STEPHEN AND THE SEXY PARTRIDGE

A classy, technically likable exercise in polished surrealism'
Time Out Critic's Choice ****

'Packed with ingenious parodies, ludicrous impersonations and sex'
The Times

'One of the funniest offerings in the West End this season... Tickets to this short, sweet, Christmas show should be a must on everybody's Christmas shopping list this year.'
The Stage ****

'A grown up Panto for the very young at heart... festive, side-splittingly funny and wonderfully uplifting - truly in the spirit of the season.'
whatsonstage.com ****

'Those lured in by McCrystal's work directing The Might Boosh's early stage shows will cackle with delight'
Time Out

'Pulled off with a surfeit of imagination and good humour'
Time Out

'Warm and genuinely unusual'
Music OMH

'What is particularly endearing about this piece is the evident love and care with which it has been created. It is neither too cynical, nor overtly reverential, and the company of eight actors are obviously thoroughly enjoying themselves.'
The Stage

'Crisply executed, giddily inventive physicality'
Time Out

 

AVOCADO

"Raucous cheers and appreciative whistling - Avocado is a fun show. What you want from an evening out - entertainment, pleasure, and a lot of laughter. Acting, direction, script and technique merge together beautifully culminating in a finished product of the highest quality.

Cleverly dark humour: despite the monologues being written by two different writers from different sides of the pond, they share the same themes - loneliness, isolation, allusions to death and suicide, themes explored to great effect.

The actors were fantastic - drawing humour, sympathy and pity all at the same time.

This is, simply, a great show that needs to be watched."
Extra Extra

 

THE REAL THING by Sir Tom Stoppard

"Annie (played with ease and poise by Lily Bevan), having ditched the awkwardly reticent Max for the dashing candour of playwright Henry, complains that being on the right end of unrequited love is an uninteresting and irritating tedium. The pain of her ex-lover bores her. It is an excellently cold and, if I can brave such a term, authentic depiction of a relationship's aftermath. As one hurts, the other exults. Stoppard, through his fictional plaything Henry, suggests that the limit of art is to nudge perceptions in the right direction. A lesser company may have bodged this. Osip Theatre do not. I was sincerely nudged, and I urge you to be nudged too."
British Theatre Guide

"'The Real Thing' explores the age old questions; 'What actually is this thing called love?' 'Does art influence life?' 'Can life imitate art?' Much like real life, these questions are never fully answered, but form the backbone of a heartfelt and reflective play. Hanna Berrigan directs this intimate piece and successfully plays on the Tabard's atmospheric theatre to grant the audience peeping tom status as we sit, enthralled at some of the more personal and poignant moments. A thoroughly enjoyable production."
Totally Theatre

"Infidelity. A single word from which stems a multitude of uncertainties - what boundaries must be crossed in order to be considered cheating; are they solely physical, or is emotional unfaithfulness just as destructive? This hovering grey area seeps into the onstage world of The Real Thing and guides the relationships of its characters through an array of conflicts, sometimes resulting in triumphs, other times in consequences."
Whats on Stage

"Tom Stoppard's award winning play The Real Thing hasn't been produced in London since 2000. This version by up and coming Osip Theatre company really makes the most of Stoppard's language and is very well cast. The Real Thing explores the idea of honesty and relationships. Teasing the audience with a play within a play Stoppard looks at the blurry line when fiction meets reality in the world of infidelity.

Tom Stoppard knows his words and as long as an actor knows where to place them and a director is able to draw out the subtle physical nuances his writing requires, Stoppard can just about be a sure bet in the success stakes. As a result Osip Theatre Company's production of The Real Thing at the Tabard is definitely worth checking out.

Hanna Berrigan's direction gives this production a slick and sharp edge and the words seem to fly from the actor's mouths, often like bullets; cutting, witty and true. On first glance the set is slick and extremely well representative of middle class, eighties Britain, the actors are excellent and carry this piece forward professionally.

Lily Began is captivating as the scintillating Annie, cleverly capturing the right level of playful coquettishness, coupled with a believable and unfortunately not always welcome influence which is cleverly masked by her likeable innocence.

Nigel Hastings plays Henry, a playwright hiding behind his witty repartee with great skill. Although he has the advantage of a great deal of stage time he still uses it well and stands out from the bunch. His command of Stoppard's language is impressive and he keeps the audience thoroughly engaged.

Amy Dawson is delightfully fresh as Debbie, Henry's wayward and intelligent daughter with Lisa Mcnaught playing her mother Charlotte with a cutting tongue and excellent stage presence.

Joe Vantyler plays the brooding and very young adulterous love interest of Annie, reminiscent of a young Marlin Brando (ie On The Waterfront). Paul Joseph and Harry Harden-Paton are both strong supporting actors. It is worth seeing The Real Thing for the witty language, the strong performances from a great ensemble cast. Osip Theatre are a young up and coming theatre company. They have cast this production exceptionally well and the result is well worth checking out."
Fringe Review, Feb 09

 

STEPHEN AND THE SEXY PARTRIDGE (2008)

"Osip Theatre's crazed and ebullient story of one man and a game chick transforms the twelve days of Christmas into an episodic orgy of insurgent hens, dancing potatoes and eloquent cattle. Finnian O'Neill as Stephen, the beleaguered boyfriend bent on procuring a faceted gift to appease his malcontent missus, and Lily Bevan as the stoic-yet-tender partridge in need of a pluck, offer performances as assured and audacious as the script that the two co-wrote.

A satisfying irony was achieved thanks to the play's blatant moral curriculum. If it were any less contrived - winks and piano bursts announce Stephen's moral progression - one might be tempted to take it seriously. As it is, Bevan and O'Neill manage, by grossly exposing the text's moral hinges, to question the reliance of dramatic and literary narrative on hackneyed, Aristotelian moral plot-structures and devices. By emphatically imitating narrative convention, convention is brought under scrutiny."
British Theatre Guide

"Finnian O'Neill, who is one of the authors, plays Stephen as a loveable idiot with a constant beaming smile and co-author Lily Bevan is the sexiest partridge in town. Based on "The Twelve Days of Christmas", this is definitely an ensemble piece and in addition to the authors, there are seven incredibly funny and talented female actors playing a plethora of roles. There are only nine of them in total, so when it gets to number ten, they have run out of actors, so puppets, paper dolls and potatoes are brought in to represent the final numbers.

These actors are wonderful, crazy and totally uninhibited - choreographed by Robyn Sympson and directed with a firm hand by Cal McCrystal who nevertheless allows them full rein for their sense of humour. Between them all, they have produced probably the silliest, most hilarious production in town and if you need something to get you into the Christmas spirit this is just the thing."
Whats on Stage

"After his girlfriend brands him selfish, stupid, sex-pesty and narrow-minded for humiliating her at the office Christmas party, Stephen's search for a peace offering turns into a surreal quest to discover the true meaning of the festive season. Aided and abetted by a sexy partridge (of the pear tree fame) he finds himself on a warped journey through the 12 days of Christmas, stumbling across seven moustached, ballet-dancing swans and ten bagpipe-playing maris piper potatoes along the way.

Finnian O'Neill and Lily Bevan, who co-wrote the piece, are charming leads - O'Neill an enthusiastically gauche Stephen, Bevan a wise and winsome partridge. Lucia McAnespie gives an uncannily accurate Anne Robinson impression, exterminating six geeks in a game of five gold rings. It's a silly, energetic romp, packed with lively humour and slick direction from Cal McCrystal. The cast's zesty commitment brings the best out of the script. With a succession of speedy costume changes and high-energy dance routines, the performers never let up, much to the audience's delight. Topical, tongue in cheek and teasing, this festive farce delights in being ridiculous and is, as a result, irresistible.'"
The Stage