Bed & Breakfast review

When Brett's aunt Maggie suddenly passes, he and his partner Drew, decide to sell their city dwellings and move to the quaint small town with "no bars, no clubs and no culture", and convert Aunt Maggie's house into a bed and breakfast. Mark Crawford's Bed and Breakfast follows this gay couple over the course of 12 months as they deal with small town mentality and homophobia while trying to renovate their new house and also dealing with the surprises that life often throws at you.

Alex Thew and Ben Noble are masterful as Drew and Brett. They have great rapport with each other and are clearly enjoying being on stage together. They present a couple that have a history as partners and as individuals from the total commitment they give to their characters.

Avenue Q review

Having seen the West End production six years ago (and remembering it strongly), I had high expectations for Trifle Theatre Company's production of Avenue Q. Furthermore, I had some reservations as to whether it could match the magic of my original viewing, but within the first few minutes that doubt disappeared. We may only be in March but I can confidently say that this will be one of the best shows I see this year. 

The story follows a recent college graduate, Princeton (played by Jordan Pollard), who is a little wet behind the ears and entering the "real world". Moving to Avenue Q (the best he can afford) he gets acquainted with the locals, including Kate Monster (played by Sarah Golding), Trekkie Monster (played by the wonderful Andy McDougall), married human couple Christmas Eve and Brian (Leah Lim and Michael Linder) and Gary Coleman (in an interesting casting choice, played by Zuleika Khan).

e-baby review

For some people, giving birth and becoming a parent is the most beautiful experience in life. There are unfortunately women who are unable to carry a baby to term and so turn to surrogacy. In Jane Cafarella’s e-baby, inspired by interviews with infertile women and surrogates who share their stories online, we meet an accomplished lawyer who has been trying unsuccessfully for her own child for seven years. She finds a surrogate to carry her baby and we follow the relationship of these two women over the course of the pregnancy.

Both Carolyn Bock (Catherine) and Sarah Ranken (Nellie) do a solid job in portraying the often-tense relationship between these two women. Whilst it initially and naturally took a few scenes for them to appear comfortable with their characters on the preview night of e-baby, their performances feel realistic and honest. Bock finds the right balance in showing a woman who is excited about the prospect of being a mother but also depicting the desperation and shame that she would feel in fear of being seen as less of a woman. She does this both subtly and powerfully through the most miniscule of actions: a fleeting stare, a taut smile and a twitching, fidgety hand. I would have liked to see her more emotive however, in the moments where Catherine appears at her weakest and most frustrated.