UK Theatre Network

Review by Laura Pearson.

The B.F.G took to the King's Theatre in Glasgow last night for the first performance of its run in the city providing the audience with a low-quality production.  With a touring production covering major theatre venues one would expect a show with high-production values.  What was witnessed was something that would be more suited to a school hall.  It had all the qualities and charms of a primary school touring production or festival storytelling event and none of the pizzazz that one would expect to come from a major theatrical venue production about a magical giant.

It is indeed a storytelling session rather than a play.  Any hopes of entering another world and suspending disbelief are shattered within the first five minutes as the cast announce that they are going to 'pretend' to be giants and tell Roald Dahl's story to us rather than just bring the story to life in a realistic way.

The play begins with the birthday party of Sophie and when the booked entertainment doesn't arrive the party guests decide to act out the story of The B.F.G instead using Sophie's costume box.  It's a premise that does not work well at all.  One is aware throughout that we are not indeed watching a giant but that we are watching guests at a birthday party pretending to be giants, hence cutting off any emotional response or captivation from the audience with the material so carefully crafted by Dahl.

In the story, a little girl called Sophie is taken from her Orphanage by the Big Friendly Giant and taken to a land where horrible child-eating giants are its citizens. With all the modern theatrical effects that can so easily be achieved this story could have been told in such a realistic, believable and emotion-rousing way.  Instead, what the production provides is a little rag doll called Sophie being held and moved by the adult-sized Sophie at the birthday party.  With her standing next to a regular sized man, who was indeed the father in the birthday party scene, and who has done little to change his appearance except put on a cloak and sandals; one cannot fathom a relationship between a little girl and a giant at all.

This is indeed a very low-budget production.  Costume is used very poorly and adds nothing to the atmosphere that the cast are trying to create. The rest of the birthday party guests remain in their own clothes as they put on the heads of giants.  They also play their own instruments providing the soundtrack to the story which only adds to the problem of realism and believability.  The set is also very simple, creating nothing of a magical atmosphere.  The space was not put to good use at all. Flaws in the design are evident right from the start when white rag doll Sophie spends all of her time on a white table making it impossible for the audience to experience the nuances of the doll's movements being made by the adult actor holding her.

The cast also do very little to allow us to imagine the characters that they are portraying.  They are all visibly adult actors playing children; and the show's attempts to make this believable aren't pulled off.

Children aged five to ten who enjoy being told a story would probably enjoy this. Anyone else should steer clear. It's 'The B.F.G' on a budget. A production that fails either to captivate or enchant.

Listings Info:

THE BFG

King’s Theatre, Glasgow

1 – 5 September @ 7pm

Tue & Fri @ 7pm

Wed 10.30pm & 5pm

Thu 1.30pm & 5pm

Sat 11am, 2pm & 6pm

Tickets: £10 - £16.50

Box Office 08448 717 648 (Bkg fee)

www.ambassadortickets.com/glasgow (bkg fee)

Lazy Town Live – The Pirate Adventure reviewed Tuesday 1^st September 2009

Yo, Ho Fiddle Dee Dee

Being a pirate is alright with me

Do what you want ‘cos a pirate is free

You are a pirate!

I have been singing this all day – much to the bewilderment of my colleagues at work! I took my two year old nephew, six year old niece and 42 year old (going on eight) brother to this show last night.  We had a riot, as did all the other kids in the audience!

This show has become hugely popular in this country over the last year. Originating in Iceland, superhero Sportacus encourages children to be active and energetic whilst Robbie Rotten, the baddie, tries to rid Lazy Town of Sportacus so everyone can be  - you guessed it – lazy!

The cast work tremendously hard and are highly energetic in their efforts to get everyone up and involved. Some of the adults who took younger members of the audience could have made more of an effort to get into the spirit of the show. After all, the whole premise for this cartoon is on healthy living and activity. Children follow the examples set to them so how can they get up, dance, jump about, shout and let themselves go if their parents, aunts, nannies etc don’t enter into the spirit of the show?

My brother and I were up on our feet, doing all the actions and generally joining in but, as adults, we were in the minority. It was a shame for the cast that half the audience remained firmly rooted to their seats and showed a distinct air of disdain for all the antics on stage.  

In the true spirit of the pantomime tradition there are some funny moments for the adults. Sportacus and Robbie Rotten, played by Julian Essex-Spurrier



and Matthew Medhurst



respectively, provide most of these. Sportacus in his supertight lycra, superhero’s costume definitely cheered up some of the older female members of the audience! His one handed cartwheels and gymnastics are great fun and he had numerous little boy fans in the audience dressed as mini Sportaci - if that is indeed the plural! 

Kimberly Pena as Stephanie is perhaps the driving force of the production, leading most of the singing and dancing, which the cast break into every couple of minutes. Played with that over enthusiastic American accent that seems to accompany so much children’s entertainment nowadays there is a slightly annoying aspect to her (speaking as an adult) but is tireless at exuding fun, happiness and general goodness to the world around her and as with Sportacus, Stephanie had fans in the audience all sporting candy pink wigs - and that was just the dads!

This is a high energy, noisy, fun and very entertaining production. It is short - 90 minutes with an interval. If you are looking for something to entertain young ones up (or even yourself) this autumn then this is the ticket.

Lazy Town Live! – The Pirate Adventure plays Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday 5^th September 2009. Then on tour

September

10 – 13 The Orchard Theatre, Dartford

16 –20 Swan Theatre, High Wycombe

October

1 – 4 Hackney Empire, London

8-11 New Theatre, Hull

22 – 25 Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham

28 –31 Theatre Royal, Norwich

November

5 – 8 Corn Exchange, Cambridge

12 –15 Grand Theatre, Swansea

19 – 22 Grand Theatre, Blackpool

26-29 Pavilions, Plymouth

 
Milton Keynes Theatre Box Office on 0844 871 7652 (bkg fee) or www.ambassadortickets.com/miltonkeynes  (bkg fee)

UK Productions bring Singin’ In The Rain to a rather wet and windy Glasgow, adding some bright spots to the evening.

There are a number of good points to this current tour of Singin’ In The Rain, but unfortunately these are equalled by a number of bad points. It’s never easy to recreate a film on the stage, especially something as spectacular as the MGM’s Technicolor extravaganza Singin’ In The Rain. The story of the introduction of “talking” pictures into the movie industry had some spectacular set pieces in the film, however, it appears that instead of coming up with an ingenious design to try to recreate that magic, UK Productions have gone cheap and made a rather basic set with very few design features to dazzle. Luckily the enthusiastic and talented ensemble added their own dazzle making the chorus numbers a highlight in this show. Using some very witty choreography, which encomapasses some of the traditional elements you’d expect of Singin’ In The Rain, along with some other clever dance elements, choreographer Graeme Henderson sets out his stall well. The fact he is also playing the role of Cosmo Brown is a testament to his talents. It was only a shame that his own “big number”, Make ‘Em Laugh, was not given the same amount of wit, but I think this was more due to the directed elements than the choreography and performance.

The other principals are all extremely able, however I was disappointed in the rather restrained performances from Tim Flavin and Jessica Punch as the leading man, Don Lockwood and his new love interest and aspiring actress, Kathy Selden. Both these performers are obviously talented, but don’t seem to deliver the full impact required for the leading performances. It seems much of this is down to Alison Pollard’s direction, as the final lead principal, Amy Griffiths playing the beautiful, but gratingly voiced Lina Lamont, seemed to be much the same, until her own “big number”. In this performance of What’s Wrong With Me we got the chance to see that even while playing the “can’t sing, can’t dance and can’t act” Lina, Miss Griffiths can definitely sing, can definitely dance, and uses her fantastic acting ability to hide these great talents throughout the rest of the show!

That said, Mr Flavin and Miss Punch did have moments where they got to show off their performance skills. The character of Kathy Selden does seem to shine during the choral numbers she’s involved in, and stands out during the fantastic set-piece of Good Morning (including the iconic sofa-tipping moment from the movie). This received the longest applause of the evening, as it was a non-stop, high energy dance routine involving the three leads doing what they seemed to do best. Mr Flavin, alongside Mr Henderson, also showed off the fancy footwork during Fit As A Fiddle and Moses Supposes, two high energy numbers with lots of character.

Unfortunately all the low points came together at the end of act 1, with the iconic title number. The rather bland set and lighting design was no more evident than when the “rain” started. One strip of water falling along the front of the stage and a rather lacklustre song and dance from the leading man, meant that this was unfortunately the low point of the show. There were no puddles for the leading man to splash in, and by using the whole stage to dance, he spent so little time in the rain, he was barely damp. If he’d done this number in the rain outside on Hope Street, they could’ve saved a fortune on the rain machine, and created a much better effect!

The live Orchestra (can 7 people really be credited as an Orchestra?) were fantastic and did give a very full sound. Along with the great harmonies from the ensemble, the hummable tunes and showstopping numbers, you can see why although this is probaby the original juke-box musical (Arthur Freed asked Betty Comden and Adolph Green to come up with a show using his best songs), it has managed to stand the test of time. That said, I think UK Productions need to spend some time and money on this classic to give it the performance it deserves.

Listings Info:

Tue 1^st – Sat 5^th June

Tue – Sat eves 7.30pm

Thurs & Sat Mat 2.30pm

Tickets: £12 - £30

Box Office: 0870 060 6647          www.ambassadortickets.com/glasgow