Chatterbox - still talking nonsense

Judy Blume Forever, currently streaming on Prime, took me right back to discovering that there were actually books written for people like me who were dealing with real life stuff like growing up, relationships and bullying rather than what appeared to be going on in the jolly hockey-sticks school stories that were prevalent at the time.   I adored Judy’s work even though she was clearly American.  It felt like she understood what might be going on on my head despite what I looked like on the outside, and that it was ok to think that a lot of what was happening in the world was wrong and it was ok to say so. She found a unique and real children's voice.   My first job was working in a children’s library and I well remember the kerfuffle and debates around whether to stock ‘Forever’ which was a sensitive, but open and non-judgemental look at a first sexual relationship from a girl’s point of view.  It was lovely to read a story where the girl wasn’t pun...

When Winston Went to War with the Wireless has a fair bit of Churchill (and Clemmie) but is much more interested in John Reith and his moral dilemmas.   I had  a bit of luck with the seating for this performance as I  had bought a standing ticket (I never mind standing for a play … means you can shuffle around a bit more) b ut there were a couple of unfilled seats and so the ushers anointed a couple of us with a  place to sit down instead.   By Jack Thorne, this play looks at the days of the General Strike and the role of the youthful BBC through the relationship between Reith (Stephen Campbell-Moore), Churchill ( Adrian Scarborough) and Stanley Ba l dwin (Haydn Gwynne).   I loved Gwynn as Baldwin and there were some great scenes between the main protagonists.  The politics is balanced with another three way relationship between Reith and his former lover Charlie Bowser (Lu ke Newberry) and his wife (Mariam Haque) and there were great performances...

I caught Paper Cut in preview, and with the lead (Callum Mardy as Kyle) apparently battling a grotty cold.     This is playing in the studio at the Park Theatre and had an audience of 40 or 50 people (I started counting but got distracted) so with no interval there was no opportunity to sneak out for an ice-cream or g&t when it all got a bit tough.     The play is set in the context of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ about a US soldier, wounded by an IED in Afghanistan (the ‘paper cut’ of the title) returning home.     With a disability, a huge amount of anger and drugs, and with a gun in his bag, we watch Kyle navigate his difficult relationship with his brother (Joe Bolland), the soldier he loved but now also discharged due to his sexuality (Prince Kundai),  and a potential new love (Tobie Donovan) who also represents wider society’s understanding and treatment of these men.     There’s a strong sense of camaraderie and love and some great blea...