Sunday In The Park With George - Review

The Other Palace, London

****

Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Book by James Lapine

Directed by Hannah Chissick

The Company

Sunday In The Park With George is probably the most mind-bending, time-bending poly-mesmeric musical of recent decades. Stephen Sondheim (again working his fruitful partnership with book-writer James Lapine) has ingeniously fashioned the show around a study on George Seurat’s famous painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. 

Act One revolves around Seurat himself, in 1884 Paris. The pointillist painting is taking shape, consuming the artist’s attention as Dot, his mistress and sometime model, endures the rigours of both posing for him and competing for his attention over the emerging picture. The true genius of Sondheim’s work in this half of the show is to build characters and songs around the people that Seurat includes in the picture. As more and more faces and images become defined, the act builds towards a stunning crescendo.

The second half shoots forward 100 years to New York. Georges’ great-grandson – also named George – is an artist, working like his predecessor with color and light. This however is the late 20th century and in place of a canvas, George’s creation is the electronic “Chromolume”. His elderly grandmother Marie (the daughter of Georges and Dot) provides a link through the generations, and as George is invited to France to make a presentation on the eponymous Parisian island, time and characters merge into a whirl, with Sondheim weaving the complex themes of love and art into a tapestry of the human condition.

It says much for the National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) that they have amongst their young company the talent and resource to deliver what is unquestionably an impressive take on this most adult of musicals. The narrative demands that Georges / George and Dot / Marie are played by the same performers and Thomas Josling and Laura Barnard make fine work of leading their troupe. 

Barnard has form with the NYMT having grown with them over the last couple of years. Josling however is a newcomer and together they create a compelling chemistry. Their duetted numbers are magnificent throughout, with Color and Light proving a particular treat. Amongst their solo responsibilities Josling’s Finishing The Hat is a classy turn, while Barnard’s careful interpretation of Children And Art, captures a special sensitivity.

Chissick has fashioned some gorgeous work from her cast who are all in their teens or early twenties, with the full company numbers proving a delight. Sunday, the pre-interval song (reprised at the finale) is spine-tingling in its intensity. This cast are at their best in the second half, where Sondheim’s dialog allows them a more comfortable immersion into the modern idiom.

Technically, as ever, the NYMT offer creative excellence. Alex Aitken intuitively directs his chamber-sized 6 piece band (also all young players) to deliver Sondheim’s complex melodies, while Sam Spencer-Lane’s choreography, Matt Kinley’s set design and Jason Denvir’s costuming go a long way to creating firstly the illusion of Seurat’s 19th century Paris and then after the break, the cliched pretensions of New York’s modern art community.

The themes of Sunday In The Park With George are immense and complex and Chissick, alongside the NYMT should be rightfully proud of what this company has achieved. It's only on for one more night in what is deservedly a sold-out success. 

Runs until 19th August

Photo credit: Rob Youngson

Imaginary - Review

The Other Palace, London


*****


Music & lyrics by Stuart Matthew Price

Book & lyrics by Timothy Knapman

Directed by Shaun Kerrison

Tom Price and Josh Gottlieb

“Never Leave A Man Behind” is the pact made at the very start of Imaginary. A simple declaration of trust, loyalty and friendship that in many ways lies at the core of this endearing zany, and almost Pixar-esque musical, a show that marks the 2017 return of the National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) to London’s The Other Palace. 

Creating good new musical theatre continues to be a challenge across the industry, but Timothy Knapman and Stuart Matthew Price can be deservedly proud of their achievement. Knapman’s book and lyrics indulge in glorious wit and charm, complete with thrilling revelations and even the odd cliff hanger. Price has written an equally dreamy score, with melodies that you can’t help but find yourself whistling all the way home. Under Shaun Kerrison’s direction the NYMT company (ages 11 – 23) rise to the challenge of putting on a new musical with apparent ease. Kerrison captures the natural energy of the youngsters at all the right moments, yet never loses sight of the show’s clarity. 

Imaginary follows the friendship of two young boys, Milo (Tom Price) and Sam (Josh Gottlieb). As Sam’s only friend the pair do everything together, playing all day and letting their imaginations run wild. It all seems too good to be true until Sam starts secondary school and he and Milo find themselves facing a whole new dilemma.  

Aged 13 and 11 respectively, Price and Gottlieb turn in compelling perfomances that drive the show’s sense of adventure and discovery from the start. Their energy makes the piece a rollercoaster for audiences, played out against a backdrop of the universally recognized concepts of imagination and childhood. There's some great work too from 11yo Lizzie Wells as Sam's schoolfriend Alice. 

Alongside the child characters, Robin Franklin as the school’s Headmaster commands both his students and the stage with a frightening presence and character. Toby Turpin also delivers a dazzling performance as the 7ft (!) tall Big Brenda, giving a performance that’s even bigger than his colossal outfit and wig (costume credit: Jason Denvir) 

The tunes are gorgeous with She Played Guitar, Imaginary, The Adventurers Code and Upgrade Time all proving equally wonderful numbers, the latter in particular featuring some stylish choreography from Anthony Whiteman. Among the entire cast there isn't a weak link, with Charlie Ingles having done some cracking work, both on the ensemble’s harmonies as well as the score's orchestrations. 

At a time when many producers struggle to bring new writing to a stage, yet again the NYMT’s Jeremy Walker delivers just that. Both book and score are tremendous and if last night’s audience are anything to go by, Imaginary will be bringing about tears of laughter, sadness and just sheer awe at this company’s remarkable talent.

Runs until 12th August

Reviewed by Josh Adams 

Brass - Review

Hackney Empire, London

****

Music, lyrics and book by Benjamin Till
Additional lyrics by Nathan Taylor and Sir Arnold Wesker
Directed by Hannah Chissick






The Leeds Pals before going over the top

Two years after its premiere in Leeds, the National Youth Music Theatre's production of Brass arrives at the capital's Hackney Empire. And yet again, under the aegis of this remarkable organisation, the quality of acting, song and music is magnificent.

Brass tells a powerful story of the First World War. The Leeds Pals, some 300 or so infantrymen many of whom back home comprised a brass band, were tragically killed in the first day's fighting on the Somme. But rather than just focussing on our Boys at the front, Brass also tells of the munitions girls back home. As well as hearing the soldiers' stories, the show also weaves its lightly threaded fiction through the true lives of the Barnbow Girls who worked in an armaments factory just outside Leeds and who were famous as singers. In the show they take up their boys' brass instruments, forming a band in the factory as a tribute to their loved ones fighting in France.

Using a smattering of both romantic and sibling relationships between the city's boys and girls we share the hopes and tragedies of both, with the show, as well as telling of the battlefield horrors of the Great War also sensitively highlighting the often unsung sacrifices made by women. Long before the era of Health & Safety legislation, those on the production lines suffered debilitating injuries handling the highly toxic components of weaponry.

The real strength of Brass however lies in the impressive performances that Hannah Chissick has coaxed from her company, fuelled of course by the poignancy of knowing that the average age of the NYMT cast would have been similar to that of the young women and men that the story tells of, with Jason Denvir's simply effective designs perfectly setting the scenes.

The whole company, and under Alex Aitken's baton the orchestra too, are fabulous and NYMT should be rightly proud of what is being performed here, even if it is only for two short days. Amongst a multitude of fine performances there are a handful of standouts, with Ben Mabberley, Crispin Glancy, Kitty Watson and Laura Barnard offering perhaps the night's most memorable work.

NYMT truly represent a glimpse of some of the best of what our young people can achieve, be it on stage, in a band or in the myriad of technical areas that make up a show. Take a journey to Hackney today and be inspired by the excellence that is this remarkable company.

Runs until 27th August
Photo credit: Konrad Bartelski

Gods and Monsters - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London

****

Written and Directed by Russell Labey

Ian Gelder and Will Austin

There is some fine new writing to be found in the world premiere of Russell Labey's Gods and Monsters, a play that examines the life of Hollywood director James Whale, best known for creating the Boris Karloff Frankenstein movies. We meet Whale as an elderly man suffering from the effects of a stroke. Painfully aware that his mind is beginning to unravel, Labey's play pitches Whale into encounters that take him to the very thresholds of his reason. When a youthful and ultimately irresistible Mr Kay, a movie geek, arrives at the director's Beverly Hills mansion to interview the old man, his meltdown commences. But it is when Clayton Boone, Whale's newly hired gardener with the form of an Adonis becomes an ever persistent distraction/attraction to the ageing filmmaker, that his fate is sealed. And as with so many of the best Hollywood stories, Tinseltown's shimmering curtain is slowly raised to reveal a tawdry, even if sensational, sadness.

Ian Gelder is Whale in an outstanding performance. On stage almost throughout, his lust for the two men is a brilliant portrayal of desperation, not just for sex, but also to be freed from the torment of his mental and physical decline. A thunderstorm triggers horrific flashbacks to the horrors he witnessed as an army captain in the trenches during World War One and the blurring of the eras in Whale's mind is not only carefully performed by the actor, it is also a show of intuitive stagecraft from Labey. The suggestion that the Great War may have influenced the vision of one of the 20th century's most gifted horror-movie directors offers an intriguing nuance to this already carefully layered tale.

Making his professional debut, Will Austin is the perfectly formed Boone. Austin's gives an impressively convincing performance as the straight, muscular jock disgusted by Whale's lust. Judging by the audience gasps on press night, it is clear that in the nude, he impresses too. Will Rastall and Joey Phillips who between them play a raft of younger characters, flesh out the story well and it is fair to say that both actors rise to the challenge of a naked wrestling scene without fluffing their parts. Lachele Carl's turn as Whale's house maid adds just enough hispanic to the mix to seal the Californian setting.

The play's projected designs are a neat idea from Louise Rhoades-Brown and Jason Denvir even if their execution is occasionally clunky and over simplistic. The story's tragic endgame plays out entirely on screen and is handled with a perceptive sensitivity that is only enhanced by John Chambers' subtle background music.

The programme credits Harry Patterson, millionaire novelist as a generous supporter. Bravo sir - for as with most Danielle Tarento productions, the play's artistic standards are amongst the best to be found on London's fringe and these don't come cheap.

This troubling story makes for excellent entertainment. Passionate, human and above all telling a gripping tale. Not for the faint-hearted perhaps, but for those who like to be pricked out of their comfort zone by theatre that is sharp and challenging, Gods and Monsters is a must see.

Runs until 7th March 2015

Mack & Mabel - Review

Norman Bowman and
Laura Pitt -Pulford

Southwark Playhouse, London

*****

Book by Michael Stewart
Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman
Revised by Francine Pascal
Directed by Thom Southerland

Mack & Mabel is a dark musical. A relationship between the two leads that is often defined by “anti-love” songs and a second act that spirals inexorably to a finale of misery. Yet within this darkness, musical numbers are included that range from the highest levels of hope, through to spectacular glitzy tap routines, and a hilarious pinch of slapstick. And such is the strength of this show that every single number is in perfect context.

Produced by Danielle Tarento, who together with Southerland, staged the award winning Parade at this venue last year, Mack & Mabel charts the interweaving of the lives of silent “two-reel movie” director Mack Sennett, with Mabel Normand, a deli delivery girl from Brooklyn whose charismatic beauty and potential he spots on set and who he elevates to stardom. For a review of Mabel's Wilful Way,  a Mack&Mabel movie, click here.

Set in the early 20^th century, the show in sub-plot touches upon the rise of the full length motion picture and the introduction of the talkies, but these are merely a backdrop to the arc of the ill fated lovers.

As Mack, Norman Bowman is outstanding. Costumed in a cream suit throughout, and frequently fedora’d to shield the bright Californian sun, he is every inch the caricature of a dominating movie director yet one who also possesses a touching vulnerability, with chiselled good looks perfectly matching the strength and sweetness of his tenor voice. In the opening number, describing his early career, Bowman sings Movies Were Movies with an energy and flair that it is nigh impossible to look away from . Later in the first act, alone with Mabel, he defines his lack of loving sensitivity with the poignant I Won't Send Roses, the melody from which serves as an occasional emotionally charged motif at subsequent moments.  The show opened two weeks prior to this review and already Bowman is deservedly being spoken of as a nominee for an Off West End award for leading actor.

 An outstanding Mack needs a Mabel of similar pedigree. Laura Pitt-Pulford shone in Parade last year, and knowing that she would lead in this show, only added to the pre-show anticipation. Pitt-Pulford’s performance exceeded expectations that were already sky high. She charted Mabel’s journey, plucked from obscurity to super-stardom, the enjoyment of the movie-star’s life and her ultimate succumbing to substance abuse, simply exquisitely. Mabel is drawn ironically moth-like, to her love for Mack and movies and the show gives her songs that are often melancholy. Wherever He Ain't, and Time Heals Everything, whilst both of different tempos, are very much are the expressions of a woman who is suffering. Throughout Act 2, Pitt-Pulford puts on a masterclass of fragility that is at once heartbreaking, yet sublime. She captures Mabel’s vulnerability in a performance the fidelity of which is rarely seen on the West End, let alone London’s fringe.

The supporting cast excelled to a person. In the key role of Lottie Ames, Jessica Martin sung and tap-danced inspiringly. The accomplished Stuart Matthew Price played a slick Frank Capra, the one regret of the evening being that the book did not allow his character more solo spots.  Impressive too was Steven Serlin as movie producer Kessel, portraying his characters Jewishness skilfully and recognisably whilst avoiding crass stereotype.

It has been written before that Tarento is committed to the highest of production values. It is clear that she commands the respect of many of theatre’s most talented practitioners, evidenced by the strength of the shows creative team. Lee Proud’s choreography was dazzling. Whilst all of the the show’s movement was slick, his working of Hundreds Of Girls, Hit ‘Em On The Head. Tap Your Troubles Away truly seemed to transport one from a vault in Southwark to a Hollywood back-lot with a tap routine that could have easily graced any major commercial show.

Good light is critical to movie making. From the outset Tarrento’s team have sought to ensure that Jason Denvir’s design is lit effectively and Howard Hudson has delivered what is perhaps the best lighting design seen in London’s fringe. Cleverly evoking at different times studio lights both in front of and behind camera as well as the bright Hollywood sunshine, Hudson’s craft adds another dimension to the rich tableau of this production.  Michael Bradley’s musical direction and vocal arrangement were also well planned and Andrew Johnson’s sound design ensured that lyrics and dialog remained clear above the faultless sound of the band. And all of this directed by Thom Southerland, who has longed to put on this show for many years. He is a credit to his ambitions.

Mack & Mabel has no fancy hydraulics, green costumes or make up, and even the projected movies are simply suggested by a flickering light . (Another inspired Hudson touch)  Mercifully, it has also been spared the modern day casting couch of a TV talent show. In place of those gimmicks it presents a stunning theatrical company delivering excellence through every word, musical note and dance step.

Runs until August 25th