Review: Confessions (workshop)
Not only did I have the pleasure of interviewing Kansley and Lidert in depth about their work and their new show Confessions (read Part One and Part Two), they invited me along to see their workshop performance and share what I think.
Please note, this is not a full review with critical thinking, as the show is in a workshopping stage.
Something special is happening at The Other Palace this week. The room is buzzing, and I overhear a women excitedly exclaiming, ‘What if this becomes the next big thing, and we get to say we saw it there first in the workshopping stage?’.
📷 Mariano Gobbi
Kurt Kansley and Oliver Lidert have written a cracking, bold, rock and roll style Bond musical, with the story telling from the female perspective. They’re still testing new material, and proudly proclaim at the start of the show, it’s likely that every single night is going to be a little different as they test and rehearse the work.
It’s complete with great harmonies, strong, intelligent female characters despite a short rehearsal period, a four piece band who completely fill the space, and elements of projection design which will become a major part of the future show.
Joanna Woodward and Tanisha Spring 📷 Mariano Gobbi
Starring Joanna Woodward as blonde bombshell Russian assassin Eulpha, Tanisha Spring as strong British female intelligence agent Connie, and Thao Nguyen as edgy Vietnamese assassin Inua, these women are powerhouse voices who take you on a journey of intrigue, mystery, heartbreak and self-realisation across the show. The show is vocally ambitious, but they deliver and hold their own against the four-piece band in the small downstairs studio space of The Other Palace, which can be a hard mix to get right.
Thao Nyugen 📷 Mariano Gobbi
It’s peppered with jokes and references to classic spy films, and all of the twists, turns and betrayal you can pack into a spy narrative. Numbers like ‘Disposable Life’ are a stand out, and there’s just enough elements of costume and lighting to get a real sense of the show and the characters’ journey. Costumes by Kelly Thomas have all been upcycled, adding a nice sustainable element to the show, but all completely fit the actresses, the characters and the show.
Joanna Woodward 📷 Mariano Gobbi
There’s definitely work to do to make this a fully-fledged musical, but the concept presented is a strong start to dynamic new show with female voices at the centre of it. Flicking through the programme, you’ll get a strong sense of where the show is going with its future tech and projection concepts, for example, that the male spy never actually appears on stage, he’s always a shadow on the projector, but the women will fully interact with him. It’s ambitious, it’s fun, and the music is still in my head days later, and I cannot wait to see what happens with this show next.
Tanisha Spring 📷 Mariano Gobbi
Don’t miss Confessions – it has all the pace and narrative drive of the new Bond flicks, complete with dynamite music and a unique new female perspective.
Confessions runs at The Other Palace until Saturday 22nd June. Tickets – https://lwtheatres.co.uk/whats-on/confessions/
