Close-Up Culture

Independent journalism on the things we love

Be More Chill – Musical Review

Bright and fun, this incredible musical feels like a combination of films like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Scott Pilgrim Vs the World to bring a new edge to the high school comedy. With original music and lyrics written by Joe Iconis, the show is based on a 2004 novel of the same name…
Dramarama – Short Film Review

In 1994, a closeted teen struggles to part ways with his 4 high school drama friends at their final murder mystery party before they leave for college. Even though this film is set before I was born, in a country I’ve only visited once, I felt very connected to it. Often teen films and parties…
Jump, Darling – Film Review

A rookie drag queen reeling from a breakup escapes to the country, where he finds his grandmother in steep decline yet desperate to avoid the local nursing home. I’ve been looking forward to the BFI Flare Festival because of this film. I was told about it a few weeks ago, and finally being able to…
Isolated – Short Film Review

Live from tier 3 and shot in an empty theatre, we are invited to a comedy show. Like the current world situation, it feels apocalyptic to laugh at what’s being said, and see a dark, empty theatre looking back. On stage performing is comedian Lewis Costello. He’s performed around the world as well as opened…
How Modern Technologies Are Changing Theatre

The theatre and stage performance have always been influenced by the latest technology, but the most recent advancements have changed contemporary art beyond recognition.
Samp – Film Review

Samp, both the character and the film, are metaphors, looking into our lives and the passion we have. The film follows a man who is commissioned to kill ordinary people, as he falls in love and moves through the world where he lives. Watching this film, it really felt like I had fallen down the…
The Time Machine – Theatre Review

THE TIME Machine, a loose retelling of HG Wells’ time travel classic, is more than theatre. It’s also a splendid opportunity to spend an hour and half wandering through the various rooms of The London Library, close to Piccadilly Circus. A magnificent experience. Bibliophiles will love it as you wander past thousands of books –…
Not I, Catastrophe & Rockaby – Theatre Review

THE JACK STUDIO, located at the back of a pub in Brockley, South London, is the place to come if you want to immerse yourself in the short plays of Samuel Beckett. You may not leave as refreshed as some of the pub’s regulars (remember the Heineken advert: ‘refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach?’)…
The Apologists – Theatre Review

I MAKE no apology for saying this, but I will be surprised if I see a better stage performance this year (off West End) than that given by Gabrielle Scawthorn in The Apologists. A tour de force. Sixty odd minutes of brilliance as she seamlessly flicks from one character to another. Three plays within a…
360 Degrees – Theatre Review

JEALOUSY, obsession, alcoholism, love and sexual chemistry are all themes richly mined in 360 Degrees, an intriguing play written by Nina Frantzeskaki and running at The Hope Theatre on March 8 and 9. It’s a two-hander, tracing the fraught relationship between hedonist Ellie (Frantzeskaki) and her older – and more restrained – partner Phillip (Nick…