The Ladyboys of Bangkok - Review

 The Sabai Pavilion, London

**

Beneath a pink, pulsating, (and when the bass is turned up, throbbing) big top erected on Shepherds Bush Green, The Ladyboys of Bangkok are strutting their stuff nightly during the show's London residency. 

In an evening that always promised more than was to meet the eye, perhaps if the tent had even been half-full (it was at far, far less than 25% capacity on the night of this review) then maybe all those mimed disco classics, pyro effects and laser beams that sliced through the haze might have complemented a party vibe. As it turned out, the evening felt more like an end-of-the-pier show on a rainy bank-holiday afternoon, rather than the tittilatingThai-themed treat of a cabaret and floor show that the marketing material had suggested.

The cast were troupers - playing to a virtually empty marquee while sporting immaculate make up and (occasionally) sparkling costumes they kept their smiles throughout. It was only a wonder that Queen’s Show Must Go On was not included in their pre-recorded backing set.

The two stars are for the Ladyboys’ sheer bravado and balls.

Runs until 12th July - then on tour and in Edinburgh

Hamlet : After-Show Cabaret - Review

St Stephens, Edinburgh

****

Richard Lewis

After the cast of Hamlet take their bow and for those in the audience with post-show tickets, there’s a cabaret in the Lower Hall at St Stephens.

Each evening, accompanied by various members of the Hamlet cast, Richard Lewis hosts an eclectic soirée with song selections that range from the cheesy (albeit cheese that makes a pleasant accompaniment to a glass of Malbec) to the downright inspired. Not only is Lewis’ patter quick-fire and knowledgable, but his piano playing is sublime with selections that range from The Lion King (Disney’s Hamlet) and Pulp, through to Kander & Ebb and Beethoven. His Shakespearean links and connections can be corny, but the lyrics are genius and the singing is gorgeous with slick and well rehearsed backing vocals. On the night of this review cast members Rebekah Grace Summerhill and Katie Ayton were performing alongside Lewis, delivering delicious vocals.

It’s a high-brow to low-brow transition as one descends the St Stephens staircase, but this cabaret is a immaculately rehearsed glimpse of the fringe’s diverse entertainment. If you’re not rushing off to another show, it’s well worth checking out.

Hamlet - Review

St Stephens, Edinburgh

****

Written by William Shakespeare

Performance conceived by Peter Schaufuss and Ian McKellen

Directed and choreographed by Peter Schaufuss

Johan Christensen and Ian McKellen

If a picture can speak a thousand words, then Peter Schaufuss’ balletic take on Hamlet is the dance equivalent. Boldy stripping out 95% of Shakespeare’s prose and replacing it with ballet, Schaufuss offers up a fresh take on the essence of the Hamlet story that is both captivating and at times surprisingly moving. Where Shakespeare used the beauty of language to describe tableaux for the audience to imagine – think for example of Hamlet’s act one description of Claudius and Gertrude’s wedding celebrations – Schaufuss choreographs that wedding as his opening scene. It is an effective prologue but as with all ballet, it helps to have a good understanding or at least to have read a synopsis of the underlying story.

A typically staged Hamlet will take between 3 and 4 hours to perform. Schaufuss’ interpretation lasts a mere 75 minutes with ruthless excisions. No character speaks other than Hamlet (apart from Claudius’ guilt-ridden demand for “light” after the Players’ performance) and even then, Hamlet’s words are edited to extracts of only the most profound, recognisable soliloquies or conversations. For the most part, the editing works – and it makes a pleasant change to have no gauche contemporary political spin is applied to the story. This Hamlet is all about revenge with the ballet's music, a charming composition from Ethan Lewis Maltby, complementing the story perfectly.

The title role is dual-cast, with Johan Christensen dancing  as Ian McKellen voices those snippets of the text that have survived Schaufuss’ scalpel. When he is not speaking, McKellen's presence suggests an almost spiritual realisation of Hamlet’s soul or conscience as he moves and interacts. This is an intriguing combination of performances that merge almost seamlessly. McKellen’s Shakespearean speech of course is sublime and when he speaks of the “undiscovered country” there is a moving melancholy underscored by his 83 years. The dance is clever and suggestive, effectively delivering the narrative's basics. Katie Rose as Ophelia is a standout performer with her mime and movement delivering a disturbing insight into Ophelia's struggles and descent into madness. The endgame, here a wrestling match rather than the traditional swordplay, is thrilling. 

The production however is flawed. For the Player's performance, Schaufuss seats Claudius and Gertrude amongst the audience to watch. An upstage location would have served the show better, allowing the audience to not only watch the Players’ dumbshow, but also to observe Claudius’ reaction to the unfolding drama. Equally, the cutting of the gravediggers’ scene not only robs the story of a delightful interlude of comic relief, it also leaves Hamlet delivering the “Alas, poor Yorick” speech with no dramatic context whatsoever to explain why he his holding the court jester's skull.

While it will no doubt peeve the purists, this Hamlet remains one of the finest re-inventions of the classic yarn of recent years. For those who love the story, ballet, or who simply wish to see up close one of the greatest actors of our time it is a must-see production.

Runs until 28th August

Photo credit: Devin de Vil

Gobsmacked! - Review

Udderbelly, Edinburgh

****

Bringing together a cast of 7 talented young vocalists, Gobsmacked! delivers a unique, refreshing hour of contemporary, a capella tunes to a sell out crowd at the Udderbelly.

With a stage backlit by a vast wall of speakers and without a single instrument in sight, each cast member gets a turn in the spotlight to power through a series of catchy, superbly delivered hits from the last 40 years of pop music.

In the early stages the show does take a couple of songs to really get going, but the precision of the harmonies is remarkable at times, fusing elements of dance, R’n’B and hip-hop into a number of modern classics. An eclectic re-imagining of The Killers Mr. Brightside injects the crowd with energy in the first half, while an impeccably delivered falsetto version of Mumford & Sons I Will Wait delivers a welcome, more melancholic tempo to proceedings.

Thematically, almost all the songs focus on the same issues of love, loss and hope - That’s perfectly understandable given the source material that they are working with, but with more varied subjects or an attempt to rework songs from different genres, the group could have taken the audience on more of a journey and better demonstrated the breadth and depth of their talent.

The undoubted highlight of the show is the solo stylings of charismatic human beatboxer ‘Ball-Zee’. His light-hearted ten minute set includes taking the audience through the tuning of a virtual drum-set (complete with a pitch recalibration of each skin) before delivering a mind-melting looping sample that makes you question how one voice-box can produce such a wide variety of different sounds at exactly the same time

The show ends in exuberant fashion with a wide ranging, foot-tapping medley of hits, ranging from Stevie Wonder’s Superstition to Martin Garrix’s Animals, with each cast member entering the crowd and bringing (somewhat reluctant!) audience members onto the stage for a final dance. Shortly to head off on a deserved tour of Asia and Australia, Gobsmacked! makes for a highly entertaining evening that will be packing in the Fringe crowds throughout August.

Runs until 31st August at 4.30pm

Guest reviewer: Richard Fox

Molly Wobbly's Tit Factory - Review

Assembly Rooms. Edinburgh

****

Book, music & lyrics by Paul Boyd

Directed by Paul Boyd


A review of the Original Cast Recording can be found here

Russel Morton as Ithanku

Molly Wobbly's Tit Factory at the Assembly Rooms is a delightfully irreverent show that arrived in Edinburgh following a week’s debut run in Belfast. Smutty, vulgar and excellently performed, it draws upon a Carry On style of humour, and if the title wasn't warning enough, is best viewed by non-prudent adults.

Set in the sleepy village of Little Happening, the lives of three (un)happily married women are turned upside down when a green headed character, Ithanku, who bears more than a passing resemblance to Shock Headed Peter  ( he is named Ithanku for reasons too long to explain in this review)  and who possesses mysterious powers, buys a derelict building on Mammary Lane (snigger snigger).

If this all sounds a tad like The Witches of Eastwick, well in parts that's true, however rather than setting out to seduce the women of the town, Ithanku's mission is to augment their breasts. Much as in the way that Goldilocks was presented with three bowls of porridge of differing volume, so are the audience presented with three divas of varyingly sized decolletages.  Leanne Jones, an outstanding actress famed for exploiting her fleshy proportions as Tracy Turnblad in the West End's Hairspray, leads the line as beautifully voiced and largest breasted woman Margaret, the town's dressmaker. The medium sized lady in the cast is Tara Flynn who plays Jemma, married to an (inevitably) gay hairdresser, whilst Orla Gormley is Ruth, the smallest chested of the three, married to the town’s clock and watchmaker, having previously been wed to a man of the cloth. Her number, Presbyterian Minister's Wife, looking back to an episode in that marriage when she "shouted f*ck in the manse", is one of the show's lyrically comical highlights.

There is not a weak performance amongst the cast and in a production that appears to have been staged on a tight budget (shame about the music having been pre-recorded) the strength of the show lies within the talent on stage. Tommy Wallace, as camp character Kitten, is a riot in heels and lipstick, especially with his song Guardian Angel and Russell Morton delivers a fine turn as Ithanku, a bad-guy with some really complex issues.

Irish writer Paul Boyd has put together a crackingly camp confection of saucy jokes, rude songs and fine performances that include at one time or another, all of the cast in their underwear. He pokes fun at most strands of Christianity and also lifts the floormat on a number of taboos and social mores and in so doing creates a fun night out at the theatre. The show deserves a transfer to a London off-West End venue, ideally one that has an understanding of staging musical theatre, to share its filthy fun with a wider audience. A possible cult following awaits.

Runs until August 26th

(remor) - Review

C Nova, Edinburgh


****
Developed and performed by : Res De Res Company

(remor) is an innovative piece of physical theatre brought to the Fringe by Spanish company Res De Res.  The show lasts approximately ten minutes and is performed several times an hour to a maximum audience of ten at C Nova.

Claustrophobics should look away now. Set in an unspecified country, the entire act takes place within a ( ventilated and air conditioned ) 4-walled prison cell that has been purpose built for the production to authentic measurements. Within the cell are two inmates, man and woman, lying on bunk beds, the legality or fairness of whose imprisonment is never explained to the audience The door closes and without a word being spoken the pair launch into an immaculately choreographed routine that depicts at various times despair, hope, passion, anger, frustration and above all helplessness.

Ten minutes is an infinitesimally small period of time to be spent cooped up, yet (remor) conveys the sense of incarcerated isolation not just through good acting but also through clever sound design, with music overlaying a realistic sound of traffic and life going on just the other side of the prison wall, piped into the cell. Occasionally the light dims within the performance space, at which point the audience are provided with torches to pick out the players' actions.

(remor) is thought provoking drama. If you have ever been locked up, then you above all will be best placed to judge its interpretation. For those of us who have never experienced a denial of our liberties, preconceptions of imprisonment may well be challenged.

Runs until August 27th

An Evening With David Hasselhoff - Review

Pleasance Grand, Edinburgh


*****

A star of two globally acclaimed television series, minor roles in a handful of movies, and an accomplished lead of several big musical theatre productions ( to say nothing of his German popstar fame). So when David Hasselhoff shows up for a week’s residency at the Pleasance Grand, to quote Arthur Miller, “attention must be paid”.  

The opening night saw the venue almost packed. The crowd was pumped up, the show opening with a mini movie, showcasing the man’s career. As the video ended, coolly dressed in a pin stripe suit and shod in spectacular spats shoes, Hasselhoff breezed onto the stage. One does not need to be a diehard fan to recognize the man’s charisma and star quality, both of which are often lacking from today’s wannabe celebrities as well as many established entertainers. His classic good looks, and refreshingly self-deprecating style, set him apart from the pack. His talent is not just singing, it is acknowledging, possibly uniquely, that he is a global star who does not take that status too seriously. The man’s on stage performance is 5 star. One simply wants to watch and hear him perform. So he used an autocue extensively, and his glamorous backing girls mimed. Did anybody care? No. This was The Hoff.

The lights and sound and onstage security suggested a production budget that was unlikely to be recouped via ticket sales, but if Wikipedia is to believed, with a $100 million fortune in the bank, Hasselhoff is not doing this gig for the money. As he told the audience, what this boy from Baltimore loves most of all is performing on stage. With nods to Baywatch, Knight Rider, Manilow and an audience participation on-stage limbo, The Hoff is another example of the Edinburgh Fringe at its very best.

Runs until August 27th

The Last Five Years - Review

The Space at Niddry Street, Edinburgh

****

Music and lyrics by: Jason Robert Brown

Director : Michael Richardson

The Space at Niddry Street was almost full for the last night of Green Room’s debut production of Jason Robert Brown’s unconventional tale of a doomed love. Detailing a five year relationship from two perspectives and points in time, Cathy (Sarah Haddath) opens the show looking back at the failed marriage with a raw Still Hurting. Jamie ( Michael Davies)  then bursts on to the stage charting his tale looking forward in time with a New York Jewish shtick of Shiksa Goddess. Whilst the humour in the young man’s passion is evident, for the audience the agony of sharing his laughter whilst having the grim inevatibility of the demise of the couple’s love simultaneously spelled out, defines the show’s painful irony. The two performances are all the more compelling because throughout each actor has the stage to themself, performing solo with the exception of the couple’s wedding day when their two arcs meet.

The wry perspective on life that pulses through this production echoes a narrative style that suggested Woody Allen’s Manhattan with an interweaving of painful human relationships within that city and in I Can Do Better Than That there is more than a nod to Billy Joel’s Scenes From An Italian Restaurant, such is the writer’s ability to tell a story.

The show is a sharply observed dissection of the failure of a loving romance. Brown’s writing is economical with lyrics that are laced with poignant nuance. It is to Haddath and Davies’ credit that they perform the show with vocal excellence and perceptive acting.

Michael Richardson directs with a simple but stylish use of scenery and compact space and Neil Metcalfe on piano provides a skilled accompaniment.

The show now tours and should be seen.

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