The Peryls - I Have Not Slept One Wink EP Review

Average English folksy type fail to capitalise on potential.

I Have Not Slept One Wink is as quintessentially English as pork pies, cricket and red post boxes. It’s quaint, cutesy and whimsical, taking influence from Revolver era Beatles and Bowie circa Hunky Dory. There’s a Dickensian quality to it that Oregonian Anglophiles The Decemberists spent a few years perfecting. The trouble is, The Peryls don’t do it half as well. Of the seven tracks here, four are disposable. It’s a frustrating statistic, as when they get it right, like on the melodious She Cried All Night Long, they reveal bags of potential. Too often, though, they are as tame and forgettable as afternoon tea.

2/5

Written for The Skinny

Cabaret on a Sinking Ship @ The Nightingale Theatre, 29 September

Theatre Review for Latest 7

With standout characters like an amphibious reality TV champion, jilted by her manageress, a politician haunted by the demons of the past and Lily, the gypsy immigrant from Eastern Europe, begging for your vote; Cabaret On A Sinking Ship takes a well-aimed, if sometimes slapstick swipe at British society, opportunely timed to coincide with a certain visiting conference.

The results are unflinchingly intense and occasionally hilarious. There’s acerbity in the cast’s delivery that hammers home their disgruntlement, but there’s an unfortunate overriding sentiment that 30 minutes could easily have been sacrificed from the production, much to the comfort of the patrons.

3/5