Theatre Review: Madonna and Me
Tommy Kearney‘s play Madonna and Me debuts this week in Liverpool, Uk. Here’s a review from the Liverpool Daily Post:
It may be titled Madonna and Me, but Tommy Kearneys play is really about friendship, and how brittle it can be. The setting is Merseyside and the friendship of six characters who meet at school. Over the years they pair up, argue, have fun, but eventually discover that friends do not always last.
It is narrated by Adam, a pleasant young man (played with charm by James Templeton) who talks in the abstract about friendship, then shows it in action. His school pals, Paula, Leanne, Mandy, Joe and Dingo are typical teenagers, going to discos and tangling with relationships. That said, they all have distinct personalities. Paula (an energetic Annmarie Hodson) is a bit of a rebel, Mandy (Suzanne Roche) the virgin and Leanne (Lianne Curtis) something of a sex-pot. Dingo (Lee Clotworthy) is in love with Mandy but frustrated while Joe (Russell Morton) is seduced by Leanne. And Adam? He is unsure of his sexuality until he meets gay Mark (Simon Brignull).
Liverpool writer Kearney handles the stories well, cooking the individual tales into one large and ultimately festering pot of relationships.
There is some comedy but this is a serious look at life and (rightly) does take a serious turn. There is also one curious scene in which four male dancers perform erotically. A totally Merseyside production, from director Pearl Marsland to the excellent cast, makes this very much a Liverpool show, even though it was first staged in London.
In the intimate surroundings of the Actors Studio, at the old Liverpool Academy of Arts, in Seel Street, Madonna and Me comes across as fresh and rather loveable.
Source: Liverpool Daily Post