Where Do Little Birds Go?
1st to 26th Nov 2016
Old Red Lion
About the show: “It’s 1966. Lucy Fuller is 18 years old and working at Winston’s Nightclub. One night, Lucy is kidnapped by the Kray Twins and locked in a flat with an escaped murderer. This is the story of Lucy’s time with Ronnie, Reggie, and Frank. A razor-sharp exploration of sexual exploitation and class, Where Do Little Birds Go? takes us back over 40 years, to a time when fashion, music, celebrity and corruption shaped young women’s coming of age and East London, under the powerful grip of the Kray Twins, was famous for its ‘wall of silence’. Based on real-life story of Lisa Prescott, we follow Lucy’s journey from small-town teenager to London sex worker“.
Lucy Fuller played by Jessica Butcher
Writer Camilla Whitehill
Director Sarah Meadows
Producer Rosalyn Newbery
Designer Justin Nardella
Co-designer Catherine Morgan
Lighting Designer Jamie Platt
Original Composition Benedict Taylor
Review by Richard Lambert (5 Stars)
Jessica Butcher’s word perfect protrayal of Lucy Fuller in the 1960s is pure genius. I never once doubted who she was or what she was doing. With easy transitions betweens scenes and occasional song you won’t want to miss one second of her mesmerising performance. Its confident without being over-stated, it’s vulnerable while showing resolve, it’s about surviving in a new World in London with the Kray twins – without being feisty. There’s a deep-rooted acknowledgement that her mortality lies in the hands of others alongside a self-protective laissez-faire acceptance.
The Set Design (Justin Nardella) is the biz! With 3 different height podiums adorned with bling, a bar table, a piano and walls of glitter slash, we’re in a nightclub, but a multi-level nightclub. Allows “top of the World” exclamations or a challenging assault course. Director (Sarah Meadows) takes full advantage of Lucy’s physicality in keeping this play moving along with visual statements reinforcing the dialogue (Camilla Whitehill).
The challenge with such a small multi-storey acting space was easily matched by Jamie Platt‘s dynamic lighting plot. A minimal lighting rig, never distracted but kept pace, we could always see Lucy while the World around her changed from Nightclub deep colours to softer moods, to bold stark cold reality.
The Composer and Sound Designer (Benedict Taylor) with Associate Sound Designer (Mark Sutcliffe) create a Soundscape that truly enhanced the play. Rarely does Sound match the piece so perfectly!
(Photo Credit: Camilla Whitehill)
This play is what modern Fringe can be all about! It’s exciting, it works, it’s reasonably priced tickets, it’s magical, it’s talent that’s up close and personal. It’s so much more than what West End productions currently offer for more than 6x the Ticket Price!
This talented production company, Longsight Theatre, nips at the heels of Cameron and Lloyd-Webber!
Performance Dates Tuesday 1st – Saturday 26th November 2016
Tuesday to Saturday, 8pm
Saturday and Sunday matinees, 3.30pm
Running time 1 hour
Location Old Red Lion Theatre, 418 St John Street, London EC1V 4NJ, www.oldredliontheatre.co.uk.
How to get there
The nearest underground station is Angel (on the Bank branch of the Northern line).
The nearest rail station is Kings Cross St Pancras.
Box Office Tickets are available priced £15 (£12.50 concessions)
Previews priced £10
Available from Old Red Lion Theatre Box Office and www.oldredliontheatre.co.uk or 0844 412 4307
Twitter @LittleBirdsGo, @camillavalerie, @LongsightTC, @ORLTheatre
Website http://www.longsighttheatre.com/where-do-little-birds-go
Notes Contains some strong language and adult themes