Month: October 2019

Clapham Fringe 2019

Reviewed by Elizabeth J Smith

4****

Have you ever eaten the top layer of a box of chocolates enjoying each sweet delight, the strawberry dream, tempting toffee, caramel cream and so many more. Safe in the knowledge that there’s another layer underneath. Then you realise the box isn’t that thick and there isn’t another layer to enjoy. You’ve eaten the lot quickly when you should of savoured each treat. Well that was the feeling I had at the end of The Gravy Bunch. I wanted more.

Isaac Rowan and Tom Plenderleith have written a very insightful piece. We follow Northern, working class, single Mum Yvonne and her two daughters, Zoe and Emily, as she tries to hide the truth of the girls Father’s absence from her youngest daughter Emily, and navigate raising the girls with little money but with the support of her brother Uncle Greg. Does she manage this? What happens when Emily discovers a letter from her Dad and realises he has been trying to connect with her for many years. This raises question’s for Emily as to why her Mum would keep this knowledge from her.

Secrets can and often do destroy families, will this one survive the truth?

Directed by Ben Reid, who masterly choreographed the chaos of family life and the intricacies of relationships.

Ela Yalcin, Yvonne, played an older, some what beaten down woman perfectly. Showing just enough emotions to be real and not over dramatic.

Lucy Ireland, Zoe, was the distracted older teenage sister. Her display of “I don’t care”, “its all about me” attitude came over clearly.

Megan Fleet, Emily, the younger teenager, captured the difference between the two sisters although very similar in age, their take on life was noticeably different.

Tom Plenderleith, Sam, portrayed the Southern, posh, outsider with some very humorous moments. I wouldn’t want to eat his Toad in a Hole!

Laurence Parker, Greg, was the family stalwart, but what secrets of his own was he hiding from his family?

They say all good things come in small packages and this short play just proved that. It drew us into each character, so that when the curtain came down there was a distinct feeling of disappointment with the audience.

So Isaac and Tom get your pens out and expand this play. There are to many unanswered questions that need answering. The Brady bunch this lot are not but we want to know where they all end up.

I would have given 5 stars but it was too short and I wanted more.

Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester – until 9 November 2019

5*****

This was my first visit to Hope Mill and hopefully not the last – but what a stunning visit it was seeing this outstanding performance of Mame.

It might be a tiny little theatre, but they think and act big.  What is actually a very small production felt like a huge Broadway spectacular, with the onstage band of 7 (Alex Parker, Tom Evans, Mark Harrison, Rachel Allen, Inés Mota, Marcus Vinícius de Oliveira Figueiredo Da Silva and Michael Clarke) sounding like a full orchestra.  

Tracie Bennett shines as the eccentric, larger than life, freewheeling bohemian suddenly left looking after her dead brothers son Patrick.  Auntie Mame rises magnificently to the occasion – giving Patrick an education in life. Teaching over the years that life is a banquet and one must enjoy every minute and “Live, Live, Live” Along the way, she suffers financial losses, attempts and fails at a variety of jobs and ultimately rises above it all when she finds her own romance with a courtly southern plantation owner, Beauregard (Tim Flavin)

Bennett shows us a masterclass of comedic and dramatic acting with power-house vocals to match her acting.  This vivid depiction of a flamboyant character is reinforced in all of Mame’s relationships, but nowhere more comically and effectively than in the scenes between Mame and arch rival/best friend Vera Charles (Harriet Thorpe). Thorpe’s waspish delivery of the one liners and banter between Vera and Mame is just priceless and hysterical. One of the best moments of the musical is when the two women – one clad in white, the other in slinky black, explain their love/hate relationship in the song Bosom Buddies. 

Lochlan White nearly steals the show as the young Patrick Dennis, arriving with his solid, stolid nanny Agnes Gooch (Jessie May).  With a great voice and poise beyond his years, he nails the role. Frumpy Gooch, moving from naivety through experience, via Mame’s encouragement and makeover, is hilarious. Chase Brown shines as the older Patrick.  Other standouts in the cast were, Sally Cato portrayed by Pippa Winslow, with a strong voice, and oozing jealousy toward Mame. Mother Burnside portrayed with great comic flair by Soo Druet, and Ito portrayed with superb comic timing and tenderness, by Benjamin Wong.

Nick Winston directs and choreographs this fantastic show, full of magical musical numbers by Jerry Herman.  The show-stopping musical number Mame,  expertly choreographed was breathtaking in its creation, and flawless in its execution by this tremendous chorus.  Producers Katy Lipson from Aria Entertainment and Joseph Houston and William Whelton consistently present amazing productions, with each one that little bit better than the one before, so I can not wait to see how their next show can possibly top Mame – because this is possibly the best show I have seen in my whole theatre-going career. 

Beg, borrow or steal to get a ticket to this show in this beautiful gem of theatre – well worth a trip to Manchester

Harrogate Theatre – until 5 October 2019

Reviewed by Katie Goldsbrough

4****

Connection is the story of 2 strangers, who meet in A&E in Harrogate hospital and go on a journey together, finding out all there is to know about each other along the way.

Written by as well as staring Rachel Halliwell this is a great story looking at how mental health and dementia can affect those around you in ways you may not realise, it looks at the real impact it can have on people’s lives. It addresses hard hitting issues and you may find yourself reaching for the tissues empathising with the characters.

Elaine played by Cathy Breeze is a care worker dealing with the death of a client, while Catherine played by Rachel Halliwell is there after an incident with her mother caused by her dementia. In the second act we are introduced to Steve played by Andrew Turner, who plays a very good misogynist drunk in pain. You have sympathy for him even though he’s made some bad choices and his actions have had terrible consequences.

Finally, we have Yasmin played by Emma Leah Golding, Yasmin is the hospital vicar who helps Steve open up.

The story connects these characters and we see how they interact with each other to ultimately better each other. They come in and out of each other’s lives and as we learn about them, we feel a connection and sympathy with them all.

The staging was basic with some slightly odd lighting changes, lights dimming mid scene for no apparent reason. However, this can be over looked as the story hooked you in. The set was very basic, just four chairs moved around after each scene to indicate a change and a sign showing we were in a hospital. This actually helped focus on the words of the characters and what was going on.

I would recommend getting there early to get a good seat as seating is unreserved and a lot of seats have a restricted view. Overall, I would recommend this play to anyone looking for something new, there is dark humour throughout so it’s not all doom and gloom, but at the same time don’t go expecting too much of a happy ending either.

The play looks at real life issues and a lot of people will go through similar experiences throughout their lives, if you have had experience of a family member or friend suffering from dementia be aware this could be hard hitting and bring back some bad memories. This is the type of story that can help people understand what others go through and see it from someone else’s point of view. If you get chance, go see it. It’s only 1h 40 minutes long including an interval, so won’t take up much of your time and you could learn something

New Wimbledon Theatre, Wimbledon – until 5 October 2019

Reviewed by Ian K Johnson

5*****

Calendar Girls the Musical is based on the true story of John Baker and his connection to the members of the Rylstone & District Women’s Institute based in Yorkshire. These women took off their clothes to produce an ‘alternative’ calendar in memory of John. The story of friendship formed by joining the WI. Annie (Sarah Jane Buckley) and Chris (Rebecca Storm) friends for many years.

Both have extremely strong voices which we are shown through numbers such as Kilimanjaro, Very Slightly Almost and Dare. Very touching, emotional and yet inspirational too. Beautifully sang by both women.

Annie and Chris are joined (reluctantly at first) by other members/friends of the WI to do a calendar to raise funds, for a settee for the relatives room in the hospital where Annie’s husband, John (superbly played by Phil Corbet), had undergone his treatment for cancer (Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma).

Not the usual WI calendar, but an alternative one, in which all the ladies would be nude, but hidden behind a current bun, or a teapot or knitting or other such things deemed important by the WI members.

Cora (Sue Devaney) is the local pianist in the church, a single parent living in the village with her son while her dad is the local vicar. She sings some very different carols at the WI Christmas fund raiser and certainly gets the crowds going and digging in their pockets. Sue can really hit that high top C. The other ladies are all involved with village life include Celia (Lisa Maxwell) ex-air hostess who, when prompted, informs us in song that ‘shes had a little work done’ and sings it brilliantly. Then Jessie, played at this performance by Pauline Daniels, the retired school teacher shows us that being of a certain age is just a number and you shouldn’t let numbers on your cake stop you from trying new things as she sings What Age Expects. Julia Hills, the downtrodden Ruth, has to rely on her Russian friends (vodka) to enable her to cope with life outside the WI, she sings My Russian Friends and I and we all feel for her. When she turns up to the calendar shoot she is hilarious from entering the room to laying on a table of jam making equipment.

The scenes where we see the photo shoot taking place are so well done, expertly placed buns, flowers, knitting, trophy (won at the annual baking contest) and piano are enough to spare the dignity of the ladies and enable the audience to laugh, cry and applaud wholeheartedly at what these ‘girls’ achieve.

The cast is made up by (Marie the WI chair woman) played with excellence by Judy Holt and the younger cast members are Tyler Dobbs (Tommo), Danny Howker (Danny) and Isabel Caswell (Jenny) who all have their own story-lines interwoven into the plot. Ian Mercer, Ellie Leah, Claudia Bradley, Derek Elroy, Alan Stocks & Sebastian Abineri make up the remaining members of cast.

A fun loving, emotional, happy, sad and joyful piece of theatre, well worth seeing.

Theatre Royal, Glasgow – until 5 October 2019

Reviewed by Siobhan Wilson

4****

Amazingly translated and adapted from a French stage production this show is equally enjoyable for both men and woman. When husband and wife duo Elizabeth (Sarah Lambie) and Peter (Tom Datnow) decided to host a dinner party for Lizzie’s brother Vincent (Joe Thomas) and his pregnant wife Anna (Louise Marwood) along side their life long friend Carl (Alex Gaumond) things take a hilarious and hugely relatable twists and turns. All the drama and build up result in contagious verbal diarrhoea of truth bombs. And the cherry on top is the unexpected

This is he perfect role for Joe Thomas to show off his acting abilities, a far cry from The Inbetweeners. He plays the role of the lovable rogue yet successful business man brilliantly. I really enjoyed that the opening and closing of each act was framed by a soliloquy aside from Joe. The transitions from the aside to the performance was seamless.

Had it not been advised that Tom and Sarah were understudies you would have not known. The comradery on the stage between all the actors was effortless and portrayed a relatable family dynamic.

The set was well laid out to allow the show to flow smoothly. Also, simplicity of the set changes had the relevant impact to have their own comedic effect.

One of the funniest shows I have seen in a while, I thoroughly enjoyed this (except 1 joke which all the males laughed at and not a trickle was heard from the female audience members).

This is a great show to go to as a couple or with your brothers/sisters and you will relate to a part or all of it on some level. Well worth getting along to see this.

I would also like to commend the program for this show, I really enjoyed reading the history of the stage production and the information about the cast.

Grand Opera House York – until Sat 5 October 2019

Reviewed by Michelle Richardson

4****

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, is the well known musical that has been around in this full length version for 45 years. This is a musical like no other, unless you have seen it on stage or television you do not know the story, you may think you do, but I very much doubt you do. I first saw this 2 years ago and all my preconceived thoughts were thrown out, in fact chucked out, of the window.

The story follows Joseph (Jaymi Hensley), who is the favourite son of Jacob (Paul Brangan who stepped in as understudy). His eleven brothers plot his demise, jealous of his relationship and the gift of a technicolor coat from their father. Instead of killing him they sell him to slave traders, what follows is a rollercoaster of a journey. He rises through the ranks of an Egyptian household, before being slung in jail, where his deciphering of dreams is his saviour, becoming the Pharaoh’s right hand man.

For the start of the show the stage just had an Egyptian backdrop with music playing. This seemed to go on for an extended period with a lot of the audience thinking there was something wrong, but I believe this is just part of the show. I must admit that I did find this far too long, I just wanted the show to start.

Alexandra Doar, making her professional debut, is the narrator for this tour, she is the glue that holds the show together, steering it throughout to its conclusion. She is onstage for the whole show, sometimes right there at the front, others in the shadows, along with the amazing Joseph choir. Her facial expressions and her energy were lovely to watch. I would have loved to have seen her in a spectacular outfit, I know it’s the narrators costume but she deserved more.

The brothers and handmaidens put on an energetic show with their comic timing, costume changes, singing and dancing. Some of the dancing was mesmerizing, look out for the little pocket rocket Mikey Jay-Heath as Judah. All the cast worked well together and delivered strong performances, whilst having to deal with the many character/theme changes. The icing on the cake for me though was the Pharaoh, “Elvis” (Andrew Geater). He was absolutely superb and his portrayal had me in stitches. His singing was second to none, totally owning his role, fabulous!

The set and stage are used well, with large gold Anubis heads dangling, pyramids, Pharaohs galore. Watch out for the inflatable sheep, I’m sure they have multiplied since last time, and they still deliver great merriment.

Hensley plays a fresh faced Joseph with just the right amount of vulnerable, innocent charm. His vocal range was impressive and at times quite moving. At the end of the show he appeared very humbled by the audience’s reaction and thanked us all, a lovely touch, before getting the whole theatre rocking again. By the end the whole audience were up on their feet cheering and rocking away to Jaymi, “Elvis” and the whole caboodle.

This is more than a biblical story with a few songs, it’s a biblical story with country and western, French and calypso themes thrown in, and don’t forget Elvis. A colourful show from beginning to end that is suitable for all.

The Vaults, London – until 12 January 2020

Reviewed by Serena Norgren

4****

“The Prince has ruled for a thousand days, to celebrate his reign, the Red Palace is hosting a masquerade ball of fantastical proportions”. The Palace is an immersive dining show set in the atmospheric Vaults, once part of Waterloo Station. Stepping into the venue you are transported into a gothic world with a glass of prosecco in hand and anonymous behind a Venetian mask. The venue, has been transformed into a fairy tale palace complete with ball room and VIP dining area but there is no pink nor princesses on display here.

After an excellent dinner (created by Masterchef semi-finalist Annie Mackenzie) the story telling begins with the Prince (Eleanor Dillon-Reams) recounting the prophecy of his reign. The audience are then encouraged to visit various spaces within the palace to learn more about the machinations and plotting going on from characters straight out of the Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm playbook, but with a twist. The bizarre Seer, Baba Yaga (Porscha Present) tells us of the terrible things the prince has done; Red, played by Emily Essery, brings you into her confidence about her intentions in the damp and chilling Forest. Steffi Walker makes for a marvellous mermaid in the Bathhouse recounting the quest for her lover in a hilariously macabre fashion from her decadent bathtub. The “sets”, if that’s what you call each room, are undeniably good and the performers convincing as they weave their macabre tales in a sybaritic yet threatening atmosphere. It is easy to get carried away, although from time to time it is confusing and not altogether clear what or where the audience are supposed to do or go. This does not detract from the frisson, enhanced by the cavernous and damp nature of the venue.

The denouement at the end is no surprise (although no spoilers!) leaving the audience feeling up beat and left to dance the rest of the night away in celebration while the bar continues to serve cocktails and more prosecco.

This all women, non-binary cast combines improvisation, physicality and energy in a multidimensional space with aplomb. Notable are Joanna Vymeris as Cat: despite her mask often getting in the way of being able to hear her, compensates for this with her feline physicality. Emily Essery’s Red, a sort of Joan of Arc meets Red Riding Hood figure is both fragile and fearless while Steffi Walker’s Mermaid is charming, comedic and deadly all at the same time.

The production can’t really be described as some of the press claims: “to be a look behind the mask to explore power, duplicity, and the complexity of identity” but it certainly “sheds the binds of gender and sexual conformity to release a world of pleasure and freedom” and makes for a jolly good night out!

A Christmas Carol heads on UK tour
UK Tour: November – December 2019

This festive season European Arts Company returns following a highly successful 2018 run of A Christmas Carol. Inspired by Dickens’s own charitable work, the 2019 tour is in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital, reflecting the heart-warming message of Scrooge’s philanthropic transformation in this perfect Christmas story

Audiences will be thrilled to experience A Christmas Carol as Dickens himself performed it over 150 years ago. He was the first writer to publicly act out his own work and, in doing so, invented a new genre of performance. Working with the script Dickens used, actor John O’Connor plays over 20 characters, skilfully drawing the audience into this Victorian ghost story about the power of compassion and generosity to transform lives

Deftly taking them from Dickens’s own warm study, to Scrooge’s freezing house and the Cratchits’ welcoming dinner table even the most miserly of hearts will be stirred this festive season. Beautiful sets by Tom Paris are based on a combination of Dickens’s travelling cases and the warmth of his London sitting room, lending real intimacy to this poignant production. This Christmas, audiences can experience what it must have been like to be in the presence of Charles Dickens himself!

This is a beautifully intimate piece of storytelling with a familial, cosy atmosphere. It embraces its classical origin and has a true heart-warming Christmas spirit (York Press, 2018)

John O’Connor lives in Rochester where Dickens grew up and set many of his stories including Great Expectations, The Pickwick Papers and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. O’Connor says, In these times of austerity and uncertainty, this beautiful story is as relevant now as it was in 1843. It’s fascinating to see how Dickens communicated it so directly to his audiences in public performances. He made them laugh and cry in equal measure, taking them on a magical journey and imparting the true spirit of Christmas. The show is a chance for audiences to feel what that was like. It’s a joy to do and we will have some fun along the way

Laura Savory, Head of Community Fundraising at Great Ormond Street Hospital says We are delighted that European Arts Company is raising money through their production of A Christmas Carol to support the valuable work of Great Ormond Street Hospital. Charles Dickens was instrumental in helping to support the hospital when it was founded in 1852 and did some early public readings of A Christmas Carol in aid of GOSH

This production has been generously supported by Arts Council England

Performance Dates

27th November Theatre Royal, Margate
Addington St, Margate CT9 1PW

28th November Trinity Theatre, Tunbridge Wells
Church Rd, Royal Tunbridge Wells TN1 1JP

29th November Discovery Centre, Winchester
Jewry St, Winchester SO23 8SB

30th November Stantonbury Theatre, Milton Keynes
Stantonbury, MK14 6BN

1st December Mumford Theatre, Cambridge
Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridge CB1 1PT

2nd December Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, Stafford
Eastgate St, Stafford ST16 2LT

3rd December The Lights, Andover
Andover College, Andover SP10 1AH

4th December Old Town Hall, Hemel Hempstead
High St, Hemel Hempstead HP1 3AE

5th – 7th December The Old Courtroom, Brighton
118 Church St, Brighton BN1 1UD

9th December Greenwich Theatre Studio, London
Crooms Hill, London SE10 8ES

10th – 11th December Stamford Arts Centre, Stamford
27 St Mary’s St, Stamford PE9 2DL

12th – 13th December The Courtyard, Hereford
The Courtyard, Edgar St, Hereford HR4 9JR

15th December Loughborough Town Hall
Market Place, Loughborough LE11 3EB

17th – 21st December York Theatre Royal, The De Grey Rooms
St Leonard’s Place, York YO1 7HD

23rd December Greenwich Theatre Studio, London
Crooms Hill, London SE10 8ES

DARLINGTON HIPPODROME STAFF HIT WITH STRICTLY FEVER

Staff at Darlington Hippodrome are tuning in every weekend to Strictly Come Dancing to watch several stars appear live before the nation before they appear live in Darlington.

Darlington Hippodrome staff have more than one reason to be glued to their TVs this autumn.

Strictly Fever has struck Hippodrome staff as not only do they have the Head Judge of Strictly Come Dancing, Shirley Ballas, starring in their annual festive pantomime Jack and The Beanstalk but dance professional Giovanni Pernice (who is partnered with Michelle Visage) will be bringing his spectacular stage show, This Is Me, to Darlington in June 2020 and comedian Chris Ramsay (who is partnered with Karen Hauer) has just announced another one-night date at Darlington Hippodrome in October 2020.

Shirley Ballas will appear as Mother Nature in Jack and the Beanstalk at Darlington Hippodrome from Friday 6 December to Sunday 5 January alongside Britain’s Got Talent winner George Sampson as Jack, comedian Phil Walker as Simple Simon and actor Daniel Taylor as the evil Fleshcreep.

Strictly favourite Giovanni Pernice will be touring his brand new dance spectacular This Is Me next year and is bringing it to Darlington on Monday 22 June. Giovanni is set to light up the stage, along with a full cast of professional dancers.

North east comedian Chris Ramsay will be swapping his dance shoes for a single microphone as he embarks on a UK wide tour, stopping off in Darlington for one night only on Wednesday 7 October. Tickets are already in short supply.

For full information on all the shows at Darlington Hippodrome or to book visit www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk or call the box office on 01325 405405

THE RECORD-BREAKING HIT MUSICAL RETURNS!

‘HONEY WHAT YA WAITIN’ FOR?’

BY LAURENCE O’KEEFE & KEVIN MURPHY

BEST NEW MUSICAL

WHATSONSTAGE AWARDS 2019

****

Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, Daily Express,

The Stage, Attitude, The Arts Desk, Broadway World

*****

The New European, City AM

Following two record-breaking seasons at London’s The Other Palace and West End transfer to the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2018 and having won the WhatsOnStage 2019 award for ‘BEST NEW MUSICAL’, Heathers the Musical will embark on a highly anticipated UK tour from 2020.

Produced by Bill Kenwright and Paul Taylor-Mills, this high octane, black comedy, rock musical based on one of the greatest cult teen films of all-time starred Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, is back with a bang!

The 2020 Class of Westerberg High and the full tour timetable will be announced shortly.

Greetings and salutations! Welcome to Westerberg High, where popularity is so very a matter of life and death, and Veronica Sawyer is just another of the nobodies dreaming of a better day.

But when she’s unexpectedly taken under the wings of the three beautiful and impossibly cruel Heathers, her dreams of popularity finally start to come true.

Until JD turns up, the mysterious teen rebel who teaches her that it might kill to be a nobody, but it’s murder being a somebody.

The award-winning writing team, Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy’s hit musical adaptation has enjoyed successful runs in Los Angeles and New York, and its European premiere saw it become the highest grossing show at Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Other Palace, having sold over 20,000 tickets across the run and selling out prior to its opening gala performance. It had a similar success on transferring to the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

The musical is directed by acclaimed American screen and stage director Andy Fickman, with choreography by Thriller Live’s Gary Lloyd, design by David Shields, lighting by Ben Cracknell and sound by Dan Samson.

LISTINGS

BILL KENWRIGHT & PAUL TAYLOR-MILLS PRESENT

HEATHERS THE MUSICAL

2020 UK TOUR

BY LAURENCE O’KEEFE & KEVIN MURPHY

DIRECTED BY ANDY FICKMAN

CHOREOGRAPHY BY GARY LLOYD

DESIGN BY DAVID SHIELDS

LIGHTING BY BEN CRACKNELL

SOUND BY DAN SAMSON

Calling all #CornNuts – Be the first to hear the latest Heathers the Musical gossip and further details on dates, venues and on-sales by following us on the following:

Website: www.kenwright.com