THE IRISH CURSE                

THE STAG, VICTORIA

                                                                                           

You would think a play about five men lamenting about the size of their penis would  have limited dramatic scope, but Martin Casella’s play manages to create an enjoyable ensemble piece that engages from beginning to end. 

In line with the American obsession with therapy, Father Shaunessey runs a support group in the basement of a Brooklyn church for men suffering from the ‘The Irish Curse’- other wise known as a small penis. Regulars include Joseph a well mannered Southerner who is separated from his wife, Stephen a pseudo macho cop and Rick a sports student. Into the mix arrives Keiran, a young Irish man in a panic about his impending marriage and the inevitability of revealing his tiny appendage to his partner. As the latter processes his emotions, he manages to challenge the group’s weekly whinge fest of blaming everything that is wrong in their lives on their dick size. Their mantra is “I am not my penis, I only think I am,” and through mutual support their self esteem develops and they move some way towards believing it.

It’s a revealing observation of how men judge their masculinity in a modern society where they have been conditioned to believe that  ‘size is every thing.’

The play offers laughs as well as pathos and is very thought provoking. However it is not without it’s flaws. Often the script is smothered in schmaltz and their are more group hugs in this drama than in a Disneyland park. Casella’s characters come dangerously close to being cliché spouting stereotypes, but under David Zak’s able direction the talented cast manage to bring dimension and humanity to their roles. All the performances are compelling and make the 90 minutes fly by.

This is for anyone who wants the extra feel good factor. Catch it while you can.

 

Kiel O Shea (Rick), James Bickmore-Hutt (Stephen), James Butler (Kieran), Francis Adams (Joseph) and Donal Cox (Father Kevin)

Photos by Derek Drescher

                                                               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The latest production of Into The Woods at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, offers an enchanting night of magical, musical story telling that is not to be missed.

Written in 1987 by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, this complex musical uses classic fairytales such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk, to tell a morality tale of self-discovery. From the first chords the audience are led on an emotional journey as the characters realise a collective responsibility for the results of their decisions, wishes, greed and desires. In the first half everyone's wish comes true, and in second act they have to deal with the consequences. The central theme deals with the loss of innocence, and the narrative is given a highly effective new dimension by being told by a lonely child who has run away into the woods, and uses his imagination to create a fantasy world.

The stage is naturally surrounded by the park’s trees, and Soutra Gilmour’s  impressive climbing frame set that peaks with a nest for Rapunzel’s tower, contributes to the visual spell. This is further invoked when darkness falls and Jon Clark’s lighting design adds to the treat.

Timothy Sheader’s direction is endlessly creative, and perfectly complimented by Liam Steel’s movement work. Beverly Rudd is delightfully comic as Red Riding Hood, and Michael Xavier and Simon Thomas work in perfect synchronicity as the princes. Jenna Russell shows great emotional range as the Baker’s wife, and Alice Fearn is memorable as Rapunzel. 

Into The Woods is one of Sondheim’s masterpieces, and this production has managed to create a more than satisfying revival. It is a wonderful 80^th birthday gift for the composer, and is a superb finale to the season at Regent’s Open Air theatre.

OLIVER VALENTINE  

                         

Into The Woods runs until 11^th September   www.openairtheatre.com 

           

 

Howard Brenton’s new play at The Globe adds to the fashionable cult of Anne Boleyn, by re-painting her not as a scheming power seeking witch, but as a forward thinking idealist and reformer, responsible for the revolutionary ideas that changed English religion.
Early on it is clear that Brenton has a loose hold on history with imagined scenes of Anne meeting bible translator William Tyndale. In his play her influence very much still lives on, and it is implied that her religious legacy not only gave us Protestantism and the King James Bible (although her ‘heretical’ Tyndale Bible was essentially the same book), but was also a possible historical contributor to the Civil War years later.
The story packs in a lot. In the first part young Henry VIII is madly in love with Anne, and desperately trying to find a way to get rid of his sonless wife Katherine of Aragon. In Act II the drama rather cleverly plays with time and Anne is not only seen as a living queen, but the also as a ghost in James Ist reign. The King becomes a dominant character as he negotiates with religious factions who are threatening to pull the country apart, and Anne’s downfall is almost upstaged by this new storyline.
Anne played by Miranda Raison, is sexy, assertive and shrewd. Rather than being the monster often portrayed by history, she is the audience’s friend.  She play’s with them, teases and takes them into her confidence, and even shows her head as a joke. She announces the interval with a naughty wink, saying unashamedly that it’s time for her and Henry to get down to sex after holding off for seven years. The language is modern and direct. Henry admits to having ‘a raging hard-on,’ and Anne wastes no time is describing Queen Katherine as “such a cow.”
The casting is spot-on. Raison shines in the role of Anne, and is well matched with Anthony Howell who plays a dynamic, virile Henry VIII. James Garnon bring’s almost a Rocky Horror Show quality to the role of King James as the camp, twitching, larger than life ruler, and Amanda Lawrence is also notable as Lady Rochford.
The production is kept at a pace by John Dove’s fine direction, and is complimented by William Lyons's delightful score.
Anne Boleyn plays at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre until August 21, 2010.

OLIVER VALENTINE