American Psycho

Almeida Theatre, London

*****

Book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Music and lyrics by Duncan Sheik

Based on the novel by Brett Easton Ellis

Directed by Rupert Goold

Matt Smith

Trading sonic screwdriver for shotgun, Matt Smith sheds his Dr Who persona to emerge as Patrick Bateman the damaged anti-hero of American Psycho. A bestselling and sometimes darkly comic comment upon the vacuity of the 1980's, Brett Easton Ellis’ novel was famously realised as a 2000 movie starring Christian Bale. Since then a musical version has been talked of, but it has taken until now for Rupert Goold to helm the first ever translation of an Ellis novel from page to stage.

A young and talented investment banker, Bateman is devoted to style and success, finding failure nauseating. His psyche however is complex and being surrounded by chatteringly beautiful Vogue-devoted peers, (the women in particular have a clever early ensemble number You Are What You Wear) whose pursuit of fashion or the next major deal leaves him cold, only deepens his frustrations as his actions become increasingly barbaric.

Smith represents perhaps the most inspired casting of recent years. Where the eponymous Doctor is at best semi-detached from society, Bateman’s mind is truly a world apart from his surroundings and when it comes to detachment, nobody does it better than Smith. His antic disposition early on sets him apart from his banker buddies and as his reason ebbs away, Smith perfectly captures Bateman's mental decline, never once losing focus nor resorting to cliche. His signature number Clean is a clinically chilling performance from an actor not usually associated with melody.

The company work is classy and consistent. Susannah Fielding is Evelyn, Bateman's fiancée, more focused on the carat count of her engagement ring than the slowly crumbling cognisance of her betrothed. Goold has given her a persona more often associated with a Roy Lichtenstein pop art painting. Fielding's characterisation is one of the most fleshed out depictions of a shallow two dimensional woman to be found. Cassandra Compton’s Jean, whose love for Bateman touches the very heart of the beast, has us fearing for her safety whilst gasping at her performance as during her assured solo of A Girl Before, Bateman seductively undresses her, all the time his nail gun close at hand. Amongst the men Hugh Skinner’s closeted gay Luis who mistakes a murderous grip from the homophobic Bateman as a sign of affection, delivers a recurring vulnerability that is never offered cheaply. Seasoned trouper Gillian Kirkpatrick, playing Bateman’s mother, suggests just a whiff of Hitchcock’s Mrs Bates as we seek to comprehend the complex motivation of her son.

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s book takes a scalpel to Ellis' original, fashioning a carefully crafted arc that is original yet also true to source. Aguirre-Sacasa's background is in comic book creativity (his is the Vegas-bound Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark) and his eye for the graphic makes for a seamless interpretation. With music and lyrics by Spring Awakening's Duncan Sheik, the 1980’s pedigree of the show is assured. Sheik's songs are consistently concise and on point. No trite lyrics here, Bateman himself would be proud.

Es Devlin uses the compact Almeida space effectively, enhancing the minimalist set with two inspired revolves on stage left and right that stylishly shift the action from Manhattan’s high society to a Hamptons beachfront with Finn Ross’ video projections completing the illusions. The story’s violence, mostly suggested and only once depicted with extreme gore, is tastefully portrayed with Lynne Page’s choreography brilliantly depicting the (blood-free) shotgun blastings of a deranged nightclub massacre.

Whilst the story may not be timeless, some thirty years on and amidst London’s multi-million pound properties, chic eateries and an ever widening gulf between rich and poor, much of the ethos that Ellis despised lives on today. But much as Bateman takes an axe to his victims, so too will this show split critics and opinions. Not for children, nor the easily offended, American Psycho is shocking and uncomfortable theatre. Brutally inspired, brilliantly realised and stunningly performed.

Ticket details:

In one of those episodes of life imitating art, with the run already sold out and until this show transfers to the West End (which it surely must), you are more likely to score a table at New York’s fictional Dorsia restaurant than at the Almeida.

Day tickets are available until the show closes February 1, details below. Queue early and wrap up warm.

http://www.almeida.co.uk/your-visit/booking-information/american-psycho-tickets/

Carnival of the Animals

Riverside Studios, London

****

Original book and lyrics by Roger Hyams

Revised book by Andrew Marshall

Music by Gavin Greenaway

Directed by Thom Southerland

Anita Dobson and the Cast

The Carnival of the Animals is one of the most innovative and culturally inspired pieces of new musical theatre writing to have been seen for some time. In a show that bears a nod to the grim darkness of Sondheim with a nod to Kander and Ebb's outlandish "show within a show" style and loosely derived from Saint-Saens' 1886 composition, Greenaway and Hyams have set their tale in the fictional 21eme arrondissement of Paris, where animals and people magically live side by side.

There is one human character in the piece, fashion designer Mademoiselle Parfait, played by Anita Dobson in a wonderfully game performance. Parfait is our guide to the arrondissement as the show opens, but curious occurrences in the first act hint at darker motives. When we do discover the evil that lurks beneath, it is worth reflecting that there are few actresses that can combine such talent and friendly familiarity with devilish menace. Dobson's eyes can sparkle with enticing innocence as the curtain rises on the show, and yet flash the darkest malevolence as it falls on the first act. The wicked side of her character suggests that the show is not ideal for the very youngest of children, but from 7 or 8 and up they are likely to be held rapt by the tale.

The producers have secured a cast that is, for the most part, outstanding. Clare Machin's mumsy elephant, who against type, can't remember a thing, is a delight, made all the better by a hilarious can-can routine in the finale. Allyson Ava-Brown's Lioness is a performance of calculated strength, though this talented actress has more in the tank that she could give to her act.

Other notables amongst a role call of excellence were Alastair Brookshaw's Mynah bird, a perfect portrayal of arrogant smugness whose tap dance routine with Matthew Gent's Parrot, cheekily and classily evoked Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. Cassandra Compton and Stephen Webb as Flamenco inspired Latin donkeys is another fine example of comic acting and timing, beautifully voiced and choreographed, whilst veteran Paul Grunert's Tortoise is a treat of understated wisdom from an actor who knows just how to maximise his impact.

Anita Dobson may well be billed as the star of the show, but amongst this menagerie, it is Bronte Barbe's cygnet who steals the show. Her perfectly performed and vocally exquisite character is a delight and this already accomplished young woman simply has to be a leading lady of the future. (When Evita next returns she would look wonderful on the Casa Rosada balcony...). Barbe's metamorphosis into a swan is one of the most brilliant yet simple pieces of physical theatre to be found in London and when, transformed, she gracefully flew over Paris, I sobbed.

Thom Southerland is back with an inspired hand at the helm of this show, whilst John Risebero's set design that brilliantly evokes Paris and maestro Howard Hudson's lighting, ensure that the show is built upon foundations of creative genius.

This production should deserve five stars and perhaps with:  a re-casting of the Chimpanzee, Liam Doyle seen here in a role that vocally stretched him; a trimming of the first half; and mic'ing up the cast which is crucial if their voices are to achieve parity with, or even dominate, the magnificent sound from David Randall's four piece band, it may yet achieve them. Greenaway and Hyams have unveiled a treat here. With a few tweaks they may yet have crafted a perfect family trip to the theatre. 


Runs until July 14th 2014

The In Between - CD Review

*****

Music, Lyrics and Book by Laura Tisdall

The In Between is a new musical by accomplished young musician Laura Tisdall, and it is quite simply an extraordinary composition. Writing music, lyrics and book, Tisdall has released a concept album of 7 songs from her show, extracts of which were recently performed at London’s West End Live 2012.

Venturing into Philip Pullman territory , Tisdall’s In Between of the title,  is the space between two parallel worlds, into which her protagonist Flick Wimple steps. Orphaned at 8, and guided to early adulthood by her well meaning sister Alice who is 11 years her  senior, the story finds Flick at 19. The album opens with the song She’s My Sister, in which Flick as a young woman on the verge of adulthood, describes the typical frustrations that adolescents feel towards the parent/guardian figure in their life. The song echoes aspects of Miracle from Tim Minchin’s Matilda, not just because both shows inhabit fictitious worlds that spin on slightly different axes , but rather because both songs brilliantly define their story’s key character. Through a range of tempos and styles, Ms Tisdall’s lyrics are witty, and her musical composition is both clever and refreshing on the ear. For this song , the sisters’ roles are sung by Dianne Pilkington and Cassandra Compton, and these two talented vocalists set the excellent standard that is upheld throughout the album.

In Never Expect, Sabrina Aloueche sings of Flick’s being an outsider, not a part of the cliques of life and when she sings the line “I’m not a golden girl” one is reminded of Elphaba’s inability to fit in, in Stephen Schwartz’s Wicked. Tisdall’s song is more upbeat than say, I’m Not That Girl, from Schwartz’s composition, and within that context serves to define Flick’s character in a positive, rather than introspective manner, with no hint of self-pity.

Most musicals feature the human conditions of love and desire, often against challenging odds. The In Between introduces Flick to Guide Calicus, a young man who is a part of that space between the worlds, and with whom it is suggested, Flick establishes a relationship. On the concept CD, two of Calicus’ solo numbers are included, Out Of Your World, performed by Daniel Boys and Beyond the Door, sung by Hadley Fraser. Both of these songs have a resonance that could truly fill a large stage. Boys encourages the cautious Flick to consider venturing from her world whilst Fraser decribes in a soaring performance, the world that he wants Flick to make her own.

Alice’s character is given a further song on the CD, and Julie Atherton’s version of When I Was 19, is a poignant look back from an elder sibling, at the challenges her sister has faced. It is pleasing to hear Atherton away from a comic performance, and to be reminded just how versatile, perceptive and above all, moving her delivery can be.

 Flick’s biggest number on the concept recording is Someone You’ll Be Proud Of . A song that opens peacefully, addressed to her dead parents and then evolves into a wave of voice and music as Flick celebrates her growth into maturity. Lauren Samuels has been tasked with performing this number and she does not disappoint. Past the middle-eight, her singing is positively spine-tingling.

Alexia Khadime and Liam Tamne perform Not Alone, and they deliver what is the CD’s only duet of Flick and Calicus, with impressive strength and harmony.

This concept release is virtually faultless. Tisdall has crafted a modern musical that echoes contemporary themes of story telling yet weaves traditional journeys of love and self discovery, into 25 minutes of sheer listening pleasure. Based upon these 7 songs alone, the entire show should be outstanding. Buy this recording and support the work. The In Between deserves a staging soon and has the potential to become a major West End hit.

@jaybeegee63