Teddy - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London

***

Witten by Tristan Bernays

Music by Dougal Irvine

Directed by Eleanor Rhode

Will Payne

Teddy is a new piece of theatre from Tristan Bernays and Dougal Irvine that sets out to depict the Teddy Boy era of 1950’s London. It's all about rock and roll and austerity in post-war Britain, but much like the Teddy Boys it tells of, the play's slickly packaged but scratch its surface and there's a show unsure of itself and seemingly still seeking its own identity. A 4-piece band and a programme listing 10 musical numbers, hint at what might be a musical, but the incessant monologues that occupy most of its 100 minutes (and which feel much longer) define it as a play in need of improvement.

Bernays writes the words and Irvine the melodies. In recent years Irvine has shown himself to be one of the sharpest songwriters around (his Departure Lounge musical was a brilliant study on contemporary teenage angst) but here he is confined solely to tunesmith responsibilities – a talent sadly squandered.

Joseph Prowen and Jennifer Kirby as the Teddy Boy teenage romantics Teddy and Josie put in flawless performances, taking us through what may well have been a typical night in 1950s South London, save for a sensational and unconvincing denouement. Their narrative tells of the countless characters encountered – and whilst Bernays’ intentions are honourable, the non-stop verbal assault of his speeches try our patience. Teddy’s actors and musicians are a 6 litre engine powering a struggling concept show.

One needs to hear more of the band. Alice Offley’s wonderfully uber cool bass-playing Jenny sings with a glorious Southern twang that could almost suggest The Blues Brothers’ Good Ole Boys, whilst Will Payne’s Johnny Valentine offers up a convincing rocker. It is only Irvine’s music and the show’s two stunning leads that redeem the show.

Bernays needs to rip up much of his pretentious and assonant alliteration – and replace it with a generous helping of lyrics from Irvine, a proven wit-meister. Oh and give choreographer Tom Jackson Greaves a decent sized ensemble to work with too. To suggest a packed and heaving dance floor, complete with revolving mirror ball with only two actors, is just downright mean spirited. The audience deserves more.

Runs until 27th June 2015

Picture by Darren Bell

Departure Lounge - Review

Paradise at Augustines, Edinburgh

*****

A musical by Dougal Irvine

Directed by Sally Rapier

Departure Lounge is Dougal Irvine’s perceptive take on 4 lads, post A Level, hitting Malaga for a week before the exam results are out. In a show that bubbles with exuberance, Irvine addresses booze, birds, banter, bravado, sexuality and friendship, all in 75 minutes, providing a Rough Guide to departing adolescence . The show had been in development for a couple of years before hitting London for a month in 2010. Revised further by Irvine, InStep Theatre have tackled a production that had already set incredibly high standards and more than met them.

An economical cast of 4 lads, plus busty bimbo Sophie, played cunningly and knowingly by Hayley Hampson in a thread that weaves throughout the show,  look back on their week in Spain while they wonder if their Ryanair flight’s delay is “gonna last forever”.

The songs are spread throughout the show, allowing stunning vocal harmonies by the boys, interspersed with powerful solo numbers, and a very skilful duet. Do You Know What I Think of You, sung by Glenn Adamson as Ross, and Joshua Meredith as JB, is a painful look at friendship, with JB feeling he is looking out for Ross, who in turns sings of how the friendship is stifling him.

Jamie Barnard as Jordan, discovering his sexuality through the play, is an energetic performance, with a spectacularly high “Gay gay” in a nod to Winoweh, during the hilarious ensemble number, Why Do We Say Gay?.

Perhaps the most moving number of the night is sung by Michael Fletcher as Pete, orphaned at 5. Picture Book tells of his pain and his loss, and is all the more poignant, performed by him whilst his buddies are on their mobiles to mums and dads back home. In this number, Irvine articulates the thoughts and feelings of a pained and damaged young man. This powerful song quite possibly has a therapeutic potential outside of the parameters of musical theatre and deserves greater study.

Sally Rapier has directed the cast cleverly. The staging is simple and economic, and the hugely physical performance that all four boys put into the show is meticulously rehearsed and joyous to watch. The two guitarists, Emily Linden and Kobi Pham, deliver the range of musical styles, from Flamenco to ballad effortlessly.

Ending soon, if you haven’t yet seen it, do so!

Runs until August 19th 

Dress Circle Benefit - One Year On - A Review

Her Majesty's Theatre, London

*****

Today, sadly, Dress Circle, a wonderful store dedicated to all things Musical Theatre, closes its doors.

Many months ago, when closure was first signalled, two dedicated young actors James Yeoburn and Stuart Matthew Price, almost Blues Brothers like, put together a show that culminated in a glorious August 2011 evening at Her Majestys Theatre that was a stunning line up of the West End's finest.

I reviewed the show then, but it has not been until now that my review , which had been lost, has now re-surfaced. Its a pleasure and an honour to re-post it. The store was amazing, and the evening was stellar.

JG

Remember The Blues Brothers, on a mission from God, to save the orphanage they grew up in?

Fast forward 30 ( ok, almost 33...) odd years,  swap the orphanage for Dress Circle, and replace Jake and Elwood Blues  with Stuart Matthew Price and James Yeoburn, and you start to get close to the magic of the Gala concert that graced the stage at Her Majestys

The one thing that both that movie and the Gala had in common was the most outstanding line up of artistes, wishing to be associated with the project.

Simon Lee had rehearsed his 30 piece orchestra to perfection – listening to them, it was hard to believe that this was the first public performance of that ensemble, and that they were not in fact performing that set together 8 times a week.

Without exception ALL the performers on stage were outstanding.

For this writer, though the "ultra-stellar" moments of such an evening, came from those rare moments when the persona of the actor got so wrapt within the performance, that they were truly giving of their soul.

Rebecca Caine sang Think of Me 25 years after her on-stage Christine.  An operatic  performance of crystal delivery, that as she herself tweeted  "I was so overwhelmed by the emotion and ovation I nearly cried. It was like a wall of sound hitting me". With Frances Ruffelle too, spines tingled as A Heart Full of Love was recreated with Jon Robyns.

Then there was the Ellen Greene moment. Ellen was listed in the programme as singing Between, from Betwixt, in the first half. She was great. What the audience did not realise was that she had actually been expecting ( and rehearsing ) to sing Somewhere That’s Green, from Little Shop of Horrors having gone to the effort of having her Audrey wig flown over to London specially for the song.  So when Aled Jones, the evening’s host, interrupted the second half, to introduce this unlisted addition to the evening, the audience went wild .

When that song was first recorded Greene's voice had a wonderful almost hallmark fragility to it. Now, some 25 years later ( and perhaps following the tragic death of Howard Ashman?) singing the song was hard. As Ellen sang, she struggled in what what was clearly a difficult moment. But in a defining expression of excellence, she pulled the performance back, and as the bars rolled by she didn’t just sing the song, she positively nailed it.  On the final notes, as the audience almost to a man rose to salute her,  she wept.  To witness such a performance was more than a joy, it was a privilege.

Dougal Irvine and Laurence Mark Wythe delivered their specially composed number for the night, The World of The Show, that not only evoked the wit of Noel Coward, but also left one confident that the future of British musical theatre composition is in safe hands.

The penultimate number , Bui Doi from Miss Saigon had the inimitable Peter Polycarpou reprising the role of John that he created, backed by a youthful chorus of current West End professionals , again raising the hairs on the back of my neck.

To quote Oliver, could I have possibly asked for more from an evening of such riches? Well to my mind, a nod to Rogers & Hammerstein and Kander & Ebb would not have been out of place, nor would the acknowledgment perhaps of the current contribution of Juke Box Musicals to the strength of current West End / Broadway box office takings. Whilst the trend for JBMs is arguably blocking the path for new writing, those shows do nonetheless, and on a weekly basis, provide musical theatre entertainment for thousands and further, employment for hundreds more. But these greedy comments of mine are mere bagatelles when set against the wonder that was presented on stage last Sunday.

As Sardines Magazine commented " … make no mistake, there was not one person on that stage that did not shine " and as a foundation for an annual ( or  biennial at least ? ) event, Messrs Price and Yeoburn have created a precedent that will be nigh on impossible to live up to.

 

 

Songs - Richard Beadle - CD Review

****

Richard Beadle is a very accomplished young musical presence in contemporary musical theatre. His album, Songs, is an anthology comprising some works that will form part of Today Is My Day, a full length show that he is writing, whilst others are simply penned without a connecting thread.

It is a mark of the respect that Beadle commands within the “Business”, that he has been able to enlist the vocal skills of so many talented artistes to perform his works. Rachael Wooding sings most frequently as Emily, the bride to be in Today Is My Day, whilst  Ross Hunter plays Daniel, her fiancé. In an ingenious performance, the talented Hannah Waddingham sings as Katherine, Daniel’s mother and in a bold move for the musical theatre genre, Beadle has written the song  1967 for her character, addressing a sexual assault endured as a young girl. A disquieting theme, but the writer has approached both lyric and tune sensitively, and Waddingham’s delivery is haunting, hinting at the terror that she experienced, and the damage she subsequently suffered.

Julie Atherton features on two songs, both of which bring comedic interludes to the album. In The Wedding Song, she tries her hand as Emily,  frantically preparing herself as all brides must, for the detailed planning of her wedding day. Where the other songs from Today Is My Day are predominantly reflective and introspective, Atherton injects that tone of paranoia that is sufficient to raise a smile in any person who has planned a big event. With I Want A Footballer, Atherton reprises her celebrity-seeking “wannabe” character, heard last year on Dougal Irvine’s song Do You Want A Baby Baby? The lyrics are clever, and the reference to footballers wives and girlfriends being the power-wielders within relationships, suggesting that they are “ the tail that wags the dog” is sublime. If it wasn’t for the “Blue Is The Colour” motif scored into the last few bars, this song would be perfect!

Also performing two songs on the CD is Stuart Matthew Price, for whom Beadle has previously written for the singer’s own album. Colorado Plates sees Price in his fresh and honest style, searching for a probably lost love, with a performance that echoed his previously recorded Run Away With Me.

Lyrically, Beadle does need to sharpen his pencil as regards wit and rhyme if he is to emulate the piercing perception say of Jason Robert Brown, whose music certainly seems to have influenced his work. It must be said however that Richard Beadle’s musical composition is simply outstanding. His range of style and use of orchestra is both exciting and gratifying to listen to, and it is clear why he is a musical director in much demand in today’s competitive West End. The album is both a taste of the future and a celebration of the talents of today. If you enjoy musical theatre, you will relish it.

@jaybeegee63

This review was first published on The Public Reviews

A Spotlight on Stevie Webb - Review

****
This review was originally written for The Public Reviews

January 26 2012

By popular demand Steven Webb, accompanied by some wonderfully talented friends, returned to the Landor Theatre to perform his “A Spotlight On..” evening , first aired ten days earlier. The intimate venue was packed with Webb’s friends and colleagues lending a genuinely relaxed air to an evening of songs that were as emotionally charged as they were beautifully performed.

Webb opened his set with “How Do You Know ‘Til You Try Me (Which You Haven’t and You Should)?” from Betwixt. Punchily delivered , and with able accompaniment from Steve Edis, it set the tone. Throughout the evening the singer possibly spent as much time re-telling anecdotes and stories as singing, but in the company of so many of Steven’s friends, the stories took on a mixture of warmth, tenderness, as well as at times outright blokey banter. At 28, the fact that he has already been performing professionally for 20 years is a remarkable achievement and Webb spoke appreciatively of the sacrifices his Wirral-based parents made to support him as a precocious 8 year old, making his West End debut as Oliver.

Steven selected not only songs from shows that he had performed in , but also songs that he enjoyed. With the talented Sarah Lark, he performed “Music of the Night” taking the familiar classic and re-working it to a beautifully harmonised duet. Later in the show, again with Miss Lark, with a nod to Betwixt he delivered a tribute to Ellen Greene with “Suddenly, Seymour” cheekily re-worded to “Suddenly Stevie”.

There is a symbiotic relationship between writers and singers at the moment ( was it ever thus?) with the young talent of the country writing and performing on each other’s albums with almost incestuous frequency. Nonetheless, it is a tribute to Webb that not only Chris Passey, Webb’s excellent MD, but also Dougal Irvine were there to perform at each of the Landor nights, with Irvine even joking of Webb’s apparent “residency” at the theatre. Both of these writers have included the singer in the launch events for their recent albums, and these performances were reprised. From Irvine’s album Acoustic Overtures, Webb sung the piercingly perceptive “Simple”, and from Passey’s Self Taught, Still Learning, he delivered the powerful number “Room for Me” . Both songs allowed Webb to immerse himself in their performance, giving each number a raw and human emotion. Irvine’s Departure Lounge had provided Webb with his return to musical theatre two years ago, and the close vocal harmony of the writer, also on guitar, dueting with Webb in “Do You Know What I Think Of You” was exquisite, Webb catching the bitter frustrations of a soured friendship with painful poignancy.

Elsewhere in the evening, Webb included a heartfelt tribute to Etta James, with “At Last”, and a song, written for him by Passey, and touchingly dedicated to his mother “From Your Loving Arms”
The show closed with an absolute treat. A song rarely if ever heard live, the bonus track from the Departure Lounge album “We Rule The World” , that had been dropped from the London production of the show. In a powerful and perfect 4 part harmony, Webb, Lark, Irvine and Passey united on stage to again move the audience with the perceptive intensity of a superbly crafted song, stunningly performed.

When Webb spoke of friendship, to an audience that included many of his friends, he spoke with honesty and openness – both of which virtues are manifest in all his performances, and evidence of why, at his young age, he is already such a gifted and accomplished performer. He remains a talent to follow and enjoy.