UK Theatre Network

Matt Devitt’s production of Ladies Down Under revisits Amanda Whittington’s characters from Ladies Day, a play about four Northern lasses from a fish packing factory in Hull who win half a million pounds on an accumulator at Ascot.  The ladies are brought back together again as they embark on a soul searching trip to Australia with their winnings. The characters of Pearl, Jan, Linda and Shelley are easily bought into, as long as you buy the full set.  Together they are a dynamic, but as individual characters they would possibly fade.  The play relies heavily on stereotypes, particularly in its male characters, which gives it its humour.  Simon Jessop and Oliver Seymour-Marsh give a humorous presentation as camp flight attendants and go on to play an array of recognisable characters. Seymour-Marsh plays an enthusiastic surfer and a spiritual bushman traveller.  Jessop is an ageing, stoned British traveller and Joe, the boyfriend of Jan from the factory who is disillusioned with his trip of a lifetime to Australia which he began the year before.  In a colourful climax, two fantastically gregarious drag queens dominate the stage.  Jessop, slightly unsure on his heels performs beautifully executed poses as Koala Bare and Seymour-Marsh is just as at home in his thigh high boots performing gay anthems as Bondi Bitch as he is in his bush man boots giving lessons in life to all.

 Amanda Whittington has concentrated on taking the characters to a new place in this sequel. Thrown together in unfamiliar surroundings their personalities clash and truths are revealed, the ladies are forced to look deeper at themselves and into their lives back home.  One by one they are confronted with their faults and fears and each one follows an arc of discovery. Diana Croft sustains the negativity of the babbling, unconfident Jan, who complains constantly about her bowel problems and her lack of faith in anything, including her relationship with Joe.  Helen Watson is warm and compelling in her role as Pearl who, hiding a secret, looks for adventure and new experiences however small. Lucy Thackeray brings freshness to the character of Linda, a timid do-gooder who is happier giving her money to others rather than spending it on herself. Sarah Scowen begins slightly caricature as Shelley, overdressed in garish designer wear, desperate for fame and recognition, but softens as she opens up about her past, even if it is to a complete stranger in the bush.  The plot is laden with coincidences and flukes, but ultimately this is the play’s charm, making it easy to watch and accessible. All that is asked of the audience is to suspend their disbelief, sit back, relax and enjoy.

Matt Devitt  has chosen a minimalistic set designed by Claire Lyth, which enhances the emphasis of character rather than place. Quick scene changes take place smoothly in darkness with pictures of Surfers Paradise and Uluru projected onto the back wall to create a sense of location and an effective use of lighting creates atmosphere.   

Each character undergoes a transformation.  The overriding question of, can money make you happy, looms over the whole play but the conclusion that it gives is slightly confused.   It certainly seems to be an aiding factor in all their cases but I had the feeling that that wasn’t the aim.  The characters had to go on a trip which would give them the space to assess their lives and the outback was a perfect setting, but these characters would never have done this without their winnings. Ultimately this was a fun production with the underlying significance being friendship and humanity, which takes you from laughter to tears and back again... and again.

CAST

Jan Diana Croft
Joe Simon Jessop
Shelley Sarah Scowen
Tom Oliver Seymour-Marsh
Linda  Lucy Thackeray
Pearl Helen Watson

Director Matt Devitt
Designer Claire Lyth

DATES, TIMES AND PRICES
Fri 27 Aug | 8pm | Preview £14
Sat 28 Aug | 8pm | Preview £20 | £16.50 conc
Tue 31 Aug | 7.30pm | £20 | £16.50 conc
Mon - Thurs Perfs | 8pm | £20 | £16.50 conc
(7.30pm on Tue 31 Aug)
(no performance on Mon 30 Aug)
Fri - Sat Perfs | 8pm | £23
Matinees | Sat 4 Sep | Thurs 9 Sep | 2.30pm £14

The Heather Brothers

This week sees the premiere of teen horror musical parody, Camp Horror at the Queen's theatre, Hornchurch and I am looking forward to being among the audience.  As a taster of what's to come, here is an interview with the writers, Neil, John and Lea Heather. This interview was held during rehearsals.

What factors do you consider when deciding whether a play will be a musical? Could you explain the creative process involved in composing a musical?

We generally try and come up with a good story first. We sit around bouncing ideas off each other. We chat about books, films or politics and drink a lot of tea!
If we feel the idea would work better with songs, then we try and create a musical. Dialogue also comes second to plot. Because we started out in life as songwriters, we also spend a lot of time on lyrics. We write the first line of a song, then sit down with our thesaurus and rhyming dictionary to find something to rhyme with it. 

Camp Horror is a comical parody of the teen horror movie.  Do you think that musical theatre lends itself more to humorous productions? Does singing and dancing take some of the seriousness away from a play or does it enhance it?

Camp Horror is kind of different - the problem we set ourselves was how we maintain the believability once the killing started... we feel we cracked it.
The show is packed with 14 original rocking songs which are all really catchy. The music is all deliberately upbeat, which we found to be a great comic way to offset the horror elements. How fun is it to have happy tunes set to someone being slaughtered!
Camp Horror is a light-hearted comedy, so the songs, music, singing and dancing very much enhance the humour and the story.  

Does the humour come naturally once you begin writing?

Yes... we love writing funny lyrics. Our philosophy is if it makes us laugh, then hopefully it can make others chuckle too.  

How was your idea for Camp Horror first formed? 

We have always loved horror films and couldn’t get enough of flicks like Psycho and Homicidal Maniac. We were in Massachusetts about five years ago working on a couple of horror movies we’d written and thought it’d be a great idea to put a horror film on stage... then we thought it would be better to make it a musical... and better still a comedy musical.
There is an overkill of horror movies at the moment. We thought it would be refreshing to take this further and create something with lots of laughs, songs, twists and turns, featuring a group of young people.
It has been a long, long process – there were many rewrites and we spent a lot of time on lyrics - so we are thrilled it is now finally ready for audiences to enjoy.
 
Do you have an audience in mind when you begin writing?

We always write shows we would like to see and we enjoy witty, character-based situation comedy.
Camp Horror has something for all ages. Our fresh-faced cast of teen pin-ups play a host of familiar characters who young people will know and love from TV and film – the cocky guy, the cute cheerleader, the geek, the kooky girl, the joker, the hippy chick… and of course, the poor old tired school teacher!
Mums, Dads, Nans and Granddads will also recognise these characters because they went to horror movies as teenagers too; it’s just the clothes that are different! It doesn’t matter what year it is, the formula of the horror movie hasn’t really changed for generations. If it still entertains, it still works! So even if your teenage years are a distant memory, you can relive the fun and frights of your youth whilst enjoying a great rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack!

To what extent do you like to be involved in a production? Do you prefer to have more input or let the director and cast put their own stamp on your plays?

We like to be around during the first production. Things sometimes need to be changed, lines cut, etc.  So we like to be on hand for all that.

Do you attend rehearsals? How do you feel about the development of Camp Horror at the Queen’s in Hornchurch? Will you be in the audience during the run?

Yes, we will certainly be watching the production and we have been attending rehearsals at the Queen’s every day. We are thrilled to report that Camp Horror, under the direction of Bob Carlton, is turning out brilliantly! It is a hugely entertaining and fun night out, which will take people out of their lives for a few hours.

This cut to the chase… production brings you a large young cast of super-talented         actor-musicians with enormous amounts of energy. They are not only fantastic actors, singers and dancers, but amazingly, also provide a live soundtrack to the show by playing their own musical instruments on stage.
We also have a truly incredible set – the Queen’s stage has been completely transformed into the darkest, creepiest theatre you’ve ever seen and it also brings audiences much, much closer to the action than ever before – everyone will just have to come and see it!

Camp Horror is very different to what people are used to - as far as we know, there isn’t a musical comedy in theatre quite like this one.

16 April – 8 May
Sense and Sensibility

Ending a short run of male domination at the Queen’s, Matt Hewitt’s production of Sense and Sensibility by Roger Parsley and Andy Graham introduces Jane Austen’s humorous world of Regency society complete with swooning and irrational females in empire silhouettes and dashing, eligible bachelors in pantaloons and flannel waistcoats. Norman Coates’ set depicts the elegant rooms of country and city homes of the period boasting tall white columns, clean striped furniture, floor to ceiling windows and chandeliers, all overlooked by the projection of countryside vistas and city streets framed on the back wall.

After the death of their father, the Dashwood sisters, Elinor (Francesca Loren) and Marianne (Pam Jolley) are left in financial difficulty. Their half brother, John and wife Fanny are left the family home and the sisters, who are daughters of their father’s second wife, are left with a minor share. They move to Devon to stay with their distant Aunt Jennings (Karen Mann).  Upon their arrival the match making Aunt Jennings insists on finding them husbands, she pops up at crucial moments with gossip and information on potential partners and cackles rather too pantomimic at times in her excitement. Pam Jolley is more than endearing as Marianne who, blind with love, follows Willoughby to London (played by Elliot Harper, who switches so brilliantly from Edward Ferrars to Willoughby I thought there was someone missing in the final line up)  only to find he is engaged to someone far richer than her.  Jolley’s comical facial expressions when illustrating her distaste of other characters and minor tantrums when not getting her own way are highly amusing.  As Marianne swoons in lovesickness, she is pursued by the shy but patient Colonel Brandon, (played cautiously by Marcus Webb, as he almost creeps onto the stage and disappears again) who nurses her back to health. There is a haunting moment quite reminiscent of Wizard of Oz where during Marianne’s unconsciousness the faces and voices of the characters in her head are projected onto the large framed screen like a dream sequence, brilliant! Francesca Loren is charming as the refined and restrained Elinor, curbing the high pitch voice that tends to seep from the other more excitable characters. She is in love with Edward Ferrars who it is revealed, is engaged to a money hungry Lucy Steele.  (Sarah Scowen cleverly gives her a sweetly spoken dreadfulness)  Elinor remains in control of her emotions throughout, although she is broken hearted, she gives all her support to her younger and more naïve sister.  As typical of Austen, the characters fall in love at the drop of a hat and the storyline reveals faulted personalities, misconstructions, uncomfortable situations, and eventually, a resolution of all the above laced with marriage proposals. 

This production is beautifully tied together throughout scene changes by the powerfully sweet voice of Sarah Scowen and stunning voice of Pam Jolley as they sing delicate pieces accompanied by the flute, piano and cello all played by members of the cast.  A wholly engaging, pleasant, funny  and enjoyable evening brought together by convincing characters, innovative set and great costumes.

Cast

Marianne Dashwood – Pam Jolley

Elinor Dashwood – Francesca Loren

Edward Ferrars – Elliot Harper

Aunt Jennings – Karen Mann

Colonel Brandon – Marcus Webb

Willoughby – Elliot Harper

Lucy Steele – Sarah Scowen

Director – Matt Devitt

Designer – Norman Coates

Lighting Designer – Andy Lewis

Musical arrangements – Julian Littman

Listings

16 April – 8 May

Sense and Sensibility

by Roger Parsley and Andy Graham

adapted from the novel by Jane Austen

Previews: 16 and 17 Apr at 8pm                      

First Night: Mon 19 Apr at 7.30pm

Performances: Tue–Sat at 8pm

Matinees: Sat 1 May and Thurs 6 May at 2.30pm

Audio Described & Signed Performance: Sat 1 May at 2.30pm

The Queen’s Theatre, Billet Lane, Hornchurch RM11 1QT

Tube: Hornchurch                                                       

Tickets: £13.50 - £22

Box Office:               01708 443333         01708 443333                                           

Website: www.queens-theatre.co.uk

The Talented Mr Ripley was the first of five psychological thrillers written by Patricia Highsmith about the complex character, Tom Ripley.
Orphaned as a young boy and brought up by the abusive and loud aunt Dottie ( Karen Mann), Ripley drifts through life as a con man, forging documents and impersonating others.  Ripley (Marcus Webb) is approached in New York by Herbert Greenleaf (Simon Jessop), a rich shipping magnate who offers to pay him to go to Italy and convince his son Richard (Elliot Harper) to return to the family business. Ripley has a vague memory of Richard but claims to know him well. Claire Lyth’s simple but striking set projects images of moving clouds as a backdrop to Ripley’s arrival in Italy.  He is overwhelmed by the carefree nature of Greenleaf’s life and his relationship with Marge Sherwood (Francesca Loren) and an obsession bordering on sexual for all things Greenleaf, begins to grip him.

Marcus Webb exuded a threatening air as he switched eloquently from humble and wiry to calculating and tragic as Tom Ripley, hiding a volatile character underneath the wide smile, and loud voice. This contrast with Elliott Harper’s slightly vulnerable Richard Greenleaf formed a powerful dynamic and strongly influenced the direction of my sympathies.  The tension caused by Ripley’s prickly relationship with Marge Sherwood made me feel sufficiently uncomfortable and I was surprised to find myself disliking Ripley. After befriending Greenleaf and managing to charm his way into his life, Ripley becomes accustomed to Greenleaf’s lifestyle. Both Greenleaf and Sherwood begin to tire of Ripley.  He suggests a trip to San Remo together without Marge, Greenleaf agrees to the trip intending to shake Ripley off.  The sinister side of Ripley’s character rears its head at this point when he almost convinces a drunken Greenleaf to rape a prostitute who flirts with them, dismissing the incident the next day as unimportant. Later that day the two take a boat trip, Ripley batters Greenleaf to death in a moment of calm desperation after arguing with him about his relationship with Greenleaf and Sherwood, he remains almost impervious for the remainder of the play as he goes on to kill others in order to maintain the lifestyle he yearns for.

The ambiguous nature of Ripley’s character is central to this production. It is at this point of the play that you could almost mistake Ripley for a caring human being. Deprived of the love of a family, he becomes chillingly desperate to endear the dead Greenleaf to Marge, who believes he has left her and the family who believe he has disowned them, by assuming the identity of Greenleaf and sending thoughtful letters and gifts to Marge and Greenleaf’s parents, something the uncaring Greenleaf never did. In doing this, Ripley vicariously basks in a pleasure that should have been Greenleaf’s. Ripley is consumed by paranoia after killing Greenleaf.  He sees himself as Greenleaf in his own mirror in a clever scene where Webb and Harper mimic each other in a frame.  In reference to the uncertainty of his sexuality,  he fantasizes about Greenleaf kissing him. It remains unclear whether this is purely his obsession with Greenleaf’s life, a suppressed sexual urge or again, just a need to be loved. Certain members of the audience were clearly uncomfortable with this notion, but interestingly not offended by the prospect of an on stage rape.  Maybe this was a risky choice of theme for Bob Carlton, but a successful and thought provoking performance. The only problem, although a small one, was the difficulty in showing such a deeply psychological storyline in such a short space of time.  At times the pace felt too rushed where more reflection was needed. But on a whole, the characters were well thought through and convincing.  Sam Kordbacheh had a difficult task playing similar characters but his Italian was impressive, Simon Jessop's Italian accent was comical but fun, Francesca Loren was alluring as Sophia and sweet as Marge, Karen Mann slipped effortlessly between loud Aunt Dottie and sophisticated Emily Greenleaf, and Sam Pay endured some pretty close kicks to the stomach throughout his death scene as Freddie Miles. The set was minimal but highly evocative of Mediterranean scenery and the many on stage changes of costume, well they certainly worked for me. 

The Talented Mr Ripley

by Phyllis Nagy

based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith 

Previews: 12 and 13 Mar at 8pm                      

First Night: Mon 15 Mar at 7.30pm

Performances: Tue–Sat at 8pm

Matinees: Sat 27 Mar and Thu 1 Apr at 2.30pm

Audio Described & Signed Performance: Sat 27 Mar at 2.30pm 

The Queen’s Theatre, Billet Lane, Hornchurch, RM11 1QT

Tube: Hornchurch                                                       

Tickets: £13.50 - £22

Box Office: 01708 443333                                           

Website: www.queens-theatre.co.uk
Cast :
Richard Greenleaf: Elliot Harper
Herbert Greenleaf: Simon Jessop
Reddington/Fausto/Silvio: Sam Kordbacheh
Marge Sherwood/Sophia: Francesca Loren
Emily Greenleaf/Aunt Dottie: Karen Mann
Marc Priminger/Freddie Miles: Sam Pay
Tom Ripley: Marcus Webb

Director : Bob Carlton
Designer: Claire Lyth
Lighting Designer: Matthew Eagland
Voice Coach: Richard Ryder

 

Vicky Ireland's adaptation of The Hare and the Tortoise at the Queen's Theatre forms part of the Theatre for Young Minds programme which is run by the Theatre's Education and Outreach Department. The scheme will be taking the production to schools and children's venues around Essex and East London, aiming to introduce young children to live performance.

Members of Cut to the Chase welcomed the audience into the small village, children could sit in the middle to enjoy the action from all sides. I was shown to my seat by Earnest the Tortoise, the unlikely hero, whilst Gussy Spike, the melodic hedgehog sang us a song and the other characters played us in with a guitar and an accordion.  

The evil, fiddle toting Rhoda Skunk informs us, "I'm a business skunk," as she reveals her plans to turn the whole countryside into tarmac, leaving Earnest and his friends homeless in the process. Earnest and Gussy intend to fight Rhoda and Judge Fairweather decides that the matter will be resolved in a race around the town. Harold Bigfeet, the Hare who performs cartwheels and ballet style leaps, will represent the fast team and Earnest, the methodical and thoughtful tortoise, will race for the slow team.

Harold plays many tricks on the honest Ernest including switching road signs, but the audience (eventually) inform Earnest of this.  Suddenly the story takes a twist when aliens appear from another world and abduct the racers, leaving the fate of planet Earth in their hands.

Important issues were touched on, such as the need to slow down our fast paced lives and the danger of roads was nicely included during the Green Cross Code song. All sound effects and musical accompaniment were provided by the ever resourceful cast.

Never work with children and animals?  Well, the animals in this production were extremely well trained and the children were quiet as mice, sometimes too quiet, but judging by the looks of awe on their faces at the singing and dancing characters, they were highly entertained.

The Hare and Tortoise

The Queen’s Theatre Foyer, Billet Lane, Hornchurch RM11 1QT

Tube: Hornchurch

Tickets: £5

Box Office: 01708 443333

Website: www.queens-theatre.co.uk

The Queen's Theatre Hornchurch.

Directed bt Matt Devitt, this production featuring members of the multi talented resident company, Cut to the Chase, promised a sizzling, swinging evening. 

Hot Mikado is a revitalised version of the Gilbert and Sullivan classic Operetta, The Mikado. 
Set in 1940s Japan, the comically unconvincing Japanese characters with an unconvincing array of American accents, remind us regularly that, 'Oh, we are Japanese.' 

The Set is a mixture of a Japanese garden furnished with lanterns and a tiny bridge and a Chicago style jazz club. The energetic cast swap instuments and costumes throughout.
The story begins with Nanki-Poo looking for his lover Yum-Yum, who is destined to marry the marvelously funny Chief Executioner, Koko (Shaun Hennessy).  He warmed the audience up almost immediately with fun references to recent events such as MP's expenses, in his clever version of 'I've got a little list'.  In spite of the many obstacles thrown in their way, such as laws that carry punishment for flirting, the demands of the Mikado for regular executions and the Chief Executioner's inability to actually execute anyone, Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum finally find a way to be together. 

Although the singing was impressive, (Kim Ismay as the fearsome Katisha performed two incredibly powerful solos) most of the songs were difficult to understand, making the storyline a little tricky to follow. The relatively small stage space seemed to hinder the performers' movements during some shaky dance routines but they compensated with their talent for live music, all playing at least one instrument.  

Georgina Field as Peep-Bo breezed through her dance routines.  Comfortable in her space she 
swapped between the saxaphone and clarinet so quickly, I may not have noticed if I wasn't so captivated by her performance. Steve Pretty was brilliantly corrupt in his sleazy All Gentlemen of Japan role and Stuart Organ as the Mikado performed a great drum solo during the Mikado Song.  Joined by most of the cast this was probably the most impressive, well coordinated and vigorous part of the show.

Although I didn't quite feel the sizzles, the music certainly swung, the audience clapped along out of time and there were plenty of feet tapping away in the aisles.  

All in all a fun show, once the cast began to enjoy themselves.

  
22 May – 13 June

Hot Mikado

Book and lyrics adapted by David H Bell

Music adapted and arranged by Rob Bowman

Previews: Fri 22 May and Sat 23 May at 8pm     First Night: Tues 26 May at 7.30pm

Performances: Tue–Sat at 8pm                             Captioned Performance: Wed 3 Jun at 8pm

Matinees: Thurs 4 Jun and Sat 13 Jun at 2.30pm             Signed Performance: Wed 10 Jun at 8pm

Audio Described: Sat 13 Jun at 2.30pm

The Queen’s Theatre, Billet Lane, Hornchurch RM11 1QT

Tube: Hornchurch

Tickets: £13.50-£22

Box Office: 01708 443333

Website: www.queens-theatre.co.uk

running time: 2 hours 25 minutes
(including a 20 minute interval)


Listings
Tuesday-Saturday  8.00pm
Matinees
Thursay 12th Feb 2.30pm
Saturday 21st Feb 2.30pm

- Captioned performance - Wednesday 11 February
- Sign Language Interpreted performance - Wednesday 18 February - Interpreted by Ivan Osborne
- Audio Described performance - Saturday 21 February - Described by Hannah Dunton

Box Office: 01708 443333

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