Gill Manly - Radio Apocalypse

Gill Manly is clearly a woman of many talents. All of them were on full display during her solo performance as a DJ in Radio Apocalypse. Croydon’s Spread Eagle Theatre, nestled over the pub of the same name, was the perfect venue for this production. The dark, intimate room with the blackout curtains holding off the last of the evening light focused your mind on the stage and on the one thing that mattered: Manly herself. 

Edie Rock is the late night host of a call-in show where she disseminates strong opinions and chews the cud with her listeners. The show was littered with bang up to date news items and quirky local details to titillate the audience. But the mood became darker as events unfolded and everything around Edie began to crumble. 

​The production comprised of an eclectic range of media including audio recordings of callers - whose delivery was not always quite as realistic as Manly’s own superb acting. There were also video clips, a sombre mime act and one massively evocative song that she belted out in the middle. A thought provoking piece, delivered with flair. 
 
**** Review by Rekha Shane