UK Theatre Network

MProductions’ highly popular evening of our favourite musical theatre tunes is back… and this time we’re on tour! Featuring legendary songs from shows such as American Idiot, Into the Woods, Shrek and Hair, the show is coming to venues in Milton Keynes & St Albans.

Last year’s original version of Turkish Delight – The Opera had an anti-climatic ending, in contrast to what was a strong first half.   The writers were advised to balance the plot out.  They have quite clearly taken this suggestion on board but the level of intensity is still hard to sustain. This is partly due to its very few quiet, reflective moments.  It is like a thriller made up solely of car chases, comedy with jokes every few seconds or a sexual film containing no foreplay.  In short, there is too much light and not enough shade, making the piece hard to recognise as a whole. However the  individual songs are made up of some great harmonies.  There is a plot, we just can’t see it ,partly because of the way it’s staged but also because the audience needs to be exposed to the quiet, reflective parts to make sense of the high-octane action that has just taken place.

 

This performance of Turkish Delight – The Opera is its first full-length version to be put on under the A Stage Kindly name, in the hope that it will launch it, along with its performers: Adam Bayjou, Julia Buckley, Arabella Rodrigo and Victor Sgarbi.

 

“Over the past few years, we have staged Turkish Delight- The Opera several times and each time we have approached the show differently; learning profusely through  both our mistakes and our achievements.  Not only is this production of Turkish Delight especially exciting because we are able to apply the ideas and wisdom accumulated over the last five years into a performance, but also because we have the most extraordinary and virtuosic cast…”
Giles Howe and Katy Lipson.

 

In the opening song Betsy Cohen awakes to her cigarette.  Singer Arabella Rodrigo’s voice manages to effortlessly glide between Opera and Rock, if a little warbly at times.
 

During the  next three songs, Julia Buckley duets with younger male vocalist Adam Bayjou, whose voice, a little forced at times, fades out as the voice of the maturer male vocalist, Victor Sgarbi, comes in and we feel somewhat more at ease.
 

Song 5 ‘Argument’ is a duet between Arabella Rodrigo and Victor Sgarbi, who play husband and wife.   We notice the fury in her eyes,  enhanced even more by the heavy, almost drag artist-type make-up she is wearing as she sings the closing line: “He’s forgotten that tomorrow is my birthday… romance is dead” Earlier lines are blunter, such as “why won’t you fuck me like you used to?!”, only emphasising just how loveless their marriage truly is. 

In ‘Only Human’ when Victor Sgarbi begins singing the lyrics “a long time ago my marriage died”, I am put off by the fact that he is the only one in the cast who has to occasionally glance at the score.  One can only ask ‘Is this a sign that he does not know the part he is playing or was he brought in at the last minute as a stand-in?’

In ’16 Bars’ Julia Buckley and Victor Sgarbi duet together and I must say harmonise well.  Buckley also shows a great ability to act her way through the song. This is absolutely crucial but a lot of musical theatre actors still fail to do so.
 

I heard ‘Angel Delight’ (where Adam Bayjou’s character sings of his girlfriend who has left him, assuming he is gay) when it was featured in Encore, an acclaimed showcase of new musicals put on by A Stage Kindly back in March 2009.  Adam Bayjou’s version of it is beautiful but “I could love you”,in the last line, ends the song rather too abruptly.

I was not so keen on ‘Allegory’ but I can see that it is used as a tool to help glue the story together, with its explanation of how the two lovers first came to be together.  

In ‘Briturkey’ the young male sings of his fears of arriving in Turkey and not being able to speak the language.

The next  songs: ‘Can We Go Dancing?’, ‘My Heart Bleeds’ and ‘Do You Remember? are a mixture of duets and trios .One could compare the vocals of Victor Sgarbi to that of Jonathan Pryce and in ‘Believe’ Adam Bayjou’s voice is allowed to shine through.

In ‘The Confrontation’ and ‘Turkish Delight’ Julia Buckley sings whilst sobbing, showing great compassion after her lover’s stabbing. When she sings the words “I just cannot do it alone”, she picks up the pace as her voice becomes angrier and ends on “You are my Turkish Delight”. A well thought out close to Act I.

 

Act II opens with Arabella Rodrigo and the songs ‘Entr’acte’, ‘The Letter’’ and ‘Going Potty’ in which the higher notes are not well sustained and are quite wobbly, when hearing of her husband’s murder.

At The Funeral in ‘Kaddish’ the deceased plays the rabbi. This does not help the consistency of the piece.

Julia Buckley in ‘Over You’ questions why she ever allowed herself to get involved with a married man. She shows great spontaneity.  I am very impressed as she sings the lines “still I can’t get you out of my head” and can find a clear comparison between her and singer of ‘The Snowman’, Aled Jones. She impresses me again in ‘Jeremiad’.

 

The priest abruptly rushes in during the song ‘You Think I’m Stupid’, openly having forgotten his cue.

Victor Sgarbi also plays the judge in ‘The Trial’. During the chorus there is a rendition of “NOT GUILTY, GUILTY…” from all of the characters, to

put across the idea of there being many people there.

Arabella Rodrigo breaks down during ‘Then It All Stopped’ singing the lines

(the colouring of her husband’s mistress) but it is overly dramatic and painful to watch.

 All the voices are present in ‘The Poisoning’ where the wife reveals false elixir she intends to offer to the mistress with the true intent of poisoning her,( a reference to Romeo & Juliet).

After the mistress drinks the elixir, the wife sings “you’ve made your bed, now lie in it” in ‘Wife’s Doubt’.

Julia Buckley, the mistress, shows off her octave leaps in ‘Inside My Dreams’. Arabella Rodrigo,on the other hand, displays non-smooth vocal transitions in ‘Always In My Life’ when she sings “when you had an affair you drove me to despair”.

In the finale and for the reprise of ‘Turkish Delight’ all four singers take to the stage once again. The wife is being offered a sharp instrument to do away with herself and we are all thinking to ourselves ‘Just get on with it, would you!’

 

 

Anyone who just so happened to see the show feel free to e-mail your feedback to astagekindly@aol.com

You can keep up-to-date with future A STAGE KINDLY performances at: www.astagekindly.com

This unusual and riveting piece of theatre, written and directed by Peter Scott-Presland is a labour of love. As such the plot (such as it is) elaborates on composer Kurt Weill's time in America, with many enjoyable excursions into the musical world(s) he created whilst there.
The acting is consistently impressive, with a cast who share in common sensitivity of expression and lungs of iron. Despite having few characters per se (other than Kurt himself played by Gary Hughes) they manage the difficult task of engaging the audience in the emotional landscapes created by the music, and in some ways each song is a miniature play in itself.

With showstoppers like I don't Give A Damn, How Long, Oh God? and Mr Right giving some idea of the breadth of Weill's talent--director and writer Scott-Presland talks of his virtuosity, "Wherever he went after he left Germany, he fitted in, musically."

An enjoyable introduction to Weill's work for those who have yet to hear it, with excellent choreography by Cecilia Darker and exceptionally strong acting by the cast: Titus Rowe, Johannah Jolson, Hughes and Mychelle Colleary.

As Scott-Presland notes, it was Weill's eternal struggle to fit into the musical landscape of America, and on this evidence he certainly seems to have done so. However, the songs that will stay with you are the ones he wrote about the heartache of being alone. As the eternal immigrant he would have felt the loss of home, and with his serially unfaithful wife, perhaps the loneliness of this state was what drove him to be the most patriotic of American citizens. Whatever the reason, Weill's music still has the power to move, and with such able performers you will be hard pressed not to be haunted by Weill's work.  


Rosemary Branch theatre, 2 Shepperton Road, London N1 3DT, Tel: 02077046665, July 7-26, Tues-Sat 7:45, £12/£10 concs, www.homopromos.co.uk/shows/hereillstay

 

On Sunday March 29^th 2009 I went to see Encore by A Stage Kindly at The Village Bar, Soho.  The Company was made up of: Katy Lipson ( piano and musical director), Giles Howe (host) and singers Elise Bowd, Teresa De Gennero, Nicola Henderson, Scott Armstrong and Lewis Greenslade, with Katy Lipson and Giles Howe performing some of their own material.

 

May I first say what a novel idea it was to showcase original material from New International Musicals, as well as The Company cleverly including their own material in the line-up.

 

The songs that stood out for me were ‘How Do You Make Magic’, ‘Be There’ and ‘A Revelation’, all sung by Scott Armstrong, who trained at The Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. He uses his distinct, beautiful tones in ‘How DoYou Make Magic’and is  clearly in control whilst on stage, effortlessly switching between his head and chest voice.

 

Teresa De Gennero, who was chosen to duet with Scott Armstrong in ‘Marry Me’ and ‘A Tenor,A Soprano’, reminded me of a young Bette Midler with her stage presence, comic timing and strong projectory voice.  Both her and Scott in ‘A Tenor, A Soprano’ showed off  their musical capabilities.  And quite rightly so too!

 

I felt the depth of feeling within the pools of Lewis Greenslade’s eyes with each song that he sang, taking the audience on an emotional journey.  But, it would have been nice to have seen him occasionally play a more forceful character, rather than stereotyping him as the downtrodden victim.

 

Another of my favourites was ‘Upon The Table’ sung by Elise Bowd, who is clearly comfortable in making the stage her own; acting easily through the song- ‘Chiropractor’s Hands’ and showing us her sexier side, imitating slightly The ‘Oh yes!’ scene from‘When Harry Met Sally’.

 

In my opinion Nicola Henderson had the most operatic of all the voices, if a little forced at times.  My favourite of her songs was ‘The Neon Lights’ from ‘Mind The Gap’ written by Giles Howe, where she sounded not unlike Liza Minelli.

 

It might not be a bad idea if the organisers of this Tour shortened the song list to allow more time to be dedicated to introducing each New Musical.

 

The chemistry could be felt between long-term friends Katy Lipson and Giles Howe when they dueted together in‘Every Rose’, written by Giles, a rather haunting/Phantom of the Opera- type number.

 

In ‘Stars In My Eyes’ in the Finale, all the voices came together, allowing every facet of each of their voices to shine through. As they sang the words ‘’Where can you go?’’, I thought to myself ‘’W here can this Company go?’’, with the cult following they are gathering, far,I believe!

 

If you are writing a Musical visit them at www.astagekindly.com and discover their exciting opportunities.

 

And to find out what all the fuss is about, see them in their final performance on Sunday 5^th April when they will be performing at The Village Bar, Soho once again.

 

Bar – Tel 020 7439 4089

81 Wardour St., London, W1D 6QD

www.village-soho.co.uk