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Laura xx
A Celebrity Gala Evening
Fans - Life Imitates Art
Camden People's Theatre
London's Fringe
19/3/06
by Laura
When I first heard about Bruno's new play, Life Imitates Art, I wasn't entirely sure whether it was going to be my type of thing or not, but I definitely wanted to go, in order to show my support for him.
Friends who had already been to see the play by the time I went on Sunday 19th March, had made it sound really good, and so I was looking forward to it more than ever when I woke up on Sunday morning.
I was keeping everything crossed that the day would run smoothly, seeing as I had had a wasted journey down to London the previous week, when the performance I was meant to be seeing was cancelled due to the actress being unwell.
My mum and I got the 4.30pm train down to London and everything was going well, until a couple of delays meant that we didn't arrive at Liverpool Street station until 5.45pm- 25 minutes late. Our journey was delayed even further when we got on the bus to Warren Street station as, halfway into our journey, some guy decided that he wasn't going to pay his £1.50 fare, and refused to budge. This meant that the driver then had to call the police and so we were stuck on a stationary bus for 30 minutes. The driver then told us all to get off the bus, and so we ended up having to wait for another bus to take us to Warren Street..I was beginning to think that this was a sign that I wasn't meant to see the play!!!!
Anyway, we eventually made it to our destination at 6.50pm, and we could see Kelly waiting for us outside the theatre. It turns out that she hasn't been there too long herself so at least we didn't keep her waiting for ages!
With some relief, we saw life inside the theatre and knew straightaway that this performance definitely hadn't been cancelled..it looks like I was destined to see the play after all!
We decided to go inside and collect our tickets but, unfortunately, the ticket lady was only just setting up, so we were told to take a seat in the foyer in the meantime.
Whilst we were sat in the foyer, we got our first "glimpse" of Bruno as we heard a very familiar voice practising his vowels from inside the theatre."A, E, I, O, U"..obviously doing his vocal warm-ups! It was rather sweet to listen to, and we kept hoping that Bruno would come out but, sadly, no!
After a while, we were able to collect our tickets and, shortly after this, more people kept arriving, ready for the play. I think there were about 16 people in the audience but, as the theatre only seats 56, it was always only ever going to be a very small audience. It's a shame it wasn't a full house though, but I don't think the play has been very well promoted, and so it's not altogether surprising.
We were let into the theatre a couple of minutes before the performance was due to start, and actually had to walk over the stage to get to the seating area. I was shocked at how small and intimate the venue was, and even more shocked that I was getting to see Bruno in such intimate surroundings- a once in a lifetime opportunity for any Bruno fan!
We sat down in the middle of the second row, and had the perfect view of the stage- we were so close, that we were actually almost ON the stage, and part of the play itself!
The set-up on the stage was very simple- just a sofa and a bed (with a transparent sheet around it), with a backdrop of London.
A door then opened on the left of the stage, and we saw the actors filing out, one by one. They walked over the stage and left via the entrance to the foyer. I spotted Bruno straightaway- looking very nice in trousers, a white shirt, and a tie! The lights then dimmed, and a piece of music started up (composed by Nick Lloyd Webber, Lord Andrew's son no less!!). The door to foyer opened again, and Bruno walked out..the play was about to begin!!
In Bruno's own words, the play is "a love triangle, which turns into a sexy square"!! It tells the story of Nancy (Heledd Baskerville), Tom (Mark Cameron), Nathan (Bruno Langley), and Henry (Karl Stimpson), and is set around London's West End. Henry is a famous producer, who is putting on a new play in the West End, which is starring Tom Bates, who is the star of the moment. Henry is currently casting for Tom's leading lady, and Nancy gets the role. The play is a particularly controversial one, as Tom and Nancy are required to have actual sex with each other on stage, rather than simulated sex. In the meantime, Nathan is a cockney barman, who happens to be serving the drinks whilst Nancy meets up with Henry to discuss the role. Nathan is an aspiring actor himself and is absolutely awestruck to be around Nancy and Henry, but especially Tom Bates; when Tom arrives, Nathan seems to really look up to him and idolise him. As the play progresses, the three men become sexually involved with Nancy, and their lives spiral dangerously out of control.
For a full summary of what this play is about, please visit the Life Imitates Art page in Bruno's career section.
This was an engaging, funny and thought provoking play, which all four actors performed with aplomb. I wasn't actually expecting to enjoy it as much as I did, but it was fantastic and the best play I've seen in a long time. Bruno was particularly impressive, again proving his talent and versatility as an actor. There wasn't a Todd Grimshaw in sight! His cockney accent, which is completely different to his normal accent, was very convincing, and you really would think that Bruno is a genuine Londoner! He was convincing in the role throughout, and particularly shone towards the end, during a very emotional and heated argument with Mark Cameron's Tom Bates. Nathan was a very interesting and well written character, with many facets to his personality. It was interesting to see Bruno playing a character who was quite different in the second half to how he was in the first half. Nathan started off as an innocent and naive boy and, as he became further entangled in Tom and Nancy's sex life and relationship, he became a man. It was interesting to see Bruno performing in an "adult" play, as it something much more mature than we've ever seen him do before. He tackled the role with great conviction and passion though, and also proved that he has a natural flair for comedy- he was given quite a few comedic lines to say and he performed them all with great comic timing. I must admit that I was concerned about how Bruno would handle this play and role; the themes explored within it are particularly complex and one would imagine to be quite difficult to perform. Bruno handled it all with complete believability though. He WAS Nathan. He just gets better and better as an actor, and I'm sure that he is going to go a long long way in his career.
Heledd, Mark and Karl also performed their roles incredibly well, Heledd especially. She perhaps had the most difficult role to play of all, but she showed real depth and understanding of her character. She portrayed the part of Nancy with a vulnerability and sympathy and you couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
Overall, this is a wonderfully written and wonderfully performed play, which deserves to be seen by a bigger audience. If you get the chance, please do try and get along to see it, as it really is fantastic! It's one of those plays that sticks with you- I haven't stopped thinking about it since Sunday!
Once the play had finished, the cast came back on stage to take a bow to plenty of rapturous applause. Bruno made eye contact with us a few times as well. We then went and stood outside the auditorium for a bit, hoping to catch up with Bruno before he left. We briefly saw him rushing about inside the auditorium- and, as he rushed by, he looked at us and motioned that he'd be two minutes. Cue us getting very hysterically over excited, thinking that Bruno was talking to us, and that he had actually remembered us from when we met him in Barking! Imagine our embarrassment then when Bruno came out of the auditorium, flashed us a quick smile, and walked straight past us into the foyer! It turns out that it was his sister who he had been talking to and not us- double cringe!! It turns out that his sister had been sat behind us during the performance! Not to be deterred, however, we managed to eventually get his attention, passing on cards and presents we'd got him for his birthday. I think he was a bit confused about who we were and wasn't entirely sure that we were waiting for him. He seemed genuinely taken aback by our attention and was like, "are these for me?!" It was all very brief and it's all rather blurred as I think I was a bit shocked and in a daze! I do remember him asking whether we enjoyed the play, and we were raving about it, of course. He commented how he knows that it's a bit rude in places. And he kept saying, "thanks for coming, guys" - he seemed genuinely chuffed that we'd come to see him in the play. Just before he left, I asked whether he'd mind having a quick piccy taken, and he was more than willing. His very nice sister asked me whether she could take it, so I gave her my camera, and she took the following picture:
Thanks Bruno's sister! We then said our goodbyes- with Bruno once more thanking us for coming. We mentioned that we'd see him at A Taste Of Honey, and he went "in Oldham?" And so I said that me and my mum would be going to one of the dates in Oldham, but Kelly would be going (with me) to one of the other dates. I think he said he'd see us there or something, and then he was gone!
It was a fantastic day and a really enjoyable evening. It was wonderful to see Bruno peforming in such an intimate setting, and it was great to meet him again! Thanks Bruno!
<< back
London's Fringe
19/3/06
by Laura
When I first heard about Bruno's new play, Life Imitates Art, I wasn't entirely sure whether it was going to be my type of thing or not, but I definitely wanted to go, in order to show my support for him.
Friends who had already been to see the play by the time I went on Sunday 19th March, had made it sound really good, and so I was looking forward to it more than ever when I woke up on Sunday morning.
I was keeping everything crossed that the day would run smoothly, seeing as I had had a wasted journey down to London the previous week, when the performance I was meant to be seeing was cancelled due to the actress being unwell.
My mum and I got the 4.30pm train down to London and everything was going well, until a couple of delays meant that we didn't arrive at Liverpool Street station until 5.45pm- 25 minutes late. Our journey was delayed even further when we got on the bus to Warren Street station as, halfway into our journey, some guy decided that he wasn't going to pay his £1.50 fare, and refused to budge. This meant that the driver then had to call the police and so we were stuck on a stationary bus for 30 minutes. The driver then told us all to get off the bus, and so we ended up having to wait for another bus to take us to Warren Street..I was beginning to think that this was a sign that I wasn't meant to see the play!!!!
Anyway, we eventually made it to our destination at 6.50pm, and we could see Kelly waiting for us outside the theatre. It turns out that she hasn't been there too long herself so at least we didn't keep her waiting for ages!
With some relief, we saw life inside the theatre and knew straightaway that this performance definitely hadn't been cancelled..it looks like I was destined to see the play after all!
We decided to go inside and collect our tickets but, unfortunately, the ticket lady was only just setting up, so we were told to take a seat in the foyer in the meantime.
Whilst we were sat in the foyer, we got our first "glimpse" of Bruno as we heard a very familiar voice practising his vowels from inside the theatre."A, E, I, O, U"..obviously doing his vocal warm-ups! It was rather sweet to listen to, and we kept hoping that Bruno would come out but, sadly, no!
After a while, we were able to collect our tickets and, shortly after this, more people kept arriving, ready for the play. I think there were about 16 people in the audience but, as the theatre only seats 56, it was always only ever going to be a very small audience. It's a shame it wasn't a full house though, but I don't think the play has been very well promoted, and so it's not altogether surprising.
We were let into the theatre a couple of minutes before the performance was due to start, and actually had to walk over the stage to get to the seating area. I was shocked at how small and intimate the venue was, and even more shocked that I was getting to see Bruno in such intimate surroundings- a once in a lifetime opportunity for any Bruno fan!
We sat down in the middle of the second row, and had the perfect view of the stage- we were so close, that we were actually almost ON the stage, and part of the play itself!
The set-up on the stage was very simple- just a sofa and a bed (with a transparent sheet around it), with a backdrop of London.
A door then opened on the left of the stage, and we saw the actors filing out, one by one. They walked over the stage and left via the entrance to the foyer. I spotted Bruno straightaway- looking very nice in trousers, a white shirt, and a tie! The lights then dimmed, and a piece of music started up (composed by Nick Lloyd Webber, Lord Andrew's son no less!!). The door to foyer opened again, and Bruno walked out..the play was about to begin!!
In Bruno's own words, the play is "a love triangle, which turns into a sexy square"!! It tells the story of Nancy (Heledd Baskerville), Tom (Mark Cameron), Nathan (Bruno Langley), and Henry (Karl Stimpson), and is set around London's West End. Henry is a famous producer, who is putting on a new play in the West End, which is starring Tom Bates, who is the star of the moment. Henry is currently casting for Tom's leading lady, and Nancy gets the role. The play is a particularly controversial one, as Tom and Nancy are required to have actual sex with each other on stage, rather than simulated sex. In the meantime, Nathan is a cockney barman, who happens to be serving the drinks whilst Nancy meets up with Henry to discuss the role. Nathan is an aspiring actor himself and is absolutely awestruck to be around Nancy and Henry, but especially Tom Bates; when Tom arrives, Nathan seems to really look up to him and idolise him. As the play progresses, the three men become sexually involved with Nancy, and their lives spiral dangerously out of control.
For a full summary of what this play is about, please visit the Life Imitates Art page in Bruno's career section.
This was an engaging, funny and thought provoking play, which all four actors performed with aplomb. I wasn't actually expecting to enjoy it as much as I did, but it was fantastic and the best play I've seen in a long time. Bruno was particularly impressive, again proving his talent and versatility as an actor. There wasn't a Todd Grimshaw in sight! His cockney accent, which is completely different to his normal accent, was very convincing, and you really would think that Bruno is a genuine Londoner! He was convincing in the role throughout, and particularly shone towards the end, during a very emotional and heated argument with Mark Cameron's Tom Bates. Nathan was a very interesting and well written character, with many facets to his personality. It was interesting to see Bruno playing a character who was quite different in the second half to how he was in the first half. Nathan started off as an innocent and naive boy and, as he became further entangled in Tom and Nancy's sex life and relationship, he became a man. It was interesting to see Bruno performing in an "adult" play, as it something much more mature than we've ever seen him do before. He tackled the role with great conviction and passion though, and also proved that he has a natural flair for comedy- he was given quite a few comedic lines to say and he performed them all with great comic timing. I must admit that I was concerned about how Bruno would handle this play and role; the themes explored within it are particularly complex and one would imagine to be quite difficult to perform. Bruno handled it all with complete believability though. He WAS Nathan. He just gets better and better as an actor, and I'm sure that he is going to go a long long way in his career.
Heledd, Mark and Karl also performed their roles incredibly well, Heledd especially. She perhaps had the most difficult role to play of all, but she showed real depth and understanding of her character. She portrayed the part of Nancy with a vulnerability and sympathy and you couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
Overall, this is a wonderfully written and wonderfully performed play, which deserves to be seen by a bigger audience. If you get the chance, please do try and get along to see it, as it really is fantastic! It's one of those plays that sticks with you- I haven't stopped thinking about it since Sunday!
Once the play had finished, the cast came back on stage to take a bow to plenty of rapturous applause. Bruno made eye contact with us a few times as well. We then went and stood outside the auditorium for a bit, hoping to catch up with Bruno before he left. We briefly saw him rushing about inside the auditorium- and, as he rushed by, he looked at us and motioned that he'd be two minutes. Cue us getting very hysterically over excited, thinking that Bruno was talking to us, and that he had actually remembered us from when we met him in Barking! Imagine our embarrassment then when Bruno came out of the auditorium, flashed us a quick smile, and walked straight past us into the foyer! It turns out that it was his sister who he had been talking to and not us- double cringe!! It turns out that his sister had been sat behind us during the performance! Not to be deterred, however, we managed to eventually get his attention, passing on cards and presents we'd got him for his birthday. I think he was a bit confused about who we were and wasn't entirely sure that we were waiting for him. He seemed genuinely taken aback by our attention and was like, "are these for me?!" It was all very brief and it's all rather blurred as I think I was a bit shocked and in a daze! I do remember him asking whether we enjoyed the play, and we were raving about it, of course. He commented how he knows that it's a bit rude in places. And he kept saying, "thanks for coming, guys" - he seemed genuinely chuffed that we'd come to see him in the play. Just before he left, I asked whether he'd mind having a quick piccy taken, and he was more than willing. His very nice sister asked me whether she could take it, so I gave her my camera, and she took the following picture:
Thanks Bruno's sister! We then said our goodbyes- with Bruno once more thanking us for coming. We mentioned that we'd see him at A Taste Of Honey, and he went "in Oldham?" And so I said that me and my mum would be going to one of the dates in Oldham, but Kelly would be going (with me) to one of the other dates. I think he said he'd see us there or something, and then he was gone!
It was a fantastic day and a really enjoyable evening. It was wonderful to see Bruno peforming in such an intimate setting, and it was great to meet him again! Thanks Bruno!
<< back
Current Projects
Calendar Girls
Genre: Musical Theatre
Character: Lawrence the photographer
Status: Bruno will be joining the tour from July to October in venues throughout Wales, Scotland and Liverpool
Aladdin
Genre: Pantomime
Status: Bruno will be performing in Buxton's annual pantomime of Aladdin throughout the Christmas period this year. Click here to book tickets.
Bruno is also currently working on musical projects. Click here to visit his official MySpace Music page and listen to some of his music! You can also find out more about Bruno and his band by clicking here.
Recent Projects
Intimate Strangers
Genre: Play
Status: Bruno participated in an industry reading of Bob Ellis and Denny Lawrence's new play, directed by Greta Scacchi and produced by Andrew Jenkins.
gallery | info | website
Flashdance The Musical
Genre: Musical Theatre
Character: Jimmy Kaminsky
Status: Toured throughout the UK from July 2008 to May 2009.
gallery | info | website
Genre: Play
Status: Bruno participated in an industry reading of Bob Ellis and Denny Lawrence's new play, directed by Greta Scacchi and produced by Andrew Jenkins.
Flashdance The Musical
Genre: Musical Theatre
Character: Jimmy Kaminsky
Status: Toured throughout the UK from July 2008 to May 2009.
gallery | info | website
Coronation Street
Genre: TV
Character: Todd Grimshaw
Status: Bruno reprised his role as Todd in October and November 2007
gallery | info | website