As readers can probably guess, I love the great British art of pantomime. The colours, the shouting, the good fairy entering in a giant penis costume.
OK, so the last one is a bit odd, but nevertheless appeared in this new example of the all grown up sub-genre of adult pantomime. Tacky, crude, and raunchy as can be, Sinderfella is cheap, in your face, and a good time when sober - but those around me were clearly enjoying themselves more after at least a couple drinks.
The cast, led by London drag standard Bette Rinse, are clearly having fun as the double (and single) entendres fly, dildos are waved, and the Ugly Sisters (Peter Kosta and Simon Gross, the latter also being the author/director) torment both poor Cinders and the audience more savagely than in your standard kiddie fare. To my surprise, though, this production (despite all the drag and the location) was actually LESS gay than Stephen Fry’s Old Vic show last year.
Yes, it looks cheap (it was) and yes, there’s too much music in the second act (7 full songs in 30 minutes) and yes, they do play “Be Our Guest” far, far too often, but Sinderfella is a foul-mouthed hoot nonetheless.
Where: Above the Stag Theatre
When: Until 22 Dec., M/W @ 19:30, Th-Sa @ 21:00, Su @ 16:00
How Much: £12 general seating
Concessions: None
-----------------
RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: £10.
RZ Other Notes: If you buy a programme you get a free raffle ticket for a gift that made the winning lady smile quite a bit.
Showing posts with label Cheap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cheap. Show all posts
Tuesday, 9 December 2008
Friday, 7 November 2008
REVIEW: "Linie 1" (Film DVD)
Back in July I reviewed the long-running musical Linie 1 after a trip to Berlin. At the time the stage version had just come out on DVD, but getting a copy is difficult: one needs to either visit the GRIPS Theater in Berlin or order a copy directly. As the company doesn’t have the facilities to process credit cards, getting ahold of the disc outside of Germany is troublesome to say the least. Fortunately the 1988 film version has recently been released on mass market DVD after spending over a decade out of print on VHS.
In many ways the film is an easier watch than the stage disc: the movie runs barely 100 minutes (vs. the play’s 180+) which has greatly streamlined the rather messy plot. The film also offers the benefits of specialised casting: while most of the cast were in the original stage version, characters such as the Boy in the Raincoat (played here by Andreas Schmidt, most recently seen in The Counterfeiters) have been recast for age appropriateness whereas the stage DVD cast is full of ageing members about to finish their contracts. The songs also have a poppier and in some places stronger arrangement than on stage (e.g. Hey du.)
That’s about where the benefits end, though. A number of songs (including the haunting 6 Uhr 14 and the angsty Tag ich hasse dich has been replaced with the poppier In jeder Großstadt bin ich zu Haus) have been axed, and the design can only be described as bizarre: the film will spend ten minutes in a realist mode only to throw ticket inspectors to smoke filled tunnels or have policemen dancing for one shot of a song while chasing down a busker while moving normally otherwise. Scenes set outside of a train car or station hearken back to the 40’s with a combination of fake buildings and painted backdrops, and the film’s altered ending does nothing for the sake of clarity. It’s not bad like the RENT movie was, largely due to the continued input of the theatrical creators, but the aesthetic is jarring and may put viewers off the first time through.
The filmed Linie 1 also fails to tackle some of the play’s larger themes, such as urban anonymity: the Girl is given a proper name (Sunny) as is the Boy (Humphrey - three guesses as to why) and even though it’s a minor issue given the wholesale reduction of material, it takes away some of the magic and the grit. I’d need to pull out the stage DVD or the script books to check, but I suspect the play’s extensive use of Berlin dialect has been toned down, though it’s still present.
As far as the DVD itself is concerned, the film is presented in a 1.66 aspect ratio and is enhanced for anamorphic playback. The print has been newly telecined (with 4% PAL speedup) and remastered and the colours are nice and intense with no visible film damage and retains an appropriate amount of film grain. The audio track is straightforward 2.0 stereo encoded in Dolby Digital. As is annoyingly standard for German releases there are no subtitles, either in German for the hard of hearing or alternative languages for foreign viewers.
In terms of extras, there’s a 30 minute making of which is mostly talking head footage of Reinhard Hauff (director) and Eberhard Junkersdorf (producer). There’s some interesting discussion of how they adapted the material and some of the technical constraints (getting a real train car into the studio proved rather difficult), a photo gallery with some music, the original trailer, and direct links to the songs. The original press kit is also included as a rather nifty DVD-ROM extra.
Overall, Linie 1 the movie is a product of its era which hasn’t held up as well twenty years on as its inspiration, but it’s an accessible version of the work and is well worth the price (a scant €10 online - cheaper than the OCR) for those who are curious and is available from your German DVD merchant of choice including amazon.de.
In many ways the film is an easier watch than the stage disc: the movie runs barely 100 minutes (vs. the play’s 180+) which has greatly streamlined the rather messy plot. The film also offers the benefits of specialised casting: while most of the cast were in the original stage version, characters such as the Boy in the Raincoat (played here by Andreas Schmidt, most recently seen in The Counterfeiters) have been recast for age appropriateness whereas the stage DVD cast is full of ageing members about to finish their contracts. The songs also have a poppier and in some places stronger arrangement than on stage (e.g. Hey du.)
That’s about where the benefits end, though. A number of songs (including the haunting 6 Uhr 14 and the angsty Tag ich hasse dich has been replaced with the poppier In jeder Großstadt bin ich zu Haus) have been axed, and the design can only be described as bizarre: the film will spend ten minutes in a realist mode only to throw ticket inspectors to smoke filled tunnels or have policemen dancing for one shot of a song while chasing down a busker while moving normally otherwise. Scenes set outside of a train car or station hearken back to the 40’s with a combination of fake buildings and painted backdrops, and the film’s altered ending does nothing for the sake of clarity. It’s not bad like the RENT movie was, largely due to the continued input of the theatrical creators, but the aesthetic is jarring and may put viewers off the first time through.
The filmed Linie 1 also fails to tackle some of the play’s larger themes, such as urban anonymity: the Girl is given a proper name (Sunny) as is the Boy (Humphrey - three guesses as to why) and even though it’s a minor issue given the wholesale reduction of material, it takes away some of the magic and the grit. I’d need to pull out the stage DVD or the script books to check, but I suspect the play’s extensive use of Berlin dialect has been toned down, though it’s still present.
As far as the DVD itself is concerned, the film is presented in a 1.66 aspect ratio and is enhanced for anamorphic playback. The print has been newly telecined (with 4% PAL speedup) and remastered and the colours are nice and intense with no visible film damage and retains an appropriate amount of film grain. The audio track is straightforward 2.0 stereo encoded in Dolby Digital. As is annoyingly standard for German releases there are no subtitles, either in German for the hard of hearing or alternative languages for foreign viewers.
In terms of extras, there’s a 30 minute making of which is mostly talking head footage of Reinhard Hauff (director) and Eberhard Junkersdorf (producer). There’s some interesting discussion of how they adapted the material and some of the technical constraints (getting a real train car into the studio proved rather difficult), a photo gallery with some music, the original trailer, and direct links to the songs. The original press kit is also included as a rather nifty DVD-ROM extra.
Overall, Linie 1 the movie is a product of its era which hasn’t held up as well twenty years on as its inspiration, but it’s an accessible version of the work and is well worth the price (a scant €10 online - cheaper than the OCR) for those who are curious and is available from your German DVD merchant of choice including amazon.de.
Friday, 26 September 2008
REVIEW: "For the Public Good/Celebritney"
(Second review within 24 hours. Check your feeds and/or below for the RZ's review of Riflemind at Trafalgar Studios.)
Ripped from the headlines, it’s Law and Order...er...make that a pair of one-acts at the Baron’s Court. And despite the onset of dehydration combined with the sweatbox heat of the theatre and the assault on the RZ’s abilities and judgement by Riflemind, he managed to make it through both of them.
First up: For the Public Good by Alice Josephs. Based on a recent BBC investigation, the play is framed by a group of women digging around in an old asylum: Isabel (Antonia Christy) is trying to put her family tree together and great aunt Eva has disappeared from all records. An anonymous email to journalist Misty (Laura Waddell) and a pair of friends make the trek to the disused building, and the group are met by former guard turned bag lady Fran (Hilary Burns). As the group are taken through the past, it is revealed that Typhoid carriers, though healthy, were imprisoned in the name of public safety.
It sounds like a lot, but it’s a brief 45 minutes and Josephs does a good job of interpolating the modern characters’ interrogations with the past’s ghosts acting out the events. Burns bounces from evil nurse to guilty conscience with ease, and the cast are decent enough though this isn’t a play to see for the acting.
A more upbeat second work, Heather Johnston’s Celebritney is more of a drama than the comedy the RZ was hoping for, and yet it still works: manager Vee Vee (Jenna Goodwin) and image consultant Jacinta (Rachel Lynes) are stuck with the challenge of turning ultra-boring goody-goody pink teen-pop queen Taysha (Natalie Louka) into an arsekicking bad girl in time to take the coveted Christmas #1. The problem is that Taysha’s management (her unseen single mother) has made sure that her daughter’s lifestyle has remained squeaky clean. Desperate for a scandal to keep their cash cow in the press, the pair begin seeking out ways of manufacturing controversy.
To be honest, there’s nothing particularly surprising about Celebritney, but it manages to stay amusing throughout and knows to wrap up just as it starts to outstay its welcome. The RZ wishes, however, that Johnston had given her characters a bit more depth: the trio here are all rather two-dimensional which is a shame because the script has a nice subplot polygon (this links to that which comes back elsewhere...) that shows Johnston’s potential as seeming throwaways bubble up to the surface.
There’s also the question of music, or the lack thereof. Any play about a band or a musician needs to have plenty of tunes. Instead, Celebritney relies heavily on a single track constantly repeated whenever there’s a scene change or someone flips on their stereo. And like bad pop music, it gets old FAST. The RZ wasn’t taking notes to count, but if he had to wager a guess, the same 45 second sample was probably heard between 10 and 12 times in the hour runtime - and it wasn’t even that good. Fledgling producers take note: royalty free collections, creative commons, and the podsafe network all have stacks and stacks of cheap (or free) to use music (within reasons and limits) to prevent your audiences from wanting to scream at your low budget.
So overall? Despite the heat and the headache, the RZ found these to be pretty decent and he’s not just saying that because he got a press comp for shilling the press release. Neither piece was amazing, but both were competent and the RZ is fond of short form evenings: if you don’t like what’s on now, something else is coming up which may suit you better. And hey, it’s cheaper than a trip to Trafalgar.
Where: Barons Court Theatre
When: Until 28 Sep., Tu-Su @ 19:30
How Much: £10, unreserved
Concessions: £7
--------------------------
RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: £7. It’s tempting to go for the 10, but annoying music deserves a penalty.
RZ Other Notes: This pairing makes the RZ wonder if it wouldn’t be a good idea for someone to start a company and do regular evenings of short plays (e.g. four 20-30 min. pieces) based on current events. Sorta like the Neo-Futurists but longer and less self-involved.
Ripped from the headlines, it’s Law and Order...er...make that a pair of one-acts at the Baron’s Court. And despite the onset of dehydration combined with the sweatbox heat of the theatre and the assault on the RZ’s abilities and judgement by Riflemind, he managed to make it through both of them.
First up: For the Public Good by Alice Josephs. Based on a recent BBC investigation, the play is framed by a group of women digging around in an old asylum: Isabel (Antonia Christy) is trying to put her family tree together and great aunt Eva has disappeared from all records. An anonymous email to journalist Misty (Laura Waddell) and a pair of friends make the trek to the disused building, and the group are met by former guard turned bag lady Fran (Hilary Burns). As the group are taken through the past, it is revealed that Typhoid carriers, though healthy, were imprisoned in the name of public safety.
It sounds like a lot, but it’s a brief 45 minutes and Josephs does a good job of interpolating the modern characters’ interrogations with the past’s ghosts acting out the events. Burns bounces from evil nurse to guilty conscience with ease, and the cast are decent enough though this isn’t a play to see for the acting.
A more upbeat second work, Heather Johnston’s Celebritney is more of a drama than the comedy the RZ was hoping for, and yet it still works: manager Vee Vee (Jenna Goodwin) and image consultant Jacinta (Rachel Lynes) are stuck with the challenge of turning ultra-boring goody-goody pink teen-pop queen Taysha (Natalie Louka) into an arsekicking bad girl in time to take the coveted Christmas #1. The problem is that Taysha’s management (her unseen single mother) has made sure that her daughter’s lifestyle has remained squeaky clean. Desperate for a scandal to keep their cash cow in the press, the pair begin seeking out ways of manufacturing controversy.
To be honest, there’s nothing particularly surprising about Celebritney, but it manages to stay amusing throughout and knows to wrap up just as it starts to outstay its welcome. The RZ wishes, however, that Johnston had given her characters a bit more depth: the trio here are all rather two-dimensional which is a shame because the script has a nice subplot polygon (this links to that which comes back elsewhere...) that shows Johnston’s potential as seeming throwaways bubble up to the surface.
There’s also the question of music, or the lack thereof. Any play about a band or a musician needs to have plenty of tunes. Instead, Celebritney relies heavily on a single track constantly repeated whenever there’s a scene change or someone flips on their stereo. And like bad pop music, it gets old FAST. The RZ wasn’t taking notes to count, but if he had to wager a guess, the same 45 second sample was probably heard between 10 and 12 times in the hour runtime - and it wasn’t even that good. Fledgling producers take note: royalty free collections, creative commons, and the podsafe network all have stacks and stacks of cheap (or free) to use music (within reasons and limits) to prevent your audiences from wanting to scream at your low budget.
So overall? Despite the heat and the headache, the RZ found these to be pretty decent and he’s not just saying that because he got a press comp for shilling the press release. Neither piece was amazing, but both were competent and the RZ is fond of short form evenings: if you don’t like what’s on now, something else is coming up which may suit you better. And hey, it’s cheaper than a trip to Trafalgar.
Where: Barons Court Theatre
When: Until 28 Sep., Tu-Su @ 19:30
How Much: £10, unreserved
Concessions: £7
--------------------------
RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: £7. It’s tempting to go for the 10, but annoying music deserves a penalty.
RZ Other Notes: This pairing makes the RZ wonder if it wouldn’t be a good idea for someone to start a company and do regular evenings of short plays (e.g. four 20-30 min. pieces) based on current events. Sorta like the Neo-Futurists but longer and less self-involved.
Friday, 5 September 2008
REVISIT: "Eurobeat: Almost Eurovision" / "The Harder They Come"
Last night was first preview in the West End for Eurobeat: Almost Eurovision. The RZ already reviewed this show from its touring run a few months ago, and his opinion is pretty similar. The songs are still what you’d expect from a camp-fest, and while one character’s nationality has been changed from Estonian to Polish, little else is different short of an all-too-occasional ad-lib regarding contemporary issues such as the Olympics. Unfortunately, touring to a series of half-empty houses has taken its toll on the cast, and the comedy wasn’t quite as sharp as it was back in Wimbledon nor were the songs as tight, as though everybody expects the laughs to hit regardless (they did, but not consistently). With luck some good reviews will come in from the press and the tour will play out, but the RZ suspects that everybody is coming to work under the threat of being on borrowed time.
And, speaking of borrowed time, The Harder They Come closes next week at the Playhouse, and the RZ is making his mandatory return visits as this one already toured and is likely to end its life-span here. It’s still excellent stuff, if not a bit slower and more mournful than before, but the shift in tone works and the RZ had the good fortune of catching Matthew J Henry covering as main character Ivan.
In short: Two shows worth making a last-chance effort to catch, and two of the cheapest shows in the West End to attend, even before discounts, which are available in abundance.
And, speaking of borrowed time, The Harder They Come closes next week at the Playhouse, and the RZ is making his mandatory return visits as this one already toured and is likely to end its life-span here. It’s still excellent stuff, if not a bit slower and more mournful than before, but the shift in tone works and the RZ had the good fortune of catching Matthew J Henry covering as main character Ivan.
In short: Two shows worth making a last-chance effort to catch, and two of the cheapest shows in the West End to attend, even before discounts, which are available in abundance.
Thursday, 12 June 2008
REVIEW: "Oxford Street"
The RZ had meant to catch Levi David Addai’s testament to retail hell when it played at the Royal Court, but time and money failed to align with the requisite constellations. Fortunately, he received a second chance when the Royal Court announced a limited transfer to the Elephant and Castle shopping centre. Would sitting in a storefront watching retail workers complain add great depth and realism to the work?
Not really, though it did add quite a bit of atmosphere, though the choice of Elephant and Castle is an odd one. For non-London readers, Oxford Street is a busy, middle class street loaded with major shops. If you’re on the Tottenham Court Road side, you’ll get Zavvi (formerly Virgin Megastore), Topshop, SportsDirect, and others. As you approach Oxford Circus you get some posher options, including the Regent Street Apple Store about a block away. Head further west toward Bond Street and you have all the major department store flagships minus the ultra high end Harrods and Fortnum & Mason. Elephant and Castle, on the other hand, features such offerings as Tesco, Iceland, something resembling a Sylvan Learning Centre, Poundstretcher (not a pound store but a discount retailer nonetheless), a mattress liquidator, some money wiring stands, and a bingo hall. Were it not for the presence of a WH Smith's, E&C would classify as what one of the RZ's best friends terms a "ghetto mall," or a mall that fails to attract a demographic with enough education and income to support the presence of a bookstore.
In other words, the people who shop there are more like the employees in the play’s shop, sparring over who gets £6.22/hr vs. £6.13, than the shop’s customers who can somehow afford £40+ for official football shirts and ungodly sums for trainers. Pleasantly, it looks like that demographic came out in droves for the play. Unfortunately, the RZ found himself wishing they’d been able to have something better.
The problem, with doing a retail based play, though, is that it will inevitably be compared to the ultimate disgruntled service worker film, Clerks. While Oxford Street doesn’t try to reach the former's humourous heights, it also doesn’t seem to try very hard at doing anything new with the genre either. College grad Kofi is miserably slumming it as a security guard, passing jokes with disgruntled Loraina to make the days go by while first generation immigrants Emmanuel and Alek bemoan Kofi’s spoiled British attitude and comparatively poor work ethic. When new employee Darrell comes to the store, everything seems fun at first: he gets on well with the boss and his coworkers, and even knows Kofi from their school days. However, Darrell’s past as an unsavoury character remains much of his present, and when he expects Kofi to assist with a shoplifting scheme halfway through the show, it’s easy to guess where everything’s going.
This isn’t to say there aren’t some funny or sharply pointed moments (two thwarted hoods changing course for the Trocadero) but there’s no real depth to the text - everybody is playing to archetype and there’s little to no emotional backing to the characters. As a result, the RZ found himself checking a neighbour’s watch every 5-10 minutes during the second half, waiting for the inevitable so the play could end.
Addai also throws in enough London geographical and landmark references to rival Kevin Smith, but whereas Smith’s lines are easily discarded, Addai’s carried more importance in the RZ’s mind, perhaps because he (and most of the audience) caught them. Whether the play could work outside of London without significant localisation is a tricky question to answer.
Fortunately, the highly diverse and talented cast give it their all. Cyril Nri is both paternal and professional as head guard Emmanuel, and Kristian Kiehling has straight-faced Alek down to a T. Amelia Lowdell makes the most of underwritten boss Stephanie, attempting to keep her slacker store-fronters on task. Likewise, Dawn Walton wisely keeps her cast and sets moving in a cross-traverse staging and Soutra Gilmour managed to find comfortable stools for 100.
It’s hard to say whether or not Oxford Street is worth the trek to South London, especially since the only remaining tickets are a limited number sold at the door. The production’s atmosphere is fantastic, and it’s hard to go wrong at the heavily subsidised price, but audiences should go in expecting a messy end - something not usually recommended.
Where: Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre (via Royal Court)
When: Until 14 June. Fr/Sa @ 17:00 and 20:00
How Much: £8, cash only at the door, limited tickets remain.
Concessions: None.
---------------------
RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: £8 for the atmosphere and the better scenes. Addai has potential as a playwright, but his work’s not quite there yet. However, most things are worth seeing for under a tenner.
RZ Other Notes: First and foremost, make sure you bring small change with you as the only toilets are the pay variety (20p). Second, the storefront (a converted jobs centre) is not air conditioned, and there was a wave of people rolling up sleeves and creating makeshift fans around an hour in (of 90 min. total.) Drinks are not allowed, so have some water or ice cream before you take your seat and hope for the best. The best seats in the RZ’s opinion are on the right side from the entrance regardless of whether you face the wall or the shop window.
Not really, though it did add quite a bit of atmosphere, though the choice of Elephant and Castle is an odd one. For non-London readers, Oxford Street is a busy, middle class street loaded with major shops. If you’re on the Tottenham Court Road side, you’ll get Zavvi (formerly Virgin Megastore), Topshop, SportsDirect, and others. As you approach Oxford Circus you get some posher options, including the Regent Street Apple Store about a block away. Head further west toward Bond Street and you have all the major department store flagships minus the ultra high end Harrods and Fortnum & Mason. Elephant and Castle, on the other hand, features such offerings as Tesco, Iceland, something resembling a Sylvan Learning Centre, Poundstretcher (not a pound store but a discount retailer nonetheless), a mattress liquidator, some money wiring stands, and a bingo hall. Were it not for the presence of a WH Smith's, E&C would classify as what one of the RZ's best friends terms a "ghetto mall," or a mall that fails to attract a demographic with enough education and income to support the presence of a bookstore.
In other words, the people who shop there are more like the employees in the play’s shop, sparring over who gets £6.22/hr vs. £6.13, than the shop’s customers who can somehow afford £40+ for official football shirts and ungodly sums for trainers. Pleasantly, it looks like that demographic came out in droves for the play. Unfortunately, the RZ found himself wishing they’d been able to have something better.
The problem, with doing a retail based play, though, is that it will inevitably be compared to the ultimate disgruntled service worker film, Clerks. While Oxford Street doesn’t try to reach the former's humourous heights, it also doesn’t seem to try very hard at doing anything new with the genre either. College grad Kofi is miserably slumming it as a security guard, passing jokes with disgruntled Loraina to make the days go by while first generation immigrants Emmanuel and Alek bemoan Kofi’s spoiled British attitude and comparatively poor work ethic. When new employee Darrell comes to the store, everything seems fun at first: he gets on well with the boss and his coworkers, and even knows Kofi from their school days. However, Darrell’s past as an unsavoury character remains much of his present, and when he expects Kofi to assist with a shoplifting scheme halfway through the show, it’s easy to guess where everything’s going.
This isn’t to say there aren’t some funny or sharply pointed moments (two thwarted hoods changing course for the Trocadero) but there’s no real depth to the text - everybody is playing to archetype and there’s little to no emotional backing to the characters. As a result, the RZ found himself checking a neighbour’s watch every 5-10 minutes during the second half, waiting for the inevitable so the play could end.
Addai also throws in enough London geographical and landmark references to rival Kevin Smith, but whereas Smith’s lines are easily discarded, Addai’s carried more importance in the RZ’s mind, perhaps because he (and most of the audience) caught them. Whether the play could work outside of London without significant localisation is a tricky question to answer.
Fortunately, the highly diverse and talented cast give it their all. Cyril Nri is both paternal and professional as head guard Emmanuel, and Kristian Kiehling has straight-faced Alek down to a T. Amelia Lowdell makes the most of underwritten boss Stephanie, attempting to keep her slacker store-fronters on task. Likewise, Dawn Walton wisely keeps her cast and sets moving in a cross-traverse staging and Soutra Gilmour managed to find comfortable stools for 100.
It’s hard to say whether or not Oxford Street is worth the trek to South London, especially since the only remaining tickets are a limited number sold at the door. The production’s atmosphere is fantastic, and it’s hard to go wrong at the heavily subsidised price, but audiences should go in expecting a messy end - something not usually recommended.
Where: Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre (via Royal Court)
When: Until 14 June. Fr/Sa @ 17:00 and 20:00
How Much: £8, cash only at the door, limited tickets remain.
Concessions: None.
---------------------
RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: £8 for the atmosphere and the better scenes. Addai has potential as a playwright, but his work’s not quite there yet. However, most things are worth seeing for under a tenner.
RZ Other Notes: First and foremost, make sure you bring small change with you as the only toilets are the pay variety (20p). Second, the storefront (a converted jobs centre) is not air conditioned, and there was a wave of people rolling up sleeves and creating makeshift fans around an hour in (of 90 min. total.) Drinks are not allowed, so have some water or ice cream before you take your seat and hope for the best. The best seats in the RZ’s opinion are on the right side from the entrance regardless of whether you face the wall or the shop window.
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