A Christmas Carol - Review

Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford upon Avon


****


By Charles Dickens
A new adaptation by David Edgar
Directed by Rachel Kavanaugh

Phil Davis

This year's seasonal offering in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre is a grand affair as David Edgar (it was he who famously adapted Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby for the company back in 1980) tackles A Christmas Carol. The classic fable is timeless in its tale of Ebenezer Scrooge who is forced to re-discover his compassion and humanity. What concerns Edgar however is that some of the book’s rich social commentary upon the time may have been been lost over the decades and this 2017 adaptation seeks to redress that balance.

Edgar’s trick is to frame the story as a spin-out of dialogue between Dickens himself (as a young man in his 30s, played by Nicholas Bishop) and John Forster, the author's editor and friend played by Beruce Kahn. It is a novel conceit that serves well to remind us of the inhuman poverty of the time along with the widespread and crippling exploitation of very young children employed in the nation’s factories. But in his history lesson, Edgar does us a disservice –Dickens’ prose spoke of the harshness of his time through a beautiful (and quintessentially English) dynamic of understatement, allowing his carefully crafted text to paint the picture. Here, as Dickens and Forster occasionally explain the show’s context in their exchanges, Edgar’s script feels lazy and patronising and, to the purists, a distraction. And as for those references to Snapchat, Uber, Tinder and Boris Johnson - they seem crass and shallow in a show that other than its Christmas scheduling is anything but a pantomime.

The casting however is exquisite. Phil Davis’ Scrooge captures the miserly callousness of the old usurer. The story is traditionally set in London and there is more than a hint of Wilfred Brambell’s Steptoe to Davis’ gnarled anti-hero. Actually, that’s no bad thing, because the tragic pathos of Scrooge’s loneliness is one of the show’s underlying drivers and as Dickens' four ghosts guide him on his path to redemption, Davis cleverly lets the petals of Scrooge’s humanity unfold.

But bah humbug! The full depth and breadth of the RSC's main house is put to fine use and even if the projections are a little cranky, Stephen Brimson Lewis’ scenery and Ben Hart’s illusions are a treat. The cast too offer up a fine interpretation of the festive favourite. Vivien Parry pops up as numerous characters throughout the tale including an enchanting Ghost Of Christmas Past (as well as a wonderfully crotchety elderly aunt). Gerard Carey and Emma Pallant break our hearts with their passionate dignity as Bob Cratchit and his wife, while on press night, the sweetly voiced young Jude Muir made fine work of Tiny Tim.

Rachel Kavanaugh has created quality theatre with A Christmas Carol – the show’s visuals offer a hint of magic – and there is much of our nation’s troubled social history to consider too. But above all, the story’s traditional message of the healing powers of love, warmth and kindness shines through. The people of Stratford are well served this Christmas.

Runs until 4th February 2018

Photo by Manuel Harlan (c) RSC

Half A Sixpence - Review

Noel Coward Theatre, London

****

New Music & Songs by George Stiles & Anthony Drew

Original Songs by David Heneker

Book by Julian Fellowes

Directed by Rachel Kavanaugh

Charlie Stemp (on banjo) + Company 

This website has already reviewed Half A Sixpence in both its Chichester and West End iterations, however an invitation to meet some of the show’s talented cast and take a peek backstage proved irresistible.

Josh Adams who’d not yet seen the show went along.... 

It's rare to watch a West End musical that is so wonderfully British - and Half a Sixpence really is just that, in so many ways.

The direction, choreography and music of the piece frame the energy wonderfully. Amongst the songs, Look Alive captures the boyish behaviour contrasted with the strict discipline of the workplace, while the title song is sung with such innocence and young love by lead characters Arthur Kipps and Ann Pornick, that you can almost feel the warmth in the auditorium.

Meeting Charlie Stemp who plays Arthur Kipps before the show, together with other cast members was a joy. And even more so, to discover that Stemp has the same laddish, comical yet sincere energy in person as he portrays on stage. Not only is his singing and acting fantastic but Stemp makes the choreography look like spur of the moment celebratory leaps of joy as he makes discovery after discovery throughout Act 1.

Other exceptional work comes from Bethany Huckle as the naughty playful Flo, Sam O'Rourke in the ensemble and of course the stunning Emma Williams as Helen Walsingham, Kipp’s alternative love interest. Williams is slowly becoming a legend of our time, consistently glorious to both watch and listen to.

While the above mentioned are particularly impressive, Half A Sixpence is undoubtedly one of those shows with the ensemble at its very heart. From the hustle and bustle of frolics at work through to bat and ball on the lawn, Andrew Wright’s choreography looks completely at home, at times going right to the edge of the Noel Coward Theatre’s tight playing space.

On as Ann Pornick for the night was Rebecca Jayne Davies, who like Stemp delivers a wonderful balance of youth, innocence and sincerity as her relationship with Arthur develops from childhood sweethearts. Davies yet again proves that the quality of London’s understudies remains utterly perfect

The show oozes charm from start to finish and leaves its audience beaming from ear to ear. In dance routines of breathtaking complexity glasses, curtains, bouquets and more are thrown across the stage and not a single one is dropped.

Stiles and Drewe’s musical additions to the 1960s original keep the charm and energy flowing throughout, all excellently executed by musical director Graham Hurman. The seamless transition from pier to parlour, that never sees the show lack pace, reflects slick direction from Rachel Kavanaugh.

The show builds to a flash, bang wallop of a finale. Long may it continue!

Booking until 2nd September

Reviewed by Josh Adams

Half A Sixpence - Review

Noel Coward Theatre, London


****

New Music & Songs by George Stiles & Anthony Drew
Original Songs by David Heneker
Book by Julian Fellowes
Directed by Rachel Kavanaugh

Devon-Elise Johnson and Charlie Stemp

The musical Half a Sixpence bounds into the West End from Chichester, newly adapted by Julian Fellows, with a spring in its step and an infectious grin. The story of Arthur Kipps, a lowly haberdashers' assistant who comes into money but ultimately questions what happiness it brings, is brought to life in a visually beautiful production directed by Rachel Kavanaugh.

The well known 1967 film of the musical (after the original 1963 stage production) was based on the HG Wells novel Kipps, A Simple Soul. In an Edwardian seaside town, Kipps, coming into an inheritance, has his head turned by upper class Helen Walsingham while his heart lies with his childhood sweetheart, scullery maid, Ann Pornick. Kipps & Helen are engaged to be married yet the Walsingham family, the epitome of Edwardian snobbery, only wish to use Kipps for his fortune. Helen tries to "make a gentleman" of her commoner beau but Kipps realises his happiness lies "within his own kind". The script, though full of punchy one liners, is light on heart and emotion.

Fortunately, the staging and choreography is top-notch with an exceptionally talented ensemble singing and dancing faultlessly. Andrew Wright's choreography is full of inventive mannerisms and the energy created is infectious. Flash Bang Wallop at the end of the show is a tour de force bringing the audience collectively to its feet.

Paul Brown's set design, concentric circles of revolving stage, creates a fluidity to the production with seamless scene changes that makes the stage seem vast. From a seaside pier to the ballroom of a mansion, each scene is placed perfectly with artistry, while using the minimum of props.

As Arthur Kipps, Charlie Stemp is glorious. A dancer to the tips of his fingers, he looks totally at ease taking the lead in nearly every number. Charming, committed and cocky, Stemp makes Kipps incredibly likeable. It would be good to see more emotion when in turmoil (this Kipps shows more love for a banjo than any woman) but Stemp commands the stage and was a joy to watch.

Emma Williams is spot-on as the rather unsympathetically written Helen, with perfectly clipped speech, elegant manner and singing that plucks at the heart strings. Devon-Elise Johnson is a delightful Ann, not only singing from the heart but imbuing every line of dialogue meaning. As Ann's friend Flo, Bethany Huckle adds depth and warmth to her supporting female character and her skittish duet with Johnson, A Little Touch Of Happiness is the act one highlight.

Julian Fellowes' script offers more than a nod to his juggernaut TV success of Downton Abbey with his dowagers Mrs Walsingham (Vivien Parry) and Lady Punnet (Jane How). Both actresses relish their scenes, How particularly eliciting howls of laughter with every hilarious line. Perfect for the role, she gives a master class in taking the stage and working an audience.

George Stiles & Anthony Drew's new and additional songs work, for the most part. In the overly long first act, Just a Few Little Things is brilliant, however, some of their new material feels unnecessary. The second half motors along with Pick Out A Simple Tune becoming a modern day classic - it is absolutely the best number seen in this or any show for quite some time.

This is a show that will make you smile. It will make you tap your feet. It will probably make you go home singing on the tube. And that can't be a bad thing.

Booking until 11th Februuary 2017
Reviewed by Andy Bee
Photo credit: Manuel Harlan

Half A Sixpence - Review

Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester


****



New music and lyrics by George Stiles And Anthony Drewe
Original songs by David Heneker
Co-Created by Cameron Mackintosh
Book by Julian Fellowes
Directed by Rachel Kavanaugh

Devon-Elise Johnson and Charlie Stemp

Half A Sixpence headlines Chichester's summer season this year and with Cameron Mackintosh co-producing, it's a rather grand re-working of Beverley Cross and David Heneker's 1963 musical. The original numbers have been reworked by Stiles and Drewe with a few new songs added too, in what is a light-hearted and delightfully dated snapshot of the English class system and its social mores around the turn of the 20th century.

The show remains based on H.G.Wells' novel Kipps: The Story Of A Simple Soul but these days no respectable take on the Edwardian era would dare show its face without Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey's esteemed progenitor, popping up somewhere in its DNA. Fellowes has been dutifully hired to re-write the book and to be fair, he's made a decent fist of it. But with one eye perhaps on a transatlantic export/transfer and the potentially short attention spans of our American cousins, the storyline has been kept tissue-paper thin.

Set in coastal Kent, Arthur Kipps is a humble working class lad who falls in love with the equally lowly Ann Pornick. Upon inheriting a fortune he finds himself escalated to the “above-stairs” world, where a new romance emerges with the wealthy Helen Walsingham. Trials and tribulations follow, before an ultimate marriage to one of his paramours, all played out to a relentless moral backdrop that true love is more precious than material wealth. 

Originally a vehicle for the 1960's idol Tommy Steele who played Kipps, nearly every song featured his character and the reworked show upholds this premise. Charlie Stemp, an actor who has only played featured parts to date, is thrust into his first leading role and he shines. Fine in both movement and voice, Stemp is on stage virtually throughout and truly leads the cast. All of his songs are a delight, however the tender charm of his first half opener (the title song) along with the rumbustious romance of The One Who's Run Away which kicks off act two, display the range of the man's talents.

Devon-Elise Johnson's Ann is an Essex-infused delight. She was first reviewed on this site in 2013 where (as a supporting performer) her starring role potential was clearly visible even then. Johnson is a marriage of cockney charm alongside musical theatre excellence - a highlight being her take on Heneker's Long Ago, a beautifully reflective piece. 

As the quintessentially proper Helen, Emma Williams is, as ever, magnificent. Vocally gorgeous, Williams also offers the evening's briefest of dips into poignant pathos. Offered one of the newer songs to shine in, Believe In Yourself, throughout Williams re-asserts herself as one of the leading ladies of her generation.

Emma Williams and Charlie Stemp

Fresh from playing alongside Williams in Mrs Henderson Presents, Ian Bartholomew turns in a cracking cameo as Chitterlow a writer who more than loosely mirrors Wells himself. Bartholomew has the presence and panache to drive the role along with a particularly corny chapter of the narrative magnificently, bringing an overstated flamboyance that complements the show like a fizzing cocktail and is entirely in keeping with his character.

Downton enthusiasts will love the waspish sparking between dowagers Mrs Walsingham and Lady Punnet (Vivien Parry and Jane How respectively). Fellowes is no fool and has been wise to replicate the acid style of the TV series’ clashes between Maggie Smith/Penelope Wilton, which make for fine entertainment.

Stiles and Drewe's input is a curate's egg. Their contributions to (a lengthy) act one don't compare well to Heneker's original numbers of 50 years ago and if one or two of those compositions were dropped it would be no bad thing. However, after the break, their work is revelatory. Their song Pick Out A Simple Tune is the closest thing to a showstopper seen in new musical theatre writing, offering an anarchic beauty (largely fuelled by Andrew Wright's outstanding choreography) that as each new verse and key-change reveals itself, leaves one wishing the song would never end. It really is that good!

Rachel Kavanaugh's direction is masterful, playing her company well on the concentric revolves of Paul Brown's set. Truly charming, Half A Sixpence is flawlessly performed and well worth a seaside jaunt to Chichester.

Runs until 3rd September
Photo credit: Manuel Harlan

Oklahoma! - Review

Royal & Derngate, Northampton

****

Music by Richard Rodgers

Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

Directed by Rachel Kavanaugh

Ashley Day and Charlotte Wakefield

There is a traditional charm that pervades the Royal & Derngate’s Oklahoma! This show, the first collaboration of Rodgers and Hammerstein, is at once dark and glorious but above all, crammed with some of the biggest numbers from the Golden Age of Broadway. And here, on Francis O’Connor’s set that has been cleverly designed to be taken on the road, it is beautifully staged.

Set around the turn of the last century, the Oklahoma!’s book glosses over much of the Indian Territory’s troubled history (the actual State of Oklahoma was not created until 1905). Whilst the legacy of the recently ended American Civil War is roundly ignored, the tale does hint at the vastness of the land that was there to be grabbed, as well as the agricultural rivalries between the cattle rancher and the farmer and all alongside the emerging technologies that were seeing automobiles appear and skyscrapers come out of the ground. Famously though, the story bravely weaves its human interest themes as light and frivolous romance seamlessly segues into the dark and damaged side of our fellow man. 

Charlotte Wakefield is a delight as Laurey, the orphaned niece of her aged Aunt Eller with whom she lives on the farm that they own and tend. Wakefield has previous form with Rachel Kavanaugh, having garnered an Olivier nomination in the director’s The Sound Of Music two years ago.

The actress epitomises tough yet cute, with a carapace that ultimately holds a vulnerable soft-centre. Initially wary of suitor Curly’s advances, Laurey is in fact desparate for the love he offers. Throughout, Wakefield’s singing is divine, with her handling of the harmonies in People Will Say We’re in Love proving a gorgeous take on the classic tune. Alongside Wakefield, Ashley Day’s Curly is handsome and well sung , but he needs to dig deeper to earn our sympathy. All too often Day glosses over the nuance of his lyrics, losing much of the cleverly crafted Hammerstein verse. But these are early days for the production, though and there is no-one better than Kavanaugh to coax that little bit more from her leading man.

Elsewhere there is doom and delight from the supporting cast. Belinda Lang is fabulous as Aunt Eller. With no apparent kin aside from Laurey, Eller is the loving matriarch not just to her niece but to her wider community too and Lang nails the fiercely protective loyalty that the old woman shows towards her ward.

Nic Greenshields’ Jud Fry offers a chilling take on the tragic desparate loneliness of a man shunned by the world. As Laurey’s hired hand on the farm, he craves her beauty and there is a true terror and menace in his manner. But in Greenshields’ singing of Lonely Room there is also a profound exposition of a deeply damaged man.

At the other end of the emotional spectrum, Lucy May Barker’s Ado Annie is just so incredibly believable as the girl who sings I Cain’t Say No. Barker shamelessly steals her scenes, but with a performance that deliciously good who cares? Other comic treats come from Gary Wilmot’s exquisitely timed work as peddlar Ali Hakim, whilst James O’Connell’s Will Parker truly gives his all in All Er Nothin and his Kansas City makes for good fun too.

Edging south down the M1 following his recent stints at Leicester, Drew McOnie choreographs in his first ever partnership with Kavanaugh. The flamboyant hallmarks of musical theatre’s wunderkind of dance have been reined in for this is tale, but it still remains a treat to see his interpretation of some of Broadway’s biggest classic routines. McOnie’s work impresses with his movement perfectly capturing the humour of It’s a Scandal! It’s a Outrage in a whirl of chaps, petticoats and bloomers, whilst the ballet sequence that closes act one is truly a dream. Credit too to Stephen Ridley’s 10 piece band. They’ve been well drilled and as the first notes of that gorgeous Overture sound out, they set the tone for an evening of musical excellence. 

Shortly to tour the UK, Rachel Kavanaugh’s Oklahoma! is a classic musical, wonderfully performed. Go and see for yourselves, you won’t be disappointed. 


Plays until February 28th 2015, then tours

The Sound Of Music

Open Air Theatre, London

****

Music by Richard Rodgers

Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse

Directed by Rachel Kavanaugh

Charlotte Wakefield is Maria Rainer

How do you solve a problem like The Sound Of Music, this season’s highlight from the Open Air Theatre? It may be one of the most famous musicals written, containing countless memorable songs that have been hard-wired into our collective psyche, yet its underlying structure remains shallow and ridiculous. A story that sugar-coats enormous issues and trivialises them, glossing over stifled and stilted parenting and an abused and damaged childhood, whilst the ever menacing loom of the Anschluss suggests that the Third Reich is more of a fairy tale baddy that can be easily hoodwinked, rather than a regime that was to prove to be the century's most infernal monstrosity. The story is clichéd, flawed and quite how it achieved epic status would confound today’s book-writers. Nonetheless, The Sound Of Music is a global behemoth and one whose staging always presents the challenge of how to make such a well loved and familiar classic appear fresh and new.

Without question Rachel Kavanaugh, together with her cast and creatives rise to that challenge. Charlotte Wakefield is a Maria who in act one beautifully meets the demands of the solos and duets of some of the world’s most well-known songs. Wakefield convinces us as the delightfully dotty nun, struggling with her emerging emotions of love and desire for Captain Von Trapp. Shame though on Rodgers and Hammerstein for simply dismissing the damage of her “wicked childhood and miserable youth” with such casual lyrical disdain in Something Good.

Michael Xavier a stalwart of the musical stage, is miscast as the dignified and stoic albeit struggling Von Trapp. We learn that his Captain had been awarded military honours in “the war” which would have seen him so decorated at least twenty years before this story takes place and suggesting that he is a man at least in his mid-40’s. Notwithstanding that Xavier is a consummate actor, he lacks the gravitas and presence to effectively portray the uber-potent but nonetheless almost middle-aged, naval commander.

Fans of Stuart Matthew Price, prepare yourselves for a disappointment. A vocal legend of his generation, he is cast with not one note to sing. Price’s butler Franz displays a definite leaning in style towards The Rocky Horror Show’s Riff-Raff and whilst he is magnificently clipped and elegant in his ultimately traitorous role, this actor's immense musical theatre talents are woefully squandered.

Michael Matus as flamboyant promoter Max Detweiler is his usual irrepressibly excellent self. Matus exudes brash bonhomie just by being on stage, with a glorious voice that matches his striking character. Credit too to Caroline Keiff whose Elsa Schraeder is an elegant and well crafted depiction of understated nastiness. 

Michael Matus and Caroline Keiff

The show’s set design is clever, simply switching between the Von Trapp mansion and the convent and the skills of Tim Mitchell and Nick Lidster in light and sound respectively, ensure that the entire show can be clearly seen and heard throughout the Regents Park amphitheatre.

Kavanaugh aquits herself well with such a well known work. If you are unfamiliar with the tale, then consider seeing the show, if only to observe some of the very best aspects of London’s world-class theatre industry. If though, like most people, you love the work then definitely take that stroll to the park. You will be uplifted and exhilarated by the quality of the production.

Runs until 7 September