THOUGHTS: What’s Wrong With Angry?

Sometimes a play’s background is more interesting than the actual show. In this case, What’s Wrong With Angry was a contemporary piece about the consequences of Section 28 and disparity in British age of consent law between straight and gay couples. At the time of its premiere, the tale of an out schoolboy amidst a swirl of scandal, cottaging, and violent schoolmates was controversial, shocking, and a tour de force which clearly spawned countless imitators because there’s no other way it could seem so sappy - complete with main character about to swallow a bottle of pills and then throwing it away to declare his choice for life - and cliché now.

Was it more relevant back in 1993? Almost certainly, but time and advances in civil rights, complete with David Cameron recently apologising for Section 28, have blunted the play’s edge and place it in an odd void between introspective period piece (not enough real period depth) and Grange Hill/After School Special. The sad thing is how much things haven’t changed, especially for queer youths, but this isn’t the play to send the message anymore.

So why bring it back? I have no idea, though the current production at the Kings Head is directed by its author, Patrick Wilde, and he makes a decent if not inspired go at things, with the selection of backing and transitional music being the best part. The cast are a mixed bag, though I can’t pull up names thanks to the Kings Head website not listing anybody, but focal character Steven, who is on all the posters and out and proud, is well played, as is his female best friend. Conflicted love interest John is a weak link in the cast, while a sympathetic teacher is portrayed...well, no so much portrayed as phoned in and incredibly fake.

In short, find the film (retitled Get Real) instead.

Where: Kings Head
When: Until 16 August, Tu-Sa @ 19:30, Sa/Su @ 15:30
How Much: £18 (reserved)/£15 (unreserved)
Concessions: £12.50
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RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: £4 (Cost of renting the film at Blockbuster)
RZ Other Notes: None

NOTES: “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”

So a bit of explanation is in order here, and it’s an explanation in the form of a confession. I reviewed Priscilla for a magazine (not going to say which one) and when I write for money I find myself keeping the publication’s target audience in mind.

The target audience for the magazine will love Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Most people will love Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Even the West End Whingers loved Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

I was remarkably apathetic and in some cases hostile in my personal thoughts before seeing Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. I was unimpressed at the press launch, and the level of hype on the internets didn’t do much to change this. Then there was the announcement of £90 premium tickets. WTF London? I keep defending the British as being smarter than us Yanks and you have to do stupid crap like follow this bullshit policy from Broadway? You’re almost as bad as they are in Germany, charging €105 for a show on Saturday nights...

*ahem* But I digress.

I was not blown away by Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. I thought it was merely OK, I smiled a fair bit and there were some chuckle worthy lines but landed few big laughs. This isn’t to say there aren’t some good things about it. For example:

-The costumes. OMFG the costumes are amazing and, to be blunt, the entire selling point of the show.

-Jason Donovan. Yeah I’ve got the CD of him in Joseph. And he’s quite likeable here. Tony Sheldon was also great and the ensemble work their arses off in a never-ending series of costume changes.

-Kanako Nakano. Steals the show in what is the trashiest scene in a show of almost John Waters proportions.

-The music. You certainly leave the theatre humming the tunes - provided you know them all in advance. To be fair, the choice of songs wasn’t as bad as I’d been led to believe: I loathe disco but there were a few good 60’s and 80’s tracks as well.

Then there’s everything else:

-The music. Seriously? Too much Kylie. This may be me, as the Aussie Madonna never really took off in the US and even the real thing hasn’t had a truly great single since “Take a Bow.” The overuse of “I Will Survive” also hurts, and then there’s an individual fear, the fact that they use Harold Faltemeyer’s “Hot Stuff.” Why do I fear that when the song’s half decent? Because Faltemeyer himself cribbed it into his own disastrous piece of shit musical Wake Up back in 2002. But more on that later.

-The sound mixing is awful. It’s a good thing people are expected to know the songs going in because everybody is either over-mic’ed to distortion or gets drowned out by the orchestra. Forget about understanding ensemble numbers.

-The book. Tick is the only character who really grows (besides Bob who’s only in the second act and seems more resigned than proactive.) Bernadette has already matured and settles in more than grows. Adam/Felicia is cocky, arrogant, and annoying at the start and manages to do...no growing whatsoever. This leads me to...

-Oliver Thornton. I have no idea what casting directors see in this man, because he is the most obnoxious thing I’ve ever witnessed on a West End stage. At first I wrote off his overacting and misuse of vibrato on pop to bad direction in that thing, but all my fears and dislikes were only confirmed here. I’m sure he’s a lovely bloke in person, and he worked on a show with a friend of mine who back up such claims, but I never want to see him in a show again.

-The lighting. To spoil here, Priscilla itself is covered in LED, and spends much of the show glowing hot pink. Hot pink and hot orange are, in fact, the default light setting for quite a bit of the show and I literally felt my eyes burning by the end - and the feeling remained the next morning. I guess it symbolises the desert because nothing else really did? The last show I saw with such a brutal assault on the eyes was also Faltemeyer’s Wake Up. See the connection? It’s a bad one.

-The sight lines are a fucking disgrace. There is no nice way to put this, because it affects so many of the seats. Theatremonkey’s chart is a good starting point, but many of the tickets that are tagged as restricted are still being charged at almost £60. The sides at the Palace have always been bad, but the real problem is the overhangs: a great deal of action takes place on top of the titular bus and if you’re in a vertically challenged position (say, behind Row K in the stalls or the rear half of either circle) you miss a number of the big moments. TV screens are available on both sides of the rear stalls to watch that segment from, but stealing a glance (the glow was distracting me in my just-behind-the-premium seat) the image suffered from lighting washout and was basically a series of glowing blobs. Get an HD camera and set the bloody thing properly.

So to be down with the current speak, the tl;dr is: Priscilla is critic-proof and the sort of show to see after a few rounds at the pub, with a group, and can be enjoyable if you turn your brain off for three hours. It didn't blow me away (I still say We Will Rock You is the best of the big jukebox shows) but it'll do just that to a lot of people. Just make sure to wear sunglasses.

Where: Palace Theatre
When: M-Sa @ 19:30, Th (Post 4 May)/Sa @ 14:30
How Much: £20.25-£93.25 including Premiums, varies by day.
Concessions: None at the moment?
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RZ Unofficial "Worth Paying": £30
RZ Other Notes: Rumour on the interwebs is that the balcony is closed off early in the week. Consider booking there and hope for getting bumped.

CATCHING UP: Bad blogger. Bad.

I'd like to think there's a reason I haven't blogged the last three things I've seen other than laziness. Well, four actually. But even so...

RAM Showcase Concert - students, friend had a friend in, and it was long. Very long. As in it started at lunchtime and let out for dinner.

Casanova @ Kings Head - I hadn't planned on going to the aforementioned concert, and didn't know about it until about 90 minutes before it started. As such I hadn't done silly things like eat, grab water to take, etc. and the result was that I left quite tired and dehydrated with a killer low water/sugar headache. Needless to say that despite wolfing down a fast dinner in between events, I was in a far from useful state of mind and body as was my companion who hadn't slept the night before. The result? The first act felt like 120 minutes instead of 75 and we bolted rather than risk passing out. Were I alone I'd have likely toughed it out, but it's not fair to review a show in that condition, especially after just the first act. I'm going to try and make it back, but the next two weeks are solidly booked for me so we'll see...

Dick Whittington: Another Dick in City Hall @ Kings Head - A charity gig and one that is likely sold out for its second and third performances this Sunday. Despite being a song-free show this very (extremely) gay themed and political work made for some excellent adult panto with the right blend of sharp satire and crudeness. It was also pleasantly short - about 100 minutes including interval. Tickets are likely to be scarce or nonexistant for the last two performances this Sunday, but go if you can.

Avenue Q - I already saw the show in New York and avoided the London production due to the changes made (and subsequently put back into New York) and a dislike for the idea of a male Gary Coleman. What dragged me back, however, was having a friend in the cast making her debut as a cover. At least 20 of us showed up and it was a grand event, but I don't review shows with friends in.

And what's on the upcoming agenda? Next week looks to be a 5 show wonder with one show for official press, one by request of the press office, a return to AveQ, and two more! So much to see, and so little time.

On an unrelated subject, do any of the loyal (or disloyal) readers out there play City of Heroes? Other than the spambots, of course. It would be fun to have a theatre geek supergroup.

THOUGHTS: Tory Boyz

Did you know that the Conservative Party has put forward more gay MP’s than Labour? Neither did the RZ until he say Tory Boyz at the Soho. A part of the National Youth Theatre’s summer residency, this piece manages to avoid the standard acting pitfalls of youth productions, but trades them for massive flaws in the script.

Shall we begin? Good.

First off, there’s a recurring maestro motif as though Edward Heath, suspected queer PM, has been setting up and manipulating the party’s platform on gay issues since his reign. It’s an odd place to start, and leaves the audience wondering why they couldn’t have properly set the stage before starting.

Then there’s the annoying evil Tory, the one who womanises, makes grand claims, and acts like Patrick on Coupling. You know that he’s in for a downfall the moment he announces that he’s leaving research for an election because he’s such a prat that there’s no other choice.

Our “hero” is a young go-getter, working with inner city children on an upcoming education bill, gay, and possibly running for office in the future himself. Since he needs to keep a clean slate on his personal life, he avoids parties and the advances of a (well-meaning?) Labour office worker as well. Because he’s such a do-gooder, though, it’s also obvious that he’ll bring about the evil one’s campaign with a convenient promotion following some not so veiled threats.

Then there’s the education aspect, where Mr. Lead Character goes into the schools, explains politics to kids, and ends the play showing some “hot Tory moves” in a rather unsatisfying ending. The kids are OK, but like real children (and politicians), they have a habit of shouting over each other in just about every scene.

In short? It’s not a bad play, but rough around more than just the edges and comes across as a Conservative Party recruitment platform than a serious historical or politically driven piece.

Where: Soho Theatre
When: In rep until 13 Sep. Check the site for dates, all perfs. at 19:30.
How Much: £20-£22 depending on the day.
Concessions: £17.50-19.50
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RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: A tentative £10 for what feels like an excessively staged workshop rather than a finished piece.
RZ Other Notes: Seating is unreserved and on benches. Come early to stake your territory at the risk of getting told to move over by the ushers.

REVIEW: "Counterfeit Skin"

(Two more to go after this one...gotta keep ‘em rolling)

The problem with being an American these days is that sex dramas are just so droll unless they have graphic masturbation onstage being performed by barely legals singing profane lyrics. The reason for this? Savage Love. For the British readers out there who have no idea what Savage Love is, it’s the ultimate sex advice agony aunt. Dan Savage, a gay man from Seattle, writes it, and along the way he encourages people to explore their fetishes, cheat occasionally (and honestly), and to keep a good sex/love/other stuff balance in relationships. Counterfeit Skin, currently running at the Courtyard, is a big Savage Love letter where everybody ignores what would be Dan’s advice. Were the play a letter to the column, it would look something like this:

Dear Dan,

I’m an unemployed gay man in my mid-20’s living with my gay godfather and long term boyfriend of about two years. Over the past few months, our relationship has become stale, as I find we’ve become almost brothers, and it’s affected my desire to have sex with him. I’ve told him that I want to explore new things - some light BDSM, some roleplaying - but he refuses to because he’s afraid he’ll hurt me while I’m tied up and wants love and flowers, but not sexual spontaneity. Meanwhile my godfather has started sleeping with his male receptionist who’s an ex-hooker. He’s started showing some interest in me and is willing to fulfil my sexual needs. I really want some hard fucking, but I don’t want to lose what I have with my boyfriend. He cares a lot despite incessant nagging, and I can see us together forever.

Now, what the column would suggest (albeit more succinctly written):

Your boyfriend needs to grow a pair and buy some rope. Being in a relationship means being GGG (good, giving, and game) for each other, and if he wants some hugs and cuddles you need to give in to that, but he also needs to be there when you want to be whipped in front of the milkman. Be open about it, and come to terms with this, because otherwise you’re setting yourselves up for a life of sexual misery or a vicious breakup - one which will come if you start shagging this gold digging hooker on the side. As far as your godfather is concerned, he needs to DTMFA - family are off limits.

What actually happens in the play:

Everybody whinges on and on about being miserable, how you can have a gay relationship with hot sex or tender love, how everybody is disappointed in the protagonist for being a whinging prat, and he fucks the snooty whore as the godfather starts making advances on his other receptionist, a Welsh twink who wants to be a fashion designer.

They also play the song “Little White Lie” by Temposhark during every scene change, the curtain call, and when people are let back in at the end of the interval, making for at least ten if not fifteen times that snippets of Linkin Park wannabes assault the audience’s eardrums. It’s a wretched song and made the RZ want to kill the sound designer by the end of the play.

Besides the “we can see everything going to shit” plotlines, the writing is decent enough, though nobody’s particularly likeable, and it does a passable job of confronting the issues of relationship identity in the gay community if not modern Western culture in general. With the internet making it easier than ever to have a quick screw on the side or seek out partners for flings and long term relationships, questions of monogamy and the importance of sex in a committed partnership are at the forefront now more than ever.

Now if only they’d change that damn song...

Where: Courtyard Theatre
When: T-Su @ 19:30
How Much: £16 General Admission
Concessions: £12
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RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: £8. It’s decent and there’s nice eye candy if you’re looking for it, but the plotting is thin and obvious.
RZ Other Notes: Savage Love is also available (and highly recommended) in podcast form (RSS here) as well as written.