FOUR STAR REVIEW Blue Orange at the Young Vic

SIXTEEN years ago Joe Penhall's play Blue Orange was premiered at the National Theatre. It is now being revived at the Young Vic and thanks to the brilliant writing it feels as contemporary and fresh as ever.

It tells the story of Christopher, (Daniel Kaluuya) a young black Londoner who has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and confined to a psychiatric ward for a month.

Desperate to get out it is up to the two doctors to battle it out as to whether he is fit enough to re-enter society.

Bruce (Luke Norris) is a conscientious young doctor who feels that Christopher - who still believes oranges are blue - needs to stay in longer so he can be assessed and given the right support and treatment.

However, his senior consultant Robert (David Haig) has other ideas and is determined that Christopher be released as soon as possible. He believes Christopher will be fine back at home in Shepherd’s Bush surrounded by the people who are "just like him", not to mention that it will relieve the taxpayer of financially supporting him in hospital.

It is a brilliantly conceived play in which the issues of race, ethics, mental health, the cash-strapped NHS and politics collide in a brutal way.

And it starts with the audience walking through dark corridors and a clinic's waiting area with a background noise that includes patients shouting and screaming in order to get to the stage.

The stage itself is a square shaped consulting room and it feels claustrophobic and oppressive - no wonder Christopher wants out.

The three actors are excellent with a particularly fine performance from David Haig as Robert who veers effortlessly between patronising, racists, scheming, pompous and bully boy tactics to get what he wants - making sure it's him that comes up smelling of roses at the expense of his idealistic but equally determined junior.

And it's a credit to Daniel Kaluuya that it is never completely clear whether he should really stay in the hospital or be released. A real stunner.

Blue Orange is on at the Young Vic, The Cut, Waterloo, until July 2. Tickets from £10. Visit http://www.youngvic.org/ or call the box office on 020 7922 2922.

FIVE STAR REVIEW My Family: Not The Musical

DAVID Baddiel describes his new two-hour show My Family: Not The Musical - now on at the Menier Chocolate Factory - as “a twisted love-letter to my parents”.

In it the comedian and writer talks with incredible candour, honesty and humour about his mum Sarah who died suddenly two years ago and his father Colin, who has Pick's Disease, a particularly nasty form of dementia.

In many ways it is subject matter that might be uncomfortable for some to hear - and a bit like airing ones dirty linen in public.
But it is actually much more than that - it's about memory, ageing, love, infidelity, truth, honesty and even features the antics of one of David's cats.

It is in fact a finely crafted and rather beautiful eulogy for his mother - and a celebration of her rather racy life which she clearly enjoyed - and good on her for that.

It is also filled with affection for his father, despite his vocal outbursts, and by the end the audience is quite moved by footage during a show David did more than 20 years ago after which his father gave him a hug.

It starts with David discussing what people say about those who have died. He cites how many described his mother as "wonderful", something she may well have been but that was not the whole story. He believes that to really remember our loved ones you have to remember their weirdnesses, their madnesses and flaws because no one is a complete angel.

And so for much of the first half we hear about how Sarah had a voracious appetite for sex and how she conducted a very public affair with another man, David White.

We also find out how she loved the limelight, how she wanted to be the centre of attention - in a good way - and how much she enjoyed life.

Throughout the piece there is much humour as well as poignancy and it is utterly compelling.

I wish this show long life.

David Baddiel and My Family: Not The Musical is on at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Southwark Street until June 25. Visit www.menierchocolatefactory.com for full listings.

INTERVIEW Tiggs Da Author

NEXT month sees the 23rd Meltdown Festival. Hosted by the Southbank Centre, this year its curator is Guy Garvey.

The Elbow frontman, 6 Music DJ and presenter joins a pantheon of stellar names who have curated the event over the years including Jarvis Cocker, Patti Smith, David Bowie, Yoko Ono and most recently David Byrne.

And Guy has got a veritable feast of musical greatness to entertain and delight audiences throughout the festival which runs from June 10 to 19.

Among the line up is Tanzanian born and South London raised, up-and-coming singer songwriter and rapper, Tiggs da Author who tells me he can’t wait to be part of such a prestigious festival.

“It is amazing to be at Meltdown,” he says warmly. “I’ve never performed at the Southbank Centre before so it’s going to be awesome and I'm really looking forward to it.

"It's pretty exciting because it's such a big gig. I’m going to give the audience something a little bit special that’s for sure.

"There will be a lot of energy and spontaneous things - in fact anything could happen,” he chuckles.

"It’s going to be energetic, fun, up tempo and opinionated. When I see certain things going on in the world I like to speak about it and don’t like to stay silent so there will probably be a bit of a political undertone to it as well."

But first things first, who is Tiggs Da Author and how did he get his name?

"I got called Tigger when I was at school because I wore stuff with Tigger from the Winnie The Pooh stories on them," he chuckles.

"I thought it sounded really silly but it stuck before getting changed to Tiggs which is a cool name.

"When I started writing poetry that’s where I got 'author' from and so I added them together and now I'm Tiggs Da Author."

Tiggs admits that as a kid growing up in New Cross - his family moved from Tanzania to London when he was about eight - he was never really into music - and says it was more by accident than design that he developed a passion for it.

"I went to Sedgehill School and was more interested in football than music," he remembers. "All my friends used to rap but I'd just listen to them - I certainly didn't think I could do it."

However things changed when he was about 16 and moved in with his friend DJ Fingers.

"He had his own DJ room and records which was amazing," says Tiggs. "I started to mess about with the equipment in my spare time and then it took off."

Since then he has been influenced by a diverse range of musical sounds, from reggae, garage, Motown, grime and East African jazz and his own music is a mix of all of that making him one of a kind.

"Musically I have been inspired by the likes of MC Dizzee Rascal, Ray Charles and James Brown although my tastes have broadened over the years," he says.

"There is a real energy to South London and that's where I get most of my influences from," he says.

"I also get inspired when I watch films and documentaries but also from speaking to older people who pass on their wisdom - that really inspires me to write lyrically."

And although he's a relative new kid on the musical block, such is his following, he's just finished supporting American superstar Jess Glynne on part of the European leg of her tour and his new song Run has been featured in the promotional campaigns for FIFA 16.

He's also appeared on Jools Holland's show which featured Tom Jones as one of the guests.

"I have to pinch myself all the time," he laughs. "I try not to think about it but playing in front of Tom and Jools with them watching me was quite a thing.

"When my manager asked if I'd like to play with Jess, well I couldn't turn that one down! It was pretty amazing.

"I'd love to work with Pharrell as I've been a fan of his for ages. I met him once, he was so humble and very nice and I was trying to act super cool!"

But for now his focus is on Meltdown and he says he hopes to see as much of the line up as possible.

"I'm so amazed to have been invited to perform on this stage - it's huge for me," he says. "It's such a great festival and loads of brilliant people have done it before me.

"I can't wait."

Tiggs Da Author is at Guy Garvey's Meltdown Festival at the Southbank Centre from June 10 to 19. Visit www.southbankcentre.co.uk for full listings.

FOUR STAR REVIEW for Better Together at the Jack Studio Theatre, Brockley

Lewisham playwright David Weir has a hit on his hands with Better Together.

The play, now on at the Jack Studio Theatre in Brockley, is set in Burntisland, Fife and centres on the lives of the Finlay family in the aftermath of the Scottish independence referendum.

Elder daughter Shona (Rosalind McAndrew) is an unemployed single mum in her early 20s. The father of her baby is residing at her Majesty’s pleasure a three hour bus ride away.

Younger daughter Arlene (Eleanor Morton) is “the bright one”, passionate about politics, particularly Scottish independence, and on her 18th birthday, announces her intention to leave the nest and go to university in Sweden.

Dad Adam (Rikki Chamberlain), who likes a drink every now and again, is none to pleased about this news, and tries every trick in the book to keep her in Scotland, including offering her a partnership in the shipyard business he runs with wife Margaret (Kate Russell-Smith).

And then there is mum Margaret who tries her best to keep the family together.

Although the play touches on the politics of the independence debate, and the passions that ran deep throughout the campaign, it is about much more than that.

It is a fascinating look at the lives of those who live in a small town which relies on one industry to provide the jobs and what happens when that industry fails.

Weir paints a vivid picture of what life is like for the people of Burntisland and the Finlays in particular - Arlene who would have voted leave in the referendum had she been old enough to vote at the time, is lucky as she has the ability to escape.

But it’s not that easy for the rest of them. Shona is stuck there with no job, or the prospect of one and she feels trapped. This is exacerbated by the fact that she is also lonely with no chance of getting another boyfriend thanks to the family of her baby’s father - one unlucky suitor ended up in hospital with a series of broken bones for his trouble.

Their parents soon realise that “a handshake” is not what guarantees loyalty, jobs and contracts and we see how their fortunes change almost overnight.

Although the ending is somewhat predictable this is a brilliantly written play with a tight, 90-minute long script and great performances from the four-strong cast.

Better Together is on at the Jack Studio Theatre in Blockley Road until May 28. Visit www.brockleyjack.co.uk for full listings.

FOUR STAR REVIEW - A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Globe

Ewan Wardrop as Bottom. Picture credit Steve Tanner

In the programme notes of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, director and new boss of the Globe, Emma Rice, says it is her favourite Shakespeare play.

It’s also one of mine and having met Emma a few months before she officially took charge at the Bankside theatre and listened to her talk with passion and enthusiasm for taking on such a plum job, I had high hopes for this production.

It is the first in her inaugural season and I have a feeling that it isn’t for Shakespeare purists - it is loud, brash, full of contemporary references and as though someone has dumped a whole load of glitter on Bankside.

However it is fun, exuberant, colourful and full of laughter - which is really what this play is all about.

Emma has taken a certain amount of liberties with the text - perhaps her most daring is that of making Helena a man - Helenus - and thus the relationship with Demetrius a gay one. But it works - and brilliantly so.

Elsewhere in a genius move, Emma has brought in cabaret artiste Meow Meow to play Titania and Hippolyta - again this works although during the scene where she seduces Bottom it verges on Meow Meow just being herself.

The mechanicals are played, with exception of Bottom, by women who all work as volunteers at the Globe. Again, this works well and the humour is brought out to the fore.

There is also a mix of contemporary attire for the mortals and a punky version of Elizabethan garb for the fairies which I liked.

However, there are other elements that didn’t work so well for me - the constant references to Hoxton hipsters and the skit where the mechanicals sing a David Bowie number. Some of it - including some of the humour - was too contrived and this was a shame as the language is good enough that it doesn’t need that.

But that aside this is a production which is inventive and enjoyable and is a real crowd pleaser.

There are plenty of great performances too - in fact the whole cast is brilliant.

Katy Owen as Puck was great with her mix of hot pants, Elizabethan top and ruff and a water pistol which she was more than happy to use on the audience.

Ewan Wardrop as Bottom too was brilliant as was Ankur Bahl as Helenus and of course Meow Meow as Titania.

Now that the season is in full swing I can’t wait to see what Emma has up her sleeve for the rest of it.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is on at Shakespeare’s Globe, Bankside until September 11. Tickets from £5. Visit www.shakespearesglobe.com for full listings.