As my first visit to the Hen and Chickens pub Theatre, it is definitely one of the easiest venues to find that I have been to. A really nicely laid out upstairs theatre with reasonably comfortable seats. The staff I spoke to were very friendly and helpful.
This madcap 50 minutes of informative chaos is a masquerade for an extremely clever, well written satirical view on all things slightly topical and controversial. Dr Larry Fishbourne leads the performance in the style of a lecture with the help of his colleague Petra Parquor (PhD pending).
Brexit makes a scheduled appearance as expected on the day we were set to leave. Charing certainly has a clearer outlook on the politicians future than the politicians had on our exit from the EU. Their demise sounds rather brutal though with the mention of one of the high profile MPs being skinned.
Alex and Gabrielle with their washing line hall of fame MPs.
Trumps outdated and non-pc opinions pop up in the form of life like a cardboard mask. Although on this occasion Ivana wasn’t by his side.
Chojnacki quirky designed stage encompassed all the topics covered within the lecture in simple but effective cardboard cutouts. The character politicians were an excellent addition. Both actors each had a box of selected props next to them which were pulled out as required. Ranging from a pillow-sized bag of crunchy snacks, a Gazza face mask to
With so many unexpected people making quick appearances it’s impossible to mention them all. However, they do add some great comedy one-liners.
As a fan of the “Goodies” in the 1970s, there are similarities to Charing writing style. One of which is a haphazardly choreographed dance routine at the end.
It ticks so many boxes for a fantastic intelligent comedy spoof focusing on social commentaries and political environments. For this style of comedy to work as well as it does in this Charing and Chojnacki have to have a close working relationship.
Four stars
Cast
Gabriella Chojnacki
Alex Charing
Daniel Magid
Writer-Alex Charing
Set designer-Gabriella Chojnacki
Co-Directors-Gabriella and Alex.
Photos credit-Rikesh Dattini
28th-29th March 2019 @ 7.30PM.
Hen and Chickens Theatre Islington,
St-Pauls Road,
N1 2NA.
Review for London Pub Theatre Magazine.
@pubtheatres1
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