Hot Flush! - Washington Arts Centre - Review

Hot Flush!

Arts Centre Washington
28th June 2018

Presented by Washington Theatre Group
Directed by Angela Marshall
Musical Director Tim Jasper

Hot Flush! is billed as the naughtiest musical in town. In case the title hasn't already given you an inkling, you need to know that this is a menopausal musical - following the everyday experiences of three women as they cope - or not - with mood swings, temperature swings, libido swings, you name it - if it swings they cope with it! Four women united in hormonal imbalance and everything that that entails. Their mostly absent husbands bear the brunt of their discontent, the blame for all the unfairness and inconvenience of the menopause laid at their door. Myra's husband leaves her for a younger, prettier woman, Helen's husband rather selfishly dies unexpectedly, Ingrid's husband retires to his shed, while Sylvia's husband simply can't keep up with her HRT induced sex drive.

The four female cast members give strong performances. The delivery of the lines is well timed and punchy - there are a lot of funny one liners in this  - and the singing is accomplished - some of the harmonies are beautifully sung. There were some problems with the sound at the beginning which might have floored some, but they carried on with professional determination. The issue was quickly remedied and the show went on!

Emma Simpson is assured as Myra, the divorce lawyer who is gradually falling apart in the face of competition from a younger woman. Her venom towards her recalcitrant husband is palpable and she delivers some of the best lines of the show including my favourite - "if she was any younger she'd be a foetus!"

Sarah Clarke plays Helen - a woman lost in a world where her husband is gone and their daughter, off at university is drifting away from her. Her character reminds me of Tracey from Birds of a Feather. I think her performance was the most natural feeling of the four. 

Joanne McLernon is well cast as the American Sylvia - strong willed, physical, she drives the four women forward, sometimes intentionally - making them take up a fitness regime, sometimes unintentionally by becoming the source of scandal and threatening the friendships. 

Ingrid Middleton - is a delight as Jessica, pillar of the church and menopausal shoplifter, doggedly avoiding the advances of the amorous vicar! 

Matt Lowe - as the token man in the show has his work cut out - he plays all the male characters from the son, to the husband, to the lover, and an array of other random men that the women encounter - barman, vicar, doctor, Chinese herbalist, referee, security guard...the list goes on. He sports an array of costumes, wigs, hats, and saucy shorts and shows a fair amount of barefaced cheek in his performance and, perhaps not surprisingly considering the number of costume changes, he sports more than a few misplaced wigs!

This is a naughty musical - it is full of cheek, and sauce! It's a little bit rude and a little bit sweary. It's also very funny and women of a certain age will recognise, empathise and roar with laughter at some of the situations. Leave your PC head at home - there's nothing politically correct about four menopausal women and one poor beleaguered man! It's a lot of fun and a credit to the theatre group that they carry it off with a deal of flair.

Hot Flush is only on till Saturday - grab your girlfriends, a fan and ticket and go see it!

Denise Sparrowhawk

Preview - Hot Flush - Washington Theatre Group

 Naughtiest musical in town comes to Washington!

Take a deep breath and get ready to meet Myra, Sylvia, Helen and Jessica, a quartet of feisty menopausal women who get together at a local bar every Tuesday night. Affectionately named the ‘Hot Flush Club’ the ladies offer each other moral support, cry on each other’s shoulders and most importantly (of course), gossip and malign the many men in their lives! (Fifteen in fact, all played by one brave man!)

"HOT FLUSH!" takes us on an hilarious musical journey that follows the ups and downs of the friendship between four ordinary women. It delves into their laughter, tears, and secrets. When it comes to matters of the heart, the opposite sex, and the menopause, Myra, Sylvia, Helen and Jessica will leave no stone unturned, and no story untold. 

'HOT FLUSH!', has the music, the menopause and the men (well, the one man). The naughtiest musical in town really is the ultimate girl’s night out! There won’t be a dry eye in the house, because you'll be crying with laughter.

Performed by Washington Theatre Group, 28^th – 30^th June at Arts Centre Washington

Tickets are £10 (Group discount: £8 a ticket for groups of 5+) Book online or telephone Arts Centre Washington on 0191 561 3455. 

Ten Times Two:The Eternal Courtship - Arts Centre Washington - Review

Ten Times Two

Arts Centre Washington
Fri 28th July


Written by Davis Belke
Presented by Washington Theatre Group
Produced by Angela Marshall
Directed by Danny Stones

This play has a strange but interesting premise; an immortal being - Ephraim (John Seymour) - lives only to wreak havoc in the human world, manipulating mankind into wars and conflicts. Ephraim has unexpectedly, and against the plan of the immortals, fallen in love.

He is observed (and manipulated himself in turn) by the other immortals. It is never made clear who or what these beings are, nor what their purpose is. All we know of them is what we can glean from The Host (Sarah Seymour), who orchestrates the events throughout the play. When asked at one point if he is a guardian angel, The Host replies "the very opposite". Perhaps these creatures are the Devil's angels? It is never made clear, only that they are omnipotent, and omnipresent, and malign.

The Host is curious as to how and why this Barmaid, Constance (Catriona Brannigan-Uren) should have affected Ephraim. He denies any attachment either on his side or hers, and so as 'an experiment' they enter into a wager: Ephraim must elicit a genuine declaration of love from Constance when he returns in the spring.

The Host is a dispassionate observer who reports back to unseen "bosses". He introduces Ephraim and sets the seen, apparently addressing the audience though it eventually becomes clear that it is not us, but the other immortal beings that he is conversing with. The audience hear only The Hosts comments, we do not hear their questions or comments in response to The Host. It is clear that there is some kind of plan in process, but none but these unseen immortals know what this is. The Host has some knowledge, but not all, he merely follows instruction. Ephraim himself is clearly unaware that he has been manipulated for centuries, perhaps he was once human, but over the many decades of his life the humanity has been stripped from him until he is reduced to the cold hearted creature who's only pleasure is in the creation of chaos and destruction.

The play pans spans six centuries, and has just three cast members. Ironically Constance is reborn each Century as a different person while the immortal Host and Ephraim remain constant throughout. Catriona Brannigan-Uran metamorphoses into each new character like a chameleon changing colour, from bubbly barmaid to pious nun to flirtatious flapper. She is a stark contrast to the androgynous, dispassionate Host played by Sarah Seymour. Casting a female in the role of The Host certainly adds something to this sinistrous character. She is a disturbing, but not entirely unsympathetic character. John Seymour comes into his own in the final scenes where his humanity has overtaken him. He is much more convincing as the immortal Being racked by human emotions than the cold-hearted Ephraim of the first scenes.

This is a play about fate, predestination, the nature of humanity, and deity, good and evil, and the potential to change one's nature, and one's destiny. This is illustrated by the symbolic chess set which sits on the table throughout the play. Occasionally The Host moves a piece, and at one point the table is knocked and several pieces are scattered. Billed as a romantic comedy, there is humour in it, but it is mostly overshadowed by the sinister nature of the otherworldly immortals and the sense that we are not masters of our own destiny. It is a strange mix of the historical and modern and it has an almost science fiction feel to it.

Ten Times Two is an interesting, thought-provoking and at times bemusing play (I am not convinced by the romantic comedy tag). This was my first time at a Washington Theatre Group production, I am impressed by the standard of acting, the slick sound and lighting and the friendly welcome. I will be back to see more by them.

Denise Sparrowhawk