Carousel - Review

Birmingham City Academy, Birmingham

*****

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

NYMT's Carousel

In the most inspired and gorgeous of site-specific settings, the National Youth Music Theatre’s (NYMT) production of Carousel is presented on, and around, an actual fairground carousel! With the audience seated in three tented enclosures around a thrust stage, this traditional, historic, steam-powered fairground attraction creates a stunning backdrop to the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic musical.

For all sorts of reasons Carousel is a mountain of a musical to be scaled, with its dark and complex themes presenting a challenge to any theatrical company, let alone a cast where the performers’ ages range from 10 through to their early 20s . Along with a handful of some of the most exquisite songs in the canon and some gorgeous love stories, the show also offers troubling takes on suicide, loss and, when presented to a 21st century audience, an uncomfortable perspective on domestic violence.

Josephine Shaw and Amie Shipley get the vocal work off to a fine start as Julie Jordan and Carrie Pipperidge respectively. Shipley is gifted most of the show’s (rare) comedic moments that she masters with assured timing and a delightful delivery. Shaw’s delivery of Julie Jordan however is heartbreaking in its excellence. Her soprano voice is as strong as it is fine, and as the narrative evolves she brings an astounding maturity and heartbreaking pathos to her performance that belies her age. Shaw's delivery of What’s The Use of Wond’rin? was a tear-filled joy to listen to. Billy Bigelow is played by Maximus Mawle who alongside his strong baritone voice, also captures his ultimately honest love for Julie. As Mawle’s Bigelow looks down from heaven on the pain of his daughter Louise’s life, his acting is top-notch. Daniel Langford completes the quartet of leading lovers with an assured performance of herring tycoon, Enoch Snow.

There are other notables in this fine young company. Sean Cosgrove’s Jigger Craigin is an absolute delight, with Cosgrove nailing his character’s despicableness with wit, confidence, braggadocio and a superb singing voice. Athena Florence Mensah as Nettie Fowler gets her vocal chops around You’ll Never Walk Alone with equal splendour. 

The Ballet sequence is always a focal point of Carousel and in this iteration Marianna Micallef as Louis smashes the role sensationally. Her dance routine that lasts a jaw-dropping 15 minutes is stunning as, with minimal dialogue, she tells of Louise’s troubled life through exquisitely choreographed movement. And on the subject of dance, a massive nod to choreographer Adam Haigh. Not just in Ballet, but his company routine in Blow High, Blow Low was bold, ambitious and breathtakingly successful.

Alexandra Spencer-Jones has directed the show with perception throughout, a particularly neat touch being the deployment of a cohort of the company’s younger members as the show’s heavenly troupe.

NYMT’s orchestras always impress, but under Flynn Sturgeon’s baton, Carousel’s 30-strong ensemble make marvellous work of the score. With a heavy strings presence, the music is a lush delight and from the opening bars of the Carousel Waltz there is not a note out of place. It is a rare treat these days to enjoy such a lavishly orchestrated musical.

And finally, a mention to the carousel itself, a gloriously integral component of Libby Todd’s design work for the show. The carousel’s revolve is used sparingly throughout the piece, such that when it does start to turn, the impact is phenomenal. As a gentle revolve is started half way through Micallef’s Ballet, the effect is stunning, and when it slowly turns in the show’s finale to transport the celestial characters back to heaven, just wow!

Only on until tonight, Carousel maintains NYMT’s long established standard of first-class musical theatre!

Runs until 30th August 

Guys & Dolls - Review

Frinton Summer Theatre, Frinton-on-Sea

*****

Music and lyrics by Frank Loesser

Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows

Based on a story & characters of Damon Runyon

Directed by Janie Dee

Fabian Soto Pacheco and Lenny Turner

In perhaps the country’s most charming setting, a seaside big top perched on the cliffs of Frinton-on-Sea, Janie Dee has helmed perhaps the most equally charming production of Guys & Dolls to have been seen in quite a while.

This Frinton Summer Theatre musical will only run for two weeks and so of necessity is modestly budgeted. Dee however, and in her first rodeo as director of a fully-staged show too, has carefully crafted the Broadway classic to focus on the individuals rather than the spectacular. Many of the cast are sensibly doubled up in different roles and Dee shifts the opening number Runyonland, which would typically depict New York’s hustle and bustle, to a calmer but imaginative balletic prologue delivered by three local child performers.

Dee’s cast are magnificent, with her four leads’ passion infusing the show with energy and expertise. Lenny Turner and Isabella Gervais play Sky Masterson and Sarah Brown, delivering a chemistry, yea chemistry, between them that is simply sensational. Both vocally stunning with Gervais’ soprano proving exquisite in its fidelity. Gervais also delivers some imaginative and impressive work on an aerial hoop in the Havana scenes. Turner’s Sky is the best to have been seen in years. Not just in his mellifluous tone, but also in his capturing the very essence of Masterson’s cool.

Fabian Soto Pacheco nails Nathan Detroit’s wry New York shtick to a tee. In a thoughtful tweak to the original, and recognising that Frank Loesser’s libretto virtually excludes Nathan Detroit from any singing responsibilities, Dee has changed a couple of lyrics to include him in the title number. Josephina Ortiz Lewis grows into becoming Miss Adelaide - a role that is one of the most complex in musical comedy - with her humour and irony landing perfectly as the show builds to its fairytale ending.

Other notables in the company are Jack McCann’s Nicely Nicely Johnson who dutifully delivers an encore-worthy Sit Down You’re Rocking The Boat, Clive Brill’s genial Arvide Abernathy and Alfie Wickham who neatly delivers the modest roles of Joey Biltmore (in particular) and Scranton Slim with panache.

Tracy Collier not only plays General Cartwright but is also Dee’s choreographer and there is both ambition and flair in her take on the two big dance scenes, firstly in the Cuban nightclub and then in the Crapshooters’ Ballet.

Neil Somerville directs his six piece band delightfully, with a nice touch to the evening’s musicality being provided by Pippa D. Collins’s massed choirs adding vocal heft to the occasion. Sorcha Corchoran’s stage designs use the tented setting perfectly.

A newcomer to directing she may be, but as one of the UK's finest leading ladies Janie Dee is steeped in musical theatre genius. In her programme notes Dee pays a neat tribute to Sir Richard Eyre’s groundbreaking and award-winning production of Guys & Dolls in 1982 at the National Theatre. She is right to do so. Hers is the first Guys & Dolls since then that comes close to replicating Eyre’s masterpiece in unlocking the pathos, humanity and hilarity of Damon Runyon’s stories. 

Find your way to Frinton. It’s a probable twelve to seven that you’ll have a fantastic night at the theatre!

Runs until 6th September

Photo credit: Christian Davies

Good Night, Oscar - Review

Barbican Theatre, London

*****

Written by Doug Wright

Directed by Lisa Peterson

Sean Hayes

Sean Hayes of Will & Grace fame is Oscar Levant in Doug Wright’s scorching new play, Good Night, Oscar. Usually, one might raise an eyebrow at ‘yet another’ American star flown in to tread the boards in London. Hayes however breaks the mould and at the Barbican Theatre, delivers a platinum-plated performance.

A gifted pianist and friend and contemporary of George Gershwin, Levant was to be acclaimed for his interpretation of the composer’s works. Not only that, but he was also endowed with the sharpest of wits becoming a master of brilliantly sharp and often cruel one-liners. He was also a deeply damaged depressive, with Doug Wright’s play boldly focusing on one fictional evening in 1958 when, while on a four-hour pass from the psychiatric wing of LA’s Mount Sinai Hospital, Levant was to make a guest appearance on NBC's Tonight show hosted by Jack Paar. It is a stroke of bold genius that’s up there with Tim Rice & Andrew Lloyd-Webber writing a musical about the relatively unknown (in the UK at least) Eva Peron, that sees Wright having fashioned a blazing work of art in his script about the equally unknown Oscar Levant.

Wright’s writing is inspired - but it is Sean Hayes who lifts Good Night, Oscar into the pantheon of great modern plays. Hayes won the Tony in 2023 for his creation of the role on Broadway and his acting is sublime. As Levant battles his demons and propped up by countless medications, Hayes’s performance is unlikely to be matched on a London stage this year, capturing his character's rapier-like wit and musical gift, alongside the heartbreaking portrayal of his mental decline.

To only add to Hayes's excellence is his virtuoso piano-playing that sees him perform scinitllating extracts of Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue, live on stage. This is a level of craftsmanship rarely witnessed ever, if at all, and to be present in the auditorium as Hayes plays Oscar Levant, is quite simply one of the greatest privileges an audience member is ever likely to experience. 

The supporting roles may be eclipsed by Levant, but the acting craft on display throughout the company is equally classy. Another American import, Ben Rappaport plays Paar in a role that he too originated on Broadway a couple of years ago. Rosalie Craig similarly shines as Levant’s wife June, capturing pathos and resilience in her flawless delivery. Every character on stage is a perfectly fashioned gem with notable work from Richard Katz as studio head Bob Sarnoff and David Burnett as the embodiment of George Gershwin.

Lisa Peterson’s direction is a masterclass of textual understanding, matched only by Rachel Hauck’s stunning set designs that seamlessly segue from NBC’s offices, to Levant’s dressing room and ultimately the Tonight show’s TV studio, complete with grand piano.

World class drama that is likely to be the best play performed in London this year, Good Night, Oscar is unmissable.

Runs until 21st September

Photo credit: Johan Persson

The Addams Family - Review

Curve, Leicester

*****

Music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa

Book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice

Based on characters created by Charles Addams

Directed by Matthew White

Ricardo Afonso and Alexandra Burke

The Addams Family hail from back in the day when The New Yorker magazine offered some of the sharpest cynicism in the world and with few contributors sharper than cartoonist Charles Addams, as the gifted artist created a deliciously dysfunctional Gothic clan who resided in a haunted mansion beneath Central Park. The Addams Family’s values were as inverted as they were recognisable and their distinctive Manhattan chic was to spawn television series and a movie and lead to this beloved menagerie of deeply damaged individuals becoming one of 20th century America's cultural icons.

Translating such utterly ghoulish satire into musical comedy requires brilliant writing that demands to be matched by equally outstanding performances. Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice who penned the show’s book have an excellent pedigree behind them. Paired with songsmith Andrew Lippa, the show is based on fabulous foundations and in this iteration of The Addams Family that has just opened at Leicester’s Curve, the cast unite to deliver an evening of arguably the finest musical theatre this year.

The Addams Family musical has been around for a few years now – last reviewed by this site in 2017 -  however this production takes its excellence to the next level. Alexandra Burke and Ricardo Afonso head the family as Morticia and Gomez. Burke bringing the seductive contemptousness that her most fatale of femmes demands, while Afonso adds Latin authenticity to Gomez’s delightful despicability. The couple’s breathtaking flamenco-enhanced Tango De Amor that brings the show towards its conclusion is just joyous and the hallmark of Alistair David’s classy choreography

This production’s strengths however are bolstered not just by such strong leads, but by epic casting throughout. The legendary Clive Rowe plays the genderless Fester, enchantingly in love with the Moon. Rowe is a giant of his generation and his big number, But Love, is as tender as it is hilarious. Lesley Joseph steps up to the plate as the 102yo Grandma of the family. There are few performers who can nail the bittersweet comic delivery required of a wry centenarian, with Joseph delivering in spades. Dickon Gough’s Lurch is a demonstration of understated physical comedy at its finest, while Lauren Jones as Wednesday is all that this infernally rebellious teenager should be.

The musical’s plot revolves around a deliciously improbable romance between Wednesday and Lucas Beineke (Jacob Fowler) but it is the gem of a performance that Kara Lane delivers as Lucas’s mother Alice singing Waiting towards the end of the first half, that almost takes the roof off the Curve. Credit too to Dale Rapley as Alice’s husband Mal – a tough role with few, but nonetheless very dry, sweet spots of humour. Rapley nails them all. And a nod to Nicholas McLean who makes fine work of Wednesday’s younger brother Pugsley.

The Addams Family is more than just musical comedy. It is the finest, most acutely observed satire, that is delivered exquisitely. This tour needs to lead all the way back to the West End. Musicals do not get better than this!

Runs until 10th August, then on tour

Photo credit Pamela Raith

Till The Stars Come Down - Review

 Theatre Royal Haymarket, London

*****

Written by Beth Steel

Directed by Bijan Sheibani

Dorothy Atkinson

The West End transfer of the National Theatre's Till The Stars Come Down sees this stunning new play evolve into a production that is as stellar as its title.

Powerfully perceptive and set in a northern mining village where the pit has long since closed, Beth Steel’s writing focuses on three sisters on the day of the youngest sibling’s wedding. Rarely does a narrative soar from brilliantly observed (and perfectly timed) hilarity one minute, to harrowing family despair the next as passions, secrets and lies merge to fuel a narrative that culminates in perhaps the most exquisitely performed heartbreak to be found in London today.

This is a story about love, desire, resentment, ageing, grief and bigotry with Bijan Sheibani’s company of 10 all delivering faultless expertise in their acting. The sororal trio comprises Sinead Matthews (as Sylvia, the bride) and Lucy Black (as Hazel) returning to the production from the National, with Aisling Loftus (Maggie) a newcomer to the transfer. All three are powerhouse performers. Also returning are Philip Whitchurch as the bride’s Uncle Pete and Alan Williams as Tony, the sisters’ widowered father. Williams in particular delivers a turn that is a masterclass in understated excellence.

The evening’s comedy moments are driven by Dorothy Atkinson’s Aunty Carol, a woman who is as monstrous as she is relatable and recognisable. Gifted most of the evening’s snappy one-liners, Atkinson is the definition of tragi-comical brilliance.

The show is a technical treat with Samal Blak’s ingenious revolve being perfectly lit as ever by Paule Constable.

Beth Steel’s writing was good last year on the South Bank. Performed by this company at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, it’s bloody brilliant and the capital's drama highlight of the summer!

Runs until 27th September

Photo credit: Manuel Harlan

Quadrophenia - A Mod Ballet - Revew

Sadler's Wells, London

*****

Written by Pete Townshend

Choreographed by Paul Roberts

Directed by Rob Ashford

Paris Fitzpatrick

Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia is a glorious fusion of classical modern music, outstanding dance and world class stagecraft that creates an evening of outstandingly provocative entertainment. Playing at Sadler’s Wells, the classic 1973 album that became a movie in 1979, is now translated into ballet under Rob Ashford’s direction and Paul Robert’s choreography.

To be fair, both men have had their visionary work enhanced by the musical foundations laid down by Rachel Fuller’s orchestration that had taken The Who’s legendary album, stripped out the lyrics and let the music sing its own narrative. As a mark of the evening’s pedigree, the backing soundtrack has been recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Quadrophenia speaks of  Britain’s culture in the 1960s played through the eyes of Jimmy, a teenage Londoner and his post-adolescent journey through desires, frustrations, music and gang culture. This was the Mods v Rockers era, with Townshend’s narrative picking out with pinpoint precision Jimmy’s mental anguish. And as a part of the meticulously created backdrop to this dance, as the Mods battled the Rockers beneath Brighton Pier, there’s more than a hint of West Side Story’s Jets vs Sharks in the conflict.

On the night of this review Jimmy was danced, spectacularly, by Paris Fitzpatrick. Notable characters (though the entire company are outstanding) that impact Jimmy are The Mod Girl (Taela Yeomans-Brown) and The Ace Face (Dan Baines). Townshend’s story also picks out the impact of the horrors of the Second World War on Jimmy’s father, where Stuart Neal delivers a haunting routine.

The stage set may be beautifully simple, but the projections designed by Yeastculture.org are state of the art. Bending our sense of perception and reality, the multi-dimensional imagery elevates the music and dance to a level rarely seen on a London stage. And don’t forget that this ballet’s costumes are designed by the legendary Paul Smith and yes, there is even a Lambretta on stage too!

Quadrophenia as a ballet takes a glimpse of England's history, portraying it with authenticity and unbelievable imagination, with flawless components from both its cast and creative team. Only on for a short while, it is unmissable!

(And dare I ask - any chance of Pete Townshend and Rachel Fuller transforming Tommy into a ballet???)

Runs until 13th July then on tour

Photo credit: Johan Persson

Barrioke - Review

Between The Bridges, London

*****

Shaun Williamson

When “Like A Baz Out Of Hell” is a show's Meatloaf (and Baz) inspired strapline, it becomes nigh-on inexcusable for this (Jonathan) Baz not to rock up at the latest London date on this event's hectically packed tour calendar.

But what IS Barrioke? Well, many years ago the actor Shaun Williamson played Barry in the TV soap opera EastEnders. Barry was a lovable rogue who, followers of the soap will recall, met an untimely end when he was pushed off a cliff by Janine, the femme fatale and love of his life.

However, while Barry from Albert Square may be sadly mourned, in a stroke of showbiz genius Williamson has exhumed the character from the vaults, to tour these islands delivering the classiest karaoke gig imaginable. Barry...Karaoke...Barrioke...geddit???

Back in 2004 Williamson took on Meatloaf’s mantle in Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes and as he opens the current show cosplaying the legendary American singer and belting out You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth he sets the evening off to a cracking start. For 90 minutes, and to audiences that can be up to a 1,000-strong, Williamson curates and comperes an evening of perfectly selected bangers that sees game volunteers lining up to sing their favourites, while the packed beer and cocktail-fuelled throng join in. Big screens ensure that everyone knows the words, with Barrioke proving the antithesis of a traditional West End show. At a typical musical, mobile phones and singing along are strictly forbidden (and rightly so). Here it is cameras at the ready and everyone singing along all evening - bliss!

More than just your ordinary karaoke gig, Williamson and his team know how to put together a playlist that keeps the joint jumping. A quiet word from the management suggested that my choice of a Barry (Manilow, that is) ballad may be too downbeat for the evening - so I swiftly switched to my reserve party piece of Tom Jones’s Delilah. Full disclosure, it is time for Jonathan Baz to declare an interest in this gig's five-star rating, for so it was, that when my name was called, I stepped up to the stage, Williamson’s manager Adele Seager videoing my every move, and sung my heart out with passion (if not, ahem, with talent).

Barry and Baz

Bright lights, a haze machine, and with the red sparkling jacketed Barry singing alongside, what’s not to love?? Readers, I tell you, it was one of my most enjoyable evenings on London’s South Bank in very many years!

The craic at Barrioke is off the scale. Just go!

For Barrioke tour dates click here

The Deep Blue Sea - Review

Theatre Royal, Haymarket

*****

Written by Terence Rattigan

Directed by Lindsay Posner

Tamsin Greig

Terence Rattigan’s The Deep Blue Sea is a minutely observed take on one day in the life of Hester Collyer. Middle aged and having suffered a failed marriage and a failing affair, we encounter Hester, prone on the floor of her tawdry Ladbroke Grove flat following yet another failure, this time in her attempt to kill herself. Lindsay Posner’s take on 1950s England delivers a sepia-tinged snapshot of social mores that have long since been discarded. But while life’s customs may have evolved and changed, the play’s underlying themes of passion and despair are timeless.

As the day unfolds we meet Hester’s landlady, neighbours, her husband and her lover, as the jigsaw pieces of her life are slowly revealed. Rattigan has a powerful and perceptive understanding of the human condition, with each of his characters carefully crafted as they impact onto the fraught and fragile Hester.

But more than just the sublime writing, the acting at the Theatre Royal Haymarket defines this production (a transfer in from the Theatre Royal Bath) as one of the finest dramas currently to be found on a London stage. Tamsin Greig is Hester, on stage throughout, in a performance that captures the complexities of her depression, self-loathing and desperate desire in the finest of detail. Never melodramatic, Greig delivers a masterclass in perfectly nuanced acting.

As her High Court judge husband Sir William and some years her senior, Nicholas Farrell turns in an equally assured performance of a complex love that still burns for his estranged wife, while Hadley Fraser’s Freddie, Hester’s younger lover, offers up a snapshot of a man battling his own demons.

The key supporting roles of Miller, a lapsed German doctor and Mrs Elton, the landlady of the house are perfectly and sensitively fleshed out by Finbar Lynch and Selina Cadell respectively, each contributing valuable colour to Rattigan’s harrowing palette. Peter McKintosh’s set is an understated masterpiece of 50’s austerity, perfectly lit by Paul Pyant.

Rattigan’s eye for English misery is unmatched, and under Posner’s direction and with Greig’s breathtaking performance, The Deep Blue Sea is unmissable theatre.

Runs until 21 June

Photo credit: Manuel Harlan

The Comedy About Spies - Review

Noel Coward Theatre, London

*****

Written by Henry Lewis and Henry Shields

Directed by Matt DiCarlo

The cast of The Comedy About Spies

The Comedy About Spies is the latest hilarious epic from the Mischief Theatre crew. Written by and featuring Mischief’s architects Henry Lewis and Henry Shields, the play sees a madcap plot unravel.

Think of the movies and a fusion of the action of James Bond and Die Hard combined with the comic craft of Airplane, and you begin to get close to the genius of this drama, where England in 1961 is the backdrop to espionage and skullduggery between the USA & the USSR over a Top Secret file.

The plot’s details are of course ridiculous (including an American agent accompanied on his mission by his overbearing mother!) and riddled with double-agents’ trickery but the narrative here is but a mere excuse to display some of the West End's finest comedy.

Slick tongue-twisting dialogue, outstanding punning, immaculately timed physical comedy and slapstick all merge to deliver an evening of first class farce from the cast of eight.

Not only that but David Farley’s set design is a work of art itself. Set in a hotel we see actors fall between floors in brilliantly designed, hilarious stunts, while a thrilling escape into the hotel’s lift-shaft has to be seen to be believed.

Directed by Matt DiCarlo, this is world-class theatre that is performed to the highest standards of discipline, yet which always appears to have its tongue firmly in its cheek - the hallmark of comedy done to perfection!

Runs until 5th September

Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways - Review

Powers Auditorium, Youngstown

*****

Bob Dylan and his well-oiled machine are touring across the Midwest, sometimes playing a different city the next night nonstop with no breaks. An impressive feat for any band but with Dylan at nearly 84, it’s a feat that is more than noteworthy.

The performance was phoneless, which saw everyone have their phones locked away in pouches, which was fantastic although next time be sure to wear a watch if you’re planning on queuing for the bar and the start time is approaching. I bailed from the queue after the 10 min warning, to leave my plus-one with the vital task of bringing the refreshments. Luckily, she arrived just as the lights went down!

As the name of the tour suggests, without much pomp and ceremony, Bob and the band took to the stage and assumed their positions, standing ovations throughout as the crowd awaited the man they came to see. No introduction necessary, nor even an acknowledgement of the audience, (This is Dylan after all, and the tour is ‘Rough and Rowdy’. If you want cuddly acknowledgment from a legend, there’s always Taylor Swifts’s ‘Era’s Tour’)  just straight into it starting with his back to the audience as he and the band played ‘I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight,’ playing guitar with the band to get started, and once warmed up, turning around to sing and play the piano.

Unsurprisingly, the show consisted mainly of songs from the Rough And Rowdy Ways album. I was expecting maybe to hear one or two at most of the old songs but was pleasantly surprised by the various inclusions, all stripped and rearranged to suit the theme of the show. At one point I turned to my plus-one saying “you know this one”. She looked blank, to which I added ‘It Ain’t Me Babe’. The song was barely recognisable both in arrangement and Bob’s delivery, but honestly I loved every minute of it! If you came expecting what was recorded all those decades ago, you’d be misguided in your hopes and simultaneously disappointed. In such a case, however, may I perhaps recommend a movie with Timothée Chalamet, or if that doesn’t suit, perhaps build a time machine! 

What one sees at this show is a legend performing on his own terms, with a group of talented musicians, playing a selection in their chosen style much in line with Dylan’s album. And if you came with any other expectations, then I guess that’s your problem. Upon reading other reviews of the tour, I noted that they predominantly fell into one of three categories:

1. Seasoned Dylan fans who know exactly what to expect and are happy to pay their money.

2. Non seasoned Dylan fans, both young and old that came with the mindset to experience the music and see a legend perform live.

3. The type of fan that would have just as well rocked up to a John Lennon Concert in the 70s expecting ‘mop tops’ and A Hard Day’s Night… To quote the man “I’ve grown up a bit since then, obviously you haven’t.”

I fall into category 2, a lifelong fan, simply grateful for the opportunity to see the legend while he’s living, and luckily for everyone, it seemed that over 90% of the Powers Auditorium fell into groups 1 or 2. When traveling up to the venue a thought occurred, and this was later confirmed during the performance: This wasn’t just a show. It was part musical performance and part exhibition, in that (given this was my first time seeing the man,) you were seeing a sort of mythical creature, in the flesh, performing in a theatre in the middle of Youngstown, Ohio.

Another one of the rearranged versions, and a personal highlight for me was that of ‘Desolation Row,’ less folksy acoustic, more stripped back and gritty & bluesy with a punchy rhythmic muted strumming, much like a locomotive driving the song along. I didn’t notice what the song was until a few lines into the first verse, such was the rearrangement but when I (and other audience members) clocked on, it sent shivers and got a roaring crowd response.

Another moment which the crowd responded with a rapturous appreciation and love, was when Bob pulled out the harmonica towards the end of the set during Every Grain Of Sand. It was a beautiful and special moment, even had a couple dancing in the outer aisle by the exit. A moving number that as it reached its conclusion and the band finished playing, saw Dylan step up to centre stage, in front of the piano briefly, to receive the standing ovation from the grateful crowd. 

He then stepped back to the back of the stage in a line with his band, momentarily under the orange glow of the purposely designed minimalistic set lights; before abruptly cutting the lights, to show a blue lighted outlined silhouette of the players with Dylan in the centre amidst a black backdrop for just a few seconds. Then blackout, and just like that it was over. The players exited the stage with the same lack of razzle-dazzle that marked their entrance. No pomp, ceremony, nor encore, yet plenty of fanfare as the crowd gave their applause.

As the well-oiled albeit rough and rowdy machine packed up after another night on the road, the evening for Dylan and his band will have been one of countless stops across America. But to the folks present, it was without question a special night of music from a legend.

Rough and rowdy? Of course (I mean at 83 what would you expect). A night and performance to remember? Most certainly! The tour is shortly to join Willie Nelson for the Outlaw Music Festival, where both legends will both be out on the road again… 

5 Stars*                

*Unless you were stupid/misguided enough to be expecting an 83-year-old to be a Timothée Chalamet-esque Bob from yesteryear, performing all the hits. In which case, you probably left disappointed. Don’t worry though, I’m sure Chalamet will be streaming soon.

Reviewed by Josh Kemp

Wild Rose - Review

Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

*****

Book by Nicole Taylor

Directed by John Tiffany

Dawn Sievewright and the company of Wild Rose

In much the same way as the movie Local Hero was Bill Forsyth’s 1983 love letter to the Scottish highlands, so has Wild Rose become Nicole Taylor's glorious celebration of Glasgow. Drawn from the 2018 movie as with Forsyth, Taylor has woven into her narrative an ingeniously plausible connection to the USA.

The story's Rose-Lynn Harlan is a young Glaswegian whom we meet as she is being paroled from jail (think John Belushi's Jake in The Blues Brothers opening scene, just with a different musical angle).  A single mum of two pre-teens, and from one of the city’s toughest tower blocks, hers has not been an easy life. But Taylor, in projecting her own love for country music onto her leading lady, has endowed Rose-Lynn with a passion for country that drives the show.

Dawn Sievewright is Rose-Lynn in what must surely be one of the finest musical theatre role creations to premiere in the UK this year. Sievewright not only possesses the pipes to take the roof off the Royal Lyceum when needed but more than that, she takes us on Rose-Lynn’s journey (no spoilers here) that acutely address her feelings of inadequacy as a young mum and the contrast she witnesses (in her job as a cleaner or “daily woman”) between the well-off and the poor. Sievewright’s singing and acting are exquisite – but it is credit to Taylor who wields her pen like a scalpel, depicting deep human pain with just a perfectly placed word or phrase. With so many musical theatre writers falling back on lazy exposition and a dictionary of rhymes, the budding librettists and lyricists of today would do well to study Taylor's masterclass of a script. John Tiffany’s gifted direction only enhances the evening. 

The show is a carefully curated country collection, all delivered impeccably and with Taylor's choices ranging from Country Girl through to Peace In This House and Glasgow (No Place Like Home) she rollercoasters her audience through the full range of emotions. Notably supporting Sievewright are Blythe Duff as Marion, her mother, Janet Kumah as Susannah, the client for whom Rose-Lynn cleans and on the night of this review Alfie Campbell and Lily Ferguson, the two young actors playing her son and daughter.

Music is essential to the strength of this show and Ali Roocroft’s eight-piece band (including seven(!) strings players) add a superb enhancement to the evening’s country credentials.

Built around three chords and the truth, Wild Rose is new musical theatre at its finest. Amidst its raw and rough colloquial Scots brogue (more inspired writing from Taylor), there is a diamond of a show that deserves to be cut, polished and mounted in the West End. Soon!

Runs until 19th April

Photo credit: Mihaela Bodlovic

The Last Laugh - Review

Noel Coward Theatre, London

*****

Written and directed by Paul Hendy

Bob Golding, Damian Williams and Simon Cartwright

An imaginary dressing room shared by Tommy Cooper, Bob Monkhouse and Eric Morecambe is the setting for Paul Hendy’s new play that makes for an 80-minute one-act wonderland of a tribute to these three legends of late 20th century British comedy.

Damian Williams, Simon Cartwright and Bob Golding make up the trifecta (their names in the same order as their characters are listed above) in this superbly scripted drama that not only revisits countless, gloriously familiar comedy gems but also offers a briefly poignant analysis of how their acts evolved, as well as a glimpse of the sadness that lay behind the three perfectly honed comic masquerades.

It’s not just the script, the three actors nail their characters to a tee. And for those of us fortunate to have grown up in television’s golden-age, the evening is as if we are in the actual presence of these giants of light entertainment.

No spoilers here but be assured that some of the trio’s most loved gags are played out on stage. More than that, the actors truly inhabit the comedians’ personae delivering one of the best shows in the West End.

Hendy also directs with a perfectly nuanced touch, coaxing the gentlest manifestations of genius from all three amidst Lee Newby's immaculately designed set.

Only on for a month before touring - Unmissable!

Runs until 22nd March, then on tour.

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

Richard II - Review

Bridge Theatre, London

*****

Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by Nicholas Hytner

Jonathan Bailey

There is brilliance at the Bridge with Nicholas Hytner’s modern-day staging of Richard II, in an interpretation that sees the politics of the play resonate strongly with England in 2025. The corrupt ineptitude of Richard’s government echoes the bumblings of Keir Starmer and his cabinet, and when the Bishop of Carlisle prophesies domestic strife and discord across the land she could well have been speaking of this sceptre’d isle today.

Jonathan Bailey is Richard in a masterful interpretation of the flawed monarch. His cocaine-powered court may only enhance the failings of his reign, but in both his rage and his sensitivities Bailey’s interpretation of the verse is exquisite. 

Hytner has cast his production well. Notable amongst a virtually flawless company is Royce Pierreson’s Henry Bullingbrook, a classy portrayal of ruthless cunning and political steel. Similarly, and following his outstanding turn in the recent Guys and Dolls, Michael Simkins again brings magnificence to the venue with his Duke of York, fusing avuncular wisdom with an unswerving loyalty to Crown and country. The ‘domestic’ between the Duke and his Duchess (Amanda Root) over the alleged treachery of their son Amerle is a scene that could have been lifted straight out of Albert Square such is the pair's dramatic excellence. Martin Carroll stepped up on press night to deliver a perfect cover of John of Gaunt, while Olivia Popica is a treat in her take on Queen Isabel’s emotional complexities. 

Amanda Root and Michael Simkins

The show’s production values are stunning. Bob Crowley’s stylish modern day scenery silently rises and falls from the Bridge’s bowels, while Bruno Poet’s interrogative lighting designs emphasise the story’s brutality. Grant Olding’s music adds a cinematic dimension to the evening that feels entirely appropriate.

This is a stunning play that cements the Bridge’s reputation as possibly the finest Shakespearean stage on London’s South Bank. Coming out of Richard II and seeing the Tower of London just across the river only adds to the theatre's magic.

Runs until 10th May

Photo credit: Manuel Harlan

Oliver! - Review

Gielgud Theatre, London

*****

Music, lyrics and book by Lionel Bart

Freely adapted from Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist

Revised by Cameron Mackintosh

Directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne

Cian Eagle-Service and Billy Jenkins

Matthew Bourne’s production of Oliver!, arguably the greatest English musical ever written, was outstanding when it opened in Chichester last summer. Now transferred into the West End, it is a privilege to be back soon, reviewing the situation of this production that sparkles even brighter than before. Rarely does a show offer such breadth and depth of performances, across the entire cast, as is achieved by Bourne with his wondrous company. Co-Producer and reviser Cameron Mackintosh has had a lifelong love affair with Oliver! and the subtle revisions that he brings to Lionel Bart’s brilliant original move the show effortlessly into the 21st century.

On press night it was the sublimely talented Cian Eagle-Service playing Oliver, delivering a finish to his big solo, Where Is Love? that all but took the roof off the Gielgud. Rarely, actually NEVER, has that song been sung by a child performer with such power, passion and intensity.

Bart’s genius - aside from penning a show that delivers so many hit songs in rapid-fire succession - was to take the bleak brutality of Dickens’ novel and imbue it with nuanced and perfectly pitched bittersweet comedy. The fun begins early on with Katy Secombe and Oscar Conlon-Morrey paired as Widow Corney of the workhouse and  the beadle Bumble. In a double act that in the original Oliver! was to inspire Boublil & Schoenberg in their creation of the Thenardiers in Les Miserables, they capture the duo’s heartless bombast and petty penny-pinching to a tee. With pinpoint vocals and a mastery of physical comedy, their work is flawless.

Next up are Stephen Matthews and Jamie Birkett as the undertaking Sowerberrys. Again, harsh irony and tragedy but overlaid with comic class - and it should be noted there’s a fine turn from Birkett in act two with her reprise of Where Is Love? in the role of Mrs Bedwyn.

Oliver’s arrival in London of course introduces the show’s most colourful characters. Billy Jenkins is The Artful Dodger, whose cockney vocals and nifty footwork are everything a Dodger should be and more. Aaron Sidwell has grown into the role of Bill Sikes, his understated menace proving both ugly and chilling.

As Nancy, Shanay Holmes has also matured into this most intriguing and complex of roles. Holmes is yet a further example of this company’s vocal magnificence with her take on As Long As He Needs Me giving the Gielgud’s rafters another rattling.

And then of course there is Fagin. Much like Steven Spielberg made us wait before our first glimpse of the shark in Jaws, so too does Bart let most of act one go by before Simon Lipkin erupts from a trap door.

Lipkin’s take on the old Jewish fence is carefully researched and meticulous in its delivery, unlocking Fagin’s humanity and vulnerabilities with a sprinkling of immaculately timed humour. As we see Fagin care for the newly-arrived Oliver into his den of thieves, Lipkin imbues the role with a rarely seen pathos. His skills in comedy and magic are also used wonderfully and with his spectacularly klezmer-esque Reviewing The Situation, his is one of the finest musical theatre performances in town right now.

Lez Brotherston’s designs are simply stunning. Amidst a whirl of wrought iron staircases and bridges, and a deft deployment of the Gielgud’s revolve, Brotherston shifts the narrative across the country and the capital, aided in no small measure by Paule Constable and Ben Jacobs stunning lighting designs. In the pit, Graham Hurman’s orchestra are spot-on throughout.

 

Consider yourself well-in to witness this fantastic spectacle!

Booking until 28th September

Photo credit: Johan Persson

The Merchant of Venice 1936 - Review

Trafalgar Theatre, London

*****

Written by William Shakespeare

Adapted by Tracy-Ann Oberman and Brigid Larmour

Directed by Brigid Larmour

Tracy-Ann Oberman

It is nearly two years since Tracy-Ann Oberman’s Merchant of Venice 1936 opened at Watford’s Palace Theatre in a production that realised Oberman’s powerfully driven mission to take Shakespeare’s classic tale and shift it through four centuries and a 1,000 miles to London’s East End at the time of Oswald Mosley and a focus on the play’s troubling antisemitic narrative. 

Since that opening however, sorrows have befallen the world’s Jewish communities not single spies, but in battalions. The barbaric terrorist assault on Israel on October 7th 2023 unleashed an outpouring of Jew-hatred across the globe in which loudly shouted criticisms of the Jewish state have proved to be little more than thinly-veiled calls for the eradication of the entire Jewish people. While Oberman’s brave production is a tribute to the heroes of the 1936 Battle of Cable Street there are moments which, when contexed against today’s globally expressed antisemitism, already make the show feel out of date.

Now at the Trafalgar Theatre before re-touring the UK, Oberman reprises her Shylock in a performance that remains steeped in the stance and tone of an eastern European immigrant. When her Shylock speaks of being spat upon and treated like a dog by Antonio and his fellow citizens, there is an understated heartbreak to the hatred that she has experienced.

A significant cast change sees Antonio, the Merchant, now played by Joseph Millson. With his character depicted as a prominent member of Mosley’s British Union of Fascists, Millson brings a sharpened gravitas and credibility to the role and a scornful hatred of Shylock that is palpable. Other notables in the cast are Gavin Fowler’s continuing as Bassanio, a performance that has matured into the character’s nuanced complexities and sexualities over the months. There is equally fine work from newcomer to the production Georgie Fellows, who carries the Mitford mantra into her take on Portia.

Interestingly, and again in the context of a 2025 viewing of the production, Grainne Dromgoole’s take on Jessica achieves a further perspective. Hers is the assimilating Jew who discards her faith to follow her love for Lorenzo but yet who, through having been born a Jew, is still scorned by the gentile fascists. Her character echoes those Jews today (and indeed other minority groups too) who appeasingly befriend their enemies while remaining blind to the underlying hatred that can lie just beneath veneers of apparent tolerance.

Watched today, the courtroom scene in which Shylock having already lost his family is now stripped of his fortune and his faith, brings a chilling resonance that Oberman and Larmour in writing their adaptation could scarcely have imagined. Their production may have transported the Duke and his court from Venice to London, but in events that have mirrored the 19th century Dreyfus trial, 2024 has seen new Dukes emerge to hold Jew-hating courts in Pretoria, The Hague and Dublin to name but a few. 

Shakespeare had his Shylock exit the play in act four. In Larmour and Oberman’s truncated fifth act, the devastated moneylender remains on stage throughout, her presence a haunting reminder of the destructive power of hate.

Back in 2023 The Merchant of Venice 1936 was compelling. Two years later it stands as essential and unmissable theatre, brilliantly performed.

Runs until 25th January, then tours

Photo credit: Marc Brenner

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake - The Next Generation - Review

Sadler's Wells, London

*****

Composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne

The Company

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, now badged “The Next Generation”, plays at Sadler’s Wells over the festive season. This remarkable ballet that has literally introduced and inspired generations of young people into the world of dance remains a radical re-imagination of the classic gothic fantasy.

Bourne’s interpretation veers away from magic and enchantment. His is a modern world of challenged mental health, of society’s demanding expectations, and of a young Prince grappling to define his sexuality – all danced to Tchaikovsky’s music.

On the night of this review The Prince was magnificently danced by Stephen Murray. The show’s principal dancer however is given a gruelling two-role responsibility with this review seeing Harrison Dowzell take the parts of both The Swan and The Stranger. Dowzell is sensational throughout. His Swan, a creation of The Prince’s troubled mind, moves with an avian power and grace that is compelling. Matthew Bourne’s interpretation is very dark, with a tragic climax to the show that reflects Dowzell’s hypnotic influence over the damaged young Prince.

The complementing role that falls to Dowzell is as the charismatic Stranger who appears at the palace ball. Teeming with testosterone, Dowzell asserts himself as the alpha human male, truly the balls of the ball, sweeping all the Princesses - and then the Prince – off their feet. Dowzell’s contribution to an evening of scorching dance-fuelled drama is simply breathtaking.

Of course, it is not just The Swan that stuns. As Bourne’s corps of Swans, all bare-chested and clad in Lez Brotherston’s now famous swan-leg costumes fill the stage, the beauty of the director's vision is ingenious. Their perfect poise and movement only heightening the painful poignancy of the Prince’s mental decline. Rarely have a flock of birds looked so ripped!

Ashley Shaw danced The Queen for this performance as Katrina Lyndon played The Girlfriend. Shaw has long impressed on these pages in her work for Bourne – here, supported by subtle hair and makeup enhancements, she convincingly plays a role way beyond her years as the matriarch emotionally disconnected from her damaged son. Shaw shows sheer talent in a critically important supporting role. Lyndon (also the show’s dance captain) makes the most of a slighter role, mixing moments of comedy with perfectly weighted vacuity as she delivers the complex part of the young woman whom The Prince, at first, so passionately desires.

Brotherston’s set design is, as always, a treat, while in the pit, Benjamin Pope conducts the New Adventures Orchestra through a fabulous delivery of Tchaikovsky’s work. Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake remains a chillingly exhilarating evening of dance.

Runs until 26th January 2025 then on tour

Photo credit: Johan Persson