East

Photo by Darren Cresswell

If you’re a fan of raw, gritty and humorous theatre performances then you must see Curve and De Montfort University’s take on Steven Berkoff’s East.

A group of five drama student’s from a Leicester university have been working tirelessly with Artistic Director, Paul Kerryson, and they’re efforts didn’t go unnoticed last night.

Their thrilling portrayal of a cockney clang was hilarious and provocative.

East is shameless, sexy and beautiful. Gang members Les and Mike take the audience on a raucous and viciously funny ride through the East End. In their cockney tongue, a dysfunctional family tell each of their stories to build up a picture of their unconventional lives.

Included in the cast line-up for East will be Robert Callery (Mum), James Coldrick (Mike), Douglas Deans (Les), Matthew Forey (Dad) and Kara John (Sylv).

The sound (Simon Moloney) and lighting (Ziggy Jacobs) was superb and helped to direct the audience around the various stories being told on stage.

I was particularly taken aback by Matthew Forey’s performance as the Dad whose character was aggressive and Robert Callery’s performance as the Mum which was daring and fantastic to watch.

The whole two-hour show was over-run with teenage-like hormones and rude yet comical gestures.

So, it’s not suitable for the faint-hearted.

Curve and De Montfort University have paired up to work on East and Greek which were both created by the iconic British playwright, who played General Orlov in James Bond’s Octopussy.

Both shows are unsuitable for children and contain scenes and language of a graphic sexual and violent nature which may cause offence.

To book tickets visit http://www.curveonline.co.uk/