UK Theatre Network

Inspired by real events from just before the First World War, The Winslow Boy by Terence Rattigan examines what happens when a private individual stands up against the might of the British establishment.  As the struggle goes on with no prospect of success, the playwright shows how a whole family suffers for the cause, and questions whether that price is actually worth paying

Ronnie Winslow is a 13-year-old cadet who has been expelled from his naval college for stealing a postal order.  Ronnie maintains his innocence; his formidable father believes him and demands a further investigation.  But the naval college is ultimately under the control of the Admiralty, which considers that such a challenge would undermine its authority (especially with a war brewing) and is therefore reluctant to re-examine the case.

Political demonstrations, heated debates in the Houses of Parliament and tense cross-examinations in the High Court all form the backdrop to the Winslow case, yet Rattigan does his damnedest to keep any of this action off the stage, which can be very frustrating.  However David Thacker’s in-the-round production is warm, engaging and constantly interesting.

On press night the part of Ronnie was taken by Sam Ramsay, whose cheeky but cherubic looks suggested an alternative play, “Just William Goes to Court”.  His brother Dickie, a very unscholarly Oxford student, is played to absolute perfection by Iestyn Arwel: he looks like a portrait by John Singer Sargent and sounds like a character by PG Wodehouse, cheering up the play whenever he comes on.

Christopher Ravenscroft as the redoubtable father, Arthur Winslow, shows us a man whose body is frail but whose spirit remains strong – although benign on the surface he is cold enough to risk his older son’s career and his daughter’s marriage for the sake of a personal principle.  Georgina Strawson as his Suffragette daughter, Catherine, is more passionate and political, but endowed with a very feminine fragility.

Suzan Sylvester’s loving but unintellectual matriarch has a wonderful comic scene with Charlie Covell’s female reporter, whose trivial “Hello!” magazine questioning culminates in a ridiculous dialogue about the drawing-room curtains.  And Flaminia Cinque has some excellent moments as Violet, the badly-trained maid, whose crucial speech at the end goes all round the houses before the big reveal.

The star role of society barrister Sir Robert Morton is played with mock severity by Christopher Villiers.  Although called a “cold fish” by Catherine, and allowing for the occasional pompous moment, he is charming and amusing as well as kind and vulnerable, and I think this is one of the reasons why David Thacker’s production is so enjoyable.  On the page Rattigan’s characters are brittle, his dialogue is terse, and there’s a huge “So what?” factor hanging over the whole play because the main dramatic events are never seen, only reported.  But because the cast make their characters so real and interesting and engaging it is a pleasure to spend an evening in their company.

This wonderful and accomplished revival of a much loved classic is another winner from the Octagon.


The Winslow Boy is on at Bolton Octagon until Saturday 21 April 2012
Tickets: from £9.50
Performances Mon-Sat
Eves @ 7.30
Matinees: Sat 14 & Wed 18 @ 2pm
Box Office: 01204 520661
www.octagonbolton.co.uk

 

The Glee Club

Darlington Civic Theatre

Hot on the heels of the success of The Pitmen Painters, earlier in the autumn season, Darlington Civic Theatre are this week hosting The Hull Truck Theatre Company’s revival of Richard Cameron’s The Glee Club. Obviously, plays which deal with coalmining sit well with the North East’s industrial heritage but two in the same season is positively inviting comparison.

Unfortunately, The Glee Club does not fare well as a result – and the egotistical claim by Hull Truck’s marketing department, that “if you liked Brassed Off, The Full Monty and The Pitmen Painters, you’ll love this” only adds to the overwhelming disappointment which I felt throughout the piece.

The year is 1962, and Edlington Colliery’s six-strong Glee Club is preparing for their annual Gala performance. Each of the men have problems of their own to contend with, which threaten the overall success of the Gala: union man Jack (Paul Clarkson) is involved in a romantic liaison far beyond his social stratification; Bant (Anthony Clegg) is coming to terms with the fact that his wife has ran off with the tea delivery man; Walt (John Burton) mourns the death of his wife and the fact that his children are being brought up in care; Scobie (Sean McKenzie) juggles the demands of a nagging, heavily pregnant, wife and a rebellious teenage daughter; Colin (Marc Pickering) dreams of pop stardom but is soon forced to grow up fast, and Philip (Michael Chance), a mining engineer and the group’s musical director, is the victim of a blackmail plot which threatens to reveal his homosexuality and irreparably damage his reputation.

The pace drags and the tone of the play feels extremely dated. Yet the male cast deliver fairly solid performances, despite the odds stacked against them in the form of a bleak, sparse set, lack-lustre direction and superfluous bad language and nudity. As previously described, the marketing department’s hyperbolic rhetoric has gone into overdrive, warning audiences to “prepare to have your heartstrings tugged!” In actual fact, all I could feel being tugged was my hair from my head (by the handful!) as I prayed for the final curtain to fall.

We’ve had the perceived pretentions of painting miners (The Pitmen Painters), we’ve had a miner’s son declare his ambition to be a ballet dancer (Billy Elliott) and now we’ve had singing miners – what are we to expect next, flower-arranging coalmen? What theatre really needs is originality – not variations on a theme.

Steve Burbridge.

Runs until Saturday 19 November 2011.

 

Keep Calm and Carry On

The Customs House, South Shields

In Keep Calm and Carry On, Helen Russell has drawn upon her experience as an actress, comedienne, singer and playwright to create a poignant, funny and heartwarming play. Although it is not strictly autobiographical, it is certainly influenced by Russell’s own time as an ENSA performer during World War Two and, as she says in the programme notes, “it tells of what could and did happen in those days and people’s reaction to what was considered scandalous.”

The piece is set in London at the height of the Blitz, where nineteen-year-old Mary Robson (Rachel Teate) dreams of an escape – entertaining the troops on stage. However, her parents Ellie (Bidi Iredale) and Joe (Stewart Howson) don’t hold the same aspirations for her. The clash between the impetuousness of youth and the cautious protectiveness of age is deftly explored in the writing and brought to life with equal panache by the cast.

Of course, it isn’t giving anything away to reveal that the headstrong Mary gets her own way in the end. In fact it is the journey that young Mary takes from girl to woman and her subsequent ‘coming of age’ which forms the bedrock of the piece.

The play is authentically evocative, with no detail being overlooked, and the entire technical crew are worthy of special praise. The high-pitched wail of the air raid siren, the Bakelite radio on a table in the front room, the costumes, hairstyles, music and lighting all contribute to the overall tone to great effect. However, the battles and casualties of World War Two are merely a backdrop to the battles that are faced by Mary and her family as they struggle to maintain a sense of normality in abnormal times.

Russell’s script is a gem. Having spent most of the first act convincing the audience that the piece is a gently humorous nostalgic wartime romp, she then proceeds to drop a bombshell with as much precision as the Luftwaffe. Indeed, this play is, by no means, a sugar-coated depiction of wartime life but more of a hard-boiled examination of love, loss and the power of the human spirit against unbelievable odds. Her characters are instantly recognisable, three-dimensional and easy to relate with.

Director Jackie Fielding has assembled a first-rate cast, each of them seeming to understand their characters inside out. Although much of the action surrounds the tensions between Mary and her parents, the relationships between Mary and the two men who will have a significant impact on her life, Colin (James Hedley) and Len (Lawrence Stubbings), are also explored with sensitivity and skill. Finally, add to the mix a show-stopping, scene-stealing performance by Rosalind Bailey (as Mary’s Gran) and this war-time comedy drama is nothing less than victorious!

Steve Burbridge.

Runs until Saturday 12 November 2011.

 

Verdict

Darlington Civic Theatre

Bill Kenwright’s ‘Agatha Christie Theatre Company’ may have earned itself a highly acclaimed reputation for staging first-class productions of work by the so-called ‘Queen of Crime’. But, a word of warning: don’t go to one of their shows expecting to see Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot, nor even Tommy or Tuppence Beresford – you’ll be disappointed!

However, if you do go expecting to see a classy adaptation of one of Ms Christie’s ‘overlooked’ or ‘forgotten’ gems you’ll be in for a pleasant couple of hours. Having already given their stylish treatment to Witness for the Prosecution, Spider’s Web, And Then There Were None, The Unexpected Guest and The Hollow, they are now presenting Verdict, their sixth major production in as many years.

In essence, Verdict is a piece which examines the psychology of relationships between men and women rather than being a traditional ‘whodunit’ of the style usually associated with Christie. It is a play which has many levels and, although the murder takes place onstage, in full view of the audience, thus depriving them of the opportunity of guessing the murderers identity, it is strangely engrossing. Instead, the audience is kept in suspense to see if the culprit gets away with their crime at the expense of framing an innocent. And will the verdict, when it is given, be the right one?

As usual, Kenwright has assembled a stellar cast, led by Robert Duncan and Susan Penhaligon in the central roles. Elizabeth Power provides the moments of light relief in the role of the gossiping char, whilst Mark Wynter, Peter Byrne, Cassie Raine, Holly Goss and Mark Martin (understudying for Lyndon Ogbourne) make up the supporting principals.

Overall, the performances are good (although the Eastern European accents were a little wayward at times) and the production values are high. Verdict may not appeal to Christie purists but, nevertheless, it makes for a compelling and absorbing trip to the theatre.

Steve Burbridge.

 Runs until Saturday 1^st October 2011.

The Pitmen Painters

Darlington Civic Theatre

Fairly early into Act One of the production I, inwardly, groaned. One of the characters said: ‘If you’re not interested in whippets and leeks, round ‘ere, you’re stuffed’.

Immediately, I prayed that The Pitmen Painters wouldn’t portray a stereotypical representation of the working classes in the North East and paint us all as ‘Andy Capp’s’. I needn’t have concerned myself.

Although it is possible to consider the characters as ‘stock’ – there’s the bureaucratic union official who lives his life by the rule book (Deka Walmsley), the blustering Marxist (Michael Hodgson), the avuncular joker (David Whitaker), the unemployed young lad (Brian Lonsdale) and the reserved thinker who turns out to be the most talented of the group (Trevor Fox) – it is testament to the talents of playwright and performers that, as the layers are stripped away, we are presented with real men who would be familiar to us from our grandfather’s generation.

The story of a group of Ashington pitmen who, as part of the Workers Educational Association Class, hire the academic, Robert Lyon (David Leonard) to teach an art appreciation class and ultimately become celebrated painters is by turn humorous, tragic, moving and uplifting.

Technically, it is also a joy to behold. Lee Hall’s script is honest and gritty but also has heart and soul, the acting is excellent, and the staging is simple but effective. Designer Gary McCann has created a sparse set, comprising mainly a few wooden folding chairs and some easels, which functions as a number of different locations throughout. Much use is made of three suspended projectors, which provide relevant facts and also display pieces that were painted by the men. The clever device of using the screeching alarm that marks the end of a ten hour shift and the clattering of the cage that takes the men back to the surface to facilitate scene changes ensures that the hardships of life spent down the mine are never forgotten.

Only two female characters appear in the piece – the nude model who the men are to paint (Viktoria Kay) and the shipping heiress who becomes interested in the work of the men (Joy Brook) – and, if I were to make one small criticism it would be that these characters are utilised as merely adjuncts. However, both actresses made the most of their roles.

The Pitmen Painters is a fine example of theatre at its best and a ‘warts-and-all’ depiction of the North East’s industrial heritage. Superb.

Steve Burbridge.

Runs until Saturday 23 July 2011.

Calendar Girls

Darlington Civic Theatre

There’s not a lot you can say about Calendar Girls that hasn’t already been said. The show, which tells the true story of twelve extraordinary members of the Women’s Institute who give their annual calendar a very untraditional twist to raise money for an extremely worthy cause, is now a global phenomenon. Having enjoyed a run in the West End and numerous national tours, the consensus among my fellow critics and audience members alike is that the current touring cast are by far the best yet.

Darlington’s Civic Theatre was filled to capacity on opening night, and apparently is a sell-out for the remainder of the week – and, when the curtain went up, it was perfectly evident why. Not only does this inspirational stage production have the power to make audiences both laugh and cry, but it is also performed by a consummate cast that comprises some of the best-known performers in the entertainment industry, including sitcom stalwarts and soap stars.

Lesley Joseph (of Birds of a Feather fame) heads the cast as Chris Harper, the ebullient driving force behind the calendar idea. Her performance is engaging and energetic and she demonstrates the depth of her versatility as an actress, mixing pathos and poignancy with great comic timing and proving – as if she ever needed to – why she remains one of Britain’s busiest actresses and that there is so much more to her than only Dorien Green.

Sue Holderness (Marlene, Only Fools and Horses) provides the perfect contrast as Chris’s best friend, Annie Clarke, the bereaved woman whose husband’s death is the catalyst for the creation of the ‘alternative’ calendar. Her portrayal is skilfully subtle and there is a real rapport between Holderness and Joseph. There is also an intensity to the scene where Chris and Annie have a confrontation and, subsequently fall-out, which was somewhat lacking in the 2003 film starring Helen Mirren as Chris and Julie Walters as Annie.

Ruth Madoc (Gladys, Hi-de-Hi) relishes the role of the snooty chairman of the Knapley WI group and never misses an opportunity to steal a scene with a bitchy comment. She takes Marie’s pretentions to the verge of caricature but never goes too far and always retains the believability of the character.

Helen Fraser (Sylvia ‘bodybag’ Hollamby, Bad Girls) also provides much hilarity with her portrayal of Jessie, the retired schoolteacher. Her ‘no front-bottoms’ line had the audiences in stitches and her delivery was punchy and spot-on throughout. Deena Payne (Viv, Emmerdale) is the unorthodox vicar’s daughter, Cora, and displays a rather impressive singing voice. Kacey Ainsworth (Little Mo, EastEnders) plays Ruth, the most timid of all the women, whose philandering husband is playing away with a blonde bimbo beautician (Camilla Dallerup). Kathryn Rooney provides much of the glamour with the hair-tossing, golf-playing character of Celia.

In a cast that is dominated by such towering talents, it would be easy – but extremely unfair – to overlook the contribution of the actors who perform less high-profile roles. Colin Tarrant (Insp. Monroe, The Bill) gives a heartfelt portrayal of John Clarke, who dies of leukaemia, Kevin Sacre is effective in his doubling-up as photographer, Lawrence, and television director, Liam, Robert Gill is Rod Harper and Susan Bovell plays both Brenda Hulse and Lady Cravenshire.

The entire production and technical team are to be commended too, particularly author Tim Firth, director Jack Ryder and designer Robert Jones. Calendar Girls is a triumphant piece of theatre that should occupy a date in everyone’s diary.

Steve Burbridge.

Runs until Saturday 21 May 2011.

 

LINES returns to the Rosemary Branch Theatre and everybody who missed this powerful and important play the first time should now take the opportunity and see it.

An actor has been murdered. He was stabbed by Terry Stein, the police officer who he was portraying in a play about the Ian Tomlinson incident. Robin, a seasoned writer of verbatim theatre, had interviewed Stein and a police sergeant as part of his research for his docudrama Ian and Bill. Although Stein was only a witness to the Tomlinson incident the writer singled him out and used him as comic relief in his verbatim drama, carefully selecting those parts of the interview that he considered especially ridiculous. The director and the actor, Michael Kinney, gave Stein a stammer and a superhero complex to ensure that they got their laughs during the fifteen minutes the character featured in the play. 

The dramatist (an outstanding Ian Mairs) denies all responsibility. His verbatim play was theatrical journalism and therefore the truth was absolute. Yes, he edited his interview with PC Stein emphasizing the juicy parts but it is a docudrama after all, not a documentary. The Sergeant (Impressive John Canmore) who saw himself being portrayed as vertically challenged with a posh accent and long wavy hair - “He wasn’t even Scottish!” -states that his interview was distorted and perverted and had little to do with the truth. There were omissions and edits to make it more dramatic. The director gave his actors complete freedom – they never listened to the interview tapes. He was satisfied to have them find the truth about their characters “in the words.” Meanwhile the devastated parents (wonderful Jeryl Burgess and David Vale) are trying to cope with the death of their only child: “Something changes when you lose a child. There is no word for a loss that deep.” They reminisce about their son’s career but cannot find any joy in it knowing that his profession was responsible for his death.   

This play asks important questions regarding the dangers verbatim theatre and docudrama.

Until 30th April at 7.00 pm
BOX OFFICE: 020 7704 6665

The Rosemary Branch, 2 Shepperton Road, London N1 3DT

My Name is Rachel Corrie

Coming here is one of the better things I have done.

Taken from the writings of Rachel Corrie this powerful and eloquent piece of theatre documents a young activist who was prepared to risk her life in protest. In March 2003, whilst protesting against the demolition of a Palestinian family's home, 23-year-old American student Rachel Corrie from Olympia, Washington, was killed by an Israeli Defence Force bulldozer.

Sophie Angelson absolutely inhabits the character of Rachel Corrie from the second the lights come on. Full of enthusiasm and joy for life she even sees the positive aspects of an ugly industrial town in Russia that she visits as a young student. After much soul searching she decides to become an artist and writer and her parents support her in her endeavour. When Corrie visits Gaza for the first time she finds a land full of rocks and restrictions. She is appalled by what she experiences as the collective punishment of all Palestinians – curfews, checkpoints, bulldozers destroying homes and orchards. Rachel becomes an activist and joins a peaceful Palestinian resistance organization to do what she thinks is right.  

Alan Rickman and Katherine Viner compiled this rather controversial play from diary entries and emails. There have been various protests and even bans due to the critical nature of the piece which is very critical of Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians. The play was censored in Toronto 5 years ago:

http://rachelswords.org/2006/12/24/rachel-corrie-play-censored-in-toronto/

I think this is a very important and poignant play that introduces us to a truly remarkable woman.

For more information on Rachel Corrie and the efforts to continue the work she began, please visit www.rachelcorriefoundation.org.

Performed as part of a double bill : see Lines with My Name is Rachel Corrie for only £15 for both shows on the same night.

Tickets: £12 /£10
Until 30th April at 8.30 pm, Tuesday to Saturday
BOX OFFICE: 020 7704 6665

The Rosemary Branch, 2 Shepperton Road, London N1 3DT

 

 

 

 

Playwright Nicola Schofield was one of the earliest talents to emerge from the Royal Exchange/Bruntwood new writing competition with her script, Maybe Tomorrow.  Now award-winning theatre company Organised Chaos Productions has seized the opportunity to stage her latest piece, a tense drama called Peacefully at Home.

A lingering and painful deathbed is the classic situation which has brought together a sundered family, leading to scenes of conflict as long-buried secrets come to the surface.  Bridget, the seemingly devoted wife of the dying man, is joined by her old friend Una; and practical, stay-at-home son Chris meets up with his very different brother, James, who in spite of being the dreamer was the one who escaped from the country to the big city.

Nicola Schofield skilfully sets up an apparently close and devoted family which then falls apart before our eyes; the shocks keep coming right up to the very last moment.

In their brief scenes together Lee Joseph as Chris and Chris Brett as James create a genuine mood of long-standing intimacy and brotherly affection.  The most impressive performance comes from Laura Littlewood as James’s smug yummy-mummy wife Sarah.  There is real truth in the writing of this character, and Laura Littlewood plays her with conviction and confidence. 
 
Set designer Jonathan Ingham creates an economical yet suggestive staging for the comfortable and attractive family garden.  Director Emma Hatcher is faithful to the drama’s ebbs and flows, letting the characters develop at a leisurely pace - however the play could do with some judicious trimming because there isn’t enough story to justify its current length. 

While not quite as successful as last winter’s production of Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell, Organised Chaos should be congratulated for continuing to champion new writing and local acting talent.

Peacefully at Home
Presented by Organised Chaos Productions
Taurus Bar, Canal Street, Manchester
Wed 6 - Sat 9 April 2011 @ 8pm (7pm on Thurs 7)
£7.50/£5.50 (conc)
www.organisedchaosproductions.co.uk

We will have a lovely affair, you and me.

Presented by The Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, in association with Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Life of Riley is Alan Ayckbourn’s 74^th play. The author is also the director of this production.  George Riley has only six months left to live. We never see George Riley but he seems omnipresent, affecting everything and everyone around him – his friends and his former lovers.

Kathryn and Colin are rehearsing a scene from Ayckbourn’s very own play Relatively Speaking for an amateur production. Kathryn is frustrated because her husband Colin  never listens to what she says and suffers from a clock obsession. To compensate for the emotional vacuum she has developed a drinking habit and become a terrible gossip. When Kathryn finds out that Colin is depressed because one of his patients has been diagnosed with terminal cancer it does not take her long to discover that this patient is George Riley. She shows little respect for the doctor-patient privilege and soon everybody knows about George’s condition. Jack, George’s best friend, is absolutely devastated and starts his eulogy on George – rather prematurely - mainly talking about himself.  Meanwhile Kathryn decides that George should be included in their amateur production: “We’ve got six months so he’ll make the first performance.” Monica, George’s ex-wife of 11 years, who “spent her life running away” has been living happily with the farmer Simeon. Now she is approached by Jack and asked to take a leave of absence from Simeon to care for the dying man. The three men watch with growing unease as they are losing their women to George Riley who remains a mystery to the very end. 

This Ayckbourn is rather dark and more tragedy than comedy although there are some wonderful, funny lines, many of them given to Kathryn - she remarks on her husband’s failings: “He saves his patients’ lives only to kill them off with his tactless small talk.”  Ayckbourn set the mood of this pastoral play with music by Pink Floyd. The first half seemed slow paced and somewhat disjointed but the second half had the perfect tempo.

The cast is outstanding. Liza Goddard is excellent as Kathryn, who reacts to her husband’s emotional shortcomings with caustic remarks and an occasional sip from the bottle. Kim Wall gives a touching performance as the quiet doctor who is really a decent man but unable to express his feelings. Laura Doddington is Tamsin, a spirited woman saddled with the egocentric, insensitive philanderer Jack who openly cheats on her while preparing his daughter’s ridiculously lavish birthday party. Tamsin returns the favour by rehearsing her love scenes with George too enthusiastically. 

Until 26 March 2010, 7.45 pm.
Richmond Theatre
The Green, Richmond, Surrey
TW9 1QJ
http://www.ambassadortickets.com/2229/659/Richmond/Richmond-Theatre/Life-of-Riley-Tickets