Tag: theatre

Theatre round-up: 7 Sept 2015

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In the week that London got kinky, here’s my theatre round-up:

Kinky boots

I went to a preview of Kinky Boots last week, and basically haven’t shut up about it since (apologies to my friends, family and Twitter followers). I haven’t seen the movie, so didn’t really know what I was letting myself in for – I figured it would be good fun, but wasn’t expecting to be so totally blown away. Kinky Boots is based on real events and tells the story of Charlie Price, who teams up with new friend Lola (a.k.a. Simon) to create a range of fabulous footwear for men. With star performances from Killian Donnelly, Amy Lennox and Matt Henry, and some truly sensational dance numbers, Kinky Boots is ridiculously good fun; you can’t help but leave the theatre smiling. I already want to see it again (and then again).

Kinky Boots review for London Theatre Direct

Thoroughly Modern Millie

A lively and high-spirited revival based on the 1967 movie, in the intimate setting of the Landor theatre. Thoroughly Modern Millie is the story of a Kansas girl who arrives in 1920s New York determined to make a new life for herself by getting a job and then marrying her boss. Simple, right? Ironically, a lot of the attitudes are actually not very modern at all (and the show also features a bizarre and very un-PC sub-plot about a woman pretending to be Chinese). But the show brings to life the spirit of the 1920s, particularly during the fantastic dance numbers, which are worthy of a much bigger production, and impeccably performed by the small, hard-working cast. Credit also to the brilliant five-piece band, who were great despite being a four-piece for half the show because their bass player got stuck on the Northern Line.

Thoroughly Modern Millie review for Carn’s Theatre Passion

The Man Who Had All the Luck

Arthur Miller’s first play to be produced is a fable about a man who seems to get everything he wants in love, business and life in general. But as his friends and family all lose out on the thing they want most in the world, he starts to wonder when his own luck will change. This revival by End of Moving Walkway, to coincide with the centenary of Miller’s birth, features a strong cast, with one actor playing no fewer than four parts, and a minimalist set with a hidden secret. Sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking, with characters the audience can really relate to, the play invites us to consider where our luck comes from, and the role of each individual in creating our own destiny.

The Man Who Had All The Luck review for Carn’s Theatre Passion

Theatre round-up

Next week’s theatre

Jane Eyre – National Theatre

The Christians – Gate Theatre

And Then Come The Nightjars – Theatre503

Theatre round-up: 30 Aug 2015

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Back on track after a week off, here’s what I’ve seen this week (plus one from the week before):

Twelfth Night

My second visit to see Oddsocks, whilst on holiday in Guernsey. Castle Cornet is a lovely setting, even when it pours with rain, and Oddsocks never fail to entertain with their unique, family-friendly approach to Shakespeare. Their Twelfth Night is a Britpop musical featuring hits from the likes of Adele, Roxy Music, Take That and – yes, really – PJ & Duncan. As always, you never quite know what to expect from an Oddsocks show, but it’s always a safe bet that it’ll be great fun.

Twelfth Night review

Madama Butterfly

I’m no expert on opera, but of the ones I know, this is a favourite. And this particular version, part of the Grimeborn Opera Festival at the Arcola Theatre, is different to any I’ve seen before. It’s a unique reinterpretation of the classic story, based on Japanese ghost stories, with a set that looks like something out of a horror movie. But it still retains the emotional punch of the original, thanks to the intimate, candle-lit setting and incredible performances – from the entire cast, but particularly from Natasha Rouhl as the tragic heroine, Butterfly.

Madama Butterfly review for LondonTheatre1

You won’t succeed on Broadway if you don’t have any Jews

Yes, that is actually the name of the show; it’s a quote from Monty Python musical, Spamalot. This is a gloriously, unashamedly stagey celebration of the contribution made by Jewish people to musical theatre over the last century. Which actually includes a lot more shows than I realised – Hairspray, The Wizard of Oz, Fame, Guys and Dolls, Gypsy, Godspell… even my favourite, Les Mis. The show, at St James Theatre, is fast-moving (sometimes a bit too fast), funny and filled with sensational performances from the cast of singers and dancers. If you’re a fan of musical theatre, this is the show for you.

You won’t succeed… review for Carn’s Theatre Passion

The Lion King

This was probably my fifth visit to see The Lion King, one of my favourite shows ever since I first saw it years ago. I don’t know how, but it somehow manages to turn me into a child, and by the time that opening scene (in my opinion, probably one of the best of any show) finally started, I was basically bouncing up and down in my seat like a five-year-old. And it was just as good as I remembered. Between the story, the humour, the music, the set and the incredible puppetry, it’s all brilliant, and so much fun it’s impossible to resist.

Bonus – this time, I was with a friend who’d never been to a musical before, so I was also really excited for her. And although I’d briefed her on the fake happy noises she was to make if she didn’t enjoy the show, the good news is that none were required, because she loved it too.

This week's theatre

 

 

NEXT WEEK’S THEATRE

Kinky Boots – Adelphi Theatre

Thoroughly Modern Millie – Landor Theatre

The Man Who Had All the Luck (End of Moving Walkway) – King’s Head Theatre

Review: The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Hay Fever at Boughton Monchelsea

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To paraphrase a famous proverb, two plays are better than one.

Which is why I found myself yesterday settling down for a double bill from Changeling Theatre, at Boughton Monchelsea Place. Having seen Changeling before (most recently doing Romeo and Juliet last summer), we were reasonably confident that we were in for a good time – and we weren’t disappointed. Which was probably just as well, or it could have been a very long day.

The Changeling experience begins the moment you arrive, as the cast wander among the audience, already in costume and character, selling programmes and helping themselves to your picnic. We also got a brief plot summary of the day’s first play, The Two Gentlemen of Verona: Proteus loves Julia, Valentine loves Silvia, but then Proteus falls for Silvia too and all hell breaks loose. Oh, and there’s a bit with a dog, which – as we all know – is what the people want.

Two Gentlemen of Verona, Changeling Theatre
Ben Wiggins & Jessica Rose Boyd
Photo credit: Changeling Theatre

As always, every member of the cast gives it 110%, whether their role’s big or small. It’s always easier as an audience member to relax and enjoy the show if it looks like the actors are enjoying themselves, and this cast seem to be having the time of their lives, as they pull random audience members on to the stage and occasionally go off script altogether. Jessica Rose Boyd, who was a hysterical (in both senses of the word) Juliet last summer, is particularly fun to watch; her enthusiasm and energy are totally infectious. I loved Emma Rose Lowther’s cloak-swishing turn as Eglamore, too – it may be a small role, but she definitely knows how to make the most of it. And the excellent and hilarious Peter Dukes pretty much steals the show in the dual role of Launce and Thurio (and not only because he’s the one with the dog – although that might account for some of the cheers every time he appears on stage).

The play itself – believed to be Shakespeare’s first comedy – is sometimes a bit questionable; the treatment of women is particularly deplorable (dumped, tricked, given away etc). But just as we seem to be heading towards an utterly ridiculous conclusion, director Rob Forknall throws in a brilliant twist that proves girl power is alive and well, and ends the production on a high.

Changeling Theatre
Photo credit: Changeling Theatre

Next up was Noël Coward’s comedy of manners, Hay Fever, which, even by Changeling standards, is utterly bonkers. It’s the 1960s, and each member of the ‘bohemian’ Bliss family has invited a guest to their country house in Berkshire for the weekend, without telling the others. As the guests begin to arrive, the family try to be on their best behaviour… and fail spectacularly. Faced with incomprehensible games, family squabbles and unwanted declarations of love, the guests grow increasingly uncomfortable. It’s over the top, ridiculous, hammier than a bacon sandwich – and I loved it.

Felicity Sparks flings herself head-first (literally – the throw cushions adorning Clare Southern’s set get plenty of use) into her role as Judith: part-time mother, one-time movie star and full-time drama queen. A character who could have been incredibly annoying becomes, in her hands, both hilarious and oddly loveable, even as you want to shake her and tell her to pull herself together. David Whitney is great as Judith’s long-suffering husband, David, and Ben Wiggins and Jessica Rose Boyd are a perfect double act as her spoilt children, Simon and Sorel. To be honest, I could quite happily spend an evening just watching the two of them bicker back and forth.

Hay Fever, Changeling Theatre
Felicity Sparks
Photo credit: Changeling Theatre

Finally, neither production would be complete without the music, composed by Tom Barnes and played by the cast on a variety of instruments, from the fan organ and bassoon to the tambourine and triangle – with a bit of Andrew Lloyd Webber thrown in for good measure. Particular highlights include original ballad, ‘Who is Silvia’ (lyrics by Shakespeare), from Two Gents, and Judith’s spectacularly awful rendition of ‘Je Ne Regrette Rien’ in Hay Fever.

Sadly, the 2015 Changeling season finished tonight with a final performance at Boughton Monchelsea, but I’ll be booking my tickets to see what they have in store for us next year. One thing’s for sure: it’ll be different to anything we’ve seen before – and that’s why we love them.

 

To film or not to film, shouldn’t even be a question

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Oh, Benedict Cumberbatch. As if we didn’t love you enough already.

Exactly a year ago today, I’d just triumphantly completed my booking for Hamlet at the Barbican, after several hours monitoring multiple browsers and waiting impatiently to make my way up from 8,000th in the queue to number 1.

I won’t be seeing Hamlet until September, but a lucky few already have; the production finally opened for previews at the Barbican last week… and it’s already making headlines.

First, there were all the fans who flew in from across the world to catch a glimpse of their idol, whether they had tickets for the play or were just hoping to spot him outside the theatre.

Then there was the controversy caused by the Times, the Telegraph and the Daily Mail, who published reviews based on the first preview, rather than waiting until press night like everyone else. (If we can really use the word ‘review’ to describe Jan Moir’s gushing report, which included illicit and poor quality photos, and totally ignored the rest of the cast. Who knew Hamlet was a one-man show…?)

And now Benedict Cumberbatch himself has made a special stage door appearance to plead with fans not to record during the play. Which really should be common sense – but apparently isn’t.

Personally, I don’t understand why anyone would want to record a live performance. Doesn’t that sort of negate the whole ‘live’ part? If you’re watching it through your phone, then you’re not really watching it, and even if you view your video again later, it’s hardly the same thing. It’ll probably be pretty poor quality, and a bit wobbly, and the sound won’t be great, and you’ll realise, too late, that maybe you should have watched it live in the first place. I don’t know about anyone else, but when I see Hamlet next month, I want to remember watching and experiencing the play – I don’t want to remember filming it.

Then there’s the fact that it’s really distracting – for people sitting nearby, and, more importantly, for the actors. It always amazes me how many theatregoers don’t realise that when their phone lights up, they’re not the only person who can see the glow, especially in a dark theatre.

And finally, there’s the all-important question of respect. The actors on stage – any stage – have worked for months to prepare for this performance; it’s not like they’ve just rocked up on the day like we have. So don’t we owe it to them to sit quietly, pay attention and listen? And if not, there doesn’t seem much point in going to the theatre at all – we might as well just wait for the inevitable DVD version.

I don’t honestly know if this latest appeal is going to have any impact (neither Kevin Spacey nor James McAvoy seem to have had much luck getting people to put their phones away), and I’m willing to bet most of the fans who were at the stage door, and – ironically – recording, were more excited to have seen Benedict Cumberbatch than interested in what he was actually saying. But hopefully the fact that the video’s gone viral will at least get people to consider the issue, and think about why it’s so inconsiderate. We live in a generation that’s programmed to take photos first and look later – but there’s a time and a place for that, and the theatre is neither.

We’ve all waited a long time for this, so let’s not ruin the experience – for the actors, for the audience or for ourselves.

Hamlet at the Barbican

Theatre round-up: 3 August 2015

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Bit later than usual, but here’s this week’s theatre round-up, and what an interesting week it was. It also included another Edinburgh preview, so more on that next week.

Impossible

Escapology, mind-reading, card tricks and sleight of hand. Women get cut in half and cars disappear. Members of the audience are invited to lie on a bed of nails, and a bald man fires a crossbow at his wife. It’s all in a day’s work for the eight illusionists who make up the cast of Impossible, a magical extravaganza directed by BAFTA winner Anthony Owen at the Noel Coward Theatre. It’s full of jaw-dropping moments – I figured out one tiny bit of one trick and I was really proud of myself. As for the rest, I’ve no idea.

Sure, it’s all a bit macho, and it would have been nice to see a man get cut in half for a change. And we know how all the tricks are going to end, but that doesn’t stop them being amazing. This is a genuinely incredible show and really good fun (and only mildly terrifying at times).

Impossible review for LondonTheatre1.com

American idiot

Ah, finally a jukebox musical based on a band from my generation… American Idiot is a show based on the 2004 Green Day concept album, and telling the story of three childhood friends in the wake of 9/11. It’s not for the faint-hearted or easily offended, with scenes of drug use, violence and explicit language, but then again, was anyone really expecting anything different? It’s not your typical jukebox musical, but personally, I’m not a massive fan of them anyway, so that’s okay. The show is fast, furious and full of energy, and I loved it.

And it’s got me back listening to Green Day again, so that can’t be a bad thing.

American Idiot review for LondonTheatre1.com

Secret theatre

Well, what can I say? Not much, actually, because it’s a secret. It’s not like me to go and see a play without knowing what it is, so I was feeling a bit anxious about my trip to the Secret Theatre last night. But I needn’t have worried, because not only did the play turn out to be a story I knew and loved, it was also really fun. A totally immersive theatre experience, from the moment you arrive you’re part of the show; be prepared to interact with the cast, and to do a lot of walking from location to location.

Though the second act could probably have done with being a bit shorter, I loved both the experience and the play, and might even consider trying secret theatre again some time. Which, considering I don’t do surprises, is quite a compliment.

Secret Theatre review for Carn’s Theatre Passion

This week's theatre

This week’s theatre:

Dirty Dancing, Marlowe Theatre