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

Posted on February 24, 2025 by therealchrisparkle

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

Posted on February 18, 2025 by therealchrisparkle

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 18^th 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.

Understandably 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.

The 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.

Of 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.

However, 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.

Early 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.

Either 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.

The 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.

There 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.

There 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.

Deliberately 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

Three-sy Does It!

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

Posted on February 17, 2025 by therealchrisparkle

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 19^th and 20^th 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 31^st for Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony – can’t wait!

Review – Comedy Crate at the Charles Bradlaugh, Northampton, 13th February 2025

Posted on February 14, 2025 by therealchrisparkle

It was with a buzz of expectation that a merry band of a hundred or more souls settled down for another excellent line up of comedians at the Charles Bradlaugh, all arranged by those nice people at the Comedy Crate. Some new names to us, and some familiar; it was always going to be a great night.

Our host for the evening was the jovial Ross McGrane, whom we’d seen once before as the opening act at a Screaming Blue Murder, almost ten years ago. A naturally funny guy, he’s full of electric enthusiasm and is the perfect MC to get us all in the mood. As well as working his way around the crowd, he also shared some excellent comedy nuggets, such as an exploration of the cost of toys, and the childcare advice of his East Ham granny; I too had an East Ham granny, so can appreciate the veracity of her wisdom. He kept the whole thing going at a tremendous pace and was a classy conduit indeed.

First up, and someone we’ve seen many times before, was the fantastic Steve Day, still coming to terms with the potential for offence at the difference between deaf and Deaf; as a deaf comedian, no one can express that better than him. A terrific communicator, he has great material about having a household with grown up kids, his experience co-hosting a Paralympics event with Boris Johnson (shudder) and I still love his line about moving to beautiful Sutton Coldfield for the views. Bold and inventive, he takes comedy where angels fear to tread, and the audience loved him.

Two comedians shared the second spot, and we started with Harry Pettitt, introduced by Ross as Harry Kane for no discernible reason. A fresh-faced Essex lad who looks like butter wouldn’t melt, he has a confident stage presence and an instant connection with the audience. He gave us some very funny routines about the benefits of spending time with posh people and the joys of travelling. I reckon this young chap is going places. After him, came Matt Adlington, another naturally funny guy, who kept the energy up; continuing the Essex theme of the night, he has a smart delivery and a rather kindly presence. He was surprised to know how well we knew our Magpie material, and has a uniquely splendid reason for sporting a beard.

Our headliner was Jordan Gray, someone whom I’ve been fascinated to see ever since her devilish live TV appearance with Ben Elton. Her delivery style verges on the manic, leaping all over the stage, contorting her legs into unusual positions like a wannabe ballerina on speed. Most of her material stems from her life as a transgender woman, and it’s both incredibly emotional and unabashedly hilarious. What primarily comes through is her honesty; she’s outrageous but she’s truthful, unpredictable but, above all, very, very funny. We loved her witty song about being coeliac – as is Mrs Chrisparkle, so we both felt her pain – and she provided the perfect conclusion to a brilliant night of comedy.

Next Comedy Crate at the Bradlaugh is on 13^th March – sadly, we can’t make it, but you should!

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

Posted on February 4, 2025 by therealchrisparkle

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.

And 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?

Michael 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.

So 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.

Margaret 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.

Michael 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

Posted on January 29, 2025 by therealchrisparkle

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.

Three-sy Does It!

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

Posted on January 26, 2025 by therealchrisparkle

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 50^th 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 27^th February. Book now for a great night out!

Review – Comedy Crate at the Charles Bradlaugh, Northampton, 17th January 2025

Posted on January 20, 2025 by therealchrisparkle

What’s this? Haven’t we already had a Comedy Crate session at the Bradlaugh this month? Yes indeed – but those nice people at the CC kindly arranged a bonus night out in January. The venue was totally packed – if you believe there’s no demand for comedy in January, think again!

Our host for the evening was Russell Arathoon, a jovial cove who reminded me of how a drag artist would host a comedy show if they weren’t in drag – if that makes any sense. Immensely cheeky and saucy, he was quickly pulled up by a group of three ladies for mispronouncing the name of the venue (not to mention the fact that he later said we were in Nottingham). He also had plenty of fun teasing the work outing from the paper and cardboard company and the Take That tribute act in the front row. Sometimes a little near the knuckle, but extremely likeable and animated, so the evening flowed like a dream.

Our first act was the sensational Scott Bennett, who delivers his inventive and original material with deft ease and wonderful confidence. He has such great observations on long-term marriage, what children can do to a car, and why he’s stopped going to the “by hand” car wash. Extremely funny and natural, as well as being very generous with his time which flew by. An expert of his genre.

Unusually, we had two acts for our second segment, both new to us, younger comedians who are obviously developing their craft. First up was Abbie Edwards, who projects a slightly neurotic persona of a young person who’s lead a sheltered past, juggling a Christian upbringing with the sheer joy of discovering sex. Very nicely paced and with good confidence. She was followed by Osman Shibli,who has a strong likeable stage presence and brings entertaining observations on his unusual Pakistani/Qatari/British heritage. Both acts need to firm up on stronger punchlines and nail them more decisively, but, let’s face it, Mr Bennett was always going to be a very tough act to follow. They both acquitted themselves extremely well and can look towards a good future!

Our headliner was Ian Stone, an act who has been around a good while, which makes it even more surprising that we’ve never seen him before. Much of his material is based on the fact that he is Jewish, which he tackles head on, no holds barred, daring to say the things that only he can. Amongst his gems are some great material about his wayward dad, and the secret to forming a credible opinion on any subject. He’s a complete master of his art, and, frankly, I laughed so much that it hurt.

Double portions of Comedy Crate comedy in January! The next gig at the Bradlaugh is on 13^th February, with another amazing lineup. Go on, you know it makes sense; at £13 quid a ticket it’s the best value comedy in town.

P. S. No names, no pack drill, but it’s very antisocial to get the vapes out in a comedy club. It’s not big and it’s not clever. If it happens again, there’ll be trouble.

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

Posted on January 15, 2025 by therealchrisparkle

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.

If 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.

Connor 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?

Having 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.

However, 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.

There 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 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.

For 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.

It’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 18^th 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

Five Alive, Let Theatre Thrive!

Review – The Comedy Crate, Charles Bradlaugh, Northampton, 9th January 2025

Posted on January 10, 2025 by therealchrisparkle

A great line up for the first Comedy Crate of the year at the Bradlaugh, and despite the nipping and eagerly cold night, a packed house of comedy devotees had an amazing time. Our host for the night was the warm and friendly Paul Revill, no stranger to this stage, who went about his task of getting to know the audience with his usual attack and merriment. He explored the possibilities of Hi-Vis bedroom antics, ascertained the most popular Quality Street amongst the audience, and spent the evening trying to work out in which field reticent third-row Leon was an expert. This was a burning question that was never truly answered, but Mr R kept everything moving and provided a delightful conduit between us and the three comedians sitting at the back.

None of the acts was new to us, so we already knew we were in for a great night. First up was Michelle Shaughnessy, emigrated from Canada three years ago without ever having set foot in the UK before – was it a wise move? She tells us about breaking up with her husband, her subsequent dating experiences and the benefits of sugar daddies, all with a marvellously confiding style, stringing us along with solid comedy material before delivering a hilariously unexpected punchline. Tremendously confident and assured, this is smart and clever comedy of the highest order.

Second up was Gbemi Oladipo, whom we last saw a few months ago in front of a very small audience where he worked his socks off to make an impact. Now, with a bigger, fully engrossed audience, he hit the ground running with some wonderfully daring material which, in the hands of a lesser mortal, could have sunk without trace; but Mr O has quickly become a true master of delivering bold, race-themed comedy, where you never feel uncomfortable because you’re always laughing your heart out. I wasn’t expecting him to touch politics, but his Kemi Badenoch material is fantastic! I also loved how including him on a recruitment panel backfired, the horrors of finding his mother’s sex manual, and why you should only have white male pilots on a plane. Everyone adored him and we can’t wait to see him again.

Our headliner was the inestimable Hal Cruttenden, whom we last saw in Edinburgh where he created a show based on the horrors of his recent divorce. Three years on, and he hasn’t been backward in coming forward going on new dates, which he tells us about with his irrepressible relish. He also reflects on how the world today is most definitely not what it was, which sounds like it would be a downer, but Mr C can make a shopping list funny. Fearing for the future of democracy, he sympathises with any young people in the audience (not that there were many of those!) His insight into why young people of today couldn’t be called up to go to war is brilliant, and one can only admire his self-awareness as to where he falls in the spectrum of a woman’s sequence of lovers, if I can express it that way. He ended his set with a hilarious story of what happened when he performed comedy to a group of young soldiers safely removed from Afghanistan, with all the death and destruction they would have seen. Doesn’t sound like comedy material – but in the hands of an expert like Mr C, it truly is.

A fantastic way to start the comedy year, and there is a bonus Bradlaugh night next Friday, 17^th January – can’t wait!

The Real Chrisparkle

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