Play On! - Talawa

[theatrenerd]

Just been reading about this upcoming jazz musical from Talawa which is a retelling of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night using the music of Duke Ellington. Sounds exciting!

Opens in Coventry this September and touring to Liverpool, Salisbury, Birmingham, London (Lyric Hammersmith) and Bristol

www.talawa.com/articles/play-on

[ThereWillBeSun]

I've booked for this!

I saw the Young Vic adaptation a few years ago which was good.

Love the concept of this particular version and don't think I've seen anything by Talawa.

[max]

Sounds a really good concept. I hadn't heard of it before, but just searched and found it was done in San Diego then Broadway in 1997 with the amazing Carl Anderson (Jesus Christ Superstar film) and Tonya Pinkins.

[Someone in a tree]

Sounds good. I'm interested. Sounds similar to the Watermills forthcoming Much ado

[david]

I saw this last night at the Liverpool Playhouse and had a really fun time watching it. Full charm, comedy and great dancing and singing from the cast, this musical riff on Twelfth Night set in 1940's Harlem using this hits of Duke Ellington worked really well as a piece of theatre. Cheryl L.West's book was easy to follow whether you are familiar with the Shakespeare play or not so can be watched quite easily without any prior knowledge of the play. Though I am sure people who know the text will enjoy seeing how the play's characters are represented in this show. If like myself you are unfamiliar with DE's back catalogue, the 24 musical numbers chosen certainly were all great to listen to with this cast and band performing them.

With a run time of around 2.5hrs  last night (Act 1 - 1hr 15mins, 20 min interval and a 50 min Act 2), it was a  well paced slick production from director Michael Buffong and his team that kept myself and the rest of the audience thoroughly entertained with the use of Ellington's music working well to help drive the narrative forward. ULTZ's simple set design of a cocktail bar and a dressing room on either side of the stage with the 5 piece on stage band  on a moving platform that allows them to come in and out of the action as and when required worked really well in my opinion in allowing the cast and their talent to shine and it certainly does here. The set was backed by an effective lighting design from Johanna Town and some lovely period costumes. 

With the cast, Buffong has assembled some fantastic talent here with the acting, slick choreography and stunning vocals. I certainly didn't feel there was a weak link in the cast last night. All the cast members couldn't be faulted for their efforts and energy levels. 

Overall, I would certainly say it was worth a watch either on tour or during the Lyric Hammersmith run. 

Rating - 4 stars

[david]

For anybody who might be interested in this show, the link to the free digital programme with a song list and production photo's is here.