It might not be worth hazarding the tube strike to see just one play, but when you get 20 in a single sitting it becomes a different story. Boom! at the Bush Theatre offers up a smorgasbord of quick-fire short plays tonight, each one between three and five minutes long, involving over 40 up-and-coming young actors and playwrights.
The mastermind behind the showcase is Rikki Beadle-Blair, a whirlwind of energy who brings both huge enthusiasm and slick organisation to this two day event. Last night saw the first round of performances with a set of stories as diverse as the personnel in them. Highlights included Stephen Hoo’s ‘Bouffee Delirante’ about a man who lost his legs to a freight-train; ‘Passport’ by Jaz Deol, compressing the power-struggles of a long term relationship into an argument over pizza; and ‘Mad One’ by Naomi Sparrow which set about deconstructing a fatal stabbing at a house party. Beadle-Blair was also clearly enjoying himself with James Farrar in Matt Harris ‘Silicon Heart’, a funny and affecting playlet about a mad scientist making a synthetic copy of his deceased boyfriend.
Tonight offers another whirling panoply of 20 plays, and will no doubt once again sprawl from sci-fi to urban crime drama with the odd ménage a trois thrown in the middle for good measure. Beadle-Blair and his crew at Team Angelica are to be congratulated on offering this kind of exposure to such a wide group of unsung talent. So forget about the tubes, tonight at the Bush Theatre is the place to go to see the rising stars of tomorrow.
Boom! started yesterday and continues tonight at 7.30pm with live music in the Bush Theatre’s bar at 6pm. Bush Theatre, 7 Uxbridge Road, London, W12 8LJ
Londonist saw the first night on a complimentary ticket.
