MONDAY 11 JULY 2022 THISWEEKCULTURE.COM
DAVID SHEARING: THE RISING SUN
Quite often when selecting subjects for these Q&As I'm drawn to those involved in performance, so it's mostly actors, comedians, choreographers and the like. But here at ThisWeek Culture, we also love to hear about exciting art projects, like this one that caught my attention in the last couple of weeks. 

'The Rising Sun' is a new installation that will be at Romford Market shortly and it's the work of David Shearing and his creative collective Variable Matter. I think it sounds amazing, so I arranged a chat with David, to discover how it was conceived and what to expect.

CLICK HERE to read this Caro Meets interview.

David Shearing's 'The Rising Sun' will be at Romford Market from 15 - 30 Jul. See this page here for more information.
JULIA MASLI: CHOOSH!
Anyone who has been to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe will know that one of its greatest delights is the sheer variety of culture on offer, but those whose edfringe experience is limited could be forgiven for thinking that it's all stand-up comedy and productions of Shakespeare. And, thus far this year, we have been speaking to quite a few people whose acts and shows would actually fall into those categories. 

So, although we're sticking with comedy for this one, it's not stand-up, but that somewhat rarer breed of edfringe entertainer: the clown. And it's someone with a really good story to tell via their medium. 

Acclaimed Estonia-born clown Julia Masli, visiting teacher at the Ecole Philippe Gaulier theatre school in France, heads to Assembly Roxy this summer with 'CHOOSH!', a fab sounding show about a migrant clown who leaves an Eastern European village and travels to the United States. 

I spoke to Julia to find out more. 

CLICK HERE to read this Caro Meets interview.

Julia Masli performs 'CHOOSH!' at Assembly Roxy from 3-28 Aug. See the edfringe show listing here.
We are now busy planning what shows we'll review at Edinburgh Festival 2022.

We still actually have a few spots to fill on our review team - so if you work in the arts or have experience critiquing comedy, theatre, dance, musicals, cabaret or spoken word - and are planning on being in Edinburgh this August, why not do some reviews?

Click here for info on joining the ThreeWeeks review team this summer.
We are also busy putting together the ThreeWeeks Preview Guide which will be available to pick up at venues as the Festival gets under way at the start of August.

Taking an ad in the Preview Guide is a really easy and super effective way to get your shows in front of tens of thousands of potential ticket buyers just as they are deciding what productions to see this year.

A full page advert costs just £800 plus VAT.

A half page advert costs just £425 plus VAT.

And a display box advert costs just £150 plus VAT.

To book a spot today drop an email to chris@unlimitedmedia.co.uk
Shows to see in person in London - including performances from people and companies we first discovered at the Edinburgh Festival.


THREE FESTIVAL-TYPE THINGS>>

Woolwich Words & Sounds | Woolwich Works | 15-31 Jul
Quite a bit to get through today and I am quite pushed for time this week, what with one thing or another, so let's get straight on and talk about good things you can partake of in London in the week ahead, starting - yet again - with festival-type events. As is so often the case, I'm saying 'festival-type events' because some of these may not strictly be festivals. Indeed, this one may, I think, be regarded as a 'season'. But either way, it's a collection of linked events. There's live music, stand-up, spoken word and family stuff, and everything looks great. Full line up here.

CRIPtic x Lewisham Microfestival | Deptford Lounge | 16 July
This one actually has festival in the name, so it is a festival, and a nice little one, on for just one day. It's part of the Mayor Of London's Borough Of Culture 2022, and offers a selection of workshops and performances celebrating the talent of deaf and disabled people in the local community. Expect appearances from the likes of poets Daniel Sluman and Antonia Jade King, and singer-songwriter Miss Jacqui. For more information on all of it, head to the venue website here.

London International Music Festival: Batimbo Percussion Magique | Conway Hall | 13 Jul (pictured)
This one's not a whole festival, it's one event on as part of a festival, the London International Music Festival, and this is a show with a bit of a focus on drums, which I am rather drawn to. Batimbo Percussion Magique, from Burundi, is a mixed ensemble with members ranging in age from ten to 50 years, and they'll be presenting a mixture of dance, percussion and song that promises to be entirely enlivening. Head to the venue website here for more information and to book tickets.


THREE COMEDY SHOWS>>

2Northdown's Mic Check | 2Northdown | 12 Jul
I'm thinking a lot about comedy at the moment because here we are gearing up for the old edfringe, interviewing comedians and planning what shows we might get to review this summer. But, of course, in the meantime there's plenty of comedy going on in London, including 2Northdown's 'Mic Check', the venue's regular new material night. This week the line up consists of Tom Ward, Sikisa, Heidi Regan, Ted Hill and Adam Flood, plus resident host (and TW fave) Garrett Millerick. Book tickets here.

Chuck Salmon: Pool Noodles | Etcetera Theatre | 16 Jul (pictured)
"Dive funny-bone-first into a slip&slide sketch adventure in the world's biggest leisure centre, with hilarious lifeguards and heroic comedians Chuck Salmon: the funniest whistleblowers since Edward Snowden. In a world where lifeguards are rockstars, and rockstars are as they normally are, underdog(gy-paddler) Kenny Shallows searches for the fabled lifeguarding elixir". Acclaimed up and coming sketch types head to Etcetera Theatre this week for a pre-Edinburgh London date. Head to this page here to find out more.

Comedy Double Bill: Joanna Neary & Ben Moor | Hen & Chickens Theatre | 15 Jul
I wanted to recommend pretty much everything that's on at Hen & Chickens this week, and a lot of it involved the pairing that features in this double bill, so picking just this was hard. And the long and the short of it is this: go and see this show, but also consider all the other things too. This show sees Joanna Neary and Ben Moor, two long term TW favourites, and well established purveyors of acclaimed solo comedy shows, performing 'Wasp In A Cardigan' and 'Who Here's Lost' respectively. Read more here.


THREE FUNNY PLAYS>>

Sorry We Didn't Die At Sea | Seven Dials Playhouse | 12-16 Jul
And from funny stuff to more funny stuff, but this is the sort of funny stuff that definitely falls into the funny theatre category, though lots of it might be considered... well, dark. This one, which promises to be hilarious, certainly has a dark and pertinent theme: "In a not-too-distant future, a failed Europe has become a continent of emigrants. Seeking better jobs and brighter futures, Europeans are forced to set out illegally for more affluent countries, all of which have closed their borders". All the info is right about here.

The Woman Who Amuses Herself | Jack Studio Theatre | 12-23 Jul
"Paris, 1911. A worker at the Louvre walks out of the museum with one of its most famous paintings hidden under his coat. The Mona Lisa has always captivated the world. But for Vincenzo Peruggia the painting holds a special power, one that compels him to steal it and return it to Italy. But before he returns it, he lives in his Paris apartment under her watchful smile for over two years". A UK premiere for Victor Lodato's 2011 play, which is based on a true story, described as "witty and poignant" and staged by an Offie award nominated team. Read more here.

The Happiest Place On Earth | Lion & Unicorn Theatre | 12-16 Jul (pictured)
A show that explores some fairly serious themes - men's mental health and suicide - but that promises to keep its audiences laughing through the medium of its dark humour. "Two friends find themselves away on someone else's holiday at the Happiest Place On Earth: Orlando, Florida. Joe and Rich are excited to eat food, meet girls and participate in all sorts of themed rides at the park. That is, until they find their dreams are faced with nightmares". Head to the venue website here to find out more and book tickets.


THREE FAB SHORT RUNS>>

Half Man, Half Piano with Will Pickvance | Crazy Coqs | 18-19 Jul (pictured)
And now for short runs, and a section that's got quite a bit of music in it. And yes, this is one of the ones with music, and it's from a TW Editors' Award Winner to boot. We have been rather avid fans of Will Pickvance's Edinburgh Fringe shows in recent years, and if you haven't yet experienced his brilliant blend of piano playing, story telling and hilarity, it's about time you did. This is his new show, which he'll be performing at the Festival in August. Head to the Brasserie Zedel website here for all the details.

Seahorse | Theatre503 | 18-19 Jul
Here in the middle we have a really interesting sounding play with in intriguing theme. And yes, I know I overuse the word 'intriguing', but this time it's very well justified: "Chrono-Meta-Cardio-Fragility - An ultra-rare condition in which emotional pain causes cardiovascular damage. There are only two people in the world who suffer from it: and they're in love with each other. Or at least they were. Now, they're on the verge of breaking up. And it could kill them". Yikes. Head to the venue website here to find out more.

The Big Summer Night Of The Guitar | King's Place | 15 Jul
I'll start by saying that this event is part of the IGF Guitar Summit at King's Place, and that there were a number of events that I thought looked good. In fact, I thought they all looked good, but chose this one on the basis that it's probably the one I would select if I were told I could only see one thing in the programme. And the reason I would select this one is because it features Antonia Jimenez, the foremost female flamenco guitarist in the world, which is exciting given the traditional domination of the form by men. Check out that event here, and all the events here.


THREE THEATRE RUNS STARTING THIS WEEK>>

Freud's Last Session | King's Head Theatre | 12 Jul-13 Aug
Right, onto some theatre beginning runs this week, and this one you may recognise if you've been paying attention to your weekly ThisWeek content, because we did a Q&A fairly recently with one of the stars of this show, Julian Bird, when the play had a run at the King's Head Theatre in January. Now it's back, which is great news for those of you who missed it, or who - understandably - would like to see it again. As you might expect, it features Sigmund Freud, and tackles the age old questions of faith, love, sex and existence itself. Click here.

A Sudden Burst Of Violent Rain | Rose Theatre | 13-23 Jul (pictured)
"Elif shears sheep for a rich landowner. Every other waking hour she spends queuing outside the palace, hoping that the King will let her live within the city walls. She comes from a far-away land. She is searching for sanctuary. And this is what we call a hostile environment". This poetic fable by award-winning playwright Sami Ibrahim is one of the latest productions to be staged in Paines Plough's touring venue Roundabout, first stop the Rose Theatre. Later, it heads to the Edinburgh Fringe, before touring to Burton-upon-Trent, Doncaster, Ilfracombe, Newington Green and Salford (plus further dates TBA) in the autumn. More on that show here, and more on all upcoming Roundabout shows at Rose Theatre here.

Pennyroyal | Finborough Theatre | 12 Jul-6 Aug
And now it's over to the Finborough for 'Pennyroyal', a new play about motherhood and sisterhood that explores the things expected of women and what happens when life doesn't go to plan, inspired by Edith Wharton's 1922 novella 'The Old Maid'. "When Daphne is diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Insufficiency at nineteen, her sister Christine steps in to help in the only way she knows how: by donating her eggs. For a moment, the world seems corrected. But as the years go by and Daphne sets out on the long road of IVF, the sisters' relationship begins to twist". Find out more here.


THREE MORE GREAT SHOWS>>

Theatre Of War: An Evening Of Playwriting, Poetry And Prose | Camden People's Theatre | 12 Jul (pictured)
And so to the final section where this week I've gathered two shows with Ukraine themes, and one rather interesting solo show. First up is this evening of readings of plays, poetry and prose by Ukrainian writers including works by Olesya Khromeychuk, Iryna Shuvalova and Nataliia Blok, followed by a discussion on the role of literature in the current wartime situation. It's organised by Ukrainian Institute London, Birkbeck Centre For Contemporary Theatre and Camden People's Theatre, and ticket monies will go to programmes to support displaced Ukrainians. See the venue website here.

The Light From Below: Stories From Ukrainian Basements | Barons Court Theatre | 12-16 Jul
This one's the second Ukraine focused event (as you might have guessed from the title) and it's a double bill of newly translated plays telling stories of hope and heartache in wartime, seen from the perspective of those living through it, created by a Ukrainian refugee-led group of theatre makers. There's 'Save The Light' by Polina Pologenceva, telling the tale of a woman and her child fleeing Ukraine in spring 2022; and 'Fox, Dark As A Light Night' by Andriy Bondarenko, which is about a lonely refugee, living in a basement and desperately seeking happiness and redemption. Read more here.

Symbiont | The Vaults | 14-16 Jul
Here's that one woman show I mentioned, and it's a really interesting one, and actually, to be more accurate, it's described as a "semi-autobiographical horror stand-up one-woman-show", which is all kinds of intriguing. "Kathryn is here to talk to us about death. Because it isn't spoken about enough. Because the world hides it and cushions it so you don't get upset. But then it does happen, and it will happen, and not knowing hurts more than anything. She's going to talk about a nuclear family. Mother father daughter son. Their little, settled world. She's going to talk about how their world fell apart, and how it was simultaneously rebuilt". Click here for more.
At TW:CULTURE we champion the best in fringe theatre, comedy and culture.

Year round, we pick the best shows happening in London and online each week, providing handy Three To See recommendations and interviewing the people behind those productions.

Plus each summer we also cover the biggest cultural event in the world: The Edinburgh Festival.


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