THEATRE AND CONCERT REVIEWS
The
Mystery Of Edwin Drood; 3.5 Stars
Arts Theatre West End. 18 May 2012
The
producers are very happy to have this transfer from the Landor to the Arts
Theatre In Leicester Square and well done to them for having this opportunity.
Another added bonus is that the actors can now be paid. It’s a charming
production and having seen this show many years ago, the Victorian musical hall
setting will be ideal for International tourists as there is nothing like it in
London at the moment. I saw a preview performance and whilst there is still
much ironing out to do especially with sound, which is too acoustic, (if there
can be such a thing) it bears on some the performers who vocally push too much.
The over dramatised characterisations were pitched well, which was evident in
the excellent direction and choreography for the confined space; moreover the
staging and props gave us a restricted, spatial awareness of a small, intimate
musical hall venue. The casting is excellent in parts but some of the
performers were stronger and more experienced than others giving a slightly
unbalanced power struggle within the show and plotline. I was thrilled to see
my friend and accomplished performer Chris Coleman playing the minor role of Mr
Bazzard to perfection. He has grown from an outstanding young singer, dancer
and romantic leading man to a mature character actor, which he has achieved to
perfection and I was so very proud. He makes the saying true, that there are never any small parts.
What The Butler
Saw at the Vaudeville Theatre-3.5 Stars
19-May 2012
The play written
in 1967 by Joe Orton has a stellar cast with Omid Djalili (who had some very
wordy dialogue to learn), Tim McInnerny and Samantha Bond (who will probably
have vocal damage by the end of the run). The audience thoroughly enjoyed the
play as they laughed out loud, more so in the second act, but I didn’t. Maybe
it’s the older British humour or the genre of farce, I found myself smiling but
not laughing at the ‘madness and mayhem mocking morality’. The play is acted
well enough with good direction by Sean Foley involving the usual running in
and out of doors, the gradual removal of clothes and over-the-top acting but I
found it all rushed, playing for gags, disconnected, segmented and ‘how to
destroy one’s vocal chords’ shouted.
I am aware the
actors were trying to project but watching Samantha Bond strangling her throat
and go red in the face whilst yelling made me cringe as a singer. In fact all
the three leads were yelling and yelling some more.
Omid’s cleverly
written lines were delivered with wit and over exaggeration but his outrageous
characterisation of the mad Government inspector-come psychoanalyst was played to perfection albeit all too
fast for he tripped over a few lines. This genre of farce was most prevalent
and popular in the 60’s and 70’s but now seems quite outdated. Whilst it’s not
for me, I did enjoy seeing Tim McInnerny from the Black Adder series on stage
and that sense of British humour is more my cup of tea.
The opera Caligula is a story, which bases its dramatic structures on a
man who ‘embarks upon an orgy of sexual depravity and sadistic cruelty in an
apparently insane attempt to free himself from the shackles of mortality and
morality’ and ‘offers a disturbing insight into the self-destructive logic
driving a decadent and dangerous dictatorship’.
Caligula the
opera by Detlev Glanert. 2 stars.
Friday 25th May. 2012
Written in 2004-2006- Duration: 135 minutes and had its world premiere
in Frankfurt in 2006. Opera in four acts based on the play by Albert Camus and
Libretto by Hans-Ulrich Treichel.
The opera going audience at the ENO seemed to enjoy this and the acclaimed
composer was present at this performance but it didn’t stop people leaving at
interval because the first two acts were slow moving and lacking in dramatic
tension. It’s not a ‘pretty opera’ and I can’t see it being popular but I would
very much like to see Albert Camus’ play which is the major influence for
Glanert. I have had my fill of modern operas at the ENO simply and unashamedly
because I prefer the classics with their rousing choruses, magnificently rich
orchestrations, supremely melodic arias, powerfully skillful voices, dominating
sets and of course the traditionally clichéd diva who dies of consumption. Call me old fashioned but I find most modern operas tuneless with vocal
melody lines repeatedly sung on one note, but in saying that, I prefer to sing
challenging tuneful modern operas rather than attend a performance of them. Caligula’s sparse vocal accompaniments, dense orchestrations (the
Caligula orchestral chord is based on no fewer than 25 notes), mind numbingly
similar tempi throughout with relief only given by a couple of changes in
feverish tempo and an emphasis on dramatic structures in Acts 3 and 4 did not
send me on a musical journey with joyous or romantic musical overtones and it
didn’t challenge my ears or have an assault on my senses. There is a rise and fall of a breath throughout and some spoken dialogue
but this is not to be confused with sprechgesang as this performance was in
English and not in the preferred German. I wasn’t overly impressed by
Australian director Benedict Andrews’ setting in a football stadium because it
took up the vast majority of the stage and odd characters were sparsely/
randomly seated throughout; Mickey Mouse, Kermit the Frog, Pinocchio men,
showgirl dancers etc which begs to ask why? Veteran Australian opera singer
Peter Coleman-Wright gave a superb performance and he clearly relished the role
supported by the other principals: Yvonne Howard, Christopher Ainslie, Pavlo
Hunka, Carolyn Dobbin, Brian Galliford, Eddie Wade and Julia Sporsen.
3 Stars: I was so looking
forward to this piece as I have seen some good works and a couple of dubious pieces
at this theatre but hoped this would be the real thing-a Steven Berkoff,
brilliantly written piece deserving of a transfer to a larger West End Theatre?
What a truly
wonderful 25th Anniversary celebration of Matthew Bourne’s early
revisited contemporary ballets entitled Early Adventures. The UK’s great modern choreographer was present at
the performance, meeting and greeting his colleagues and taking copious notes
on his production with a large notebook, which had scrawled notes in large red
handwriting. As a result one can see the attention to detail in the
performance. The structure and
storytelling was clear and precise with a sense of comedy throughout which was
such a joy. My companions and I laughed out loud at some of his
quintessentially British and French jokes whilst poking fun at ‘Town and
Country’ alike. He obviously has
his mischievous side. His 1988 hit Spitfire is an ‘advertisement in divertissement’
and features four young male dancers in various underwear and poses displaying
their athletic prowess. The 1991
production of Town and Country is hilarious at times with its irony and includes a featured song of
Noel Coward. It is important to note that despite his youth at this time Bourne
used an eclectic combination of musical styles that captured every scene to
perfection. The final piece Infernal
Gallop is a tongue in
cheek look at the French 1930’s-1940’s culture with its traditional parodied
cliché’s featuring music from Edith Piaf and ending on the finale of the
can-can without the high kicks and ruffled dresses. I’m really glad
and grateful I was given a ticket to see this production because I now have a
preference for Bourne’s earlier works.
6 Actors in
Search Of A Director. Charing Cross Theatre.
26th
May. 2012
My hopes were
dashed as the opening voice-over went on and on and I wondered for how long can
and will this continue? 2 male actors burst onto the stage and I
found them to be the least interesting of all 7 actors because one male actor was particularly and irritatingly annoying. He couldn’t find his
voice, literally or figuratively. He kept changing from pretending to be a
Shakespearean thespian to using multiple GB accents, including the odd falsely gay
impersonation but I just wanted to hear his real voice. He was so incredibly
unconvincing and floundered as a result. So too another male actor when not
shouting his dialogue and acting in an overly melodramatic manner, often didn’t
look at the actor he was talking to half the time. Where was the visual focus?
Despite this
there was witty writing, traditional actor clichés, parody and puns poked at
the acting profession, use of complex characterisations, wonderfully fluid
choreography in the staging with clever and insightful direction, excepting of
course that they used real plates and forks but pretended to use wine
glasses-why? All the female actors as well as the remaining two male actors were truthful and convincing in their portrayal of their characters despite
being quirky and heightened. I feel that half an hour could have been shaved off
the timing and I saw no point to the suspended animation or pauses? I didn’t
laugh but the people in front did whom I think were friends of one of the actors.
Matthew
Bourne’s Early Adventures at Sadler’s Wells. 4 stars
Monday
21st May. 2012
Image by Chris Nash.
