they encounter, and a new Inquisitor General has been appointed. A meeting that will challenge belief to its core.

'Heresy' by Tilo Ulbricht, is a play inspired by Fyodor Dostoevsky’s ‘The Grand Inquisitor’, a parable within his masterpiece ‘The Brothers Karamazov’, wherein the Russian author imagines that Jesus suddenly reappears in the midst of the Inquisition in 16th century Spain.  The play enters into ethical debates of God, free will and morality and is a spiritual drama of moral struggles.

A local Chiswick resident, Tilo Ulbricht is a playwright, poet, translator and editor. As well as his own poems, he has translated many of German poet Rainer Maria Rilke's poems, and is editor for 'Parabola' magazine.

Heresy was staged as a rehearsed reading at The Arcola in London in July 2013. Directed by Daniel Zappi and Rachael Maya, and produced by Questioning Productions, Heresy receives a limited run at the Tabard theatre until 22^nd March.  

Tickets: £16 (concessions)/£14
The Tabard Theatre, March 4th- 22^nd (Tue-Sat) 7:30 p.m
Box Office www.tabardtheatre.co.uk or 0208 995 6035

New adaptation of Tristram Shandy: Gentleman makes World Premier at the Tabard Theatre

The Tabard Theatre has teamed up with innovative theatre company Micawber  to present the world premiere of a new adaptation of Tristram Shandy: Gentleman,  Laurence Sterne’s celebrated anti-novel.

Follow Tristram Shandy, himself as narrator and commentator, as he attempts to tell his life story as fully as he knows how. Will he ever manage to get through it all? A fast-paced romp through Sterne’s madcap world of diverse characters and plans gone disastrously awry. We meet Tristram’s constantly thwarted father, his gentle uncle Captain Toby Shandy, and many more. 

Ahren’s and Menken’s A Christmas Carol to premiere at the Tabard Theatre

The UK premiere of Ahren’s and Menken’s musical version of A Christmas Carol opens at the Tabard Theatre on the 6 December for the Christmas season. Hard-hearted Ebenezer Scrooge discovers the true spirit of Christmas during one unforgettable night in Victorian London. Visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Christmas Yet To Come, Scrooge is taken on a fantastical journey during which he is forced to confront the choices he has made and the lives he has affected. 

World Premiere of Greg Freemans DOGSTAR at the Tabard Theatre

DOGSTAR will make its world premiere at the Tabard Theatre in West London's Chiswick from November, it will play from Tuesday 12 November to Saturday 30 November @ 7.30 pm.  No performances Sunday or Mondays and tickets are priced at £16 (£14 concessions).

Dogstar stars Ben Warwick in the title role and Laura Pradelska perhaps best known as Quaithe in the hit HBO series Game of Thrones. Laura previously worked with Greg Freeman on Beak Street back in 2010. Rhys King and Jaymes Sygrove also worked with Greg Freeman at the Tabard Theatre in both Doig and No Picnic.

Greg Freeman edited and adapted the only ever successful re-version of an American Sitcom -

Who's The Boss which became The Upper Hand.