A swift pedal to Southwark Playhouse sees me catch the excellent Ride again
“The Triumphs, Trials, and Tribulations of a remarkable woman named Annie Londonderry and her incredible adventures on the velocipede… Tad long? It’s a working title”
I’m always a bit wary of returning to shows I loved (my 7th best show of 2022 no less) but the unexpected opportunity to see Ride again was one I couldn’t pass up, especially since it meant I could introduce two friends to it and also the charms of Southwark Playhouse’s new Elephant theatre. Truth be told, I haven’t too much more to say about it that wasn’t covered in its initial run at VAULT or in last year’s spectacular revival and Liv Andrusier returns to the role of the singular Annie Londonderry with great aplomb.
She’s supported now by Katy Ellis as secretary Martha and between them, they bring this exciting story of derring-do to such vibrant life that you don’t even really mind once it becomes clear that some of it might actually be the tallest of tales. The broad sweep of Freya Catrin Smith and Jack Williams’ storytelling is matched by their impressively taut songwriting, full of bombastic balladry to match the boldness of its heroine and possessing enough of a sense of musical identity that hooks you right in and glad of the cast recording that is now available.
