Goodnight, Oscar

 

Review by Paul Towers, 14/8/25

Goodnight, Oscar by Doug Wright

Directed by Lisa Peterson

Produced by Trafalgar Theatre Productions and others

At Barbican Theatre til Sunday 21^st September 2025

Oscar Levant is largely an unknown name in the UK. Unless you are a movie buff. Look closely at the credits of numerous films of the 30’s to 50’s and his name will be somewhere down among the also-rans. However, if you had lived in America at that time you would have seen and heard him on various TV and radio shows.

So it is an eye opener for us Brits to get a glimpse into his troubled personal life. Goodnight, Oscar is a snapshot of his mental illnesses and how he ‘coped’ with them.

On stage Oscar (Sean Hayes) has been sprung from the mental institute where his wife June (Rosalie Craig) has had him sectioned for his own safety. All sorts of treatments have been tried including ECT to control his OCD, depression and psychosis. All to little effect.

He has just 4 hours’ freedom in which to appear on friend Jack Parr’s (Ben Rappaport) show. Oscar is being nurse-maided by institute worker Alvin (Daniel Adeosun) while Oscar browbeats studio runner Max (Eric Sirakian) into sourcing drugs for him.

But, no matter what is going on around him it is Sean Hayes’ outstanding performance as the dissolute Levant that we wonder at. Oscar drifts from psychotic madman  to weeping desperation to almost normal. All the while still managing to throw away searing one-liners willy nilly.

Of course the absolute highlight of the performance is Hayes’ astonishing rendition of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, live on a grand piano centre stage.

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Edinburgh Festival 2025

This was my first visit to Edinburgh’s world-renowned Fringe Festival. These are my favourites this year.

SMILE – The story of Charlie Chaplin

Actor and writer Marcel Cole, an Australian (believe it or not) presents a multi layered telling of two of the most important periods of Chaplin’s life. The first half is his enactment of The Gold Rush, Chaplin’s biggest self-produced film in 1925 (coincidentally 100 years ago), in all its silent glory.

The second half is centred round his advisors pleading with him to make a talking picture. His response? “I can’t talk. I am a pantomimist”. However he did relent and scored success with, amongst others, The Great Dictator, a savage satire on Hitler.

Cole cleverly peoples his performance with many audience members, often to get effect and much hilarity.

AN ADEQUATE ABRIDGMENT OF BOARDING SCHOOL LIFE AS A HOMO

Jonny is 18 years old at an all-boys boarding school. He is ambling through his final year, very aware of being gay, adoring Britney and not really fitting in. Then there is Harry. School rugby star, hunk and quite happy to get his rocks off with Jonny. Both funny and telling, Abridgment is searingly honest about that first love and what happens when your boyfriend says he isn’t gay!

SIMON EVANS

Simon is a seasoned professional comedian whose face is familiar from any number of TV shows. Coming up to his 60^th Simon ruminates of the downsides of older age, but also the benefits. Plenty of laughs.

THE FIT PRINCE (WHO GETS SWITCHED ON THE SQUARE IN THE FROSTY CASTLE THE NIGHT BEFORE (INSERT PUBLIC HOLIDAY HERE))

Awkward Productions’ latest offering is Fit Prince. Following on from Diana, The Untold and Untrue story and Gwyneth Goes Skiing, this is just as bonkers and just as hilarious. Set in Swedonia, the Prince must marry or lose his kingdom forever. As Swedonia is enlightened it doesn’t matter who he marries. So when Aaron Butcher turns up they fall in love and save the day. Along the way we get outrageous puppetry, lots of improbable laughs and lots of help from the audience as additional cast members. Totally bonkers and hilarious.

SAUNA BOY

This was my third visit to the ‘South Coast’s Premier Gay Sauna’ and I still found it eye opening and raunchy. Dan Ireland-Reeves has had world-wide success with this production and it shows no sign of slowing down.

 

Grease

 

Review by Paul Towers, 5/8/25

Grease by Jim Jacobs & Warren Casey

Directed & choreographed by Ryan-Lee Seager

Produced by Celia Mackay

At Kilworth House Theatre until Sunday 7^th September 2025

This year has been an especially good one for musicals at Kilworth House. This season we have been treated to TWO big, spectacular musicals. Earlier in the summer we had 42^nd Street and now, in the second half of the summer, we have got the ultimate summer loving musical, Grease.

Ryan-Lee Seager (familiar to theatre-goers at Curve) has stepped into the shoes of Kilworth House resident director Lee Proud who has had to withdraw due to ill health. And a great job he has done.

As always with Kilworth House productions the standard is high and Grease is definitely the word in this spectacular story of American High School romance. Michael Nelson as Danny Zuko has charm and arrogance to spare as he fights to keep his feelings for Sandy Dumbrowski (Lillia Squires) from spoiling his street cred with his chums.

While the girls, The Pink Ladies, are prickly and bitchy at first and close ranks they eventually welcome Sandy into their circle. Betty Rizzo (Julia Imbach) and Frenchy (Millicent Blair) are the two stand out members of the group. Quite often various girls get lost in their fantasies. Teen Angel (a very camp Declan Egan) persuades Frenchy to give up her dream of being a beautician to return to school.

Over on the boy’s side the throbbing testosterone is somewhat channelled into their obsession with cars which leads to the classic Greased Lightening (the battered old car’s name) as they cleverly transform it into a gleaming chrome encrusted man toy.

The set is very clever and transforms into various school locations and makes good use of the now legendary back wall opening to bring in huge props like the car and stairs.

The choreography by Ryan-Lee Seager is, in places, reminiscent of that of West Side Story, No bad thing

All in all the fantastic vocals and lots of comedy make this an evening of outdoor theatre not to be missed. Summer Nights have never been so magical.

Grease is at Kilworth House Theatre until Sunday 7^th September

https://www.kilworthhouse.co.uk/kilworth-house-theatre/

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