Dreamboats and Petticoats Milton Keynes Theatre
By Louise WinterDreamboats and Petticoats at Milton Keynes Theatre
Reviewed 15th February
2010
Directed by Bob Tomson; Musical Supervision by Keith Strachan; Choreography by Carole Todd; Designed by Sean Cavanagh; Lighting Designed by Mark Howett; Sound Designed by Ben Harrison; Executive Producer Brian Berg.
A hardworking cast who are determined to please the audience are the central strength of this (and indeed any) production. Here, this very young cast are energetic, charming, bright and generally convincing. They truly look as if they are having the time of their lives.
The story by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran strangely came after the hit compilation album of the same title. Cashing in on this has resulted in a fairly thin story, one of teenage crushes, songwriting competitions, and growing up. It is mostly set in St Mungo’s youth club with an excursion to Southend thrown in.
This production really is an excuse to cram in as many hits from the early sixties as possible and there can’t ever be more than three or four minutes of dialogue before another of the 43(!) songs is squeezed in. Clearly this formula is working though as there is a London show running as the same time as this tour so obviously a demand.
It is really a production for those who were young during this era and clearly an enjoyable trip down memory lane for them. The majority of the audience greeted the evening with plenty of enthusiasm, swaying and singing away to all the musical numbers. That is not to say it is not enjoyable for anyone who does not have direct experience of this era as most of the music is familiar and includes enjoyable hits such as ‘Let’s dance’, ‘The Wanderer’, ‘Runaround Sue’, ‘Bobby’s girl’, ‘Dream Lover’ and the list goes on and on.
Performances are strong, particularly Josh Capper as Bobby, who has only been out of theatre school for three years.
Awarded most promising graduate in 2006 he was definitely one of the stand out performances of the evening. He looks the part, has a great voice for the most part, although the Roy Orbison number did cause a couple of problems, and comedic talent. He is very endearing as an dreamy awkward teenager.
Matching Josh in the comedy stakes is Wayne Smith as Ray who looks like a young Danny Kay and is as funny in places!
Again, great voice, convincing and a charming way about him. Bound to see more of these two in the future.
Daniella Bowen (Laura) and Carolynne Good (Sue, above) are both bright and chirpy as knowing, teenage girls with more experience than the boys. Strongest female performance is Bethany Compson-Bradford as the sweet fifteen year old with the songwriting talent and beautiful voice. She is rather wonderful.
Weakest link is Jonathan Bremner as Norman who whilst a pretty boy – he certainly raised a few eyebrows – and whilst having a pleasant enough voice does not bring a convincing performance to the stage. According to the publicity material he is ‘widely recognised from taking part on ITV’s X Factor where he reached the final seven in Sharon Osbourne’s group.’ Really? He’s not. Four years ago is a very long time ago in this day of immediate (and short lived) fame. He seems to have done a lot of celebrity party/charity gigs and is perhaps a decent enough entertainer. He is an adequate singer but not an actor and it shows amongst this cast.
Anthony Clegg (Phil/Older Bobby) and Simon Nock (Frank/Slugger/Compere) are the very experienced and more mature cast members and their confidence and ease on stage shines through.
All members of the cast deserve a mention really, particularly as the majority of them play the music live on stage throughout. That certainly says something about todays wealth of talent.
An enjoyable singalong evening of a trawl through the hits of the sixties with the tiniest thread of a story to hold it all together is the sum of this productions parts.
Dreamboats and Petticoats plays MK Theatre until Saturday 20th Feb
0844 871 7652(bkg fee). www.ambassadortickets.com/miltonkeynes
then continuing on an extensive tour
22-27 Feb Opera House, Manchester
1-6 March, New Victoria Theatre, Woking
8-13 March, Liverpool Empire Theatre, Liverpool
15-20 March, Grand Theatre, Leeds
For full tour dates visit www.kenwright.com
The Lady Vanishes
By Steve BurbridgeThe Lady Vanishes
The Tyne Theatre & Opera House
ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S classic 1938 film of lies, lost ladies and locomotives has been brought vividly to life in a new adaptation of The Lady Vanishes by Mark Simpson.
Stylishly staged, with an ingenious revolving set, designed by Maurice Rubens, that doubles as a hotel on the Swiss border and a steam locomotive, it is bursting with intrigue, espionage, romance and drama.
Stranded in a hotel after an avalanche, a cosmopolitan group of eccentric characters are desperate to return to London. They embark on a potentially perilous journey aboard a trans-alpine express train.
Having suffered a bang to the head at the hotel, Iris (Penelope Rawlins), a society beauty, is befriended by an endearing elderly governess, Miss Froy (Jane Evers). But, when the old lady mysteriously disappears and none of the other passengers acknowledge that she ever existed, Iris decides to investigate.
She manages to persuade Gilbert (Darrell Brockis), a handsome young musicologist that she is not hallucinating, despite the diagnosis of the sinister Dr Hartz (Terry Molloy), and he assists in the search for Miss Froy.
The ensuing events are a sophisticated mix of action, deceit, comedy and mystery. There are no weak links amongst the stellar cast, many of whom are required to double-up as other characters.
Mark Sterling’s direction ensures that the momentum is maintained throughout and that the audience are kept guessing right until the very end. The Lady Vanishes is a production that entertains and enthrals in equal measure.
Steve Burbridge.
Adolf Hitler: My Part In His Downfall
By Steve Burbridge
Adolf Hitler: My Part In His
Downfall
Darlington Civic Theatre
Adapted from six volumes of his wartime memoirs, by Ben Power and Tim Carroll, Spike Milligan’s Adolf Hitler: My Part In His Downfall chronicles his experiences between September 1939 and March 1944. Rather than being performed as a play, it adopts the format of an ENSA-type revue with whimsical sketches, monologues, and musical numbers.
This is effective to the extent that the audience is treated to gems from the era including ‘Lily Marlène’, ‘I’ve Got A Gal In Kalamazoo’, ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo’ and ‘Pennies From Heaven’.
The cast of five – Sholto Morgan (Spike), Dominic Gerrard (Edgington) William Findley (Goldsmith), David Morley Hale (Kidgell) and Matthew Devereaux (MC) - are certainly a talented bunch and they perform with vigour and enthusiasm. Indeed, Sholto Morgan in his first professional role demonstrates a great deal of future promise.
The humour, as you might guess, veers towards the surreal and, often, downright zany - having said that, much of it passed me by. I should probably have known it would. After all, Milligan is the comedy hero of a twit who talks to his plants and prefers a woman who looks like Audrey Roberts from Coronation Street to the beauty of the late Diana, Princess of Wales. I fear for the future of the monarchy!
The transitions between sketches are anything but slick and there is much moving of props by very visible stage hands, which tends to detract from one’s possible engagement with the piece. A further annoyance and distraction came from four people in the row in front of me whose sole purpose was to rustle and crinkle sweet wrappers continually and disturb everyone else in the vicinity, rather than to watch the show.
Not even the exaggerated promise of bad language, themes of an adult nature and nudity were enough to get me through this dismal production.
Steve Burbridge.
Night Fright: The Nightmare of Your Life
By Steve Burbridge
Night Fright: The Nightmare of Your
Life
The Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage
Ian Dickens and Chris Moreno have joined forces, gathered together a talented cast, and produced a spine-tingling thriller that takes you down more blind alleys and dead ends than a dysfunctional sat-nav.
Night Fright, by Roger S. Moss, tells the story of newly-married Frank and Jenny Gilman. Having found the home of their dreams in an idyllic country village, they look forward to their future together. However, all is not as it seems and their dream soon becomes a nightmare.
Returning from their exotic honeymoon a day earlier than expected, they are thrust into the middle of a macabre secret enterprise that is going on all around them. As they attempt to discover what is happening, they are attacked by intruders, lied to by locals and forced to fight for their very lives.
Paul Opacic and Helen George play Frank and Jenny to perfection. The sexual chemistry between them is palpable and they are a convincing couple. Ben Roberts is brilliant as the evasive and slightly untrustworthy estate agent, Mr Watson, but it is Louise English, as the Lesley Joseph-esque Jacqui Henderson, who absolutely steals the show as she prowls around in black knee-length stiletto boots and a black leather mini.
The script is tight and the direction is slick as the tension builds to its nerve-jangling crescendo. Several ingenious red herrings and plot devices throw you off the scent, and the revelation of what has been happening under the Gilman’s noses drew gasps of breath from the audience.
Night Fright is a top-notch thriller that has been beautifully staged and is superbly performed.
Steve Burbridge.
Dancing in the Streets (15 – 20 Feb 2010, Kings Theatre, Glasgow)
By Cameron Lowe
The sound of Motown is transported to
Glasgow this week as the stars of the 60s take to the stage in
this first class tribute concert.
There are
a number of ways to bring the hits of the past to a stage
show. The success
of the ABBA based hit, Mamma Mia!, has seen a resurgence of
productions with a fresh story to tell weaving old songs around
the drama. But this
is difficult to do well and easy to do badly. Dancing in the Streets takes
the simpler route by delivering a straight forward tribute
concert (similar to Rat Pack – Live from Las Vegas) … and
delivering it with some style.
The first
thing to consider when conceiving a production like this has to
be the theme. In
“Motown”, Director and Musical Supervisor, Keith Strachan, has
tapped possibly the richest vein of musical hits in
history! With
artists from Gladys Knight and the Pips to Diana Ross and the
Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops, The
Temptations, (the list goes on) … the hardest decisions must have
been what to leave out of the show! But you can be sure that the
numbers in the show will be hits that everyone has a specific
memory of.
And that’s what the audience pay their money for … memories. They want to be transported to the time and place that each song meant the most to them. Time travel isn’t just for Doctor Who, you know. It was certainly a reality for the majority of the audience in Glasgow last night! The reason the “Dancing in the Streets” time machine works so effectively is in the delivery of those Motown hits. The first class cast sounded (and often looked) like the original artists. Dance moves were faithfully reproduced, backup singers swayed and clicked and clapped and ‘shooped’ just like their 60s counterparts and the band faithfully reproduced the Motown sound on every track. Overall production values were excellent, too, with a classically styled static set incorporating the live band, excellent lighting effects (probably far superior to the 60s originals but effective and atmospheric nonetheless) and more costume changes than London Fashion Week!
Transport yourself to Hitsville, USA in the 60s for £25.50 (or less) - bargain!
Listings
Info:
King's Theatre
Glasgow: Mon 15 Feb – Sat 20
Feb
Mon – Sat at 7.30pm
Sat mat – 2.30pm
Tickets: £12 -
£25.50
Box Office 08448 717
648 (Bkg fee)
www.ambassadortickets.com/glasgow
(bkg
fee)
I Ought to be in Pictures by Neil Simon at Manchester Library Theatre
By Caroline May![I_Ought_To_Be_In_Pictures_-_press_pic_05[1].JPG](http://static.socialgo.com/cache/10668/image/1115.jpg "I_Ought_To_Be_In_Pictures_-_press_pic_05[1].JPG")
I Ought to be in Pictures isn’t one of Neil Simon’s better-known plays, but it follows the scientifically proven formula of classics like The Sunshine Boys and The Odd Couple: when apparently incompatible individuals live in close proximity they generate friction, which creates sparks of comedy gold.
Herb (Stuart Fox) is a typical Simon character in the Walter Matthau mould, a quarrelsome curmudgeon with a tender heart buried somewhere beneath his grizzly exterior. He has long escaped the claustrophobic atmosphere of New York to live the dream in the Californian sunshine as a Hollywood screenwriter. Unfortunately a bad case of writer’s block is causing trouble in his professional life, and commitment-phobia is hacking off his no-strings girlfriend Steffy.
Then a 19-year-old back-packer called Libby turns up on Herb’s doorstep with ambitions of her own to make it big in the film business - with or without her father’s help.
Stuart Fox as Herb initially delivers a first-rate impression of a grumpy, self-obsessed has-been, but visibly melts with the gradual rediscovery of his paternal feelings.
Elizabeth Carling as Steffy brings real warmth to the witty and wise divorcée who tries to encourage the father-daughter relationship without herself turning into a jealous step-mother. And no one has carried off white flared trousers with such aplomb since Charley’s Angels.
The real find of the evening is Kirsty Osmon, making a striking professional debut in the role of Libby. All tomboyish charm and coltish bare legs, Ms Osmon is absolutely convincing as a free spirit who can hike across a continent or tune a car engine, yet who is still clearly very young and vulnerable. The impromptu midnight rehearsal of her audition speech with only an angle-poise lamp for a spotlight shows how naïve this seemingly streetwise New Yorker remains.
Paul Wills’ design, a loving homage to the 1970s, shows us Herb’s chaotic life embodied in his scruffy open-plan apartment, with a glimpse of the symbolic citrus trees through a sunny window.
Director Paul Jepson has concentrated on the play’s dramatic implications - in the hands of such an excellent cast the smart one-liners can take care of themselves.
I Ought to be in Pictures is on until Saturday 27 February 2009
Prices: £8.00-£18.00 (concessions available)
Eves: Mon-Thurs @ 7.30pm; Fri & Sat @ 8pm
Matinees: Thurs & Sat @ 3pm
Box Office: 0161 236 7110
Theatre Royal Bath Productions presents ‘Pride and Prejudice’
By TREMAYNE MillerTheatre Royal Bath Productions presents ‘Pride and Prejudice’,
Richmond TheatrePublished by: Tremayne (Potter)
An impressive opening displaying a raised stage which character Mary Bennett, played by Victoria Hamnett, approaches plucking on her violin as she does so. The music builds up as each member of the cast, alternating between male and female comes onto the stage. After they have taken up their positions there is a steady build-up of stamping feet, almost replicating Riverdance.
When we are introduced to The Bennett Family and Kitty (Leah Whitaker) I felt her coughing in the scene a little overacted.
The scene where Jane (Violet Ryder) has taken to her bed with a cold it is creatively put together through imaginative stagecraft. The actress stands on top of a chair holding a white sheet up against her as a blanket, whilst another actor holds a pillow in place.
Elizabeth (Katie Lightfoot) comes to join her beloved sister Jane, scampering across the countryside, shown through a use of abrupt violin sounds and sudden, jerky running movements across the expanse of the stage.
I particularly liked Kitty’s sudden shrieks of laughter when she visits Mr Bingley’s (Alex Felton) abode with her mother (Susan Hampshire).
As Mr Collins (Tom Mothersdale) arrives, he is introduced standing on top of a chair, reading a letter aloud, the spotlight shining down on him. As he greets Lizzie the second eldest Bennett daughter, and Jane, he bows right down to the floor.
When the dining table is brought in we can see that the food is quite literally stuck to it, along with the plates and cutlery, and wine glasses. Very comical!
To denote the time passing, a male member of the cast crouches underneath and behind the various pieces of furniture and intermittently rises up and down as the big hand strikes.
Tom Mothersdale plays Mr Collins in a Mr Bean/Lee Evans style, particularly when Elizabeth Bennett opts to dance at The Ball with Mr Darcy (Nicholas Taylor), escaping his clutches.
One of my two favourite scenes in ‘Pride & Prejudice’ is where Lizzie declines Mr Darcy’s initial proposal of marriage, quite clearly in love with him but is, at this point in the story, wanting to ascertain what, if any, are his exact motives.
In Act II, The Bennett Family contemplate a holiday in Brighton when two soldiers ride past them, waving as they go. These men each ride on another person’s shoulders, that person sporting a horse’s head. The audience found this very amusing.
With the mention of Derbyshire, Chatsworth and Dovedale fond memories are conjured up inside my head of where I grew up.
Mr Darcy’s abode is visited. The family portraits are admired by all and are cleverly depicted by cast members holding up chairs and peering through their empty backs, creating the appearance of picture frames.
Slight disappointment came when the production managed to leave out the ‘wet shirt’ scene made famous by the BBC interpretation, when all of womankind then hankered after Colin Firth’s Mr Darcy!
A line that rests in my mind is one spoken by Mr Darcy to Elizabeth right at the end of the play when he says to her, having realized just how much they mean
to one another: “..by you, I was properly humbled.” It is then brought to a cleverly thought out finale through a series of letters, thus allowing for a strip in scene changes. I found this production extremely imaginative, well produced and highly entertaining.
UK Theatre Network - Happy Valentine's Day
By Douglas McFarlane
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Have
you heard the story of the Johnstone twins?
If not, you have missed what has become a
classic of British musical theatre and now
is your chance to hear the tale! Willy
Russell’s Blood Brothers is on tour -
follow a trail of tears and snotty
handkerchiefs all the way to the King’s
Theatre, Glasgow until 13 February
2010.
11 and 12 Peter Brook - C.I.C.T/Theatre des Bouffes du Nord, Barbican Theatre until 27 February
By Nicola Hollinshead
The air of reverential expectation was almost palpable amongst
the audience at the Barbican on Wednesday night for the opening
of Peter Brook's latest offering 11 AND 12. In keeping with his
tradition of simple staging, the vast canvas was spread out
before us - colourful cloths and a few African objects
effectively placing us within the setting for the story based on
the novel by Malian writer Amandou Hampate Ba, adapted by
Marie-Helene. Set in Mali during the French occupation it tells
the true tale of the feud that developed over whether an Islamic
prayer should be repeated 11 or 12 times and how the
reprecussions of this tiny incident develop into bloodshed and
controversy.
However, 90 minutes later, the audience are not even aware of it
having ended and there is a prolonged delay before one brave soul
breaks the silence and applauds and the rest of us as if woken
from a trance, join in. There is a reason - the energy of the
piece is sermon-like and deadening, the action is almost
non-existent and the exploration of the central theme being
largely narrated adds a further distancing. The performances are
competent but somewhat stiff, the accents of the multicultural
cast are heavy and there is no shape or change of pace to the
storytelling.
It has a meditative feel, which in some respects is comforting
and safe, like the folds of the cloths around the distinguished
sages, but watching it as a piece of theatre ultimately makes you
feel you are slowly being drugged into a state of catatonic
amnesia.
Brook, it seems, is a great admirer of the writer Amandou Hampate
Ba and has been wanting to create this piece for 50 years and
this feels like his personal homage to him. At its centre is the
absurdity of religion and religioius fundamentalism but the piece
is full of truisms that take us nowhere new. What we are longing
for is a learning or a realising of something new and profound
and this offers us neither.
There are moments however, such as the final meeting between the
two main spiritual leaders Tierno Bokar and Cherif Hamallal,
where the two walk slowly together at the back of the stage in
the way of deeply spiritual and actualised beings who are not of
this world, that you really do feel you are in the presence of
two such leaders. The tempo and feeling is one you would find on
a spiritual retreat.
Whether or not this works as a piece of theatre is another
matter; or maybe that is the 'experience' that Brook wants us to
undergo with this production. It doesn't take us anywhere new or
offers new insights, but is a slice of storytelling that does
capture at times a true feeling of the essence of spirituality.
It is both disappointing yet curious. Sometimes compelling in the
beauty of its simplicity of staging and interestingly punctuated
by the emotional music of Toshi Tsuchitori and yet at the end you
are left wondering if you have missed something or if you have
just been expecting too much.
Traces
By Sue MarksFlying Music, Robert Jolley and Michael Boersma present The Les 7 Doigts de la Main production of
Traces
Reviewed by Sue Marks at Milton Keynes Theatre on Monday 8th February 2010.
The show features five young people occupying a makeshift shelter from an unspecified impending disaster that lurks outside. In the belief that creativity is the antidote to destruction, the characters aim to make the most of what little time is left by using various means of expression to leave behind some traces of themselves. They tell their stories through a variety of genres which includes speech, music, dancing and breath taking acrobatics. As their stories unfold the audience gains an insight into the performers’ real lives.
The performers are five young French-Canadian artistes; Antoine Auger, Antoine Carabinier-Lepine, Genevieve Morin, Philip Rosenberg and Jonathan Causaubon, who were all students of Montreal’s National Circus School. They have a wide range of performing experience and skills honed in circus schools and companies worldwide.
Featuring a pulsating soundtrack throughout, which ranges from rock ‘n’ roll to blues to hip hop, this production mixes acrobatics with theatre, urban and contemporary dance styles, skateboarding and basketball.
The acrobatics are amazing, they balance on each other’s heads, leap up high poles without using their hands and fly through hoops. I particularly enjoyed the incredible performance of the acrobat using the large metal hoop.
Early in the show they introduce themselves individually by name, using a suspended microphone, together with three keywords which define them. This is followed by an amusing sketch where they swing the microphone calling out a name or keyword as it passes. Later in the first half of the show they take turns playing a piano which sounds remarkably good, particularly since it has been given the appearance of having been made from scraps of wood roughly cobbled together. An old box serves as a piano stool. One of the group also plays guitar and performs a song. There is some basketball and skateboarding.
After the interval the pace of the show speeds up with the exhilarating acrobatics. Whilst I enjoyed the show I think the first half could be improved by being a little sharper in places. There were times I found myself more interested in the soundtrack than what was happening on stage. However the second half was brilliant. This is an innovative show that is worth seeing.
It is perhaps a sign of the times that world class acrobatics does not constitute a show in its own right. This show has clearly taken circus skills and made something more out of them but what really excites me is the show this is going to be in a few more years’ time because I believe it is still evolving.
Traces plays Milton Keynes Theatre from Monday 8th February to Wednesday 10th February 2010. Milton Keynes Theatre Box Office 0844 871 7652 (bkg fee).
The tour then continues playing Alhambra Theatre Bradford from Thursday 11th February to Saturday 13th February.
www.miltonkeynestheatre.com www.flyingmusic.com
Reviewed by Sue Marks at Milton Keynes Theatre on Monday 8th February 2010 on behalf of Catherine Brian.
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