THEATRE and MOVIE REVIEWS-SEPTEMBER
Chariots
Of Fire-Gielgud Theatre
Saturday
1st September.
I
had heard rave reviews about this production and was told the staging was
magnificent and magnificent it was. I have never witnessed such staging which
worked perfectly for this production performed in the round where
athletes/actors were seen running around the theatre in a figure of eight
pattern, leaping over bodies and a fence for hurdles as well as choreographed,
stylised, contemporary dance running sequences. In clever casting, actors displayed
athletic prowess, choral singing ability, playing musical instruments and
regaled us with various hymns including Jerusalem and traditional Gilbert and
Sullivan repertoire which was a treat. So prolific was this transformation from
book to film to stage that it cleverly wove the current London Olympics into
the storyline and even had cast running in GB kit which brought tears of pride
to the eyes and standing ovations. The popular Vangelis music was used and
relished giving us an uplifting recognisable melody line in which to pin our
historical reference points from the film, set in the Paris Olympics of 1924. I
could only wish that this quintessentially British production could tour to
Australia so all my friends could witness this outstanding production. I was
thrilled to see colleague Natasha Broomfield playing the role of Jenny (a Scot
playing a Scot) and watching her career grow in leaps and bounds from the
National Theatre to Chariots Of Fire in the West End.
A
friend posted a recommendation on Facebook, Without You but I had no idea Anthony
Rapp was the original Mark Cohen in the musical Rent. It is, as the blurb
describes a ‘deeply moving’ autobiographical work, which talks about the
shaping of the Broadway musical Rent, the passing of its composer
Jonathan Larson and how this impacted on Anthony. He also goes into detail
(similar style to the phone calls in Rent) about his relationship with his
mother whom he is devoted to but not devoted to her illness. The music heavily
relies on snippets of Rent, which represents his life in grief and the ability to
overcome his fears with hope. Other musical works are original except for the
opening song by R.E.M. A 5-piece band backs Anthony with the overall experience
being quite overwhelming leaving me, the people surrounding me in tears and
grabbing for tissues. I take my
hat off to people who can write autobiographical one-man shows. I have written
a one-woman show, which is light, comical and instructional, but I’m certainly
not ready to bare my soul yet like Anthony does.
I look forward to a costume drama but movies with Keira Knightly beg me to question whether she is going to be any different than any of her other costume dramas? She is the same in this film even if she is charming and excruciatingly beautiful in Jacqueline Durran’s costumes. Poor Keira, she too must get bored of being a clothes horse for historical dramas even though Joe Wright seems to adore her having directed her in Pride and Prejudice as well as Atonement. Keira aside, I envisaged this film being shot against an Eastern European backdrop of devastatingly sumptuous landscapes much like Dr Zhivago but no. I didn’t know what to make of the film’s first 10 minutes and was thoroughly disappointed wondering what the director was doing until I persisted, watching the film grow into an opulent, sweeping, utterly romantic (between Anna and Vronsky and not Kitty and Levin), incredible and cleverly staged, theatrically produced tragedy, set in Tsarist Russia. For Wright, it’s all about the stylised images cascading over each other from one scene to the next. The artistically appealing score by Dario Marianelli is so appropriate for this film that awards should ensue for his exquisite work. I was astonished beyond belief at the transportation into theatre land, which I love and know so well. All my personal reference points were framed within this staged production because that’s what it is, a staged production, which included a horse race where a horse dives off the front of the stage. The film set is a theatrical stage in which Tolstoy’s novel takes place in 1874 Imperialist Russia with Tom Stoppard’s adaptation. The director uses the main stage with footlights, fly floor, wings, sub stage and auditorium for the story’s different scenes: ballroom dances with beautiful choreography and an emphasis on the fluidity of the arm and hand movements, the countryside, train stations, inside the train, houses, office, opera and the well to do social gatherings of the Russian aristocratic society where to comment and be seen in the right circles is the mainstay of their lives. Moscow is often mentioned as boring by the aristocracy preferring to reside instead in St Petersburg or Peter. The novel reflects the changing social and political climate of imperialist Russia depicting many an unhappy marriage where staying together for the sake of the children is imperative and divorce is completely out of the question. In Anna’s case, leaving the marital home and her beloved son means she is able to breathe again despite the stigma of being a social outcast and breaking the rules which inevitably leads to her ultimate demise, suicide. Jude Law plays Anna’s husband Karenin (working for the good of public Russia but is made a cuckold of) is the complete opposite of his youthful ingénue characters of the past which is good to see and the young Vronsky played by the astonishingly handsome and wide eyed Anton Taylor-Johnson takes ones breath away. His satirical comment that he doesn’t want to live his life in an operetta is quite telling considering the staging but he also posses a talent for moving around the dance floor with grace and ease despite his unconvincing portrayal of an officer. The dense and lavish images stay long with you after the film has ceased. Visually impressive moments are: Jacqueline Durran’s costumes which are stunning and a notable wonder, also the disturbing depiction of the train worked being killed at the beginning of the film and the theatre overflowing with flowers. The variations of love are woven through this novel: the adultery of Anna’s brother Oblinsky all the while knowing his wife remains devoted despite her anguish, Anna’s heated, demented and torrid sexual encounters with Vronksy resulting in guilt and paranoia in which drinking morphine is the only immediate escape, Lenin’s quiet longing for Kitty after she refuses his proposal of marriage and Karenin’s disassociation and indifference to his wife. It isn’t a perfect film by any means but it is visually enchanting.
Anthony
Rapp-Without You at the Menier Chocolate Factory.
Sunday
2nd September.
Soho
Cinders at the Soho Theatre
Friday
31st August 2012
What
a refreshing and pleasant surprise this new work from George Stiles and Anthony
Drewe is. I preferred it to Betty Blue Eyes (Mr Mackintosh might not like that
comment) but as it says in the programme ‘it has been a long time coming’. But
refreshing it was and with friends Michael Xavier (who was his usual
outstanding handsome self) and Vivien Carter (recently seen as Velma in
Chicago) this is well cast with stars and co-produced by another friend, fellow
Australian Daniel Sparrow with Mike Walsh. Set in Old Compton Street W1 in Soho
this slightly twisted gay fairytale of a rent boy, Robbie (Tom Milner) as
Cinderella and a bi-sexual, running for Lord Mayor, James Prince (Michael
Xavier) is the main plot which is nearly over shadowed by the larger than life
ugly step sisters Clodagh and Dana (Suzie Chard and Beverly Rudd) who get all
the great comical lines. Jenna Russell’s duet song with Amy Lennox as Velcro
‘Let Him Go’ is a beautifully written, heart-wrenching stand out piece. The
choreography isn’t complicated and suits the fringe venue, as does the staging,
which is supported by Stephen Fry’s narration. I walked away being thoroughly
entertained and once again proud of my very clever friends.
Film:
Lawless. Preview at the Greenwich Picturehouse.
Sunday
2nd September.
This
film is adapted from Matt Bondurant’s book ‘The Wettest County In The World’
based on a real life story with screenplay by Nick Cave. Not being a fan of
Nick Cave’s music I thoroughly enjoyed his screenplay and score, which is
steeped in 1930’s Southern style guitar music. The story is about three
brothers (the Bondurant’s) running moonshine and stars the very handsome, once
again smouldering and indestructible Tom Hardy alongside the OCD, evil agent
with a shaved part in his hair and shaven eye-brows, great Australian character
actor Guy Pearce. Also from Australia is another quirky character part actor
Noah Taylor who keeps popping up in Indie films as the hapless assistant. Shia
LaBeouf as the younger Bondurant, is a central character with his coming of
age, internal struggle plot which he pulls off well. There is a mixture of
naiveté and innocence in him, which is crushed when his innocent, crippled best
friend is murdered by the sadistic Charley Rakes (Guy Pearce). Throughout, he
courts a beautiful preachers daughter from a very Amish like sect. Her father
is a scary looking, threatening man whose dialogue consists of looks and grunts
but he does steal the scenes he is in because he is comical. In fact, there is
minimal dialogue during this film but where there is dialogue, it is powerful
which makes the saying ‘less is more’, truer. Directed by Australian John Hillcoat (who also directed the
Proposition) this beautifully filmed piece appears to contrast its setting from
tranquil Southern country scenes to bloody violent Chicago gun fights over the
illegal trading of alcohol during prohibition. The story is set in Franklin
County Virginia and is beautifully shot by cinematographer Benoît
Delhomme who is quite artistic in his representation of the work. A thrilling
and bloody drama not to be missed.
Film. Step Up 4 Miami Heat
This hi-octane, feel good factor film is the 4th
installment in the Step Up movies, which despite the usual ‘please don’t make
another sequel’ gets, better and better with a new spin on it. I know they’re
just dance movies where the plot is exactly the same as the one before; girl
from the right side of the tracks meets boy from the wrong side of the tracks,
she’s a ballet/ contemporary dancer and he’s into hip-hop with a big gang, she
loosens up trying hip-hop and he gets into contemporary dance. But with this
movie, latest dance styles, better tricks and stunts and latest tunes I came
out wanting to go straight to Pineapple for dance classes. Step-Up 4
successfully fuses the ever energetic hip-hop with contemporary dance and a
plot twist .The flashmob scenes are so spectacular one wonders how kids from
the street can afford souped-up cars, the costumes, the latest sound systems,
professional art materials whilst uploading all these sequences onto a social
website contest platform. The flash mobs must have taken months to choreograph
and stage, they are that impressive. The flashmobs start out, art for arts sake
then morph into making a political statement against the local Government and
property developer in an attempt to foil the takeover of poorer housing and
small businesses for redevelopment. The ending is always the same: girl and boy
get together and the gang does one better by getting a publicity/ marketing
contract. Lots of fun and great dance sequences.
Neville
Staple (from the Specials-2 Tone Records) at the Islington Assembly Hall
Friday
8th September 2012-09-07
Located
on Upper Street the recently refurbished Islington Assembly Hall not only has a
beautiful functioning stage but also is host to many a wedding, exhibition,
conference and ‘diverse range of
performances’. The websites says, ‘the stunning hall,
originally opened in 1930, has been fully restored to its post-war glory days.
Retaining plenty of its original features (…) glorious interior decor and a
fully sprung ballroom dance floor. There are also some modern twists to create
a contemporary adaptable and accessible venue that has something for everyone.’
This is the third performance I have seen here, John Oates, Candi Staton and Neville Staple and
his band. Neville was born on 11th April 1955 making him 57 years of
age. He has done a lot of living from what I have read and he kept reminding
the audience that he is an ‘old man’ who can hardly stand? I attended his
concert without doing my research first thinking it was either going to be
R&B or from the Motown era but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Not being a
fan of Ska or Reggae, I was standing in my orange maxi dress with little
bolero, cream and gold sandals, hair piled up on my head with gold jewellery in
the middle of 50-60 plus year old folk of all shapes and sizes jumping up and
down and around like jellybeans on the beautifully sprung floor. It was also
funny to watch the sound desk bouncing up and down too but these folk (dancing to
the beat or not) were having the time of their lives. Some of these Ska fans
were dressed in their tight fitting clothes from the 70’s or in regular street
clothes ready for a night of sweaty dancing. And dance they did, they didn’t
stop and were having a ball. Ska was a prolific style of British music in the
70’s growing out of Jamaica in the 50’s combining the styles of ‘Caribbean,
calypso, jazz, reggae, rhythm and blues’ with a massive fan base of ‘British
mods and skinheads, developing into three waves’. ‘Wave one was the 1960’s
Jamaican influence, wave two was the 1970’s British 2 Tone revival and wave
three was the 1980/90’s US era’. Growing up in Australia I remember commercial
tunes from bands such as Madness and the Sydney based band the Allniters with
their hit Montego Bay. Songs such as Baggy Trousers, A Message To You Rudy, On
My Radio, One Step Beyond, Ghost Town, Israelites etc were popular and
this crowd knew all the words. It was probably a good thing they were singing
out loud as Neville’s voice was faltering with age but the combination of the
crowd singing in full boisterous voice, the band’s 5 piece and backing vocals
with the repetitive Ska beat music wasn’t reliant on Neville’s lead. I did see
him next to the CD and T-shirt stand and noticed he is a man of great stature
as well as having a relaxed, effortless rock star look and poise. The warm up
act included Neville’s keyboard player and drummer, use of a different bass
player and a very talented young man ‘Jesse Budd’ on vocals and playing guitar.
His guitar playing was mighty impressive but not his inaudible patter with the
audience, which led to one man to yell out ‘get on with it!’ The young lad,
Jesse, with really dark circles under his eyes, took it all in his stride
though and knocked everyone’s socks off with his ‘singing’ and multiple guitar
playing techniques. The band named Flipron: http://www.flipron.co.uk/
threw
the audience badges with their name on it. Their new single, out on Monday 10th
September ‘The Comet Returns’ features Neville but Jesse is definitely an
upcoming star with this new version and intelligent take on modernised Ska. Is
this going to be wave four? The webpage has this depiction of Jesse: ‘He
sings, plays guitars and other things and writes most of the songs. A
contemplative, pensive type who, nevertheless, given the merest (spelled
meerest on the page) whiff of an opportunity, seems hopelessly drawn to
shameless frontman-style showing off. He will also talk far too long between
songs, unaware of other band members nodding off or undermining his utterances
with mocking gestures of contempt. His house is a grotto of worthless, broken
musical instruments.’ The evening wasn’t my cup of tea but as an educator in
classroom
music I took this opportunity to appreciate the would be return of Ska culture
(even if it was only at the Islington Assembly Hall) and looked on as others
enthusiastically enjoyed Neville’s trip down memory lane recapturing the
misspent years of this older crowd.
Film Anna
Karenina. Greenwich Picturehouse
11th
September. 2012
I look forward to a costume drama but movies with Keira Knightly beg me to question whether she is going to be any different than any of her other costume dramas? She is the same in this film even if she is charming and excruciatingly beautiful in Jacqueline Durran’s costumes. Poor Keira, she too must get bored of being a clothes horse for historical dramas even though Joe Wright seems to adore her having directed her in Pride and Prejudice as well as Atonement. Keira aside, I envisaged this film being shot against an Eastern European backdrop of devastatingly sumptuous landscapes much like Dr Zhivago but no. I didn’t know what to make of the film’s first 10 minutes and was thoroughly disappointed wondering what the director was doing until I persisted, watching the film grow into an opulent, sweeping, utterly romantic (between Anna and Vronsky and not Kitty and Levin), incredible and cleverly staged, theatrically produced tragedy, set in Tsarist Russia. For Wright, it’s all about the stylised images cascading over each other from one scene to the next. The artistically appealing score by Dario Marianelli is so appropriate for this film that awards should ensue for his exquisite work. I was astonished beyond belief at the transportation into theatre land, which I love and know so well. All my personal reference points were framed within this staged production because that’s what it is, a staged production, which included a horse race where a horse dives off the front of the stage. The film set is a theatrical stage in which Tolstoy’s novel takes place in 1874 Imperialist Russia with Tom Stoppard’s adaptation. The director uses the main stage with footlights, fly floor, wings, sub stage and auditorium for the story’s different scenes: ballroom dances with beautiful choreography and an emphasis on the fluidity of the arm and hand movements, the countryside, train stations, inside the train, houses, office, opera and the well to do social gatherings of the Russian aristocratic society where to comment and be seen in the right circles is the mainstay of their lives. Moscow is often mentioned as boring by the aristocracy preferring to reside instead in St Petersburg or Peter. The novel reflects the changing social and political climate of imperialist Russia depicting many an unhappy marriage where staying together for the sake of the children is imperative and divorce is completely out of the question. In Anna’s case, leaving the marital home and her beloved son means she is able to breathe again despite the stigma of being a social outcast and breaking the rules which inevitably leads to her ultimate demise, suicide. Jude Law plays Anna’s husband Karenin (working for the good of public Russia but is made a cuckold of) is the complete opposite of his youthful ingénue characters of the past which is good to see and the young Vronsky played by the astonishingly handsome and wide eyed Anton Taylor-Johnson takes ones breath away. His satirical comment that he doesn’t want to live his life in an operetta is quite telling considering the staging but he also posses a talent for moving around the dance floor with grace and ease despite his unconvincing portrayal of an officer. The dense and lavish images stay long with you after the film has ceased. Visually impressive moments are: Jacqueline Durran’s costumes which are stunning and a notable wonder, also the disturbing depiction of the train worked being killed at the beginning of the film and the theatre overflowing with flowers. The variations of love are woven through this novel: the adultery of Anna’s brother Oblinsky all the while knowing his wife remains devoted despite her anguish, Anna’s heated, demented and torrid sexual encounters with Vronksy resulting in guilt and paranoia in which drinking morphine is the only immediate escape, Lenin’s quiet longing for Kitty after she refuses his proposal of marriage and Karenin’s disassociation and indifference to his wife. It isn’t a perfect film by any means but it is visually enchanting.
