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Post by Dave B on Jun 25, 2023 10:09:43 GMT
I saw The Return of Benjamin Lay yesterday. I'd probably disagree with Dave B on the quality of the play, I thought it was fine, and at only 70 minutes doesn't overstay it's welcome. However I'm in full agreement with him about Mark Povinelli, he's just marvellous, totally immerses himself in the character. A small spoiler/warning for anyone thinking of going (it's on till July 8th). There's a small amount of audience interaction. It's nothing to get too nervous about, but you might want to choose a seat at the back if that sort of thing bothers you. You also might want to have a think about any good books you've read recently! Yes, I helped him tie on his armour and my partner absolutely refused to baa  |
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Post by david on Jun 30, 2023 22:39:09 GMT
Blonde Bombshells of 1943 - Bolton Octagon
A really fun afternoon at the Bolton Octagon last Saturday afternoon watching this. Director Zoe Waterman and her creative team have done a great job in bringing Alan Platters play to the Octagon stage. A really witty and warm play that celebrates female friendships and making the most of life in wartime through a shared passion for music.
Whilst it isn't the most demanding show to watch and only deals with the impacts of war on individuals at the surface level with witty and sometimes risqué lines and with biting northern humour (the city of Hull and men generally really takes a witty verbal bashing here from Platters writing). It is the cast of 8 actor-musicians assembled that bring those 1940's big-band numbers (from Glenn Miller to the Andrews Sisters) to life over 2 hrs that are worth the ticket price with a really high standard of musicianship and singing on show. Each of the cast gets a chance to shine individually and as a ensemble. From my viewing, I really couldn't fault any of the cast both the acting and musicianship were spot on for me.
Staged in the round with a very basic set in the first Act to represent a bombed-out rehearsal room, there is a bit of glitz and glamour in Act 2 with the BBC radio broadcast to close the show. The show worked well in this configuration and there was a nice touch with the stage crew being dressed uo in period costumes for moving set pieces around.
A really positive reception at the end as the show goes into concert mode and just generally a nice afternoon of nostalgia for the audience as a whole.
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Post by david on Jul 29, 2023 21:38:20 GMT
Some Enchanted Evening - The Music Of Rodgers and Hammerstein (Bridgewater Hall)
A second trip this year to the Bridgewater Hall this evening for a 2 hour musical theatre concert with the Halle Orchestra along with the vocal talents of Alice Fearn, Rob Houchen, Lucy May Barker and Scott Davies bringing the classic works of the musical duo to the Bridgewater Hall stage. A fantastic evening listening to a range of those classic songs from Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, The Flower Drum Song and of course The Sound of Music to round off the evening.
Song List -
Act 1 -
Oklahoma! -
Overture
Oklahoma
Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin’
People Will Say We’re In Love
I Can’t Say No
Carousel -
Waltz
June Is Bustin’ Out All Over
If I Loved You
You’ll Never Walk Alone
Act 2 -
South Pacific -
Overture
Younger Than Springtime
Some Enchanted Evening
I’m in Love with a Wonderful Guy
The King and I -
The March of the Siamese Children
I Have Dreamed
Getting to Know You
The Flower Drum Song -
Love, Look Away
The Sound of Music -
The Sound of Music
Favourite Things
Sixteen Going on Seventeen
Edelweiss
Climb Ev’ry Mountain
As always Rob didn’t disappoint and it was great to him sing “Younger than Springtime” again. It certainly brought back a lot of great memories from watching SP at the CFT. Having decided not to travel to the CFT this year due to possible train strikes, being able to get the SOM tonight makes up for it. Though in fairness, all four singers were stunning and for a £20 I can’t complain and certainly got full value out of the ticket.
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Post by Dawnstar on Jul 29, 2023 21:48:14 GMT
david That sounds almost the same as the concert I saw last June, except that was the CBSO rather than the Halle and Gina Beck rather than Lucy May Barker. I guess the performances last year, in Birmingham & Saffron Walden (I was at the latter), were popular enough that they decided to bring it to further venues. For me the South Pacific section was a preview, as I didn't see the Chichester production until it was at Sadler's Wells a couple of months later.
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Post by Dave B on Aug 12, 2023 7:53:39 GMT
Makeshifts and Realities and Honour Thy Father - Finborough
A triple bill of short plays, two by Gertrude Robins and one from H. M. Harwood. Well over 100 years old, first presented in the very early 1900s. The running theme being the difficulty for women to lead any sort of independent life. A superb cast makes this probably the most enjoyable evening at Finborough this year. Everyone is really good but Philippa Quinn, Andrew Hawkins and especially Joe Eyre absolutely smash it. I saw the second preview and I suspect once reviews start to come in it'll be a series of strong 4 stars. For me, Makeshifts was 5 stars, Realities was 3 and Honour Thy Father is a strong 4, perhaps even pushing on a 5. I think this might turn out to be a hit, I can easily see word of mouth helping a lot. Grab a ticket, I doubt you'll regret it.
The Garden Of Words - Park Theatre
I saw this last night... I don't know if it was me and I'm entirely open to the possibility that it might be but I thought this was dreadful. I was bored almost immediately and nothing changed, it's slow and tedious and nothing seems to work. The interval (second time in a row Park has added A LOT OF time and interval to a show without updating the website thus making travel plans a waste) suddenly arrives with no warning and people had to ask if it was over or if it was the interval. A small but notable number of empty seats afterwards. There is a story in here, I mean it's based on a wildly successful anime but the blurb talks about it being a 'visually emotive story' .. but there is nothing to it here (okay a nice set design yes) but the rest... yikes. Again, maybe I wasn't in the right mood but I was bored, bored bored. Ugh.
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Post by Steve on Aug 19, 2023 22:02:05 GMT
Makeshifts and Realities and Honour Thy Father - FinboroughEveryone is really good but Philippa Quinn, Andrew Hawkins and especially Joe Eyre absolutely smash it. . . For me, Makeshifts was 5 stars, Realities was 3 and Honour Thy Father is a strong 4, perhaps even pushing on a 5. [/div] Saw the matinee and LOVED it. I pretty much agree with everything Dave said. Thanks, Dave. I'd go 4, 3, 4, with 4 stars overall. And I'd add the name of Poppy Allem-Quarmby to your list of exceptional performances, which I otherwise agree with. Some spoilers follow. . . This collection of plays sort of fills the hole that Jane Austen's novels don't deal with. Like, Austen posits heroines who need men to save them, and then they either get saved by mega-rich men, rich men or men with a modest living. But what if none of the above happens? What if (in "Makeshifts") the man you look to save you is a cad? What if (in "Realities")the only man available to save you has less than modest assets? What if (in "Honour Thy Father") there is no man at all to save you, and even your Dad is a feckless gambler, and because you are a woman you haven't been educated to earn a living? These plays are high quality period-piece discoveries, directed and acted sensitively and judiciously, like you sometimes see at the Jermyn Street Theatre or the Orange Street Theatre. Since "Realities" is a sequel to "Makeshifts," featuring the same characters, they feel like one play, played together before the interval. One of the things I liked the best about "Makeshifts" was the relationship between the two sister protagonists, Quinn (heartache beneath mannered placidity) and Quarmby (roiling passion beneath put-on standoffishness), and the way the cad, Joe Eyre (who they both desire to save them) plays them off against each other. I felt that the "Realities" sequel missed a trick by leaving out Quarmby's character, relying on Quinn's character's story to represent the ultimate fate of both sisters. Joe Eyre plays the wealthy cad, object of both sister's affections, like a young David Thewlis, all beady-eyed scheming and entitlement, and it's dramatic how much you hate him lol. In the final play, I was reminded how in the 1700s, one fifth of all women in London were prostitutes, but that by the early 1900s, when this play is set, that choice for a desperate woman would have been a total disgrace. And yet, Poppy Allem-Quarmby's character really has SO few respectable choices, living in an age before women's education, women's lib or even a quick scan of Tinder! As her father, Andrew Quinn was at once feckless, charming and judgemental, and made a worthy antagonist for Quarmby's character, stuck between a rock and a hard place, to go up against. 4 stars from me for some excellent, dated but revealing plays, wonderfully performed.  |
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Post by showgirl on Sept 9, 2023 3:56:55 GMT
Farewell Mr Haffman - Ustinov Studio - Bath Theatre Royal
One of France’s most successful new plays receives its English language premiere in Bath this summer.
"The year is 1942. Paris is under Nazi occupation. Jews are being rounded up. Joseph Haffmann, a Jewish owner of a jewellery shop and his long- standing employee Pierre Vigneau change roles as part of a strange deal which could only take place against the background of an absurd and tragic reality. Joseph Haffmann will transfer the ownership of the jewellery store to Pierre, on the condition that Pierre hides him from the Nazis. In return, Pierre insists that Joseph enter into a very unusual arrangement with Isabelle, Pierre’s wife...
Add to that a Matisse painting, an ‘art loving’ Nazi officer and his outrageous wife, and marital difficulties amplified by the bizarre domestic situation, it is no wonder that Pierre is driven to the brink."
This was absolutely fantastic as the 4-star reviews have suggested, so deserves a transfer, which I hope it receives so that more people have the opportunity to see it. I happened to be staying nearby and not having visited the venue since before Covid, I was shocked and appalled to find that there was no longer any senior discount, even for a midweek matinee, making a standard ticket £40 and the overall day trip more expensive than my regular theatre outings to London and around the south-east. Then I discovered some RV tix for £22.50, so risked booking one of those before PN, but on advice from the Box Office on the day, I then paid to upgrade as apparently the view would have been completely blocked during the long scene which forms the last third of the play - something to bear in mind for anyone seeing this in Bath.
It's not a play of 2 halves (90 mins straight through) but definitely of 2 parts. In the first hour, 3 of the cast of 5 interact in a series of short scenes, establishing and progressing the plot; then, in the second part, a further 2 characters join them for the long final scene which is absolutely electrifying, edge-of-your-seat stuff - I was almost scared to discover what would come next. All the cast are great but the 2 later arrivals, played by Josefina Gabrielle and Alex Hanson, are magnificent.
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Post by Dave B on Sept 12, 2023 7:43:37 GMT
Birthright - Finborough.
Written in 1910, this is another 'rediscovery'. Set in a kitchen in rural Ireland, it is a family falling apart. Two sons drawn in their own directions but do these fit with the birthright, with the farm passing to the eldest? Performances push this up, in particular Pádraig Lynch as the father, in the tiny space of Finborough - his absolute rage was intimidating is the best word I can come up for it. Just primal rage and the look in his eyes - oof. Four stars. Just 60 minutes straight through now (and the AC isn't bad...)
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Post by Dave B on Sept 25, 2023 14:04:39 GMT
Strangers In Between - Golden Goose. Great production of this modern Australian classic. Shane is found with another boy, heavily beaten by his elder brother and flees to Sydney. He connects with a young man (Will, played by Matthew Mitcham, the first openly gay Olympic medal winner) and a older man, Peter (with the actor playing the role in the fourth different production!) in a very funny and warm script about the family and connections that we search for and way some can come together. The cast are really strong, totally engaged within seconds. Warmth and charm and while the intent is the highs and lows of growing up gay in modern Australia, the universal themes of longing and belonging come through strongly too. Very strong 4 stars.
King Stakhs' Wild Hunt - Barbican.
From a couple of weeks ago. This has a little bit of everything, acting, opera, dance, interpretive dance, acrobatics.. and then some! It's presented in Belarusian with subtitles but the subtitle projection is at times really poor, and we were in the upper circle, not even the balcony. An entire chapter, the play is divided into 14+ chapters form the original folk tale sees the subtitles blocked by light and smoke, no idea what any of the dialogue was. Hard to follow throughout with so many changes and effort to keep up with the subtitles. Hard to rate as some of it was excellent and the intent was obvious and strong. Put on by Free Belarus Theatre, it had a lot of local support and a large number of exiles in the audience so a very warm reception. I did go with a Belarusian friend who was able to follow a lot easier and a brief interval catchup helped. It looked great, it sounded great but I'm also not sure what I watched....
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Post by bee on Oct 1, 2023 12:44:58 GMT
Birthright - Finborough. Written in 1910, this is another 'rediscovery'. Set in a kitchen in rural Ireland, it is a family falling apart. Two sons drawn in their own directions but do these fit with the birthright, with the farm passing to the eldest? Performances push this up, in particular Pádraig Lynch as the father, in the tiny space of Finborough - his absolute rage was intimidating is the best word I can come up for it. Just primal rage and the look in his eyes - oof. Four stars. Just 60 minutes straight through now (and the AC isn't bad...) Saw this last night. Would pretty much agree with the above. A short portrait of a family where all the men are seething with long-standing grievances and resentments while the mother tries to keep the peace. Intense stuff. |
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Post by Dave B on Oct 15, 2023 11:03:22 GMT
Dead Dad Dog - Finborough.
Originally suppose to be a double bill with the follow-up Sunny Boy but that was cancelled due to cast illness. One morning while having breakfast 12 years after his dads death, Eck's dad reppears at the kitchen table and spends the day with him. Not a ghost, others can see him too and they can't get more than a few feet apart. Blackly funny with as usual for Finborough an excellent cast of two.
Owners - JST.
A 1972 Churchill with a cast of seven and nine different locations, so snugly fit into JST. Funny, also blackly funny with as ever a great cast - Tom Morley as Worsely being a particular highlight. We saw the second preview which was really impressive for the small space and a long enough play with a lot of things moving about, it looked as if it had been running for months.
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Post by Dave B on Nov 1, 2023 16:40:00 GMT
Ghosts Of The Near Future - Barbican Theatre Emma & PJ's Atlantics at Vault in 2020 remains one of my favourite theatre pieces, so very onboard for this I first saw a work in progress back in 2021 in New Diorama and I liked it then. It's been refined and run quite a bit since including a big run at Ed Fringe. It's in a really nice place, a dystopian magic trick wrapped in a dream with an utterly beautiful tender ending. Adored it, the final visual is absolutely perfect, the best magic trick reveal I could want. 5 stars.
Sputnik Sweetheart - Arcola
If the time spent trying to catch the mood of the book pretty successfully had been spent on catching the heart and soul of the book - this would be something special. UNfortnatly, it is not. The destination seems to be more important with the main plot points of the book hit but never given time to land. No time spent to bring us into the relationships and to understand the emotions. Staging and that is really well done and bits are just excellent but it feels soulless and I was disappointed. 2 stars.
And Then There Were None - Richmond Theatre
Sluggish to get the 10 'soldiers' and backstories into place but really goes for it after the interval. Paranoia and panic, some almost pantomime performances but some gems in there too. The finale is good, and the thing I like about Christie is that nothing comes out of nowhere. It is all there, you can look back to join the dots. The staging of the finale is particular good with an impressive {Spoiler - click to view}hanging of one character leading to the lights out. Quite a visual!! 4 stars. |
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Post by david on Nov 19, 2023 18:38:37 GMT
Do I Love You (Liverpool Royal Court Studio)
From the pen of John Godber, in his 2 hour play we follow 3 20-something friends from Hull (Sally, Nat and Kyle) fresh out of university trying to navigate love and life in a post-COVID world. On a night out in Cleethorpes they end up in a club which plays Northern Soul music. The trio develop a passion for the genre and use the music to escape their humdrum lives and decide to take a trip to the Blackpool Tower Ballroom for a weekend of dance to Northern Soul.
The cast of 3 played by Emilio Encinoso-Gil, Martha Godber (the playwright’s daughter) and Chloe McDonald play the 3 friends and other characters with both honesty and authenticity the characters seek from life. The play is packed with plenty of Northern Soul music allowing the cast to show us their dance skills on stage and to keep the audience happy whilst allowing the plot to move forward.
With JG's writing, it is mixed with both plenty of humour and emotion on everyday situations, though maybe a deeper look into the 3 characters lives rather than just a glimpse here would have had more emotional impact.
Overall, I enjoyed this one from the John Godber company and will be watching Bouncers when it tours next year.
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Post by Steve on Jan 25, 2024 12:55:37 GMT
Ahir Shah: Ends This stand-up show won the 2023 Sky Edinburgh Comedy Award. I saw it last night at the Soho Theatre, and it was absolutely fantastic, one of the best stand-up shows I've seen. It's like theatre too, in that it tells a coherent story about Shah's grandparents, and the way his own experiences differ from theirs. It certainly isn't just trivial set-ups and corresponding punchlines. Although it goes deep, and is very moving in it's description of human experience and human nature, it's also (rarely) positive about Britain, and most significantly brilliantly funny, as Shah is terrific at comic turns, whereby he got me laughing instantly after I was incredibly moved. I was a little worried at the beginning, when I understood that Shah is a fast-talking comedian (many of the best are), as, being over 40, my mind isn't capable of keeping up with the pace it used to, but Shah is so resolutely clear in what he is saying, never rambling, always building, that I followed every word. The number of laughs and insights, and moving moments too, that can be contained within one hour, are among the highest I've experienced. 5 stars. Although this now appears sold out at the Soho Theatre, there are still tickets for two shows of this at the Royal Court on March 16th: royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/ends/I hope "Ends" does a lot more touring so even more can experience this. |
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Post by nicolaa on Jan 25, 2024 16:17:24 GMT
Ghosts Of The Near Future - Barbican Theatre Emma & PJ's Atlantics at Vault in 2020 remains one of my favourite theatre pieces, so very onboard for this I first saw a work in progress back in 2021 in New Diorama and I liked it then. It's been refined and run quite a bit since including a big run at Ed Fringe. It's in a really nice place, a dystopian magic trick wrapped in a dream with an utterly beautiful tender ending. Adored it, the final visual is absolutely perfect, the best magic trick reveal I could want. 5 stars.
Just spotted this review and can not disagree more. Thought this was terrible - an up its own arse student production with delusions of having "meaning". Slow, dull and without any merit - but of the cast filming into boxes from the side of the stage and having it projected on sceen is your bag then so be it. I want to watch theatre and not cinema. From the opening man in fancy dress to the ending of both actors drawing lines across the stage with what looked like paint bottles full of sand this was a rotten night out. |
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Post by Dave B on Jan 26, 2024 10:27:38 GMT
Just spotted this review and can not disagree more. Ha!
My partner would entirely agree with you, she thought the New Diorama work in progress was one of the worst things she'd ever seen and so I made a solo trip to the Barbican. Each to their own  |
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Post by david on Feb 14, 2024 22:38:40 GMT
Bouncers (Shakespeare North Playhouse)
The John Godber Company brought his iconic play to the Shakespeare North Playhouse tonight and I will have to admit it's the first time seeing the play. For the £10 I paid (thanks to the fantastic PWYD scheme), this was worth every penny seeing this production. A brilliant cast of four guys playing multiple characters kept everybody laughing for the entire evening. With a stated run time of 105mins (Act 1 - 50 mins, Act 2 - 35 mins and a 20 min interval), with a start time of 7pm, I was out of the theatre by 9pm. For me this play would of worked just as well as a straight through one.
Having the traditional SNP in the round staging for this production worked well and despite there being a minimal set of just a few beer barrels and railings to signify the club entry, we did get some disco balls suspended from the ceiling to create the inside of the disco, there was enough to props to help set the different scenes. With plenty of 1980's disco music both pre-show to help set the mood as well as during the show, we got plenty of dancing from the guys as well as a bit of singing as well.
Godber's play was both hilarious (the guys playing female characters in a disco a particular highlight) and vulgar in equal measure matched with great physicality from the guys in bringing a slice of the 1980's weekend northern life to the stage. A really well paced production that flew by and Godber's writing is just first class stuff managing to both make you laugh one minute and then pause and think through the more harder hitting bits which came in 4 monologues delivered wonderfully by Frazer Hammill as Lucky Eric.
I'd definitely recommend seeing this one during its tour and it was certainly a hit with tonight's audience.
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Post by TallPaul on Feb 17, 2024 13:33:37 GMT
Couldn't have put it better myself, our david . Anyone who thinks Bouncers is *just* a comedy is very much mistaken. Though I do have to disagree about removing the interval. That would deprive the audience of those three classic lines that close Act I. {Spoiler - click to view}
Ralph get the kettle on...Les get the chocolate biscuits out...
Why?
It's the interval. |
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Post by david on Feb 17, 2024 13:38:30 GMT
Couldn't have put it better myself, our david . Anyone who thinks Bouncers is *just* a comedy is very much mistaken. Though I do have to disagree about removing the interval. That would deprive the audience of those three classic lines that close Act I. {Spoiler - click to view}
Ralph get the kettle on...Les get the chocolate biscuits out...
Why?
It's the interval. Oh yes a great way to end Act 1 TallPaul . |
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Post by showgirl on Feb 18, 2024 4:10:09 GMT
*Wilko - Jonathan Maitland - Queens Theatre Hornchurch - To Sat 24 February*
"A world premiere production of a new play
In 2012, Wilko Johnson, the iconic rock star and founder of legendary Essex band Dr Feelgood, was told he had inoperable cancer and a year to live. Refusing all treatment, he decided to spend his last months living meaningfully: seeing the people, places and things which meant most to him during his remarkable life. Then, a miracle happened…. This world premiere production of a new play – a mixture of words, rock ‘n roll, and quotes from the man himself – tells the amazing, uplifting true story of Wilko, the Canvey Island legend."
I'm not sure how many people would want to see this or be prepared to travel to Hornchuch (though very accessible by public transport), but you definitely don't need to be a Dr Feelgood/Wilko fan and reviews have been positive. A friend and I went to yesterday's matinee and were laughing within minutes; Jonathan Matiland can certainly write a good script and the cast were very impressive, acting, singing, playing instruments and all but the lead playing multiple parts.
Tickets are very affordable, too, if you're used to West End prices and we enjoyed seeing a new production in a theatre new to us. Amazing, too, in these days of funding cuts, that the theatre still appears to be going strong. I've often been attracted by previous well-reviewed productions there and though they seem to have fewer this season - and some touring, so available elsewhere - I'm definitely hoping to return.
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Post by tmesis on Feb 18, 2024 15:43:49 GMT
I keep meaning to go back to Queens Hornchurch. I've only been once 2 years ago to see an excellent play by one of my favourite writers Tom Wells called Kitchen Sink. They do seem to have a consistently interesting and enterprising programme of events given that there can't be much money sloshing around. The place has a nice welcoming feel too.
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Post by david on Mar 19, 2024 23:57:12 GMT
London Zoo - Southwark Playhouse
From my viewing of this at today’s matinee, I’ll file this one in the “ok” rating and from reading the reviews of the critics, they seem to be doing the same with a 1-3⭐️ rating being the general feeling and I can’t really disagree with these rating’s unfortunately. Sadly, this one didn’t put many bums on seats with around 20 of us watching it this afternoon. The run time for this was really uneven and certainly didn’t help in the pacing of the piece. A 70 minute Act 1, 15 min interval and 25 mins Act 2. Protracted scene changes also impacted on the pace of the piece.
Farine Clarke’s play written back in 2007 but only first performed in 2021 is set in 1999 as electronic media starts to make its presence felt and tells the story of an attempt by an acquisitions publisher to buy out an electronic media company. Within the acquisitions company we follow all the office politics, racism, bullying and misogyny that takes place within the boardroom while trying to seal the deal.
Whilst I don’t have any complaints about the cast 6 who do well with the material, with Natalie Lauren as Arabella and Simon Furness as Charles who are able to provide some depth to their roles and have some nice bits of comedy. Unfortunately the rest of the cast are stuck with characters that are very 2D caricatures of very unlikeable office staff / management with little chance to develop as the plot unfolds.
With the writing, there are lots of ideas, particularly in Act 1 being looked at giving moments of real interest and depth. One scene exploring racism in the workplace is particularly hard hitting but the piece is let down by the ending whilst shocking didn't really marry up with the tone of the piece prior to that and felt unearned in its use. I think whilst a lot of the ideas and their impacts in a 2024 working culture
can still be seen and felt just as much as when the play was first written, whilst providing both some dark comedy moments and some language that may shock, the play for me didn’t pack enough of a punch for a satisfying trip to the SWP.
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Post by david on Apr 7, 2024 8:38:57 GMT
Houdini's Greatest Escape (Bolton Octagon)
I was in two minds whether to use my ticket for this one due to the train strike yesterday but with the positive reviews of this production currently on a UK tour made up my mind to do the bus trip up to Bolton. It was definitely worth it for the matinee show. A comedy thriller which is very much in the 39-Steps style of presentation, tells the story of Houdini and his wife who a framed for a crime they didn't commit and go on the run whilst trying to clear their names.
This cast of 4 really were a great watch with Ben Higgins and Lydia Piechowaik as Houdini and his wife Bess having great chemistry and performances while Kirsty Cox and Adam Elliott who effortlessly play multiple roles during the show. For me it was Adam who steals the show with the number of different characters (both male and female) that make him a great watch. In one scene in Act 1 it is only him on stage playing 4 different characters (including a Scottish couple) having a conversation with each other.
As you could expect with a show about Houdini, there was plenty of magic / illusions from the show's magic consultant Pete Firman on show that were very impressive to watch. Some were simpler card tricks along with Houdini's classic "Metamorphosis of Substitution Trunk" trick. All the magic stuff was done really well by the cast and left the audience how the tricks were actually done. I just wished there had been a few more on show
With a mix of drama and comedy, sometimes I did wonder what the show wanted to be. For me, it was at its strongest during the comedy / silliness of the show. There are plenty of jokes and one-liners that all worked with both myself and the rest of the audience. With some nice sets and costumes on show backed by a an effective lighting design. Overall a fun watch that doesn't require much thinking as an audience member if you are after a nice afternoon / evening out.
This one is doing a month at London's Kings's Head theatre in London between May-June.
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Post by Dave B on Apr 26, 2024 8:36:25 GMT
The Daylight Atheist - Old Red Lion
A proper New Zealand classic making it's European debut. Danny Moffat is a horrible old man looking back on his life from Northern Ireland to rural NZ post WW2. Black comedy, hugely funny with a massive one-man performance from Owen Lindsay which really does a great job of bringing the audience along with a not very nice story. Loosely based on the author, Tom Scott (quite a famous Kiwi cartoonist/satirist), real life.
Four stars
Banging Denmark - Finborough.
Full out comedy, and a funny one at that. A misogynistic pick-up-artist turns to the feminist lecturer is sued into poverty for help to .. well ... bang the Danish librarian he is tongue tied over. Very funny, some social commentary with a strong cast that make a lot of it work where you might think it would not or should not work.
Three and a half stars.
Test Match - Orange Tree.
Not really about cricket but pulls in too much about the rules of cricket. Very much a play of two halves with the first, modern day, half being quite funny. The second half, in Calcutta in the 1700s leans heavily into farce and I found it to struggle to hold together. The ending just arrives and feels unformed. Cast are all excellent though.
Two and a half stars.
Moby Dick - Wilton's Music Hall.
Really smart inventive staging. Adapts a good chunk of the novel including some a taster of the biology and history of whales but leaves out a lot. Never manages to get the intensity high enough, either Ahab's descent into madness himself or the effect on the crew as they go on and on and on. Feels like the dial needed to be turned up more than once. It has ambition and it has some great moments so well throughout out but felt like it falls short.
Three stars.
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Post by David J on Apr 26, 2024 21:09:29 GMT
A Chorus of Disapproval (Salisbury Playhouse)
Good lord I couldn't wait to get out at the interval.
I've liked some of Alan Ayckbourn's works here and there but this one was so dull.
Despite the production values and efforts of the cast, with Damian Humbleby in the lead role, none of it could lift a script that meanders with no focus. I wondered whether Ayckbourn was being meta with the director of the Beggars Opera taking so long to get anywhere with rehearsals.
Speaking of which the director was increasingly unlikeable. Did anyone see Rob Brydon in the Trevor Nunn production at the Harold Pinter. Could he bring any charm to a character who just belittles his cast members here and there and is disliked by his wife.
Flat jokes went on and on. Wanted one of the cast members to shut up about whether Humbleby's character was from Scotland.
Damian Humbleby was likeable playing straight in the lead role but I had no interest in any of the other characters. Wanted the play to go back to the Beggars Opera they were putting on.
Rating: Left at interval
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