Butter Side Up Theatre Company’s Thestival 2026 – 30 October 2026, Lantern Theatre
Review by Claire Stanley.
An entertaining smorgasbord of vibrant theatre was presented last night by Butter Side Up. Their Thestival of Music, Comedy and Drama lasts three days, so if you can make the time to see it tonight or tomorrow you’ll be treated to a unique evening, each date showing something different. Georgia Deith (Thursday’s producer) and Georgi Tunstall (executive producer) drew together a commendable multifaceted and layered piece of staging.
It began in the first half with ‘Across the Pond’. Two pieces submitted by a Canadian and an American, the first being a very short play ‘Jedis’ (written by Brian Petti), about a bank robbery that goes wrong. The hapless father and son play out what happens next. Both (Conner Varley) and (Avery Briddon) provide a robust performance and given such a short time period for the piece (less than ten minutes) managed to convince us of their relationship. Characterisation built this quickly takes skill. Connor had the more demanding script and delivered a very competent betrayal of an anxious robber / dad. I always think it’s particularly difficult when part of the script involves a phone call where we the audience only hear one side and this was done very well. There is also great humour here especially where Dad infers he was “empathetic” to the bank robbers! This got a well deserved laugh from the house. A shout out also to (Daniel Higgins) on sound who gave us the car screeching effects before dialogue begun, this engaged the audience instantly.
In ‘Happy Birthday Dear Maggie’ by (Rick Butts), ‘Maggie’ is travelling for work on her birthday whilst her husband undergoes a major operation. She finds herself sharing a hotel room with a clown, ‘Aldrin’. Clowns are either associated with very humorous children’s performances or something sadder or even sinister. In this interpretation, Aldrin is intending to be comical in a bid to help Maggie as what unfolds before us is not a trivial matter, so there is inevitable sadness too. Maggie is unsure if she even wishes her husband to survive the operation given the pressures within their marriage and the circumstances of her husband’s illness during recent years. Whilst this is heavy subject matter, this longer piece enabled us to see both characters explore the situation that Maggie finds herself in and there were some regular comedy moments to break this up. There are nonchalant ‘time quips’ a plenty from Aldrin who holds up a giant timepiece “not on my watch!” and “I’ve got nothing but time for you”. The deadpan delivery by (Michael Winrow) is spot on and it contrasts with the excellent stirring performance of (Alison Mitchell) who managed to offer a range of; wryly poignant, feisty and tender. Both actors here were natural, the performances flowed and delivered a theatrical mix of emotions that never cancelled each other out. The director’s touch of subtlety here (Rob Eagle) was also well judged. He didn’t over do the movement so that each character could unfold gently without too much distraction.
Part two of the evening was a volley of surprises one minute to the next! There were thirteen monologues and sketches put together by the group as ‘Stage Presence’. Congratulations to the production team of Amy Longbottom, Daniel O’Key, Jamie Wainwright (directors) and Ellie Madeira (choreography). This was utterly engaging throughout and the pitch of comedy to vocals to evocative was perfect. Although it would be too lengthy to list everyone in detail there were many highlights. ‘Judas’ a smooth jazz style song made a great start to the collection. Sweet vocals by (Becky Cleary-Holland), (Ellie Madeira) and (Ruby Richardson). I also thought that the song ‘Think About Things’ achieved beautiful harmonies by (Antigone Wright), (Avery Briddon) and (Ruby Richardson). In the ‘Lawrence Welk’ SNL scene (Rob Pace) gave an outstanding performance. His projection, presence and comedic movement were a hit with the audience and it was thoroughly engaging. Well done Rob. Additionally ‘Gay Marriage’ was a scene that was particularly energetic, this really suited (Christy Fitzsimons) who was noticeable in every scene tonight showing his range as a performer. In the more serious haunting ‘All of us Strangers’ he showed a vulnerable characterisation opposite the assured Dad character, also embodied effectively by (David Barton). Hard to narrow down ‘favourites’ as such but I confess I absolutely loved everything about ‘SNL-Gilly’. (Hannah Wade) was pure cheek and spectacle! Hugely enjoyable. Every single performer in this gave their all. I was particularly amused by (Anthony Garbett) whose character obsessing about his step dad was both comical and resonating. The Gift Gag of the script was delivered brilliantly by (Alison Breisford) which was a play on “bum” aptly describing the headteacher…! The finale of ‘Spooky Mormon Hell Dream’ was superb. The diction was clear, the movement arresting and each performer did not let characterisation drop. What a great way to end the night! Thank you for having me Butter Side Up, a solid job from everyone, I can’t wait for next year!
