EXPERIMENTAL MEETS THE SENTIMENTAL AT THE RVT: HOT AUGUST FRINGE

Another great night down at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern. This Fringe festival has been such a blast. Every night there is something new and the variety of performance is really staggering. For example -- last Thursday was a Wotever Extravaganza, put on by the underground rabble-rousers Club Wotever. If you've never felt like you fit in -- this is the place for you, queer, gender-fuck, bi, trans, homo, hetero -- literally whatever! This night was unlike anything you've seen before with a packed roster of performers exploring and celebrating difference and diversity. Challenging, compelling and entertaining and yet perhaps the friendliest vibe in London. The RVT is soon to see the Wotever crowd on a more regular basis and we can't wait. Welcome Wotever. Your menagerie of outsiders is going to fit right in at the RVT!

Monday night saw more top-quality entertainment at the Hot August Fringe. The first show: Balou Balaile from Filskit Theatre Company was a hilarious send up of the perils of 9-5 office culture. The terrifying boss, the competition between workmates, the stultifying culture of rules, the dreaded 12 o'clock meeting! The piece focused on movement, sound and spoken word but not particularly dialogue. The accomplished performers alternated between funny and tragic as they made use of the stage, the bar, the whole tavern. This wasn't theatre in the round it was theatre in the midst! It was great fun and in the best tradition of experimental theatre, Balou Baliale left the audience with as many questions as answers. It really a case of 'you had to be there' and you can be because it's Filskit Theatre is on again Tues 18 August at 6:30 PM.

Next up was Richard Link's charming theatrical song cycle, 'The Party's Just Beginning'. The crowd swelled as the stage filled with instruments. From the start it was clear, this was a polished and practiced piece destined for a life in the West End. Link's musical explored the many sides of the modern LGBTQ (q = questioning) experience with songs about everything from liberation, to loss, fuck buddies to 'lebanese', even gays with kids were sent up in a gentle satirical ditty. The cast of five singers - plus a band of four, two of whom also sang - were perfectly cast with big Broadway voices to really showcase Link's compositions. It was a fun and light-hearted show, with a few touching and inspiring moments pitched to remind us that even as we celebrate how far society has come in terms of acceptance -- there's always so much more to go.

You can see 'The Party's Just Beginning' Tuesday August 18 at 8:00 PM