I’ve lamented in the past about the dissociation which comes from being foreign and trying to engage in British culture. A healthy diet of UK sitcoms and Dr. Who have gone a long way, as has following various trends in music (thank you KLF link to the Teardrop Explodes.) At the same time, I saw Never Forget not knowing what a “Take That” was and completely failed to understand Madness’ appeal when I saw Our House.
So imagine what happened when I saw a musical about Ian Dury. I honestly have no idea how to classify the man - his lyrics and performance style place him would place him in the field of outsider musicians if he were an American, but at the same time he topped the UK charts. And at the same time, the theatre was at least half empty last night so the following can’t be THAT big. It’s all rather confusing.
If nothing else, it meant I went into Hit Me with no preconceptions other than hearing something about punk and smart lyrics. And the play did indeed show off Dury’s lyrics, boasting eight of the man’s hits. The music actually turned out to be closer to the Teardrop Explodes or Madness than what I associate with punk (punk does not have keyboards or saxophones,) but it worked.
I wish I could say the same about the rest of the play. Writer/Director Jeff Merrifield has given us a two hander on Dury’s career, but it’s a messy play - much like Dury himself and his music. What we actually get are a series of anecdotes - some funny, some incomplete - told by Dury (played by last minute stand-in Adrian Schiller) and roadie Fred ‘Spider’ Rowe (Josh Darcy.) The two fight, talk over each other, and cut stories off to tell others, and while it would make an interesting backstage DVD or talk show episode, compelling and dramatic theatre it is not. While we see the two reminisce, argue, and reconcile, they speak everything else to the audience. In other words, Hit Me is two hours of narration broken up by a few songs.
This isn’t to say there aren’t some worthwhile aspects of the piece. The light-stuffed pipework maze which provides a backing wall is clever and accents the musical moments well. Schiller is also impressive, capturing both the physical limitations of the crippled Dury but also the swagger and radiation which comes from a rocker on the edge of an immolating supernova. He growls and screams Dury’s songs against an over-amplified click track, bringing a raw fury to the music. Given that Schiller rehearsed the show in a week while working two show days on a Christmas production, this is a phenomenal turnaround and he can be forgiven for requiring the occasional prompt during the mostly solo second act.
While Hit Me is far from stellar theatre, it provides an interesting introduction to a particularly British musical phenomenon and I found myself spending today looking up clips of Dury on YouTube so it manages to succeed on some levels. If nothing else, audiences who go will be treated to an excellent performance and a hilarious, if not entirely crude, interchange of vicious insults.
Where: Leicester Square Theatre
When: Until 1 Feb. Sa-Su, Tu-Th @ 19:30, Sa @ 16:30, Fr @ 19:00 & 21:50
How Much: £20-25
Concessions: £20 (regular £20 seats are in the slips.)
-------------------------
RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: £10
RZ Other Notes: Where to begin....first and foremost, the lack of rake at the Leicester Square is incredibly annoying if there are people in the row in front of you, even with the stage so high. Also, the venue runs a powerpoint slide show advertising future performances INSIDE THE AUDITORIUM before the show and during the interval. Talk about the hard sell!
Showing posts with label leicester square theatre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label leicester square theatre. Show all posts
Wednesday, 7 January 2009
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
REVIEW: "So Jest End"
(Second of two reviews today, see below for a quickie catch-up post.)
London’s history with the Forbidden Broadway franchise is an iffy one. Despite running for over twenty years across a variety of New York locations, all three attempts at bringing the sharp witted parody property to London have been met with short, unprofitable runs. Recently, a local alternative has been in development, running first a few months ago and now in a one-weekend-a-month engagement at the Leicester Square. So Jest End (formerly Jest End and Fraudway) attempts to rework the winning formula for the West End, but it comes up empty and unimpressive instead.
The fault lies in getting what makes Forbidden Broadway funny: While Forbidden’s jokes tend to tread the same themes, the show is kept religiously up to date (barring the occasional throwback to the classic diva and the infamous Annie skit) and the show chooses its targets well: the dumbing down of Broadway, plots of hit shows, eccentric divas, and new trends. Creator Gerard Alessandrini also keeps his jokes wide enough that innocent tourists wandering in on a half price ticket stay entertained even if they haven’t seen everything on the boards.
And this is where So Jest End fails. Despite being billed as an update and featuring new songs, much of the material is out of date: there are still bits from Mary Poppins (gone six months) and Footloose (closed a year ago), shows with no official plans for the West End (Little Mermaid), and Gone With The Wind jokes (again, gone for months and no longer funny). Instead of looking at the state of the West End or even some of the biggest shows (no Hairspray, Dirty Dancing, or Joseph bits), the popular themes are reality TV (a full two song bit dedicated to the upcoming Oliver and multiple references elsewhere) and the low state of actor pay (constant mentions plus a full song about how Phantom uses alternates). There’s enough to chuckle one’s way through it, but the material lacks fangs and fire which makes it hard for the cast (all very talented and flexible) to land the serious jokes. Only the Les Miserables bit about the hell of lasting a year in the cast managed to score constant big laughs, and even so it just doesn’t hit as hard as Forbidden Broadway’s “Ten Years More.”
While it’s good to see those involved in the West End finding humour in its flaws, So Jest End is very much an insider’s show and mere fans (or even industry people who aren't actors) are likely to find themselves lost, bored, or underwhelmed. While the show will undoubtedly get better over the years and various iterations, it’s just not there enough yet to justify even its Fringe-level ticket cost or the risk of not being able to get home (see below for more).
Where: Leicester Square Theatre (Basement)
When: 14/15 Nov, 19/20 Dec @ 23:00
How Much: £15 General Admission
Concessions: None
---------------------------------------
RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: £5. It’s strictly amateur night.
RZ Other Notes: Hoo boy, where to begin. First, go to this with friends. I made the mistake of going alone and was the only person NOT attending with at least six companions who knew the people in every other group at the venue. Second, get seats at the tables if you can - the back row seats may be more comfortable but there’s no rake so they’re slightly obstructed and the people next to you *will* fidget and elbow you repeatedly as they move around attempting to see what’s going on.
Third, be forewarned that securing transport after the show is at your own risk. While most bus lines are still in operation at 00:15, and while the Northern Line hasn’t OFFICIALLY run its final trains, Leicester Square station was thoroughly gated off and locked up when the Saturday show let out, as was Tottenham Court Road. Patrons looking to catch the underground home may have better luck at Charing Cross, but I wound up getting lucky and catching the next to last train out of Goodge Street instead. Should you not live conveniently on the Northern Line, work out your bus route in advance or plan to budget on catching a cab as you will not be able to transfer to another underground line.
London’s history with the Forbidden Broadway franchise is an iffy one. Despite running for over twenty years across a variety of New York locations, all three attempts at bringing the sharp witted parody property to London have been met with short, unprofitable runs. Recently, a local alternative has been in development, running first a few months ago and now in a one-weekend-a-month engagement at the Leicester Square. So Jest End (formerly Jest End and Fraudway) attempts to rework the winning formula for the West End, but it comes up empty and unimpressive instead.
The fault lies in getting what makes Forbidden Broadway funny: While Forbidden’s jokes tend to tread the same themes, the show is kept religiously up to date (barring the occasional throwback to the classic diva and the infamous Annie skit) and the show chooses its targets well: the dumbing down of Broadway, plots of hit shows, eccentric divas, and new trends. Creator Gerard Alessandrini also keeps his jokes wide enough that innocent tourists wandering in on a half price ticket stay entertained even if they haven’t seen everything on the boards.
And this is where So Jest End fails. Despite being billed as an update and featuring new songs, much of the material is out of date: there are still bits from Mary Poppins (gone six months) and Footloose (closed a year ago), shows with no official plans for the West End (Little Mermaid), and Gone With The Wind jokes (again, gone for months and no longer funny). Instead of looking at the state of the West End or even some of the biggest shows (no Hairspray, Dirty Dancing, or Joseph bits), the popular themes are reality TV (a full two song bit dedicated to the upcoming Oliver and multiple references elsewhere) and the low state of actor pay (constant mentions plus a full song about how Phantom uses alternates). There’s enough to chuckle one’s way through it, but the material lacks fangs and fire which makes it hard for the cast (all very talented and flexible) to land the serious jokes. Only the Les Miserables bit about the hell of lasting a year in the cast managed to score constant big laughs, and even so it just doesn’t hit as hard as Forbidden Broadway’s “Ten Years More.”
While it’s good to see those involved in the West End finding humour in its flaws, So Jest End is very much an insider’s show and mere fans (or even industry people who aren't actors) are likely to find themselves lost, bored, or underwhelmed. While the show will undoubtedly get better over the years and various iterations, it’s just not there enough yet to justify even its Fringe-level ticket cost or the risk of not being able to get home (see below for more).
Where: Leicester Square Theatre (Basement)
When: 14/15 Nov, 19/20 Dec @ 23:00
How Much: £15 General Admission
Concessions: None
---------------------------------------
RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: £5. It’s strictly amateur night.
RZ Other Notes: Hoo boy, where to begin. First, go to this with friends. I made the mistake of going alone and was the only person NOT attending with at least six companions who knew the people in every other group at the venue. Second, get seats at the tables if you can - the back row seats may be more comfortable but there’s no rake so they’re slightly obstructed and the people next to you *will* fidget and elbow you repeatedly as they move around attempting to see what’s going on.
Third, be forewarned that securing transport after the show is at your own risk. While most bus lines are still in operation at 00:15, and while the Northern Line hasn’t OFFICIALLY run its final trains, Leicester Square station was thoroughly gated off and locked up when the Saturday show let out, as was Tottenham Court Road. Patrons looking to catch the underground home may have better luck at Charing Cross, but I wound up getting lucky and catching the next to last train out of Goodge Street instead. Should you not live conveniently on the Northern Line, work out your bus route in advance or plan to budget on catching a cab as you will not be able to transfer to another underground line.
Tuesday, 7 October 2008
THOUGHTS: Roy Walker/Goodbye Mr. Chips
(Second review in a day. Check your feeds/read below for the RZ’s thoughts of A Tale of Two Cities at the Gatehouse.)
There’s a long and often painful history of comedians who become game show hosts - and game show hosts becoming comedians. When you think about it, the skill set overlaps quite a bit: the need to make one-liners, dealing with hecklers, higher than average charisma stats, and so on. Add to that the associations audiences make between a game show and its host (let’s face it, The Price is Right is nothing now that Rod Roddy and Bob Barker are gone and the less said about the syndicated version of The Weakest Link without Anne Robinson the better), and it’s the perfect place for a solo entertainer looking for a steady income to be.
So here comes Roy Walker, long time host of UK game show Catchphrase. The RZ never saw this show in the US, nor has he seen reruns in the UK as he sadly doesn’t get the Challenge network (and if he did he’d have it just to watch Richard O’Brien terrorise the contestants on The Crystal Maze), but taking in this evening seemed like a cultural endeavour worth pursuing.
To keep it short (as the show was - about 50-55 min.), the show is about half biography (punctuated with ancient material from Walker’s comedic past and the dusty joke books) and half “you’ll expect me to spout bits from Catchphrase so let’s have fun.” The RZ smiled through most of it and Walker’s an endearing fellow with a cider drinker’s red cheeks and a Belfast brogue, but that’s sadly where it ended: pleasant, but not powerful and sweet, not sharp.
(One-off evening, prices and dates will vary with future productions.)
There’s a long and often painful history of comedians who become game show hosts - and game show hosts becoming comedians. When you think about it, the skill set overlaps quite a bit: the need to make one-liners, dealing with hecklers, higher than average charisma stats, and so on. Add to that the associations audiences make between a game show and its host (let’s face it, The Price is Right is nothing now that Rod Roddy and Bob Barker are gone and the less said about the syndicated version of The Weakest Link without Anne Robinson the better), and it’s the perfect place for a solo entertainer looking for a steady income to be.
So here comes Roy Walker, long time host of UK game show Catchphrase. The RZ never saw this show in the US, nor has he seen reruns in the UK as he sadly doesn’t get the Challenge network (and if he did he’d have it just to watch Richard O’Brien terrorise the contestants on The Crystal Maze), but taking in this evening seemed like a cultural endeavour worth pursuing.
To keep it short (as the show was - about 50-55 min.), the show is about half biography (punctuated with ancient material from Walker’s comedic past and the dusty joke books) and half “you’ll expect me to spout bits from Catchphrase so let’s have fun.” The RZ smiled through most of it and Walker’s an endearing fellow with a cider drinker’s red cheeks and a Belfast brogue, but that’s sadly where it ended: pleasant, but not powerful and sweet, not sharp.
(One-off evening, prices and dates will vary with future productions.)
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