Glasgow will to be rocking around the clock with two rock’n’roll shows on offer so it's time to Shake, Rattle and Roll all the way back to Teddy Boys, quiffs, Brylcreem, poodle skirts and blue suede shoes.

At the Theatre Royal Rock’n’Roll Heaven opens on Tue 20^th – Sat 24; a show that creates a fantasy line-up of the biggest legends of the genre in a concert that will have you in rock’n’roll paradise. Joining Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley in this ‘heavenly’ line-up are Del Shannon, Ricky Nelson and Eddie Cochrane.

Then over at the King’s Theatre that same week we have Rock Around the Clock featuring a phenomenal cast of over 20 singers, dancers and musicians, Rock Around the Clock is a non-stop hit parade of rock 'n' roll classics that is guaranteed to leave you dancing into the night with this time-travelling parade of 1950s jukebox sensation.

LISTINGS

THEATRE ROYAL

Rock’n’Roll Heaven

Tue 20 – Sat 24 Sep

Tue – Thu eves 7.30pm

Fri 4pm & 8pm

Sat 3pm & 8pm

Tickets £13 - £28

Box Office: 08448 717 647 (bkg fee)

www.atgtickets.com/glasgow (bkg fee)

KING’S THEATRE

Rock Around the Clock

Tue 20 – Sat 24 Sep

Tue – sat eves 7.30pm

Wed & Sat mats 2.30pm

Tickets £10 - £28

Box Office: 0844 871 7648 (bkg fee)

www.atgtickets.com/glasgow (bkg fee)

If Glasgow’s Theatre Royal is currently hosting the stage version of the archetypal girl power Chick Flick (Legally Blonde), then The Kings have gone one better with this stage adaptation of the hit “woman-power” film, Calendar Girls.

Based on the real-life story of a band of women from the WI who set about to raise funds for charity in response to one of their husbands being diagnosed with Leukaemia, this is a play full of poignant emotion. However the memorable factor that most audiences will take away is the humour.

With Lynda Bellingham returning to the role she originated on stage as Chris, the friend of the recently widowed Annie (played with grace and a real believability by the wonderful Jan Harvey) we get to see her back at her best. After years of presenting as a “Loose Woman” it was good to see Ms Bellingham showing her talent as an actress again. With a great rapport between these two leads the friendship of the characters was made to feel so real to the audience that you really invest in their journey throughout the show. Jennifer Ellison is another returnee to the touring production, this time strangely in the role of Cora – a part which she looks a bit too young for, but handles the humour well. Rula Lenska as trophy wife Celia also has some great killer lines (as well as some killer heels – amongst other assets!) as the “lush” of the group. The small moment where she reveals some of the sadness in her life is a great chance for Ms Lenska to wipe the memories of her strange appearance on Celebrity Big Brother and remind us of her acting talents.

June Watson as the “elder stateswoman” of the group is a revelation. Her dry put-downs and sarcasm provide some of the funniest moments of the show exceeded only by the scene staging the infamous calendar shoot!). And in mentioning the calendar shoot, it would be remiss of me not to mention Debbie Chazen as Ruth. who definitely steals that particular scene, a meek and mild-mannered character with a heart of gold who seems to always be taken advantage of. Ms Chazen, best known for comedy sketch shows, shows a subtlety of performance in certain scenes that draw the audience into her story and I think both her moments of strength in the show gained the biggest applause from the audience on the opening night. With great support from Ruth Madoc as aspiring social climber (ie. snob!) and head of WI branch Marie and cameos from Jane Lambert and Camilla Dallerup this is a formidable line up of ladies.

The men are due a mention too – for a show aimed at the female market it is refreshing to see the men portrayed in a good light (although the script was written by a man – the very witty Tim Firth). Joe McGann provides a very warm and touching performance as the likable John, the ill-fated husband. John Labanowski as Rod carries on this style as husband to the pushy Chris and Bruno Langley also has two very different cameos as the shy photographer Lawrence, and pushy Ad Man, Liam.

The set design is not only clever technically, but it’s simple style combined with Jack Ryder’s direction keep the pace of this production moving along nicely – and for this current touring cast’s opening night, it certainly appeared to be a very smooth ride.

This play has toured previously and it is constantly refreshed by the changing of cast members – and although many plays of that set up can fall foul of the “famous names/stunt casting” trap, this production proves that using famous names can work well – especially when they are as talented as Lynda Bellingham and company.

You can catch this talented cast at the Kings Theatre Glasgow until 3^rd September or on tour until December (see www.seecalendargirls.com for details).

Performances:

Mon – Sat eves 7.30pm

Wed, Thu & Sat mats 2.30pm

Tickets: £11.50 - £27.50

Box Office: 08448 717 648(bkg fee)   web: www.ambassadortickets.com/glasgow

The girl power chick flick has already stormed Broadway and the West End in its current incarnation as a stage musical, and looks set to do the same on it’s first ever UK tour.

This show is full of vibrancy and excitement – partly due to the score and script (the wit here definitely exceeds the “chick flick” tag) and in the main down to the young, energetic cast. Full of newcomers, this ensemble show has many stars in the making. Charlotte Harwood plays the straight-laced and vicious tongued Vivienne with great style – and in the title track gets to show some impressive vocal chops too. Neil Toon as Warner, the initial love interest of the main character delivers good vocals and a rather inoffensive character – I would have preferred to see a bit more attempt to lose the sympathies of the audience to help drive the story. One actress who did impress was Liz McLarnon (of Atomic Kitten fame) in the role of new-found confidante Paulette. With a difficult New York Irish Italian accent to deliver, she did well and really sold her character to the audience with excellent comic timing and a real sense of sadness and joy in the journey of her character.

The biggest character journey however is that of Elle Woods, the show’s heroine. Being able to gain the sympathies of an audience when your character begins as an egotistical, materialistic airhead, is a testament to the warm performing style of Faye Brookes. With previous incarnations of this show using a TV name in the lead role, this was a brave choice by the producers to cast a relative unknown to headline the tour. Their faith however is completely justified. A great comic actress and a fantastic singing voice make Ms Brookes the perfect casting in the role played by Reece Witherspoon in the film production. The experienced hand in this tour is Dave Willetts as Callahan, the professor and mentor to the Harvard Law students. With strong vocals and commanding presence it was good to see Mr Willetts back on form. With great support from Iwan Lewis (definitely a name to watch out for) as Emmet and a great cameo role from Hannah Grover as Fitness Video Queen Brooke Wyndham in a routine that requires more stamina than an army assault course – while still retaining tight vocals.

The only thing letting down this production is the set. Being one of the most expensive tickets at the Theatre Royal this year, it is disappointing not to see that reflected on the stage. Many set pieces looked worn and tattered already, which is unacceptable in a first UK tour of this standard. Luckily the performances well outweigh this and it would definitely not stop me returning to see this show again.

Glasgow’s Theatre Royal are very much getting into the Legally Blonde spirit while the show is here, with Nailzone beauty doing nail treatments and Blue Dog cocktail bar (who have even created a special “Bruiser” cocktail named after the show’s cute canine star) offering the full fraternity house experience.

Performances:

Mon – Sat eves 7.30pm

Thu & Sat mats 2.30pm

Tickets: £18.50 - £45

Box Office: 08448 717 647(bkg fee)   web: www.ambassadortickets.com/glasgow

Lee Hall has another hit on his hands with The Pitmen Painters. Having shown previous talent in writing Billy Elliot and Cooking With Elvis, his knack of transferring northern humour into dramatic comedy is on stage again in this witty play.

Based on the true story of The Ashington Group the play follows a group of miners from Northumberland who, as part of their weekly Workers Enrichment programme, employed university art lecturer Robert Lyon (played here by David Leonard) to teach them Art Appreciation. Finding difficulty in expressing to each other, Mr Lyon pursues a course of practical teaching and the men begin to paint. They show varying degrees of talent and the initial banter between the men shows a great deal of the typical northern humour you’d expect. Witty dialogue and great comic timing shows why this play managed a transfer to Broadway (although I have no idea what the Americans will have made of the accent!). David Whitaker and Deka Walmsley as Jimmy Floyd and group leader George Brown play well off each other and the rest of the group and have perfected the art of the “comedy silence” (holding their response until the audience have hit fever pitch in the laughter). Michael Hodgson and Brian Lonsdale provide good support in the roles of Harry and the oddly credited Young Lad. However the performance of the night was definitely Trevor Fox as Oliver Kilbourn. To see a man from such a hard working background struggle to deal with the emotions of an artistic talent was truly touching at times. Mr Fox’s delivery had a real honesty, while still delivering some great comic moments too.

In such a male heavy production, the female roles do seem somewhat of a caricature, and Joy Brook’s overly posh portrayal of Helen Sutherland did seem a little forced on the accent side, although her scenes with Mr Fox did allow her to show some truth in her performance and did bring about one of the most touching parts of the production. Viktoria Kay brought a vibrancy to the role of Susan Parks, and although only a minor role she ensured that it did not fade into the background.

The combination of direction from Max Roberts and the design from Gary McCann make this an extremely smooth production. With a single stage and cast moving all the furniture and the room slowly gaining more of the artwork by the group did give a nice visual development of the set along with the skill of the group.

The use of projections did seem to jar slightly to begin with, but did make perfect sense and being able to see this artwork was nearly as much of a delight as seeing the play itself.

Performances:

Mon 25 JUL:   7:30pm

Tue 26 JUL:    7.30pm

Wed 27 JUL:   7.30pm

Thu 28 JUL:    2.30pm, 7.30pm

Fri 29 JUL:      7.30pm

Sat 30 JUL:     2.30pm, 7.30pm

Tickets: £17-£26

Box Office: 08448 717 647(bkg fee)   web: www.ambassadortickets.com/glasgow

MIDNIGHT TANGO

Starring  Flavia Cacace and Vincent Simone

KING’S THEATRE

Tuesday 26th July @ 7.30pm

Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace have dazzled television audiences for six series of the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing with their stunning Tango routines. Now they have created their own live show - Midnight Tango – a breathtaking evening bringing all the drama, sensuality and elegance of this most exciting of dance forms to life.

Listings:
King's Theatre and Theatre Royal

297 Bath Street

Glasgow

G2 4JN

 
www.ambassadortickets.com/glasgow

David Walliams’s odorous childrens novel is transformed into an entertaining family musical with a ‘scratch n sniff’ twist at the King’s Theatre this week.

Twelve year old Chloe is bullied at school and somewhat lonely.  Mr. Stink, a local well-mannered tramp, befriends her and accepts an invitation to live in her shed.  This is to the horror of Chloe’s snobbish mother who is campaigning to become a local MP!  A local newspaper gets hold of the story and soon Chloe’s mother is thrust into the limelight as the press mistakenly assume this as a move to eradicate homelessness on the part of the prospective parliamentary candidate.  But, as in all children’s stories, the truth has a habit of coming out when the grown-ups least expect it!

The show is heralded as a World Premier of the “scratch n sniff” musical.  The format is certainly a success for the intended audience of young families … although I’m sure it does borrow something from Opera North’s production of “Love for Three Oranges” in the early nineties (I’m sure none of the intended audience of 6 – 12 year olds had the pleasure of attending that production).  The six supplied smells in the Quentin Blake illustrated booklet were certainly revolting but were a little similar to each other.  This was the only disappointment, though, as other production qualities were very well executed.  Matt Brind’s original music, in particular, was excellent (as you would expect from the man behind Legally Blonde).

Performances from Peter Edbrook (as Mr Stink) and Lotte Gilmore (Chloe) were charming and engaging in equal measure.  The supporting cast who played several roles and also presented the puppet characters (including Mr. Stink’s dog, Duchess and Chloe’s perfect sister, Annabelle) were animated and entertaining throughout.

An enjoyable family treat!.

Listings Info:

Mr. Stink

Tuesday 12 – Saturday 16^th July

Tickets: £18

Box Office 08448 717 648 (Bkg fee)

www.ambassadortickets.com/glasgow (bkg fee)

Marti Pellow deserves to be ‘sold out’ out as he ‘pops in’ to the Kings Theatre to present Jekyll and Hyde this week.

Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story remains at the core of this contemporary musical.  The show is a predictably dark tale; very much in the mould of Sweeney Todd.  Brilliant Dr. Henry Jekyll researches the source of man’s dual nature – good versus evil.  He hopes to rid the world of the curse of evil.  But, when seeking backing for his research, his appeal is cruelly rejected by his hospital Board of Governors leaving him no option but to continue his research by experimenting upon himself.  However, his experiments only serve to unlock the evil side of his own personality which manifests itself in the form of Mr. Hyde.  Jekyll frantically researches an antidote for his potion against the backdrop of a vicious string of murders across London while his alter ego becomes more dominant over the body that they share.

Bill Kenwright’s new production was a vast improvement on the 2004 tour with a partial re-write, a new set put cleverly to use by director Martin Connor, fresh choreography from Bill Deamer, much reduced reliance on click track and a simpler, more effective, transformation between Jekyll and Hyde.  Marti Pellow’s accent didn’t move further south than Kelvinside, but this was not offensive (even to my Glaswegian ear).  More importantly, Mr. Pellow’s character had sincerity and duality as he leaned heavily on his outstanding past experience in The Witches of Eastwick to deliver a believable and, sometimes, frightening performance.

The beautiful score, featuring the songs “This Is The Moment”, “Someone Like You” and “In His Eyes” was lovingly and powerfully rendered by Marti Pellow and co-stars Sabrina Carter (Lucy) and Sarah Earnshaw (Emma).  Ms Carter’s star shone particularly brightly as her character’s tough outer layers were gradually peeled back to reveal a genuine vulnerability.  The talented support cast even managed to weave a little comedy into this sombre tale to deliver a rounded show with appeal to a wide audience.

Listings Info:

Jekyll & Hyde

Mon 13 – Sat 18 June

Mon – Sat eves 7.30pm

Wed & Sat mat 2.30pm

Tickets: £14 - £33

Box Office 08448 717 648 (Bkg fee)

www.ambassadortickets.com/glasgow (bkg fee)

Abigail Jaye gives a legendary performance as Eva Peron in the musical, Evita, at the King’s Theatre this week.

It is easy to see why this musical has become one of the most loved and enduring successes of the Andrew Lloyd Webber / Tim Rice partnership.  With an appealing score carrying the real life narrative including musical favourites like High Flying Adored, Another Suitcase in Another Hall, On This Night of a Thousand Stars and, of course, Don’t Cry For Me Argentina the show lives long in the memory of the audience.  The drama, too, is hard hitting set against the backdrop of civil unrest, a military coup and the untimely death of Eva aged just 33.

Bill Kenwright’s production, as we would expect, brings the story to the audience with authority and a high presentation standard.  The set, by Glasgow trained designer, Matthew Wright, brought an extra dimension to the performance with a flexible system of balconies, pillars and sweeping staircases which effectively represented interior and exterior scenes.  Choreography from Bill Deamer firmly placed the story in Latin America and added energy to several scenes.

Performances were solid throughout but the spotlight must rightly remain on Abigail Jaye as Eva.  Her voice was simply astonishing with power and control utilised to great effect; raising hairs on the back of the neck more than once.  She effectively balanced the (sometimes cold) ambition of Eva with her passion for the people to ensure that the audience were ready to shed a tear upon her death.

Listings details

EVITA

King’s Theatre, Glasgow

6 – 11 June 2011

Tickets £17 - £36

Box Office: 08448 717 620

A triumphant return for The Imperial Ice Stars as the bring a restaged version of their acclaimed production of Swan Lake On Ice back to Glasgow.

After being astounded by this company and this show the last time it appeared, I was excited enough to be back watching a beautiful interpretation of the story combined with thrilling and daring ice dancing. However to discover that the show had even more elements added was indeed a bonus - and a sign that this is a production company never to rest on its laurels.

Olga Sharutenko (a previous professional on TV's Dancing on Ice) was again breathtaking in the leading role of Odette showing a grace and elegance in her performance, inlcluding a short piece of ballet pointe work (on ice!!). Taking the decision to split the White Swan/Black Swan role to two performers works extremely well in this context giving a whole new dynamic to the story. Olena Pyatash gave Odile a great dignity and showed off her award winning skills both on the ice and in the amazing lifts. A particular highlight of the production is the touching pas des trois between both leading ladies above and The Prince, danced by Andrei Penkin. The moment where both ladies are lifted from the ice (see picture above from previous production) is the combination of skill and storytelling at its best.

Vadim Yarkov provides the sinister presence of Count Von Rothbart with speed and agility that gives the fight sequence between himself and The Prince a real sense of danger. Ruslan Novoseltsev provides a lot of the humour as the Prince’s aide, Benno. His rapport with the audience and his spectacular tricks made him a stand out – something which must be difficult in a cast of this calibre.

The ensemble also provide many of the heartstopping moments too. The spectacular lifts, leaps and throws on a performance space nearly a quarter of the size of the Olympic ice rinks these stars trained on, are genuinely breathtaking. The two stumbles (well it is very slippy out there!) that occurred during this performance only prove that these daring effects are indeed challenging, even for professionals of these standards.

Tony Mercer as Artistic Director and Choreographer has another success on his hands, and I will definitely get my skates on to buy tickets next time The Imperial Ice Stars roll into town.

Performances:

Tue 19 Apr:     7.30pm

Wed 20 Apr:    2.30pm, 7.30pm

Thu 21 Apr:     2.30pm, 7.30pm

Fri 22 Apr:       7.30pm

Sat 23 Apr:      2.30pm, 7.30pm

Box Office: 08448 717 647(bkg fee)   web: www.ambassadortickets.com/glasgow

After over 30 years since its last major revival, The Hard Man shows that it still holds a lot of relevance to its Glasgow audience.

It would be easy to enter into a debate about this production – Does it glamorise the gangsters? Is it morally right that the author of this play benefits financially from the stories of his victims? Does it highlight important issues about knife crime and gang culture that still affects people today? – but that would not allow sufficient column inches to give credit to the discussion of the production itself.

Phillip Breen has used a very clever combination of high drama, mixed with music hall comedy to keep the audience aware that although they are seeing autobiographical stories, they are still experiencing a theatrical production. The use of live percussionist Chris Wallace to underscore the dialogue gives a filmic feel to the heightened emotions, and makes the pauses and silences more important and poignant than ever. The delivery of the dialogue is in capable hands too – Alex Ferns gives an outstanding performance in the lead role of Johnnie Byrne. Although the only actor in this production who plays one character throughout, the multi-faceted role allows him the chance to show many dynamics of physical theatre alongside the full array of emotions required to demonstrate the “Gentle Terror” of a man who can commit such vicious brutality but also charm so many.

Paul Morrow and Stewart Porter are the epitome of variety, playing a number of characters covering comedy and tragedy. Their versatility as actors shines through in this production when switching between characters with only the briefest of breaths between appearances. A special mention must also go to Cara Kelly – creating so many convincingly different characters shows why she has become such hot property in Scottish Theatre in the last few years.

With interesting production touches such as the strikingly simple but effective set by Max Jones and the slow-motion fight choreography by Renny Krupinski which was then set to music (Too Young by Nat King Cole – reminding us that these were young boys getting involved in violence) as well as the breaking of the 4^th wall by many of the characters, this play has a lot of significance as a production before even touching on the subject within. But with recent events like the abuse at Guantanamo Bay, current campaigns to prevent knife crime and domestic violence and other themes within the play still showing relevance to someone like me who wasn’t even born when it was written, highlights exactly why theatre stands the test of time. The Hard Man may have many detractors, but the strength of the writing and the quality of the production and the performances within are what has convinced this reviewer to make it my stand out production of 2011.

Performances:

Tue 12 Apr:     7.30pm

Wed 13 Apr:    2.30pm, 7.30pm

Thu 14 Apr:     7.30pm

Fri 15 Apr:       7.30pm

Sat 16 Apr:      2.30pm, 7.30pm

Tickets: £11-£24.00

Box Office: 08448 717 648(bkg fee)   web: www.ambassadortickets.com/glasgow