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Civic Theatre, Darlington – 10 February 2015

Middle Ground Theatre Company present Richard Harris’s west end hit The Business of Murder in Darlington this week.

This 3 act – 3 performer play focuses on a flat in London in the early 80’s.  Why has Mr Stone (Robert Gwilym) invited playwright Dee (Joanna Higson) and Policeman Hallett (Paul Opacic) to his home?  How do they know each other? Does anyone care?

Gwilym does help to lift this show.  His dancing to Judith Durham and The New Seekers is a joy to watch and the more manic he becomes the more endearing he gets.  But even the professionalism of his acting doesn’t help this play.  Its very wordy and interminably long.  Up to the interval plods along slowly setting the scene, but without managing to engage with the actors.  And if you don’t engage how can you be entertained? The problem with this production, is that the play, a traditional cat-and-mouse psychological thriller, lacks tension. There are no emotional peaks and valleys, no breathtaking moments of anxiety and no drama. And there should be. ”The Business of Murder” is reduced to a long-winded discourse on the nature of victimization and whether the end of an event is justified by the means of achieving it.

It has all the ingredients of a classic, but to take the food analogy further imagine you were expecting a chocolate cake and were presented with a digestive biscuit.  An edible biscuit but a huge disappointment when you were expecting chocolate cake.  And this is what you have here.  Its watchable but disappointing.

Its as if the actors have all rehearsed separately but have yet to gel on stage.  There is no cohesion.  In fairness it is very early in the tour and they may still find the spark that ignites this show.  In Darlington until Saturday

The Business of Murder – Civic Theatre, Darlington

Posted by: The Reviews Hub – Yorkshire & North East 

https://www.thereviewshub.com/the-business-of-murder-civic-theatre-darlington/

11/02/2015 

Writer: Richard Harris

Director: Michael Lunney

1*

Middle Ground Theatre Company presents Richard Harris’s west end hit, The Business of Murder in Darlington this week.

This three act, three performer play focuses on a flat in London in the early Eighties. Why has Mr. Stone (Robert Gwilym) invited playwright Dee (Joanna Higson) and Policeman Hallett (Paul Opacic) to his home? How do they know each other?

Gwilym is the saving grace in this show. His dancing to Judith Durham and The New Seekers is a joy to watch and the more manic he becomes, the more endearing he gets. But even the professionalism of his acting doesn’t help this play. It’s very wordy and interminably long. Up to the interval, the pace plods along slowly setting the scene, but sadly without managing to engage with the actors. And if you don’t engage, how can you be entertained? The problem with this production is that the play, a traditional cat-and-mouse psychological thriller, lacks tension. There are no emotional peaks and valleys, no breath-taking moments of anxiety and no drama. And there should be. The actual Business of Murder is reduced to a long-winded discourse on the nature of victimization and whether the end of an event is justified by the means of achieving it.

It has all the ingredients of a classic, but to use a food analogy, imagine you were expecting a chocolate cake and were presented with a digestive biscuit. An edible biscuit but a huge disappointment when you were expecting chocolate cake. And this is what you have here. It’s watchable, but underwhelming.

Chemistry between the performers is lacking, and it feels as though the actors have rehearsed separately, but are yet to gel together on stage. In fairness, it is very early in the tour and they may still find the spark that ignites this show. It would be interesting to see whether this production improves as the run goes on.

Theatre Royal, Newcastle – 8 February 2015

The self styled governor of common sense, Al Murray, returns with his alter ego The Pub Landlord, in this politicised tour de force.

Striding on to the stage, pint in hand, we are treated to over 2 hours of the Landlords views and opinions and what will happen when he is Prime Minister. The audience is to be his cabinet and the first few rows are his front benches.  The first half is really the Guv meeting his people.  Using playful banter to talk to various members of the audience.  Some students, a man in his 50’s referred to as “pop”, a few late comers, a man with his mum and a couple more.  After checking that Emily, the object of his affection, was over 18 he continued to flirt with with her, showing his skills by yelling “I love you” in her face.  “I love you” and “I told you so” being two of the important phrases used in life.

The second half was his manifesto, the idea that Nigel Farage needed to change the pronunciation of his name to rhyme with garage.  His idea’s on economics (reckon-omics) credit (the bank believes in you) and debt (the bank stops believing in you).  His act of the stock markets, his Tokyo in particular, are side splitting.

A question and answer session reveals his further idea’s and although some things may be near the knuckle and have you wondering if those things can be said in public, its still funny.  After all nothing can hurt when said in jest….

He allows one opportunity for photo’s and take selfies of himself with the audience, because you want to see the show not be distracted by flashes.

Civic Theatre, Darlington – 3 February 2015

Cornley Polytechnic returns with their classic Christmas vignette of Peter Pan, however this being Cornley – Peter Pan Goes Wrong

The joy of Mischief Theatre is their writing, its pure genius.  The jokes you can see coming a mile away and that just makes them even funnier. The technical aspects are outstanding with the incidents and accidents precise, concise and so well executed.  From tiny mishaps like a falling light missing an actress by millimetres to the huge disasters that befall the rest of the show really show the high callibre of the writing, the acting and the production and technical crew who ensure everything goes badly really well.  And with a misbehaving rotund it can be no coincidence that by the end it looks like the death scene on the barricade from Les Mis

Its also wonderful that the talented trio of Lewis, Sayer and Shields write such believable characters.  So we get to love Sandra, Annie, Robert, Dennis, Chris, Jonathan, Max and Trevor the Stage Manager

This very visual show within a show needs to be seen to be believed so its unfair to give away too much of the plot.  However there are simple added extra’s that make the show shine from the start.  The hilarious programmes, being stuck in the theatre foyer due to “technical issues” until almost before the show starts, the stage crew still being in the auditorium as we get seated doing last minute bits, arguing between themselves and asking for help from the audience.  And an impromptu rendition of “Happy Birthday” for ‘Mary’.

Due to the indisposition of the member of the youth theatre, toddler Michael Darling is now played by “the most mature of the mature students” Robert Grove (Cornelius Both), made funnier that he is over 6 foot tall and had mighty fine beard.  John Darling (James Marlow), also over 6 foot has memory problems so is fitted with an ear pierce that predictably picks up different radio stations, police reports and taxi’s.

Wendy Darling (Leonie Hill) is overly flirty and over-acted in every respect.  The girlfriend of Peter Pan (Alex Bartram) she is very much the lead and not keen on performing with Max Bennett (Matt Cavendish) who was only given the role because his uncle donated £40,000 to the AmDram’s.  However, it is Max who is the true hero of the show

Huge respect to Naomi Sheldon who plays Annie playing Mrs Darling, Liza the Maid, Tigerlilly and who gets electrocuted in her role of Tinkerbell; and to Rosie Abraham who plays Lucy playing Tootles, who over-comes her stutter to get the whole audience yelling “I do believe in Fairies” and manages to keep her head (despite almost losing her leg) and admirably finish the show

The whole cast and crew are outstanding.  It’s not just a show but a total immersive experience. You will laugh, so much so you may feel you are going to suffocate from lack of air from laughing so much.  In Darlington til Sunday – make the trip, its worth every penny

Peter Pan Goes Wrong – Civic Theatre, Darlington

Posted by: The Reviews Hub – Yorkshire & North East 

https://www.thereviewshub.com/peter-pan-goes-wrong-civic-theatre-darlington/

04/02/2015 

Writers: Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, Henry Shields

Music &Lyrics: Richard Baker, Rob Falcolner

Director: Adam Meggido

5*

Cornley Polytechnic returns with their classic Christmas vignette of Peter Pan, Peter Pan Goes Wrong.

The joy of Mischief Theatre is the pure genius in their writing. You can see the jokes coming a mile away – and that just makes them all the funnier. The technical aspects are outstanding; the incidents and accidents precise, concise and well executed. From tiny mishaps such as a falling light missing an actress by millimetres, to the huge disasters that befall the rest of the show, show the high calibre of the writing and acting as well as the production and technical crew ensuring that everything goes badly really well. And with a misbehaving rotund it can be no coincidence that by the end it looks like the death scene on the barricade from Les Miserables!

Peter Pan Goes Wrong is a very visual show within a show which needs to be seen to be believed, so it’s unfair to give away too much of the plot. However there are simple added extras that make the show shine from the start. Being stuck in the theatre foyer due to “technical issues” until almost before the show starts, the stage crew still being in the auditorium as we get seated doing last minute bits, arguing between themselves and asking for help from the audience, and an impromptu rendition of “Happy Birthday” for ‘Mary’.

Due to the indisposition of a member of the youth theatre, toddler Michael Darling is now played by “the most mature of the mature students” Robert Grove (Cornelius Both), made funnier that he is over 6 foot tall and had mighty fine beard. John Darling (James Marlow), also over 6 foot has memory problems so is fitted with an ear pierce that predictably picks up different radio stations, police reports and taxis.

Wendy Darling (Leonie Hill) is overly flirty and over-acted in every respect. As the girlfriend of Peter Pan (Alex Bartram), she is very much the lead, while huge respect goes to Naomi Sheldon who plays Annie playing Mrs Darling, Liza the Maid, Tigerlilly and who gets electrocuted in her rôle of Tinkerbell. Special mention also to Rosie Abraham who plays Lucy playing Tootles, who over-comes her stutter to get the whole audience yelling “I do believe in Fairies”, managing to keep her head and admirably finish the show.

The whole cast and crew are outstanding, and Peter Pan Goes Wrong really has to be seen. You will laugh to the extent you may feel you are going to suffocate from lack of air. In Darlington until Sunday – make the trip, this show is worth every penny.

Darlington Civic Theatre – 23 January 2015

Making full use of the atmospherics from The Woman In Black and some very muted lighting, our group of around 30 or so met in the stalls for a Ghost Hunt around the magnificent Civic building. Led by Front of House manager Andrew Hutchinson and helped along by Signor Pepe himself we were introduced to various friendly spirits said to still reside in the theatre.
While we sat in the stalls Andrew told us some history of the building and of Signor Reno Pepe, quick change artist and favourite of Queen Victoria, who owned the Civic when it was the Hippodrome and Palace of Varieties. We learnt of his wife and of their dog, a pekingese whose body was found buried in the building during a 1990’s refurbishment and whose ghost is frequently seen by children.

On the stage we got to hear about a phantom ballet dancer and Gordon the stage door manager who still rattles his keys around the building. In the dress circle we heard about seat 666 which has been found in the seated position despite the countered springs that close it. And the brave ones went to look in the side box favoured by Pepe and a popular place for sightings of him.

Up in the upper circle we split into groups, the first group went to dressing room 12 which is reportedly haunted by a child. And some of the group could hear quite clearly a child playing and a strong alcoholic smell. The other group visited the Flyfloor and said “Hello” to Jimmy the Flyman who is said to still like to keep an eye on his ropes. The groups then swapped so they could experience all there was to see and hear and do.

All too soon the tour was over. And we had to say goodbye to the ghost and the Civic. A huge big THANK YOU to Andrew and the staff who helped to make this ghost tour so thoroughly enjoyable

Civic Theatre, Darlington – 23 January 2015

Since its first performance in 1987 The Woman In Black has been terrifying the audiences of UK. Written by Susan Hill and adapted by the late Stephen Mallatratt this play within a play entertains and frightens in equal measure, drawing on the imagination of the audience to produce shocks and scares.

National Theatre Live – 1st broadcast Thursday 22nd January 2015

Bryony Lavery’s inspired re-imagining of Treasure Island is a true wonder to behold. Big and brash, wonderfully acted but the star of this production is undoubtedly the magnificent set. Making full use of the Olivier rotunda we saw the Hispaniola in full glory in the first half and the tunnels of the island in the second. The stars by which the route was plotted filled the ceiling and Lizzie Clachan and Bruno Poet must be congratulated on their vision and their staffs abilities to bring it to fruition.