Theatre and dance memories? Yessir! September 2006 to January 2007

Posted on May 24, 2021 by therealchrisparkle

Waiting for Godot – Oxford Playhouse, 22^nd September 2006

Peter Hall’s production of Beckett’s great play toured the country under the auspices of the Theatre Royal Bath, and I decided it was high time that Mrs Chrisparkle saw a performance of it – especially with the excellent cast that included James Laurenson, Alan Dobie and Terence Rigby. Oh dear. We didn’t like it at all. Incredibly dull, sadly.

Romeo and Juliet – Birmingham Royal Ballet at the Birmingham Hippodrome, 30^th September 2006

This was the classic Kenneth MacMillan choreography to Prokofiev’s fantastic score, danced by the BRB to great, stately effect. Juliet was danced by Carol-Anne Miller, and Romeo by Dominic Antonucci. Every bit as beautiful as you would expect.

Restoration – Headlong Theatre Company at the Oxford Playhouse, 6^th October 2006

Headlong’s production of Edward Bond’s Restoration brought out all its comedy, directed by Rupert Goold. An excellent show, that transformed a play that otherwise looks rather dull on the page.

The Three Musketeers – Northern Ballet Theatre at the Milton Keynes Theatre, 25^th October 2006

Northern Ballet’s Three Musketeers was full of swish and swash, a great spectacular entertainment, choreographed by David Nixon. Danced to the music of Sir Malcolm Arnold, it was enormous fun.

The Nutcracker – Birmingham Royal Ballet at the Birmingham Hippodrome, 25^th November 2006

We took our very young niece (aged 5) to see The Nutcracker – start ‘em young, we thought. We told her that she had to be quiet during the show and if she had any questions to save them up for the interval. Bless her, when the lights went down for the show to start, and the two ladies behind her didn’t stop talking, she turned around to them and gave them a very loud SSSSHHH!!! much to everyone’s amusement. It was a charming and thoroughly entertaining show, with Georgian dancer Maia Makhateli as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Viktoria Walton as Clara.

Richard Alston Dance Company – Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, 28^th November 2006

For Mrs C’s big birthday I surprised her by not telling her that her brother and sister-in-law were flying over for it from Sydney. The evening they arrived, we all had tickets to see Richard Alston, but such was the excitement of the visit that we got there late and couldn’t get a programme. Still, I can tell from the flyer that the dances of the evening were Red Run, Volumina and The Devil in the Detail. No idea of who the dancers were though!

Me and My Girl – Milton Keynes Theatre, 29^th November 2006

We took my brother and sister-in-law to see this show and we were to meet my inlaws there as well, so they got a big surprise when they saw their oldest son at the theatre! I kept so many surprises that year! It was a good revival of Me and My Girl, a touring production from the Theatre Royal Plymouth, starring Richard Frame as Bill and Faye Tozer of Steps as Sally. Trevor Bannister was Sir John, Fascinating Aida’s Dillie Keane was the Duchess and Sylvester McCoy was The Family Solicitor, Parchester.

Rock ‘n’ Roll – Duke of York’s Theatre, London, 9^th December 2006

For a London treat for our overseas guests, we took them to see the latest Tom Stoppard play, Rock ‘n’ Roll, as my brother-in-law had very much enjoyed the Stoppard plays he had seen in the past. It starred Dominic West and David Calder, and was a retrospective look at what part Rock n Roll might have played in the drive towards freedom and democracy in the old Czechoslovakia. Pretty good, if I remember right.

Cinderella – Festival Theatre Malvern, 27^th December 2006

A family trip for ten of us, of all ages and generations, to see a family panto; and quite an odd beast it was too. Whilst it had all the usual fun you would expect, Liza Goddard’s Fairy Godmother was a little too posh for us and Tony Scannell bizarrely played Baron Hardup as an impersonation of Leslie Phillips all the way through – for absolutely no purpose whatsoever. Saving grace – and he was really excellent – was Dave Benson Phillips as Buttons, whose signature tune “Buttons, Buttons, B-U-T-T-O-N-S” we still sing whenever anyone mentions, er, buttons.

Avenue Q – Noel Coward Theatre, London, 2^nd January 2007

A last trip to London before our overseas visitors flew home, we all went to see Avenue Q and were blown away by its hilarity. One of the best shows of the modern era, its use of puppetry and saucy lyrics and characters has become a benchmark for all other shows. Our excellent cast included Julie Atherton as Kate Monster/Lucy the Slut, Jon Robyns (yes Hamilton’s King George and Les Mis’s Valjean) as Princeton/Rod, and a young Giles Terera (Hamilton’s Aaron Burr) as Gary. And which of us has never been wrong-footed by a Bad Idea Bear?

Still more theatre memories? December 2002 – June 2003

Posted on April 19, 2021 by therealchrisparkle

Contact – Queen’s Theatre, London, 28^th December 2002

A wonderful combination of dance and theatre, Susan Stroman’s Contact was a huge hit in the US, but British audiences didn’t seem to get it. Mrs Chrisparkle and I loved it, and we still have a framed poster in our hall to this day! The superb cast included Michael Praed, Leigh Zimmerman, Sarah Wildor and Craig Urbani. Fantastic!

George Piper Dances – Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, 18^th February 2003

The return of the George Piper team – aka the Balletboyz of the future – to the Swan Dance season gave us four short pieces to enjoy; William Forsyth’s Steptext, Matthew Hart’s Other Mens Wives, Lightfoot/Leon’s Sigue, and Russell Maliphant’s Torsion. As before, the group consisted of William Trevitt, Michael Nunn, Oxana Panchenko and Matthew Hart. Superb as always.

Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! – Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, 1^st March 2003

New Adventures, as Matthew Bourne’s company had now become, brought us Bourne’s vision of Tchaikovsky’s famous Christmassy ballet, which has become a firm family favourite all around the world. The story is now transplanted to Dr Dross’ Orphanage for Waifs and Strays, with the wonderful Scott Ambler as Dr Dross/King Sherbet, Emily Piercy as the Matron/Queen Candy, Saranne Curtin as Sugar, Ewan Wardrop as Fritz, Etta Murfitt as Clara and Alan Vincent as the Nutcracker himself. We took our nieces and they loved it.

Madame Butterfly – Northern Ballet Theatre at the Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, 5^th April 2003

We took the Dowager Mrs C to see this because she loved the music to Madame Butterfly, although we weren’t sure she’d appreciate the dance much; but we all loved it. A superb dance rendition of Puccini’s romantic opera that tugged the heartstrings more than you could possibly imagine. Desiré Samaai was an extraordinary Butterfly, Jhe Russell a brilliant Pinkerton, and the whole show was just fantastic.

The Dance of Death – Lyric Theatre, London, 19^th April 2003

Richard Greenberg’s new adaptation of Strindberg’s play starred Ian McKellen and Frances de la Tour; and I remember that as you entered the auditorium, both were on stage, ignoring each other, moping about in a very gloomy, Strindbergian way. A very strong production, if not a song-and-dance every minute, and beautifully acted, as you would expect.

Hamlet – Arc Dance Company at the Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, 28^th April 2003

Kim Brandstrup’s dance version of Shakespeare’s tragedy had Lee Boggess as Hamlet, the legendary Kenneth Tharp as Claudius and Joanne Fong as Gertrude. If only I could remember it better, because I am sure it was excellent!

Paul Taylor Dance Company – Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, 6^th May 2003

An enviable chance to see the world famous Paul Taylor Dance Company of New York, performing three great dance works – Roses, The Word and Company B, all of which were choreographed by Paul Taylor. Company B was danced to the music of the Andrews Sisters, and was very similar to the dance Rum and Coca Cola choreographed by Janet Smith – I’m not sure who borrowed from whom! We knew we were privileged to see this show.

Nederlands Dans Theater 2 – Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, 7^th June 2003

We always took the opportunity to see NDT2 whenever we could, and this show had four terrific dances. Johan Inger’s Out of Breath, followed by two Lightfoot/Leon pieces, Shutters Shut and Subject to Change, and finally = as they so often did – ending up with Ohad Naharin’s Minus 16. Brilliant as always.

Corpse! – Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, 13^th June 2003

Gerald Moon’s well-trodden old comedy thriller about a brother trying to murder his twin starred Peter Duncan, Colin Baker, Louise Jameson and David Warwick. Can’t remember too much about it, but I suspect it was a little creaky.

The Vagina Monologues – Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, 27^th June 2003

Eve Ensler’s ever popular play for three women had played in the West End for two years and was on a very long UK tour. Part of the fun was seeing which stars would be in it, as the cast kept evolving. For our performance, we saw Tamara Beckwith, Jenny Jules and Su Pollard, and they were all excellent. A very entertaining, and thought provoking show, that still tours today.

Another ten theatre memories? OK then – five plays and five dances … May to December 1997

Posted on March 2, 2021 by therealchrisparkle

Nederlands Dans Theater 2 – Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, 31^st May 1997

Passing over a jolly visit to the Moscow State Circus at the Battersea Big Top, our next show was a tour from NDT2, whom the programme refers to as “Europe’s Foremost Contemporary Dance Company”, and they were certainly a contender for that title. The Youth Department of the Netherlands’ NDT1 main company, this was the first time we had seen them and we were bowled over by their skill and artistry. The programme was Jiri Kylian’s Songs of a Wayfarer, Hans van Manen’s Solo, Johan Inger’s Mellantid, and finally, Nacho Duato’s Jardi Tancat. All the members of this amazing company have gone on to have rich and varied careers in the world of dance.

The Return of Sherlock Holmes – Middle Ground Theatre Company at the Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, 10^th June 1997

Middle Ground returned to the Wycombe Swan with Ernest Dudley’s adaptation of Conan Doyle’s collection of Sherlock Holmes stories, directed by Harry Landis. Leading the cast as Holmes was Michael Cashman, now a Life Peer in the House of Lords. It also featured Frederick Pyne and Nicholas Smith who had appeared in Middle Ground’s previous production at the Wycombe Swan. I can’t fully remember, but I think this had a very poor audience and as a result the atmosphere was a bit lacking. Great cast though.

Mrs Warren’s Profession – Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, 23^rd June 1997

Safe pair of hands Alan Strachan directed this touring production of Shaw’s third play, one of his Plays Unpleasant, largely a vehicle for another safe pair of hands, Penelope Keith, to be versatile on stage. I think we all know what Mrs Warren did for a living. The excellent support cast included Charles Kay and Denis Lill. Very enjoyable.

Lettice and Lovage – Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, 30^th June 1997

We’d missed the West End production of Peter Shaffer’s Lettice and Lovage and so I was keen to see this touring production, although I was uncertain of the casting of Hinge and Bracket in the two main roles – much as I loved them as an act. I needn’t have worried; they fitted in perfectly, and it was an excellent production, directed by Graham Watts.

Laughter on the 23^rd Floor – Oxford Playhouse, 28^th August 1997

Moving past that year’s Pendley Festival offering – Macbeth, our next show was a production of Neil Simon’s comedy Laughter on the 23^rd Floor, with a fantastic cast led by Frank Finlay, also featuring Sandra Dickinson, Peter Polycarpou and John Challis. It was Simon’s recreation of 1950s TV comedy, where he cut his writing teeth. I only wish I could remember more about it!

The Woman in Black – Fortune Theatre, London, 30^th August 1997

Only ten years after it opened in London, we finally got to see this extraordinary play – and have seen it three times since then. Perfectly located in the Fortune to accentuate the intimate, claustrophobic terror of the story, it boasted two excellent performances from Robert Demeger and David Pullan. Still going strong! Nothing’s going to stop this one.

Carmen – Czech National Ballet at the National Theatre, Prague, 30^th September 1997

We took the opportunity to discover some Czech ballet whilst on holiday in Prague, and a visit to the National Theatre is a very rewarding experience if you should ever find yourself there. To say that it was avant garde is to underestimate its oddness. Any production of Carmen that starts with a naked dwarf jumping around isn’t going to lend itself too much to the original. Nevertheless, we kind of enjoyed it. Kind of.

Cinderella – Adventures in Motion Pictures at the Piccadilly Theatre, London, 11^th October 1997

As soon as Matthew Bourne’s follow up to his incredibly successful Swan Lake was announced, I snapped up tickets. Set in London during the Blitz, his Cinderella featured a dashing pilot and an angel – as well as some of the roles you might normally expect with this story! Nothing was ever going to beat Swan Lake and maybe I was slightly disappointed because of that – but this was a fine performance of an innovative new dance show, and the cast list was superb – Adam Cooper, Lynn Seymour, Sarah Wildor, Scott Ambler, William Kemp and many more great dancers from the Bourne stable!

Rambert Dance Company – 97/98 Season Programme at the Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, 18^th October 1997

Never missing up a chance to see Rambert, this programme started with Paul Taylor’s Airs, followed by Christopher Bruce’s Stream (which we had seen the previous February) and finally Didy Veldman’s Greymatter. The dancers included Paul Liburd, Vincent Redmon, Glenn Wilkinson, Hope Muir, Sheron Wray, Rafael Bonachela, Mattew Hart, Steven Brett, Didy Veldman, Laurent Cavanna, and my favourite from that era, Marie Laure Agrapart. Wonderful as always.

The Nutcracker – Vienna Festival Ballet at the Civic Centre, Aylesbury, 4^th December 1997

You don’t think of combining Vienna Ballet with Aylesbury, but they were there and it was a very enjoyable performance of this Christmas favourite; although I doubt whether many of the dancers had been any nearer to Vienna than Weston Turville. A crowd-pleaser though!

Review – Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty, Milton Keynes Theatre, 30th January 2013

Posted on January 31, 2013 by therealchrisparkle

A new Matthew Bourne production always has the promise of greatness. It was at the Wycombe Swan that we first saw his Adventures in Motion Pictures’ Swan Lake, one Saturday matinee in 1995, and we were electrified by it. I think we saw it three or four times within that first year, and whenever it comes round, as it often does, it’s our sworn duty to go and see it again. Since then we’ve seen Cinderella, Nutcracker, Highland Fling, The Car Man, Play Without Words, Dorian Gray, and last year’s Early Adventures, all of which are somewhere on the scale between very good and excellent. And now we have Sleeping Beauty, which to my mind is the nearest he has come to recreating the theatrical thrill that is his Swan Lake.

Good to see Mr Bourne is still working with his tried and tested colleagues. One glance at the programme and you are reassured to see that Lez Brotherston has designed the set and costumes. The sets are amazing – opulent and classy, and still leaving a large central space for all the dancing to take place. Particularly stunning are the house and garden scene for Act Two and the neon lit wedding reception for Act Four. The costumes are splendid too – especially outstanding are those for the good fairies and Carabosse. The puppetry to convey the baby Aurora is also brilliant: subtly done, remarkably realistic and very funny.

One of the problems I have with some of Mr Bourne’s works is that, for contemporary dance productions, sometimes they’re just isn’t enough choreography. Well he’s certainly put that right with Sleeping Beauty. It’s jam-packed full of dance; and one of the finest sequences comes quite early on with a remarkable pas de six performed by Count Lilac and the five fairies. Lively, exciting, dramatic and also humorous, the variations are all superbly danced and you can’t help but grin from ear to ear whilst watching.

A very small quibble – it’s hard to tell from the programme who is performing which role as you have a choice of two or three performers for each character and no information insert to guide you for that individual performance. So in my mentions of any particular dancers in this blog, I sincerely hope I have allocated the correct dancer to the correct role – I am relying on their bio photos and my mental images of what they looked like! I’m pretty sure our Count Lilac was Christopher Marney, recently a well deserved nomination for outstanding performance in Modern Dance in the National Dance Awards. He was excellent in this Act One pas de six, but also fantastic in the climactic assault on the wicked Caradoc at the end, even if his masked appearance with Leo (Chris Trenfield at our performance) making their way to the wedding reception, did put me slightly in mind of the 1960s Batman and Robin. I was also a little put off by the visual tableau just before the interval when it looked like we’d gone all Transylvanian. Mr Marney looked highly creepy in this scene, and I thought Leo’s transformation into a good fairy could have been done a little more subtly.

Chris Trenfield is great as Leo – he does some wonderful solos and has a fantastic rapport with Hannah Vassallo who played Aurora when we saw it. His highly athletic dancing, dressed as a working gamekeeper whilst everyone else is in their fancy garden party whites, is visually outstanding and Mr Trenfield really gets into the rough-and-ready aspect of the character. The only duff note of the whole evening for us was the step sequence depicting Leo going on an interminably long walk to find Aurora. It was funny at first, but then it just went on too long – and choreographically, it’s not very interesting. Miss Vassallo was a superb Aurora; cheeky, slightly tomboyish when we first see her; amusingly checking out all the suitors at the garden party, and her dancing with Leo in that scene was exquisite. She looks perfect for the role too – precisely how one would imagine Sleeping Beauty to look in real life.

Casting a severe spell over the garden party scene is Caradoc, the nasty son of the dark fairy Carabosse, both played by Ben Bunce (I think) in the production we saw. His appearance as Carabosse in the first scene is thrilling. He looks like the most malicious drag queen diva bullying his demands on the ineffectual King and Queen, almost as if he were a Beardsley creation (Aubrey, not Peter). Mrs Chrisparkle wasn’t over-menaced by Carabosse’s two attendants though; more wet than threat, she felt. As the dark fairy’s son Caradoc, Mr Bunce is the height of snooty, manipulative villainy and his scenes with Aurora are mesmerising; you’d swear Rohypnol was involved. There’s a wonderful coup de theatre – 100% Bourne – when Leo goes to wake Aurora in her bed… and it isn’t her. Caradoc’s final come-uppance is a thrilling scene, with great visual impact and energetic choreography, not to mention effective use of stage tattoos.

The whole ensemble are on top form, with great support from Luke Murphy as the footman and Katy Lowenhoff as the nanny, Daniel Collins and Danny Reubens amongst the suitors and Kate Lyons and Mari Kamata amongst the fairies. Apologies if I have some of the casting wrong – but without a detailed cast list the programme is almost worthless!

This is a very fine addition to the Bourne canon; and whilst it has neither the painful emotional drive of Swan Lake nor its extraordinarily varied and satisfying score, it’s a delight to see that Mr Bourne is still producing dance productions of the highest quality and vigour. It’s already had a sell-out season at Sadler’s Wells; it was a completely full house when we saw it – wonderful for a Wednesday night in Milton Keynes – and it will continue to tour. I see no reason why this shouldn’t follow Swan Lake and have a proper West End Theatre run. We would be very happy to see it again.

PS. The Milton Keynes Theatre experience is definitely on the ascendant. Not only have they opened up the area of the foyer which used to be a supporters/club members/rich people only area, and now which provides much more space for everyone to relax pre-show, they’ve now also got a chap tinkling the ivories, and I must say he was jolly good. A really jazzy funky version of Justin Timberlake’s Cry Me A River sent us into the theatre with a spring in our step and having forgotten the cares and woes of the day. Well done!