The Borrowers was everywhere this Christmas, bemusing as the last I heard of it was when I read the books and watched the BBC series as a child. Daisy says it's because people our age who enjoyed the old BBC series have grown up and had children of their own and want them to enjoy The Borrowers too. Surely some mistake as I am FAR TOO YOUNG for anything I liked as a child to have come full circle. *Resolutely ignores 1980s revival*.
I liked the new adaptation on the TV this Christmas, but for me there was a lot more magic to be found in this theatre production. For one thing, they kept the story set in the 1950s which made it much more nostalgic, and for another it was live theatre which is always that bit more magical than the TV.
I wanted to see The Borrowers because it struck me as a great challenge to produce on stage, what with half the characters being a few inches tall. This production tackled this brilliantly, with tiny puppets and oversized props. One of the most magical moments came as we saw on one size of the stage the fully sized human boy passing dolls furniture into a small hole in the floorboards which simultaneously in another area of the stage Pod, Arietty and Homily received from above fully sized versions and arranged them in their home.
Other favourite moments included the wasp who appeared much larger than the Borrowers and darted around the stage in a very waspish manner by wearing those bouncy leg stilt things like paralympic runners wear (no-one in my office can agree on what these are called). Lunging at them with a large curly sting he held in one hand he was both fearsome and comical, the ideal children's theatre monster.
I also loved the giant boot the borrowers hid inside, the set really was incredibly impressive.
There were a couple of oddities about this production, one being that the gardener, played by an excellently hammy older actor, was constantly referred to as a young boy by the other characters. We were not sure whether this was a combination of creative casting and lazy script editing or a joke that none of the audience seemed to get.
The other strange thing was the half songs the characters occasionally started but didn't finish. When Arietty started singing at the beginning I thought 'great, it's a musical' but then after a few lines she stopped and continued acting as if the song hadn't happened. This happened a couple of times and left me a bit bemused.
Despite these occasional moments of strangeness this was a triumph of clever stage craft and a charming and Christmassy family show. I hope other companies are brave enough to take on The Borrowers for future Christmas productions.
Wednesday 28 December 2011
50 - The Collaborators, National Theatre
This is transferring from the Cottesloe to the Olivier (the larger theatre in The National) and is well worth a trip to see. Go on, go and see a new play. It's by John Hodge (screenwriter of Trainspotting, Shallow Grave, The Beach).
I was surprised by how funny and surreal this play was, considering the content (in Moscow, 1938, writer Mikhail Bulgakov (Alex Jennings) is commissioned to write a play about Stalin to commemorate his 60th birthday).
The play is also more subtle than I expected. Yes, it has something to say about art controlled by the state. But it's also a skilful portrait of an artist who gets lost in his work.
It is worth seeing this just for the amazing darkly comic performance of Simon Russell Beale as Stalin. Initially affable and light hearted he offers to write scenes of Bulgakov's play for him, but in exchange Bulgakov should take over some of his own work; signing papers and making decisions. Things spiral into a nightmare as Bulgakov unwittingly agrees and inspires Stalin to commit more and more terrible atrocities on the people of Russia.
Go and see this, particularly if you enjoyed Every Good Boy Deserves Favour at the beginning of 2010 which was on a similar topic and was stunningly brilliant. And, of course, the White Guard in July 2010 which I missed because I am an idiot.
I was surprised by how funny and surreal this play was, considering the content (in Moscow, 1938, writer Mikhail Bulgakov (Alex Jennings) is commissioned to write a play about Stalin to commemorate his 60th birthday).
The play is also more subtle than I expected. Yes, it has something to say about art controlled by the state. But it's also a skilful portrait of an artist who gets lost in his work.
It is worth seeing this just for the amazing darkly comic performance of Simon Russell Beale as Stalin. Initially affable and light hearted he offers to write scenes of Bulgakov's play for him, but in exchange Bulgakov should take over some of his own work; signing papers and making decisions. Things spiral into a nightmare as Bulgakov unwittingly agrees and inspires Stalin to commit more and more terrible atrocities on the people of Russia.
Go and see this, particularly if you enjoyed Every Good Boy Deserves Favour at the beginning of 2010 which was on a similar topic and was stunningly brilliant. And, of course, the White Guard in July 2010 which I missed because I am an idiot.
49 - The Crucible, Chichester players
I have never seen a production by The Chichester Players and was really impressed, not just by the excellent production but also by the ticket sales! It was a reasonably long run and when we went, on the last night, New Park was full to bursting.
It's quite possible word had spread through the run about how good this production was. The acting was really first rate, and the director, Richard Brookes, knew what he was doing, framing even difficult scenes with loads of people on stage at once really beautifully.
All three of us, even my sister who claimed before the play that she "didn't like the crucible" were absolutely riveted. When we emerged from the theatre someone on front of house mentioned that it was a long performance and we were genuinely amazed to find we had been watching this for three hours.
If I had a criticism of this production it would be that I personally did not need to see the projection of the Miller interview at the beginning and found that a bit unnecessary, as if the Players felt that I as an audience member needed to have the parallels in the text pointed out to me. I think they could have best used that footage on their website or Facebook page to promote the production in the run up, and for people to check out after seeing the play to drive traffic to their site. However, I don't know if that was just me, other people might have found it useful to have the play put into context for them. I'd be interested to hear what other audience members thought.
We had a really enjoyable evening seeing this play, it was better than some professional productions I have seen at Chichester Festival Theatre in the past, as well as being much better value! I'll definitely look out for future Chichester Players productions.
It's quite possible word had spread through the run about how good this production was. The acting was really first rate, and the director, Richard Brookes, knew what he was doing, framing even difficult scenes with loads of people on stage at once really beautifully.
All three of us, even my sister who claimed before the play that she "didn't like the crucible" were absolutely riveted. When we emerged from the theatre someone on front of house mentioned that it was a long performance and we were genuinely amazed to find we had been watching this for three hours.
If I had a criticism of this production it would be that I personally did not need to see the projection of the Miller interview at the beginning and found that a bit unnecessary, as if the Players felt that I as an audience member needed to have the parallels in the text pointed out to me. I think they could have best used that footage on their website or Facebook page to promote the production in the run up, and for people to check out after seeing the play to drive traffic to their site. However, I don't know if that was just me, other people might have found it useful to have the play put into context for them. I'd be interested to hear what other audience members thought.
We had a really enjoyable evening seeing this play, it was better than some professional productions I have seen at Chichester Festival Theatre in the past, as well as being much better value! I'll definitely look out for future Chichester Players productions.
Saturday 10 December 2011
48- Steel Magnolias, Bench Theatre at The Spring in Havant
More brilliant theatre from the ridiculously talented female actors of The Bench! We laughed and cried at this brilliant subtle production. The cast were all simply marvellous, it was great to see Alice Corrigan and Jo Gardner working together again, a duo just as magnetic as they were earlier in the year in Daisy Pulls it Off.
Because I have a complete inability to do any accent I am always really impressed when non-professional actors do a great job on tricky accents. The Southern American accents in this production were mostly spot on and couldn't have been easy to maintain with such highly charged emotional acting.
My siblings and I were really proud of my mum Sue Dawes who played M'lynne. The range of emotions she had to portray was pretty astounding; from hopeful happiness on her daughter's wedding day to anger, concern culminating in an explosion of grief in the final scene. I think my mum is brilliant.
This was a highly charged emotiona play, nicely directed. Well done to the director, cast and team. Special mention to whoever was responsible for such a great range of different hair styles and costumes too!
Because I have a complete inability to do any accent I am always really impressed when non-professional actors do a great job on tricky accents. The Southern American accents in this production were mostly spot on and couldn't have been easy to maintain with such highly charged emotional acting.
My siblings and I were really proud of my mum Sue Dawes who played M'lynne. The range of emotions she had to portray was pretty astounding; from hopeful happiness on her daughter's wedding day to anger, concern culminating in an explosion of grief in the final scene. I think my mum is brilliant.
This was a highly charged emotiona play, nicely directed. Well done to the director, cast and team. Special mention to whoever was responsible for such a great range of different hair styles and costumes too!
Sunday 13 November 2011
47 - 13, National Theatre
I was very excited to see 13 because Earthquakes in London was one of my favourite plays of last year. However 13 did not quite have the emotional punch of Earthquakes. I think this was because Earthquakes concentrated on presenting a terrifying view of climate change, confronting us with a selfish present and a dystopian future that was very close to the bone. 13 on the other hand tried to represent a much wider issue of belief and apathy in today's society. Although the points about whether we can change our world in a big way or whether it is best to compromise to affect the changes we can were interesting, the issues were a bit too broad and therefore lacked impact. I didn't really like the way religious faith was associated with demanding political change through protest because I don't see a link between those things in real life people.
It was slightly unsatisfying to watch the idealist and symbol of hope in the play be confronted with the harsh reality. His protest, a result of his speeches in Hyde Park going viral on YouTube, arrives at Westminster and he is granted a meeting with the Prime minister. The PM is a popular liberal conservative who also happens to be the mother of his friend who died as a result of a drunken stunt a couple of years previously.
The resulting negotiations are too complicated for the audience to choose a side, these issues are not black and white. But while that might be very realistic, it doesn't make for the most satisfying play to watch.
What did make the play great to watch were the sparkling snappy clever dialogue you'd expect from Mike Bartlett and the colourful realistic characters who you just had to empathise with. The overarching metaphor of peeking inside the box was brilliantly realised with an enormous revolving box which made up the set in the first half which the characters would act around and inside. I felt a bit bereft when this box was removed in the interval because I liked it so much.
The touches of London that crept onto the stage made the production feel very contemporary, at one point a Barclays bike whizzed across the stage. However the play's claim to be set in a slightly alternative London where strange things happen did not make sense to me. There was nothing explicitly supernatural going on, many of the characters and events were certainly bizarre, like the brilliant old lady playing and singing a Rhianna song on the piano. But the real London is full of bizarre characters doing funny things, so the only reason to set the play in "a dark and magical landscape, a London both familiar and strange" was so the play could portray a realistic London but include a Prime Minister, US envoy etc without satirising real people. I thought this was a bit of a cop-out for the playwright.
Reading this post back, it seems a little negative. I actually loved this play, it was funny and deep and engaging and contemporary. I'm being a bit hard on it because I loved Earthqakes so much. And this is not quite as brilliant as Earthquakes.
It was slightly unsatisfying to watch the idealist and symbol of hope in the play be confronted with the harsh reality. His protest, a result of his speeches in Hyde Park going viral on YouTube, arrives at Westminster and he is granted a meeting with the Prime minister. The PM is a popular liberal conservative who also happens to be the mother of his friend who died as a result of a drunken stunt a couple of years previously.
The resulting negotiations are too complicated for the audience to choose a side, these issues are not black and white. But while that might be very realistic, it doesn't make for the most satisfying play to watch.
What did make the play great to watch were the sparkling snappy clever dialogue you'd expect from Mike Bartlett and the colourful realistic characters who you just had to empathise with. The overarching metaphor of peeking inside the box was brilliantly realised with an enormous revolving box which made up the set in the first half which the characters would act around and inside. I felt a bit bereft when this box was removed in the interval because I liked it so much.
The touches of London that crept onto the stage made the production feel very contemporary, at one point a Barclays bike whizzed across the stage. However the play's claim to be set in a slightly alternative London where strange things happen did not make sense to me. There was nothing explicitly supernatural going on, many of the characters and events were certainly bizarre, like the brilliant old lady playing and singing a Rhianna song on the piano. But the real London is full of bizarre characters doing funny things, so the only reason to set the play in "a dark and magical landscape, a London both familiar and strange" was so the play could portray a realistic London but include a Prime Minister, US envoy etc without satirising real people. I thought this was a bit of a cop-out for the playwright.
Reading this post back, it seems a little negative. I actually loved this play, it was funny and deep and engaging and contemporary. I'm being a bit hard on it because I loved Earthqakes so much. And this is not quite as brilliant as Earthquakes.
45 and 46 - Yeah, This House is Haunted and Hammer Sandwich
You might have noticed I'm finalising and posting a lot of blog posts at a time! Yes, I have once again fallen behind with blogging my theatrical escapades due to being in a play myself. Only this time it was a double bill for Halloween with the brilliant Breakfast Cat Theatre raising money to rebuild Croydon after the riots. So that is TWO plays. I can't really review these as I was in them and genuinely thought everyone was brilliant. So here are some photos!
Yeah, this house is Hauntd by Ben Parker.
This was a very clever play which had a great concept behind it. Steve has recently hanged himself, only to discover that this means an eternity of hanging out in his dingy flat with the exuberant Barry, another former occupant. The dialogue between the ghosts is great, their very different characters made many audiences compare them to Jez and Mark from Peep Show, though although Barry is rather like a less self-absorbed version of Jez, I don't think Steve is muchlike Mark, he's just a bit depressed and overwelmed and would like some time to himself, a hint Barry, who has been alone for 15 years, is not picking up on. This relationship is great as the characters are very well drawn and I think this is what the Croydon Advertiser meant when she said in the review that this play could have been longer. An estate agent shows up to show two women the flat, but the women are actually ghost hunters and have bought along a ouiji board to try and communicate with Steve. Having the ghosts on stage talking about the other characters who can't see or hear them made this really funny.
Hammer Sandwich by Roberto Prestoni.
This play was set in an indoor market in Croydon where Frankenstein’s Monster is trying to sell sandwiches on the same patch as Dracula, The Mummy and a coven of witches. I loved all the local references in this play, the dialogue was snappy and the scooby-doo ending was great fun!
Yeah, this house is Hauntd by Ben Parker.
This was a very clever play which had a great concept behind it. Steve has recently hanged himself, only to discover that this means an eternity of hanging out in his dingy flat with the exuberant Barry, another former occupant. The dialogue between the ghosts is great, their very different characters made many audiences compare them to Jez and Mark from Peep Show, though although Barry is rather like a less self-absorbed version of Jez, I don't think Steve is muchlike Mark, he's just a bit depressed and overwelmed and would like some time to himself, a hint Barry, who has been alone for 15 years, is not picking up on. This relationship is great as the characters are very well drawn and I think this is what the Croydon Advertiser meant when she said in the review that this play could have been longer. An estate agent shows up to show two women the flat, but the women are actually ghost hunters and have bought along a ouiji board to try and communicate with Steve. Having the ghosts on stage talking about the other characters who can't see or hear them made this really funny.
Hammer Sandwich by Roberto Prestoni.
This play was set in an indoor market in Croydon where Frankenstein’s Monster is trying to sell sandwiches on the same patch as Dracula, The Mummy and a coven of witches. I loved all the local references in this play, the dialogue was snappy and the scooby-doo ending was great fun!
44 - Some Like It Hip Hop, ZooNation at the Peacock Thetare London
I know I say this every time I see some good contemporary dance but seriously, how do these people move like that? I'm supposedly the same species as them and I can't get off the sofa in a graceful manner!
This is just awesome, this show. It is funny, has a wholesome positive message without being annoying and the dance moves are simply incredible.
The storyline is not unlike a fairytale, you go away feeling happy and warm inside. I was also frankly intensely relieved to see modern hiphop music and dance in a show promoting gender equality. In a genre dominated by men who refer to women as bitches and hos and women who think wearing a bikini, oiling up and draping themselves over a car in a music video making blow job faces is somehow not degrading to them and every woman who buys their single, this was a breath of fresh air. Yes I sound like my mum and I don't care, if I had kids and found them watching Transformers and dancing to Rhianna I would burn the offending DVDs with my blow torch.
I digress, and I don't want to make the show sound like some kind of morality lesson as you might be put off and not go and see it. There were a lot of school groups in to see this but it was also a highly enjoyable night out with the girls. Basically I lack the dance knowledge to write a proper review of this show so I'll just stick to THIS IS AWESOME GO SEE IT and post a video.
This is just awesome, this show. It is funny, has a wholesome positive message without being annoying and the dance moves are simply incredible.
The storyline is not unlike a fairytale, you go away feeling happy and warm inside. I was also frankly intensely relieved to see modern hiphop music and dance in a show promoting gender equality. In a genre dominated by men who refer to women as bitches and hos and women who think wearing a bikini, oiling up and draping themselves over a car in a music video making blow job faces is somehow not degrading to them and every woman who buys their single, this was a breath of fresh air. Yes I sound like my mum and I don't care, if I had kids and found them watching Transformers and dancing to Rhianna I would burn the offending DVDs with my blow torch.
I digress, and I don't want to make the show sound like some kind of morality lesson as you might be put off and not go and see it. There were a lot of school groups in to see this but it was also a highly enjoyable night out with the girls. Basically I lack the dance knowledge to write a proper review of this show so I'll just stick to THIS IS AWESOME GO SEE IT and post a video.
43 - Sweeney Todd, Chichester Festival Theatre
I love Sweeney Todd, Tim Burton's film is one of my favourite DVDs. But I didn't really appreciate the powerful operatic music until I saw this production. And for me to appreciate music in a production is quite a feat as I am severely musically challenged.
This truly spectacular production is transferring to the West End shortly and I would urge you to see it. It is grand in every way, the set is a behemoth of complexity, complete with a working barber's chair with trap door leading to a lower level where Mrs Lovett prepares her gruesome pies in an enormous roaring oven. The music is beautiful, the dialogue sparkles, the blood splatters all over the place and for fans of dark comedy there are more laughs than a Nighty Night Christmas special.
Imelda Staunton plays a hilarious Mrs Lovett, her rendition of Try The Priest with Michael Ball is a highlight of the show.
Michael Ball really exceeded my expectations, resisting the urge towards camp which the role can lean towards, he was brooding and menacing providing the perfect contrast to the exuberant Staunton. I suspect I won't quite see him in the same way ever again.
Look out for Peter Polycarpou as Beedle Bamford too, he was excellent and really make me giggle.
If I had a criticism of this production it would be of the decision to set it in the early 20th century. I mean, when you go to see Sweeney Todd you do want to see grimy Victorian London and I felt a bit cheated by the more modern dress and neon-lit pie shop. It was a bit like going to see Oliver! only to find it set in the 1980s. I don't feel like this added much to the production and don't think it necessary to chance the setting merely to hammer home a message that corruption and down-trodden working classes still exist today.
This truly spectacular production is transferring to the West End shortly and I would urge you to see it. It is grand in every way, the set is a behemoth of complexity, complete with a working barber's chair with trap door leading to a lower level where Mrs Lovett prepares her gruesome pies in an enormous roaring oven. The music is beautiful, the dialogue sparkles, the blood splatters all over the place and for fans of dark comedy there are more laughs than a Nighty Night Christmas special.
Imelda Staunton plays a hilarious Mrs Lovett, her rendition of Try The Priest with Michael Ball is a highlight of the show.
Michael Ball really exceeded my expectations, resisting the urge towards camp which the role can lean towards, he was brooding and menacing providing the perfect contrast to the exuberant Staunton. I suspect I won't quite see him in the same way ever again.
Look out for Peter Polycarpou as Beedle Bamford too, he was excellent and really make me giggle.
If I had a criticism of this production it would be of the decision to set it in the early 20th century. I mean, when you go to see Sweeney Todd you do want to see grimy Victorian London and I felt a bit cheated by the more modern dress and neon-lit pie shop. It was a bit like going to see Oliver! only to find it set in the 1980s. I don't feel like this added much to the production and don't think it necessary to chance the setting merely to hammer home a message that corruption and down-trodden working classes still exist today.
Saturday 15 October 2011
42 - The Mummy's Tomb, Exit Theatre at the Charles Cryer, Carshalton
I really enjoyed the big colourful characters in this production, but probably would have cut it down as it lacked the substance needed to keep our attention for such a long play.
This typical egyptian Mummy story sees an egyptologist, his daughter and her suitors on a quest to discover a lost tomb, only to uncover a cursed undead Mummy.
The best performances were those played in the required cartoonish style, so the characters which really shone were inevitably the baddies. Scott Nicholson was very funny as a posh trigger-happy Lord Soaper, but I did think a comedy walk would have completed the character. Sarah Jane was a real gem as the evil Egyptian queen and dominated the stage. James Farr played an excellent Nazi villain with a great stage presence who perhaps just needed to be a bit louder when talking in Arabic gibberish to the Egyptians.
The fights and action scenes should have been more cartoonish too to give a definite style to the whole thing, the best parts were the comic punches where there was a batman style sound effect.
Overall the acting felt like the actors had been asked to reign in the ott characters to make it more naturalistic like Indiana Jones, which didn't work. We didn't sympathise with the one dimensional characters, so we just wanted it to be funny.
This was one of the things which gave me the feeling the director, Graham Butler, did not seem to know what he was directing. The play was billed as a farce in the literature which it definitely wasn't. If anything it was a spoof, but not one which made any particularly knowing comments or jokes on the genre. The script was a melodrama, but Exit had cut out the songs so it no longer held together as one. It did occur to me that perhaps it was a family production for kids, who might have enjoyed it if it had been cut down a bit. However the promotional material did seem to be aimed at adults so I was left a bit bemused about who the target audience was, and what we were supposed to be watching.
There was some clever set construction, I particularly really liked the boat which folded up from the raised back area of the stage with the black curtains at the back pulled apart in a triange shape so the white wall behind created the appearance of sails. There was also a scne in which Lucy Hamilton as the archeologist's dim but attractive daughter was shown in silhouette in a tent being attacked by a snake which was very well executed technically and ended with a hillarious rescue with James Farr fighting a toy snake.
Overall this was fun but too serious at points and far too long, there is a reason Scooby Doo is only a ten minute cartoon and we grew rather weary by the end of the show!
This typical egyptian Mummy story sees an egyptologist, his daughter and her suitors on a quest to discover a lost tomb, only to uncover a cursed undead Mummy.
The best performances were those played in the required cartoonish style, so the characters which really shone were inevitably the baddies. Scott Nicholson was very funny as a posh trigger-happy Lord Soaper, but I did think a comedy walk would have completed the character. Sarah Jane was a real gem as the evil Egyptian queen and dominated the stage. James Farr played an excellent Nazi villain with a great stage presence who perhaps just needed to be a bit louder when talking in Arabic gibberish to the Egyptians.
The fights and action scenes should have been more cartoonish too to give a definite style to the whole thing, the best parts were the comic punches where there was a batman style sound effect.
Overall the acting felt like the actors had been asked to reign in the ott characters to make it more naturalistic like Indiana Jones, which didn't work. We didn't sympathise with the one dimensional characters, so we just wanted it to be funny.
This was one of the things which gave me the feeling the director, Graham Butler, did not seem to know what he was directing. The play was billed as a farce in the literature which it definitely wasn't. If anything it was a spoof, but not one which made any particularly knowing comments or jokes on the genre. The script was a melodrama, but Exit had cut out the songs so it no longer held together as one. It did occur to me that perhaps it was a family production for kids, who might have enjoyed it if it had been cut down a bit. However the promotional material did seem to be aimed at adults so I was left a bit bemused about who the target audience was, and what we were supposed to be watching.
There was some clever set construction, I particularly really liked the boat which folded up from the raised back area of the stage with the black curtains at the back pulled apart in a triange shape so the white wall behind created the appearance of sails. There was also a scne in which Lucy Hamilton as the archeologist's dim but attractive daughter was shown in silhouette in a tent being attacked by a snake which was very well executed technically and ended with a hillarious rescue with James Farr fighting a toy snake.
Overall this was fun but too serious at points and far too long, there is a reason Scooby Doo is only a ten minute cartoon and we grew rather weary by the end of the show!
41 - Legally Blonde at Savoy Theatre
Legally blonde is pure fun. I might have had to supress a feminist wince at some lyrics but it's all very tongue in cheek and the little dogs and dramatic sparkly set pieces made this a spectacle well worth seeing. I was just a little sorry not to have seen Sheriden Smith as Elle Woods as I suspect she would have been brilliant, but Carley Stenson did a grat job. Don't let all the pink fool you, this is a witty and clever musical, perfect for a girls night out.
40 - The God of Soho at The Globe
How lovely to see a brand new modern play at the Globe. This contemporary play uses classical traditions ike the Gods descending to earth to paint a picture of our obsessions with celebrity, hypocrisy and treatment of the homeless with vibrancy, colour and laughter.
Ska band King Porter Stomp got all the groundlings dancing, showing once again that if you go to The Globe and can stand up for a couple of hours, the yard tickts are the best in the house.
Massive characters like Natty (a loud Mouthed Kerry Katona-esque celeb played by a brilliant Emma Pierson)and her pretentious 'artist' Pete Doherty-like lover Baz are essential for a grand outdoor setting. These almost panto caracatures wre offset by a punchy script that mingled poetry with modern London dialect.
I'm suprised to read some very negative reactions to The God of Soho online, accusing it of hating its characters and being purile and gratuitous. I really didn't get those things from this play at all. However I have noticed those commenters frquently end with a grumble about paying £30 to see it. This play was not for the traditional Shakespeare audience paying to sit at the Globe. You made an error during the seat booking process. You neded to be standing amongst the carnival dancers in the yard, people! Then like me you would have come away thinking 'Blimey £5 for that amount of brilliant entertainment, what an absolute bargain.'
Ska band King Porter Stomp got all the groundlings dancing, showing once again that if you go to The Globe and can stand up for a couple of hours, the yard tickts are the best in the house.
Massive characters like Natty (a loud Mouthed Kerry Katona-esque celeb played by a brilliant Emma Pierson)and her pretentious 'artist' Pete Doherty-like lover Baz are essential for a grand outdoor setting. These almost panto caracatures wre offset by a punchy script that mingled poetry with modern London dialect.
I'm suprised to read some very negative reactions to The God of Soho online, accusing it of hating its characters and being purile and gratuitous. I really didn't get those things from this play at all. However I have noticed those commenters frquently end with a grumble about paying £30 to see it. This play was not for the traditional Shakespeare audience paying to sit at the Globe. You made an error during the seat booking process. You neded to be standing amongst the carnival dancers in the yard, people! Then like me you would have come away thinking 'Blimey £5 for that amount of brilliant entertainment, what an absolute bargain.'
Sunday 9 October 2011
39 - The Merry Wives of Winsor , The Rough Mechanicals at the Charles Cryer
I hadn't seen the Rough Mechanicals before, apparently they perform a Shakespeare every year at the Cryer and I'll definately try and catch them in future.
Some great casting and talanted leads made this a really enjoyable romp through one of Shakespeare's more tedious plays. Falstaff looked like he'd just walked out of a pub sign and his jolly mischeviousness helped carry the play along.
There were a few line slips from the actor who played Mistress Ford but she didn't let it slow her down and was helped along by other cast members. The feeling I got overall from this production was the cohesion between th cast members, I really felt like they were having a good time. This along with the fact that they clearly knew and understood the play made this well worth watching.
I also thought the set was fabulous, with the bar in the middle of the stage right at the heart of the action and different locations around it, helping to keep scene changes to a minimum.
Some great casting and talanted leads made this a really enjoyable romp through one of Shakespeare's more tedious plays. Falstaff looked like he'd just walked out of a pub sign and his jolly mischeviousness helped carry the play along.
There were a few line slips from the actor who played Mistress Ford but she didn't let it slow her down and was helped along by other cast members. The feeling I got overall from this production was the cohesion between th cast members, I really felt like they were having a good time. This along with the fact that they clearly knew and understood the play made this well worth watching.
I also thought the set was fabulous, with the bar in the middle of the stage right at the heart of the action and different locations around it, helping to keep scene changes to a minimum.
Wednesday 28 September 2011
38 - Kiss Me Like You Mean It Bench Theatre at The Spring
I don't think this is a brilliant play, but four spectacular performances and skilled direction from Callum West made it a brilliant production.
Dan Finch was hilarious as soon as he emerged on stage dancing around with an inflatable shark singing Tom Jones' 'Sex Bomb'. He played Tony, a slightly drunk young man emerging into the yard from a house party to get some air. Soon he was joined by the cool, slightly sarcastic Ruth (Rosie Carter) and they attempted a conversation which evolved from embarrassing small talk and chat up lines to warm affection and chemistry. The delivery of the dialogue was varied and funny, some of the awkward moments between the two of them could have been from Peep Show or The Inbetweeners. While it's always funny to watch an awkward young man failing to find the words to chat up a pretty girl, this had the added bonus of a well developed and realistically flawed female character which made the performance much warmer. It was easy to identify with Ruth's obvious frustration as she talked about her life, a life she clearly felt had veered of course somehow, and didn't know quite what to do to put it right again. Carter's Ruth was fiery and stroppy which contrasted with Finch's laid-back slightly philosophical Tony brilliantly.
The staging of this first half could easily have been quite static, but I thought it was blocked out very well with just enough movement to keep the scene interesting without being distracting.
Much of the conversation at the interval was about the plausibility of the young couple's situation. It's true, I don't think the sudden attraction between the two of them is particularly realistic. I've been to a few similar parties and I can't see two twenty-somethings who have never met abandoning their respective partners inside a party to sit in the garden, form an attraction and make declarations of love to each other within the space of an evening. Unless they were on drugs or really drunk or something. And even then they'd probably just have sex.
However I also believe that a play can show something true without being particularly realistic. And accelerating a relationship to develop in just an evening between two very believable characters is just one of those things you can do in a play but not in a film. Particularly when it creates such lovely symmetry with the narrative of the other two characters.
However that's not to say I thought this was a great script, at times it tended towards the mawkish and contrived. But the great comic timing of all the actors involved meant it was touching and enjoyable.
The relationship between the young couple, the staging and the costumes seemed very fresh and modern, I don't know if that was just because I found them so recognisable. However this meant the slightly retro references in the first half jarred and felt a bit anachronistic, I think these could have been easily swapped out to bring the play bang up to date and give more contrast between the new couple and the old. I didn't see any reason to keep the play set in some recent decade rather than the present.
What really got to me about the play was the spellbinding performances by Sally Hartley and Peter Woodward as the older couple, Edie and Don. Having spent 50 years together, Edie and Don are reaching the end. Don has a brain tumour and they plan to inject themselves with insulin as the sun rises, ending life on their own terms. So they spend the night drinking all the old alcohol hanging around their flat and having rampant sex in full view of their window, which is where we, and Tony and Ruth, first glimpse them. The energy and sparkle both actors put into everything made their impending death all the more heartbreaking. From the hilarious scantily clad wiggling in the window to Edie's rush out to plant their house plants in the yard and Don's quest to source a curry flavoured condom, with the help of a perplexed Tony they took us with them all the way and portrayed a brilliantly believable partnership. But while Edie and Don still had much to give, they clearly wanted to go now, while they still shone brightly after a happy life, not eaten away cancer or lonely old age and there was no arguing with this decision.
We cried buckets. I had tears streaming down my face and could hear my mum sobbing away behind me. Edie and Don reminded me of my grandparents, even while not actually being anything like them really, and made me hope I find someone to love like that into old age and beyond.
Dan Finch was hilarious as soon as he emerged on stage dancing around with an inflatable shark singing Tom Jones' 'Sex Bomb'. He played Tony, a slightly drunk young man emerging into the yard from a house party to get some air. Soon he was joined by the cool, slightly sarcastic Ruth (Rosie Carter) and they attempted a conversation which evolved from embarrassing small talk and chat up lines to warm affection and chemistry. The delivery of the dialogue was varied and funny, some of the awkward moments between the two of them could have been from Peep Show or The Inbetweeners. While it's always funny to watch an awkward young man failing to find the words to chat up a pretty girl, this had the added bonus of a well developed and realistically flawed female character which made the performance much warmer. It was easy to identify with Ruth's obvious frustration as she talked about her life, a life she clearly felt had veered of course somehow, and didn't know quite what to do to put it right again. Carter's Ruth was fiery and stroppy which contrasted with Finch's laid-back slightly philosophical Tony brilliantly.
The staging of this first half could easily have been quite static, but I thought it was blocked out very well with just enough movement to keep the scene interesting without being distracting.
Much of the conversation at the interval was about the plausibility of the young couple's situation. It's true, I don't think the sudden attraction between the two of them is particularly realistic. I've been to a few similar parties and I can't see two twenty-somethings who have never met abandoning their respective partners inside a party to sit in the garden, form an attraction and make declarations of love to each other within the space of an evening. Unless they were on drugs or really drunk or something. And even then they'd probably just have sex.
However I also believe that a play can show something true without being particularly realistic. And accelerating a relationship to develop in just an evening between two very believable characters is just one of those things you can do in a play but not in a film. Particularly when it creates such lovely symmetry with the narrative of the other two characters.
However that's not to say I thought this was a great script, at times it tended towards the mawkish and contrived. But the great comic timing of all the actors involved meant it was touching and enjoyable.
The relationship between the young couple, the staging and the costumes seemed very fresh and modern, I don't know if that was just because I found them so recognisable. However this meant the slightly retro references in the first half jarred and felt a bit anachronistic, I think these could have been easily swapped out to bring the play bang up to date and give more contrast between the new couple and the old. I didn't see any reason to keep the play set in some recent decade rather than the present.
What really got to me about the play was the spellbinding performances by Sally Hartley and Peter Woodward as the older couple, Edie and Don. Having spent 50 years together, Edie and Don are reaching the end. Don has a brain tumour and they plan to inject themselves with insulin as the sun rises, ending life on their own terms. So they spend the night drinking all the old alcohol hanging around their flat and having rampant sex in full view of their window, which is where we, and Tony and Ruth, first glimpse them. The energy and sparkle both actors put into everything made their impending death all the more heartbreaking. From the hilarious scantily clad wiggling in the window to Edie's rush out to plant their house plants in the yard and Don's quest to source a curry flavoured condom, with the help of a perplexed Tony they took us with them all the way and portrayed a brilliantly believable partnership. But while Edie and Don still had much to give, they clearly wanted to go now, while they still shone brightly after a happy life, not eaten away cancer or lonely old age and there was no arguing with this decision.
We cried buckets. I had tears streaming down my face and could hear my mum sobbing away behind me. Edie and Don reminded me of my grandparents, even while not actually being anything like them really, and made me hope I find someone to love like that into old age and beyond.
Tuesday 27 September 2011
37 - The Mother, Scoop
This was a great translation by Mark Ravenhill of Brecht's tale of a mother who gets involved in politics when her son starts protesting. It's a touching tale and was performed in classic Brechtian style by the clever Steam Industry Free Theatre company.
The production was let down slightly by the dodgy music, the rather average electric guitar playing was anachonistic and didn't fit with anything else. I suppose this could have been a clever alienation technique? Hmmm.
The company is losing its funding next year which is a travesty because free theatre at The Scoop is a London gem and gets a really eclectic audience including people who might never pay to see something like Brecht. But that is what happens when bastards vote in a government of bastard tory bastards including an idle rich bumbling tory bastard mayor of London who naturally would rather reserve the arts for people who can afford £50 tickets.
The production was let down slightly by the dodgy music, the rather average electric guitar playing was anachonistic and didn't fit with anything else. I suppose this could have been a clever alienation technique? Hmmm.
The company is losing its funding next year which is a travesty because free theatre at The Scoop is a London gem and gets a really eclectic audience including people who might never pay to see something like Brecht. But that is what happens when bastards vote in a government of bastard tory bastards including an idle rich bumbling tory bastard mayor of London who naturally would rather reserve the arts for people who can afford £50 tickets.
Sunday 18 September 2011
36 - Peer Gynt, Theatre Collection at the Lord Stanley in Camden
Theatre Collection use physical theatre and dance in a bare studio space to tell the story of Ibsen's Peer Gynt like a fairy tale. There was some skilful physical theatre, the highlight for me was when all the actors came together to create the Troll king, simple techniques like using another actor's hands as his own meant the central figure was able to represent an otherworldly creature in a really effective way.
I also loved the dark comedy when Peer came across what appeared to be an asylum in Egypt. Sebastian Canciglia as the raving Egyptian introducing the madmen was brilliantly comic and disturbing.
There was scarcely much of Ibsen's epic play remaining which meant that from the start the piece was very fast-paced. This meant that as I didn't know the play very well I felt a little confused about what the bigger questions of the text were and what it was saying. After seeing Ibsen's Emporer and Galilean at The National where you come away thinking about the human condition, religion and our place in the world, I found it a little difficult to adjust to taking Peer Gynt more as a simple fairy tale. However as the play is very narrative and there was a narrator figure guiding us through the plot was not difficult to follow.
The fast pace made the play into a series of strange visions, rather like being in someone else's dream which was complemented by the live music and interesting instruments the cast used. This was really clever and helped create the traditional story telling atmosphere.
There was also some lovely singing particularly the refrain from Nicola Fox playing Peer's love Solveig who waits for him and grows old as he travels the world.
Oliver Hollis-Leick played Peer Gynt very convincingly both as a young and impulsive dreamer and later as a more reflective older man. His charismatic and naive charm made him the ideal central fairytale hero, which was in ironic contrast to his flawed actions.
Don't go to see this to see Ibsen, go to see a slice of traditional skilful storytelling and you will enjoy it immensely.
I also loved the dark comedy when Peer came across what appeared to be an asylum in Egypt. Sebastian Canciglia as the raving Egyptian introducing the madmen was brilliantly comic and disturbing.
There was scarcely much of Ibsen's epic play remaining which meant that from the start the piece was very fast-paced. This meant that as I didn't know the play very well I felt a little confused about what the bigger questions of the text were and what it was saying. After seeing Ibsen's Emporer and Galilean at The National where you come away thinking about the human condition, religion and our place in the world, I found it a little difficult to adjust to taking Peer Gynt more as a simple fairy tale. However as the play is very narrative and there was a narrator figure guiding us through the plot was not difficult to follow.
The fast pace made the play into a series of strange visions, rather like being in someone else's dream which was complemented by the live music and interesting instruments the cast used. This was really clever and helped create the traditional story telling atmosphere.
There was also some lovely singing particularly the refrain from Nicola Fox playing Peer's love Solveig who waits for him and grows old as he travels the world.
Oliver Hollis-Leick played Peer Gynt very convincingly both as a young and impulsive dreamer and later as a more reflective older man. His charismatic and naive charm made him the ideal central fairytale hero, which was in ironic contrast to his flawed actions.
Don't go to see this to see Ibsen, go to see a slice of traditional skilful storytelling and you will enjoy it immensely.
35 - The Tempest, Haymarket
This was an enjoyable production but unfortunately my enjoyment was marred by 3 things. Firstly the seat in the balcony were ridiculously tiny and uncomfortable. Secondly Ariel and his the other spirits were camp rather than androgenous which I found a bit annoying. Thirdly I just didn't think the production was as effective as the Old Vic's last year which had a simplicity that this production lacked.
Oh I also thought Caliban was not savage or alien enough. When Caliban is too human, and played by the only black man on stage, the play just feels vaguely racist.
Oh I also thought Caliban was not savage or alien enough. When Caliban is too human, and played by the only black man on stage, the play just feels vaguely racist.
Thursday 18 August 2011
34- Top Girls, Trafalgar Studio Theatre
Caryl Churchill is one of my favourite playwrights and family and friends were raving about this after seeing it in Chichester so I was thrilled that it transferred to London.
When I watch one of Churhill's plays I feel like she is saying something important and complicated. She doesn't just tell us a story to illustrate a point, she explores a theme, condenses and distils it and presents it to us whole.
Feminism and female roles in society were given this treatment in Top Girls. I felt heart broken after watching it. Surely there is a way to be beautiful and successful, live in London and be a socialist? Can a woman be successful without sacrificing everything else? It is disturbing to recognise yourself in two characters who are in direct conflict with each other but that's what I felt when watching Marlene and Joyce argue.
The play condemns the impact Thatcherism had on feminism in the 1980s. Like Japanese knotweed it poisoned the feminist movement rebranding it as misguided hippy nonsense. I can still feel the impact of this today, particularly in the workplace. Women replaced women's rights with the rights of the individual and the toughest, like Marlene, fought their way upwards in masculine shoulder pads sacrificing family life, relationships on the way. When they reach the top they look down crowing that if they can do it, anyone can. And those that can't are stupid and lazy. Joyce points out to Marlene that her daughter Angie, who Joyce has raised for her, is stupid and lazy "What about her?" But as Marlene coldly points out to her work colleagues when Angie turns up at her workplace "She's not going to make it."
This post isn't really a review of the production but I'd like to say that it is excellent and brilliant and you should go. Suranne Jones in particular is a vastly underrated actor because she was so funny on Coronation street but she is a chameleon and played Marlene brilliantly.
When I watch one of Churhill's plays I feel like she is saying something important and complicated. She doesn't just tell us a story to illustrate a point, she explores a theme, condenses and distils it and presents it to us whole.
Feminism and female roles in society were given this treatment in Top Girls. I felt heart broken after watching it. Surely there is a way to be beautiful and successful, live in London and be a socialist? Can a woman be successful without sacrificing everything else? It is disturbing to recognise yourself in two characters who are in direct conflict with each other but that's what I felt when watching Marlene and Joyce argue.
The play condemns the impact Thatcherism had on feminism in the 1980s. Like Japanese knotweed it poisoned the feminist movement rebranding it as misguided hippy nonsense. I can still feel the impact of this today, particularly in the workplace. Women replaced women's rights with the rights of the individual and the toughest, like Marlene, fought their way upwards in masculine shoulder pads sacrificing family life, relationships on the way. When they reach the top they look down crowing that if they can do it, anyone can. And those that can't are stupid and lazy. Joyce points out to Marlene that her daughter Angie, who Joyce has raised for her, is stupid and lazy "What about her?" But as Marlene coldly points out to her work colleagues when Angie turns up at her workplace "She's not going to make it."
This post isn't really a review of the production but I'd like to say that it is excellent and brilliant and you should go. Suranne Jones in particular is a vastly underrated actor because she was so funny on Coronation street but she is a chameleon and played Marlene brilliantly.
Monday 15 August 2011
33- Macbeth, directed by MaryClare O'Neill, Hiraeth, Upstairs at The Gatehouse
This was a gutsy production from a promising new company.
Set in the tenth century I expected a simple traditional production of Macbeth. Muddy medieval costumes, sad Scottish singing and red stained glass window reflections projected on the floor made the production very atmospheric. However there were many unusual innovations in this production which I really appreciated.
When Zoé Ford first came on stage I immediately thought she was great but too young for the part. Then Macbeth (Kazeem Tosin Amore) entered and the chemistry between them was palpable. They were a very natural couple, her younger and cajoling, him indulgent. Then after the murder when Macbeth started to unravel and Lady Macbeth tried to calm him down he struck her across the face. The violence in the relationship made for an unusual spin on the play which I really enjoyed, this was the first production I’ve ever seen where I felt sorry for Lady Macbeth. In the sleepwalking scene she hit herself around the face and cowered away on ‘no more of that my lord.’ She was a Frankenstein Lady Macbeth, creator of a monster she couldn’t control.
Kazeen Tosin Amore was magnetic as Macbeth, his unease while others were on stage and sudden movements to anger made his speeches riveting. As he was losing his mind in the scene with Banquo's ghost, the clever use of faceless masks made us all feel like we were with him in this cloud of madness and confusion. I also particularly enjoyed his speech about the ghostly dagger, represented as a sharp beam of light which fell across his face giving him a ghoulish appearance.
Gemma Barrett, Christina Lazaro and Julia Faulkner were just the witches you hope you will see when you go to Macbeth. Drooling mad women working seamlessly as a trio, repeating lines and murmuring chants as if crazily muttering to themselves. They were both disturbing and comic, gruesome and sympathetic. The scene where they conjure visions of the future to a blind Macbeth was particularly well done, with Barrett going into a gory labour and madly lamenting as the bundle she bears is handed to Macbeth who unravels it to reveal a cluster of twigs. This strong image continued to resonate in the next scene in which Barrett gave a very moving performance as a spirited Lady Macduff, struggling against her murderers as they smash her baby’s head open in front of her. Her howls of despair were brilliantly haunting.
I would have liked to see a bit more anguish like this from Macduff and the others after Duncan’s murder but earlier in the play the men were very much the soldiers and retained their stiff upper lips. Dan Mullins was a compelling Macduff, I liked the way he clearly disliked and suspected Macbeth right from the beginning, and his reaction on hearing about the murder of his family was very moving.
There were some strange decisions in this production which I didn’t think quite worked. Banquo’s son Fleance was cut completely. This meant the aftermath of Banquo’s murder, which usually feels like a failure for Macbeth felt more like a triumph because he had seemingly managed to stop Banquo’s line and defeat the prophecy about Banqo’s sons inheriting the throne. Not having any mention of Banquo’s children also meant the authority of the witches suddenly felt a bit shaky.
Another part of the play I thought was a bit strange was the blocking in the battle scene. Macduff was sitting down on some steps as he wondered where Macbeth was and when Macbeth entered he left his sword in its sheath even while Macduff ran at him to attack him. I was so bemused by this strange behaviour on the battlefield it distracted me a bit from the action.
The play was cut to end on Macbeth’s death, which I found much more poignant than ending with the drab final lines about being crowned at scone. Overall a very accomplished and varied production. I shall look out for future productions from Hiraeth.
Set in the tenth century I expected a simple traditional production of Macbeth. Muddy medieval costumes, sad Scottish singing and red stained glass window reflections projected on the floor made the production very atmospheric. However there were many unusual innovations in this production which I really appreciated.
When Zoé Ford first came on stage I immediately thought she was great but too young for the part. Then Macbeth (Kazeem Tosin Amore) entered and the chemistry between them was palpable. They were a very natural couple, her younger and cajoling, him indulgent. Then after the murder when Macbeth started to unravel and Lady Macbeth tried to calm him down he struck her across the face. The violence in the relationship made for an unusual spin on the play which I really enjoyed, this was the first production I’ve ever seen where I felt sorry for Lady Macbeth. In the sleepwalking scene she hit herself around the face and cowered away on ‘no more of that my lord.’ She was a Frankenstein Lady Macbeth, creator of a monster she couldn’t control.
Kazeen Tosin Amore was magnetic as Macbeth, his unease while others were on stage and sudden movements to anger made his speeches riveting. As he was losing his mind in the scene with Banquo's ghost, the clever use of faceless masks made us all feel like we were with him in this cloud of madness and confusion. I also particularly enjoyed his speech about the ghostly dagger, represented as a sharp beam of light which fell across his face giving him a ghoulish appearance.
Gemma Barrett, Christina Lazaro and Julia Faulkner were just the witches you hope you will see when you go to Macbeth. Drooling mad women working seamlessly as a trio, repeating lines and murmuring chants as if crazily muttering to themselves. They were both disturbing and comic, gruesome and sympathetic. The scene where they conjure visions of the future to a blind Macbeth was particularly well done, with Barrett going into a gory labour and madly lamenting as the bundle she bears is handed to Macbeth who unravels it to reveal a cluster of twigs. This strong image continued to resonate in the next scene in which Barrett gave a very moving performance as a spirited Lady Macduff, struggling against her murderers as they smash her baby’s head open in front of her. Her howls of despair were brilliantly haunting.
I would have liked to see a bit more anguish like this from Macduff and the others after Duncan’s murder but earlier in the play the men were very much the soldiers and retained their stiff upper lips. Dan Mullins was a compelling Macduff, I liked the way he clearly disliked and suspected Macbeth right from the beginning, and his reaction on hearing about the murder of his family was very moving.
There were some strange decisions in this production which I didn’t think quite worked. Banquo’s son Fleance was cut completely. This meant the aftermath of Banquo’s murder, which usually feels like a failure for Macbeth felt more like a triumph because he had seemingly managed to stop Banquo’s line and defeat the prophecy about Banqo’s sons inheriting the throne. Not having any mention of Banquo’s children also meant the authority of the witches suddenly felt a bit shaky.
Another part of the play I thought was a bit strange was the blocking in the battle scene. Macduff was sitting down on some steps as he wondered where Macbeth was and when Macbeth entered he left his sword in its sheath even while Macduff ran at him to attack him. I was so bemused by this strange behaviour on the battlefield it distracted me a bit from the action.
The play was cut to end on Macbeth’s death, which I found much more poignant than ending with the drab final lines about being crowned at scone. Overall a very accomplished and varied production. I shall look out for future productions from Hiraeth.
Monday 8 August 2011
32 - Emperor and Galilean at the National
This play filled me with awe. It is awesome.
Ibsen tells the epic tale of emperor Julian, who struggles with his Christian faith and decides to overthrow his uncle as Emperor and return Rome to paganism.
Although an epic, this tragic Faustian tale is focussed on the internal struggle and destruction of one man. Andrew Scott gave a magnificently varied performance as Julian. A brilliantly rounded character he went from being a sad confused young man who we felt sorry for, to a mad tyrant blinding his friends and leading his soldiers to death. Watching him you recognise world leaders from the news, but you also recognise aspects of yourself. It was at times uncomfortable to watch but very realistic.
The use of projections of modern soldiers, helicopters and guns combined with the modern dress with hints at Roman armour gave the production a timeless quality. We could spot parallels with modern events but the play still felt like a classic tragedy.
A spectacular set with levels rising from the floor added to the grand scale of this production. I particularly liked an enormous gold ingot (representing the sun) hanging from the ceiling in Julian's palace which turned round for the next scene at the church to reveal the other side which was painted like a rock with a cross on it.
It is a brilliant play that makes you reconsider human relationships with each other and with their gods. And this is the UK première - a great Ibsen play and no-one has seen it before! I felt awe-struck and privileged to see it.
Ibsen tells the epic tale of emperor Julian, who struggles with his Christian faith and decides to overthrow his uncle as Emperor and return Rome to paganism.
Although an epic, this tragic Faustian tale is focussed on the internal struggle and destruction of one man. Andrew Scott gave a magnificently varied performance as Julian. A brilliantly rounded character he went from being a sad confused young man who we felt sorry for, to a mad tyrant blinding his friends and leading his soldiers to death. Watching him you recognise world leaders from the news, but you also recognise aspects of yourself. It was at times uncomfortable to watch but very realistic.
The use of projections of modern soldiers, helicopters and guns combined with the modern dress with hints at Roman armour gave the production a timeless quality. We could spot parallels with modern events but the play still felt like a classic tragedy.
A spectacular set with levels rising from the floor added to the grand scale of this production. I particularly liked an enormous gold ingot (representing the sun) hanging from the ceiling in Julian's palace which turned round for the next scene at the church to reveal the other side which was painted like a rock with a cross on it.
It is a brilliant play that makes you reconsider human relationships with each other and with their gods. And this is the UK première - a great Ibsen play and no-one has seen it before! I felt awe-struck and privileged to see it.
Wednesday 3 August 2011
31 - Daisy pulls it off, Bench Theatre at The Spring
It was all jolly hockey sticks in this brilliant production of a silly play about young gels at school.
I have a real nostalgia for cheerful tales of boarding schools and midnight feasts. As a childhood Enid Blyton fan and a current Harry Potter enthusiast nothing cheers me up like a jolly story of treasure hunting in a boarding school.
Mark Wakeman really knows his stage comedy and the clever staging here was a case in point. He understands that we don't want to hang around waiting for the next laugh so scene changes were accomplished with the blink of an eye, hilarious grumpy cameos by the backstage crew served as book cases in the library and portraits in the great hall.
The character of Daisy Meredith, plucky scholarship girl who is good at literally everything, is hard to fall in love with. I'm sure I would have hated her at school - no-one should be good at lessons AND sport. Luckily Beth Evans played her with such warmth and the whole play was so tongue in cheek we were all rooting for her anyway. This was helped by the brilliantly evil Draco Malfoy-esque snob Sybil Burlington (Fern Bicheno) and crony Monica Smithers (Rosie Carter) who were great fun to hate.
Tamsin Halford really stole the show as Daisy's poetic, scatty friend Trixie Martin. Her state of perpetual wide-eyed excitement was infectious and the way she ran on and off stage was especially funny, it really reminded me of how my own sister Daisy used to run around.
The whole cast was really brilliant but my other personal favourites were the dynamic duo of head girl Clare Beaumont (Alice Corrigan) and her friend Alice (Jo Gardner.) They took what could have been the duller parts of the play and made them the best with terrific over the top poses and speeches, they could have stepped straight out of a comic.
What made this the best fun to watch was the feeling that everyone on stage was enjoying themselves immensely. I hope Bench Theatre finds more plays in the future to showcase this amazing amount of young female talent. Such fun.
I have a real nostalgia for cheerful tales of boarding schools and midnight feasts. As a childhood Enid Blyton fan and a current Harry Potter enthusiast nothing cheers me up like a jolly story of treasure hunting in a boarding school.
Mark Wakeman really knows his stage comedy and the clever staging here was a case in point. He understands that we don't want to hang around waiting for the next laugh so scene changes were accomplished with the blink of an eye, hilarious grumpy cameos by the backstage crew served as book cases in the library and portraits in the great hall.
The character of Daisy Meredith, plucky scholarship girl who is good at literally everything, is hard to fall in love with. I'm sure I would have hated her at school - no-one should be good at lessons AND sport. Luckily Beth Evans played her with such warmth and the whole play was so tongue in cheek we were all rooting for her anyway. This was helped by the brilliantly evil Draco Malfoy-esque snob Sybil Burlington (Fern Bicheno) and crony Monica Smithers (Rosie Carter) who were great fun to hate.
Tamsin Halford really stole the show as Daisy's poetic, scatty friend Trixie Martin. Her state of perpetual wide-eyed excitement was infectious and the way she ran on and off stage was especially funny, it really reminded me of how my own sister Daisy used to run around.
The whole cast was really brilliant but my other personal favourites were the dynamic duo of head girl Clare Beaumont (Alice Corrigan) and her friend Alice (Jo Gardner.) They took what could have been the duller parts of the play and made them the best with terrific over the top poses and speeches, they could have stepped straight out of a comic.
What made this the best fun to watch was the feeling that everyone on stage was enjoying themselves immensely. I hope Bench Theatre finds more plays in the future to showcase this amazing amount of young female talent. Such fun.
Monday 25 July 2011
30 - Doctor Faustus, The Globe
I have had an emotional connection to this play for a rather long time. For one thing, I remember a great school production when I was young, and a great English teacher teaching us the play at GCSE level. I later helped a friend who had missed a lot of college put on a stripped down version of the play so she could still get a great mark for the drama assessment she had missed. Then during the heady summer before heading off to university I was an extra in a fantastic professional production at Chichester Festival Theatre where I, naturally, fell in love with Sam West who played Faustus. It is irretrievably linked in my brain with happy times.
Doctor Faustus also connects with me on an academic level. It is the culmination of centuries of medieval mystery plays evolving from a celebration of religious dogma into a play written purely for entertainment by an alleged anarchist. Doctor Faustus isn't a mystery play of course, but when you watch it you can feel the mystery plays behind it, like looking at a child's face and seeing both his parents at the same time. I got my first 1st at university for a prompt book I wrote for a hypothetical planned production of Doctor Faustus, complete with little pop-up set design.
Just as well then that my sister Daisy, another Faustus fan, and I enjoyed this production immensely. I think if I saw a poor production of Doctor Faustus it would be like watching someone stamp on a kitten.
In this production at The Globe it was all about the comedy. Even the dramatic conjuring scene and the close in which Faustus is dragged to hell were funny, with Faustus failing to light candles with great comic timing. I was surprised by this as, particularly at a midnight showing, I expected more of a creepy atmosphere. At times I did think this detracted from the more powerful sections of the play, those bits we think were most likely written by Marlowe. Likes like "O soul, be changed into little water-drops, And fall into the ocean ne'er be found" tend to lose their power a bit when the demons entering to carry Faustus away are quite cartoonish and enter after the bow for a comical dance with bloodied puppet babies.
Having the comedy bleed such a lot into the more serious scenes meant the play felt a lot more complete, rather than a disjointed bundle of slapstick scenes sandwiched between a powerfully tragic beginning and end. Paul Hilton played a very physical and comical Faustus rather than a lyrical and wordy one and this was a production that concentrated on the spectacle of the play over the language.
And the spectacle was truly magnificent. Ghostly aristocrats in white masks danced obscene dances, Mephistopheles and Faustus rode on giant skeletal dragons, books erupted into flame and Faustus was decapitated on stage, only for his removed head to start chatting away and leap back onto his body. Every minute there was something new and clever going on. Pearce Quigley's deadpan delivery for Robin was truly hilarious from the minute he emerged on stage and started urinating against a pillar.
It was half way through the production when I realised Mephistopheles was Arthur Darvill of Rory-from-Doctor-Who fame. He was really excellent, not super villain evil all the time but charismatic and tortured as Mephistopheles should be. Amongst all the energy and comedy it was Darvill who managed to retain the power of some of the real gut-wrenching lines of the play. I went from feeling a terrible sympathy for Mephistopheles "why this is Hell, nor am I out of it" to hating him for deceiving Faustus and leading him to his downfall "I do confess it Faustus and rejoice." Of course I have now developed a crush on Arthur Darvill which should make watching post-Tennant Doctor Who more interesting.
This might not have been the greatest production I have seen so far this year, but I think it is the one I have most totally fallen in love with. There is a hole in my heart where this production should be. I want to watch it again. I want it on DVD so I can watch it every night before I go to sleep. Is it a bit weird to be in love with a play and develop a life-long crush on any actor who performs brilliantly in it? Never mind, yard tickets at The Globe are a fiver people, go go go go go.
Doctor Faustus also connects with me on an academic level. It is the culmination of centuries of medieval mystery plays evolving from a celebration of religious dogma into a play written purely for entertainment by an alleged anarchist. Doctor Faustus isn't a mystery play of course, but when you watch it you can feel the mystery plays behind it, like looking at a child's face and seeing both his parents at the same time. I got my first 1st at university for a prompt book I wrote for a hypothetical planned production of Doctor Faustus, complete with little pop-up set design.
Just as well then that my sister Daisy, another Faustus fan, and I enjoyed this production immensely. I think if I saw a poor production of Doctor Faustus it would be like watching someone stamp on a kitten.
In this production at The Globe it was all about the comedy. Even the dramatic conjuring scene and the close in which Faustus is dragged to hell were funny, with Faustus failing to light candles with great comic timing. I was surprised by this as, particularly at a midnight showing, I expected more of a creepy atmosphere. At times I did think this detracted from the more powerful sections of the play, those bits we think were most likely written by Marlowe. Likes like "O soul, be changed into little water-drops, And fall into the ocean ne'er be found" tend to lose their power a bit when the demons entering to carry Faustus away are quite cartoonish and enter after the bow for a comical dance with bloodied puppet babies.
Having the comedy bleed such a lot into the more serious scenes meant the play felt a lot more complete, rather than a disjointed bundle of slapstick scenes sandwiched between a powerfully tragic beginning and end. Paul Hilton played a very physical and comical Faustus rather than a lyrical and wordy one and this was a production that concentrated on the spectacle of the play over the language.
And the spectacle was truly magnificent. Ghostly aristocrats in white masks danced obscene dances, Mephistopheles and Faustus rode on giant skeletal dragons, books erupted into flame and Faustus was decapitated on stage, only for his removed head to start chatting away and leap back onto his body. Every minute there was something new and clever going on. Pearce Quigley's deadpan delivery for Robin was truly hilarious from the minute he emerged on stage and started urinating against a pillar.
It was half way through the production when I realised Mephistopheles was Arthur Darvill of Rory-from-Doctor-Who fame. He was really excellent, not super villain evil all the time but charismatic and tortured as Mephistopheles should be. Amongst all the energy and comedy it was Darvill who managed to retain the power of some of the real gut-wrenching lines of the play. I went from feeling a terrible sympathy for Mephistopheles "why this is Hell, nor am I out of it" to hating him for deceiving Faustus and leading him to his downfall "I do confess it Faustus and rejoice." Of course I have now developed a crush on Arthur Darvill which should make watching post-Tennant Doctor Who more interesting.
This might not have been the greatest production I have seen so far this year, but I think it is the one I have most totally fallen in love with. There is a hole in my heart where this production should be. I want to watch it again. I want it on DVD so I can watch it every night before I go to sleep. Is it a bit weird to be in love with a play and develop a life-long crush on any actor who performs brilliantly in it? Never mind, yard tickets at The Globe are a fiver people, go go go go go.
29 - Political Mother, Hofesh Shechter at Sadler's Wells
More contemporary dance! I loved this from the minute it started, with violists and cellists in spotlights playing a classical refrain, suddenly joined lit up on a level above them by electric guitarists and men playing the largest drums I have ever seen. The music was loud, like being at a rock concert and the atmosphere electric.
A series of scenes were presented with dancers presenting joyful and bleak communities by turns and a Stalin-esque dictator sometimes seen on the upper level with the electric guitarists shouting incomprehensible angry speeches into a microphone which added to the music to give a feeling of control.
The overall feel of the piece was that of a political epic, like watching Brecht but with rock music. It was stirring and fascinating.
The choreography was, even to my untrained eye, very impressive. I just can't understand how they know where and when to stand, rushing to different areas of the stage and all the time moving as an ensemble like a machine.
I would have liked to see some variation in the style of dance between the different scenes. Not because it became monotonous but because as they seemed to be showing different political regimes I would have thought that was an opportunity to show a variety of different styles or dance moves. Maybe that would have distracted from the overall build up and unity of the piece though.
There was a well-deserved standing ovation at the end of this first night at Sadlers Wells. Definitly one to see.
A series of scenes were presented with dancers presenting joyful and bleak communities by turns and a Stalin-esque dictator sometimes seen on the upper level with the electric guitarists shouting incomprehensible angry speeches into a microphone which added to the music to give a feeling of control.
The overall feel of the piece was that of a political epic, like watching Brecht but with rock music. It was stirring and fascinating.
The choreography was, even to my untrained eye, very impressive. I just can't understand how they know where and when to stand, rushing to different areas of the stage and all the time moving as an ensemble like a machine.
I would have liked to see some variation in the style of dance between the different scenes. Not because it became monotonous but because as they seemed to be showing different political regimes I would have thought that was an opportunity to show a variety of different styles or dance moves. Maybe that would have distracted from the overall build up and unity of the piece though.
There was a well-deserved standing ovation at the end of this first night at Sadlers Wells. Definitly one to see.
28 - Confusions, Charles Cryer
James and I directed this and I was really pleased with how it went. Clearly I can't write a review of my own play so here instead is someone else's:
Not sure what to make of 'competently directed' and would have thought he might mention our scene changer skits in between plays and other clever things we added to the script. However it is a positive review and mentions a few of the actors' names which is the important thing. On the whole I'd describe this as competently reviewed.
Here are some pictures, taken by Rafal Lacki http://photo.mackraph.co.uk:
Not sure what to make of 'competently directed' and would have thought he might mention our scene changer skits in between plays and other clever things we added to the script. However it is a positive review and mentions a few of the actors' names which is the important thing. On the whole I'd describe this as competently reviewed.
Here are some pictures, taken by Rafal Lacki http://photo.mackraph.co.uk:
Wednesday 6 July 2011
Confusions rehearsal video
Confusions opens tomorrow! Here is our great rehearsal video created for us by the very talented Sarah Johnson (@SarahinHD)
Book your tickets online here.
Book your tickets online here.
Thursday 23 June 2011
Appeal for benches
Hello blog reader,
My name is Ellie Dawes and I am co-directing a production of Alan Ayckbourn’s well known play Confusions at the Charles Cryer Theatre in Carshalton at the beginning of July.
An integral part of this production is a scene in which four strangers meet in a park. For this scene we need 4 park benches.
We are not performing this play for profit and have a limited budget, so I am looking for a local business who would be interested in loaning us these benches for the duration of the dress rehearsal and performances, 6th – 10th July.
You might have considered helping local theatre companies out before in exchange for some local publicity, or this might be a new idea to you. Either way I think you’ll agree that the package we are offering will give you valuable exposure to your target market, both online and in print, raising your profile as a company willing to give back to your local community.
In return for your support we would offer you:
- The full back page of our programme (A5, colour).
- I would email out a message of thanks to your company, including a link direct to your website and a description of what you do, to all attendees and potential attendees signed up to our Facebook event page (currently 861 people, all individually invited by cast members and friends.)
- I will also post this message directly onto the event page so future visitors to the page can recognise your contribution to your local community, and click directly through to your website.
- I also have a Twitter account which I use professionally and because I work on the website DIYWeek.net a large amount of my 2491 Twitter followers come from the DIY retail and garden centre sector. I will be happy to tweet my thanks to your company with another direct link to your site.
- If you would like to attend the play we will happily offer you 2 free tickets to a performance of your choice.
I believe this could be a great publicity opportunity for your business to advertise to your key local market completely free of charge. We have a large cast of 11 local actors who all live in and around Croydon and we fully expect to sell the theatre to full capacity, or close to full capacity, for 4 performances, including a Saturday matinee (the theatre has around 110 seats.) Ayckbourn is a traditional playwright who, along with local theatre in general, is popular with theatre goers with disposable income who would be likely to purchase garden furniture this summer.
I attach below the poster for this upcoming production. Breakfast Cat Theatre company pride ourselves on high quality performances and have received excellent reviews for past productions. Should you wish to lend us the benches in return for this valuable local marketing opportunity, we will collect them from you on Wednesday 6th July and return them on Sunday 10th. They will be safely stored indoors and under lock and key backstage at the Charles Cryer Theatre. We would also be able to provide you with a deposit if requested.
If you have any questions about this please do not hesitate to give me a call on 07956 237 939 or email me at ellie_dawes@hotmail.com.
Thanks and very best regards,
Ellie Dawes
Co-Director
Breakfast Cat Theatre Company.
My name is Ellie Dawes and I am co-directing a production of Alan Ayckbourn’s well known play Confusions at the Charles Cryer Theatre in Carshalton at the beginning of July.
An integral part of this production is a scene in which four strangers meet in a park. For this scene we need 4 park benches.
We are not performing this play for profit and have a limited budget, so I am looking for a local business who would be interested in loaning us these benches for the duration of the dress rehearsal and performances, 6th – 10th July.
You might have considered helping local theatre companies out before in exchange for some local publicity, or this might be a new idea to you. Either way I think you’ll agree that the package we are offering will give you valuable exposure to your target market, both online and in print, raising your profile as a company willing to give back to your local community.
In return for your support we would offer you:
- The full back page of our programme (A5, colour).
- I would email out a message of thanks to your company, including a link direct to your website and a description of what you do, to all attendees and potential attendees signed up to our Facebook event page (currently 861 people, all individually invited by cast members and friends.)
- I will also post this message directly onto the event page so future visitors to the page can recognise your contribution to your local community, and click directly through to your website.
- I also have a Twitter account which I use professionally and because I work on the website DIYWeek.net a large amount of my 2491 Twitter followers come from the DIY retail and garden centre sector. I will be happy to tweet my thanks to your company with another direct link to your site.
- If you would like to attend the play we will happily offer you 2 free tickets to a performance of your choice.
I believe this could be a great publicity opportunity for your business to advertise to your key local market completely free of charge. We have a large cast of 11 local actors who all live in and around Croydon and we fully expect to sell the theatre to full capacity, or close to full capacity, for 4 performances, including a Saturday matinee (the theatre has around 110 seats.) Ayckbourn is a traditional playwright who, along with local theatre in general, is popular with theatre goers with disposable income who would be likely to purchase garden furniture this summer.
I attach below the poster for this upcoming production. Breakfast Cat Theatre company pride ourselves on high quality performances and have received excellent reviews for past productions. Should you wish to lend us the benches in return for this valuable local marketing opportunity, we will collect them from you on Wednesday 6th July and return them on Sunday 10th. They will be safely stored indoors and under lock and key backstage at the Charles Cryer Theatre. We would also be able to provide you with a deposit if requested.
If you have any questions about this please do not hesitate to give me a call on 07956 237 939 or email me at ellie_dawes@hotmail.com.
Thanks and very best regards,
Ellie Dawes
Co-Director
Breakfast Cat Theatre Company.
Monday 20 June 2011
Apology
I'm sorry my last few blog posts have been rather rushed. As you can see, I am keeping up pretty well with seeing the 52 plays, but finding the time to write about them is proving rather more of a challenge.
Please bear with me and stick with this blog, the entries will get better again, I promise! The reason this was been rather more rushed recently is because I am co-directing a play with Breakfast Cat Theatre Company. My co-director is my clever boyfriend James.
The play we are performing is the classic Confusions by Alan Ayckbourn. Here's the sell:
Confusions, from one of England's most popular and prolific playwrights, uses five inter-linked one-act plays to cover themes of obsession, isolation and human desire for companionship, all played out against a backdrop of the British suburban middle class. From frenetic farces to melancholy pieces, it is engaging, funny and occasionally touching. With a strong cast of Breakfast Cat regulars and a healthy dose of new faces, this production promises to be the highlight of the summer.
It really will be good, even if I say so myself. We have a simply cracking cast and some great ideas. We want to give you the traditional play you know and love, but refresh it a little bit with extra touches to make the play a joy for those who have seen it before.
So come and see it!
Please bear with me and stick with this blog, the entries will get better again, I promise! The reason this was been rather more rushed recently is because I am co-directing a play with Breakfast Cat Theatre Company. My co-director is my clever boyfriend James.
The play we are performing is the classic Confusions by Alan Ayckbourn. Here's the sell:
Confusions, from one of England's most popular and prolific playwrights, uses five inter-linked one-act plays to cover themes of obsession, isolation and human desire for companionship, all played out against a backdrop of the British suburban middle class. From frenetic farces to melancholy pieces, it is engaging, funny and occasionally touching. With a strong cast of Breakfast Cat regulars and a healthy dose of new faces, this production promises to be the highlight of the summer.
It really will be good, even if I say so myself. We have a simply cracking cast and some great ideas. We want to give you the traditional play you know and love, but refresh it a little bit with extra touches to make the play a joy for those who have seen it before.
So come and see it!
Friday 17 June 2011
28 - Jeffery Bernard is unwell
This hilarious tour-de-force by Robert Powell seemed to give us a glimpse of a time that has now passed. A time when journalists could get drunk and fail to turn in articles and no-one seemed to mind particularly. It was an evening of nostalgia for many in the audience.
The play takes place in a pub in Soho where Jeffery Bernard has managed to get locked in overnight and wakes up to find himself trapped. Unperturbed he begins helping himself to the spirits behind the bar and regales us with anecdotes and descriptions of the colourful characters he has met living a life of hard-drink, gambling and womanising.
Watching the play is like having the good fortune to sit with someone in the pub who has not only led a fascinating life but also has the skill to tell you about it in a witty and engaging fashion. Robert Powell was a surprisingly cheerful Jeffery Bernard, I think we were expecting a little bit more bitterness from the character but his performance was altogether more philosophical. He was assisted in telling his hilarious tales by a strong supporting cast who emerged in the pub, conjured by Jeffery's imagination and memories, as dozens of different characters each one different and engaging.
The play takes place in a pub in Soho where Jeffery Bernard has managed to get locked in overnight and wakes up to find himself trapped. Unperturbed he begins helping himself to the spirits behind the bar and regales us with anecdotes and descriptions of the colourful characters he has met living a life of hard-drink, gambling and womanising.
Watching the play is like having the good fortune to sit with someone in the pub who has not only led a fascinating life but also has the skill to tell you about it in a witty and engaging fashion. Robert Powell was a surprisingly cheerful Jeffery Bernard, I think we were expecting a little bit more bitterness from the character but his performance was altogether more philosophical. He was assisted in telling his hilarious tales by a strong supporting cast who emerged in the pub, conjured by Jeffery's imagination and memories, as dozens of different characters each one different and engaging.
27 - Happy Birthday, The Miller Centre
This classic farce with an amazing set and a strong cast.
There were a couple of slips with the complicated lines, but this did not effect the fast pace necessary for a farce.
Roberto Prestoni was particularly hilarious as the put-upon friend who is roped in to help conceal his friend's affair from his wife, who he in turn is actually having an affair with.
Sound confusing, but really it was just complicated and easy to understand because it was performed so competently.
The Miller Centre players really are worth checking out if you're local and want a good value night out.
There were a couple of slips with the complicated lines, but this did not effect the fast pace necessary for a farce.
Roberto Prestoni was particularly hilarious as the put-upon friend who is roped in to help conceal his friend's affair from his wife, who he in turn is actually having an affair with.
Sound confusing, but really it was just complicated and easy to understand because it was performed so competently.
The Miller Centre players really are worth checking out if you're local and want a good value night out.
26 - Abigail's Party, CODA
I really enjoyed this production by CODA. The performances were very funny and the set, and in particular the costumes, were spot on.
The person I was with did admit to being slightly irritated by the similarity of this production to the film. However as I didn't remember anything about the film this wasn't a problem for me!
It was a shame the audience was a bit sparse in the massive venue. I think the production would have benefited from a smaller theatre which would have made it much easier to create the atmosphere for a single set character piece like this one.
The person I was with did admit to being slightly irritated by the similarity of this production to the film. However as I didn't remember anything about the film this wasn't a problem for me!
It was a shame the audience was a bit sparse in the massive venue. I think the production would have benefited from a smaller theatre which would have made it much easier to create the atmosphere for a single set character piece like this one.
Friday 3 June 2011
25 - Much Ado About Nothing, Wyndhams Theatre
Having spent 6 hours on the booking line trying to get tickets to see David Tennant's Hamlet last year with no success, I was ridiculously excited to get seats to see him and Catherine Tate in Much Ado.
Judging by the audience reactions I wasn't the only one a little bit in love with David Tennant. From the minute he arrived on stage driving a golf buggy, his every word was met with cheers. I thought, that's going to get annoying. However the fans calmed down after a while and we were able to enjoy the play.
And we really did enjoy it. The production is set in gibratar in the 1980's and was full of great culture references from rubix cubes to massive speakers. They occasioanlly were a bit gimmicky but really created the atmosphere.
The best scene in the play came when the men and women split up to go out for a hen night, and stag do before the wedding. It's difficult to create the amosphere of a club on stage but this production really capturd it. The set rotated to reveal scenes from both nights out in turn, from women dancing around their handbags to the men getting lap dances from a stripper culminating in the scene where Don John's leitenant has sex with margaret up against the wall in an alleyway. This graphic representation of a scene which is traditionally left off stage made it easier to sympathise with Claudio, because Margaret was wearing Hero's veil it was very easy to see how he was deceived.
Catherine Tate was very well cast as Beatrice. At times she reverted to comedy faces we recognised from her TV impressions and she did look like a TV actor placed on stage. However her character was believeable, the way she rcited the verse was very accesible and funny and I felt like she held her own.
David Tennant though is a great stage actor. I was prepared to feel a bit sorry for the other actors, particularly those playing Hero and Claudio. But actually it wasn't that they were not famous, they actually didn't have as much stage presence as Tennant.
This was a great production for capturing atmosphere. As well as the night club, there was also the wedding scene, which opened with the chairs being set up and a child just running excitedly round the room. Simple touches like this projected the image of 'family wedding' and made you feel it instantly, a bit like watching a John Lewis advert.
The watchmen were hilarious and really cracked us up. The final great touch was the music: Shakesperian song lyrics set to 80's pop style tunes. Watching the actors dance to 'hey nonny nonny' with Adam Ant dance moves was a joy.
Judging by the audience reactions I wasn't the only one a little bit in love with David Tennant. From the minute he arrived on stage driving a golf buggy, his every word was met with cheers. I thought, that's going to get annoying. However the fans calmed down after a while and we were able to enjoy the play.
And we really did enjoy it. The production is set in gibratar in the 1980's and was full of great culture references from rubix cubes to massive speakers. They occasioanlly were a bit gimmicky but really created the atmosphere.
The best scene in the play came when the men and women split up to go out for a hen night, and stag do before the wedding. It's difficult to create the amosphere of a club on stage but this production really capturd it. The set rotated to reveal scenes from both nights out in turn, from women dancing around their handbags to the men getting lap dances from a stripper culminating in the scene where Don John's leitenant has sex with margaret up against the wall in an alleyway. This graphic representation of a scene which is traditionally left off stage made it easier to sympathise with Claudio, because Margaret was wearing Hero's veil it was very easy to see how he was deceived.
Catherine Tate was very well cast as Beatrice. At times she reverted to comedy faces we recognised from her TV impressions and she did look like a TV actor placed on stage. However her character was believeable, the way she rcited the verse was very accesible and funny and I felt like she held her own.
David Tennant though is a great stage actor. I was prepared to feel a bit sorry for the other actors, particularly those playing Hero and Claudio. But actually it wasn't that they were not famous, they actually didn't have as much stage presence as Tennant.
This was a great production for capturing atmosphere. As well as the night club, there was also the wedding scene, which opened with the chairs being set up and a child just running excitedly round the room. Simple touches like this projected the image of 'family wedding' and made you feel it instantly, a bit like watching a John Lewis advert.
The watchmen were hilarious and really cracked us up. The final great touch was the music: Shakesperian song lyrics set to 80's pop style tunes. Watching the actors dance to 'hey nonny nonny' with Adam Ant dance moves was a joy.
Monday 16 May 2011
24 - London Road, National Theatre
I don't have a lot of time to write a review of this performance so here's a rushed one!
I was really lucky to get a last minute return ticket for this as it seems to be sold out forever and no wonder. It's so refreshing to see something unlike anything I've seen before. London Road is a musical but one presented entirely by a chorus without any specific main characters. The lyrics and all the lines are spoken in that very specific way of talking that a next door neighbour uses when you point a local news camera at them.
It's clever, funny and surprisingly for a production about prostitutes murdered in Ipswich, uplifting. That's because it's not really about the prostitutes who only feature briefly or the murderer Steve Wright who we don't see at all. It's about a very English community bonding over a tragedy, discovering pride they didn't know they had for their area until people on the news started calling it a red light district.
The songs feature catchy refrains including 'Everyone is very very nervous and very uncertain of everything, basically' or 'I've got 17 hanging baskets in this back garden believe it or not' or 'You automatically think 'it could be him' yeah, I'm just gonna, like, cry.' They are by turns hilarious and unsettling.
The characters that emerge are not stereotypes, but they are as recognisable as if they were. They are the bloke next door who dropped your post round, or that woman who Gordon Brown called a bigot on TV. The audience warms to them because they are so clearly people they know, even though we're not told any of their back story or even their names (until a few of them, right at the end when they are announced as the winners of a gardening competition.)
I thought the production would show an overly optimistic view of a community banding together, but it didn't. Some of the community were pleased that the murders had at least driven the prostitutes from the end of their road. Some of them enjoyed seeing their house on TV and followed the trial as if it were a soap opera. As their road is shut off by police, most quickly begin to feel more inconvenienced than shocked or depressed. The whole play is very real, and offers a snapshot into human existence. I love it.
Here's an interview with the playwright:
I was really lucky to get a last minute return ticket for this as it seems to be sold out forever and no wonder. It's so refreshing to see something unlike anything I've seen before. London Road is a musical but one presented entirely by a chorus without any specific main characters. The lyrics and all the lines are spoken in that very specific way of talking that a next door neighbour uses when you point a local news camera at them.
It's clever, funny and surprisingly for a production about prostitutes murdered in Ipswich, uplifting. That's because it's not really about the prostitutes who only feature briefly or the murderer Steve Wright who we don't see at all. It's about a very English community bonding over a tragedy, discovering pride they didn't know they had for their area until people on the news started calling it a red light district.
The songs feature catchy refrains including 'Everyone is very very nervous and very uncertain of everything, basically' or 'I've got 17 hanging baskets in this back garden believe it or not' or 'You automatically think 'it could be him' yeah, I'm just gonna, like, cry.' They are by turns hilarious and unsettling.
The characters that emerge are not stereotypes, but they are as recognisable as if they were. They are the bloke next door who dropped your post round, or that woman who Gordon Brown called a bigot on TV. The audience warms to them because they are so clearly people they know, even though we're not told any of their back story or even their names (until a few of them, right at the end when they are announced as the winners of a gardening competition.)
I thought the production would show an overly optimistic view of a community banding together, but it didn't. Some of the community were pleased that the murders had at least driven the prostitutes from the end of their road. Some of them enjoyed seeing their house on TV and followed the trial as if it were a soap opera. As their road is shut off by police, most quickly begin to feel more inconvenienced than shocked or depressed. The whole play is very real, and offers a snapshot into human existence. I love it.
Here's an interview with the playwright:
Friday 6 May 2011
23 - The Winslow boy, One Off Productions
I really enjoyed the acting performances in this well constructed production.
The play is about the Winslow family. One day the youngest son Ronnie is sent home from the Royal Naval College accused of stealing a postal order. His expulsion and his protests that he didn't commit the crime he was accused of result in his father starting a long legal battle against the college to fight for a fair trial for his son.
The costs of the trial tear the family apart. Ronnie's sister Kate's engagement is in jeopardy, his brother Dickie is forced to drop out of his degree when funds run low and his father's heath rapidly deteriorates leaving him in a bath chair. We are watching someone sacrificing everything so they can stand up for what they believe is right.
The play at times was a little dry and tedious but these moments were dispersed with great displays by the vivid characters which made it all of a sudden a joy to watch. The father, Mr Winslow, was charismatic but not too over the top. He had great comic timing, I particularly enjoyed the scene where he had to discuss with John Watherstone his prospects of marrying Kate which was very funny.
The real star of the show was the actor playing Violet the over famililar maid who the family were 'constantly having to explain to people.' She was I'm afraid too old for the part, the text described her joining them from an orphanage but she seemed far too close in age to Mr and Mrs Winslow. However I'm very glad the company cast her anyway as her interjections were the funniest in the play, particularly her account of the final verdict towards the end.
I also thought the boy playing the young Ronnie Winslow gave a very accomplished performance for his age, his acting was both varied and believable.
The benefit of the play being set all in one room was the company was able to put together an excellent naturalistic set. I did think it was a shame that they chose to have a couple of essential elements of the room invisible on the fourth wall (a bell which Mr Winslow pushed to summon Violet and later the curtains which were discussed at length by a female journalist.) This device didn't fit in with the style of the production and felt a bit like a cop-out. An unnecessary one too: when they had managed to source a gramophone and build French doors surely some fancy curtains would not have proved much of a problem?
On the whole though a very polished production which was a credit to the company. Very well done to all involved.
The play is about the Winslow family. One day the youngest son Ronnie is sent home from the Royal Naval College accused of stealing a postal order. His expulsion and his protests that he didn't commit the crime he was accused of result in his father starting a long legal battle against the college to fight for a fair trial for his son.
The costs of the trial tear the family apart. Ronnie's sister Kate's engagement is in jeopardy, his brother Dickie is forced to drop out of his degree when funds run low and his father's heath rapidly deteriorates leaving him in a bath chair. We are watching someone sacrificing everything so they can stand up for what they believe is right.
The play at times was a little dry and tedious but these moments were dispersed with great displays by the vivid characters which made it all of a sudden a joy to watch. The father, Mr Winslow, was charismatic but not too over the top. He had great comic timing, I particularly enjoyed the scene where he had to discuss with John Watherstone his prospects of marrying Kate which was very funny.
The real star of the show was the actor playing Violet the over famililar maid who the family were 'constantly having to explain to people.' She was I'm afraid too old for the part, the text described her joining them from an orphanage but she seemed far too close in age to Mr and Mrs Winslow. However I'm very glad the company cast her anyway as her interjections were the funniest in the play, particularly her account of the final verdict towards the end.
I also thought the boy playing the young Ronnie Winslow gave a very accomplished performance for his age, his acting was both varied and believable.
The benefit of the play being set all in one room was the company was able to put together an excellent naturalistic set. I did think it was a shame that they chose to have a couple of essential elements of the room invisible on the fourth wall (a bell which Mr Winslow pushed to summon Violet and later the curtains which were discussed at length by a female journalist.) This device didn't fit in with the style of the production and felt a bit like a cop-out. An unnecessary one too: when they had managed to source a gramophone and build French doors surely some fancy curtains would not have proved much of a problem?
On the whole though a very polished production which was a credit to the company. Very well done to all involved.
Tuesday 19 April 2011
22 - Most Drink in Secret, FellSwoop at The Spring
Daisy and I took a bit of a risk and took my little cousin Aiden to see this Checkov adaptation. Checkov is pretty weighty stuff and I didn't want Aiden to be bored. But as this was a young and emerging company I had confidence they would bring something different to The Seagull, and I was right. The performance was fresh, engaging and funny.
This was a three man show with each actor playing 2 or 3 characters. Fiona Mikel was a joy to watch, she differentiated the characters without making them too over the top or stereotypical. Another favourite was Clem Garritty as the hilarious chirpy doctor character who is sleeping with the gloomy Masha.
The introduction of modern music, with characters stepping out of the action and singing into a mic was interesting. I liked the way it broke up the action and added to the atmosphere, the songs were performed beautifully with the other actors playing props as percussion instruments.
I'm not sure the modernisation of the play was entirely successful. I liked that the play had been made into a film and it made it much more believable that Anna would not be sure about how good the final film was even though she was in it having not seen the final cut. However I think more recent political references could have been bought into the conversations about censorship and the arts as sometimes these felt a bit anachronistic where I wasn't sure what was referring to modern Russia and what had simply been taken from The Seagull.
There was great theatricality in the play, the way it looked has clearly been very well blocked and thought out. Clever moments included Garitty holding a drawer to become a chest of drawers, and Fiona Mikel and Bertrand Lesca standing up holding a duvet in front of them and a bedside lamp with the top of it facing the audience, so it was like we were seeing them sleeping in bed from above.
I also liked that they had a live goldfish on stage in a bowl in the centre of the table. It's funny how having a live unpredictable animal on stage, even if it's just a fish, makes a performance seem more spontaneous, lively and keeps the audience rivetted from the start. Particularly after the line 'swear on this fish's life,' I kept glancing back at the fish to check if it was still alive, and thinking how awful it would be if it died during the show.
I'm not entirely sure what the company was hoping to bring to Checkov by adapting it, or whther they wanted to say anything new. Perhaps they were showing that arguments about what is valid as art and what art is for are the same today as they were in 1895. Or perhaps they just borrowed a great story to create an exciting new piece of theatre. Either way this is definately worth a watch, and will transfer to Bristol's Tobacco Factory in June.
This was a three man show with each actor playing 2 or 3 characters. Fiona Mikel was a joy to watch, she differentiated the characters without making them too over the top or stereotypical. Another favourite was Clem Garritty as the hilarious chirpy doctor character who is sleeping with the gloomy Masha.
The introduction of modern music, with characters stepping out of the action and singing into a mic was interesting. I liked the way it broke up the action and added to the atmosphere, the songs were performed beautifully with the other actors playing props as percussion instruments.
I'm not sure the modernisation of the play was entirely successful. I liked that the play had been made into a film and it made it much more believable that Anna would not be sure about how good the final film was even though she was in it having not seen the final cut. However I think more recent political references could have been bought into the conversations about censorship and the arts as sometimes these felt a bit anachronistic where I wasn't sure what was referring to modern Russia and what had simply been taken from The Seagull.
There was great theatricality in the play, the way it looked has clearly been very well blocked and thought out. Clever moments included Garitty holding a drawer to become a chest of drawers, and Fiona Mikel and Bertrand Lesca standing up holding a duvet in front of them and a bedside lamp with the top of it facing the audience, so it was like we were seeing them sleeping in bed from above.
I also liked that they had a live goldfish on stage in a bowl in the centre of the table. It's funny how having a live unpredictable animal on stage, even if it's just a fish, makes a performance seem more spontaneous, lively and keeps the audience rivetted from the start. Particularly after the line 'swear on this fish's life,' I kept glancing back at the fish to check if it was still alive, and thinking how awful it would be if it died during the show.
I'm not entirely sure what the company was hoping to bring to Checkov by adapting it, or whther they wanted to say anything new. Perhaps they were showing that arguments about what is valid as art and what art is for are the same today as they were in 1895. Or perhaps they just borrowed a great story to create an exciting new piece of theatre. Either way this is definately worth a watch, and will transfer to Bristol's Tobacco Factory in June.
Wednesday 13 April 2011
21- Project Snowflake by Sasha C. Damjanovski at Brockley Jack Studio Theatre
As Brockley Jack studio theatre is right near James' house we thought it was high time we checked it out and headed over there to see Project Snowflake.
It's a cracking little theatre with friendly front of house, really comfy seats and an eclectic offering, round the back of a nice bar which looked like it served very tasty food.
Project Snowflake is set in an Orwellian future, year 2060. The main characters Martha and Jeremy work in the Creativy Institute a branch of the government where their lives are tightly controlled. If they do not meet their targets at work they risk losing their jobs, and in Martha's case, her 'baby licence.' Unfortunately for Martha and Jeremy, their target is to turn their invention, a dream recorder, into a dream manipulator which will make the wearer have happy dreams.
The play started off really well, with a scene between the two main characters Martha and Jeremy in which Martha says nothing but read out case reports which Jeremy repeats as he types them into an appropriately futuristic looking computer. We see the relationship develop between the two of them as they bicker, flirt and sulk, all without saying anything other than reading the reports. When they do not work quickly enough an alarm goes off, and when Martha goes to make coffee she displays the cups to a wheeled security camera she takes with her at all times. Jeremy has a personal camera too, as do all the employees, it monitors their work progress and every word. This first scene cleverly introduced the characters and situation without clunky exposition and I really enjoyed it.
There were several examples like this of clever writing. My favourite was a very funny argument between two high up executives in the organisation, where they prefaced every insult they threw at each other with a lengthy disclaimer to say the following statement was their personal view and may not represent the views of their company or department.
The plot of the play could have used some more work, it seemed to cop out at the end without showing any real conclusion which left us feeling dissatisfied. There were a couple of confusing holes in the plot: why did Martha and Jeremy go from typing up reports, administrative work, to working in a lab on the dream recorder? Also one smaller character came on stage without a camera on wheels, seemingly because they didn't have enough of them backstage. Maybe there was reasoning behind that but if so I couldn't spot it.
The play was billed as if it would tackle the moral dilemma of whether it is ethical for the government department to control people's dreams. But this was only briefly mentioned and the main focus was the fate of the two main characters should they fail. This meant we were rooting for them to find a way to build the required machine, which I'm not quite sure was what the playwright intended.
Despite there being some aspects of the play that didn't work, there were some great ideas here, and some very engaging performances. Well worth the fringe ticket price.
It's a cracking little theatre with friendly front of house, really comfy seats and an eclectic offering, round the back of a nice bar which looked like it served very tasty food.
Project Snowflake is set in an Orwellian future, year 2060. The main characters Martha and Jeremy work in the Creativy Institute a branch of the government where their lives are tightly controlled. If they do not meet their targets at work they risk losing their jobs, and in Martha's case, her 'baby licence.' Unfortunately for Martha and Jeremy, their target is to turn their invention, a dream recorder, into a dream manipulator which will make the wearer have happy dreams.
The play started off really well, with a scene between the two main characters Martha and Jeremy in which Martha says nothing but read out case reports which Jeremy repeats as he types them into an appropriately futuristic looking computer. We see the relationship develop between the two of them as they bicker, flirt and sulk, all without saying anything other than reading the reports. When they do not work quickly enough an alarm goes off, and when Martha goes to make coffee she displays the cups to a wheeled security camera she takes with her at all times. Jeremy has a personal camera too, as do all the employees, it monitors their work progress and every word. This first scene cleverly introduced the characters and situation without clunky exposition and I really enjoyed it.
There were several examples like this of clever writing. My favourite was a very funny argument between two high up executives in the organisation, where they prefaced every insult they threw at each other with a lengthy disclaimer to say the following statement was their personal view and may not represent the views of their company or department.
The plot of the play could have used some more work, it seemed to cop out at the end without showing any real conclusion which left us feeling dissatisfied. There were a couple of confusing holes in the plot: why did Martha and Jeremy go from typing up reports, administrative work, to working in a lab on the dream recorder? Also one smaller character came on stage without a camera on wheels, seemingly because they didn't have enough of them backstage. Maybe there was reasoning behind that but if so I couldn't spot it.
The play was billed as if it would tackle the moral dilemma of whether it is ethical for the government department to control people's dreams. But this was only briefly mentioned and the main focus was the fate of the two main characters should they fail. This meant we were rooting for them to find a way to build the required machine, which I'm not quite sure was what the playwright intended.
Despite there being some aspects of the play that didn't work, there were some great ideas here, and some very engaging performances. Well worth the fringe ticket price.
Wednesday 6 April 2011
20 - Ballet Boyz at Sadlers Wells
Not strictly a play but I thought I'd include it as I'm ahead with my 52 plays anyway!
Seeing dance at Sadlers Wells is one of my favourite things to do. It's astounding to see people who are allegedly the same species as you moving in ways that to my mind simply shouldn't be physically possible. I also feel like it's one of London's great opportunities, I don't know anywhere else in the country where you can see such variety and quality of modern dance.
The Ballet Boyz were really impressive. When there were two pairs of them dancing on stage it was as if one pair of them were dancing in front of a mirror. The technical lighting and projections were great too: atmospheric and impressive without distracting from the dance. If I had a criticism it was that they did seem a bit full of themselves, showing a little film about their audition process half way through which didn't add particularly to the performance and made them come across as a bit arrogant. But then if I could dance like that I'd probably want to go on about it too.
Seeing dance at Sadlers Wells is one of my favourite things to do. It's astounding to see people who are allegedly the same species as you moving in ways that to my mind simply shouldn't be physically possible. I also feel like it's one of London's great opportunities, I don't know anywhere else in the country where you can see such variety and quality of modern dance.
The Ballet Boyz were really impressive. When there were two pairs of them dancing on stage it was as if one pair of them were dancing in front of a mirror. The technical lighting and projections were great too: atmospheric and impressive without distracting from the dance. If I had a criticism it was that they did seem a bit full of themselves, showing a little film about their audition process half way through which didn't add particularly to the performance and made them come across as a bit arrogant. But then if I could dance like that I'd probably want to go on about it too.
19 - The Mikado in aid of the Japanese earthquake appeal
More opera! This was a scratch performance in aid of the Japanese earthquake appeal, a brilliant idea. Performers made a contribution to take part and pulled this performance together in just a day, and we went along to see the result in the evening.
The Mikado is a Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera. Despite being set in Japan it is all very English and very funny, contemporary references had been added to some numbers too. I really enjoyed it, not that I'm any judge of singing or orchestras but it all sounded totally lovely. I was really impressed it had all been brought together in one day it was very slick. Also because the event was all very well planned (using the wonders of Facebook) the performers even had simple costumes, everyone in red, white and black, which looked really effective.
The church setting was very dramatic, though sitting near the back for the first act I had difficulty hearing all the words becaus of the reverberation of the sound. We moved to the front in the second half so we could get all the jokes.
The Mikado is a Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera. Despite being set in Japan it is all very English and very funny, contemporary references had been added to some numbers too. I really enjoyed it, not that I'm any judge of singing or orchestras but it all sounded totally lovely. I was really impressed it had all been brought together in one day it was very slick. Also because the event was all very well planned (using the wonders of Facebook) the performers even had simple costumes, everyone in red, white and black, which looked really effective.
The church setting was very dramatic, though sitting near the back for the first act I had difficulty hearing all the words becaus of the reverberation of the sound. We moved to the front in the second half so we could get all the jokes.
18 - The Graduate, CODA at the Ashcroft Theatre, Croydon
There were some strong performances in this production of The Graduate which were a joy to watch. Danielle Lautier was an enigmatic and very sexy Mrs Robinson, perfectly cast. Christopher Rudd was engaging as the young graduate Benjamin who she seduces. His wide ranging performance had the right balance of stuttering insecurity and arrogant rebellion. I also particularly enjoyed David Sanders’ performance as Ben’s father Frank which was very funny.
I quite liked the atmospheric set but there were too many clunky and slow scene changes for me which left me feeling like this hadn’t been an entirely successfully adaptation for the stage. The muted palate of the set also made the scenes very samey especially as the characters spend most of the play sitting about talking nonsense.
They just don’t talk or act like real people these characters, and this is a problem with the play rather than the actors in this production. Elaine seems to impress Ben on their first date with her intelligent and sparkling conversation, but later she’s presented as an unoriginal thinker who has simply acted to please her parents all her life. She finds out her mother has slept with her boyfriend, then hangs around drinking with her all afternoon like a world-weary pragmatist. But she isn’t one, she’s supposed to be a relatively naive young women, who surely would react to the news by locking herself in her room, crying and playing pop music.
These undeveloped characters might work in a novel where their changeability and unrealistic nature might come across as existentialism or surrealism. (I can’t be sure, I haven’t read it.) But in a naturalistically acted play they were just irritating.
It felt a bit like this play had been wheeled out by CODA as an audience-pleaser because it was a popular film and men love to see a sexy cougar. But I was less than pleased, because the play pretended to have something clever to say about the human condition and in the end I don’t think it did. I want to see an experienced and well-established group like CODA in the large Ashcroft theatre give me as an audience member a bit more credit and put on some good plays rather than movie blockbusters please. Let’s have some Checkov next time, or better yet some Brecht.
I quite liked the atmospheric set but there were too many clunky and slow scene changes for me which left me feeling like this hadn’t been an entirely successfully adaptation for the stage. The muted palate of the set also made the scenes very samey especially as the characters spend most of the play sitting about talking nonsense.
They just don’t talk or act like real people these characters, and this is a problem with the play rather than the actors in this production. Elaine seems to impress Ben on their first date with her intelligent and sparkling conversation, but later she’s presented as an unoriginal thinker who has simply acted to please her parents all her life. She finds out her mother has slept with her boyfriend, then hangs around drinking with her all afternoon like a world-weary pragmatist. But she isn’t one, she’s supposed to be a relatively naive young women, who surely would react to the news by locking herself in her room, crying and playing pop music.
These undeveloped characters might work in a novel where their changeability and unrealistic nature might come across as existentialism or surrealism. (I can’t be sure, I haven’t read it.) But in a naturalistically acted play they were just irritating.
It felt a bit like this play had been wheeled out by CODA as an audience-pleaser because it was a popular film and men love to see a sexy cougar. But I was less than pleased, because the play pretended to have something clever to say about the human condition and in the end I don’t think it did. I want to see an experienced and well-established group like CODA in the large Ashcroft theatre give me as an audience member a bit more credit and put on some good plays rather than movie blockbusters please. Let’s have some Checkov next time, or better yet some Brecht.
17 - If Destroyed Still True, Sedated by a Brick at Tobacco Factory Theatre, Bristol
Sedated by a Brick is a performance company featuring Fraisia Dunn, Neil Puttick and Gareth Mayer, who has been my friend since we were both five. Gareth and I have a long-standing agreement to differ on our views of theatre and performance: Gareth thinks I don’t ‘get’ his kind of contemporary performance and I think no one does and people pretend to ‘get it’ because they are pretentious and anyway can’t we just go and see a nice Shakespeare? In the good natured spirit of this long-standing clash of perspectives I hope he won’t mind me reviewing their latest production from my perspective.
All three members of Sedated by a Brick are talented performers and they have a knack for presenting strong imagery on stage. If Destroyed Still True is a classic example of their style: a collision between theatre and performance art. However I felt that it was just missing the most vital elements of both, and reinstating these would turn it into a more powerful theatrical experience.
Theatre is about telling stories. This performance hinted at a story, but didn’t present us with any characters so we were not emotionally involved enough to care. And there were not quite enough hints for us to piece together a story out of the string of vaguely connected images we were shown.
Performance art on the other hand, and actually I think all art, should be about emoting an emotional response from the person watching it or putting across a message or thought of some kind. When I have seen iconic performance art in the past I have felt strongly afterwards: whether disturbed, upset, amused, drained. Here too I don’t think this performance quite succeeds. Because we didn’t have any context for the events or characters, we didn’t know what was happening and couldn’t derive anything from it. An image I particularly liked involved Gareth breathing into the mouth of an inanimate Fraisia who is lying next to Neil with their necks overlapping. Gareth then compresses Fraisia’s chest and this action inflates Neil’s chest. He compresses Neil’s chest and as he breathes out, Fraisia’s chest inflates again. This action seems to imply Gareth is resurrecting the inanimate figures and bringing them back to life, but this conflicts with what he does shortly afterwards- removing their clothes and wrapping Fraisia, Neil and the clothes in bin liners. This left me confused and with the impression that the performance didn’t actually communicate anything.
In the bar afterwards another member of the audience said it a disdaining tone of voice ‘there were a lot of people laughing in the audience.’ I said ‘yeah, it was funny.’ And at many points it was. Whether developing this piece further or working on their next project, Sedated by a Brick should look hard at the audience’s response and build on it. Organic performance like this can’t be about deciding how the audience should respond to something and then, if they react differently, dismissing them as not intelligent enough. Happily Sedated by a Brick are a company that is interested in the audience’s reaction to their work, to the extent that in the foyer after the performance we were invited to react to it by finishing a basis line drawing of a face which was printed on the back of the programme. These were put up on the wall for everyone to see and added to the mood of creativity among the audience who had just emerged. Conversations about interpreting the piece were flying around the bar and I liked the way the performance had provoked discussion among so many different people.
Sedated by a Brick are a talented and experimental group. By polishing their production and feeding from the audience responses they have provoked I think they will continue to develop and produce divisive and challenging work. Go and see their next production and let me know what you think, I’ll be there.
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