Thelma & Louise - Review

Young Vic Theatre, London

****

Music and lyrics by Neko Case

Book bu Callie Khouri

Directed by Trip Cullman

Rachel Tucker and Amy Lennox

Thelma & Louise was one of the defining movies of the 1990s. With an Oscar winning script from Callie Khouri and Ridley Scott behind the camera, this unlikely road trip following two girlfriends on the run, tapped into a powerful condemnation of misogyny and a profound celebration of friendship.

Fast forward 35(!) years and Khouri has returned to her story, translating the fable from screen to musical theatre, with music and lyrics penned by Neko Case.

It’s a fair transformation of the tale that sees Amy Lennox and Rachel Tucker playing the titular protagonists, and it is within in their performances that much of Case’s songwriting shines. Lennox defines Thelma’s journey of sexual and emotional emancipation, while Tucker peels away the layers of Louise’s carapace to reveal a deeply damaged woman. As Tucker sings of her character’s back story beneath a starlit desert sky, the moment is profound and powerful.

But there are times when the stage show falls short of the brilliant original. While Lennox and Tucker are an inspired choice to replicate the movie’s Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, casting the (talented) Trevor Dion Nicolas as Hal, the cop on the women’s tail and a role originally played by Harvey Keitel, is less successful, not helped by a thinly written sub-narrative involving his wife and daughters.

Christine Jones and Brett J. Banakis have designed the show’s setting - that imaginatively suggests America's bars, motels and highway traffic. But one of the outstanding components of Scott’s stunning movie was its magnificent cinematography- and for all the best intentions of the musical’s producers, their attempts to recreate the film’s original vistas on stage, miss the mark. 

The show’s creative contributors are impressive. Choreographers Bobbie Jene Smith and Or Schraiber deliver some moments of impressive footwork, while straddling the stage atop the wings Kimberly Grigsby conducts her 9-piece band that is deliciously loaded with strings.

Female-focussed theatre.

Runs until 24th October

Photo credit: Helen Murray

Million Dollar Quartet - Review

The Arts At Marble Arch, London

****

Co-authored by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux
Directed by Jonathan O'Boyle

The cast of Million Dollar Quartet

Rarely does a jukebox musical sound as though it had been lifted straight from, well, a classic jukebox. But played out on Libby Watson’s set, lavished with neon that ingeniously suggests an authentic 1950s Wurlitzer, Million Dollar Quartet does just that. Over two hours the most gifted actor-musician company in town recreate the (real life) magical evening at Tennessee’s Sun Studios in December 1956 when, for one night only, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley came together to salute Sam Phillips, the studios’ owner and the man who had launched all their careers.

Boasting a platinum-plated track list, the evening is a sparkling tribute to both rock and roll and rockabilly with songs that are not just stunningly sung, but have their timeless melodies played to perfection.

Of the quartet, Christopher Erasmus’s Johnny Cash is the most unnervingly realistic - his baritenor voice plumbing delicious Cash-defining depths, that is matched only by his impeccable guitar skills. The remaining trio of leads are equally gifted with Joey Bradick’s Carl Perkins and Connor Payne’s Elvis proving simililarly flawless in their delivery and guitar work. Joe Bence as Jerry Lee Lewis however, not only leads his songs spectacularly, his phenomenally manic piano playing (Bence is also the show’s music captain) has to be seen to be believed. Jenay Naima plays Presley’s girlfriend Dyanne - who also turns in a neat take on Fever - , while Darren Day gives a thoughtfully poignant performance as Phillips, the man who having discovered the four stars (as well as Roy Orbison!) ultimately recognising that Sun Studios were too small for his protégés’ stellar trajectories.

The evening’s music is a glorious compilation that acknowledges the sounds’ deeply Christian/Gospel roots. Every song sparkles, with some harmonies (including a remarkable fusion of 16 Tons with My Babe) proving exquisite, such is the talent on stage.

Million Dollar Quartet is a tribute to an era that was to shape popular music for decades to come - the ultimate jukebox musical.

Runs until 6th December

Photo credit: Alex Tabrizi

Woody Sez - Review

 Underbelly Boulevard, London

****

Devised by David M. Lutkin

Directed by Nick Corley

David M. Lutken

Returning to London for a two week residency at Soho’s Underbelly Boulevard, Woody Sez is a slick 80-minute tribute to Woody Guthrie, a man whose songs were to describe much of America’s 20th century history.

Devised and led by David M. Lutken, this Fringe favourite is a cleverly curated compilation of Guthrie’s compositions, beautifully performed. Via song and narration Lutken steers us through the singer’s life, highlighting his milestone successes alongside numerous tragedies. As we learn and listen to Guthrie’s navigation of the Great Depression, largely through the Dust Bowl of America’s Midwest, the history is compelling. Guthrie's lyrics match the writing of John Steinbeck in their harrowingly ingenious simplicity. 

Lutken, a Texan, is supported by a talented trio of North Americans, with Raquel Chavez, Nyssa Grant and David Finch accompanying him on guitar, fiddle, bass, zither… the list is as endless as the troupe’s playing skills are sublime.

The Guthrie classics are well represented in a setlist that includes This Land Is Your Land, Tom Joad and The Sinking of the Reuben James.

Woody Guthrie fans will love it - not least the evening’s singalong vibe. Classy, sassy entertainment.

Runs until 19th September

Photo credit: Jake Oseland

The Story - Review

National Theatre, London

***

Written by Tracey Scott Wilson

Directed by Clint Dyer

The cast of The Story

A play about the search for truths in a world of blurred and corruptible sources, The Story sets massive issues of press accountability against a backdrop of racially charged American inner-city tension.

When a white liberal teacher is murdered in a deprived black neighbourhood of an unspecified city, the search for his killer throws up some curious revelations. This is set against power dynamics and personal petty squabbles within the newspaper industry - and as the evening unfolds, what could be a powerfully driven narrative on both journalism and deeply personal sacrifice descends increasingly into a melodramatic shouting match. With scenes jumping jarringly and the fourth wall frequently smashed, The Story feels more like an untidy collection of events rather than a coherent drama.

The story’s key protagonists - hardened publisher Pat played by Lorraine Toussaint and rookie journalist Yvonne played by Letitia Wright - are both magnificent. But notwithstanding Anna Fleischle’s impressive stage designs, this play could have been so much more.

Runs until 24th October

Photo credit: Feruza Afewerki

Still Life - Review

Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London

*****

Written by Noel Coward

Directed by Tam Williams

Rachel Pickup

In an afternoon of simply exquisite theatre, the Grand Saloon Bar at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane is transformed into the tearoom of Milford Junction station to bring Noel Coward’s Still Life, literally, to life.

This gem of a short play, written in 1936, was the inspiration for David Lean’s movie Brief Encounter that was to follow some nine years later. Rachel Pickup and Alasdair Craig as Laura Jesson and Alec Harvey, the star-crossed couple at the story’s focus, are faced with the challenge of massive shoes to fill.

The pair rise to the challenge magnificently, and in performances of the utmost tenderness and nuance, rekindle perhaps the greatest British love story of the 20th century. Coward’s writing was magnificent at depicting the detail of England’s niceties, courtesies and class segregations and his script is a work of art in how so much is suggested with such minimal dialogue.

Both leads are flawless in their delivery, but in Pickup’s work particularly, as she grapples with her conflicting emotions, there is perhaps the finest acting to be found in London today.

The supporting cast of Elizabeth Elvin, Antony Jardine and Seren Sandham-Davies in assorted roles are equally top-notch, with an enchanting romantic subplot playing out alongside the hustle and bustle of a busy railway station, itself cleverly depicted by well timed sound effects.

The acoustics of the room occasionally muffled the dialogue - but the occasional musical interludes (including some stunning keyboard work from Sandham-Davies) more than compensated.

Credit to director Tam Williams for taking Coward’s genius and crafting it into this gem of a production, performed by a gifted company.

Only pulling into town for one week, jump on a London-bound express to catch this unmissable treat. Did I mention that the ticket includes a first-class cream tea too?

Deeply moving drama, I think I might have caught a piece of grit in my eye…. 

Runs until 12th September

Photo credit: Andreas Lambis

Chum - Review

***

Screenplay by Joe Leone and Jonathan Zuck

Directed by Jonathan Zuck

2026, 93 minutes, Certificate 15

A bunch of wealthy Westerners head to Malta for a glamorous destination wedding - and as they charter a swish catamaran for a day out on the ocean, it soon becomes clear that rather than savouring a fine Wedding Breakfast, these hyper-privileged folk are destined to be feasted upon themselves by a rogue Great White shark that has unexpectedly made its way into the Med.

Let’s be clear. This ain’t Jaws - itself a masterpiece of exquisite acting, suspense practical special effects, and one of the best screenplays ever. The dialogue in Chum lurches from one cliche to the next, and while the actors make the best of the material they’ve been given, it would be flattering to their characters to describe them as even two-dimensional.

All that being said, Chum makes for slightly predictable but highly entertaining nonsense. The sound effects as the shark enjoys its various meals are a treat, even if the AI visuals prove to be a bit of a bloody mess!

Notwithstanding that the film appears to have been made on slightly more than a shoestring budget the image of Alice Eve, literally, jumping the shark, will stay with me for a long time.

Whilst not of the highest pedigree, Chum still makes for a fun evening’s streaming.

Jeeves Takes Charge - Review

Charing Cross Theatre, London

****

Book by P.G. Wodehouse

Adapted by James & Edward Duke & Hugh Wooldridge

Sam Harrison

In a spectacular evening of stagecraft, Jeeves Takes Charge is English drama at its finest. James & Edward Duke together with Hugh Wooldridge have carefully crafted their adaptation of P.G.Wodehouse’s original, fashioning a handful of absolutely spiffing yarns into two acts of glorious theatre.

Set on Caite Hevner’s ingeniously simple set and aided by equally ingenious projections, the story’s action ranges from London’s Mayfair to Gloucestershire to Brighton - with the show being made all the more remarkable by the fact that it is just one actor who delivers a tour-de-force delivery of all the parts. The two key roles are of course Bertie Wooster, a toff as wealthy as he is dim and his much put upon valet, Jeeves. Not just Jeeves and Wooster, there are approximately 20 other assorted roles (including Wooster’s would-be fiancée, a precocious young schoolgirl and her domineering headmistress) that are also performed by the same actor in an evening of vocal delight and sensational physical theatre. Wodehouse's creations are magnificent, the subtlety of his wit being delightfully retained in this cleverly adapted script.

Sam Harrison takes charge as Jeeves for the vast rump of the week’s performances, but on Thursdays (perchance, the day of this review) he is a replaced by the ridiculously talented Rupert Sadler as his alternate. Sadler barely pauses for breath as he seamlessly segues between roles, always hitting his mark, and breathing a life into Wodehouse’s words that has to be heard to be believed.

Jeeves Takes Charge is the simplest form of theatre possible. One actor performing on a simply structured stage - but at the Charing Cross Theatre it makes for exquisitely entertaining theatre. The sublimely talented Sadler spirits us away to the far gentler inter-war years, when toffish buffoonery was kept in check by the impeccably understated reserve of a first-class valet.

Magnificently entertaining drama, cleverly written and perfectly performed.

Runs until 6th September

Photo credit: Craig Fuller