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An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C
Blood Brothers
Music
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed
Muse
I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play
I totally recommend Babbo to anyone who is looking for really good and traditional Italian food
Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Henry Hitchings's rating
Reader rating
Description: This first play from writer Che Walker is set on the dangerous fringes of Camden society - specifically the Bar Phoenix, where Simone and Yvonne attempt to make a fresh start. Roxana Silbert directs a cast including Michele Austin, Karl Johnson and Sophie Okonedo.
Trains: Tube/BR: Waterloo 
Phone: 020 7922 2922
Three in a bar blues: Cat Simmons as Simone, Omar Lyefook as Barney and Naana Agyei-Ampadu as Yvonne
I’m a sucker for funk — you have to be careful when you say those words — and Been So Long, Arthur Darvill and Che Walker’s musical reworking of the latter’s 1998 play, positively bristles with sassy riffs and layered rhythms.
Set in a failing London bar called Arizona, Been So Long is about the collision of sex, affection, vengeance and dreams. First we see lovelorn barman Barney; then sportswear-clad Gil, who wants to get his own back on Raymond, the playboy who stole his girl; then Simone and Yvonne, young women intent on having a good time and on telling the world all about it; and finally Raymond himself, a study in taut muscle and plagiarised chat‑up lines. The five of them become embroiled in a circus of misunderstanding, profane fantasy, vicious cusses and reconciliation.
The story is paper-thin, and the acting a little uneven but the vocal performances make the production fly. Harry Hepple’s Gil looks for all the world like Mike Skinner’s The Streets, and talks like him, too, but when he sings it’s in a sweet tenor.
Nu-soul legend Omar brings his familiar jazz-tinged sound to Barney (and is dismayingly underused), while Cat Simmons is sexily vulnerable, and Arinze Kene endows the less fully developed role of Raymond with gravity. As Yvonne, the sort of woman who slides in an instant from emasculating harpy into garrulous sexpot, Naana Agyei-Ampadu displays real power.
At its best Darvill’s music is thrilling, reminiscent of the classic Stax sound, and his small band excels — rarely can a bass guitar have played quite such an important part in a musical but then I can’t recall having seen a character in a musical singing while brandishing a machete.
Occasionally Walker’s direction seems static, and there are moments when the action drags. Although the lyrics are often very funny, the spoken passages oscillate puzzlingly between street talk and rococo polysyllables. But this is a feelgood production: it’s a show that wins you over, and by the end there is a good chance you’ll feel like dancing.
Until 15 July (020 7922 2922).
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
