A Night With Janis Joplin - Review

Peacock Theatre, London

****

Written and directed by Randy Johnson

Mary Bridget Davies

Doing what it says on the tin, A Night with Janis Joplin proves to be just that. Mary Bridget Davies has crossed the pond to re-create her Tony-nominated take on Joplin and she is sensational.

Davies’ pipes are a wonder, as over a couple of hours including interval she tackles some of the singer’s most famous songs with a vocal magnificence. Massive numbers such as Me And Bobbie McGee, Stay With Me and Piece Of My Heart are delivered with an authenticity that has to be heard to be believed. Randy Johnson’s links may be corny and melancholic, particularly when Joplin’s death at that tragically portentous age of 27 is barely glossed over, but when the music is this good, that is of little consequence.

Davies is supported by an equally brilliant quartet of Kalisha Amaris, Georgia Bradshaw, Choolwe Laina Muntanga and Danielle Steers who between them offer up vocal nods to classic Motown and blues legends including Aretha Franklin and Bessie Smith. 

Of equal talent on stage are Iestyn Griffiths’ eight-piece band - all fabulous but with special mention to guitarists Kit Craig-Lowdon and Jack Hartigan who between them drive the rock-based energy of the Joplin performance.

Janis Joplin was one of America’s rock legends and this show is a powerful tribute.

Runs until 28th September

Photo credit: Danny Kaan

Opera Locos - Review

Peacock Theatre, London

***

Opera Locos, conceived by the Spanish Yllana theatre company, comes to the Peacock Theatre following its successful Edinburgh Fringe run last summer. The show is a bizarre carnivalesque romp through opera’s greatest hits performed by a troupe of five avant-garde opera singers. The performers weave through a veritable top of the pops of opera from Verdi’s La Traviata to Mozart’s Queen of the Night Aria, interspersed with some more modern hits, and isloosely centred on emerging romances between the performers. The plot lines feel merely incidental to the music and are, at times, difficult to follow as they are swallowed by exaggerated comedy. The show also takes a surprisingly darker turn with one of the performers struggling with alcoholism and suicidal contemplation, a plot choice that, while potentially nodding to the tragedy of opera, seemed stark and out of place in such an eccentrically comedic show. The operatic performances are brilliant with truly high class singing, most notably a breathtaking Nessun Dorma, performed by Jesus Alvarez. However, the performers voices surprisingly failed to carry the modern classics, not quite awarding the same power to Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You as was given to Bizet’s Carmen.

The ‘jukebox opera’ style of Opera Locos is formatted to make opera more accessible for non-opera goers by veering away from the long and involved classics and providing recognisable tunes to get the whole audience on board. While this goal is largely successful, with the showreel of best hits keeping up a constant tempo, the ‘all over the place’ approach lacked the normal pathos and commitment to story from a regular opera. The high degree of forced audience participation, while fun, could also be off putting for those who might not be as familiar with La donne e mobile yet find themselves being encouraged to sing it into a microphone.

The staging was simple with limited use of set or props which allowed the performers to really take the fore. Tatiana De Sarabia’s costuming gave a fun hint to the Spanish origins of the group however, did also give the impression of a child who had gotten overexcited playing dress-up.

Audiences should still expect to be delighted by this outlandish opera-come-pantomime although should be advised to thoroughly suspend their expectations of reality or the normal running of a theatre show with regular spurts of lights on audience interaction and one (hopefully willing) audience member even being taken on stage for the final curtain call.

Runs until 11th May

Reviewed by Dina Gitlin-Leigh

Message In A Bottle - Review

Peacock Theatre, London

****

Choreographed by Kate Prince

Based on the songs of Sting

In a display of sensational dancing, Message In A Bottle takes the songs of Sting and The Police fusing them into a performance, under Kate Prince’s choreography, that focusses on love, resilience and above all, a desire for freedom. 

The evening is a display of inclusiveness and freedom of expression in different ways: both physical and emotional with the first act starting through the telling the story of a strong supportive community, where people are friendly and look after each other. As the simple narrative unfolds it becomes heart-wrenching to see the challenges of tougher times – the separation of a married couple and a community experiencing hardship.

Throughout, the performances are sensational. Nafisah Baba in particular is a mesmerisingly strong and talented dancer.  Baba’s moves are animalistic, full of grace and intrigue and it is a delight to watch her dance. To the backing of The Police’s classic number Roxanne she flourished in a dance of spice and passion.

While Baba stood out it has to be said that all of Prince’s talented troupe are fantastic. Their moves are filled with physics, energy and mutual connection, communicating brilliantly the concepts of teamwork, friendship, family, community and love. If there is but one small flaw, it is the space constraint of the stage which seems to restrict the dancers’ movement.

A dance of love between two male dancers is impressively performed to Sting’s Shape Of My Heart, with the audience exploding into applause. One can see the dancers not only holding the line of the dance, but also transferring their feelings to the audience. 

Message In A Bottle is an inspiring show filled with energy, joy, love and expression and a must see for lovers of modern dance.

Runs until 21st March

Photo credit: Helen Maybanks

Cirque Berserk - Review

Peacock Theatre, London

****

Germaine Delbosq

There’s a gritty sense of unpretentious wonder at Cirque Berserk’s touring show, currently playing at the Peacock Theatre in central London. Forget that other show across town with its overpriced seats, in an oversized arena – this sensational circus couldn’t be more traditional if it tried.

2018 marks the 5th year that Zippos have sent their Berserk show on the road and the assembled talent is astonishing. There are neither live animals here, nor human freaks to be gawked at – rather a collection of ridiculously skilled individuals many of whom, literally, have circus in their blood.

Germaine Delbosq (a 12th generation circus performer) juggles fire – with her feet! And when she’s not doing that, alongside husband Gabriel she performs an astonishing routine that combines the pulse of flamenco with the hypnotic swing of Argentinian bolas.

Czech Toni (6th generation circus) throws knives at his 7th generation wife as she spins on a wheel; the Tropicana troupe soar through the air via the simple use of human bodies propelled from see-saws. Using only gravity and skill two men jump, sending a third man up to the height of the Peacock’s lighting gantries and landing him in a chair! In a truly wicked act, defying gravity is re-defined. 

There is loads more to enjoy, as between the acts Tweedy the Clown (1st generation, trained in circus skills after leaving school) delivers a cracking routine of classic physical comedy and slapstick. These gags and acts are centuries old and yet, in the hands (and legs and bodies) of this tremendous troupe, their acts seem timeless and eternal.

A nod to the 21st century comes with the finale to both acts as the Lucius Team's four motorcyclists, engines revving, enter a steel mesh sphere. Accelerating to 60mph the bikers weave a meticulously choreographed routine amongst themselves, with centimetres to spare. Death defying, literally.

The Lucius Team

At Cirque Berserk, with no special effects or illusions, what you see is what you get. Accessibly marketed (the top price at the Peacock will get you a restricted view at the Royal Albert Hall) this is a show that families can afford and all generations will enjoy. Prise your kids away from their screens – entertainment does not come more perfectly performed.

At the Peacock Theatre until 17th February, then on tour. Tour dates here

Photo credits: Piet Hein-Out