Monthly Archives: December 2024

Review – Titanique, Criterion Theatre, London, 27th December 2024

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Titanique sails into London riding the crest of a wave of compliments from its productions off-Broadway, in Australia and in Canada. With a preview schedule almost longer than James Cameron’s original film, and very decently priced seats for the West End, it was the perfect choice for the first show of our post-Christmas London theatre splurge. Talking of the film, we’d never seen it (yes, I know) and decided that we should watch it before seeing this show – and it was the wisest of moves. If you’ve never seen Titanic, Titanique will make little sense. However, if you have seen it, you’ll realise that this is a dream of a parody show that hits the ground (sea?) running and never lets up with its amazing energy and blistering humour for a full 100 minutes and no interval.

The premise is, admittedly, bizarre. Suspend your disbelief and imagine that one of the passengers on the Titanic’s one and only sailing was Canada’s gift to the world of showbusiness, Celine Dion. Let’s face it, it would have been the perfect journey for such a top celeb. Celine takes us through those fateful few days of navigational disaster, introducing us to Rose (Kat Ronney), Jack (Rob Houchen), the ghastly Cal (Jordan Luke Gage), the unsinkable Molly (Charlotte Wakefield) and Rose’s awful mum Ruth (Stephen Guarino).The ship builder, played in the film by Victor Garber, is here played as Victor Garber (played by Darren Bennett); the iceberg, portrayed in the film as an early CGI piece of cellophane, is here represented with much more pizzazz by Layton Williams. We also get to meet Peabo Bryson, Tina Turner, and Luigi from Super Mario, and are treated to several numbers from the Celine Dion playlist, although I can’t recall her version of Who Let The Dogs Out. All very 1912, as I’m sure you’ll agree.

The only thing this show lacks is subtlety; everything else it has in abundance. Adam Wachter’s four-piece band produces more depth, volume and musical brilliance than you can imagine, filling every inch of the intimate setting of the Criterion Theatre. There’s a bright and inviting set, the costumes and lighting are excellent, and the use of props hilarious – we finally get to discover what the original use was for that vital door that eventually carries our heroine Rose to safety (you’ll never guess). And the eight-strong cast all put in an extraordinary performance of commitment, comedy and incredible musicality.

For our performance, Celine Dion was played by understudy Kristina Walz and she is stunning. Her portrayal is so accurate, so mischievous, yet so affectionate too, that La Dion could have been in the room. I’ve never really been that fond of My Heart Will Go On (I’m more of a Think Twice man, personally) but she gave it such power and meaning that I’ve had to change my mind. It’s a brilliant performance. Musically, every single member of the cast gives a truly star performance that it takes your breathaway – Jordan Luke Gage has a superb voice that comes through in every number, Charlotte Wakefield’s All By Myself is stunning and Layton Williams channelling his Tina Turner with an incredible River Deep Mountain High is probably the highlight of the show. Stephen Guarino’s endless bitchy asides as the dreadful Ruth keep you in stitches, but the whole cast perform with such heart and a thrilling enjoyment of what they are doing that you feel yourself tingle with pleasure throughout the show.

Yes, there were one or two punchlines that didn’t quite work but that’s the beauty of an extended preview run, and I am sure that when the show is fully established this will be an unmissable winner. Currently scheduled to run until the end of March, but surely that will be extended. A lethal combination of musical brilliance and comic genius, and I can’t wait to go again.

Five Alive, Let Theatre Thrive!

Review – Cinderella, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 21st December 2024

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The big panto at the Royal and Derngate for Christmas ‘24 is Cinderella, one of the best loved panto stories of all time, and given all the colourful, brash treatment you would expect from Evolution Productions. All the vital elements are there – lots of singing and dancing, vivacious and eccentric costumes, putting the spotlight on one poor bloke in the audience for unwanted advances from the Ugly Sisters (well done to Jamie for taking one for the team), a ghost bench, a favourite children’s TV star, a Fairy Godmother, and of course a happy ending.

One of the joys of a well done panto is its ability to appeal to an audience of all ages. It’s most important that it captivates the children – after all, they are the theatregoers of the future – but it also needs to have plenty in it for the mums and dads. This particular production is heavily targeted at the youngsters, and it’s a pleasure to see how enraptured they are by it, with very noisy audience participation in the singalongs and pointing out the ghosties.

One of the more interesting aspects of this production is how it addresses some stereotyping that you find in every panto – with Muriel the overconfident eight year old stepping in to point out that Cinderella doesn’t need a Prince Charming to be a fully realised woman, and that if she’s cooking and cleaning for her sisters then she’s doing it on her own terms. Cue at least 50% of the audience quietly muttering You Go Gurl under their breath. This Cinderella is not the usual browbeaten drudge who caves in at bullying; rather, she calls it out and challenges the sisters for their outrageous treatment of her. When she tells them that she refuses to cry no matter what they do to her, you realise this is an excellent life lesson for the children to learn and may give confidence to any kids present who are being bullied at school. It’s a shame then, that this message does not follow through; when they later insist that she tears up her invitation to the Royal Ball she rather pathetically complies, instead of telling them to stick their vindictiveness where the sun doesn’t shine. It’s an unfortunate inconsistency in the characterisation.

Our Fairy Godmother, played by Joanne Clifton, is still earning her stripes and she won’t get a magic wand unless she manages to make two people fall in love for who they are rather than for their titles; it’s another interesting modern message, this fairy isn’t merely matchmaking a Prince and Princess. Naturally Ms Clifton brings all her dancing skills to the role, and there are lots of Strictly Come Dancing elements to the show. However, she hasn’t been part of Strictly for eight years now, and with her other stage credits in between, I do wonder how much longer this association remains credible; and despite her enthusiasm, I did feel she struggled to come across to the audience.

Andy Day’s Andini (not Dandini – you can see what they did there) fared better with the hordes of kids who just adore him; he has an excellent role-swapping relationship with his Prince Charming and works through the Barrowful of Puns with Dave Bibby’s Buttons with entertaining aplomb. Mr Bibby is at his best when expressing his unrequited love for Cinderella and how upset he is at the fact that she loves him only as a brother. Gordon Cooper and Matt Daines’ wicked stepsisters are a gruesome twosome who unite vanity and cruelty in equal measure, and their prime victim, Marcavia McCarthy’s Cinderella, has a superb voice and is an excellent match for Marcellus Whyte’s Prince Charming.

But here’s the thing: something about this panto just doesn’t gel properly. Despite all its first-rate elements, it’s one of those occasions when its sum is less than its parts. I don’t think it was the funniest of scripts, at times it seems to move along rather slowly and lacks energy, and I fear some of the characterisations are rather bland. I don’t think I am alone; at the end of the show, when the cast galvanise everyone to get up on their feet and clap along with the final number, hardly anyone did. Nevertheless, there was plenty of enthusiasm from the kids in the audience throughout the show and I’m sure many families went home beaming from ear to ear. It just slightly missed the mark for me.

3-starsThree-sy Does It!

Review – Little Shop of Horrors, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, 19th December 2024

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When I saw that the Sheffield Crucible were staging Little Shop of Horrors as their Christmas musical this year my heart leapt. One of my favourite memories from ever watching a show was the first time I saw LSOH in 1984 at the then named Comedy Theatre in London; I still recall the genuinely terrifying moment at the end when unseen tendrils descended from the roof and gently touched my face and hair without my knowing where they had come from – they gave me the fright of my life!

Forty years on, Amy Hodge brings a new production to the Crucible with its wide open spaces and new challenges as to how to present the show; and the whole team has done a fine job in updating it, with some bold staging decisions which certainly pleased a large percentage of the audience at Thursday’s matinee, but didn’t always sit quite right with me.

But let’s not run before we can walk. I’m sure you know the concept behind Little Shop of Horrors, but just in case… Mushnik’s flower shop on Skid Row is down on its uppers; a dead beat location, an unmotivated staff and Mr Mushnik is just about ready to shut up shop for good, when his assistant Seymour shows him a new plant he’s been cultivating. Its creation coincided with an unexpected total eclipse, which seems to have given it a life of its own. Unfortunately for Seymour, it thrives on blood, and, because it’s his protégé, he feels obliged to feed it a few of his own red drops every day. He calls the plant Audrey II, in honour of his much admired colleague Audrey who doesn’t seem to notice him – she only has time for her sadistic boyfriend who assaults her. However, Audrey II grows, and grows – and becomes celebrated in the neighbourhood, transforming the fortunes of the shop and Mushnik’s income. What could possibly go wrong? You’ll have to come and see the show if you don’t know!

Georgia Lowe has created a very inventive set that combines the destitution of Skid Row with modern digital interfaces as well as the traditional florist shop. I love how the refuse bins at the side of the stage become their own acting spaces – extremely clever! Of course, the big challenge is how to create Audrey II. In the past it has been brought to life purely by means of puppetry and an offstage actor’s voice. But in this production, Audrey II is now performed by an actor, who gradually increases in power and vocality by means of additional mouths and stems, separately animated by other actors.

Despite Sam Buttery’s excellent vocal performance, I simply couldn’t believe in this presentation. Separating the different elements of Audrey II’s body (for want of a better word) so clearly stops us from believing in its being one plant and not several; and seeing Sam Buttery’s face at a relatively early stage in the performance also prevents our own imaginations from working to imagine the increasingly horrific appearance of the plant. Once seen, Audrey II’s identity is fixed in our brains, so there’s no route for her to get scarier, and, despite all the other actors lugging around enormous green shoots and tendrils, you never really get the impression of Audrey II’s overwhelming growth.

The show is clearly set on Skid Row; a distinctly American term for a down-at-heel environment, and the Americanisms of the original show are all still there in full force – prices are given in dollars, and when we see money being handled, it’s undoubtedly American greenbacks. However, Seymour has a pure strong Brummie accent, Orin speaks the Full King’s English, and the chorus of street girls are as London as you can get; in fact, there’s not an American accent anywhere to be heard. Don’t get me wrong; I found it rather refreshing to witness a very British Little Shop of Horrors, but it reveals a huge disconnect between the performance and the material, which just doesn’t feel right.

Fortunately, the performances are extremely good, with some outstanding vocals and characterisations. Wilf Scolding does a terrific job of portraying just how vile Orin is, and he mines all the humour out of the excellent Be a Dentist. Lizzy Rose Esin Kelly, Paige Fenlon and Charlotte Jaconelli give us great harmonies as the Ronette/Chiffon/Crystal girls, and there’s great support from Michael Matus’ Mushnik and indeed the whole talented ensemble.

In the lead roles, Sam Buttery’s powerful voice leaves us in no doubt as to the menace of Audrey II’s appetite, and Colin Ryan’s Seymour is nicely nerdy, like a green-fingered IT specialist. Georgina Onuorah is sensational as Audrey, with a stunning voice and a powerful, emotional delivery. It says a lot for their performances that, despite all the high energy, flashy dancing and big rocky numbers, the two stand-out moments were Ms Onuorah’s fantastic Somewhere That’s Green in the first Act and her shared Suddenly Seymour with Mr Ryan in the second. For me, these heartfelt, plaintive performances really blew the rest of the show out of the water.

One can only admire the creativity and inventiveness that went into bringing this show to the stage, and the audience went wild for it. Remember – always stick to regular plant food, much the safest way. Little Shop of Horrors is on at the Crucible until 18th January.

 

4-starsFour They’re Jolly Good Fellows!

Review – Snow White, Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield, 18th December 2024

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Whilst there are ravens at the Tower of London, a debate about whether it’s cream or jam first, and leaves on the line bring the country to a standstill, you know that Damian Williams will appear as the Dame at the Sheffield Lyceum panto. This year his Nurse Nellie crops up in Snow White, a fairytale known for its important role of a fat bloke in a dress. (It isn’t really, but when did that matter?)

There’s always a huge buzz of anticipation for this annual treat as the packed audience look forward to ticking off each of the elements that they love and know will entertain them throughout the show. From the Bring Me Sunshine introduction, to selecting Nellie’s new boyfriend from the audience, to becoming a member of Muddles’ gang, to the ghost/bench scene, to Damian trying to make Prince Charming corpse, and of course ending up with a big wedding celebration, Snow White is full of the usual joys of the Christmas season, delivered with heart and commitment, and always extremely funny.

Heading the cast this year is Coronation Street’s Catherine Tyldesley, bringing a rather elegant villainy to the role of the Wicked Queen, and astounding us all with her sensational voice. Marc Pickering also returns as Henchman Herman, having given us his Luke Backinanger in Jack and the Beanstalk two years ago.His dream (this year) is to perform as Elton John; no surprises then, as to the nature of the big finale number. Matthew Croke and Aoife Kenny provide a terrific musical pairing as Prince Charming and Snow White, George Akid’s Muddles keeps us all shouting at him on his every appearance, and there’s some unexpected fun in the form of Quang Luong’s Henchman Viper – the Gladiator hero of the same name.

Dean Whatton’s Sarge leads a very entertaining and musical “Seven”; I particularly liked Binde Singh Johal’s rather cynical Kevin, who, at the realisation that Snow White has died (she hasn’t really, kids) just says “ah well, takeaway tonight lads”.There’s an additional member of the cast when the irrepressibly energetic musical director James Harrison – I’ll have what he’s having – joins the regulars for the bench sketch.

But it’s Damian Williams whom we’re all here to see, and once again he comes up trumps with a hilarious and punchy performance, outrageously dressed throughout, never missing an opportunity to plug this year’s sponsors, Henderson’s Relish – there are even special Damian bottles of Hendo’s with his face on, that’s how established in the Sheffield scene he is. My favourite gag this year mentioned Yakult as part of the punchline, but I won’t spoil it for everyone else.

My only quibble with this year’s production is that the amplification of the superb four-piece band was so powerful that there was a little distortion and I couldn’t always make out the lyrics to the big songs. But rest assured we have already secured our tickets for Aladdin next year. I think you should too!

4-starsFour They’re Jolly Good Fellows!

Review – Twelfth Night, RSC at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 17th December 2024

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What could be more festive than a Christmas production of Shakespeare’s perennial favourite, Twelfth Night, with its separated twins, foppish companion, cross-garter’d steward and – naturally – a girl dressed as a boy. It simply wouldn’t be Christmas without it. This is one of Shakespeare’s most robust comedies, able to survive the slings and arrows of outrageous directorial decisions, always bouncing back again in rude health for another production.

ViolaAny outrageous decisions made by director Prasanna Puwananarajah fully emphasise his vision to set it in an indistinct but modern era and give it a yuletide boot up the backside with some superbly inventive comedy to set against the darker aspects of the plot, whilst still staying pretty much faithful to the original. And one of the ways in which this production stands out is the ease with which it flips from hilarity to darkness with a truly deft sense of balance.

Orsino and CesarioIt can be very tempting to overlook the cruelty and sadness that lurks beneath the surface of this play. The twins individually mourn the supposed loss of their sibling. Disloyalty and pretence abound; if you’re not part of the in-crowd, you’re definitely out. Sir Toby and Maria may head up their own clique when it comes to fooling Aguecheek or bullying Malvolio, but when it comes to the crunch, they don’t have any real power and get swatted down by Olivia like flies to wanton boys (wrong play, but you get my gist.)

AntonioNowhere is this clearer than with the pure decency of the character of Antonio, who gives up everything simply to serve Sebastian; bewildered by his master’s apparent denials, he is left with the bitter realisation that his generosity has been cruelly abused. And even Malvolio has feelings; he may be a puritanical killjoy, but the revenge that’s meted out on him by Olivia’s household crosses the boundary from playful teasing to outright cruelty. It’s the moment when Shakespeare becomes such a great comic writer that he bears comparison with Ayckbourn. (see end)

OliviaAnother stand-out aspect of the production is its sheer honesty and credibility. There’s not one caricature nor over-the-top characterisation; every member of the cast delivers a truly believable performance, and every situation the production presents us is recognisable and makes complete sense, despite often appearing side-by-side with something theatrically magical. Some small examples: the priest is definitely the kind of person who would drink from an I Heart Jesus mug. This particular Olivia, when trying to impress Cesario on their first meeting, would definitely castigate themselves afterwards for their idiotic use of language – What is your parentage? What was I thinking!!  Orsino’s court appears to be 100% staffed by gay men who dance together – it isn’t questioned, nor does it have to be. It just is. And it helps make sense of his initial attraction to Cesario.

FesteAnd it is genuinely thrilling to see the character of Feste, so often an awkward character to get right, brought to the fore as arguably the most central character of the entire play. He blends perfectly with all the technical aspects of the production, outlandishly dressed in one of James Cotterill’s more ridiculous costumes, magically appearing from the sky, and either manipulating or being manipulated by Zoe Spurr’s fantastic lighting design and George Dennis’ sound design. He sings Matt Maltese’s musical settings of those difficult Shakespearean songs with such genuine emotion that you want to listen to them carefully rather than – as with most Shakespearean songs – just looking forward to the moment they stop and the play can carry on.

Organ PipesAnd I haven’t mentioned the set; dominated, for the most part, by an enormous organ, with pipes so big you can hide behind, magically controlled by Feste seemingly bringing it forward and back with the power of his own summoning arms. It also provides the perfect joke when Orsino and his men arrive at Olivia’s house bearing the gift of an organ; their shock at the size of the one already installed requires their measly offering to be shunted unceremoniously offstage in embarrassment. You’ve never seen Organ Envy like it.

MalvolioGwyneth Keyworth gives us a very earnest and no-nonsense Viola, holding her own with the likes of the Duke and Olivia, convincingly portraying both a girlish boy and a boyish girl that neither can resist. Freema Ageyman has a tremendous stage presence and her Olivia is a dream of a performance, conveying all the anger and frustration of her initial state of mourning, but quickly becoming foolishly besotted in love, whilst retaining her absolute authority over her wayward household.

Sir TobyBally Gill adds another superb portrayal to his growing list of Shakespearean successes, with a very human Duke Orsino, his measured superiority tempered by a hint of fallibility and foolishness. Joplin Sibtain’s Sir Toby is the very credible drunk uncle we all recognise from family weddings; not simply a fat fool but a mischief maker who doesn’t know when to stop until it’s too late. Demetri Goritsas portrays his companion Sir Andrew not as a vacuous fop but as an easily fooled wannabe hero who lacks any of the required depth or courage to achieve his ambitions.

CastDanielle Henry is a splendidly meddlesome Maria, delighting in taking charge of the below-stairs subterfuge; Norman Bowman plays Antonio as an altruistic soul who needs someone to follow, and Rhys Rusbatch’s Sebastian is the perfect recipient for his affection – a plain-talking, fearless type who’s more than capable of looking after himself in a fight and can’t believe his luck when Olivia mistakes him for Cesario.

FesteMichael Grady-Hall brings all his amazing clowning skills to a fantastic physically comic performance as Feste, with split-second precise timing, a wonderful rapport with the audience, and a broodingly haunting singing voice. By contrast, Samuel West invests Malvolio with a fittingly wheedling, whiny voice; a quietly judgmental nuisance who casts a shadow over any good mood until he falls for Maria and Sir Toby’s deception, which allows his true self to burst forth with a mixture of lasciviousness and misplaced self-confidence. Like all the best Malvolios, when he is humiliated and destroyed at the end, you truly feel sorry for him and have nothing but contempt for his tricksters. It’s a magnificent and memorable performance.

MalvolioThe show lasts a few minutes short of three hours but it’s so enjoyable and entrancing that it barely feels like two. One of those longed-for productions where every single aspect dovetails perfectly, creating a hugely rewarding experience. One of the best RSC productions in years, make sure you see it at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre before it closes on 18th January 2025.

P. S. Only one aspect of the production befuddled me – what was all that stuff about painting the sides of the set? First Fabian, then Feste? Answers on a postcard please, to Outrageous Directorial Decisions, PO Box 99, Illyria.

P. P. S. I love the work of Alan Ayckbourn, but you do realise that was tongue-in-cheek, don’t you?

Production photos by Helen Murray

Five Alive, Let Theatre Thrive!

Review – My Fair Lady, Curve Theatre, Leicester, 4th December 2024

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Artistic Director of the Curve Theatre, Nikolai Foster, has assembled a tremendous cast and team to present this year’s Curve Christmas show, that perennial favourite, My Fair Lady. Mr Foster has the ability to take a much-loved show and breathe fresh life into it, whether it needs it or not. His touring production of Grease was one of the highlights of this year, ironing out all the excesses that have become attached to it since it first appeared in the 70s by going back to the original. His hugely successful production of A Chorus Line from 2021, revived this summer, brought Zach the choreographer closer to the action and created a masterpiece of a finale; but also had the immensely annoying (and anachronistic) hand-held camera which destroyed the visual effect of many of the routines. So what will Mr Foster do to put his mark on (in my humble opinion) Lerner and Loewe’s finest two-and-a-half hours?

Answer: many things, and some of them work and some of them don’t. This My Fair Lady is presented on a truly grand scale. The Curve stage is a big place at the best of times, but Michael Taylor’s set is off the scale. The front door to Henry Higgins’ Wimpole Street home is located on a curve (no pun intended) round to furthest downstage left so that it’s aligned with row D of the stalls. The entrance to the pub is opposite, furthest downstage right. Higgins’ room has two staircases going up, creating additional acting space on landings way up high; and parts in the middle to open up and reveal further space way, way upstage. This production is nothing if not big.

However, some of this defies any environmental logic. For example, hopelessly in love Freddy waits outside the front door to catch a glimpse of Eliza whenever she leaves the house – but when she goes off to the ball with Higgins and Pickering she leaves through the upstage part of the set – thereby avoiding the front door where we can clearly see Freddy still pining. Surely they didn’t use the tradesmen’s entrance?

And that front door…. Sigh! Every time someone leaves Higgins’ room, there’s a fifteen second pause from when they exit the stage to their going in or out of the front door. That’s a front door with a very noisy slam. The noise creates a disturbance that takes your attention away from whatever is happening on stage. If it’s just a simple conversation, well, you can overlook it. But – for example – Mrs Pearce leaving Eliza to perform the luscious second chorus of I Could Have Danced All Night with a rotten great door slam in the middle of it is simply unforgivable. If you must have that front door, please fix a silent closing mechanism!

In fact, this production is a good example of revealing when less is more, and an over-egged pudding can be detrimental to the overall effect. Not a word of criticism for George Dyer’s splendid band but the music is simply over-orchestrated. Not only is it too loud and drowns out much of the singing, but it’s somehow just too detailed and full-on. An odd criticism of a musical I know, but frankly this production just has too much music. Too many notes, as Salieri says of Mozart in Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus.

This is often emphasised by the performance of David Seadon-Young as Higgins. Mr Seadon-Young is a great singer. Boy, can he whack out a number! He’s about as diametrically opposite of Rex Harrison as you could imagine, who talked his way through all his songs. When I think back of previous Higgins’ that I’ve seen on stage – Tony Britton at the Adelphi, Alex Jennings at Drury Lane – they adopted the largely talking style of performance. Only Dominic West at the sensational Sheffield Crucible production in 2013 did “proper” singing. But David Seadon-Young has musical theatre coursing through his veins and achieves notes and melodies that I never realised lurked beneath the surface of songs like Why Can’t the English or I’m an Ordinary Man. However, it often feels like a battle between him and the orchestra to nail the number rather than them working in tandem. Whilst I’m in the mood for criticism, the Ascot Gavotte is also overdone; Mrs Higgins’ over-the-top companions were pantomime posh and the horses – jockeys on hobby-horse toys – were just plain silly.

But – there are many directorial decisions that work extremely well. Stressing Pickering’s Indian associations, with both his domestic attire and his super-smart society ball costume, works perfectly with Minal Patel’s subtle and entertaining performance. And by characterising him as having a real mancrush on Higgins – perhaps even a little more than that – really makes sense. I’ve never understood in previous productions why Pickering is so attached to Higgins and the elocution process, in which he doesn’t really play an active role. But if he’s besotted with him, then it all falls into place.

There’s no hiding the brutality of the treatment of Eliza – we’ve always known the misogyny is there and that Higgins is a spoilt brat when it comes to his mistreatment of Eliza; but it’s very firmly emphasised in this production, frequently making you feel uncomfortable. It’s superbly presented in You Did It, where Eliza’s elation at her success at the ball progressively diminishes from her expression as Higgins and Pickering celebrate and congratulate each other and all the household staff without ever a word or a glance at her. This younger, super-indulged Higgins comes across as despicable in many ways, which is an interesting challenge for the audience. However, (spoilers, and all that) David Seadon-Young’s excellent characterisation reveals him to be, like all bullies, a pathetic wretch when confronted; and his rendition of I’ve Grown Accustomed to her Face ends with him curled up and bawling his eyes out as he realises that he’s driven away the only person who could ever love him. It’s incredibly moving. It does, nevertheless, make you question exactly why this Eliza, a shrewd, intelligent, confident young woman, decides to take him back. Looking to the future, I can’t see that this relationship is going to last.

Steve Furst is a very enjoyable Alfred P Doolittle, nicely manipulative and full of comedy; his leading the ensemble in With a Little Bit of Luck is certainly a highlight of the show. Djavan van de Fliert is thoroughly convincing as the useless but engaging Freddy, taking full control of the iconic On the Street Where You Live, as well as his silent but excellent physical comedic reactions to Eliza’s rendition of Show Me, for me possibly the most effective staging of any song in the show, perhaps due to its relative simplicity. There’s excellent support from Sarah Moyle as Mrs Pearce and Cathy Tyson as Mrs Higgins, both beacons of sense in a very mad world.

But Molly Lynch as Eliza is undoubtedly the star of the show, with her immaculate singing, precise diction and emotional characterisation. The packed audience were completely engaged in the performance throughout and gave it a very positive reaction; and My Fair Lady will be a welcome Christmas present from the Curve until 4th January 2025.

4-starsFour They’re Jolly Good Fellows!

The Points of View Challenge – The Stone Boy – Gina Berriault

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Gina Berriault (1926 – 1999)

American novelist and short story writer, best known for her novels and The Stone Boy.

The Stone Boy was written in 1957, was adapted as a television play in 1960, then published in the collection The Mistress and Other Short Stories in 1965, and then in her 1996 collection Women in their Beds. Berriault also adapted the story into a screenplay for a film of the same name in 1984.

Available to read online here.

This is the fourth of eight stories in the volume Points of View to be given the style classification by Moffett and McElheny of Biography, or Anonymous Narration – Single Character Point of View. Their introduction continues: “The reader sees the world as that chosen person sees it, but he also understands it as the author does, for the hidden narrator is paraphrasing what the character thinks as well as commenting directly.”

Spoiler alert – if you haven’t read the story yet and want to before you read the summary of it below, stop now!

 

The Stone Boy

Nine year old Arnold Curwing wakes up in the farmhouse bedroom he shares with his fifteen year old brother Eugie. They’re going out to pick peas before breakfast. With any luck, they’ll shoot some ducks too, even though it’s out of season. When they go out, he takes his .22 Winchester rifle with him. They make their way through the wheat field down to the lake where the ducks live. There’s a wire fence that they have to crawl through, so Eugie pulls the centre wire down so they can go into the pasture. Arnold is halfway through the fence when his rifle catches on the wire. He tugs at it to free it, and a shot rings out. He expects Eugie to deride his stupidity, but Eugie is silent, having fallen forward onto the earth. Blood emerges from the neck of his motionless, dead brother.

All Arnold can do is continue with the plan to collect peas, and he half fills the tin washtub they brought with them. When he arrives home, he knows he’ll have to explain why Eugie isn’t with him. ““Eugie’s dead,” he told them.” His parents and sister Nora go out to investigate whilst Arnold sneaks off to hide in the hayloft. He can hear the shrieks of grief, the car driving off in a hurry, and his father’s return along with his Uncle Andy and Aunt Alice.

Arnold is driven to the sheriff’s office in Corinth, where they ask him about what happened. He answers their questions calmly, emotionlessly and straightforwardly. Whilst they understand that it was an accident, they can’t understand why he didn’t immediately run back to his parents to tell them. “”I come down to pick peas,” he said. “Didn’t you think, asked the sheriff, stepping carefully from word to word, “that is was more important for you to go tell your parents what had happened?” “The sun was gonna come up,” Arnold said. “What’s that got to do with it?” “It’s better to pick peas while they’re cool.””

Arnold and his family are allowed to return home. After work, the neighbours arrive, recounting memories of Eugie, quizzically wondering about Arnold and his reaction to what happened. But Arnold stays silent, and assumes that he must be a bad person because, clearly, everyone else thinks he is a bad person. Later on he tries to open up to his mother but she, in her grief, rejects him. The next morning, however, she asks him if he had tried to speak to her the previous night. ““What’d you want?” she asked humbly. “I didn’t want nothing,” he said flatly. Then he went out the door and down the back steps, his legs trembling from the fright his answer gave him.””

Beautifully under-written by Berriault, she quietly tells us about this grim event in a colourless, hard-working environment. The power of this work is in the contrast between the devastating events of the story and the emotionless reaction of Arnold and, indeed, the matter-of-fact manner of the narration. Understanding Arnold’s character is key to appreciating the story as a whole. When we first meet him, he is taking one of the few opportunities he has of asserting himself over the superiority of his big brother; by waking up first, and shaking Eugie from his sleep, he is in command of the early morning situation.

As soon as Eugie takes control of his own day, Arnold must return to taking a back seat. “Eugie passed his left hand through his hair before he set his cap down with his right. The very way he slipped his cap on was an announcement of his status […] Arnold never tired of watching Eugie offer silent praise unto himself. He wondered, as he sat enthralled, if when he got to be Eugie’s age he would still be undersized and his hair still straight.” The only superiority Arnold can muster over Eugie is possession of his rifle. It was old, and no one else used it or wanted it anymore. Yet, at the age of nine, Arnold is fully competent to load the gun with cartridges, and he has the power to kill ducks as he wishes.

With his stultifyingly logical mind and willingness to answer the exact question he is given, rather than see through a question to understand the motivation behind it, today we would probably venture Arnold to be neurodivergent. A good example of this is when the sheriff asks Arnold if he and Eugie were “good friends”. He’s trying to identify if there could be any rift or disagreements between the two brothers. But Arnold can’t answer that because of course they weren’t friends, they were brothers. They’re different things. He can’t intuit what the sheriff is getting at.

At the time of writing, there was no such concept as “neurodivergence”. At the end of his short interview with Arnold, the sheriff tells his father and Andy “he’s either a moron or he’s so reasonable that he’s way ahead of us […] the most reasonable guys are mean ones. They don’t feel nothing.” Clearly, it’s the sheriff’s view that Arnold will return to his attention in a few years’ time; he expects him to continue a life of crime. That’s not Arnold’s view of his own life at all; but he is shocked at himself when he can’t bring himself to open up about his brother’s death.

A fascinating and disturbing read, not only illustrating how a simple incident can accidentally bring catastrophic results, but also showing how shock can compound an inability to communicate.

The next story in the anthology is the fifth to be classified by Moffett and McElheny as Biography, or Anonymous Narration – Single Character Point of View, Enemies by Anton Chekhov.