EMPIRE THEATRE, LIVERPOOL – UNTIL 22ND OCTOBER 2022
REVIEWED BY MIA BOWEN
4****
Strictly Ballroom the Musical is a musical theatre adaptation of the highly rated and critically acclaimed 1992 film, written and directed by Baz Luhrmann. Luhrmann is an Australian film director, producer, writer and actor, with projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music and recording industries. On the screen he is best known for projects including William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (1996), Moulin Rouge (2001), Australia (2008) and Elvis (2022).
Strictly Ballroom the Musical has had a checkered history ever since it premiered at the Sydney Lyric in April 2014, where it was met with mixed reviews. It received its British premiere in November 2016 in Leeds. There has been a number of productions, some using pre-existing songs and some using pre-existing songs combined with songs written especially for the show – the version that is now touring the UK and Ireland.
The musical follows the trials and tribulations of Scott Hastings (Edwin Ray), a champion ballroom dancer since he was 6 years old, who refuses to stick to regulation ‘federation steps’ in a competition and stands to ruin his chances of winning the prestigious Pan Pacific Championships. He struggles to find a partner to help break conformity but then meets Fran (Maisie Smith), who is full of enthusiasm but a beginner at the dance school.
The most beautiful surprise of the evening was from Maisie Smith, her characters’ debut song showed off her wondrously impressive vocal talents. Smith is best known for her 13 year stint on EastEnders and for being one of 2020’s Strictly contestants.
My favourite scene in this production, was at the end of act 1. Jose Agudo, as Fran’s father Rico put on a breathtakingly commanding display of the Paso Doble (Harbenera), a dazzling dance with great tempo. I was mesmerised and did not want it to end! Agudo was phenomenal and stole the show!
A special mention must go to Mark Walters for his spectacular set design. As soon as the safety curtain lifted, you were transported into the world of glitz and glamor of ballroom dancing.
Strictly Ballroom is a lot of fun with some superb performances, strictly brilliant! You will be foxtrotting your way home.
The Commitments are a soul band from Dublin, Ireland who were formed for the film version of the book by Irish writer Roddy Doyle.
The Commitments is a musical comedy-drama and tells the story of Jimmy (James Kileen) who is bored in his sales job at a sweets company. He loves soul music and dreams of forming a band. The role of Jimmy’s Da is played by Nigel Pivaro who most of you will recognise from playing the bad boy Terry Duckworth in Coronation Street. Jimmy manages to put together a 10 piece band of misfits including three backing singers Imelda (Ciara Mackey), Natalie (Eve Kitchingman) and Bernie (Sarah Gardiner).
The musical then follows the band through the rehearsals, to them playing together and fighting as they try to get their music heard in bingo halls and clubs in Dublin.
Decco the leader of the band was played by Ian McIntosh and was a natural in this role and you could tell that he enjoyed every minute, feeling the music as he sang.
The band members play all their own instruments and show off their musical talent.
The show starts with cast members on the stage at the works Christmas party before the lights go down, I’m sure many people can relate to this scene.
From the start there is hilarity, and you will most certainly like the part when the band were getting changed into their suits for their performance at the bingo hall which made everyone laugh.
The show itself ends when the commitments all go their separate ways.
After the curtain comes down Jimmy comes back on stage and the audience participation begins. The band returns on stage with some of everyone’s all time favourites. Some people were already on their feet, singing, clapping and dancing but Decco shouted out to the audience and managed to get everyone up on their feet (that’s one way of getting a standing ovation).
You definitely felt like you were a part of this show being in a pub watching a band.
VIDEO ALERT See inside rehearsals forTim Rice and Stuart Brayson’s epic musical’From Here to Eternity’ahead of the first London revival
Tim Rice and Stuart Brayson’s epic musical ‘From Here To Eternity’ is getting its first London revival in a newly revised production at Charing Cross Theatre, from 29 October – 17 December
The cast features Jonny Amies, Jonathon Bentley, Desmonda Cathabel, Leonard Cook, Kyerron Dixon-Bassey, Sarah Drake, Dominic Adam Griffin, Cassius Hackforth, Robin Hayward, Callum Henderson, James Mateo-Salt, Rhys Nuttall, Jack Ofrecio, Jaden Oshenye, Eve Polycarpou, Adam Rhys-Charles, Carley Stenson, Alan Turkington, Joseph Vella.
Creative team: Director Brett Smock, Set & Costume Designer Stewart J. Charlesworth, Musical Director, Orchestrations and New Musical Arrangements Nick J Barstow, Choreographer Cressida Carré, Sound Designer Chris Murray, Lighting Designer Adam King, Projection Designer Louise Rhodes-Brown, Costume Supervisor Lucy Lawless, Casting Director Jane Deitch, Production Manager James Anderton, Produced by Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment, Bill Kenwright and Heartaches Limited, General Management by Chris Matanlé.
Set in the two weeks leading up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, ‘From Here To Eternity’ is a compelling portrait of humanity, love, duty and redemption set against the backdrop of a beautiful and conflicted paradise.
Adapted from the classic novel by James Jones, this breathtaking musical unites the writing talents of Tim Rice (lyrics), Stuart Brayson (music) and Donald Rice and Bill Oakes (book), and is directed by Brett Smock (Producing Artistic Director/The Rev Theatre Company).
Aria Entertainment, Bill Kenwright and Heartaches Limited present
‘From Here To Eternity’
Adapted from the classic novel by James Jones
Lyrics Tim Rice, Music Stuart Brayson, Book Donald Rice and Bill Oakes
Directed by Brett Smock
Charing Cross Theatre The Arches Villiers Street London WC2N 6NL www.charingcrosstheatre.co.uk Box office: 08444 930650
29 October – 17 December
Performances:
Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30pm
Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 3.00pm
Prices: £25.00 – £39.50 Premium seats £49.50 (includes a programme and a glass of bubbly)
A booking fee applies to phone and internet orders; no booking fee to personal callers The box office is open from 2 hours before curtain time on performance days for personal callers
Mark Goucher, Gavin Kalin and Matthew Gale present SHREK THE MUSICAL
PRODUCERS ARE OGRE THE MOON TO CONFIRM 14 NEW DATES FOR THE BRAND-NEW PRODUCTION OF ‘SHREK THE MUSICAL’.
EXTENDING THE TOUR THROUGH TO APRIL 2024, THE NEW LOCATIONS INCLUDE GLASGOW, EDINBURGH, COVENTRY, SUNDERLAND, LIVERPOOL, SOUTHAMPTON, MILTON KEYNES, HULL, CHELTENHAM, NOTTINGHAM, NORWICH, BELFAST, BIRMINGHAM AND DERRY.
THE PRODUCTION HEADS OUT TO PAINT THE TOWN GREEN NEXT SUMMER, OPENING IN PLYMOUTH ON 21 JULY 2023.
Producers Mark Goucher, Gavin Kalin and Matthew Gale are ogre the moon to announce that the brand-new production of Shrek the Musical will tour to a further 14 theatres across the UK and Ireland. Opening at Theatre Royal Plymouth on 21 July 2023, the smash hit musical will tour through to April 2024 to a total of 31 venues.
From the producers of Hairspray and Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Shrek the Musical brings together a new creative team to re-image this award-winning Broadway and West End hit show for a new audience, featuring all the classic characters from the Oscar®-winning DreamWorks animated film and the iconic songs and story from David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori’s original musical.
Shrekthe Musical opens at Plymouth Theatre Royal on 21 July 2023 and then tours to Manchester, Dublin, Bristol, Southend, Carlisle, Aberdeen, Oxford, Wimbledon, Dartford, Northampton, Bradford, Woking, Eastbourne, Cardiff, York and Blackpool.
The new venues announced today for 2024 are Glasgow Kings, Edinburgh Playhouse, Coventry Belgrade, Sunderland Empire, Liverpool Empire, Southampton Mayflower, Milton Keynes Theatres, Hull New, Cheltenham Everyman, Nottingham Playhouse, Norwich Theatre Royal, Grand Opera House Belfast, The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham and The Millenium Forum, Derry. For full listings, please see the notes to editors below.
The national press night will be Thursday 3 August 2023 at Opera House Manchester.
The team joining forces to re-create the bright and beautiful world of Shrek the Musical includes co-director Sam Holmes (Club Tropicana the Musical), who returns to the swamp having played Lord Farquaad in the previous UK tour. He is joined by acclaimed director and choreographer Nick Winston (Bonnie and Clyde, Arts Theatre; Beauty and the Beast, UK tour). Set and costume design will be by Philip Witcomb (Bonnie & ClydeIn Concert, Theatre Royal Drury Lane; Jack & The Beanstalk, Everyman Theatre Cheltenham). Further creative team includes Ben Cracknel (Lighting) and Ben Harrison (Sound).
Join our unlikely hero Shrek and his noble steed Donkey as they embark on a big, bright, musical adventure. Based on the Oscar®-winning DreamWorks animated film, the Broadway and West End hit Shrek the Musical is a fun-filled, hilarious musical comedy with a cast of vibrant characters and a ‘shrektacular’ score.
Featuring the beloved Princess Fiona, the evil Lord Farquaad, a host of magical fairy-tale characters and fabulous songs including the smash hit ‘I’m a Believer’, Shrek the Musical is a ‘musical extravaganza for big kids and little kids alike’ (Bristol Post).
Come join the adventure as Shrek and Donkey endeavour to complete their quest, finding unexpected friendships and surprising romance along the way. A perfect night out for the young, and the young at heart, the award-winning Shrek the Musical is guaranteed fun for all ages and will have you dancing in the aisles and laughing all the way home.
Salisbury Playhouse, Salisbury – until 5 November 2022
Reviewed by Gemma Gibson
5*****
When I saw the advert for Good Luck, Studio, I knew it was going to be funny. You could just tell it was going to be bonkers.
But to give that level of twisted, adult humour to the supposed filming of a kids TV show, now that is the perfect and unexpected recipe for comedy.
With just one more hour of filming to go, the Wibble the Dragon team is more than ready to say good bye to the iconic and widely-loved show. If they can complete the hour without – another – accident, that would be better.
But, when a failed actor turns turns up with his own vendetta (and dragon costume), it might not just be the team’s reputation and careers on the line.
Already a fan of Mischief Theatre, of The Play that Goes Wrong fame, I was very excited to see what else the company could do.
Act One opens with a panto feel, but you’re soon reminded it’s not that kind of show. For two hours the audience is taken through a whirlwind of explosive moments, different worlds within the studio and fast-paced fight scenes, all-the-while some people dressed as royal fruit.
The characters were brilliantly thought through, the comical cast bringing each crazy personality to life from their first moments on stage.
There was ‘Princess Pineapple’ Elizabeth (played by Jemma Geanaus) determined to fake an injury for cash, medic Kevin (Greg Tannahill) getting himself in a sticky situation and script writer Sean obsessed with Dr Seuss (Harry Kershaw). It doesn’t seem like it should work, and I suppose for the creation of a children’s show it doesn’t, but for us watching, it really did.
And don’t forget the novice villain of the show, determined to be the star, played expertly by Gareth Tempest.
Andy, Bafta award-winning director who loathed everyone (played by Tom Walker) was definitely an audience favourite – you could never tell what his next evil and yet witty, hilarious insult would be.
On that note, the clever narrative and script for this show, combined with the impeccable timing and flair of the actors, made it just so much fun to watch. After all, turning a children’s TV show into a hostage situation is just bananas.
Timing was such an important element of this show, and each and every person on that stage delivered. And, amidst the laugh-out-loud moments, there was a nice reminder that things considered unimportant to some, are a huge deal to others.
A special shout out must be given to the incredible and vibrant set too, which transported us to various settings and times within the studio with ease.
This clever, dark comedy will have you laughing throughout. If you need a joyous night out I can’t recommend it enough.
I’d love to think all kid shows are this mental behind the scenes!
SOPHIE OKONEDO AND BEN DANIELS STAR IN A NEW PRODUCTION OF MEDEA DIRECTED BY DOMINIC COOKE @SOHOPLACE
Sophie Okonedo and Ben Daniels return to the West End to star in Robinson Jeffers’ adaptation of Euripides’ Medea, directed by Dominic Cooke.
Opening @sohoplace on 17 February 2023, with previews from 11 February.
The production will run until 22 April 2023 in a strictly limited 10-week season
Medea is the second production for Fictionhouse, run by Dominic Cooke and Kate Horton.
Fictionhouse’s first production, GOOD starring David Tennant, is currently playing to sold-out houses at The Harold Pinter Theatre.
Further casting to be announced.
Tickets are on sale today, 19 October 2022.
Fictionhouse Limited, Nica Burns and Kate Pakenham Productions today announce Medea, adapted by Robinson Jeffers from the play by Euripides. Dominic Cooke directs with Sophie Okonedo as Medea and Ben Daniels as Jason/Creon/Aegeus, with full cast to be announced. The production opens at @sohoplace on 17 February, with previews from 11 February, and runs until 22 April 2023. Further casting to be announced.
Medea sees Dominic Cooke reuniting with long-term collaborators’ Sophie Okonedo and Ben Daniels, most recently with BBC’s The Hollow Crown – Wars of the Roses, in addition to working together across multiple stage productions since the 1990s.
What could turn a woman from a lover into a destroyer of love?
Medea tells the story of a woman laid bare by grief and rage, and her terrible quest for revenge against the men who have abandoned her.
Sophie Okonedo brings her visceral, mercurial brilliance to literature’s most titanic female protagonist, whose complexity and contradictions have kept audiences on the edge of their seats, unable to look away, for almost 2,500 years.
Sophie Okonedo said, “I am really excited and a touch nervous to be playing Medea. I’m buoyed by the fact I’m working with two of my closest friends and long-term collaborators, Dominic Cooke and Ben Daniels. I was lucky enough to have Nica Burns show me around the new @sohoplace theatre while it was still being built, and I was so impressed by the space that I signed up immediately to perform there!”
Dominic Cooke also commented, “I have been friends with Sophie Okonedo since we were in our teens. We’ve worked together many times including on Arabian Nights at the Young Vic in 1998 and The Hollow Crown: Wars of the Roses for the BBC in 2015. Sophie is one of our most visceral, emotionally connected actors and I have long thought she’d be a brilliant Medea. I am over the moon that it’s now happening as the second West End production for Fictionhouse, run by Kate Horton and myself. I’m also really looking forward to working again with the super talented Ben Daniels after our hugely fulfilling collaboration on The Normal Heart at the National Theatre. Ben and Sophie have been an explosive onstage partnership in the past and I can’t wait to see them playing these iconic roles together in Nica Burns’ thrilling new auditorium @sohoplace.”
Design Vicki Mortimer Lighting Neil Austin Sound Gareth Fry
Produced by Fictionhouse Limited, Nica Burns and Kate Pakenham Productions
ATG Productions and Mel Giedroyc today announce that, with great sadness, Mel will no longer be able to star as The Goose in the upcoming pantomime Mother Goose.
Mel Giedroyc said today “Due to personal reasons, I have made the difficult decision to withdraw from the forthcoming production of Mother Goose. I am thankful to the producers of the show for being so understanding and wish everyone involved in the production a fantastic tour throughout the UK and Ireland. Now, more than ever we all need a bit of joy, and I can’t wait to see it myself. I know it is going to be fantastic.”
Everyone in the show sends love and best wishes to Mel and her family. Casting for the role of The Goose will be announced soon.
Darlington Hippodrome – until Saturday 22 October 2022
5*****
Spike by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman is the rare gem of a show. Clearly the best play that I have ever seen and now my benchmark to measure all other plays against.
Spike tells us the story of Spike Milligan. The creator of The Goon Show, the major influence of most comedians since and quite frankly a genius. Switching the story between the writing and recording of The Goon Show, his time in the war and the problems in his personal life. To me, it seemed that Spike was always fighting a war – with the men in suits at the BBC, against Hitler and with his mental health as he faced up to injuries he sustained under fire and his constant need to be funny.
The BBC bosses hated The Goon Show but the listening public, the critics and even the Royal Family loved it. They changed the schedule times, tried to control Spike with edits and Directors but Spike continued to write and perform leading to a nervous breakdown.
Robert Wilfort shines in the titular role, embodying the subversive, anarchic comic talent. With his co-stars, Harry Secombe (Jeremy Lloyd) and Peter Sellers (Patrick Warner), and Janet from the Sound Department (Margaret Cabourn-Smith) clearly having a ball while recording The Goons. Lloyd captures Secombe’s happy and joyful persona, taking the mickey out of himself and his singing. Warner is adept with his voices and impressions and womanising ways. And a special mention must go to Cabourn-Smith, who almost steals every scene she is and to Ellie Morris, who plays Spike’s put-upon wife June.
Hislop and Newman have created a genius show about a genius man and all I can do is urge you all to go and see, what for me, is the best play ever
From Left To Right Top: Martin Ballard, Jarred Christmas, Steven Wren, Adam Stafford, Kim Shepherd, Andrew Agnew, Thomas A. Chan, James Lusted, Amelia Atherton, Barbara Bryceland Line 2: AJ Pritchard, Curtis Pritchard, Sue Holderness, Vernon Kay, Andy Abraham, Anne Hegerty, Joe McFadden, Rebecca Keatley Line 3: Jamie Kenna, Amelia Lily, Nathan Connor, Keira-Nicole, Louie Spence, Parle Patel, Evie Pickerill, Justin Fletcher Line 4: Samantha Spragg, Paul Morse, Kat Chatterton, Kev Johns, Matt Edwards, Hayley Gallivan, Paul Burling, David Ashley, JP McCue, Jon Clegg
Casting is complete for Imagine Theatre’s biggest panto season with an all-star line-up getting ready to bring 18 magical family pantomimes to audiences across England, Wales and Scotland.
Star casting includes TV star Vernon Kay, making his pantomime debut in Cinderella in High Wycombe, TV stars AJ Pritchard & Curtis Pritchard, Joe McFadden, Anne Hegerty, Louie Spence, Sue Holderness, X Factor finalists Amelia Lily and Andy Abraham, Coronation Street and television actor Jamie Kenna, CBeebies stars Justin Fletcher, Evie Pickerill and Rebecca Keatley, Channel 5Milkshake presenters Kiera-Nicole Brennan and Nathan Connor, comedian Jarred Christmas, comedian and social media star Parle Patel, Britain’s Got Talent finalists Jon Clegg, Matt Edwards and Paul Burling and The Voice’s Barbara Bryceland.
The season also offers panto favourites such as JP McCue,Sean Dodds, Iain Lauchlan, Craig Hollingsworth,Kev Johns, David Ashley, Ben Watson, Tim McArthur, Adam Stafford, Josh Benson, Malcolm Lord, Paul Morse, James Lusted,John Evans,Martin Ballard,Joe Pollard, Andrew Agnew, Greg Powrie, alongsideestablished musical theatre performers Amelia Atherton, Hayley Gallivan, Stefan Pejic, Nathan Routledge, Jonathan Alden, Joelle Moses, Aled Davies, Richard Locke, Peter Lawrence, Neil Moors,James Bisp, Roger Wright and many other talented industry professionals.
With titles including Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Jack and Beanstalk, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White Imagine will produce shows in Coventry, Crewe, Falkirk, Glenrothes, Halifax, High Wycombe, Hastings, Hayes, Inverness, Kilmarnock, Leamington, Leicester, Llandudno, Porthcawl, Reading, Rotherham, Swansea and Swindon as well as touring three productions of Santa’s Christmas Rescue and will put on a total of 21 shows in different venues across the season with the curtain going up 905 times!
The Imagine panto warehouse is filled to the brim with more than 30,000 costumes (that’s a whole lot of sequins!) just waiting to be given a twirl and 200 professional performers are preparing to take to the stage in roles from Fairy Flutterby to Fleshcreep and Dame Dorothy Do It to Simon le Bon Bon. They will perform alongside around 350 local children who have been cast via open auditions and a team of more than 25 office staff plus the creative teams and crew all there to help make the magic happen with the support of the amazing venue teams.
Imagine, who are proud to be a carbon neutral business, will also be presenting ground-breaking digital sets in two of their pantomimes, which utilise state of the art technology to create a magical and enchanting theatrical experience for theatre goers of all ages. These shows, which this year are being presented in High Wycombe (Cinderella) and Swansea (Beauty and the Beast) have all of the usual elements you’d expect to find in a traditional pantomime brought to life with LED animated scenes which change with each part of the story.
Steve Boden, Managing Director at Imagine says: “This year is an exciting year for Imagine, our biggest ever. We have amazing new scripts from some of the country’s best panto writers, whilst we also bring together some of your favourite panto land faces along with amazingly talented newcomers and of course some very exciting stars.
In a challenging season last year more than three hundred and twenty thousand panto goers still enjoyed coming to see us and this year we hope to break box office records to bring joy and cheer to our wonderful audiences once again.”
Laura Taylor, Head of Celebrity Casting for Imagine says:
“I am absolutely thrilled with our line-up for the 2022/23 pantomime season which brings together pantomime legends, a host of stars from all areas of the entertainment industry and Vernon Kay making his pantomime debut. Only in pantomime do you see West End performers rubbing shoulders with TV stars, pop stars and even game show hosts! 2022 has been a challenging year for so many reasons, but pantomime provides the perfect escape for the whole family to get out to their local theatre and enjoy the magic of live performance together in an exciting and welcoming environment and just have fun. It’s a privilege to be able to provide that opportunity in so many of the UK regions.”
With sparkle, slosh and laughs galore this season looks set to be the best ever. Find out more at imaginetheatre.co.uk and book your tickets for the best family Christmas treat now.
LISTINGS
Belgrade Theatre, Coventry – Jack and the Beanstalk
Hot on the heels of his success with David Eldridge’s “Beginning” and “Middle”, Artistic Director Adam Nichols brings back Lucy Kirkwood’s “Mosquitoes”, another National Theatre revival that OVO produced earlier this year. Performing for one night before transferring up to Lancaster, the production was welcomed back to St Albans with a packed house, which the show more than deserved.
This reviewer hesitates to be confident in his abilities to fully encompass what the show is about – as “Mosquitoes” is a mass of ideas and cleverness, at times bursting at the seams with themes, opinions, topical relevance and scientific theories, but its true strength is in its characters.
“Mosquitoes” centres around two opposing sisters, Jenny and Alice. Alice is a physicist working on the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, whilst Jenny lives in Luton selling medical insurance and taking care of their declining mother. Alice is fiercely intelligent, professionally successful and a force of rationalism, whilst Jenny is emotional, spiritual, chaotic and wracked with guilt over a family tragedy she (and the rest of the family) consider her fault.
And yet Alice, the darling daughter of their mother, struggles with emotional acuity, and is failing to connect with her gifted but problematic son Luke, whilst Jenny possesses a wealth of empathetic intelligence and a startling wit that leaps off the page and fires the heart of the play.
Much like the protons and electrons that concern Alice’s work on the boson particles, the sisters are opposing forces, bouncing off each other in a self-perpetuating chemical chain reaction, only to be forever pulled back together by the forces of love and attraction that hold their family together. They collide atomically with both each other and their opposing views on just about everything, as well as the other members of their family – Karen their elderly almost-Nobel-Prize-winning-scientist mother now in the beginning phases of dementia, and Luke, Alice’s environmentally-anxious teenage son who is struggling to navigate the consequences of sending illicit photos into unsafe hands, and his own frustrated anger as he combusts into the social media sidelines as a scorned pariah.
The numerous short scenes have a cinematic swiftness to them, suitably sci-fi-esque music and some forces-of-repulsion-and-attraction-based movement sequences sweep us from one into another, and if at first the wide lens of the playwright’s focus is overwhelming, the show soon beds down into the interplay between the sisters, and we find our through-line – “Mosquitoes” is about a family going through a sort of radioactive decay.
Simon Nicholas’s set is simple, with a white circle on the floor in the design of the collider itself as well as some multi-purpose white boxes that the cast manipulate and reposition with all the fervour of a Frantic Assembly weekend workshop. OVO have a history of melding technology with live performance, and Nicholas’s use of projection here is clever, at times disarmingly beautiful, and wonderfully well-managed – particularly in the moments when the actor are allowed to interact directly with it.
Emma Wright is at the top of her game as Alice, her performance is a masterpiece of subtlety and nuance – every word considered and perfectly placed. Having seen her performances in “Beginning” and “Middle” a few weeks ago, it was a pleasure to see her in a completely different kind of role, soaring through scenes with grace and honesty, Wright is an asset to the company, and I’m glad to see that she’ll be joining the theatre company next month for “Women of Whitechapel”. She’s similarly matched by Faith Turner’s Jenny, who brings an enormous amount of humour and heart to the role of the black sheep sister. Jenny has all the best jokes and lines, but it is a testament to Turner’s skill and generosity that she continually plays each scene organically working with her scene partner, knowing where to hit and where to push – she’s an incredibly watchable actor, capable of great emotional arches and heights, whilst handling the legion of punchlines Kirkwood has given her with the utmost of ease.
Will Pattle plays Luke with the frenzy of a wounded captured animal, impotent in his adolescence and yet keenly wanting more from both those around him and himself. Lyle Fulton is Henri, Alice’s Swiss scientist boyfriend that consistently gets called French. Whilst the male roles aren’t really Kirkwood’s focus, Fulton gives a nice dash of humour and moral stiffness, he handles his reformed alcoholic quaker character well without descending into parody, its a really tidy turn that gives a much needed change of colour and timbre to the long running time. Eloise Westwood, Jane Withers and Andy Margerison play secondary characters for the sisters and son to interact with, and whilst Margerison gets some blisteringly powerful speeches that cover some of the more scientific corners of the playwright’s brain, I was left feeling disappointed that the three clearly capable actors weren’t given more to do. Perhaps with the nature of the repertory nature of OVO, they can look forward to more of the limelight further along in the season. Regardless, they helped round out a very strong ensemble that was clearly committed to their show, working as a team to pull each scene in and out of its movement sequence sandwich structure, and everyone had their little moments of stage shine time. Margerison in particular did some powerful monologue work here, his is a voice rich and ripe for Shakespeare’s Histories.
Personally however, it was Annette Holland as the matriarch Karen that particularly stood out. Under her impeccable light touch, Karen’s idiosyncrasies and foibles were brought out, gently at first, with a few forgotten items or senior moments of going off to change her clothes but coming back unaltered, before inevitably decaying into a second childhood just seeking comfort in the face of the terrifying prospect of losing one’s own mind – the one thing Karen prizes above all else. Holland is an absolute maestra on stage, her concise delivery, a wonderful softness and lightness of touch but with a steely fortitude that betrays the cold guiding hand that has misshaped her two daughters – her portrayal of Karen is near perfection – every moment on stage with her was a gift – and Holland has clearly used her considerable talents to present a fascinatingly flawed pioneer seething in the shadows of greatness, stoically awaiting the oncoming storm of her own decline.
Having seen his “Beginning” and “Middle” a few weeks ago, after “Mosquitoes”, I’m beginning to get a sense of director Adam Nichols’s style. His theatre is a theatre of modernity. Of unfinished sentences and interruptions. Of quick cuts and quicker jokes. He moves fast, but his intent is always clear and precise. From working repeatedly with the same actors, Nichols is clearly able to bring out more from their shared ease and comfort, and it strengthens his command of the story, and the clarity of its telling. “Mosquitoes” could very easily be incomprehensible, it has a wealth of ideas and themes, and the characters are prickly and difficult, but Nichols has systematically worked his rehearsal room so that each layer and turning point, every revelation and declaration, every choice, triumph and failure are wonderfully realised, disarmingly honest and full to the back row with truth. The atomic shell of the show has a lot of electrons, but Nichols strips away each one for us to examine with the care and talent of a true scientist storyteller.
The show however is not perfect. For one thing, it’s far too long. Despite what the programme might claim about its run time – “Mosquitoes” clocked in at three hours and eight minutes including interval, which is about 30 minutes over what the script can hold. I’m no devotee of a stop-watch when it comes to theatre (nor clearly when it comes to short reviews), a story takes as long as it needs to, but unfortunately this particular story has a lot of filler and unfortunately does resolve itself numerous times before it eventually finishes. It suffers from a chronic case “Return-of-the-King” syndrome, and the two last scenes in particular are baffling in the choices that have been made, as they are clearly the wrong way round – causing the audience to applaud and reach for their coats at an inopportune moment before the play was finished – a cringeworthy moment that needs remedying, either swap them round, cut the black out, or direct Margerison to remove the “last line-ness” from his last line. The movement sequences too need further work. Despite having two movement directors assigned to them, Stephanie Allison and Amy Connery, they’re just not polished or tight enough – they need considerable honing in timing and slickness – as they bring a messiness to a play that is conspicuously clean and sharp in the delivery of its text sections. Whilst there is nothing wrong with their design or conception, this kind of movement language needs considerable time in the rehearsal room, and the production could benefit from a few more days running them through until they achieve a military like precision about where exactly those ever-mobile white boxes are placed. And finally, as just a personal preference about actors – shouting is always the least interesting choice you can make. The characters in “Mosquitoes” go through quite the chemical crucible, and whilst tempers fray and relationships combust violently, often the decisions made descended into raised voices and generic anger. And for a three hour play, this can tire the ear and muddy the clarity. They’re clearly talented actors, perhaps in the next iteration of the piece on tour, I’d suggest diversifying the choices made in moments of high emotion.
All in all, “Mosquitoes” is a challenging piece about family and science, slickly held together by a clever script, disarming technical prowess, powerful performances and some ambitious ensemble work. Kirkwood has crammed the ideas of three or four plays into a single script, and that might not always be to all tastes, but in the capable and sensitive hands of OVO Theatre, they have another powerhouse of a performance in their hands.
The production is due to transfer to The Dukes in Lancaster this week, running 19th – 22nd October. More details and tickets can be found at https://dukeslancaster.org/
