So I’ve been away for a while. How long is a while? Long enough that it’s probably driven away what few readers I previously had. The reason for this absence? Some much needed freelance work that was for an unfortunately short time plus some equally required recovery time afterwards. I did manage to sneak in a few things in the interim, so in the interest of being a right speedy American, some one or two liners follow as I look up my last month in iCal...
The King and I @ Royal Albert Hall - Nice. Not impressive or amazing, but nice. It’s not one of my favourite shows to begin with, but Maria Friedman was lovely as ever and justified the three hours.
Been So Long @ Young Vic - Felt so long, despite only being 95 minutes. Decent cast but some “they got it wrong” bits in the set, virtually no plot, and little characterisation.
The Missionary’s Position @ Hoxton Hall - Music Hall meets morality play with some bad meta-theatricality at the end.
Zanna Don’t @ Upstairs at the Gatehouse - Not an Ovation production so no need to not comment. Zanna has a lot going for it including an incredibly catchy score, but the book has some major issues and doesn’t show the truly vicious nature of American high schoolers which undermines its message.
West End Live 2009 @ Leicester Square - Biggins was less annoying than last year though I wish I had video of him making his MJ crack in retrospect. Overall some good performances and it’s a nice if not crowded and exhausting event.
The World at One - Sellebrity @ Kings Head - Three twenty minute plays on the cost and demands of celebrity. Basically a lot of people being nasty to each other. I didn’t see the version on social networking, but this was OK and decent lunchtime fare. I’d go to another one.
Mincemeat @ Cordy House - A promenade look at an infamous WW2 operation in which the British military dumped a corpse on the coast of Spain with the intent of spreading misinformation. Again some displeasure from meta-theatricality (though this may be house style looking over the Cardboard Citizens website) but overall a fascinating production with an excellent use of a warehouse space. Bring water if you go.
And now I’m all caught up. I’m attending Forbidden Broadway at the Menier later this week, but have a commission so it’ll only be brief thoughts here. More to follow...
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
Monday, 1 June 2009
REVIEW: “Arcadia”
I have something of an odd relationship with the works of Tom Stoppard. I love reading Stoppard, and definitely belong to the camp which calls the man a genius, but at the same time I find watching his works less enjoyable, perhaps because I can read one of his plays (barring epics like The Coast of Utopia) in around an hour and a half or less but they always seem to take far, far too long to actually perform. Arcadia, considered by many to be Stoppard’s great masterpiece, falls squarely into this category, but it is also - and perhaps for the first time - quite likely that I feel this way strictly based on my seat assignment.
Yes, assignment. I should get it out of the way here that I didn’t pay for my ticket to Arcadia, and as such didn’t get to choose where I sat as tends to be part of the bargain. Anybody associated with the box office or producing the show will know where I got Upper Circle A1 from, and they will also know that the seat should be taken out of the theatre and never be sold to begin with. Why? You can’t actually see the stage. Oh sure you can see the very back of the stage in an arching sliver from about 2/3 of stage left to its corner, but virtually none of the action takes place there. Even engaging in the rather rude act of leaning with all your might provides at most half a stage worth of view. Yes, the tickets are marked restricted, and no, I didn’t pay for them, but other people seeking a bargain will only to leave in frustration.
My advice to those people? Take the benches in the back. You’ll have a clear view of everything you need, just smuggle a cushion into your bag when you go to the theatre.
But anyways. Not being able to see the show proved quite the distraction as RADA types speaking RP tend to sound the same and you get the effect of listening to an indistinct radio play from the experience. Sure the occasional moment of brilliance still smacks you with the hammer of literary light, but the rest of the play seemed a world away from me, the audience member, to the point where I debated bolting at the interval. Fortunately I didn’t bolt, as my cramped quarters did allow me one distinct advantage: being able to see where there were potentially better empty seats in the lower circle for the second half. And sure enough, despite a dirty look from an usher, I moved myself down to Dress Circle C24 and could see virtually everything except one of the entrances.
The benefit of being able to visually follow the story helped immensely,and I found the second half far more engaging, but the damage was already done: I still couldn’t actually get into the story well enough to really take it all in.
And, as I’ve written almost a page of A4, I guess I should explain what the story is: an associate of Lord Byron’s is tutor to the daughter of the house, a genius of a 16 year old who works out the dissipating nature of thermodynamic transfers far before her time. Meanwhile her tutor is subject to scandal for sleeping with a few local wives, Byron is implicated, and the whole scandal feeds into the second of Stoppard’s formulaic intertwinings (combining periods and realities is to Stoppard what the escalation of brutality is to McDonagh) about warring professors looking at the decline of enlightenment against the romantic era, tracking the grouse population, and working out Byron’s role in the scandal. It’s directed by David Leveaux, known to Americans for both his prior Stoppards as well as the 2004 revival of Fiddler on the Roof. The cast, including Stoppard’s son Ed, are fine, it’s all very RP and proper, but the acting didn’t reach the cheap seats.
A pity, really. Arcadia *is* a good play (though both acts could lose 10-15 minutes as the entire thing clocks in at 2 hr 50 including interval) but I suspect I’m in the minority in saying that I was bored by the end of each half and quite happy to get some air afterwards.
Where: Duke of York’s
When: Until 12 September, M-W, Fr/Sa @ 19:30, Th @ 19:00, W/Sa @ 14:30
How Much: £15-£49.50
Concessions: Probably.
-----------------
RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: N/A. Can’t honestly judge.
RZ Other Notes: Is it me or is the new Ambassador website absolutely hideous for anybody trying to get, you know, useful information without having to do three times as much work as on the previous site? Heaven help those trying to book for touring productions.
Yes, assignment. I should get it out of the way here that I didn’t pay for my ticket to Arcadia, and as such didn’t get to choose where I sat as tends to be part of the bargain. Anybody associated with the box office or producing the show will know where I got Upper Circle A1 from, and they will also know that the seat should be taken out of the theatre and never be sold to begin with. Why? You can’t actually see the stage. Oh sure you can see the very back of the stage in an arching sliver from about 2/3 of stage left to its corner, but virtually none of the action takes place there. Even engaging in the rather rude act of leaning with all your might provides at most half a stage worth of view. Yes, the tickets are marked restricted, and no, I didn’t pay for them, but other people seeking a bargain will only to leave in frustration.
My advice to those people? Take the benches in the back. You’ll have a clear view of everything you need, just smuggle a cushion into your bag when you go to the theatre.
But anyways. Not being able to see the show proved quite the distraction as RADA types speaking RP tend to sound the same and you get the effect of listening to an indistinct radio play from the experience. Sure the occasional moment of brilliance still smacks you with the hammer of literary light, but the rest of the play seemed a world away from me, the audience member, to the point where I debated bolting at the interval. Fortunately I didn’t bolt, as my cramped quarters did allow me one distinct advantage: being able to see where there were potentially better empty seats in the lower circle for the second half. And sure enough, despite a dirty look from an usher, I moved myself down to Dress Circle C24 and could see virtually everything except one of the entrances.
The benefit of being able to visually follow the story helped immensely,and I found the second half far more engaging, but the damage was already done: I still couldn’t actually get into the story well enough to really take it all in.
And, as I’ve written almost a page of A4, I guess I should explain what the story is: an associate of Lord Byron’s is tutor to the daughter of the house, a genius of a 16 year old who works out the dissipating nature of thermodynamic transfers far before her time. Meanwhile her tutor is subject to scandal for sleeping with a few local wives, Byron is implicated, and the whole scandal feeds into the second of Stoppard’s formulaic intertwinings (combining periods and realities is to Stoppard what the escalation of brutality is to McDonagh) about warring professors looking at the decline of enlightenment against the romantic era, tracking the grouse population, and working out Byron’s role in the scandal. It’s directed by David Leveaux, known to Americans for both his prior Stoppards as well as the 2004 revival of Fiddler on the Roof. The cast, including Stoppard’s son Ed, are fine, it’s all very RP and proper, but the acting didn’t reach the cheap seats.
A pity, really. Arcadia *is* a good play (though both acts could lose 10-15 minutes as the entire thing clocks in at 2 hr 50 including interval) but I suspect I’m in the minority in saying that I was bored by the end of each half and quite happy to get some air afterwards.
Where: Duke of York’s
When: Until 12 September, M-W, Fr/Sa @ 19:30, Th @ 19:00, W/Sa @ 14:30
How Much: £15-£49.50
Concessions: Probably.
-----------------
RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: N/A. Can’t honestly judge.
RZ Other Notes: Is it me or is the new Ambassador website absolutely hideous for anybody trying to get, you know, useful information without having to do three times as much work as on the previous site? Heaven help those trying to book for touring productions.
Thursday, 14 May 2009
REVIEW: “Thriller Live”
As a child of the 80’s, the scandal surrounding Michael Jackson in the past 15 or so years is a high publicity decimation of a pop culture icon. I was never a huge fan (I can quote you the Weird Al parodies for “Bad” and “Beat it” far more easily than the original) but I don’t deny the man’s talent and like a number of the big hits.
Unfortunately, the truly big “everybody knows these songs backwards, forwards, and sideways” hits are about an hour of music. Thriller Live is two and a half hours and four of the songs everybody expects (Thriller/Bad/Billie Jean/Black or White) and wants to hear are the finale/encore. That leaves quite a bit of time for second and third tear material from the Jackson disco catalogue and the ballads nobody remembers or cares about.
Again, I’m finding myself saying “nice cast, shame about the play.” Ben Forster is simply amazing as one of the show’s many singers, and if there’s any justice in the world will be playing Galileo in WWRY. Denise Pearson is also a standout singer, as are Ricko Baird and Earl Perkins. Ashton Russell was on as young Michael when I saw the show and stood out in the opposite direction, failing to stay in key and looking as bored as I often felt. The dance ensemble were universally talented and genuinely hard workers performing the brutal choreography associated with Jackson’s videos and stage shows.
And then there’s the design. While Jonathan Park’s set is passably functional and Adrian Gwilliam’s costumes appropriately fun, Nigel Catmur’s lighting is an abomination worthy of the pits of theatrical hell. I get that no, this is not traditional theatre (well, it is in a way...) but more a concert and as such will rely on more concert styled lighting. Get it, got it, no problem with it. But it’s bad concert lighting (ya know?) with an overhead ring throwing LED everywhere but on the stage and the production relies heavily on lightboard animations (including one during “The Man in the Mirror” that takes us through MJ’s many faces before showing John Lennon, JFK, a host of other historical figures, and finally Barack Obama) which are bright, constantly moving, and in many cases look like primitive GIF files. There’s also an excessive use of oversized flashbulb (painful if you’re off to the sides and therefore find yourself angled towards where they pop) and enough driving, unrelenting fast colour changes to rival Priscilla for most painful visuals in the West End.
And before anybody asks, no, I’m not epleptic, and no, I’m not generally photosensitive. I can go clubbing, watch strobe heavy 80’s anime, and stare at monitors all day and still not suffer eyestrain or headache, but I found myself closing my eyes for minutes of respite at Thriller. If they JUST had the latter aspects of the lighting, it would have gotten a sentence here and I’d have moved on, but the sheer in your face quantity of LED bothers me not just for its physical effect, but also its artistic one: this is a concert full of hit tunes sung by talented singers with legendary choreography. So why try to distract everybody by showing all kinds of flashy crap in the background? Have some faith in your material and performers let them speak for themselves. You know, like in Shout (which I also revisited yesterday and still enjoyed.)
Where: Lyric Theatre Shaftesbury
When: Tu-Fr, Su @ 19:30, Sa @ 16:00 & 20:00, Su @ 15:30
How Much: £23.50-£54.50
Concessions: Best available for £20
-------------------------
RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: £10. Add £5 for every MJ CD you have that isn’t Bad or Thriller.
RZ Other Notes: First and foremost, this was my first visit to the Lyric Shaftesbury and it’s a truly beautiful theatre, both architecturally and in its decor. Second, the balcony and upper circle were closed last night so MJ fans may wish to consider buying cheap and aiming for a bump. Third, I recommend staying for the first 15 minutes and then bolting to the bar until the second half when all of the songs that matter are played.
Unfortunately, the truly big “everybody knows these songs backwards, forwards, and sideways” hits are about an hour of music. Thriller Live is two and a half hours and four of the songs everybody expects (Thriller/Bad/Billie Jean/Black or White) and wants to hear are the finale/encore. That leaves quite a bit of time for second and third tear material from the Jackson disco catalogue and the ballads nobody remembers or cares about.
Again, I’m finding myself saying “nice cast, shame about the play.” Ben Forster is simply amazing as one of the show’s many singers, and if there’s any justice in the world will be playing Galileo in WWRY. Denise Pearson is also a standout singer, as are Ricko Baird and Earl Perkins. Ashton Russell was on as young Michael when I saw the show and stood out in the opposite direction, failing to stay in key and looking as bored as I often felt. The dance ensemble were universally talented and genuinely hard workers performing the brutal choreography associated with Jackson’s videos and stage shows.
And then there’s the design. While Jonathan Park’s set is passably functional and Adrian Gwilliam’s costumes appropriately fun, Nigel Catmur’s lighting is an abomination worthy of the pits of theatrical hell. I get that no, this is not traditional theatre (well, it is in a way...) but more a concert and as such will rely on more concert styled lighting. Get it, got it, no problem with it. But it’s bad concert lighting (ya know?) with an overhead ring throwing LED everywhere but on the stage and the production relies heavily on lightboard animations (including one during “The Man in the Mirror” that takes us through MJ’s many faces before showing John Lennon, JFK, a host of other historical figures, and finally Barack Obama) which are bright, constantly moving, and in many cases look like primitive GIF files. There’s also an excessive use of oversized flashbulb (painful if you’re off to the sides and therefore find yourself angled towards where they pop) and enough driving, unrelenting fast colour changes to rival Priscilla for most painful visuals in the West End.
And before anybody asks, no, I’m not epleptic, and no, I’m not generally photosensitive. I can go clubbing, watch strobe heavy 80’s anime, and stare at monitors all day and still not suffer eyestrain or headache, but I found myself closing my eyes for minutes of respite at Thriller. If they JUST had the latter aspects of the lighting, it would have gotten a sentence here and I’d have moved on, but the sheer in your face quantity of LED bothers me not just for its physical effect, but also its artistic one: this is a concert full of hit tunes sung by talented singers with legendary choreography. So why try to distract everybody by showing all kinds of flashy crap in the background? Have some faith in your material and performers let them speak for themselves. You know, like in Shout (which I also revisited yesterday and still enjoyed.)
Where: Lyric Theatre Shaftesbury
When: Tu-Fr, Su @ 19:30, Sa @ 16:00 & 20:00, Su @ 15:30
How Much: £23.50-£54.50
Concessions: Best available for £20
-------------------------
RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: £10. Add £5 for every MJ CD you have that isn’t Bad or Thriller.
RZ Other Notes: First and foremost, this was my first visit to the Lyric Shaftesbury and it’s a truly beautiful theatre, both architecturally and in its decor. Second, the balcony and upper circle were closed last night so MJ fans may wish to consider buying cheap and aiming for a bump. Third, I recommend staying for the first 15 minutes and then bolting to the bar until the second half when all of the songs that matter are played.
Monday, 11 May 2009
Revisit: "La Cage Aux Folles"
(Quick post #2...on a roll.)
Once again offered tickets and once again back to the West End run of La Cage. With Graham Norton's departure, the principles of nightclub owner Georges and diva drag queen Albin are now played by Philip Quast (who played Georges at the Menier itself) and Roger Allam. Hodge is excellent in the role, warm and affectionate, torn between the love of his life and the happiness of his child. Allam is a butchy queen, looking quite masculinely built from my seat in the circle, but gets into the motions and sings better than Norton (not saying much). he's not QUITE there yet, but I suspect he'll be in fine form after a few more performances. Memory may also be playing tricks on me, but I want to say a few new visual gags were also directed in with this cast change and despite two prior visits, the production feels fresh enough to warrant revisiting.
Previous worth paying and notes stand.
Once again offered tickets and once again back to the West End run of La Cage. With Graham Norton's departure, the principles of nightclub owner Georges and diva drag queen Albin are now played by Philip Quast (who played Georges at the Menier itself) and Roger Allam. Hodge is excellent in the role, warm and affectionate, torn between the love of his life and the happiness of his child. Allam is a butchy queen, looking quite masculinely built from my seat in the circle, but gets into the motions and sings better than Norton (not saying much). he's not QUITE there yet, but I suspect he'll be in fine form after a few more performances. Memory may also be playing tricks on me, but I want to say a few new visual gags were also directed in with this cast change and despite two prior visits, the production feels fresh enough to warrant revisiting.
Previous worth paying and notes stand.
REVIEW: Dimetos/Madame de Sade
(A very quick one to be followed by two more very quick ones.)
“Nice cast, shame about the play.”
There isn’t much more to be said about either of the Donmar’s current productions: both of which boast the standard celebrity and established actors one would come to expect from the venue, both feature some amusing design (the red pool in Dimetos and the huge mother of pearl sitting room and gigantic frocks in Madame) but both are excruciatingly dull texts with the former boasting a nonsensical second act - even the director didn’t know what it was about - and the latter making the man who gave us some of the most infamous S&M pornography ever made tame and quite matter of fact.
I guess go if you want to see some people from the telly doing high-brow theatre (the snooty French accent doesn't come through online on that), but otherwise wait for the season to progress...
“Nice cast, shame about the play.”
There isn’t much more to be said about either of the Donmar’s current productions: both of which boast the standard celebrity and established actors one would come to expect from the venue, both feature some amusing design (the red pool in Dimetos and the huge mother of pearl sitting room and gigantic frocks in Madame) but both are excruciatingly dull texts with the former boasting a nonsensical second act - even the director didn’t know what it was about - and the latter making the man who gave us some of the most infamous S&M pornography ever made tame and quite matter of fact.
I guess go if you want to see some people from the telly doing high-brow theatre (the snooty French accent doesn't come through online on that), but otherwise wait for the season to progress...
Saturday, 2 May 2009
REVIEW: “Shout!”
I felt a bit of trepidation as I headed to the Arts Theatre (of death!) before seeing Shout! last night. Here we had another jukebox musical, and one with less than impressive word of mouth as well. Things weren’t improved when I snuck a glance at a neighbour’s programme and saw it opening with the same Petula Clark song as that damn bus (the song being “Downtown” for those keeping track.)
Fortunately it was all uphill from there. Not far uphill, but up enough that I was happy enough to sit back and enjoy the ride. I suspect this is because of adjusting expectations: the descriptions of Shout revolve largely around the flimsiness of its unattributed book. No, the book’s not as clever as, say, Return to the Forbidden Planet, but it does the minimum of creating excuses or introducing songs and doing so without ever saying “Let’s have a song!” And, to be honest, given the amount of time the book requires out of the runtime, I’m content to write it off and reconsider Shout as a revue a la Tomfoolery rather than as a proper book musical.
But nobody knows what a revue *is* these days, let alone sees them, so it’s easy to understand why everything gets promoted as an event or a musical when the truth is that revue may be a more appropriate term (even if this satirises the 60’s instead of today, but that in itself reflects our current changes in attitude.)
Meanwhile, it would be useful to talk about the show itself.
*ahem*
The year is 1960. Georgina (Tiffany Graves) is a modern young woman who heads down to London in search of love and the high life. On the train she meets Ruby (Marissa Dunlop), an actress in training, and shy wallflower Betty (normally played by ex-Wickeder Shona White but understudied by Francesca Newitt when I went). The trio end up renting a flat in Peckham above Best Cuts, a hair salon owned by Georgina’s aunt Yvonne (Su Pollard). The four women become fast friends and we spend the next decade as they marry, divorce, and belt through the tunes of the time as bridged by Tony T (John Jack), editor of Shout Magazine.
As I stated before, the book is largely irrelevant, though it has some laughs in the Carry On vein, and Jack’s editor speaks Public School English with the condescending tone of early television adverts which lends both a tongue in cheek to the proceedings as well as a reminder of how far we’ve come. The main thrust of the show is a decade of classic pop from Petula to Dusty, bubblegum to psychedelia, and the four main ladies (in addition to Jessica Kirton as a dialogue-free shop assistant/trophy girl) do an excellent job of belting to the rafters and reminding us all that the 60’s really were a golden age of music. Yes, that includes Su Pollard.
Also praise-worthy are Morgan Large’s designs, both simple and evocative of pop art, bright clean colours, and the rise in trippy patterns while functional and (short of some overdone strobing by colour-smart lighting designer Ben Cracknell) tasteful. Come to think of it, “tasteful” is probably the best way to describe the whole affair though “obvious cash-in” comes second.
I digress.
Another groovy point was Large’s costume designs for the girls, but I was rather confused by the costumes for Tony T: much of Shout’s promotion on tour (and the CD cover) refer to it as a mod musical, but the lack of a sharp suit and skinny tie, anorak, or other iconic mod images stood out though they could be a logistical necessity for some extremely rapid costume changes.
Anyways, to sum it up: your enjoyment of Shout will be directly proportional to how much you like 60’s pop music and whether or not you can get past the fluffy book in lieu of something more intellectual.
Where: Arts Theatre
When: Until 28 June, Tu-Sa @ 19:30, W/Sa @ 15:00, Su @ 16:00
How Much: £20-£42.50
Concessions: £25 excluding Fri/Sat nights, book one hour before the show
-------------------
RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: £20. Maybe a few more if you’re a big Su Pollard fan.
RZ Other Notes: I guess it just shows that whoever composed most of Petula Clark’s music is all too happy to let the tracks out as long as they get their royalty cheque. Too bad they wanted an impractical amount for an official release of the brilliant short film “Animato” by creator Mike Jittlov. Jittlov created the film in 1969 and it’s a breathtaking work of stop motion and hand worked animation but the music was never cleared so you’ll have to do some digging to find a copy of the piece. A reworked version with new music was included in Jittlov’s feature film The Wizard of Speed and Time.
Fortunately it was all uphill from there. Not far uphill, but up enough that I was happy enough to sit back and enjoy the ride. I suspect this is because of adjusting expectations: the descriptions of Shout revolve largely around the flimsiness of its unattributed book. No, the book’s not as clever as, say, Return to the Forbidden Planet, but it does the minimum of creating excuses or introducing songs and doing so without ever saying “Let’s have a song!” And, to be honest, given the amount of time the book requires out of the runtime, I’m content to write it off and reconsider Shout as a revue a la Tomfoolery rather than as a proper book musical.
But nobody knows what a revue *is* these days, let alone sees them, so it’s easy to understand why everything gets promoted as an event or a musical when the truth is that revue may be a more appropriate term (even if this satirises the 60’s instead of today, but that in itself reflects our current changes in attitude.)
Meanwhile, it would be useful to talk about the show itself.
*ahem*
The year is 1960. Georgina (Tiffany Graves) is a modern young woman who heads down to London in search of love and the high life. On the train she meets Ruby (Marissa Dunlop), an actress in training, and shy wallflower Betty (normally played by ex-Wickeder Shona White but understudied by Francesca Newitt when I went). The trio end up renting a flat in Peckham above Best Cuts, a hair salon owned by Georgina’s aunt Yvonne (Su Pollard). The four women become fast friends and we spend the next decade as they marry, divorce, and belt through the tunes of the time as bridged by Tony T (John Jack), editor of Shout Magazine.
As I stated before, the book is largely irrelevant, though it has some laughs in the Carry On vein, and Jack’s editor speaks Public School English with the condescending tone of early television adverts which lends both a tongue in cheek to the proceedings as well as a reminder of how far we’ve come. The main thrust of the show is a decade of classic pop from Petula to Dusty, bubblegum to psychedelia, and the four main ladies (in addition to Jessica Kirton as a dialogue-free shop assistant/trophy girl) do an excellent job of belting to the rafters and reminding us all that the 60’s really were a golden age of music. Yes, that includes Su Pollard.
Also praise-worthy are Morgan Large’s designs, both simple and evocative of pop art, bright clean colours, and the rise in trippy patterns while functional and (short of some overdone strobing by colour-smart lighting designer Ben Cracknell) tasteful. Come to think of it, “tasteful” is probably the best way to describe the whole affair though “obvious cash-in” comes second.
I digress.
Another groovy point was Large’s costume designs for the girls, but I was rather confused by the costumes for Tony T: much of Shout’s promotion on tour (and the CD cover) refer to it as a mod musical, but the lack of a sharp suit and skinny tie, anorak, or other iconic mod images stood out though they could be a logistical necessity for some extremely rapid costume changes.
Anyways, to sum it up: your enjoyment of Shout will be directly proportional to how much you like 60’s pop music and whether or not you can get past the fluffy book in lieu of something more intellectual.
Where: Arts Theatre
When: Until 28 June, Tu-Sa @ 19:30, W/Sa @ 15:00, Su @ 16:00
How Much: £20-£42.50
Concessions: £25 excluding Fri/Sat nights, book one hour before the show
-------------------
RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: £20. Maybe a few more if you’re a big Su Pollard fan.
RZ Other Notes: I guess it just shows that whoever composed most of Petula Clark’s music is all too happy to let the tracks out as long as they get their royalty cheque. Too bad they wanted an impractical amount for an official release of the brilliant short film “Animato” by creator Mike Jittlov. Jittlov created the film in 1969 and it’s a breathtaking work of stop motion and hand worked animation but the music was never cleared so you’ll have to do some digging to find a copy of the piece. A reworked version with new music was included in Jittlov’s feature film The Wizard of Speed and Time.
Monday, 27 April 2009
REVIEW: “Rookery Nook”
I like farce. When done well it provides an entertaining night out with lots of laughs and a canny look at the peculiarities of social norms and morals. It’s a comforting form of entertainment where the entire piece is dictated by rules and form (like panto) and the creativity comes in exploiting these and finding something new to say within.
Unfortunately, it’s particularly easy to screw this up. All it takes is a slip in the timing, an inferior round of wordplay, or a bad mood in the audience to ruin everything.
Rookery Nook, now playing at the Chocolate Factory, is closer to the latter than the former. Looking at the sexual mores of the educated class, the play revolves around a trio of chaps trying to avoid the image of impropriety when a girl runs away from home in the heat of an argument. Of course, the girl’s reputation is already in tatters as one of the fellows’ wives took it upon herself to spread false rumours about her relation to her foreign stepfather.
Eagle eyed readers will notice that there is no actual misconduct here (though one of the men, who resembles Cary Elwes is clearly a rogue on his best behaviour). The fun in farce comes from the cover-up: keeping the three stewardesses apart in Boeing-Boeing, making sure the play runs in Noises Off, but so much of the actual “keep away” is absent here: there are only brief moments of threat at the end of the first act and the start and of course end of the second. Secondary characters take much of the time (a crusty admiral in the second act, a second girl added to make things worse in the third) and it keeps the pressure and the tension from achieving a properly tightened torque.
That’s not to say that everything about the show is awful: I quite liked the cast, and the costumes will please anybody who reads The Chap. There was some slightly clever lighting, and the play almost managed to keep my attention focused enough to ignore how uncomfortable the benches were (yes, my arse was numb at the interval. Fortunately there was spare room and I was able to shift around a bit during the second and third acts as revenge for the loudly crinkling people behind me.)
Is it amusing throughout? I guess. I was never bored, but the first act was distinctly underwhelming and the play only reaches top gear in two or three brief moments despite the dialogue flying past. The Whingers attribute this to the set being too big and taking energy from the jokes, and I’m likely to agree: despite being the Menier being a small venue, farce needs to be in cramped or expanded settings so that action can be concentrated (or distracted from). I think the ultimate weakness, however, lies with the script by Ben Travers: It’s a bit too by-the-book and lacks the oomph needed to really reel in the laughs.
But the Menier’s next show is Forbidden Broadway and all is therefore forgiven.
Where: Menier Chocolate Factory
When: Until 20 June. Tu-Sa @ 20:00, Sa/Su @ 15:30
How Much: £25/£34 (the latter being a meal deal with the venue’s restaurant.)
Concessions: £20
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RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: £10. Safe, take your mum theatre with nice costumes.
RZ Other Notes: The assigned seating policy remains! I’ve never been on the black benches, but the red ones are desperately in need of some padding. Hopefully the money coming in from La Cage can help fund some decent seats!
Unfortunately, it’s particularly easy to screw this up. All it takes is a slip in the timing, an inferior round of wordplay, or a bad mood in the audience to ruin everything.
Rookery Nook, now playing at the Chocolate Factory, is closer to the latter than the former. Looking at the sexual mores of the educated class, the play revolves around a trio of chaps trying to avoid the image of impropriety when a girl runs away from home in the heat of an argument. Of course, the girl’s reputation is already in tatters as one of the fellows’ wives took it upon herself to spread false rumours about her relation to her foreign stepfather.
Eagle eyed readers will notice that there is no actual misconduct here (though one of the men, who resembles Cary Elwes is clearly a rogue on his best behaviour). The fun in farce comes from the cover-up: keeping the three stewardesses apart in Boeing-Boeing, making sure the play runs in Noises Off, but so much of the actual “keep away” is absent here: there are only brief moments of threat at the end of the first act and the start and of course end of the second. Secondary characters take much of the time (a crusty admiral in the second act, a second girl added to make things worse in the third) and it keeps the pressure and the tension from achieving a properly tightened torque.
That’s not to say that everything about the show is awful: I quite liked the cast, and the costumes will please anybody who reads The Chap. There was some slightly clever lighting, and the play almost managed to keep my attention focused enough to ignore how uncomfortable the benches were (yes, my arse was numb at the interval. Fortunately there was spare room and I was able to shift around a bit during the second and third acts as revenge for the loudly crinkling people behind me.)
Is it amusing throughout? I guess. I was never bored, but the first act was distinctly underwhelming and the play only reaches top gear in two or three brief moments despite the dialogue flying past. The Whingers attribute this to the set being too big and taking energy from the jokes, and I’m likely to agree: despite being the Menier being a small venue, farce needs to be in cramped or expanded settings so that action can be concentrated (or distracted from). I think the ultimate weakness, however, lies with the script by Ben Travers: It’s a bit too by-the-book and lacks the oomph needed to really reel in the laughs.
But the Menier’s next show is Forbidden Broadway and all is therefore forgiven.
Where: Menier Chocolate Factory
When: Until 20 June. Tu-Sa @ 20:00, Sa/Su @ 15:30
How Much: £25/£34 (the latter being a meal deal with the venue’s restaurant.)
Concessions: £20
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RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: £10. Safe, take your mum theatre with nice costumes.
RZ Other Notes: The assigned seating policy remains! I’ve never been on the black benches, but the red ones are desperately in need of some padding. Hopefully the money coming in from La Cage can help fund some decent seats!
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