UK Theatre Network

It's "just another day at the office", or so the flyer says, and so I am, of course, delayed by the fabulous London Underground. But, through a mixture of semi-desperation and pure adrenalin, I make it to the Old Red Lion with minutes to spare, and bless the fact that the next hour or so will not be too exciting or thought-provoking or even interesting. I should have ample time to get my breath back and relax. It is, after all, "just another day at the office...phone calls to be returned, deals to be finalised...clients to be taken out to lunch". Or so the flyer says. I really should have thought this through more clearly. No one is going to write a play that is actually like this, unless of course it is designed to aid restless audience members to catch up on forty winks. Which it isn't.

The story, based on an original meeting, is straightforward - a day in the life of a literary agent (Hamish Clark) who has just one quick meeting to get through with an author (Stephen Kennedy) whose latest book, the agent thinks, is not quite up to scratch. But right from the start there are problems, for the agent that is. The author has decided to blackmail him into selling his book using some personal photographs of the agent as collateral - and that's just for starters. Grippingly dark and achingly funny, at times 'The Agent' reminds me very much of the hit comedy 'The Office', but not quite so straightforward. Martin Wagner, the actual author, has brought together an almost perfect, if not seamless, representation of the subtle power-shifts that can occur between an artist and their agent, and shows us what can happen - there can only be one winner.

In this case, however, I felt that there really were no losers. The audience were entranced by some powerhouse performances, and even the occasional London interruption (sirens and so on), did not hinder the many laughs that accompanied the bubbly atmosphere. Hamish Clark was fantastic as the slightly jaded agent who just wants an easy life, finding humour in the darkest of places and the perfect foil for Stephen Kennedy’s neurotically desperate author who just wants to be published. The two of them, while at times completely opposed, seem totally at home together, and right at home in their adopted personas too. Although, for their sake, I hope that they are not actually quite so like this in their own lives! The Old Red Lion is a great venue, and easy to find, so there’s no excuse for not seeing this great new play.

‘The Agent’ runs at the Old Red Lion Theatre, Islington, at 7.30 pm Tuesday through Saturday, and at6 pm on Sundays – until March 24^th. Tickets are £12 (£10 Concessions)

For more information, or to book tickets, call the Box Office on 0207-837-7816 or visit www.oldredliontheatre.co.uk

It's almost fifty years since Christine Keeler stepped foot into London nightclub Percy Murray's on the fateful night that she first met Stephen Ward, and initiated a series of events that would be known throughout the world and documented in texts ranging from academic studies of politics to tabloid journalism, as 'The Profumo Affair'. But even after fifty years, "efforts are still being made to prevent the true story behind these events from actually being revealed". There are still many questions and riddles...

Greenwich Theatre have in their hands what you could definitely describe as a hot potato. Politically and artistically. The story of 'The Profumo Affair' has yet to be finished, many aspects of it still being unresolved half a century later. The surface facts are relatively well-known. The story of a young girl, who comes to London to seek her fortune, meets a politician and also a spy and as a result irreparably damages the government. But there's a whole lot more to the story and that's what this show aims to address.

I'm happy to admit it, I'm a closet conspiracy theorist. I'm always sceptical about politics, and so it was with a slight trepidation that I took my seat in the theatre. Happily, from the moment the lights went down and we were introduced to Maureen O'Connor (Lorraine Bruce), the larger than life hostess of Percy Murray's, I was swept away by the river of intrigue and assignation, and on the edge of my seat throughout.

It is a fantastic cast. That needs to be said. Emma Williams ('Chitty Chitty Bang Bang') as Christine finds just the right balance of charm, sophistication, and naivety, while Dale Rapley ('Mamma Mia') portrays a very convincing Profumo. The instigator in the affair, Stephen Ward, is superbly played by James Clyde, an actor who manages to combine a great flair with a passionate honesty. And the others are just as good. Special mention though should go to Stuart Nurse and Mark Oxtoby, who are suitably 'British', playing a pleasing, if a little bumbling, array of MPs and society figures caught up in the wave of events, including Lord Astor and the Director General of MI5, Sir Roger Hollis.

For me though, the thing that really stood out about this show was the music. An eclectic mix of styles, a real melting pot of influences all stirred up into the melee of the affair. Ska tunes vying with jazz, blues and rock'n'roll in a fantastic medley. Mark Rymaszewski and Richard Alexander, the creators, are really onto a winner here. It's true to say that a little dramatic licence has been taken in certain areas, but 'A Model Girl' is both entertaining and gripping, as well as thought-provoking. The story of Christine Keeler and Jack Profumo is just as fresh today as it was in the Sixties, and I've got a feeling that this will run and run.

Catch 'A Model Girl' at The Greenwich Theatre until Saturday, 24 February. For more information visit www.amodelgirl.co.uk or www.greenwichtheatre.org

Ok, I admit it, I like Morecambe and Wise, I always have...and I'm only in my thirties. I also like jazz and the occasional glass of Dandelion and Burdock. Sometimes, even real ale. But what's wrong with that after all? It's like being a fan of Radio 2, supposedly something only for 'people of a certain age' as Steve Wright likes to say. Well, I guess that I must have reached the age, and you know what? I'm absolutely loving it.

We live in a world of growing commercialism, cyniscism, pessimism, political correction-ism, and almost any other 'ism' you can shake a long knobbly stick at, and as far as I'm concerned, I'm going to shake away, and maybe bang a few trees (lightly you understand so as not to harm them or traumatise them in any way) and hopefully I'll manage to keep my distance from these 'ism' things. Tabloid magazines, reality tv, ugggh, who needs it? I mean, I really can't be bothered to find out who is sitting in the big golden chair every five minutes. Perhaps that is why I found myself this evening sitting on the edge of my seat, laughing heartily in the dress circle of the New Wimbledon Theatre - the new venue for 'The Play What I Wrote', Sean Foley, Hamish McColl, and Eddie Brayben's fabulous tribute to "Britain's greatest double-act", Morecambe and Wise.

Originally directed by Kenneth Branagh, the show is a trim 90 minutes or so, but packed those tick-tocks are with all sorts of fun and merry-making. The premise is simple, a play with in a play, but there's more to it than at first meets the eye, with deceit, envy, violence, sex, and rubber ducks all rearing their ugly heads, and of course, slapstick comedy and a baguette thrown in for extras.

The award-winning show with a three-man cast of Andrew Cryer, Greg Haiste and Anthony Hoggard, slips us effortlessly inside the slippers of the numerous characters, in an effort to perform Greg's new play, an epic set in Revolutionary France called 'A Tight Squeeze for the Scarlet Pimple'. Andrew, the other half of the comedy duo, on the other hand, just wants to continue their failing act and wants Greg to perform a tribute to Morecambe and Wise which he thinks will help rekindle it. But who can they get to play the cameo role?

Unfortunately, I can't answer that question. It would give the game away. And anyway, it's different every night. You see, there's always a guest star. In our case, he metaphorically flooded the stage with his presence, blew us away with his wit, and as far as it goes, picked us up and twirled us around in an emotional twister, then spat us back out again, with a bespectacled grin. Who, you may wonder, was this maelstrom of celebrity? None other than weather guru Michael Fish, who joins countless theatre and media types to have trodden the boards including Sting, Ewan McGregor, Kylie Minogue, David Suchet, Twiggy, Honor Blackman...the list goes on...for a long while. "Big names are queuing for a guest appearance" you know. And you can see why.

This is a great show, fun for all ages, and even those 'of a certain age', whatever that might be. There's no car chases, no swearing, no obscenity, nothing explodes - except at the end of act one - look out in the stalls! Good clean fun. Belly laughs. A straight man and a fall guy. It's all very simple really. I think that's how Morecambe and Wise would have liked it. And that's how we liked it. You can tell. You don't get a standing ovation for any old rubbish, you know.

I agree with the Daily Mail (not something that happens that often I hasten to add) this really is one of "the best comedies what I've watched". Truly bringing sunshine, love and happiness, and of course, a touch of sentimentality to all who see it

Bravo

'The Play What I Wrote' is touring the UK for a limited time, so go see it while you can. Who will be your special celebrity guest? More details can be found atwww.theplaywhatiwrote.co.uk or at www.newwimbledontheatre.co.uk

Perhaps I have just not quite grown up yet, but whenever I see the many and fabulously varied offerings from the Birmingham Stage Company, I get a little shiver down my spine.

Based on an original story by Michael Morpurgo, Stuart Patterson has created a fantastic adventure suitable for children large and small which transports us from the hard working life of Britain, to a fantasy of a round the world sailing trip and desert islands. Cleverly, this story also manages to incorporate ideas of ethics, friendship, race and the human spirit - and in all in just over an hour and a half.

The ensemble cast work very well together, with stand-out performances from David Eaton as teenager Michael and Ozzie Yue as the mysterious Kensuke, friend to more than a couple of mischevious apes, played very convincingly by Daniel Pape and Lois Norman. Also, Christina Denham should be mentioned for being a brilliant Stella Artois - that's a dog, by the way, not a pint of lager.

The audience was almost entirely under the age of twelve, but this did not detract from the magic on stage, and I found myself fully engaged with the youngsters, laughing and sighing in equal measure. Although, at times, the reactions seemed more panto than play, I would definitely recommend this show to anyone young at heart. Catch it quickly before Kensuke's Kingdom fades away into the sea from whence it came!

'Kensuke's Kingdom' runs until January 27, 2007 at the UCL Bloomsbury Theatre near Euston. Box office: 0207-388-822

Check out www.birminghamstage.net for more details of the company's work and forthcoming productions

In the West End, and London as a whole, ghost stories are scarce, and it is a pleasure to see one continung so healthily to stalk the boards of Covent Garden. The actors too seem almost to tread on the toes of the front row at times, but this certainly brings credence to the claim of intimacy. This does not hamper the production in any way and (literally) brings the audience right into the action of the play. A point not missed in the design and direction, having actors at times appearing in the audience.

The actors, Mark Healy and Robert Demeger, are perfectly cast and bring a real flair, as well as an uneasy realism, to the variety of characters they portray - one which keeps us laughing at the same time as worrying that there is not more to them than meets the eye.

To go into any detail of the plot would do a disservice to a great narrative that twists and turns and brings as many screams, as grins. One word of warning though...this piece can attract large groups of school students who study the text, so if you are brave enough to face them, it may be wise to also bring some earplugs!

'The Woman In Black' has lost nothing in its extended stay in the West End, and I, for one, hope that the carriage is not yet planned for it's shadowy withdrawal back to flatlands of East Anglia.

 

Alfred Hitchock is legendary, not only for appearing in all of his films, but for the catalogue of films themselves which, for me, are masterpieces. One of my favourites has always been Hitchcock's own version of 'The 39 Steps', made in 1935, starring Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll, as well as featuring a lithe young (Dame) Peggy Ashcroft, as a Scottish Crofting girl. In this film Hitchcock has managed to create a superb blend of suspense and tension, as well as a very black sense of comedy. I mention this merely as a precursor to speaking of the London adaptation of Buchan's book, which is currently running amok at The Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus. And only then, because this production is second only to the original film, in its fabulous presentation and performances.

There were three film versions of the story made (the less said of the second two the better), and it has been popular the world over ever since. Patrick Barlow's brilliant adaptation here, starring Charles Edwards as the anti-hero Hannay, does not fail to impress and does not stop thrilling the audience with twists and turns a plenty. The ingenious design of the show really adds the madcap atmosphere created by the whole ensemble, the chase on The Flying Scotsman, the escape on the Forth Bridge, and the amazing Mr Memory all lovingly protrayed (if a little tongue in cheek), and even the first ever theatrical bi-plane crash ever staged!

Four actors playing a minimum of one hundred and thirty nine roles is not to be sniffed at, and these bounders pull it off with the ease, jumping, climbing, swinging, crawling, rolling around the stage like four very well-dressed orangutangs. All this accompanied by a fabulous period sound track and, of course, the necessary BBC public service announcements. 

This production is a must-see for anyone who likes a thrill or twelve, as well as a good laugh along the way. As Hannay might have said, 'A Jolly fine show, what?'

For more information, please see: www.love39steps.com