Bend It Like Beckham The Musical made a lasting impression on Natalie Dew. How do we know? Well, having met the Olivier Award-nominated star, we were aware that before she took to the stage in the musical adaptation of the hit film, she was not a football fan.
If you look carefully at the photo diary she kept for us from her new Royal Court show Human Animals, you can see her snatching time to keep up to date on the footy. That’s the power of the beautiful game.
But Human Animals could barely be more different to Bend It Like Beckham. Gone are the show tunes, the large stage and the saris – though the shorts remain – in favour of the intimate Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs and a tale of a city being ravaged by nature.
It’s a tense, if slightly bonkers piece about a world in which the invasion of outsiders – in this case the many-legged or winged kind – is played to create hysteria and fear. Not that you’d know it from Dew’s pictures; she’s having a ball:
Morning made by incredibly kind Pret man #freecoffee
Just about to start work at this gorgeous theatre
Hamish Pirie, the director, giving us some much needed notes
It’s very hard not to be upstaged by this attention seeking locust
Managing to watch some football with lovely Ashley Zhangazha
Pre-show snooze with my new girl crush Lisa McGrillis
Just about to go on stage, getting my ‘Alex’ on
Human Animals plays at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs until 18 June. You can book tickets through the theatre’s website.