Overview

• The production adapts Simon Parkes’s memoir Live At the Brixton Academy into a two-man musical staged at Southwark Playhouse Borough.
• Max Runham and Tendai Humphrey Sitima portray Parkes and his partner Johnny Lawes, using their shared limb difference to deliver authentic, multi-role performances.
• Alex Urwin’s script highlights Parkes’s 1983 £1 lease deal and ten-year Watney’s beer contract that transformed a derelict cinema into a music landmark.
• Live renditions of tracks from Blondie, The Clash and Public Enemy showcase the Academy’s evolution through punk, rave and hip-hop eras.
• Strong early reviews commend the show’s infectious energy and storytelling, with tickets selling rapidly as audiences celebrate the venue’s legacy.