Thursday 30 May 2019

Vincent River - Review

Trafalgar Studios, London


**


Written by Philip Ridley
Directed by Robert Chevara


Louise Jameson and Thomas Mahey

Philip Ridley as a playwright is a theatre producer’s. The vivid scenes-capes that he creates tend not to require lavish casting nor expensive sets, being instead fleshed out by way of lengthy, descriptive monologues - windows onto the dysfunctional dystopia that Ridley perceives around him. The disappointment to the audience however is that when you’ve heard one Ridley monologue, it can feel like you’ve heard them all.

Vincent River is a two-hander that revolves around Anita, grieving for her dead son Vincent and Davey, a young man who, we come to discover, was connected to the dead young man. Lasting 90 minutes, the one-act piece never leaves Anita's flat.

Louise Jameson is magnificent as the mourning mother, with a subtlety of nuance and tone in her performance that sits alongside the raging howls of her unimaginable grief. Notwithstanding the tortuous convolutions that Anita is subject to through Ridley’s prurient projections, Jameson remains masterful throughout. Thomas Mahy’s Davey however, even this long into the role (the production has transferred from a run last year at the Park Theatre) is too stilted, too often.  Contrasted with Jameson's genius, Mahy is found to lack credibility and heft in delivering his complex and occasionally unpleasant character.

The circumstances of Vincent’s death were a brutal homophobic hate crime, with the show’s programme notes making  worthy reference to the prescience of Ridley's writing (the play premiered in 2000) amidst the "otherings" of today, and the violence of prejudice that exists across the world. Sadly however such hateful violence is nothing new to mankind, with history telling us that it has been here forever. Ridley’s tawdry words, at times offering little more than a virtual peep show into graphic descriptions of verbally violent torture porn, tell us nothing new.


Runs until 22nd June
Photo credit: Scott Rylander

Friday 24 May 2019

The Lehman Trilogy - Review

Piccadilly Theatre, London


****


Written by Stefano Massini
Adapted by Ben Power
Directed by Sam Mendes


Simon Russell Beale, Ben Miles, Adam Godley

Amidst the financial crash of 2007/08, one of the most memorable images was that of the summarily fired employees of Lehman Brothers investment bank streaming out of their offices in New York and London’s Canary Wharf, their personal possessions unceremoniously borne in those ubiquitous cardboard Bankers Boxes.

Those branded boxes form a scenic mainstay throughout Stefano Massini’s The Lehman Trilogy and in this opus of a play, that spans from the middle of the 19th century through to the early years of the 21st, the writer’s suggestions are clear. Not only were the seeds of the bank’s downfall planted at its very inception, but also that much of the responsibility for this most recent of financial calamities, lies at the feet of the three Lehman brothers who had arrived on the USA’s eastern seaboard as penniless Jewish immigrants some 160 years before.

This is an unpleasant even if unsurprising conflation, for the last surviving member of the Lehman dynasty to have actually served on the bank’s board was Bobby Lehman, a grandson of the founders and who himself had died in 1969, some 40 years prior to the bank’s collapse and hence well distanced from the decisions that led to its demise. This lapse of time however has not troubled Massini. Much as was sung in Monty Python’s Spamalot: “You won’t succeed on Broadway if you dont have any Jews”, so Massini switches Broadway for Wall Street and, like an East End mural, subtly fuels a troubling trope. 

The stagecraft on display in this 3.5 hours epic is breathtaking. Assuming all roles, genders, and ages, Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Ben Miles are a tour de force of a trio. With accents that are never too laboured and Sam Mendes having focused on the tiniest of nuances in each man’s work, their performances have to be amongst the finest in town. Es Devlin’s staging is ingeniously and suggestively slick - a simple minimally furnished revolve (complete with said boxes) enveloped by Luke Halls’ wraparound video screen - but it is the three actors who convincingly convey time, place and characters as they drive the narrative from the brothers’ humble beginning as Alabama cotton traders through to their dominance of New York’s financial district.

Massini keeps the three brothers clad in European/Victorian tailcoats throughout, reflecting the costume and time of their arrival on the eastern seaboard. But while this simplicity of clothing places a dramatic requirement upon the three men to enact their respective characters through their performances - a challenge that they not only rise to, but emphatically smash - its continual presence throughout the piece only heightens the play’s subliminally uncomfortable associations. 

Taking a step back from the production’s breath-taking technical brilliance - opening now in the West End having only just returned from an acclaimed, brief, New York transfer - the quality of the writing does not match the standards of Mendes’ cast and crew. While the story revolves around (and not entirely incorrectly) the brute avarice of capitalism with the horrors of the 1929 Wall Street crash featuring heavily in the second act, the argument is one-sided and there is little if any respect paid to the positive aspects of capital markets.

For sure the markets are imperfect, often profoundly so, but it was and remains risked capital that often created national as well as private wealth and much mass employment too. But for Massini it seems that these are inconvenient truths. Similarly, the story’s vast timeline is managed well until the third act’s endgame, when the four decades following Bobby Lehman’s demise are telescoped into a barely fleshed-out finale.

Notwithstanding its flawed message, in these times of unparalleled political polarisation The Lehman Trilogy will be lapped up by eager audiences. And for sheer technical theatrical genius, the play is in a class of its own.


Runs until 31st August. To be screened via NTLive on 25 July 
Photo credit: Mark Douet

Tuesday 21 May 2019

Carousel - Review

Cadogan Hall, London


*****


Music by Richard Rodgers
Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Based on Ferenc Molnar's play Liliom as adapted by Benjamin F Glazer

To read my recent interview with Janie Dee and Jo Riding, click here




Image may contain: one or more people and indoor
The company of Carousel
Every now and then theatrical magic descends...

So it was at the Cadogan Hall this week where Alex Parker had assembled a starry cast and a magnificent 30-strong orchestra to perform, for one night only, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel. But this cast had something even more special, setting it apart from the throng of musicals currently playing in the West End and on Broadway. For back in 1992 Carousel had been staged at London's National Theatre in a production that featured Jo Riding and Janie Dee as female leads Julie Jordan and Carrie Pipperidge. Such was the excellence of director Nicholas Hytner’s show that not only did his revival win the Olivier for Best Musical Revival and Best Director, but Riding and Dee won the Oliviers for Best Leading Actress and Best Supporting Performer (both for in a Musical), respectively.

Riding and Dee had been recently reunited at the National as the leads in a revival of Follies and so it was an act of sheer vision that prompted Parker to invite the duo to reprise their Carousel magnificence in a concert performance of the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic.

Janie Dee and Jo Riding in Carousel, 1992

The pair’s contribution to the evening was a display, not only of continuing musical theatre excellence – but also of a sheer unbridled love for the show that they were singing. As the cast remained seated on stage when not called upon to perform, Dee’s passion for the piece was almost palpabke. When not performing herself she was absorbing the detail of the music and the occasion, almost in disbelief - not dissimilar to Billy Bigelow being granted the chance to descend from Heaven for a one day visit to Earth - that she had been granted a chance to reprise this heavenly score. Riding too was both entranced and enchanting and yet, in full keeping with the incredibly complex character that Julie is, maintained a sobriety that in no way diminished her evident love for the occasion.

Parker had rehearsed his musicians impeccably. From the opening bars of The Carousel Waltz, through to the closing strains of You’ll Never Walk Alone – not to mention the sheer brilliance of the demanding Act 2 Ballet, the music was a profound delight, accompanied by a vocal chorus of students from the Guildford School of Acting.

Alongside Riding and Dee, Hadley Fraser was  compelling and convincing as the violently troubled Billy Bigelow. Another character of deep complexity, Fraser imbued the errant husband with as much sympathy as could be afforded to his abusive nature. He also delivered a sensational Soliloquy.

Gavin Spokes captured Mr Snow’s comic pomposity perfectly, as Stewart Clarke’s Jigger was another deft turn from this talented young man, Clarke picking out his character’s malign opportunistic wickedness. Both men were vocally outstanding, with Matthew Kelly and Chizzy Akudolu complementing the set of supporting roles as The Starkeeper and Mrs Mullins respectively

As Nettie Fowler, Lucy Schaufer’s operatic background led to her spine-tingling take on You’ll Never Walk Alone. But back in 1992 it had been Patricia Routledge (not yet then a Dame) who played Nettie. Incredibly, and at the age of 90!, Routledge returned to this production as the narrator. For those in the audience who remembered the 1992 show, to see Dame Patricia singing along in the finale of the show’s totemic anthem was unforgettable.


Photo credit: Take Two Theatricals (2019) and Clive Barda (1992)

Friday 10 May 2019

Amour - Review

Charing Cross Theatre, London



****


Music by Michel Legrand
Libretto by Didier Van Cauwelaert
English adaptation by Jeremy Sams
Adapted from Le Passe-Muraille by Marcel Aymé

The company

Michel Legrand’s Amour is a curious show, first seen in Paris in 1997 and then five years later, on Broadway where it was to run for a month or so. Curious for sure, but yet this whimsical tale of a Parisian clerk who finds himself temporarily gifted with a superhuman ability to walk through walls,lends itself perfectly to London’s Off West End theatre scene.

The tale may be implausible and Jeremy Sams’ translation of the original libretto occasionally creaks with a predictable, schoolboy simlplicity. But in the hands of Danielle Tarento’s cast and creative team, Legrand’s show is imbued with a classy charm that, like the most delicate of a French pâtissier’s mille-feuilles, is a delight to savour.

On stage virtually throughout, Gary Tushaw is the magically transformed Dusoleil, bestowing a plausible ordinariness upon his literally unbelievable character and bringing a vocal delight to the role in this sung-through piece. The object of his desire is Anna O’Byrne’s Isabelle, with the actress’ pedigree shining through every time she sings. O’Byrne brings a quality to her performance that is most usually associated with West End productions costing far more than a Charing Cross ticket, as her poise, presence and vocal delivery prove enchanting. 

To be fair all of the cast are close to flawless, with some of the ensemble's close harmony work proving sensational as they glide through Legrand’s cascading melodies. There is a fine turn from Alasdair Harvey as the jealously possessive Prosecutor and husband of Isabelle, while Claire Machin’s Whore brings the house down with her perfectly nuanced caricature. A nod too on the night of this review to Jack Reitman, understudying three minor roles brilliantly, and delivering the Doctor with an assured comedic confidence.

Tarento’s hallmarks of outstanding production values abound. Hannah Chissick’s direction is perceptive and intuitive, Adrian Gee's costumes are a treat, and in a venue where sound design can often disappoint, Andrew Johnson’s work is outstanding. Every word is crystal clear, easily heard alongside the immaculately balanced sound of Jordan Li-Smith’s also excellent 6 piece band.

While the narrative and argument may be slight, the charm of this show makes it a musical highlight of the capital's 2019 fringe scene. For lovers of quality musical theatre production, Amour is unmissable.


Runs until 20th July 2019
Photo credit: Scott Rylander

Friday 3 May 2019

Man Of La Mancha - Review


Coliseum, London


***


Music by Mitch Leigh
Lyrics by Joe Darion
Written by Dale Wasserman
Directed by Lonny Price


Kelsey Grammer and Danielle De Niese

It has been 50 years since Man Of La Mancha last played in London’s West End and based upon this year’s offering from the ENO and co-producers Grade-Linnitt it is easy to see why. This curious tale of romance, chivalry and ageing, drawn from Cervantes’ Don Quixote, demands production values that are nothing short of excellent if its hidden but cheesy charms are to truly suspend an audience’s disbelief.

Here however, celebrity stunt casting has stripped what could have been a majestic musical of its Iberian magic. Kelsey Grammer leads as Cervantes / Quixote and while Grammer’s ability to carry off the close-ups of a carefully scripted TV sitcom is unmatched, he fails to fill the demanding chasm that is London’s Coliseum. Compared to the West End’s finest Grammer can sing, just. But he cannot act through his song and for a show that is built around one absolute money-shot of a number, the first act's closer The Impossible Dream, one is left wandering out for an ice cream and feeling distinctly short-changed even before the rip-off prices of a vanilla tub.

There’s mediocrity elsewhere too - Nicholas Lyndhurst (another gem of the smaller screen) puts in a throughly average turn as the Governor / Innkeeper and even Peter Polycarpou as Sancho Panza, a man who usually delivers musical theatre genius, is burdened  by director Price with a cod Spanish accent that reduces his part to little more than a Spanish waiter. Polycarpou is so much better than this.

There are some moments to the production that imbue quality. Danielle De Niese is magnificent as Aldonza / Dulcinea - her voice, particularly in the closing act, breaking hearts as she sings of her love for the dying old man. And the music is rather wonderful too with the ENO Orchestra under David White’s baton proving an absolute delight. For anyone who loves Mitch Leigh’s sumptuous score, you will never hear it played live any finer than this.


Runs until 8th June