The Alexandra, Birmingham – until May 4th 2019

Reviewed by Boo Wakefield

4****

The Age of Aquarius has returned to the stage 50 years after Hair was first written by James Rado and Gerome Ragni with a passionate, entertaining performance. Written during the time of the Vietnam war, it tells the story of a group of hippies living in New York. In the tribe are Claude (Paul Wilkins) and his friend Berger (Jake Quickenden) along with Shelia (Daisy Wood-Davis), Jeanie (Alison Arnopp), Woof (Bradley Judge) and Hud (Marcus Collins). It follows them trying to wrestle the balance between their bohemian life of sex, drugs, racism and liberation with that of war and conservative society. Claude has been drafted and struggles with whether to resist, following his pacifist beliefs, or to conform and serve his country. When it was first performed, it caused outrage for its sexual content, blatant drug taking and nudity

The set is almost too perfect with multiple coloured streamers hung from wire fencing, supporting hippie tents at different levels housing the members of the band. The clever use of colour and texture throughout the performance helps to convey their hippie lifestyle and energy although the smoke machine did leave us in a thick fog during one number! The full cast nude scene was almost too subtle, staged at the very back of the stage with such soft lighting that you were almost unaware it was happening.

Every member of this close-knit cast gives energy to the show with each song sung with intensity but without outshining each other. Berger sets the atmosphere with a flirty energetic number leaving him almost naked within minutes of the show starting! Claude’s struggle is played out convincingly by Paul Wilkins and Daisy Wood-Davis’s sweet singing voice was perfect for the dreamy Sheila. Marcus Collins, Aiesha Pease (Dionne) and Alison Arnoop (Jeanie) vocal performances were particularly uplifting although it seems cruel not to list every member of the cast as all 47 numbers left you on the edge of your seat with goose bumps. The cast took every opportunity to leave the stage to perform amongst the audience, culminating in their encore number with members of the audience encouraged up on stage to dance and sing along with them, which they did with great enthusiasm.

It was interesting to see that most of the audience were “silver surfers” perhaps reliving their hippie pasts and thoroughly enjoying every moment of it.

This is a real “raise the roof” production and 50 years on, Hair still rocks!

CHIZZY AKUDOLU & LAURA BALDWIN WILL
HOST THE NEXT

CAST ALBUM KARAOKE NIGHT ON 8 MAY

Music and lyrics by seven-time Grammy Award-nominee Sara Bareilles
Book by Jessie Nelson
Based upon the motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly
Directed by Tony Award-winner Diane Paulus

The hosts of the next Waitress London Cast Album Karaoke Night have been announced today.Laura Baldwin, who plays Dawn in the show, will host the post-show event alongside actressChizzy Akudolu (Holby City, Strictly Come Dancing) on Wednesday 8 May. Audience members can sign up before the show for the chance to sing one minute of any song from Waitress – live on stage at the Adelphi and accompanied by the show’s musical director Katharine Woolley.

The fourth Cast Album Karaoke Night will be in partnership with WhatsOnStage, audience members who sign up before the show to sing a number from Waitress at the karaoke event will also be auditioning in front of a top West End casting director for the chance to win a cameo role – for one night only – in the smash hit musical.

Chizzy Akudolu is best known for her role as Mo Effanga on BBC’s Holby City. Other television credits include BBC’s Eastenders, Death In Paradise, Shakespeare And Hathaway, Tracey Breaks The News, Silent Witness, Mongrels, Twenty Twelve, Unzipped with Miranda Hart. Chizzy’s film credits include County Lines (Two Birds Entertainment/Loupe Films); In The Loop (BBC Films);Dustbin Baby (Kindle Entertainment); The Most Unromantic Man In The World (Burning Vision Entertainment). As well as television and film, Chizzy’s extensive theatre credits include Edmond de Bergerac (Birmingham Repertory Theatre/ UK Tour); The Rec Room (Soho Theatre); Script Slam(Soho Theatre); King Of The Castle (Tell Tarra) The Vagina Monologues (UK Tour); Mixt Nutz(Guilded Balloon); Soho Script Slam, Ready, Steady, Write, The Weave (Soho Theatre); Club V, The Best of Funny Black Women on the Edge (Theatre Royal Stratford East); Blaggers (Aarawak Moon);BBC Talent Urban Sketch Showcase (BBC) and Common Threads (Gwent Theatre).

Waitress celebrated its official opening night on 7 March and the Tony-nominated musical by Sara Bareilles is now booking to 19 October.

London’s brand-new smash hit musical comedy Waitressstars the sensational Katharine McPhee (Scorpion, Smash) as Jenna, a waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams her way out of a loveless marriage. When a hot new doctor arrives in town, life gets complicated. With the support of her workmates Becky and Dawn, Jenna overcomes the challenges she faces and finds that laughter, love and friendship can provide the perfect recipe for happiness. 

Brought to life by a ground breaking, female-led creative team, the hit show features an original score by 7-time Grammy® nominee Sara Bareilles (Love Song, Brave), a book by acclaimed screenwriterJessie Nelson (I Am Sam) and direction by Tony Award® winner Diane Paulus (Pippin, Finding Neverland) and choreography by Lorin Latarro. The production is currently touring the US and has also announced it will have its Australian premiere in 2020 at the Sydney Lyric Theatre.

Alongside Katharine McPhee as Jenna, Waitress stars Jack McBrayer as Ogie, Marisha Wallace as Becky, Laura Baldwin as Dawn, Peter Hannah as Earl, David Hunter as Dr. Pomatter and Shaun Prendergast as Old Joe.

The full company includes Kelly Agbowu, Laura Baldwin, Piers Bate, Nicole Raquel Dennis, Michael Hamway, Peter Hannah, David Hunter, Stephen Leask, Jack McBrayer, Chris McGuigan, Katharine McPhee, Olivia Moore, Nathaniel Morrison, Sarah O’Connor, Leanne Pinder, Shaun Prendergast, Charlotte Riby, Marisha Wallace and Mark Willshire.

On its Broadway opening, Waitress was nominated for four Outer Critics’ Circle Awards, including Outstanding New Broadway Musical; two Drama League Award Nominations, including Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical; six Drama Desk Nominations, including Outstanding Musical; and four Tony Award Nominations, including Best Musical.

Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester to stage Northern Premiere of true crime death row drama, The Exonerated

Thursday 6 to Sunday 16 June 2019

On sale now

Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester is to stage the Northern Premiere of The Exonerated – a gripping death row drama that is to be reimagined in the style of a television true crime documentary.

Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen’s play The Exonerated, directed by Hope Mill Artistic Director and co-founder Joseph Houston, will play at the award-winning fringe theatre from Thursday 6 June to Sunday 16 June 2019.

The production will blend live theatre and filmed footage to create a unique, fully integrated multimedia experience, with staging inspired by true crime documentaries currently popular on television streaming services.

It is Hope Mill Theatre’s second in-house play directed by Houston, following a highly successful run of David Auburn’s Proof in 2018.

Taken from interviews, letters, transcripts, case files and the public record, The Exonerated tells true stories of six wrongfully-convicted survivors of death row in their own words.

Moving between first-person monologues, courtrooms and prisons; six interwoven stories paint a picture of an American criminal justice system gone horribly wrong – and of six brave souls who persevered to survive it.

The Exonerated premiered Off Broadway in 2002 (where it won a Lucille Lortel Award and a Drama Desk Award as well as an Outer Critics Circle Award), was made in to a 2005 film starring Susan Sarandon and Danny Glover, and then a production ran at the Riverside Studios in London in 2006.

Artistic Director Joseph Houston, said: “I am thrilled to be directing the Northern Premiere of The Exonerated. When I first read the play I was instantly inspired by these heart-breaking stories of six people wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death row.

“Knowing the power of documentaries like Making a Murderer and The Staircase in highlighting legal injustices and the emotional connection we have to such stories, I knew that Hope Mill was the perfect venue for a ‘Netflix-style’ reimagining of The Exonerated.

“I want this to be a unique theatrical experience that integrates documentary-style filmed footage, but without losing the impact of live theatre.”

The Exonerated is written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, directed by Joseph Houston, filmography by Grant Archer, lighting design by Aaron Dotson and casting by Jane Deitch. Produced by William Whelton for Hope Mill Theatre.

Casting to be announced.

The Exonerated runs at Hope Mill Theatre from Thursday 6 June to Sunday 16 June 2019. Press Night Tuesday 11 June. Tickets, from £10, available from www.hopemilltheatre.co.uk

SEARCHING FOR SNOW WHITE

AUDITION TO FIND A STAR

Three Bears Productions are launching a spellbinding search for a leading girl in this year’s production of Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs at the Grand Opera House, York.

We are on the lookout for a female aged 18 or over who lives in the area.

The new Snow White must be available from December 2 until January 4 2020.

THIS IS A CONTRACTED PAID ROLE

If you think you have a glorious singing voice and can act, dance and want to be considered for this role please send your CV and photograph to:

Chris Moreno, Moat Farm, Norwell Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, NG23 6NG

or Email: cdm@chrismoreno.co.uk before Friday 3 May. of April!

Snow White Auditions will commence on:

Audition details:

Date: 8th May 2019

Time: 10.30am to 5pm

At: Grand Opera House York

Applicants need to be available from 2 December 2019 until 4 January 2020.

York Theatre Royal – until May 11 2019

Reviewed by Marcus Richardson

3***

Handbagged is a comedy about iconic women in Britain, both powerful and strong willed. Following the relationship between Margaret Thatcher and Queen Elizabeth II, we watch how the two interacted throughout Thatchers time as Prime Minister. The play finds a balance between telling a political story and making sure the audience are entertained. With two actors playing multiple roles, alongside a younger Thatcher and Elizabeth and an older pair of the two. This works surprisingly well on stage with a fair few jokes coming from it. As I’m sure you can imagine theatre doesn’t usually favour the right-wing of politics however it doesn’t slander Thatcher to make her villainous, which is something I liked about the show, instead she was a stubborn and strong woman, by the end of her time as PM one could even say desperate.

With a cast of six, with the two older versions being played by Sarah Crowden as Thatcher and Susan Penhaligon as the Queen, the two do an incredible job of making sure the characters seemed like their real life counterparts. Crowden really gives truth to the Iron Lady name with a firm and seemingly cold nature. Penhaligon takes on a much cheekier approach to the Queen and ensures that the two older character contrast to create the comedy between them. Most of the time on stage alongside them are their younger characters the younger Thatcher was played by Alice Selwyn and Elizabeth by Caroline Harker. Selwyn was the understudy for this show and I have to say she did a blooming good job, there were certain mannerisms that Thatcher was known for, her always composed demeanour and striking eyes.  Harker also gave a good contrast to her fellow lady being much friendlier and down to earth. Both pairs of characters would often interact with each other often reflecting on past experiences. The other two actors on stage were just that actors playing actors often switching between roles and talking about their views on politics. Jahvel Hall plays the younger of the actors, someone who wasn’t alive during Thatchers Britain, providing a commentary on certain events that were skipped during the play. Taking up roles such as Nancy Regan as he is is a suit and skirt and Scottish ministers, a lot of comedy came from Hall which worked well with the four ladies. The other actor Andy Secombe however was  alive during the time when Thatcher was in power often expressing his left leaning views, playing characters Ronald Regan and Denis Thatcher, his character worked much like Hall’s and often created comedy by flipping between contrasting characters.

As one would expect watching such a show as Handbagged requires a certain level of sophistication and attention as politics can seem very boring, we are very lucky that the play was funny otherwise I would’ve found myself bored. I can under stand how this appeals to an older audience more than a younger one, which the production is aware of, but as someone who never experienced Thatchers Britain I could appreciate and learn from the show.

Underbelly Festival, Southbank – until 23 June 2019

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

5*****

In Bernie Dieter’s Little Death Club, no seat is safe, as hostess Bernie Dieter will take off her (fabulous) heels and climb over the audience to sing to/on anyone who takes her fancy.

The atmosphere inside the Spiegeltent is one of a slightly seedy, but very welcoming club with the performers milling around, posing for and chatting to the audience as they make their way to their seats.

Dieter and creative director Tom Velvick have put together a perfectly judged show full of raucous filth interspersed with mind-blowing speciality acts and some beautifully soft and quiet moments. Inspired by Weimar Republic Kabarett, this is all saucy but never cruel, with a wonderful sense of inclusion and fun.

Dieter is a brilliant host, with a brilliantly sultry rapport with the audience and boy, can she belt out a song. Beau Sargent does things with his body that will make you gasp, but what could be a retch-inducing contortion freakshow develops into a thing of beauty, and when he returns for his aerial performance, his hoop work is jaw-droppingly emotional. Fancy Chance and her hair hanging ballet is simply astounding, and Kitty Bang Bang’s fire-breathing act is a high-octane thriller. Giving the audience time to breathe and recover are the hilarious Josh Glanc as Le Mime Tipi, a French mime who REALLY hates his job, and Myra Dubois, delivering scathing insults and her own unique take on an Elaine Paige classic.

This is the perfect show to start a night out with friends, with a well-stocked bar and an obscenely talented cast creating an irresistible celebration of difference, freedom and unadulterated joy.

Rose Playhouse – until 5 May 2019

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

3***

OVO’s production of one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies sets the action on cruise liners in the roaring twenties. Sebastian and Viola become entertainers on the doomed SS Elysium, and Orsino is captain of the SS Illyria, with Olivia as a famous actress sailing on his ship.

This suits the tiny performance space well, with only a decorative ship’s rail needed, and the imaginative use of a reinforced piano as stage/storage for props. The audience sit as if watching the action unfold on deck, with the cold air rising from the archaeological dig site and blankets wrapped around their legs helping set the scene of a transatlantic voyage.

The crossdressing comedy is handled well by Lucy Crick as Viola/Cesario, with her discomfort in swimwear as Olivia attempts to seduce her one of the highlights of the show. As needed, all of the characters are broadly drawn, with James Douglas as the tweed wearing twit Aguecheek creating comedy gold effortlessly with facial expressions alone. Malvolio becomes Malvolia, and Faith Turner nails the judgemental haughtiness, still managing to make her sympathetic from the beginning. This is helped by the antics of Lady Toby (Anna Franklin) and her cronies all feeling forced and their laughter strained. The gender switching of both Malvolio and Toby is a little uneven, as Malvolia still adores Olivia, but Maria’s affections are switched from Toby to Fabian for some reason.

The twenties setting means that there is plenty of scope for jazz versions of fantastic modern songs from Britney Spears, Rihanna and Radiohead. This has all been done before, but the cast make a fine effort playing instruments and singing songs that feel more and more awkwardly shoehorned into the production as the play goes on. Hannah Francis-Baker holds things together as Feste, with the strongest and most natural singing performance.

The necessary cuts to fit the plot, and songs, into the short running time don’t damage the production, and the beautifully downbeat and heart-rending musical ending is a brilliant decision. I just wish director Adam Nichols had made more choices like this throughout – then this production could have been an exciting and fresh revelation, rather than a solidly enjoyable, but safe experience.

A NEW MUSICAL – JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED

The epic struggle between good and evil comes to life as local theatre company Darlington Operatic Society start rehearsals for the musical phenomenon, Jekyll & Hyde

An evocative tale of two men – one a doctor, passionate and romantic; the other, a terrifying madman – and two women – one, beautiful and trusting; the other, beautiful and trusting only herself – both women in love with the same man and both unaware of his dark secret. A devoted man of science, Dr. Henry Jekyll is driven to find a chemical breakthrough that can solve some of mankind’s most challenging medical dilemmas. Rebuffed by the powers that be, he decides to make himself the subject of his own experimental treatments, accidentally unleashing his inner demons along with the man that the world would come to know as Mr. Hyde

Based on the classic story by Robert Louis Stevenson and featuring a thrilling score from multi-Grammy and Tony-nominated Frank Wildhorn and double-Oscar and Grammy-winning Leslie Bricusse, Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical has mesmerized audiences the world over.

The original Broadway production of Jekyll & Hyde took to the stage at the Plymouth Theatre on March 21, 1997 where it played for over 1,500 performances. Jekyll & Hyde also enjoyed two successful UK tours, one in 2004 and most recently in 2011.

Joanne Hand (Top Hat, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, West Side Story) will once again be at the helm as Director / Choreographer and Steven Hood (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Strictly Musicals 2) will have a live, 17 piece orchestra under the control of his baton.

Julian Cound from DarlingtonOS told us “following the huge success of Top Hat we are so looking forward to taking on the challenge of Jekyll & Hyde. The show is full of amazing music and will have audiences on the edge of their seats throughout. We will be using the set and costumes from a recent UK tour so it will look fabulous and with a 17 piece orchestra it will sound amazing too.”

He continued “Jekyll & Hyde is a completely different style of show from our most recent productions, it is something new and is a powerful piece of musical theatre that will thrill, astound and delight.”

Jekyll & Hyde runs at Darlington Hippodrome from Wednesday 23 October to Saturday 2 November. Thursday 31 October is a BSL interpreted performance and both Friday performances will be audio described. Recommended age 12+ Tickets are on sale now – to book call the Ticket Hotline on 01325 244659 or book online at www.darlingtonos.org.uk

Royal and Derngate Theatre, Northampton – until 11 May 2019

Reviewed by Boo Wakefield

4****

Ghosts was originally written in Danish by Norwegian Henrik Ibsen in 1881. This new version has been translated and adapted by Mike Poulton. In some ways it’s a shame Poulton and the various translations of the play over the years have chosen to translate the Danish word Gengangere as Ghosts: firstly there are actually no ghosts in the play; and secondly, the literal meaning is “the thing that walks again” which is far more apt for what is to come – a play about lies and shame, about crushing societal hypocrisy, and about “the sins of the father being visited on his child” in the form of neurosyphilis – the thing that literally walks again.  It is a rollercoaster of emotions that left the audience stunned and my husband in tears. This play is no light-hearted romantic night out nor is it for the faint-hearted. Written by Ibsen intentionally to be a slap in society’s face, it still hits hard today.

Set on the remote Norwegian island of Rosenvald, it has been raining for weeks with no sign of abating.  Gloom and darkness are prevalent, reflecting the emotionally stunted and deeply unhappy lives being lived under it. The set is simple but brilliant; lit in subtle green-blue lighting with the sound of constant rain it puts us in the front room of the manor house belonging to widow Helen Alving (Penny Downie) but cleverly shows the dining room at the back of the stage through fine mesh walls where silent sub-plots can be seen.  Helen’s son Osvald (Pierro Niel-Mee) has returned from Paris for the opening of the orphanage built by Helen in memory of her late husband.  Pastor Manders (James Wilby) has arrived to deliver the late Captain Alving’s eulogy at the opening.  Regina Engstrand (Eleanor McLoughlin) is Helen’s maid and the daughter of Jakob Engstrand (Declan Conlon), a violent drunk hired to help build the orphanage.

Over the course of the day and night before the opening, the play exposes the web of lies and hypocrisy that bind the characters and the lives to which each of them has been condemned by society’s strait-jacket. To describe the plot in detail here would be to spoil the play so I won’t. You should go and see it – it is a slick and high-quality production. If the definition of a good play is that you wake up thinking about it the next morning then this is a good play, thought provoking and emotionally powerful – just don’t expect it to leave you full of the joys of spring!

The King’s Theatre, Glasgow – until 27 April 2019

Reviewed by Linda McLaughlan

5*****

There wasn’t a seat left in the King’s Theatre that wasn’t occupied by very excitable women and men or slightly anxious looking husbands/partners.

The atmosphere was electric as everyone…. well, almost everyone awaited the start of the production. Everyone has seen the screen movie of Full Monty, and if you haven’t then why not? Set in the northern city of Sheffield it follows the lives of 6 men in particular who had previously worked in the steelworks which adorned the city skyline. That was until politics took over and many of the mighty forges where closed leaving thousands of hardworking men out of jobs.

The productions follows the lives of a small group of men, some who have been friends since childhood, others who have met at the job club and the rest who become friends when they come up with the madcap idea to become strippers for one night only, after listening to the local women go crazy over the visiting dance troupe ‘The Chippendales’ to which Gaz reckons he could do much better.

Gaz and Dave (played by Gary Lucy and Kai Owen) have been friends since childhood and worked together in the forge are introduced at the beginning of the production when breaking into the abandoned steelworks to steal a rather heavy iron girder. Alongside them is Gaz’s son Nathan (played by Fraser Kelly). Gaz is separated from Nathan’s mother who has now taken up with another man and Gaz is trying to do right by his son by is struggling financially to even make any payments for him. Hence the reason for the stealing and upcoming mad ideas to get cash.

Joe Gill (Lomper)who is very well known for his character in Emmerdale joins the cast when he goes to the steelworks to hang himself as he has no friends and generally hates his job. Thankfully Gaz and Dave stop him from doing this and they become unlikely friends and Lomper agrees to join them in learning to dance and strip.

The guys are joined by some very well known and talented actors in the likes of Louis Emerick (Horse), Andrew Dunn (Gerald) and James Redmond (Guy). Each of them having their own troubles to deal with and struggling to get by or find work and even deal with health issues.

There is not a moment in the production that the audience is not laughing or screaming for the guys to ‘Get their kit off’ and even sympathising with the characters on stage. I personally have not had such a laugh at a theatre performance in a long time. Not because it was about male strippers but because the performers kept the acting real and alive and each persons story allowed someone in the audience to resonate with what they were feeling.

‘a fantastic feel good show which will leave you smiling on the way out’