SOHOSTREETS To 2 May.
London.
Posted by : Carole Woddis on April 28, 2009 – 14.40pm London
SOHOSTREETS: A WALK IN FOUR DECADES
by Theresa Shiban
Soho Theatre To 2 May 2009.,
21 Dean Street W1D 3ND To 2 May 2009.
Mon-Sat 7.30pm.
BSL Signed 30 April.
Runs 1 hr 40min No interval.
This is a promenade performance beginning at the Soho Theatre and moving through Soho. Audience members with limited mobility contact: charlie@sohotheatre.com
TICKETS 020 7478 0100.
www.sohotheatre.com
Review: by Carole Woddis 24 April.
So much fun.
The thing about walkabouts is they are so much fun. They are vital, outdoor, happening in front of you. And so it is here with sohostreets, Soho Theatre’s follow up to last year’s sellout Moonwalking in Chinatown. And sohostreets is another revealing tour of Soho’s extraordinary past and present.
Told through the eyes of Will, a young Chinese resident, it’s a clever, charming event, devised by Theresa Shiban from the real-life stories of people who have lived and worked in Soho through the past four decades, and directed by Suzanne Gorman with group leaders shepherding us hither and thither under the iconic titles of Goth, Hippies, Punks and Ravers.
Not that we had to become one or any of them; but our group leaders – I was a hippy again - definitely entered into the spirit of the occasion even making sure we embraced our neighbour in `love and peace, man’.
Well, we could all do with a bit of that. And though sohostreets draws no particular lessons, it becomes a vivid, generous mirror of Soho’s distinctive character and cultural landmarks from the past forty years, ranging from the celebratory (a young Jewish couple being married in the synagogue that was the Soho Theatre’s previous incarnation) to the painful (a young Chinese immigrant father being beaten up and killed by a Soho porn king in the 1970s) to the communal: a 1984 women `Reclaiming the Night’ demo.
Other `moments’ include the wedding of Charles and Diana, the Suss laws, The Clash, Band Aid, inevitably the Iraq War and political disillusion. All played out, courtesy of Soho’s streets and shops, in its public spaces and told with amazing versatility by a small core of actors and a vast army of local extras.
A colourful reflection of Soho’s unique melting-pot mix of White, Black, Chinese, Italian, Jewish and many others. As Will says at the end, as we congregated in St Anne’s Church gardens in Wardour Street, `words are embedded in the landscape’ - behind the Georgian façade lies medieval and Roman origins. Good to be reminded we are just another layer in history’s ever changing face.
Shirley: Liz Sutherland.
Will: Mo Zainal.
Louise: Susannah Wise.
Pete: Nicholas Bailey.
Franks: Nick Cavaliere.
Bernie: Jack Chissick.
Neville Blake (PC): Andy Michell.
Josie: Orna Salinger.
Dom: Luca Matteo Zizzari.
Young Will: Alex Lac.
Young Will: Linus Leung.
Ma Shan: Quang Huy Chau.
Russell: Dylan Gibbs.
The Angels – Jacqui: Aisha Derbel.
The Angels – Penny: Susan Hingley.
The Angels – Marie: Shireen Mula.
The Giggers – Goths: Sarah Hynd,.Suni La.
The Giggers – Hippies: Joyia Fitch, Maria McColgan.
The Giggers – Punks: Paulina Sygulska, Isabella Marsh.
The Giggers – Ravers: Suzanne Goldberg, Jen Hockley.
Band: Dixie Ticklers.
Football Fan/Protester/Guest: Beverly Elie.
Police Officer/Thug/Waiter/Runner/Marcher/Trader/Guest: Alain English.
Football Fan/Bride/Womenls Leader/Waiter/Runner/Marcher/Guest: Amy Fox.
Club Promoter/Police Officer/Tony (Barber)/Waiter/Runner/Marcher/Guest: Muthith Hakim.
Chris/Waiter/Protester/Runner/Marcher: Stephen Hoo.
Police Officer/Groom/Waiter/Runner/Marcher/Guest: Anthony Lanson.
Mel/Waiter/Protester.Runner.Marcher: Kaimo Lutterodj.
Chris/Male Ensemble/Waiter/Runner: Sam Sadler.
James/Police Officer/Groom’s Father/Waiter/Runner/Marcher: Sam Winter.
Protester/Guest: Ling Wu, Lily Li.
Director: Suzanne Gorman.
Designer: Pip Nash.
Lighting: Charlie Lucas.
Sound: Tom Gibbons.
AV Designer: Eva Auster.
Fight director: Bret Yount.
Assistant directors: Pierre Becker, Rosie Kellagher, Rebecca Tortora, Liya Wu.
sohostreets also had a large band of volunteer stewards and wished to thank Soho Parish Year 5 for their work on the design.
Its community partners were: Chinese Community Centre, Soho Parish School, Soho Housing Association, St Anne’s Church.
2009-04-29 10:47:42