Friday 2 May, Soho Theatre Walthamstow opened to a packed house guffawing appreciatively to the antics of Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner Natalie Palamides in her acclaimed one-person-two-parts show, Weer.
A performance venue and more (cinema, church, bar, derelict site) since 1897, the newly launched Soho Theatre Walthamstow lights up an otherwise fairly ‘meh’ stretch of the Walthamstow’s Hoe Street. Like the original Soho Theatre (actually in Soho), the new northeast London sister site is to feature a variety of theatre, comedy and cabaret acts. Top bill performers such as Tim Minchin and Dara O’Briain are slated to hit the stage graced by Duke Ellington, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones in decades past.
But first!
Natalie Palamides with her frenetic romcom romp, Weer, offered a raucous kickoff. A hilarious ode to 90s romcoms, Natalie played both parts in her two-character story of a toxic couple trying to make it through New Year’s Eve 1999. Comedy props (and parts of flesh) you wouldn’t expect to see on a stage before 10pm in a former church, alongside expertly and athletically performed slapstick kept her audience deliriously delighted for the full 80-minute stretch of Weer. The show ended with one of the most wholeheartedly enthused standing ovations I’ve ever witnessed from an audience.
I was glad to be part of that audience.
Invited as press to review the show, I was most keen to check out the theatre. I live in Walthamstow not too far from the venue and have been keeping an eye on its progress since first hearing about the Soho Theatre plans some years ago. If opening opening night is any suggestion of future success, Walthamstow is well on its way to becoming a London hotspot for an entertaining night out.
Palamides’ work was off my radar before receiving the invitation. I’m now a fan and expect her Netflix special Nate – a One Man Show to be next watched on my telly.
Natalie Palamides: Weer runs until 10 May at Soho Theatre Walthamstow. 186 Hoe Street, E17 4QH. Tickets are priced from £19 – excellent value in my opinion.
Find out more at sohotheatre.com/walthamstow and nataliepalamides.com.
