Tag Archives: Derngate

Review – Murder She Didn’t Write, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 14th April 2025

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Degrees of Error have been developing their Murder She Didn’t Write improvisation show for over 13 years now, and as well as their regular stint at the Edinburgh Fringe, are currently touring the UK – with a four night residence at Northampton’s Royal and Derngate. A team of fifteen or so actors mix and match their appearances, so if you see the show more than once, not only will it be a completely different story, it could well be a very different cast.

Agatha CrustyAnd if you’re an aficionado of the Art of Improv, you might well want to see it again because they’re true experts in the field. Company co-developer and co-founder Lizzy Skrzypiec introduces the show in her guise as Detective Agatha Crusty – of all the assets this show has, intellectual subtlety perhaps isn’t its raison d’être – and explains that a murder will be committed on stage and that it’s up to us to choose the occasion on which it will happen and identify a central clue vital to solving the case. The merry audience at the Royal chose a Cushion Conference – something everyone knows something about (not) – and a Pet Rock. Detective Crusty also sought an “event” that would be involved, and someone piped up with the word “dentist”, which is more of a profession than an event, but they ran with it.

All the suspectsThus ensued The Case of the Pointy Pet Rock, where William, the pet rock belonging to suspect Vernon Blue (Stephen Clements), was found stuffed in the mouth of the very dead victim Graham Green (Peter Baker), thereby suffocating them; but was it a rock plant to incriminate Blue? Might it have been Violet Blue (Sylvia Bishop), or newlyweds Roger and Bernadette Red (Douglas Walker and Rachael Procter-Lane) who were to blame? All would be revealed by the end of the show. Both Mrs Chrisparkle and I thought it was Violet. She looked shifty from the start and wasn’t convincing anyone with her predilection for recreational dentistry. Added to the fact that this all took place at the Kettering Cushion Conference Centre, her alibi was looking weak.

BernadetteI’m not a natural Improv-goer; sometimes I find it descends too much into silliness and repetitiveness. However, Murder She Didn’t Write ticks all the boxes for a very funny night of unpredictable mayhem. The training and practice required by the cast to keep their minds fresh and inventive to cope with whatever the audience – and more likely, other cast members – throw at them must be immense. There were some extremely funny scenes – I loved Ms Procter-Lane in convulsions of pleasure exploring the cushioning of the chaise longue – and the way in which they show how each of the suspects had a motive for killing poor Graham is extremely inventive and entertaining. And huge plaudits to Peter Baker for their tremendous physical comedy as a dead body sliding off a chair into a mini heap on the floor.

Green on RedEnormous fun, incredibly skilful and hugely creative, this touring version of the show runs to two hours including an interval, whilst the Edinburgh Fringe version lasts 70 minutes. No two shows will be the same and it’s perfect for anyone who likes a combination of whodunit, comedy and hilarious campy nonsense. Running at the Royal and Derngate until Thursday, but then off on its travels again, including a full four weeks in Edinburgh at the Assembly George Square. Irresistible!

 

Production photos by Pamela Raith

4-starsFour They’re Jolly Good Fellows!

Review – Tambo and Bones, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 11th March 2025

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Dave Harris’ Tambo and Bones takes us, in three scenes, on a five hundred year adventure from an American Minstrel show, to a hip-hop gig in the present, then onto a futuristic lecture, examining black identity and the black experience in creative art. Ambitious, or what?! One hand it feels very innovative and experimental; on the other it also borrows from the Theatre of the Absurd, and there are a several nods to other productions that attempted similar stylistic presentations. Either way, it’s undoubtedly a subversive piece of theatre which provokes a variety of reactions and will leave you either exhilarated or exasperated – or quite possibly both.

T&BIn the same way that Harlequin and Columbine were set characters in Commedia dell’Arte, Tambo and Bones were roles in nineteenth-century minstrel shows; Tambo played the tambourine, and Bones played the bones (obvs) – a kind of castanet. The shows were performed by white actors in blackface; it seems bizarre and offensive now, but my parents’ generation adored TV’s Black and White Minstrel Show which continued until 1978, with a stage production touring until 1987. As a child I just found it freaky.

Clifford Samuel and Daniel WardThe first scene shows Tambo and Bones (sans either tambo or bones) exchanging ideas, challenges, interacting with the audience, against a fake, surrealistic landscape including two (movable) trees. This shouted Waiting for Godot to me all the way through; two tramp-like characters who apparently have no other existence apart from in each other’s lives, without much happening. Trees play a part in Godot too; and Beckett’s Pozzo and Lucky, a ruthless autocrat with a mistreated servant who interrupt proceedings, are here replaced by the playwright (a puppet) upon whom they deliver vengeful violence. Two Characters in Search of an Author, perhaps?

Daniel WardThe second scene takes us to a gig where Tambo and Bones are high-achieving, influential hip hop musicians, presenting us with the two elements of creative drive: wanting to change the world with your art, and wanting to make lots of money out of it. Shakespeare wouldn’t disagree. But their fame and fortune gets out of hand as they start – unwittingly or otherwise – to cause the overthrow of the world political status quo.

DW and CSFour hundred years in the future, our actors, Daniel Ward and Clifford Samuel, come out of character and present as themselves, reflecting on how the first half of the show exhausted them with all that rap, and delivering a history of how Tambo and Bones became the religious icons/cult heroes/political philosophers that have led us to our current, blissful state. Throughout the play there are additional nuances of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Hamilton and even The Book of Mormon, in its clever portrayal of how an ordinary person can end up being a semi-God.

Clifford SamuelThe language is deliberately divisive, with endless repetitions of the N word; individual audience members will react to that however they see fit. The play asks many questions about race and identity, and what’s fake and what’s real, as well as the responsibilities of a performing artist, and how an audience responds to what it sees on stage. It doesn’t offer answers to these questions – they have to be provided by you.

DW and CSThe ending is especially subversive, but perhaps not unique; I was reminded of DV8’s Bound to Please, where a cast member rounded on the audience for photographing the show, and Peter Handke’s Offending the Audience, where taped cheering forces the audience out of the auditorium at the end of the play without their having the chance to have their reaction heard. Neither of those happen here, but it’s an equally disturbing and unsettling ending.

Clifford Samuel and Daniel WardClifford Samuel and Daniel Ward give hugely committed performances that show off their terrific versatility, with great clowning and musical skills as well as being superb actors. Incredibly likeable, their enthusiasm spreads all around the auditorium, galvanising the audience into frequently responding to them; this is perhaps not a show for shrinking violets. Hats off also to Jaron Lammens and Dru Cripps as the X-Bots in the final scene; Mr Cripps’ ability to sit on an invisible chair leaves you speechless.

Daniel WardEach scene culminates in acts of violence. It’s a personal thing, but violence is always turn-off for me, even against a puppet, or a masked DJ, or a cartoon President, or a robot that protests it’s a real person. For me, Tambo and Bones is an essentially pessimistic play, despite the upbeat air that permeates all its scenes; if violence is always the outcome, the future for the world is bleak. There’s a very significant event that happens between the second and third scenes which I won’t mention, but is an act of violence that not even Hitler achieved.

Clifford SamuelThe fact that the audience just drifts off at the end of the play, as and when they’re ready, is a theatrical not with a bang but a whimper moment, leaving you dissatisfied with the conclusion. But that’s not the only reason that, despite all its extraordinary qualities, I can’t find myself enamoured with this play. If you don’t “get” Godot style interaction, you’ll find the first scene dull (Mrs Chrisparkle nodded off). I found the final scene dull too – in fact, I stopped listening to the narrative because the actions of the X-Bots was much more interesting. And for all its bold decisions and quirky structure, I couldn’t stop thinking about how, deep down, nothing is new. Perhaps I’m just insufficiently connected to American culture.

Clifford Samuel and Daniel WardNevertheless, if you haven’t seen anything like this before, this will be a shock to the system, and if you like to be challenged in the theatre, this is definitely for you. After it leaves Northampton, the tour continues to Liverpool, Manchester, Coventry, back to its spiritual home in Stratford East, and finally to Leeds in May.

Production photos by Jane Hobson

3-starsThree-sy Does It!

Review – Screaming Blue Murder, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 27th February 2025

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Constant as the Northern Star, it was time for another Screaming Blue Murder at the Royal and Derngate – scheduled to be the last in the old Royal theatre before moving back to its proper home in the freshly de-RAAC’d Underground in April. Also, as firmly identified with Screaming Blue as Heinz with Baked Beans, was our regular host and MC Dan Evans, suffering from the sniffles, but there’s a lot of it about. Fortunately a kind lady to my left was able to offer him the occasional tissue. I could have given him a whole packet, but didn’t want to draw attention to myself.

Dan set about mingling his way through the crowd, which seemed largely made up of escapees from tough and dangerous East Side Northampton – NN3 to the cognoscenti. We also met Ginny, the English student who doesn’t attend uni – a somewhat complicated arrangement – and Ryan, the crime lecturer who didn’t return for the final act and, thereby, as is always a risk if you do that, missed the best bit. We also met Roger from Northern Ireland, whose unexpected mime for the reason he’s now in Northampton left Dan appropriately speechless.

Showing how our cup ranneth over with talent in this line up, our first act, normally a headliner, was Roger Monkhouse, someone we’ve admired and enjoyed many times over the years. Celebrating his 60th birthday apparently, his young fogey persona is now distinctly becoming at least middle-aged; I can’t say he’s now an old fogey, because he’s still younger than me. He delivers his material as almost a stream of consciousness, that fools you into thinking he’s making it up on the spur of the moment; but in fact it’s meticulously crafted to give that effect. His material centres on that recognisable confusion of living in the modern world as a no-longer modern bloke, with some lovely relatable observations on how we all just manage to plod on despite our brains and bodies letting us down. Always a delight.

Our next act, and new to us, was Dee Allum, who introduces herself from the start as a trans woman, and whose material centres on her life and the problems she faces, but also you can see the joy her new identity brings her. She has a relatively quiet style, occasionally feeling a little tentative until she gets the vibe of the audience but then grows in confidence as her set progresses. There’s a lot of refreshingly new and innovative material here; I loved her deliberately long and immaculately phrased story involving Kurdish and Yorkshire, and there are some terrific insights into managing a relationship when you come out as trans during the relationship. She ends her routine with a brilliant tale of sperm donation. I’m tempted to say we’ve all been there, but of course we haven’t; but if you have, you really get it. Definitely One To Watch.

After two gently delivering wordsmiths, our headliner was Phil Nichol who gave the evening a hugely energetic kick up the backside. Buzzing with excitement, he exploded around the stage with his uniquely unrestrained hilarity; a bit like the most endearing spoilt kid you ever met. He radiates a strange blend of danger and affability, mixed with oodles of cool, and a quick comedy brain that seizes any opportunity. Armed with his guitar, he gave us some excellent rock parodies, and fixated on poor second row Luke, upon whom he (literally) thrust his faux-sexual advances. Luke proved his worth later when he joined Phil on stage and showed what a good sport he was. Extremely funny throughout and a great way to end the night.

Review – Eshaan Akbar, I Can’t Get No Satisfakshaan, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 21st February 2025

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It’s been a surprisingly long time – six years – since we last saw Eshaan Akbar live, but he’s still very much the same, urbane, civilised chap as before. He cuts a very relaxed figure on the stage. Unhurried, unfazed, taking everything in his stride; you know you’re in very safe hands with his intelligent content and friendly delivery, even though there’s a sting in the tail to many of his stories.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, as, after a brief getting-to-know-you session at the beginning of the show, including talking to an audience member whose sister insisted she came and thus made the ultimate sacrifice by giving up watching EastEnders, Eshaan introduced us to his support act, the excellent Alexandra Haddow, whom we’ve seen many times before and is always very entertaining. This was the perfect gig for her to recollect her Corby upbringing, and the exciting occasion on when a railway line finally reached the town; she also told us about her boyfriend-geezer and his simple North London ways. I loved her material about relationship “launches” on Instagram, and the pitfalls of being too honest about other people’s ex’s. Confident, smart, and very funny, it was an excellent start to the evening.

After the interval, we welcomed Mr Akbar back, for an hour’s worth of material reflecting his own national identity, as a brown man, born to Pakistani/Bangladeshi parents in Whitechapel, who completely identifies as English – although he doesn’t pass the old Norman Tebbit cricket test. A private education introduced him to the Best of British Banter, as evidenced by his so-called friend Ben, who gave him a deceptive nickname that took years for the penny to drop. Now aged 40, he’s unexpectedly back on the dating scene – including the Muslim version of Tinder – and he sees the world, or at least the country, through the eyes of experience of travelling up and down the land and meeting all kinds of people.

It takes a bold comedian to mine humour from racism (not his own, I should add) and he frequently doesn’t play safe with his material, much to his credit. Thoughtful and intelligent comedy that points out the differences and the similarities between races; and whilst it never truly soars to the heights of hysterically funny, is always entertaining, thought-provoking and full of relatable experiences and observations. Very enjoyable! His tour continues throughout the UK and Ireland into April.

Review – (the) Woman, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 14th February 2025

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New Perspectives brought their touring production of Jane Upton’s new play (the) Woman to the Royal and Derngate, Northampton for three preview performances before officially opening in Oxford on 18th February. The inspiration for the play came from Jane Upton’s own experience when, as a new mother, her brother told her that a guy she went out with at school had seen her in the street with her buggy and told him that he expected more of her than just bringing up kids in the same area she grew up.

Lizzy WattsUnderstandably annoyed, she decided to arrange a zoom meeting with the guy; unsure whether it was just to talk it out with him or simply to impress him with what he’d missed. Either way, it didn’t happen – the guy chickened out; end of. From that experience, this semi-autobiographical play started to take shape, centring on her main character’s experience of trying to raise a family at the same time as working as a writer, with many a pitfall en route.

Andre Squire and Lizzy WattsThe structure of the play – that M is trying to write a play for a demanding production team and that this play (i. e. (the) Woman) contains many of the same scenes that the producers are looking for – is clever on paper, but in practice created a play that had Mrs Chrisparkle and me completely baffled. Lighting effects occasionally flash that indicate – I think – that we’ve switched from reality to imagination, from the play that is being written to the play that is being performed; and it’s taken me the best part of four days for it to start to gel in my head.

Jamie-Rose Monk and Lizzy WattsOf course, the last thing anyone wants in respect of a heartfelt and anxiety-ridden play written by a woman from personal experience is to have a 64 year old straight, cis, white male reviewer mansplaining the whole thing. Indeed, the online programme includes a fictional one star review from some pompous and obviously neanderthal bloke called Jonathan Darcy pointing out how awful the play is; thereby batting away in an advance pre-emptive strike any anticipated complaints from men who simply don’t and can’t get it.

Lizzy Watts and Cian BarryHowever, I must be honest; I don’t actually think I do get it. Maybe it’s because I’m not a parent. Maybe it’s because I’m not a woman. Maybe I’m just plain thick; but there is something about this production that sets up a barrier of communication between what we see on stage and what the audience understands. There is no doubt an intentional blurring of the edges between fact and fiction, but rather than illuminating the issues discussed, or even just entertaining the audience, I simply find it frustrating that it isn’t easier to understand. And if you don’t get it, it comes across as a negative piece with unlikeable characters, which makes it all the harder to appreciate.

Andre SquireEarly in the play is a fictional version of the event that inspired Ms Upton to write the play in the first place. This is our introduction to M (she doesn’t have a real name), and in a scene with a lot of profane language from both characters, we see her challenging this scummy lowlife geezer over his misogynist remarks but then agreeing to impromptu “filthy sex” (her words) in the back of his van. Mixed messages, indeed; and that inconsistency of characterisation led me never to truly take to M as someone with whom I could connect as the play progresses. But maybe it isn’t an inconsistency of characterisation. Maybe one part of the story was real, and the other was part of “writing the play”. Frankly, don’t ask me.

Lizzy WattsEither way, it’s a very heavy piece; very intense and dark, full of misery and tragedy. There are trigger warnings (contains strong language, references of a sexual nature and references to baby loss) – take them seriously because this play deals with a lot of disturbing issues. Possibly too many; the difficulties of being both a mother and trying to work, of holding down a relationship when you’re no longer interested in your partner, of being surrounded by men who always know best, of dealing with both physical and mental illness whilst being let down by the NHS – I could go on. At 100 minutes with no interval, there’s very little light and shade, and even though there are some good comedy lines, the overwhelming sense of sadness made it hard for me to laugh at them.

Lizzy Watts and Jamie-Rose MonkThe appearance of a nightmare demon baby with luminous eyes haunting M, which I think is meant as a kind of comedy callback, is both ridiculous and crudely done; and the Brechtian projection of spoken words from each scene seems at first to do little to illuminate our understanding. However, I suspect those words are meant to represent the writer at work, typing out a few relevant lines from each scene. If you don’t realise that at the time, as we didn’t, then they seem meaningless. Again, it’s taken me four days for the penny to drop.

Lizzy WattsThere are some aspects to the story that I found very hard to believe. When M emerges from the back of a van after a shag with the lowlife and discovers the baby is missing – she reacts with all the concern and alarm of a mislaid set of keys; and when she talks to the only guy with a kid at the nursery, she tells him that she assumes they will soon be having sex, much to his embarrassment. People don’t really do that kind of thing. But maybe that’s because they didn’t actually do that kind of thing. Really, the structure does make it difficult to comprehend the play as a whole.

Jamie-Rose Monk and Lizzy WattsThere are some very well written and performed scenes. Lizzy Watts gives a strong and committed performance as M, never off stage, which is a remarkable feat of both memory and endurance. André Squire and Cian Barry make the most of their largely unremarkable male roles, as either ciphers, bullies or plain arrogant; but lifting the production immensely is a superb performance by Jamie-Rose Monk as all the other female roles. Funny, tragic, bossy, she makes you sit up and pay attention whenever she’s on stage.

Andre Squire and Lizzy WattsDeliberately confusing, and certainly it feels too long; more light and shade, and shaving half an hour off it would help. If you get the play and its structure from the start, I can see that it would be much more appealing than we found it; for us, it was just a frustrating watch! After Oxford, the tour continues to Coventry, Birmingham, Nottingham, Worthing and Twickenham.

Production photos by Manuel Harlan

3-starsThree-sy Does It!

Review – Valentine’s Gala with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 15th February 2025

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The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s Valentine’s gift to the people of Northampton this year was a delightful gala programme of romantic music from the 19th and 20th centuries. There was a buzz of excitement in the very full Derngate auditorium as we awaited the arrival of our conductor for this concert, Richard Balcombe, a very smart gentleman who reminded me a little of the late great Bob Holness. Whilst he might not give us a P, I’m sure he could be relied on for an excellent Middle C; just a small joke there for people of my age. He has a relaxed style of conducting – no baton, very inclusive, and giving the audience a few introductions to the various pieces to be performed during the concert.

Opening salvos were fired with the first item of the night, Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty Waltz, an instantly captivating tune delivered with true gusto by the full orchestra, under its usual leadership of Duncan Riddell. Then we welcomed our guest soloist for the concert, Irene Duval, to play Bruch’s Violin Concerto No 1. Ms Duval delivered those fantastic romantic themes with sensitivity and energy with her Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume violin; no wonder listeners to Classic FM named it as their number one piece in the Classic FM Hall of Fame. The first half of the concert ended with Khachaturian’s Adagio from Spartacus, which of course was the theme to BBCTV’s nautical drama The Onedin Line in the 1970s, even though it was originally a dance from Khachaturian’s 1954 ballet. But when you hear that superbly timed crashing symbol, you’ve no other mental image other than a massive wave breaking on a rocky shore.

After the interval, we started with the second of our three Tchaikovsky pieces, the Polonaise from Eugene Onegin, another rousing and emotional number that opens Act III of the opera. Then came Mascagni’s Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana, gloriously played to release maximum emotion, and I always think, a sense of tragedy. It’s a piece I’ve known since I was a wee lad – the story of how Mascagni wrote the intermezzo so that his two act opera could be entered in a one-act opera competition – which he then won – always made me feel strangely happy for him!

Then came Bizet’s Carmen Suite No 1, six of classical music’s best tunes all wrapped into a fifteen minute musical sensation. Standout moments included the fantastic percussion in the Aragonaise, the beautiful flute playing in the Intermezzo, the mysterious atmosphere of Les dragons d’Alcala and the immense energy and enthusiasm of Les Toréadors. We resolved to go home and dig out the CD instantly! Two modern pieces followed, Maurice Jarre’s Lara’s Theme from Doctor Zhivago, arranged by Christopher Palmer, and the John Dunbar Theme from John Barry’s music for Dances with Wolves. And the evening ended with our final piece of Tchaikovsky, the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture that always leaves you wondering where it’s going until it establishes that rich, unforgettable tune.

A brilliant night out which got a massive reception from the enthusiastic audience. The Royal Philharmonic return to the Royal and Derngate on May 31st for Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony – can’t wait!

Review – Dial M for Mayhem, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 3rd February 2025

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It was with no little excitement that I realised this touring production comes from the Middle Ground Theatre Company, an intrepid outfit that brought a couple of excellent productions to the Wycombe Swan in the mid-1990s and whom I always enjoyed seeing. Small, but beautifully formed, as they say; Middle Ground would tour where angels fear to tread, including the Scottish Highlands and Islands, bringing their productions to remote village halls for one night only.

Selfie timeAnd that is the rather charming and potentially hilarious inspiration for Margaret May Hobbs’ new play Dial M for Mayhem, the story of a bumbling company performing Dial M for Murder for one night at the Loch Shindig Village Hall (no need to look it up; you won’t find it on any map). Pouring rain, a clapped-out van, food poisoning, an accident-prone actor, an escaped pet rat, electricity via a 50p meter – I probably don’t need to go on. But will the show?

WD40 for the lockMichael Lunney’s set perfectly encapsulates that often seen, rather basic, flimsy touring set whilst still serving the purpose of the play extremely well, allowing an Act Two backstage view whilst still being able to see some of what’s going on “on stage”. The cast work their socks off, full of commitment and with plenty of physical comedy. There are some extremely funny scenes which genuinely make you laugh out loud – and there’s no doubt that the show received a good reception. The biggest laugh from a Northamptonshire audience came from the revelation that one of the Scots characters doesn’t come from Loch Shindig – but Corby.

Dial M for MSo is this the new Noises Off? Far from it, I’m afraid. For every funny moment there are several tumbleweed sequences where everything just treads water. The patchy writing extends to the structure of the play itself; only the third scene (of four) gives you the backstage angle with all its unique comedy potential, and much of that sadly falls flat. This leads on to a final scene which partially resolves a few issues – even though you didn’t realise they were issues in the first place. Two members of the team have a brief romantic moment without ever having seen a flicker between them in the first three scenes. You suspect that another character has some unspecified health issues that just brings a cloud to the final few minutes.

Samantha MiddletonMargaret May Hobbs doesn’t sign off her scenes with any significant line or cliffhanger moment to take us to the next scene, resulting in them all finishing hanging in the air, with the audience wondering is that it? At least half the characters are stereotypes with precious little depth to them; the AA man is like a Scouse Eric Morecambe and there’s a stock Highlander who would make the characters in Hamish Macbeth blush with embarrassment. There’s also no sense of urgency or panic in the last minute rehearsals for the performance; Sean the director and Andrew the stage manager allow themselves to be merrily distracted from getting on with the job without the remotest concern. And when we see Dial M for Murder in full flow from backstage, there’s no sense of it progressing whilst we’re watching the backstage catastrophes; the Loch Shindig audience may be as generous as you like but even they can’t be happy with several minutes of nothing happening on stage whilst everyone hunts down a rat.

RupertMichael Lunney’s cast make the most of their roles; Alasdair Baker as Rupert mines a genuine fallen star out of the stereotype elderly luvvie, and I enjoyed Estrid Barton’s Ellen frantically trying to hold the sound cues together whilst simultaneously throwing up in a bucket. But, sadly, a weak script means you come away from the show with a sense of opportunities wasted rather than taken. After its week in Northampton, the tour continues to Darlington, Dundee, Ipswich and Hereford.

Production photos by Marcus Fernando for Middle Ground Theatre Company Ltd

Two Disappointing For More!

Review – Last Rites, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 28th January 2025

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Ad Infinitum’s Last Rites comes to Northampton as part of its UK tour and, as a performance piece, defies labelling into any category, but I’ll have a try. It’s a play with three characters, all performed by deaf actor Ramesh Meyyappan, utilising his superb physical movement and mime skills, to tell a story without speech.

Arjun returns to India from the UK with his small son Krishna, as his father has died. Even though he isn’t religious and has never been taught the intricacies of the post-death Hindu rituals, it falls to him as the oldest son to prepare his father’s body for cremation. And as he does so, he reflects on his childhood and growing up, and his relationship with his father. We see him offering his father unwanted help in the kitchen, making his first visit to the Hindu Temple, and changing his education to a school for the deaf. Following teenage disagreements, and a disastrous rejection of an arranged marriage, Arjun makes his ultimate escape from his father’s influence by emigrating to the UK.

There is no scenery to speak of, just a mattress on the floor, a bowl of water, a small pot of ash and some clothes for the dead. Specifically designed for both deaf and hearing audiences, the production uses a combination of Mr Meyyappan’s sign language and mime to tell the story, aided by text appearing on an eloquent video projection – a combination of words and imagery that compliment the sign language perfectly. Akintayo Akinbode’s beautiful sound composition has many motifs, including some delicately playful music representing Krishna, and Ali Hunter’s lighting design helps us understand the various changes of time and location.

It’s a very thoughtful and emotional piece that poses some fascinating questions about father/son relationships. Arjun shows both love and fury towards his dead father, and it’s clear that he has learned from his experiences how better to bring up his own son. It celebrates deaf culture and identity, and there’s a heartfelt explosion at the end when Arjun despises his father for his refusal to learn sign language; so much went wrong in their relationship simply due to a lack of communication and an absence of valuable father/son conversations.

It tells the story very clearly; however, even at around 70 minutes, it feels a little long. There is a lot of repetition of handwashing; this emphasises the ritual, but nevertheless it is a little tiring to watch the same thing again and again. For the most part Last Rites runs at a slowish pace and could do with some occasional boosts of energy for variety. But it’s performed with real commitment and integrity, and Mr Meyyappan delivers a masterclass in his non-verbal performance skills and style. After its two nights in Northampton, the show moves on to Bedales, Newbury, Scarborough, Ipswich and Salford, plus a week in July at the Bristol Old Vic.

3-starsThree-sy Does It!

Review – Screaming Blue Murder, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 25th January 2025

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Having been banished from the stages of the Royal and Derngate more effectively than a bunch of Faithfuls picking on themselves, how rewarding it is to see Screaming Blue Murder back in the hallowed portals of the Royal Theatre after such a long time, with a fittingly large and buzzing audience to welcome it. When regular host Dan Evans bounded on stage to galvanise us all into attention, a little voice in the back of my head sang Hello Danny, well hello Danny, it’s so nice to have you back where you belong. Please don’t ever send Screaming Blue Murder back to the dreaded Screen 2. It makes no sense!

Dan was on unsurprisingly blistering form as he (and we) got to know Tommy, the unenthusiastic Royal Mail recruiter, a triumvirate of front row Petes, an uninhibited Nana celebrating her 50th birthday, and sensible Kelsey with her hench Physical Trainer boyfriend. If the Royal has one fault, on a cold winter night the wind can whip off that stage into the audience, but Dan was able to keep us warmer than our massed ranks of gilets and duffel coats.

First up, and someone we’ve seen many times before, was the pride of Wolverhampton, Susan Murray. With oodles of attack, she regaled us with tales of her Glaswegian parents, the secrets of the menopause, and fully justified disdain of President Trump (2.0). Northampton audiences rarely go for political comedy in a big way, and Saturday’s crowd was no different. Nevertheless, she has a remarkable ability to generate big energy, and all her observations are on point and hilarious. An excellent start to the evening.

Next, and new to us, came Bennett Kavanagh, a self-confessed middle-class single gentleman, with an electronic keyboard slung over his shoulder like an outsized manbag. Beautifully self-deprecating, he uses the instrument not only for some comedy songs, but also for its jingle potential. I loved his routine about lift music, the perils of not having Spotify Premium, and how you can use the Windows chords in awkward moments. Terrific timing, an intriguingly funny stage persona, and with some brilliant material, he had us howling throughout.

Our headliner was Joey Page, who has a mischievous way of making sure we know his socials are JoeyPageComedy, and who trades on his slightly unusual physical presence for maximum comic effect. He has great insight into the laughter potential of the British class system, and his idea of being Upper Working Class is an eye-opener. He has the measure of a Northampton audience, teasing us with our Cultural Quarter, and guessing that no one comes here unless you’re born here; it’s true, the game’s up. Admirably verbally dextrous, he delivers his very clever and inventive material that makes you think as well as makes you laugh, and he went down a storm.

Best Screaming Blue Murder for a very long time. The show returns to the Royal (hurrah!) on 27th February. Book now for a great night out!

Review – Dear Evan Hansen, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 14th January 2025

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Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s inventive musical that combines teenage angst, mental health and social media has been around for a few years now and is well into its UK tour with a week at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton. It’s a show that quickly gained something of a cult status, with most theatregoers getting totally consumed by its fascinating story and emotional score, and a few who just don’t get it.

You Will Be FoundIf you haven’t already seen the show but intend to, please look away for these next two paragraphs because the originality of the story works best if you go into the show with no knowledge of what’s ahead. Evan Hansen is a young man with mental health issues. Taking both medication and therapy, the current attempt to control his neurosis is for him to write regular letters to himself, such as Dear Evan Hansen, today is going to be a good day, or Dear Evan Hansen, I did well at school today. However, one day he writes himself an honest letter about how it was a bad day and everything went wrong. He is just about to take the copy off the printer when drug-addict and bully Connor Murphy picks it up instead, reads it, and taunts him with it. What’s worse is that the letter contains an indication of the unrequited love Evan has for Connor’s sister Zoe.

Killian Thomas LefevreConnor then goes missing from school, which makes Evan’s panicking imagination go into overdrive. However, Connor’s absence is because he has taken his own life, and Evan’s letter was found and assumed to be Connor’s suicide note. A whole myth then evolves around the personality of Connor, including the assumption that Evan and Connor were very close friends, which was far from the truth. It gives Connor’s parents comfort to know that he had a close friend, and Evan hasn’t the heart to upset them by explaining what happened. The online grief and virtual deification of Connor continues to grow out of all proportion; can Evan maintain the deception or will he reveal the truth?

You Will Be FoundHaving seen the show in London in 2021, and been impressed by the production and the performances, but still not quite getting the hype, I was keen to see if my reservations about the show have melted at all over the last few years. In short – yes they have! This is a terrific revival, in many ways better than the original, which had an overwhelming stage design, full of digitalised imagery, constantly bombarding you with an impression of feverishly active social media accounts vying with each other to gain the attention of users. There’s no doubt it was impressive and memorable.

Richard HurstHowever, in this production, directed with a greater feel for the characters and the humanity of the story by Adam Penford, Ravi Deepres’ video design is considerably subtler and much less intrusive. And whilst perhaps this production doesn’t give you quite the same sense of social media shaping our every thought and action, it does allow the characters and the story to develop and take shape more freely and indeed more visibly; ironically, perhaps, the show’s original marketing hashtag of #youwillbefound is now much more appropriate and meaningful. Additionally, Michael Bradley’s nine-piece band gives a tremendous performance of Pasek and Paul’s quirky and varied score, full of emotion and unexpectedly tuneful. This is helped enormously by both the fantastic harmonies and the clarity of diction by all members of the cast. No unnecessary over-amplifications here, and I appreciated for the first time what a great score it is.

Ryan KopelThere are very good performances throughout the show, but all eyes and ears are on Ryan Kopel as Evan, who gives a totally believable performance of an anxious, nervous teenager starting to gain a little confidence as he finds a purpose in life, albeit based on a lie. The character’s anxiety and neurosis are superbly expressed in his tentative singing of some of the songs, only to be blown away later in the show with his full-bodied and powerful vocals. It must be exhausting to perform, and he does a brilliant job.

Alice FearnAlice Fearn is also fantastic as his mother Heidi, a hard-working single parent who regrets having to spend so much time away from him, and who also learns more about her responsibilities and priorities as the show progresses.  Her duet with Mr Kopel with the song So Big/So Small truly has the power to make your eyes unexpectedly moist. The scene where she goes to the Murphy family for dinner is acted out with the perfect cringeworthiness that it calls for! Lauren Conroy brings out all Zoe’s varied emotions of grief, affection and teenage rebellion, Tom Dickerson is also very credible as Evan’s family friend Jared, one of those ebullient kids who loves a laugh and a bit of banter but also has many an internal conflict, and Vivian Panka is great as the keen-to-be-noticed Alana, who allows power to get to her head.

Vivian PankaFor our performance, the role of Connor’s mother, Cynthia, was played by understudy Jessica Lim and she has a great voice and presence, and worked well with Richard Hurst’s Larry Murphy to show both the couple’s bickering and genuine suffering. Mr Hurst brought a very nicely understated fatherly love to the simple song To Break in a Glove. And Killian Thomas Lefevre is excellent as Connor, both as the bully and Evan’s conscience-pricker, singing and acting out all the inappropriate content of the emails that the mischievous Jared writes on his behalf.

Meal from hellIt’s not often that a touring production beats the original West End show, but this is one such occasion. It’s in Northampton until Saturday 18th January – although you’ll have to fight for a ticket – and then continues its UK tour right through to July. To coin a phrase, Dear Evan Hansen has finally been found.

Production photos by Marc Brenner

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