
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
The action takes place in Madrid, Spain, where Amy Hack 's (Yentl) heartbroken actress, Pepa, is having a terrible, very bad day, which we see play out from depressive start to high-flung resolution. Her lover Iván breaks up with her over answering machine, and thus, her Odyssey-styled mission to find and confront him begins. Along the journey, Pepa butts heads with Iván's scorned ex-wife Lucia (Tisha Keleman), his son and his own frustrated fiancée, as well as her wildly unravelling best friend, Candela (Grace Driscoll).
With a book by Jeffrey Lane (known for his musical adaption of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and music and lyrics by David Yazbek (Dead Outlaw), the original Broadway production of Women on the Verge had a relatively short lifespan – closing soon after it received poor reviews, and even poorer ticket sales. This is where Berlage's adept hand at re-inventing cult flops takes charge – finding a space for his avant-garde style through sharp angles, frenetic choreography, and psychosexual vignettes. His style is well matched by Phoebe Pilcher 's discordantly placed, evocative and frenzied lighting design, which effectively fills the space with the heat of the Spanish sun.
Alexander Berlage (Cry-Baby, American Psycho) delivers a stylish descent into screwball mania
Berlage has a reputation for breathing new life into former musical flops, and likewise, this production aims to move the material beyond a generic film-to-stage adaptation and lean into a clever, subversive vision. Women on the Verge skewers the most Shakespearean of plot points – love – and of course, the root cause of everyone's problems – men. (And underneath that is Greta Gerwig's favourite nemesis: the patriarchy.) The men in the piece may seem as vapid as those in the Barbie movie, but the bite of the women is more akin to Fleabag – dishevelled as they may appear, you don't want to cross them on a bad day.
Hack demonstrates the utmost commitment to her characterisation of Pepa, with subtle nuances in her emotional state giving way to strident outbursts – she is quite literally the picture of a woman on the verge. Her accent is held firm through both dialogue and song, while her flinging and flailing of bags, sunglasses and telephones is a superb lesson in choreographed chaos.
Driscoll's lust-lorn model, Candela, holds elastic characterisation and physicality, taking outlandish shapes and forms that are at times absurdly hilarious. Her patter song, 'Model Behaviour', reads like both an ode and challenge to the late great Stephen Sondheim himself.
Meanwhile, Keleman's overlooked and vengeful wife Lucia is a woman who now seeks to get back the years lost to an untrustworthy man. As her son, Carlos, Tomas Kantor is our most grounded male character, still led by his base instincts, yes, but at least he has a good heart through which the blood is pumped. Playing opposite as his fiance, Nina Carcione 's doe-eyed stare cuts through the space, drawing attention to her excellent knack for non-verbal comedic timing.
Chiara Assetta 's choreography is tasked with the olympic-sized hurdle of navigating around the congested set, and meets the challenge. The use of streamers instead of solid walls allows hands, faces, and limbs to appear and disappear with ease, while a large bed for one red-hot set piece blocks out a great portion of the space. It's swiftly executed choreography that has our characters dancing around, over and throughout the sharp angles of Hailley Hunt 's set design, which quite aptly reflects the slowly decaying psychosexual tensions of the show's characters.
The production's take on Spanish characteristics is somewhat hit and miss. Sometimes, in the same vein as Lady Gaga in House of Gucci: thickly accented, but imbued with enough commitment to the bit that it works. But at the same time, also a little like Jared Leto in House of Gucci: absurd, over-the-top, and somewhat inconsistent.
Aaron Robuck 's narrator/taxi driver seems an innocuous enough plot device in the grand scheme of the piece, and the character's disjointed nature isn't helped by Lane's underdeveloped book. Popping up throughout to (quite literally) transport Pepa between main set pieces, accordion in hand, the script takes what is meant to be the show's MC and replaces it with a big question mark on his purpose.
On opening night, the sound levels seemed unbalanced – a weakness in a piece driven by dense lyrics and rapid tempo. Dylan Pollard 's musical direction, whilst being able to give the score a toe-tapping beat that's liable to make your hips shake, drowned out the enunciation from our fast-talking, thick-accented characters.
Nonetheless, this stylish production makes a meal out of an undercooked script, and Hack's leading performance is especially worthwhile – her Pepa is as lived-in and layered as she is hysterical.
The most poignant, powerful and purposeful moments of the show come when all five women are together in unison, particularly in the final moments, which offer the most quiet and peaceful state of the evening. This is what it looks like when women on the brink take back their power – in four-part harmony.
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The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
List of 23 baby names that are banned around the world – including the country where Tom is not allowed
Scroll down to find out how one couple claimed Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 would be pronounced THAT'S NOT MY NAME THAT'S NOT MY NAME List of 23 baby names that are banned around the world – including the country where Tom is not allowed PICKING a name for a baby is an exciting moment - but one thing parents might not immediately think about is the legality of the moniker. Turns out, there are some names you can't give to a newborn, depending on where you live around the world. 5 Numerous baby names have been banned around the world for a whole host of reasons Credit: Getty Images - Getty Earlier this year, New Zealand released a list of all the tot names officials put on the banned list in 2024. Several monikers were linked to royalty, with King, Prince and Princess noted as the top three most rejected name choices. Crown, Pryncess, Royal and Emperor had also landed on the list of the names turned down. Other picks parents were banned from giving to their newborns included Saint, Fanny, Ice and Messiah, reported Yahoo!. In total, there were a whopping 71 instances of a moniker being declined. By law, names in the country must not be offensive, resemble a title or rank, include numbers or symbols, or be unreasonably long. However, this isn't the only example of illegal monikers around the world. Hungary and Iceland, for instance, are just two of a number of countries where parents have to choose their baby names from an approved list. If families want to give their child a more unique name, they are required to put in a request and wait to see if it's approved. In other countries, there are strict laws in place around names using traditional spellings. Marnie Simpson reveals first video of newborn baby daughter and very unusual name In fact, numerous baby names have been banned around the world for a whole host of reasons - and here are some of them. Metallica 5 If you're a fan of heavy metal and live in Sweden, you'll be disappointed to hear that Metallica as a name has been banned Credit: Alamy Stock Photo Maybe Nothing Else Matters was their favourite song, but when two Swedish parents tried to give their daughter an ode to their favourite heavy metal band in 2007, officials, sadly, outlawed it, deeming it inappropriate. However, after public outcry, authorities withdrew their objections, NME reported. Tom If you're considering having a baby in sunny Portugal, it's best to check out the list of approved names to choose from. Nicknames are not allowed as a full, formal name – so while Tomás is okay, Tom isn't. Nutella In 2015, a court in Valenciennes, France, decided that a couple would not be allowed to name their daughter Nutella, Yahoo! previously reported. The judge ruled it wouldn't be in the child's best interest to be named after the cult favourite chocolate spread. Facebook 5 The state of Sonora in Mexico banned a couple from naming their baby Facebook in 2014 Credit: AFP or licensors In today's society where internet has become a vital aspect of our everyday life, it's only a matter of time before someone tries to name their child after a social media site. The state of Sonora in Mexico banned a couple from naming their baby Facebook in 2014 because they deemed it 'derogatory, pejorative, discriminatory or lacking in meaning", The Guardian reported at the time. The same state has also banned the names Robocop, James Bond, Circumcision, Traffic and Lady Di. Ikea Parents in Sweden wanting to name their children after the country's Scandinavian-inspired superstore could fall foul of the country's naming law, which was enacted in 1982, according to Mental Floss. J Turns out Swiss naming authorities aren't too keen on initials as first names. When a pair tried to pay tribute to their grandparents, Johanna and Josef, with the name J, the court in Switzerland suggested using Jo instead, Swiss Info reported. Gesher Back in 1998, a Norwegian woman landed in jail for two days when she failed to pay a fine for giving her son an "unapproved" name – Gesher, which is Hebrew for bridge, according to The Week. Cyanide In 2017, a mum, from Wales, was banned from naming her newborn daughter Cyanide (her twin brother was named Preacher), Yahoo! stated at the time. Despite the mother insisting that Cyanide was a "lovely, pretty name", the Welsh authorities ruled that the "unusual" choice might harm the the kid growing up. Saint 5 Saint is the son of Kim and her former partner, rapper Kanye West Credit: Instagram/kimkardashian The name that Kim Kardashian and her now-ex partner Kanye West chose for their son may have been fine in the US. But in New Zealand, it's not. In 2024, one set of parents had this name rejected by the naming officials within the government. Daemon In 2012, a French couple wanted to name their child after the character of Damon from the popular series The Vampire Diaries. The pair added an 'e' to give it more French twist - but despite their best efforts, authorities banned it for sounding too demonic, as per Huffington Post. However, after a court battle, the parents were allowed to keep the name. Are Unique Baby Names Worth The Hassle? YOU may think having a unique name helps you to stand out, but is it all it's cracked up to be? Fabulous' Deputy Editor Josie Griffiths reveals the turmoil she faced with her own name while growing up. When I was a child, all I wanted was one of those personalised keyrings with my name on it. But no joy, the closest I could find was Rosie, Joseph (not great for a little girl) and Joanne. Josie is short for Josephine, which is a French name, and I managed to reach my 20s without ever meeting anyone who shared it. When I try to introduce myself to people, I get all sorts of random things - like Tracey and Stacey - which can be pretty annoying. Although I have come into contact with a couple of Josies over the last year - there seems to be a few of us around my age - it's still a much rarer name than most of my friends have. On the whole I don't mind it, at least it's not rude or crazily spelt. And it means I can get away with 'doing a Cheryl' and just referring to myself as Josie. I'm getting married this year and some friends are shocked that I'm changing my surname, as it's not seen as very cool or feminist to do so these days, but I explain to them that I'm not that attached to Griffiths as I'd always just say 'hi it's Josie' when ringing a mate up. I think it's nice to be unique and I'll definitely try and replicate this when naming my own kids. It's the rude names you've got to watch out for, so after nine years as a lifestyle journalist I'll definitely be avoiding those. Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii This unusual moniker of Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii belonged to a girl, nine, from New Zealand before a judge had her renamed during a custody battle. "It makes a fool of the child," he said, The Guardian stated in 2008. Akuma In 1994, a Japanese couple attempted to call their son Akuma - which means devil. The authorities decided this was an abuse of the parents' rights to decide a child's name, as per Yahoo!. Chow Tow AKA Smelly Head While some countries are slowly but surely loosening their name laws, it seems that Malaysian authorities are only becoming stricter. Case in point - Cantonese moniker Chow Tow, which translates to 'Smelly Head', BBC shared in 2006. Ah Chwar AKA Snake The 2006 tightening of Malaysia's naming restrictions also meant the banning of Hokkien Chinese Ah Chwar, which means 'Snake'. Peppermint 5 German authorities banned Peppermint as a name because it might cause ridicule Credit: Getty Germany has certain criteria for baby name bans. Pfefferminze ("Peppermint") was rejected because it might cause ridicule. Equally, the moniker Stone was outlawed due to the fact that "a child cannot identify with it, because it is an object and not a first name". Linda In 2014, the relatively inoffensive-sounding and popular moniker Linda made Saudi Arabia's banned baby names list, thanks to its association with Western culture, as per UPI. Fañch In 2017, a French court ruled a couple could not use the moniker Fañch they'd picked for their baby. The authorities in Quimper, north-west France, ruled that the new parents would not be able to use the character ñ (called a tilde) in their baby's name, Yahoo! stated at the time. Venerdi AKA Friday In 2008, the Italian court banned two parents from calling their baby boy Venerdi, which translates to Friday, as per BBC. The authorities behind the decision believed the name, taken from Robinson Crusoe, would expose the child to "mockery" and was associated with "subservience and insecurity". Fraise When a French couple attempted to name their child after a strawberry, the courts claimed that the name Fraise would lead to vicious teasing. The couple insisted that they were only trying to give their little one an original name, and eventually went with 'Fraisine' instead, Huffington Post revealed. Lucifer Earlier this year, The Times reported that a court in Germany had intervened when a couple tried to call their child Lucifer. Other names that have been rejected in the country include Satan, Judas and Gucci. Anus A child in Denmark was almost named after this particular part of the human anatomy, Today reported. Unsurprisingly, the application was denied. Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 While this may seem like someone nodded off on the keyboard, that is an actual name a Swedish couple tried to give their baby in 1996, as per BBC. Apparently, the name is pronounced 'Albin', and the parents chose it as a protest against Sweden's strict naming laws.


Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Gisele Bundchen gives rare look at baby son with boyfriend Joaquim Valente as she celebrates 45th birthday
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Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Baby joy! Tennis star Sam Stosur welcomes her second child with partner Liz Astling
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