Reviews

subVERSE (Show A) - 5 stars

Hip, current, political, sharp, dark, engaging, and stylish. But unlike shows which exhibit these features only in their promotional material, subVERSE carries these features through to its actual substance. And how!

The cast is terrific - on cue and on their marks without fail. Maurizio Molino, Paul Jenkins, and Jethro Skinner tell a tight, well-honed story. It would take more time than one can spend on a Fringe review to hit even the barest highlights of the evening's show, all the cast members performed admirably, holding audience members captive in even the least sympathetic of roles.

Hopefully, you're now convinced, and have left this review on your computer screen after jumping up, grabbing your coat and wallet, and heading out to C Central on the North Bridge for the start of the show at 22.00.

British Theatre Guide - August 2005

subVERSE (Show B) - 5 Stars

Here’s a thought - Britain is actually run by the people who brought us B&Q, UK Coal and Auntie Beeb? Lost Theatre Company presents two very different but highly charged political shows on alternate nights. The Iraq war and the fight to save the world from globalisation and the NWO (New World Order) are all satirised brilliantly. This is a cracking piece of political theatre, which is both hard hitting and thought provoking. The acting from all members of the cast is superb and the accents, especially the Welsh ones, are bang on. A Ready, Steady, Liberate game show sketch between Donald Rumsfeld and Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev is hilarious. This is political satire as it should be.

Three Weeks - August 2005

Who Wants to be the Disco King ?

A series of sweaty snapshots from club-land…at his best Page makes language spin and bounce. In the Lost Theatre Company’s high-energy production, Penny Lisle’s drug-dealer who hovers around like a malevolent Tinkerbell, and Chris Fitchew’s blessed-out E-head, stand out.

The Guardian – August 2004

Who Wants to be the Disco King ?

Another Saturday night and the casualties and wannabies, dealers and drunks, are out in force getting off their heads. They’ve lost the plot – literally, as Adrian Page’s play is a cascade of vignettes with anonymous characters on increasingly desperate comedowns…a hymn to hedonism…as many clever rhymes and allusions as iambic pentameter…it’s refreshingly sharp, and the excellent cast deliver this complicated dialogue with precision and great energy.

The Scotsman – August 2004

To the Woods! – 4 stars

The reason I love musicals is because they don’t take themselves seriously…how more ludicrous can you get than uniting th’Art of Shakespeare with the gun-totin’ Wild West…the insertion of wonderfully imaginative songs and truly marvellous acting. In fact this production takes nothing away from the emotion of the verse, it just makes it a darn sight funnier. So for Shakespeare without the hassle, give this show the time of day in your crazy fringe schedules. Or I’ll meet y’all at high noon with ma pistols a-ready.

Three Weeks – August 2002

Black Comedy - 4 stars

Whatever the title might suggest, Black Comedy is essentially a breezy light-hearted affair reminiscent of an episode of Fawlty Towers…Simon Mirza is the obvious star…other good performances…Piers Garnahm is excellent

The Scotsman – August 2001

East - 4 stars

Cockney mad mental. Berkoff’s “East” in terms of beating the shit out of social convention, was ahead of its day, nevertheless it remains a showcase. In a series of cutting monologues it makes for great performance poetry. The cast perform with vigour and there is a real stage dynamic combined with penetrating dialogue.

Three Weeks – August 2001

Ralph Fiennes comes to aid of his alma mater

Star’s visit boosts the cause of LOST Theatre

Members of a Fulham theatre facing closure were rallied by a visit from its most famous pupil, film star Ralph Fiennes, this week…He made his visit to highlight the theatre’s plight and to try to attract funds to buy a new space for the theatre…Ralph told the Gazette: “It would be appalling if the Lost Theatre Company had to close”.

Fulham Gazette – July 1999

Young success in the world of video

The first venture by the boys of the Fulham LOST Youth Theatre into the world of video making has proved a profitable success. For the boy’s have won a £1500 cash prize for their entry in “Showreel ’87“ the BBC Television/Radio Times Awards for amateur film and video makers. The group, which made the video “Why?”, a true story based on school bullying, was one of three equal winners in the 11-15 years category…The group received the prize on the BBC2 “Showreel ‘87” programme, broadcast on New year’s Day.

Kensington News - January 1988

West

Steven Berkoff is a playwright who demands complete commitment from a cast to put across effectively this study of brutality. LOST Theatre at St. Cuthbert’s Hall give precisely what he requires in a production of great impact and of stage craft which shows this amateur group has a lot to teach the professional. First-rate timing and lighting make the best use possible of the rapid cuts between parents, girlfriend and gang…it is a pleasure to see an amateur group doing such high quality work.

The Scotsman – August 1988

Sell Out!

Played with total seriousness, this is a riot all the way through…. performed with complete conviction by a cast who establish and maintain their characters superbly, you know instinctively that they are enacting the reality that dozens of Fringe shows face each year…This a delight of a show that would be enjoyed even by those who find themselves in real flop circumstances. Laugh in sympathy if you will, laugh cruelly if you like, but laugh you certainly will.

The Scotsman – August 1987

The LOST art of staging a play

Tucked away beneath a Methodist church in London’s Fulham Road the LOST theatre is a youth theatre run entirely by young people…LOST now has about 100 18-25year-old members, and a thriving under-16 group, who between them put on a dozen major productions a year ranging from Shakespeare to modern playwrights…It is a giant step away from traditional youth theatre where adults still tend to be in charge. In the end getting young people in their own building running their own company has to be better.

The Guardian - February 1987

Mac the Knife and the under 23’s

The “Threepenny Opera” to be presented later this month is the most ambitious production the LOST Theatre Company has put on to date…the most striking aspect of this production is the abundance of young talent. The oldest person in the cast is no more than 23; the director, who has produced shows at Cambridge University and on the Edinburgh fringe is 22 and the choreographer has a list of professional productions to her name including Cabaret is only 21…there will be two further performance at Questors Theatre…it is a mark of this young company’s meteoric success and high standards of their productions that they have been invited to such a venue.

Fulham Chronicle – July 1984

LOST Theatre Company