UK Theatre Network

After a period of long, cold and wet weather we are all in need of the warmth of the South Pacific and a night at the Waterside is probably the nearest most of us will come to tropical climes!  This revival of the Rogers and Hammerstein musical is teeming with memorable songs we all know and love from Some Enchanted Evening, There is Nothing Like a Dame, Bali Ha’I, Happy Talk, Younger Than Springtime and, my personal favourite, I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair!

With the number of upbeat songs you might think that the show is just a fun-filled fantasy, but it deals with the very serious topic of war and racial prejudice set on a South Pacific island during World War II. The 1949 musical delves into the roots of American prejudice through the story of a Navy nurse, Nellie Forbush,  from Little Rock, Arkansa, who falls in love with a suave French plantation owner with a dark past who doesn't tell her about his two mixed-race children from a previous marriage to a Polynesian woman. With a colourful mix of characters from marines and officers to Bloody Mary, the story leads up to a massive mobilization of forces against the mighty Empire of Japan.

Bartlett Sher’s production, which opened in 2008 at The Lincoln Centre Theatre in New York and won 7 Tony Awards, was the first revival on Broadway since the show’s premiere in 1949 and the reason, surely, is its contentious subject matter.   The show features 40 cast and a live orchestra of 18 and the entire creative team from the Lincoln Centre, including director Bartlett Sher, brought the show to the UK.  This production was recently nominated for 3 Oliver Awards including Best Musical Revival and Best Costume Design (Catherine Zuber). Sher directed this production, which opened for a short season at the Barbican in August 2011 and has been touring since November 2011.

Eastenders actress Samantha Womack plays naive and innocent Nellie Forbush, which is a particularly challenging role as she is on stage virtually the whole time.   Sam works hard in the role and had the southern drawl down to a tee, though perhaps could have toned it down a bit for the songs as it occasionally made them sound a little harsh.  Sam is no stranger to musical theatre and played Adelaide in Guys and Dolls opposite the lovely Patrick Swayze.

Matthew Cammelle plays the French plantation owner Emile de Becque.  With an exceptionally strong baritone voice, he sings the wonderful Some Enchanted Evening to express his feelings to Nellie, though I didn’t feel there was much genuine chemistry between them. 

Australian actor Danny Koek plays Lt Joe Cable and described his role as ‘a bit screwed up! Cable has come from the frontline in battle and seen awful stuff.'  This dark side startlingly manifests itself when he deflowers the beautiful young Liat, who is the daughter of Bloody Mary and then rejects her as Mary tries to get him to marry Liat.

For me, Jodi Kimura as Bloody Mary stole the show as she portrayed the wheeling-dealing, mercenary, grotesque who is prepared to pimp out her own daughter.  Alex Ferns adds some comic light relief as Luther Billis, along with Cameron Jack as Stewpot.

This production is co-produced by The Lincoln Centre Theatre, The Ambassador Theatre Group, Genesius and Promenade Productions, Bill Kenwright Productions and Rupert Gavin for Incidental Colman UK.  The atmospheric lighting is designed by Donald Holder and the set cleverly designed by Michael Yeargan.  Dance and incidental music arrangements by Trude Rittmann.

There’s still time to warm up with a cocktail or two for an enchanted evening in the South Pacific and the show runs until Saturday 26th May, so book your tickets now on:

http://uktheatrenet.ambassadortickets.com/whatson.aspx

After which the tour continues to:
NOTTINGHAM THEATRE ROYAL CONCERT HALL
29 May, 2012 – 9 June, 2012

THEATRE ROYAL PLYMOUTH
12 June, 2012 – 23 June, 2012

LEEDS GRAND THEATRE AND OPERA HOUSE
26 June, 2012 – 7 July, 2012

NEW VICTORIA THEATRE WOKING
10 July, 2012 – 21 July, 2012

SHEFFIELD LYCEUM THEATRE
24 July, 2012 – 4 August, 2012

BORD GAIS ENERGY THEATRE
7 August, 2012 – 18 August, 2012

Reviewed by:
Yvonne Delahaye
15.5.12

As a reviewer, I was faced with a dilemma last night, at Aylesbury’s Waterside Theatre. I wanted to make a note of each incredible feat I was witnessing during Cirque du Ciel’s ShangHi and yet I could not risk missing a moment by averting my gaze! This fast-paced dazzling display of skills by over 30 young performers, acrobats and gymnasts from China, had the audience on their feet calling for more – yet there was genuinely no ‘more’ they could have given! One can only sit in the comfort of the auditorium and imagine how much dedication and hard work it must take to develop their craft.

The director, Zhang Wan, worked closely with Guy Caron of Cirque De Soleil on the forerunner to this show, Magical Music Box. He has kept the magical Cirque formula that keeps the pace high and the atmosphere exciting. With recorded soundtrack but using an on-stage Chinese drummer, the live rhythmic element compliments every move the artists make and draws you inextricably into their world. And what a world that is! 

Opening with vibrant footage of Chinese street scenes, we home in on a young girl struggling to sleep through the noise of Shanghai. We join her on a dream journey and, watching each act, it is hard to believe that they are not figments of our imagination!

Hand balancing of remarkable agility and strength - one girl on one hand for the duration of her ten minute act; a team of acrobatic gymnasts tumbling through hoops at a dizzying speed; men standing on the soles of other men’s feet whilst juggling hats in the splits position; hip-hop style male dancers foot-juggling each other; girls simultaneously foot-juggling and playing the drums; dynamic Diabolo tricks; and the Cirque du Ciel lives up to its name – Circus of the Sky – with phenomenal aerial displays using ropes and silks. It all builds to an explosive finale featuring the Chinese monkey poles during which men fly through the air from pole to pole in a manner which defies both gravity and human physiology.

This is a show that shines as brightly as its costumes and is a treat for the whole family to enjoy. There is no need to keep the children quiet during this one as each member of the audience gasps and grins and gushes every step of the way. So come along and share the spectacle and enjoy a wonderful evening’s entertainment.
           
ShangHi is currently on tour until the end of September 2012

May dates 2012 
8th - 9th May EDINBURGH, Playhouse
11th - 12th May DG1, Dumfries
14th - 16th May GLASGOW, Theatre Royal
18th - 20th May GLENROTHES, Rothes Hall
24th May WORTHING, Pavilion Theatre
25th - 26th May BUXTON, Opera House
27th May - 29th May RICHMOND, Richmond Theatre
31st May - 2nd June DARLINGTON, Civic Theatre

For Waterside Theatre’s Spring/Summer programme information contact:
Box Office:   0844 871 7607 (bkg fee)
Groups Hotline:  0844 871 7614
Access Booking: 0844 871 7677 (bkg fee)
Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/aylesbury   (bkg fee)

Reviewed by:
Shirley Moon and Harrison

When I saw The Lady in the Van in the West End in 2001, the inimitable Dame Maggie Smith played the role of Miss Shepherd. No actress can deliver a line with such razor sharp precision and she totally inhabited the character, so much so that you could almost smell her. Her performance is vividly etched in my memory and for Nicola McAuliffe it must have been a challenge to make the role her own, but that’s exactly what she does do. It’s a difficult role to make believable, as Miss Shepherd was clearly a very eccentric and deluded lady who regularly had visitations from the Virgin Mary and believed herself to be a celebrity. It could so easily become a caricature, but Nicola keeps her very real and gradually we begin to like and understand this strange woman.

Nicola McAuliffe is best known for playing Sheila Sabatini in seven series of ITV1’s Surgical Spirit, but she has also appeared in Coronation Street and Doctor Who. With an extensive list of theatre credits, she played Queen Victoria at the RSC and won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for playing Kate in Kiss Me, Kate.



The play is written by Alan Bennett and is based on the real life story of how Miss Shepherd moved her van into his street in Camden Town in the late 60s. As she was constantly being moved on and hounded by thugs, Alan offered her the use of his garden ‘for three months’ in 1971 and there she stayed until her death in 1989! This act of extreme generosity was never acknowledged by Miss Shepherd, but he seemed to accept this with good grace.

With not one but two Alan Bennetts in the play, we see two sides of his character. Alan Bennett 1 (played superbly by Sean McKenzie) is the social conscience part who interacts with Miss Shepherd and helps her, even to the extent of picking up her ‘turds’! Alan Bennett 2 (the excellent Paul Kemp) is narrator and playwright, who expresses his occasional resentment and disbelief at finding himself stuck with such a difficult woman.

The 7-strong cast also includes Fenella Norman (The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Sheffield Crucible), Dale Rapely (The Merchant of Venice, Globe Theatre), Karen Traynor (Tracey Beaker Returns, BBC), Ged McKenna (Faith Healer, Library Theatre Manchester), Sophie Robinson (Juno and Paycock, National Theatre).

This Hull Truck production drew critical acclaim when it toured the nation in 2011, playing to sell-out audiences, from Liverpool to Oxford. Nichola McAuliffe is reunited with director Sarah Esdaile, whose recent successes include The Deep Blue Sea with Maxine Peake for West Yorkshire Playhouse and Christmas hit The Sleeping Beauty for Birmingham Rep.

Hull Truck Theatre was first established in 1972, by legendary director Mike Bradwell, after he placed an advert in Time Out which read “Half formed theatre company seeks other half”. The company lived and rehearsed in a 3-storey house, their office was the phone box on the street outside, and soon their work was regularly transferring from Hull to the Bush Theatre and the Royal Court. Writers and directors such as John Godber, Alan Plater and Anthony Minghella have all helped Hull Truck Theatre to remain a national theatre company, touring the nation, based in Hull. With a new £16 million home in the heart of Hull, the company retains a commitment to the work of living playwrights and new plays – and to discovering and developing the next generation of writers and theatre makers. For more information visit: www.hulltruck.co.uk

The play is a very heart-warming and funny account of an extraordinary character and is a delightful insight into the workings of the mind of one of our best loved playwrights. The humanity, compassion and generosity shown by ‘Mr Bennett’ is as relevant today as ever, as it raises issues of how we treat people less fortunate than ourselves. Who among us would actually want a smelly, clapped out old van parked outside our homes and an odorous, ungrateful woman occupying it? Great respect to you Mr Bennett, great respect!

Tickets are available now at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre Box Office call 0844 871 7607 (bkg fee) or visit www.atgtickets.com/aylesbury (bkg fee) Performances: Tue 24 – Sat 28 Mar
 Tickets: £10 – 19.50
 Box Office: 0844 871 7607 (bkg fee)
 Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/aylesbury (bkg fee)

 Tour Dates: Tue 1 – Sat 5 May Cambridge Arts Theatre 01223 503 333
Tue 15 – Sat 19 May Grand Theatre, Blackpool 01253 290190
Tue 22 – Sat 26 May Curve, Leicester 0116 242 3595
Tue 29 May – Sat 2 June Festival Theatre, Malvern 01684 892277
Wed 6 – Sat 9 June Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield 0114 249 6000
Tue 12 – Sat 16 June New Theatre, Cardiff 029 2087 8889
Tue 19 – Sat 23 June Richmond Theatre 0844 871 7651
Mon 25 – Sat 30 June Theatre Royal, Bath 01225 448844

Reviewed by:
Yvonne Delahaye
 24.4.12

 

 

 

 

The great thing about being a reviewer for the Waterside is the chance to watch some classical theatre shows, such as the National Theatre’s recent production of Travelling Light with Sir Anthony Sher, An Inspector Calls and The Russian State Ballet of Siberia.  So, purely in the interest of checking out the artistic merit you understand, I went along to see The Dreamboys with my friend Tricia.  I’d warned her that she may need to take some smelling salts along, lest the sight of semi-naked men proved too much!

As expected, the auditorium was filled with groups of girls out for a good night to celebrate birthdays or hen parties.  The atmosphere was filled with energy and anticipation and the buzz of excitement was audible.  The show was 20 minutes late starting as girls were still filtering in, but it did nothing to dampen their enthusiasm.

The compere (who didn’t introduce himself) opened the show singing Mysterious Girl and proceeded to do a 25 minute warm-up act, which at times felt a bit like panto dividing the audience to see who could scream the loudest.  Really this could have been cut down to about 10 minutes as it did feel as though the show was being padded out. 

Women have been stripping and tantalising men for centuries of course and in 1979, The Chippendales became the first all-male stripping troupe to make a business performing for mostly female audiences. Through the quality of its staging and choreography, The Chippendales also helped legitimize stripping as a form of popular entertainment.

This is all about having fun and The Dreamboys aim to help the girls live out some of their fantasies with a range of stereotypical characters taking their clothes off.  There’s the fireman, of course, the guys in leather, the Matrix look, a 70s outfit with afro wig (though whose fantasy that would be I’m not quite sure?) and a group of soldiers in combat gear.

A little confusingly the compere asked the audience to think of a film with an iconic uniform and we immediately shouted out ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’.  However, he then talked about Tom Cruise and some of his films, including Cocktail, which led us to think we’d be seeing pilot uniforms from Top Gun.  Out walked the guys in naval uniforms, replicating Richard Gere’s uniform from An Officer and a Gentleman.  I wondered whether he’d confused the two actors, but it didn’t detract too much from the eye candy.

The compere had promised this would be a ‘naughty show’ and the second half involved some audience participation that would have had Mary Whitehouse turning in her grave!  If I say that water, oil, cream, handcuffs, eye masks and towels were all involved then I’ll leave the rest to your imagination!

The show calls itself ‘The Dreamboys – Full Frontal’ and we were expecting to be teased throughout the show until there would be a final quick flash and blackout at the end, as per The Full Monty.  That didn’t happen, but a Dreamboy called ‘Stallion’ provided some amusing entertainment with cream and what appeared to be a rubber appendage, shall we say?

The Dreamboys are certainly all very muscular and well toned and Tricia, as a masseuse, said ‘it’s an interesting study of the human anatomy, particularly with the v-shaped muscles around the tops of the thighs’.

On a theatrical note, I would say that the show wasn’t as slick as it should have been with time lapses between entrances and exits and people mooching off rather than existing snappily.  The comedy could have been a lot more defined and I felt the show really needed a good director to tighten up in these areas and make it more professional. The choreography was good though, especially the fire dance and some of the boys were very athletic and good movers.

The show is what it is though, an opportunity for girls to get out, ogle some hunky muscular oiled up men and have a good laugh.  It certainly made a change and put a smile on our faces and with all the bad news and weather, then why not?

For more info visit www.dreamboystour.co.uk
Tour dates:
Thursday 3rd May 2012
The New Wimbledon Theatre - Wimbledon
Box Office: 0844 871 7607
Friday 4th May 2012
The Regent Theatre - Stoke-On-Trent
Box Office: 0844 871 7649
Friday 11th May 2012
The Octagon Theatre - Yeovil
Box Office: 01935 422884
Friday 3rd August 2012
The Beck Theatre - Hayes - Middlesex
Box Office: 0208 561 8371
Friday 7th September 2012
The Cresset Theatre - Peterborough
Box Office: 01733 265705
Friday 14th September 2012
St Georges Concert Hall - Bradford
Box Office: 01274 432000
Friday 21st September 2012
The Wyvern Theatre - Swindon
Box Office: 01793 524481
Friday 28th September 2012
The Embassy Theatre - Skegness
Box Office: 0845 674 0505
Friday 5th October 2012
The Royal Spa Centre - Leamington Spa
Box Office: 0845 218 3540 Or 01926 334418
Friday 12th October 2012
The Cliffs Pavilion Theatre - Southend-On-Sea
Box Office: 01702 351135
For details of the current and new programmes at The Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury:
Box Office:   0844 871 7607 (bkg fee)
Groups Hotline:  0844 871 7614
Access Booking: 0844 871 7677 (bkg fee)
Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/aylesbury   (bkg fee)

Reviewed by:
Yvonne Delahaye
20.4.2012

Audiences all around the world have been roaring with laughter since Monty Python’s Spamalot won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2005, and this week we welcome it back to the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre as it starts its 2012 UK tour, bringing with it a dazzling new cast whilst retaining all of its classic wit.

Described as being ‘lovingly ripped off from the classic film comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail’, Spamalot is a (kind-of) new musical with a book by Eric Idle and an entirely new score, (well, almost) created by Eric Idle and John Du Prez. It tells the legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and features a multitude of well-loved Monty Python gags and characters including head-banging monks, The Knights Who Say Ni, killer rabbits and French people with vastly over-exaggerated accents. The show also features some fantastic show tunes, including He Is Not Dead Yet, Knights of the Round Table, Find Your Grail and of course the Nation’s Favourite Comedy Song (Reader’s Digest Poll 2010) Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.  

After a short overture and prologue, the show opened with the very tongue-in-cheek ‘Fisch Schlapping Song’ which I think beautifully set the tone for the hilarity and ridiculousness that was about to ensue. It was obvious, even from this early point that the show was going to have something for everyone, whether you were a seasoned Monty Python fan or a first-time novice in their intrinsically British field of comedy. What followed was a plethora of quick-fire silliness, with the cast never making the audience wait for more than a maximum of 5 minutes for a musical number.

Like so much of Python’s past works, in writing Spamalot Eric Idle has obviously taken a very pragmatic approach to the idea of how absurd it really is to ask Monty Python to put on a musical. This attitude is blazing obvious throughout the show, with drily comic references to Andrew Lloyd Webber, Singing in the Rain, a homage to ‘the big musical company number’ in the form of the musical number Knights of the Round Table and a fleeting tribute to Morecombe and Wise. Even the beautifully and brightly coloured backdrop gets in on the act by depicting a Eurostar-esque train making its way through the picturesque Camelot landscape. Indeed, Eric Idle is written all over this musical and he even makes a pleasantly surprising and highly witty appearance in the show himself in the role of God, via the help of a television projection screen.

However, the speed and ease at which the hilarity of the show is delivered should not be taken for granted. The wealth of experience and skill of the cast was evident in the slick and expertly executed performances of a strong ensemble, consisting of only 13 members with many playing a handful of roles.

Steven Pacey, a seasoned stage and screen performer known to a TV audience for his roles in Wallander for ITV, Spooks and Murder in Mind for the BBC, plays King Arthur and his committed and grounded performance is matched and complimented beautifully by Todd Carty’s understated yet hysterical performance as King Arthur’s side kick (and horse!!!) Patsy.

This tour’s Lady of the Lake is played by none other than the legendary Bonnie Langford. Her outstanding career has embraced success in theatre, television, film and radio in both Britain and America and her wealth of experience was blinding obvious in her pintsized yet powerful performance as the ultimate diva.

 However, my favourite performances of the night were that of Jon Robyns, as he is transformed from a mud-covered simpleton into the hair flicking ‘dashingly handsome’ Sir Galahad, as well as superbly song and decidedly camp portrayal of Prince Herbert (amongst other roles) by Adam Ellis. And at the end of the day, you couldn’t possibly have a Monty Python musical without a few squeaky voiced men playing the roles of women!!!

  I enjoyed all the songs immensely, especially the extremely funny The Song That Goes Like This, Diva’s Lament and You Won’t Succeed in Showbiz, which had been adapted beautifully for a modern British audience with references to Jedward, Downton Abbey, Susan Boyle and Ozzy Osbourne. All the Python fans in the audience were obviously waiting for the Python theme tune, Always Look On the Bright Side, which came at the start of Act 2 and made a predictable but welcome return as a sing along reprise at the end of the show.

All in all, a highly entertaining evening not to be missed.

Spamalot runs all week, up to and including Saturday 14^th April at 7.30 p.m. with Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2.30 p.m.  Ticket prices range from £15.50 – £36.50.

To book, visit  www.atgtickets.com/aylesbury or call the box office on 0844 871 7607 (booking fee applies)

Further Tour Dates

16^th – 21^st April 2012 at THE SUNDERLAND EMPIRE
23^rd – 28^th April 2012 at THE BRISTOL HIPPODROME
30^th April – 5^th May 2012 at BROMLEY, THE CHURCHILL
7^th – 12^th May 2012 at THE CAMBRIDGE CORN EXCHANGE
14^th – 19^th May 2012 at THE TRURO HALL FOR CORNWALL 
21^st – 26^th May 2012 at THE MANCHESTER OPERA HOUSE

Vicky Poole
www.uktheatre.net

The Lady in the Van

Written by Alan Bennett

Cast: Nichola McAuliffe, Sean McKenzie, Paul Kemp, Fenella Norman, Dale Rapley, Karen Traynor, Ged McKenna and Sophie Robinson

The Regent Theatre, 17 Apr - 21 Apr
Brighton - 11 Apr - 14 Apr
Aylesbury - 24 Apr - 28 Apr
Richmond - 19 Jun - 23 Jun

Alan Bennett has a very unusual neighbour. Parked at the bottom of his garden is a van. With a lady in it.

The lady in the van is Miss Shepherd. Alan knows very little about her. She used to drive ambulances in the war, might have been a nun, sells pencils and pamphlets and has an unexplained aversion to piano music.

But somehow she lives in the playwright’s garden and has done for years.

Alan Bennett is one of the nation’s best-loved playwrights, with plays including The History Boys, Talking Heads and The Madness of George III. The Lady in the Van is based on his own recollections of the indomitable Miss Shepherd and is, as you would expect from Bennett, a beautifully observed, sharply intelligent and wonderfully witty drama.

The Lady in the Van stars Nichola McAuliffe, one of British theatre’s most loved actresses. As well as playing Sheila Sabatini in seven series of ITV’s Surgical Spirit, Nichola won an Olivier Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Musical for her role in Kiss Me Kate (RSC).

FOR MORE DETAILS AND TICKETS CLICK HERE

Sir Anthony Sher is undoubtedly one of our greatest classical actors, with a string of awards from around the Globe, he received a Knighthood for services to acting and writing in 2000.  He has also been awarded Honorary Doctorates of Letters from Warwick, Exeter, Liverpool and Cape Town Universities.  I will always remember seeing him playing Tamburlaine at The Barbican, hanging upside down on a rope, bare chested, but still projecting right up into the ‘Gods’.  It was incredible to see his diaphragm working so hard and the spittle shooting across the stage, but his performance was mesmerising.  The opportunity to see him perform live again was one I was relishing and it was a joy to discover some 18 years on, that he still had as much energy and charisma as ever!

Set in a Russian ‘Shtetl’, the story takes place in the home of Tsippa (a lovely comedy performance by Sue Kelvin), whose brother had recently died leaving his cameras and studio to his only son Motl Mendl (Damien Molony), who hadn’t been home for 7 years.  Motl sees the potential future of moving pictures and sets about making some movies of the villagers, funded by Jacob Bindel (Anthony Sher)  When the beautiful Anna Mazowiecka (Lauren O’Neil) becomes his assistant, they become close, but ultimately his ambitions to work in the US creates a dilemma for the couple.  Seeing the potential to make movies around a story and sell them for people to see, Motl creates a film, once again funded by Jacob whose interference creates conflict between the two!

It’s a great insight into the origins of movie making and is very humourous with some well defined characters, who are brought to life not only on the stage, but on the screen behind them.  The story is interspersed with narration by Paul Jesson, who plays Maurice Montgomery, the American name Motl adopted when he moved to the States.

Any production by the National Theatre is going to be outstanding and this is no exception.  The play is directed by Nicholas Hytner who is Director of The National Theatre.  The realistic set of the village and Tsippa’s home/studio is designed by Bob Crowley.  Costume Designer is Vicki Mortimer and Lighting Designer is Bruno Poet.


Watching Anthony Sher perform is like seeing a master class on acting and I was very envious of the cast working with him.  He relishes the role of Jacob bringing out every nuance, gesture, bit of humour and, of course, the accent is perfect.  Damien Molony as Motl is really the central character and is very good, as is Lauren o’Neil as Anna.  She has a lovely rich, husky voice and certainly does have the ‘luminescence’ required in the movie shots.  The other gifted cast members are: Jonathan Woolf, Karl Theobald, Colin Haigh, Darren Swift, Mark Extance, Alexis Zergerman, Nell McCann/Alexander Semple, Tom Peters, Jill Stanford, Geoffrey Towers and Kate Webster.

The Waterside Theatre is lucky to have been chosen as one of only four venues for the play to tour to and it’s not too late to get a ticket this week, as it runs until Saturday 31st March.

Box Office:   0844 871 7607 (bkg fee)
Groups Hotline:  0844 871 7614
Access Booking: 0844 871 7677 (bkg fee)
Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/aylesbury   (bkg fee)

The play will be at The Theatre Royal, Newcastle from 3rd-7th April. For details of The National Theatre visit:
http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk

Reviewed by:
Yvonne Delahaye
27th March 2012

South Pacific Preview

With the unseasonably summer weather we’re currently experiencing, you could almost imagine yourself in a tropical paradise.  Watching the preview of South Pacific sipping our fruit cocktails, we could easily be transported as we saw the video clip of the show and heard from 2 of its stars, Samantha Womack and Daniel Koek, who treated us to some of the wonderful songs.

Producer Meryl Faiers told us how the 1949 musical was revised by the Lincoln Centre Theatre in New York in 2007 and ran for 3 years, winning 7 Tony Awards.  The show features 40 cast and a live orchestra of 18 and the entire creative team from the Lincoln Centre, including director Bartlett Sher, brought the show to the UK.  This production has just been nominated for 3 Oliver Awards including Best Musical Revival and Best Costume Design.


Eastenders actress Samantha Womack plays Nellie Forbush , which is a particularly challenging role as she is on stage virtually the whole time.  Sam is no stranger to musical theatre and played Adelaide in Guys and Dolls opposite the lovely Patrick Swayze.  Sam said ‘after 4 years of working on Eastenders, it was a real joy to enter into a 6 week rehearsal period and a joy to go back on stage.  This production has an edgy guttsiness of racism and prejudice as people struggle with being at war. This show has a weight to it when Bloody Mary as the child seller sings ‘Happy Talk’ it takes on a completely different meaning.’

With a beautiful singing voice, Samantha sang A Cockeyed Optimist and explained afterwards that this was the song she’d been asked to sing at the audition, directly after filming the cemetery scenes for Eastenders in floods of tears!

Australian actor Danny Koek plays Cable and described his role as ‘a bit screwed up!  Cable has come from the frontline in battle and seen awful stuff.  For me it is an acting challenge to find the dark and edgy parts of his character.  Bart (director) is a genius and lets you do it and with a long rehearsal we had time to develop.’

With a rich and powerful singing voice, Danny sang My Girl Back Home and Samantha described Danny ‘as the best male voice in musical theatre’ and I concur.

This is one of Rogers and Hammerstein’s most popular musicals and the song list is incredible with Nothing Like a Dame, Bally High, Bloody Mary, Girl Back Home, Wash That Man, Wonderful Guy, Some Enchanted Evening  and Happy Talk.

In an audience Q&A session, someone asked Sam how she found doing the Southern accent?  She said she’s always been a good mimic, but that they had a vocal coach working with them.  ‘The interesting thing has been hearing the kids trying to master the French accents, particularly when we toured Scotland!’

Another question was about how they sustained their fitness levels for the demands of the tour.  Both Danny and Sam said that even though they kept themselves fit generally, you have to be ‘show fit’ and Sam said some of the dance routines are very energetic and she even has to perform a cartwheel at one stage!

I met them both briefly and asked how they keep their performances fresh, as I know how difficult it is to sustain in a long tour.  They both agreed that because the show is very emotionally demanding, they can use that emotion to deflect any feelings of tiredness or low energy.  They also told me that the matinee audiences are often filled with people who saw the original show and it really does have a great meaning to them, so that lifts their performances.  Sam told me of one lovely lady called End, who is now 100 years old, who’d actually been in the original stage show!

I’d heard Sam mention that she is a Doris Day fan and would like to do a stage show of the film Love Me or Leave Me.  As I’m also a big fan and perform a tribute show about her life and career, interspersed with some of most memorable songs, I was overjoyed to chat about that.  It’s a great dramatic film about the life of jazz singer Ruth Etting, co-starring Jimmy Cagney and one I’d certainly recommend and I’ll be looking out for the stage show in future too!

South Pacific will be at The Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury from 15th-26th May 2012.   So be sure to book your tickets now!

“Box Office:                        0844 871 7607 (bkg fee)

Groups Hotline:                0844 871 7614

Access Booking:               0844 871 7677 (bkg fee)

Online Booking:               www.ambassadortickets.com/aylesbury (bkg fee

TOUR INFORMATION
• 
NEW WIMBLEDON THEATRE
20 March, 2012 – 31 March, 2012
93 The Broadway, Wimbledon, London SW19 1QG
Box Office: 0844 871 7646
Info & Map »
BOOK ONLINE NOW »
• 
EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE
3 April, 2012 – 14 April, 2012
18-22 Greenside Place, Edinburgh EH1 3AA
Box Office: 0844 847 1660
Info & Map »
BOOK ONLINE NOW »
• 
WALES MILLENIUM CENTRE
17 April, 2012 – 28 April, 2012
Bute Place, Cardiff CF10 5AL
Box Office: 029 2063 6464 
 
SUNDERLAND EMPIRE
1 May, 2012 – 12 May, 2012
High Street West, Sunderland SR1 3EX
Box Office: 0844 871 3022
• 
AYLESBURY WATERSIDE THEATRE
15 May, 2012 – 26 May, 2012
Exchange Street, Aylesbury HP20 1UG
Box Office: 0844 871 7607
• 
NOTTINGHAM THEATRE ROYAL CONCERT HALL
29 May, 2012 – 9 June, 2012
Theatre Square, Nottingham NG1 5ND
Box Office: 0115 989 5555
• 
PLYMOUTH THEATRE ROYAL
12 June, 2012 – 23 June, 2012
Royal Parade, Plymouth PL1 2TR
Box Office: 01752 230440
• 
LEEDS GRAND THEATRE AND OPERA HOUSE
26 June, 2012 – 7 July, 2012
46 New Briggate, Leeds LS1 6NZ
Box Office: 0844 848 2700
• 
NEW VICTORIA THEATRE WOKING
10 July, 2012 – 22 July, 2012
Peacocks Centre, Woking GU21 6GQ
Box Office: 0844 871 7645
• 
SHEFFIELD LYCEUM THEATRE
24 July, 2012 – 4 August, 2012
55 Norfolk St, Sheffield S1 1DA
Box Office: 0114 249 6000
• 
BORD GAIS ENERGY THEATRE
7 August, 2012 – 18 August, 2012
Grand Canal Square, Docklands, Dublin Dublin 2
Box Office: 0844 847 2455

Reviewed by:
Yvonne Delahaye
23rd March 2012

I went along to ‘Hormonal Housewives’ not knowing what to expect. If it had been called, ‘ Carry On Up the Vagina Monologues’, I would have been better prepared. At first I thought I was the only male in the theatre but I then saw the odd man lurking in the shadows probably thinking he was the only man in the theatre.  The only clue was a set consisting of a video wall looks like a game show set. The proceedings starts with a thunderous clap of thunder , the song, ‘Here Come the Girls’ booms out, as Margi Clarke, Laura Checkley and writer Julie Coombe explode onto the stage instantly ramping up the energy level for the beginning of what will prove to be a rollercoaster ride of a sketch show.


‘What’s the difference between a man and a decimal fraction? You can see the point in a decimal fraction.’



 

Although at first I felt a little like an intruder, Julie Coombe’s script never alienated me. The jokes were as much aimed at women as they were at men and even the put downs directed at the poor man in the front row were never with malice.

As the show progressed through, Feminines, a  holiday camp on speed, a grotesque slapstick waxing parlour, a hippy sex therapy session and a gym dance work out, it proved just how similar men and women are as an audience. Just like men the women fell about laughing at the knob gags. Just as with men, each fart sound was a guaranteed howl of laughter from the audience. The only difference was that the material was from a woman’s perspective. There were some lovely moments when the audience responded in  recognition of shared experience, the ‘fat and thin clothes’, the manipulation of underwear for lavatorial purposes along with several other equally educational moments.


Margi Clarke, a very familiar face from TV and cinema, delivered some beautifully crafted monologues from the pen of Julie Coombe who proved to be an equally fine actress and wonderful clown. Her clowning in the slapstick gym scene was a delight of masterful timing.

Laura Checkley proved to be a fine physical actress, equally engaging as a dancer and as a mime in a fabulous slow motion exercise sequence.  She inhabited all of the characters she played with a dynamic physicality and was every bit the brilliant clown that Julie was.

The show built to a big spoof dance ending where Margi and Julie seem to be a little out of their comfort zone but nobody cared,  by then the audience was riding the rollercoaster with the performers and we had all been totally won over.

As an old bloke I can remember when female comediennes were few and far between and no doubt female writers even rarer. Well all I can say is that for a long time we had missed out on a whole wealth of brilliance.
As I left the theatre I listened out, as I always do, for audience comments. One woman leaned to her friend’s ear and said with unrestrained glee, ‘That was really good’.

Future tour dates.
Mon 26th Mar
Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
Princess Theatre
Torquay Tue 27th Mar
Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
Beck Theatre
Hayes Wed 28th Mar
Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
Festival Theatre (Malvern Theatres)
Malvern Thu 29th Mar
Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
The Marina Theatre & Cinema
Lowestoft Fri 30th Mar
Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
White Rock Theatre & Sussex Hall
Hastings Sun 1st Apr
Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
Harlequin Theatre
Redhill Mon 2nd Apr
Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
Darlington Civic Theatre
Darlington Tue 3rd Apr
Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
The Spa Bridlington
Bridlington Wed 4th Apr
Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
Floral Pavilion Theatre
New Brighton Thu 5th Apr
Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
Pavilion Theatre
Rhyl Tue 10th Apr
Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
Buxton Opera House
Buxton Wed 11th Apr
Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
St George's Concert Hall
Bradford Thu 12th Apr
Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
New Theatre
Hull Fri 13th Apr -
Sat 14th Apr Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
 Buy Now
Playhouse Whitley Bay
Whitley Bay Mon 16th Apr
Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
Southport Theatre & Convention Centre
Southport Tue 17th Apr -
Wed 18th Apr Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
Lichfield Garrick Theatre
Lichfield Thu 19th Apr
Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
The Royal Centre
Nottingham Fri 20th Apr -
Sat 21st Apr Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
Octagon Theatre
Yeovil Sun 22nd Apr
Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
 Buy Now
Churchill Theatre
Bromley Tue 24th Apr -
Wed 25th Apr Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
Wyvern Theatre
Swindon Thu 26th Apr
Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
Stevenage Arts & Leisure Centre
Stevenage Fri 27th Apr -
Sat 28th Apr Hormonal Housewives (Touring)
 Buy Now
Theatre Royal
Brighton Mon 30th Apr

Waterside Theatre
“Box Office: 0844 871 7607 (bkg fee)
Groups Hotline: 0844 871 7614
Access Booking: 0844 871 7677 (bkg fee)
Online Booking: www.ambassadortickets.com/aylesbury (bkg fee

 

Reviewed by:
Pete Benson
25th March 2012

Walking into the foyer of the Waterside Theatre on Tuesday night, I was very surprised to find it packed with teenagers and wondered if I’d got the wrong date and there was a One Direction concert on!  It turns out that this classic play by J. B. Priestly has been on the national curriculum for some years and this was their opportunity to see the play performed live. 

Although it’s great to see a new generation being introduced to the theatre it’s a shame that they weren’t educated in how to behave, with mobile phones, chatting and food rustlings, plus laughter at some very inappropriate moments, it was very distracting for the rest of the audience.

Astonishingly it’s now 20 years since Stephen Daldry first directed An Inspector Calls at the National Theatre, making it the longest-running production in their history.  It has also been seen on Broadway and across the United States, Europe and Australia.  It has consistently been revived in the West End and this is the 7th tour of Britain.  Stephen Daldry has directed 3 films Billy Elliot, The Hours and The Reader, attracting 17 Academy Award nominations and securing 2 wins.

The play is famous for Ian MacNeil’s Olivier Award winning set design, with the raised house and tiny living area, surrounded by an external bomb site.

The pivotal role of Inspector Goole is played with great relish by Scottish actor Tom Mannion, who drives the plot and forces the people to face up to their selfish and destructive behaviour, after a girl’s alleged suicide.

Geoff Leesley plays the boorish and blunt factory owner, Arthur Birling, who is the first to be put under the spotlight to explain why he sacked the girl.  His fickle daughter Sheila Birling, played with just the right balance of  frivolity and insincerity by Kelly Hotten, was also responsible for the girl losing a job.  Her new pompous finance Gerald Croft (John Sackville), also has questions to answer about his relationship with this girl.  The matriarch of the family, Sybil Birling, is played with imperious distain by Karen Archer, dismissively blaming the girl for her own misfortunes, until she discovers her weak son’s involvement, Eric Birling, played by Henry Gilbert.  On stage throughout is Janie Booth, playing their housekeeper Edna, who watches and observes everything, but barely says a word.


The Supernumeraries are played by Lucinda Forth, Pamela Hardman, Andrew McDonald and Gareth Richardson, along with local schoolchildren and amateur dramatic groups.

It’s an interesting tale of morality about how insensitive and thoughtless actions can affect another person’s life.  It’s also interesting to see that only 2 of the characters, Sheila and Eric, are deeply affected by this realisation with others intent on carrying on as before.  I can certainly see why this play has been on the schools curriculum.  Wouldn't it be good to think that it has helped some people to be more considerate and caring to those less fortunate than ourselves and take responsibility for our actions? 

The show continues at The Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury to Saturday 24th March 2012.
Box Office:   0844 871 7607 (bkg fee)
Groups Hotline:  0844 871 7614
Access Booking: 0844 871 7677 (bkg fee)
Online Booking: www.atgtickets.com/aylesbury   (bkg fee)
Thu 22nd Mar -
Sat 24th Mar An Inspector Calls (Touring)
Aylesbury Waterside Theatre
Aylesbury

Tue 27th Mar -
Sat 31st Mar An Inspector Calls (Touring)
New Theatre
Cardiff

Tue 17th Apr -
Sat 21st Apr An Inspector Calls (Touring)
Theatre Royal
Newcastle upon Tyne

Tue 15th May -
Sat 19th May An Inspector Calls (Touring)
Royal & Derngate Theatre
Northampton

Reviewed by:
Yvonne Delahaye
20.3.12