Category Archives: Theatre

Review – Backstairs Billy, Duke of York’s Theatre, London, 27th December 2023

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Every year for the last ten years – apart from in 2020, *obvs* – we’ve taken a trip to the capital for a few nights between Christmas and New Year to take in some shows and hit the London sales. And our first target of the 2023 season was Marcelo Dos Santos’ Backstairs Billy, a refreshingly amusing couple of hours spent in the company of the Queen Mother, her faithful servant and a couple of racing corgis. Dos Santos’ Feeling Afraid as if Something Terrible is Going to Happen was one of the big hits of 2022’s Edinburgh Fringe so I was keen to see some more of his work.

William Tallon – or Billy to his friends – was recruited into the Royal Household at the age of fifteen, and twenty-seven years later became Page of the Backstairs in Clarence House, a position he held until the Queen Mother’s death in 2002. The play is primarily set in 1979, and we see Billy taking complete charge of the minutiae of the Queen Mother’s daily living – her entertaining guests, her planning her day, her deciding what to eat, and so on. We also see how he gets on with the Queen Mother’s secretary (not very well) and other members of staff over whom he holds great sway. It’s a way of life that works well for both page and royal, but when a gentleman caller by the name of Ian becomes something of a tricky overnight guest, relations with the QM also get a little strained.

It’s an enjoyable play with nicely drawn characters – even the minor ones – that makes you both laugh and – not quite cry, but you do feel sadness coming through from time to time. It escalates to some moments of unexpected and delightful farce, such as when an artwork, which is unmistakably a dildo, keeps cropping up in unwanted and royal hands. Ian masquerading as the Prince of Lesotho provides a very funny scene of mistaken identity which is played beautifully. And there’s also a very poignant scene with the ageing Lady Adeline who can’t understand where Bertie has gone, much to everyone’s nicely handled awkwardness.

But this isn’t all just drawing-room comedy; there is a dark side to the play, which I didn’t feel was either fully believable or comfortable to watch. The Queen Mother has her own way of taking Billy down a peg or two and showing him who’s boss. When his gay escapades start to intrude on the integrity and indeed security of the Royal Household, and she appears publicly to disapprove of his wanton sexual behaviour, she punishes him with a pretty revolting task designed purely to humiliate him. However, we’ve already seen her when they were both younger, back in 1952, when Billy first came into her service, encouraging him to wear a Royal tiara and necklace and to explore in his gayness. In modern parlance, she groomed him; and there’s a significant disconnect between her treatment of Billy then and in 1979. If this is meant to show that her own attitudes to homosexuality have changed over the years, it doesn’t work; it comes across as simply inconsistent.

You can absolutely believe that we are in the Garden Room at Clarence House with Christopher Oram’s stunning set – immaculately tasteful and regal, and with a huge amount of consideration going into the positions of the floral bouquets. Tom Rand’s costumes for the Queen Mum are elegant, practical and are precisely how you would expect her to have dressed at home. In fact, all aspects of the production are superbly done.

Penelope Wilton leads the cast as the Queen Mother and it’s a role in which she revels. You get the feeling that the QM is so used to public life that she never really has a private moment in which to be herself; it’s a delicate, measured, considered portrayal, with no words ever out of place or wrongly delivered, even when she’s talking to herself. And of course Dame Penelope has terrific timing that beautifully exploits all the comic possibilities of the script. She is matched by Luke Evans as Billy, an imposing, authoritative stage presence who flips perfectly from being the respectful servant to the intimidating boss with ease, and always with a touch of flamboyance.

Iwan Davies is excellent as new household recruit Gwydion, all nervous hunched shoulders and painfully out of his depth, Ian Drysdale is also superb as the no-nonsense secretary Mr Kerr, always on hand to reprimand Billy for any misjudgements, and there are great supporting performances from all the cast, especially Eloka Ivo as the unpredictable Ian and Ilan Galkoff as the wet-behind-the-ears but keen young Billy.

A crowd-pleaser of a show that looks absolutely perfect in all respects and tickles our memories and any preconceptions we may have had of the Queen Mother, more than twenty years after her death. Terrific performances, and Mr Dos Santos is rapidly becoming a playwright to seek out.

 

 

4-starsFour They’re Jolly Good Fellows!

Review – Beauty and the Beast, Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield, 16th December 2023

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There’s something about the Sheffield pantomime that simply beats the competition. Whether it’s the presence of the redoubtable Damian Williams as the dame, or the uniquely excited audience who know precisely what is expected of them, or the history of variety that seeps through the very brick of the theatre itself, I haven’t a clue. What’s je ne sais quoi in South Yorkshire speak? Summat in t’watter?

This year’s Evolution Productions show is Beauty and the Beast, not a story I particularly associate with panto, but it works very well despite some obvious differences with most other examples of the genre. There’s no wicked queen; Nightshade has cast her evil spell long before Curtain Up. There’s no vulnerable, put-upon sad young princess; our Belle is a fighter who knows her own mind and no Beast is going to scare her. In a twist to the usual panto ending where a Prince Charming has to kiss a sleeping princess to break the spell, in Beauty and the Beast it’s the young girl who has to profess love to the man to get the same result. Sexual equality in Pantoland?

As you would expect, the production is full of top quality elements that make your fingertips tingle with pleasure. Great music from Uncle Alex Turney and his band scattered around all four of the Lyceum boxes, lively costumes and sets, enjoyable choreography from Sarah Langley, and a script by Paul Hendy that is jam-packed with humour.

There are – of course – the barrow of puns, the haunted bench, and Madame Fillop’s search for a new boyfriend in the audience. For our performance that special honour went to Jim, who played along with the fun perfectly, and who donned the required blonde wig and pink outfit to make him look like Ken to La Fillop’s Barbie. When he came up to the front to do the final routine with Philippe, he looked for all the world like Rod Stewart.

And then there are the performances, each of which bring their own special magic to the proceedings. Bessy Ewa is Belle, full of courage and a sense of fun; she’s also terrific at the song and dance, and really brings the character to life. Jennie Dale plays Cupid – the equivalent of the Fairy Godmother in this show – an ebullient presence of kindness and mischief. Max Fulham is superb as Phillipe, with his sidekick monkey, Gordon; as well as getting himself absolutely soaked with sloppy cake ingredients, he proves himself to be a pretty versatile ventriloquist too.

Damian Williams is, as always, the embodiment of the fat bloke in a dress, outrageously sending up every scene and everyone he shares the stage with, and flagrantly exploiting his matchless connection with the audience. It just wouldn’t be the same without him. Duncan James nails the sexual arrogance of Danton, every girl’s dream, not to mention some of the chaps’; fobbing off implications that he’s H from Steps, or that all Blue’s songs sound the same.As you would expect, he carries off many of the big numbers in the show with his terrific presence and voice, and brings a lot of humour to the proceedings. For the adults, there’s an unexpected and very amusing nod to bi-visibility at the end of the show that had me in hysterics. The six members of the ensemble all give excellent support as disparate villagers, marauding wolves and the Beast’s household.

But I had no idea that I would be so moved by the performance of Aidan Banyard as the Beast/Prince Henri. Singing Queen’s Somebody to Love with existential anguish, bemoaning his fortune in the drenching rain,pouring his heart into You Will Be Found, he has a superb presence and an astounding voice. Mr Banyard is going places – or he should be.

This panto is the crème de la crème. You’ve got till 7th January to see it; and we’re already booked for Snow White next December.

 

 

Five Alive, Let Theatre Thrive!

Review – White Christmas, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, 16th December 2023

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Our regular Christmas visit to the Sheffield Theatres has already come upon us, as Mrs Chrisparkle and I took Lord and Lady Prosecco up the M1 for the usual two-show feast of fun. The panto would have to wait until the evening but at 2pm we were part of a sold out audience to see Paul Foster’s production of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.

Yes, this old war horse comes around every Christmas, and everyone knows it off by heart. Everyone, that is, except me, who had never seen it before and knew nothing about it apart from its rather well known title song.  Because it’s such a hardy perennial, I have always thought there’d be another opportunity to catch it next year; and therefore still haven’t. So don’t ask me how similar it is to the film because I haven’t a clue.

Although the plot is wafer-thin, the show itself radiates feelgood warmth, and I’m not surprised people keep coming back to it year after year. Bob and Phil are talented military entertainers during the war and enjoy a successful showbiz career afterwards. After auditioning the Haynes sisters to join their act, Phil falls head over heels with Judy Haynes but Bob and Betty Haynes don’t have that initial chemistry. The boys follow the girls to an engagement in a hotel in Vermont, which they are amazed to discover is owned by General Waverly who was their commanding officer during the war. The hotel is losing money fast, but can the talents of Phil, Bob, Judy and Betty turn its fortunes around? And will Bob and Betty find the same love that Phil and Judy seem to have?

Like Kiss Me Kate, much of the show is based on preparing and rehearsing another show; they didn’t quite use the phrase hey why don’t we do the show right here in the barn, but it was a close thing. A side effect of this structure is that you can insert songs into the show that don’t have anything to do with its natural flow. That’s one of my pet hates, because it tends towards creating a stop-start show, rather than flowing organically.

However, unlike Kiss Me Kate, which must be one of the world’s best ever musicals, although White Christmas has a few fantastic songs, there are also some numbers that are slightly underpowered. In addition,  Let Me Sing and I’m Happy and How Deep is the Ocean were both originally written for Al Jolson in the 1930s; Let Yourself Go is from the musical Follow the Fleet, Happy Holiday from Holiday Inn, and I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm is from On the Avenue. Of the great songs in the show, only Sisters is originally from White Christmas, so there’s been a fair deal of pilfering and plundering from the Irving Berlin songbook of other shows to create this production.

When I saw that the choreography was by Alistair David, I knew we would be in for a dancing treat as his is the safest pair of jazz hands regularly contributing to the Crucible shows. Exhilarating, expressive and always using the maximum space that the stage allows, there are some terrific set piece dance sequences, probably none finer than the opening to the second act with I Love a Piano. Alex Parker’s richly proportioned orchestra whacks out the tunes with gusto and enthusiasm, and Janet Bird’s designs have a splendid period feel.

George Blagden and Stuart Neal are superb as the two army hoofers; Mr Neal in particular steals the show with his ebullient tap routine. Natasha Mould and Grace Mouat give fine performances as the two “devoted sisters” Judy and Betty, and there is solid support from the always fantastic Danny Collins as Sheldrake and Ewen Cummins as Waverly. At our performance,young Susan was played by ten-years-old Renee Elliott-Latif and she was fantastic. But it’s Sandra Marvin whose performance as Martha leaves you wanting more, with her wonderful comic timing and powerfully emotional voice.

I have to admit to being a little underwhelmed by the show itself, but it’s a top quality production and performed to the highest standard throughout. And it’s going to pack out the Crucible right up until its final performances on 13th January!

 

4-starsFour They’re Jolly Good Fellows!

Review – The Fair Maid of the West, Royal Shakespeare Company at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 12th December 2023

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There’s a moment near the beginning of Isobel McArthur’s updating of Thomas Heywood’s The Fair Maid of the West where a character picks up a copy of Heywood’s original text and points out that nothing you will see on stage tonight will ever change it, and he places it down out of harm’s way. For all you purists out there, be assured that the original remains safe and sound, ready to be performed on another day as its author intended, for time immemorial. And that’s a good lesson to learn where it comes to modernised versions of plays written centuries ago. But it does lead on to the question, where does a quirky modernised adaptation end and completely taking leave of your senses begin?

CastMind you, I do believe that there’s no point doing a cover version of a song unless you’re going to make it your own. Why go to all the bother just to emulate the way it was first recorded? You may as well simply enjoy the original. Isobel McArthur ran with that concept with the immensely successful Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort of), and now she’s done it again with a work that isn’t so well known as the Jane Austen, so has taken all the liberties with it that a free rein will allow.

The Open ArmsStrictly speaking, the show starts in the Swan Bar, half an hour before Curtain Up, where three talented musicians armed with their instruments and a tankard of ale, recreate a true pub atmosphere – and we’re talking spit and sawdust here, rather than gastropub. They are joined by members of the cast who contribute an appropriate karaoke number, and by the time you take your seats in the theatre you feel really warmed up by the whole process. So do make sure you don’t miss this additional element to the show.

Fair MaidDesigner Ana Inés Jabares-Pita has done wonders recreating three different types of pub establishment for the three main scenes of the production. You can almost smell the stale slops of Mild in the opening Plymouth scene; a warmer, smarter experience awaits us in the Cornwall pub; and by the time we get to the Spanish taberna you’re salivating for Jamón ibérico y Pedro Ximénez. It’s very much a production that appeals to all the senses.

A proposalThe story is fairly straightforward. Set in time of war with Spain, landlady Liz rejects a marriage proposal from Spencer – rich, but a drip and she barely knows him – and before you know it, a pub brawl has ended in murder and Liz has set up an empty pub in Cornwall belonging to her unsuitable suitor. Seeking to make it a quality establishment offering the best of experience all round, she engages various staff and helpers including Spencer, and an abundance of auditionees for the posts of pub entertainers. While Spencer is temporarily in Spain as a medical apprentice, word comes back that he has been killed. Unexpectedly grief-stricken, Liz decides to privateer it to Spain to bring back his body for a proper burial. However, an unexpected encounter with the King of Spain and his favourite, Duke de Lerma, brings a surprise denouement and a Happy Ever After. An everyday tale of simple folk, in fact.

WindbagIf you’re looking for out-and-out humour, look no further. There is so much to laugh at in this show, from a pretentious postman, recidivist rodents, a foppish king, knowing use of pentameter, outrageous anachronism of music, a stompy ballerina, a barbershop quartet… the list is genuinely endless. So much has been thrown at this show that inevitably whilst most of it lands, some of it pays the price of excessive excess. A quick example: incorporating the ever-popular Y Viva España as the theme to their sea crossing to Spain is comic genius – job done. Following it up with an unnecessary second verse “lays it on with a trowel” and reduces its impact.

In the pubPerhaps a surprising element us how the show plays with xenophobic stereotypes. The opening scene has a pub patron sounding off about the Spanish with sentiments that might have been written by Kelvin Mackenzie; he may just as well have added a Gotcha! for balance. This nationalism is beautifully turned on its head when our band of merry men and women arrive in Spain, where readers of El Sol say the same about the English. There is a hilarious scene where the King and Duke deride English traits and it hits home to the audience that you shouldn’t give it if you can’t take it.

LizHowever, the chief feel of the show is bonkers fun, with the emphasis on the bonkers. The cast chuck themselves into it with total relish and it gains strength from its superb ensemble feel. Amber James’ dominant characterisation of Liz sometimes feels like T S Eliot’s still point of the turning world (pretentious moi?) as the lone voice of practicality whilst madness ensues all around her – at least until she decides to make a ship out of bits of wood ripped from the bar counter. She is splendidly matched by Philip Labey’s idealistic lovelorn Spencer who quickly realises that empty gestures don’t get the girl.

Windbag againTom Babbage’s Windbag the postman is a delight, full of pretentious pontifications about all the things he’s done, none of which we believe, until the scene changes to Spain and we think again. Emmy Stonelake is excellent as Liz’s child sidekick Clem – a barrelful of half energy, half scorn. There are also outstanding characterisations from Matthew Woodyatt as the low-esteemed Bardolf, David Rankine as the effete King of Spain and Tommy the busker (who offered to show us to our seats for twenty quid), and Marc Giro as the Duke and a singing Guy Fawkes. But the entire cast and musicians contribute their all to making it a pretty mind-blowing experience.

KaraokeThere are moments of excess where a little trimming, and repeating the mantra less is more, might have made the show a little more digestible at times, but there’s no denying its heart and the commitment of everyone involved. Believe me – you will laugh a lot, and that’s its priority.

 

Production photos by Ali Wright @ RSC

4-starsFour They’re Jolly Good Fellows!

Review – The Silence and the Noise, Pentabus Theatre Company Streaming Online, 11th December 2023

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Watching a play online may take us back to the miserable theatre-deprived days of the COVID pandemic, but one of the things that we did learn from that experience was how streaming digital theatre has a future beyond being simply a replacement for The Live Event. Tom Powell’s The Silence and the Noise originally toured the UK with English Touring Theatre in 2021/22, for which he won a Papatango Prize. He subsequently adapted it for film, and this production, shot entirely externally, premiered at the Vault Festival earlier this year and won two awards at the Broadstairs International Film Festival (Best Film and Best Actor) in November 2023. Having been re-released online it is now available for anyone to stream and watch for free – link at the bottom of the review!

Daize and BenBen and Daize are still both at school – but that’s where their comparative innocence ends. He’s a drug runner, at the beck and call of the never-seen Beetle, a man who runs his operation with brutal ruthlessness, who has no qualms about dishing out violent retribution against Ben if he makes any mistakes, and who controls Ben’s brain to the extent that Ben is convinced he has earned £11,000 for his work, but that Beetle is temporarily looking after it for him; hashtag #yeahright.

Ben and DaizeDaize meanwhile has a mother who is a drug addict; incapable of anything other than getting drug deliveries and administering it. There’s no one to care for Daize, who is reduced to living off cat food in the garden whilst still trying to do well at school. In an attempt to protect her mother and stop her from getting more drugs she arms herself with a knife to ward off any drug runner who tries to come near her – and that’s how she and Ben meet.

In troubleOver the next few weeks we see how their friendship grows, despite Daize’s disapproval of and contempt for Ben’s activities. She belittles him for being Beetle’s “little dog”, but when she sees the knife wounds on his chest caused by the angry and revengeful Beetle, she can’t help herself from doing that thing that takes us all back to our childhoods – she kisses it better. He says you have to learn from your mistakes, but does he? She issues an ultimatum for their continuing friendship – give the drug running up within the next month. But he’s trapped – can he break free from Beetle’s control? You’ll have to watch it to find out!

DaizeThis is an intense two-hander; with Ben and Daize constantly in each other’s company and sometimes very close camera work, it strongly gives you that sense that there is nowhere to hide. Tom Powell’s script pulls no punches with exploring the devastation that drugs can bring to everyone involved in the supply chain, but it’s done with an eloquent beauty and frequent poetic insights that help us place these two sad young people in the wider environment; both victims in their own way, and facing adult problems far in advance of their age, you do get occasional glimpses of the fact that they are just kids. Despite the wretched brutality of their existence, there is a gallows humour about it all too; it’s also heartwarming and – no spoilers – there is the suggestion of some cause for optimism at the end.

Rachelle DiedericksIt’s superbly performed by two of our best young actors. Rachelle Diedericks, whom I’m proud to say I first noticed five years ago as a brilliant young talent in The Band, and was a powerful Catherine in Headlong’s recent View from the Bridge, plays Daize with an excellent combination of terrified courage and helplessness, trying so hard to hang onto some elements of her youth in the face of true desperation. William RobinsonWilliam Robinson, fantastic in the RSC’s recent Julius Caesar, and giving a five-star performance as Darren in Bacon at the Edinburgh Fringe this year, excels as Ben, his confidence petering out with every setback and his vulnerability overwhelming his otherwise brash veneer.

TogetherPowerful and thought-provoking, The Silence and the Noise takes a serious subject and explores it seriously, whilst never losing sight of the youthfulness of our protagonists. And these two excellent performances will now never be lost as they are digitally preserved for ever! Highly recommended.

You can watch the play for free until March 2024 here.

Image credits: Luke Collins/Pentabus and Rural Media

4-starsFour They’re Jolly Good Fellows!

Review – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 10th December 2023

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Hurrah for the return of the Panto season, and this year the Royal and Derngate are treating us to Evolution Productions’ Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, written, as usual, by Paul Hendy and directed by Emily Wood. Snow White has all the elements you need for a successful pantomime: a wicked queen, a wronged princess, a Prince Charming, a mock-evil henchman and a best pal gang leader; plus a cart of punful products and a haunted bench – and, of course, you also have The Magnificent Seven themselves – what more could you ask?

Snow White and ensembleEmily Wood’s production is big on pizazz – great lighting, courtesy of Mark Dymock, opulent and hilarious costumes thanks to Morgan Brind and Michael J Batchelor, and a whopping great sound coming from Uncle Gary Jerry’s three piece band. Paul Hendy’s script is full of humour and jokes – and, even when the joke is clearly aimed at the mums and dads rather than the kids – it’s always clean, so you can safely take Granny too. I memorised two brilliant jokes/lines and I’m still chuckling about them a day later but I won’t tell you them now because it will ruin it for you.

Muddles and NellieMost of the fun of course comes from the performances, and there is no shortage of top talent here! Joey Wilby has great interaction with the audience as Muddles, and all the kids (and that includes me) are chuffed to be in his gang. Lauren Lane is a fantastic Snow White, with a great voice, bundles of personality and a terrific comic delivery too. The scene where poor Snow White is laid out on her cottage catafalque, feared dead (oops spoiler, sorry) and has to be rescued with a kiss is a comic highlight of the show.  Marc Pickering’s Herman the henchman is a suspiciously malign presence Hermanuntil you realise he has a pure heart and his dream is to perform as Freddie Mercury. The sequence when his dream comes true is brilliant – both musically and comically – and the whole theatre roars with approval.

Top of the bill Strictly champ Ore Oduba gives us a very suave Prince Charming – he’s Prince Charminghandsome and he knows it – and he uses his superb voice to brilliant effect in some great numbers. It was definitely charming to see how well Dear Evan Hansen’s You Will Be Found fits in with the panto! Wendi Peters leaves no evil stone unturned as the Wicked Queen, cackling WIcked Queenaway with malicious glee as she tries to keep Princey to herself, and disguising herself as the old woman who offers Snow White the poisoned apple so effectively that the kids who were sat around us in the theatre gasped with shock when she revealed herself!

Mirror and QueenAnd Northampton favourite Bob Golding was our dame – as usual – bringing Nurse Nellie to life with a range of fetching outfits, playful physical comedy, and spending the entire show keeping her new boyfriend – front stalls Dave – dangling on a thread of almost-lustful desire. Hats off to Dave, by the way – he was a complete trouper when he joined Muddles on stage for the Apples and Bananas song.  The Man in the Mirror, who cannot but tell the truth, is Northampton’s own Alan Carr; he’s not really there, boys and girls, but his virtual presence sparks off a lot of camp humour. And the powerful ensemble of six singers and dancers give excellent support to the entire production.

Snow White and DwarfsBut I think my favourite part of the show was those seven funsters down the diamond mine – the Dwarfs. Paddy Holden’s Groover proving himself as a disco king, Kain Francis’ Loopy toppling over every time Alireza Sarebani’s Sniffly sneezed, and Jack Hilton’s Kevin going from I hate girls to I think I know why girls are nice after he gets a kiss from Snow White, the characterisations are great and they brighten up the stage every time they come on. And they are a tremendous addition to Herman’s musical fantasy – terrific entertainment.Finale

A fun, vibrant panto for all the family with loads of laughs, great music and happy memories to take home with you. And remember boys and girls, if a strange woman offers you an apple – just say no!

Production photos by Pamela Raith

4-starsFour They’re Jolly Good Fellows!

Review – The Box of Delights, RSC at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 20th November 2023

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There’s no escaping it – Christmas is coming. The streets of Stratford-upon-Avon are glittering with sparkly lights, snowflakes are projected onto the side of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, and, inside, the RSC’s Christmas production of John Masefield’s much loved children’s book, The Box of Delights, adapted by Piers Torday, is well underway. I say “much loved”; I believe that to be the case, but the book never crossed my path during my childhood or indeed the intervening years. So I went to this production without a preconceived notion of what my ideal Box of Delights would look like.

Kay HarkerKay Harker (funny name for a boy?) is entrusted with this magical box that can basically allow him to do anything. Time travel, flight, shrinking – you name it, the box can do it. Unsurprisingly there are villains out there who would do anything to get their hands on it. But Kay is not the kind of lad to let them get away with anything so unscrupulous as box theft. Cue a lot of sinister looking and sounding baddies wreaking havoc with the great and the good of Tatchester, leading to the big question: will Kay be able to save Christmas? (Spoiler – yes, he does.)

CastI get the feeling that criticising the book and the tale told within it would be committing a cardinal sin – like picking a fight with Moses because you weren’t happy with all ten commandments. It has such a high reputation that you’re on a losing streak if you don’t appreciate it. I have to say that for me personally the story and structure weren’t really my cup of tea; but I know I am in a minority.

PhoenixSo what kind of box of delights is it? It’s a fair mix of scrummy caramels and hazelnut whirls but also with a few uneaten strawberry cremes left behind when the rest of the box has long been scoffed. Production-wise, it’s got a lot going for it. Ben McQuigg and his merry band play Ed Lewis’ score with affection and crispness, contributing significantly towards creating a Christmas vibe. Tom Piper’s set is one of the busiest you’ll ever see on stage, with more nooks and crannies than you can shake a stick at. But it works very well to emphasise the magical elements of the story, with unexpected hideaways for scrobbled individuals (see the show and you’ll understand), and it blends with Prema Mehta’s lighting perfectly, as mood after mood is innovatively suggested against the architectural or domestic backdrop.

BarneyAll the puppetry is excellent, including a very ethereal and proud phoenix; but Barney takes the biscuit for endearing puppet doggies. Accompanied by Rhiannon Skerritt, Barney is perhaps the most lifelike dog (who isn’t really a dog) I’ve ever seen on stage. Not overplayed, not stupidly exhibitionist, but just a lovely, cuddly, friendly dog whom you want to take home with you. He really should have his own TikTok account.

ColeMy main problem with the show was that I found it surprisingly hard to follow. It’s rather stodgy and heavy going at times and the use of English and the accents employed are often stilted and tiresome. Many of the characters are the most exhaustingly posh specimens to be found on a stage, and I did wonder quite how relatable they, and their story, are to modern day audiences. If only the Five Go Mad in Dorset team had seen this first, they would have had a field day! The second act drove the story along a little more clearly but even then, it still got bogged down at times.

PouncerThat said, Stephen Boxer is very impressive as Cole Hawlings/Grandad, full of kindly care and wise words, and a splendid stubborn resistance against the baddies. Nia Gwynne makes for a lively and sparky Pouncer the thieving “Witch”, Callum Balmforth a suitably heroic Kay and Jack Humphrey a delightfully self-aware silly ass of a Peter. There’s excellent support throughout the cast including Timothy Speyer’s nicely pompous Bishop, Melody Brown’s over-enthusiastic Mayor, and Tom Kanji’s snidely sneering Charles.

KidsIf 1930s children’s nostalgia is your thing, then all your wants will be met. It’s a highly competent production and full of Masefieldesque charm; it would have been nice if it had all been just a little more fun.

 

Production photos by Manuel Harlan

3-starsThree-sy Does It!

Review – Do I Love You? John Godber Company at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 14th November 2023

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John Godber’s Do I Love You?, currently touring until early next year, is primarily a love letter to Northern Soul. Confession time: I don’t know much (anything, really) about Northern Soul. I can’t say it ever permeated to the Chiltern village where I was brought up. I knew Skiing in the Snow by Wigan’s Ovation and Footsee by Wigan’s Chosen Few, but that’s it; unless you count The Goodies’ Black Pudding Bertha (she’s the queen of Northern Soul) – but I don’t think you can. It’s a musical subculture that is clearly deeply loved, and maybe its general secretiveness is a major part of its appeal. Certainly, the very full audience at the Royal last night was packed with Northern Soul admirers who swung along to the various tracks that are scattered through the show.

It’s a deceptively simple play; three twenty-somethings who all grew up together in Hull find their chosen career paths halted by Covid and end up all working at the same fast food drive-through. Sally and Kyle have been besties since playschool, and Nat joined them not much later. One night, they chanced upon a club – the Beachcomber – Cleethorpes for an all-nighter of Northern Soul music, only £3 to get in, where they were amazed to find they were the youngest people there. In a beautiful realisation of the arrogance of youth, they ask themselves how the heck did all these old people learn these dance routines? Their aim is to take their Northern Soul dance act to the Tower Ballroom Blackpool, but only if Sally thinks they’re good enough; it’s as though she’s her own Craig Revel-Horwood. I had no idea that Northern Soul had its own dance style by the way, apparently a kind of sliding gliding that relies on talc and balance.

At the interval, I was feeling this was a modest, underachieving little play. It has a very in-house feel about it, being the John Godber Company production of a John Godber play, directed by John Godber and with John Godber’s daughter among the cast of three. Rather than using a Paul Mathew style pantechnicon, you can imagine them transporting the set and props from venue to venue using a local man with a van. There was no programme – at least not at last night’s performance – so I can’t name and shame whoever was responsible for the totally inadequate lighting, with members of the cast performing in shadow during some scenes.

I was also underwhelmed by the script which I found repetitive, rather dull and lacking that usual John Godber wit. There should be a legal limit on the number of times the phrase do you want fries with that can be repeated in a play. Yes, we get the drift that it’s designed to show that their jobs were repetitive and dull but is it fair to subject the audience to the same level of repetition with such diligence?!

However, the scene just before the interval started to show some promise. Our trio have discovered the Cleethorpes club and have felt its vigour and emotion coursing through their veins for the first time. And it was also the first time that the characters truly came to life. And after the interval, the drive and power of the play continued to burst through the writing. Despite the rather heavy-handed speech by an old-timer (67 years old) at the club about the tradition, heritage, and true meaning of Northern Soul, you begin to realise that this is a celebration of the purity of one’s art. Sally is caught up in an artistic stasis – she can’t dance to it, she can’t sing along, all she can do is watch in awe at the effect the music has on her and others. She realises this thing is bigger than any of them.

The play also takes on other social issues; not only the devastation caused by Covid, but the general austerity and lack of opportunity in the north that determines one’s complete lifetime. It highlights a problem that’s rarely considered – what happens when a younger person lives with an older person as their carer, and then they die. In an affluent society that means they inherit the property. But in Sally’s world that renders you homeless.

The three likeable young actors are all superb in their roles and work together as a brilliant ensemble. Chloe Mcdonald accurately portrays Nat, that character who is the third member of a group of three, knowing she can never quite achieve the same bond as the other two. Emilio Encinoso-Gil has an excellent sense for the comedy in some of the best lines as wannabe musical theatre performer Kyle, whose lofty ambitions led to two years dressed as a crocodile. But it is Martha Godber’s Sally who is the lynchpin, and through whom we see the progress of the trio; funny, bossy, caring but also at times completely unreasonable, she gives a terrific performance of a very credible and well-rounded personality.

I was at times reminded of the Victoria Wood sketch where Jim Broadbent is the long-suffering playwright who lives and breathes the pain and misery of the north and is motivated to create his epics to reflect the douleur of the dockers, the railway workers and the steel workers – but lives comfortably in Chiswick. I’m not saying Mr Godber is that person, but the play does have a huge I love the north and all its pain atmosphere about it. Its romanticised and sentimental view of the affection for Northern Soul and its roots is both its strength and its weakness. Mrs Chrisparkle thought they missed a trick by not including a whippet. Clearly she has no heart.

The Northampton audience – mainly made up of people of a certain age who could easily have been at that Cleethorpes club – absolutely loved it. If you’re an aficionado of Northern Soul, you will too. As for the rest of us, there is plenty to admire, but also a little to be cynical about.


3-starsThree-sy Does It!

Review – Close Up, The Twiggy Musical, Menier Chocolate Factory, London, 22nd October 2023

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I was having second thoughts about seeing this show because the opening a few weeks ago was greeted with a swathe of very iffy reviews. But I can never resist a Menier Sunday matinee, no matter what the show is; and all I can say is, gentle reader, never trust a critic. They (and I include my humble self here) don’t know what they’re talking about. Close Up – The Twiggy Musical is a complete winner from start to finish. In fact it’s rare to find a production that’s outstanding in virtually every department.

For the youngsters among you, Twiggy was the affectionate nickname given to the young (very young, as it turns out) Lesley Hornby back in the mid 1960s, a naïve girl from Neasden who was catapulted to stardom through a modelling career that has certainly lingered over the decades, as has the affection the British public have for this true sixties icon. Ben Elton’s book and lyrics take the form of a kind of a musical docudrama, with Twiggy herself (as performed by Elena Skye) narrating the story of her life,all pleasingly punctuated by vignettes with her parents, Norman and Nell, her best friends Cindy, Sally and Kay, and the major influences on her life, including manager/lover Justin de Villeneuve and first husband Michael Witney. All this is set alongside a musical kaleidoscope of memorable 60s and 70s hits, played by Stuart Morley’s terrific band, and performed with gusto and emotion from the brilliant ensemble cast.

It’s full of funny asides, with loads of nicely judged interaction with the audience so that the fourth wall is in a virtual state of ruins. Elton’s script depicts Twiggy as her own worst enemy; for example, when everyone tells her that she should do X she always does Y (they told me I should leave him, so what did I do? I married him!) Whilst never shying away from the grim reality that frequently lurks barely beneath the surface – underage sex, mental health issues, business disasters, etc – the characters always remain positive and optimistic, always see the best in a situation, and always look to learn from harsh experience to make things better in the future. This helps towards creating a truly feelgood show, full of humour, emotion and life events that we can all recognise.

All the creative team make massive contributions to the success of the show. Timothy Bird’s set is beautifully simple, with just a projection screen at the back of the stage and a white roll of film running out from it across the floor. Tim Blazdell’s video design utilises that screen and the back projection wall to terrific effect with contemporary images and films. Philip Gladwell’s lighting design is 100% fab, with psychedelic flashes and moods in all the colours of the swinging sixties, and Jonathan Lipman’s costumes are absolutely spot on in reflecting the daring styles, lurid colour combinations, outlandish fabrics and so on that made the 60s so special. Jacob Fearey’s stunning choreography is full of carefree abandon, love of life, and truly feeling the groove; the ensemble dancers fill the relatively small stage of the Menier with an overwhelming sense of exhilaration and fun.

The whole show revolves around Elena Skye’s performance as Twiggy. She completely looks the part, she has an engagingly honest relationship with the audience, and gives an excellent sense of a character who is frequently out of her depth, anxiously biting her lip, but always willing to give-it-a-go. She was by far the best thing about last year’s touring production of We Will Rock You and, if anything, she is even better in Close Up.

There are also tremendous performances from Steven Serlin and Hannah-Jane Fox as her parents. Both are blessed with invigorating and expressive voices; Mr Serlin imbues Norman with true warmth and kindness throughout, and comes across as a Dad in a Million. He’s also a devil with those marvellous impersonations of 60s and 70s interviewers! Ms Fox conveys Nell’s sadness and frustration with her own mental health but also overflows with pride and shows how superbly she would encourage her daughter always to be the best she can. Aoife Dunne gives a hilarious performance as Twiggy’s occasionally foul-mouthed friend Cindy, whilst Beth Devine is also impressive as the ever-supportive Sally,and Lauren Azania AJ King-Yombo excels as her friend Kay, with a beautiful ability to cut the cr*p and tell harsh truths where necessary. Darren Day uses his terrific voice to great effect as Michael Witney, with very moving renditions of Without You and The Air That I Breathe – his Jekyll and Hyde transformations between sober Michael and drunk Michael work very well, and I almost – not quite, but almost – felt a drop of moistness in my eye during his final scene.

Stealing every scene he is in is a tremendously funny and quirky performance by Matt Corner as Twiggy’s Svengali (they hated that word) Justin de Villeneuve. Taking the Mickey out of the character even before he’s on stage, Mr Corner gives him boundless arrogance and endless shiftiness; a brilliant portrayal of someone who blagged their way to success and had absolutely no qualms about creaming the top off other people’s achievements whilst all his own sparkle was a mere façade.Superb.

The show runs at the Menier until 18th November, but there’s barely a ticket to be had; all I can suggest is that you keep an eye out for returns. Surely this must have a life afterwards! A show that sends you out of the theatre bristling with energy and that sense of privilege that you’ve seen something incredible.

Five Alive, let Theatre Thrive!

Review – Cowbois, Royal Shakespeare Company at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 24th October 2023

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You could almost taste the anticipatory buzz in the foyers at Stratford yesterday for the press night for Cowbois – Charlie Josephine’s rollicking queer Western, as the RSC has it. I’m not sure what John Wayne would make of it, but the first night audience loved it. Not unlike untitled f*ck m*ss s**gon play currently at the Young Vic, it’s exhilarating to see an established, familiar genre of entertainment – whether it be musicals set in South-East Asia, or Westerns set in the Wild West – turned on their heads so you can see them from a different perspective. And Cowbois certainly does that.

WesternThe plot could be taken from any Western story. The women of this obscure little town have been left behind by their men, out hunting gold. It’s been a year or more, they’ve not heard from them; they’re probably dead. All the women have to sustain them is their faith, their school teaching, their running the saloon, and a drunken sheriff. There’s a bounty on the head of one Jack Cannon, one half of the Cannon brothers, the slickest gunslingers in the West. The other half, Harry, is now dead and buried at the hands of Tommy, leader of Tommy’s Toothless Boys, whom Harry hired to hold up stagecoaches so that he and Jack could relieve them of $200,000 worth of gold coins. But Jack, being one of those slickest gunslingers, took out seven of the Toothless Boys – by which I mean shot them, not wined and dined them – and now everyone is seeking both revenge and cash. So when Jack wanders into town, the women are unsurprisingly all a-quiver. I hope you’re keeping up here.

Kid and castHowever, it doesn’t matter if you don’t grasp the plot – that really isn’t what the play is about. Never has that old saying to assume makes an ass out of u and me proved more appropriate. In the first act of the play, Charlie Josephine creates an environment where apparently cis straight women feel safe to give way to their inner selves; by falling in love with a trans man, or by starting to trans to a man themselves. Even the sheriff allows a new aspect of his personality to come to the fore. There is a beautiful, life-affirming moment when the Kid – farmer Mary’s son – meets someone he has always known as a woman but is now dressed as a man and with a male identity, and merely says “oh, ok” in complete unprejudiced acceptance. It gets a massive roar of approval and applause from the audience. Everyone is comfortable with their new outlook or identity – what could possibly go wrong?

The menWhat goes wrong is the return of their husbands in the second act. They’re still alive, against all odds, and when they turn up at the saloon to find a queer party going on, it’s no surprise that they’re taken aback. Seeking to return to the relationships they left, their only options are to either dominate and cow the women back to their previous suppressed lives, or to accept the new order. Jack quickly absents themself from the situation – again no surprise. But how is all this going to get resolved, and what happens when bandit Charley Parkhurst arrives, also looking for Jack, and Tommy and the Toothless Boys also show up? In the words of Harry Hill, there’s only one way to resolve this – fight!

Lillian and JackThe set-up, dialogue and unpredictable plot development in the first act are all outstanding. Charlie Josephine has created terrific characters, well-drawn, full of their own funny idiosyncrasies, and beautifully reflecting the staleness of lonely life in the town. There’s absolutely no reason, for example, why the conversations about the way Miss Lillian eats her breakfast grits should be so funny – but it is. And when Jack Cannon arrives on the scene, all eyes are upon them as – in my humble opinion – they are one of the most charismatic and spellbinding characters to appear on a stage for a very long time.

BathtubThe one downfall of the play is that the second act cannot live up to the high expectations set by the first. Primarily, Jack is absent for much of the act and the audience really misses them. And sadly, I can’t help but feel the writer missed a trick by making all the men either violent bullies or plain thick. Their toxic masculinity comes across as a blunt tool when all the other characters have such nuance. Whilst the wives all go on substantial personal journeys, the men remain static; what a hoot it would have been to have had a Brokeback Mountain moment in there too. But I guess that was not a priority for the writer – after all, it has been done before. But the trans element of Cowbois is what sets this play apart from pretty much any other play I’ve come across – and that’s a superb achievement.

Vinnie HeavenGrace Smart has designed an elegant, simple set, with the saloon bar towards the back of the stage, and a nicely hidden sunken bath towards the front, of which Jack and Lillian will – shall we say – take advantage. The costumes are excellent throughout; she has given Jack a few suitably eye-catching outfits, and the sheriff’s second act hat is a work of amazing millinery civil engineering. There’s some entertaining semi-country music from the small band of four musicians nestling stage right; and co-directors Charlie Josephine and Sean Holmes make maximum use of the theatre’s non-stage spaces for the shootout climax – even if it does go on a bit too long.

LJ Parkinson and castVinnie Heaven’s performance as Jack is a marvel. Cheeky, charismatic, and hugely likeable – not bad going for someone who’s only recently killed seven men. No wonder all the townswomen go weak at the knees. From the moment Jack arrives on stage you know that they’re in charge. But they’re not just a brash Lord Flashheart type, their performance is subtle, charming, brimming with both confidence and vulnerability. A terrific performance. Sophie Melville is also excellent as Miss Lillian, saloon landlady and Jack’s new love. As with most of the female roles, she particularly shines in the first act, with comic authority and conviction. I loved her double act with Emma Pallant’s deeply religious Sally Ann, disapproving of everything from sexual attraction to shooting to save your life. There’s a stonkingly fun performance from LJ Parkinson as nonbinary bandit Charley Parkhurst, cavorting around the stage with dangerous devilment. Lee Braithwaite’s transformation from Lucy to Lou is touchingly done, and, in our performance last night, the surprisingly mature and endearing Alastair Ngwenya smashed it as the Kid, as young people would say.

Quentin Letts won’t like it, but if you suspect you might, I reckon you’ll love it. It’s not perfect, but then it’s about people, and people aren’t perfect. Recommended!

Production photos by Henri T

4-starsFour They’re Jolly Good Fellows!