Fashion Freak Show - Review

Roundhouse, London

****

Written, costumes designed and directed by Jean Paul Gaultier

Co-directed by Tonie Marshall

The company of Fashion Freak Show

From the myth to the mania to the man. Jean Paul Gaultier’s new revue - a cabaret extravaganza time-lining his life - is a vision to behold. A childhood dream revived by an adult, Gaultier’s imagination knows no bounds. From prancing teddy bears in conical bras to psychedelic stage sets, this is a show like no other. 

The spectacle starts simply. Nine-year-old Gaultier is an outcast at school, repeatedly scolded for drawing over listening, until the teacher peers closer and asks to keep a creation and thus the enfant terrible begins. What was at first a movie projection shatters into a million glittering pieces as dancers thrust onto the stage, breasts and all. Gaultier has arrived. Before long, he has his own fashion show, a scene physically divided into light and dark where the catwalk shines against a turbulent backstage.

Then there is the sex, metaphorically played out across a BDSM wheel. Two sets of dancers appear, entwined in oversized garments that stretch to fit them both. One pair is male, the other female. The same-sex couples intimately share their clothes, their space, their skin. Passion finds its home in this show, as Gaultier expresses himself with such conviction that at times it is the audience, rather than the performers, that looks mad. 

The show’s focus wanders after the interval, but is regained with the advent of Gaultier’s fame, projecting media headlines onto the cyclorama and reclaiming a sense of narrative. Powerfully and bathed in red, a dancer moves across the stage, straining against gravity. He is Francis Menuge, Gaultier’s long-time companion, dying from AIDS. 'I’ve got you', comes a song, 'deep in the heart of me', as an an actor playing Gaultier dances with his oversized garment, alone.

True to form, the show ends with a clothes-defying collection. Feathers sprout from heads, wires encase bodies, and ruffles adorn buttocks. We must use fashion, says Gaultier on a screen, not be used by it. Fashion Freak Show is an electrifying retrospective of Gaultier’s unique achievements. More so, it is a homage to fearlessness.

Runs until 28th August

Photo credit: Mark Senior

Lemony Snicket's Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming

Roundhouse, London

****

Music & lyrics: Lemez & Fridel

Co – directors: Olivia Jacobs and Tim Hibberd

 

This review was first published in The Public Reviews

Lemony Snicket sees his work brought to the British stage for the first time with this seasonal tale of cultural diversity.

Latkes are traditional potato pancakes served during the Jewish winter celebrations of Chanukah, but the one that Snicket focuses on, upon realising that his ultimate purpose in life is to be plunged into hot oil and fried, not unreasonably chooses to escape the frying pan. As he runs through his snow covered village, he encounters gentile and Christian seasonal traditions that make for some well observed contrasts.

Tall Stories who were commissioned to create the work, have succeeded in presenting a one act piece that deploys the considerable talents of their five person cast in stimulating and exercising the imaginations of their young audience. Their depiction of twinkling Christmas lights on a nearby house, using simply different coloured bobble hats and the actors’ nodding head movements is brilliant, whilst their portrayal of the heroic battle that underlies the story of Chanukah, using different vegetables to tell the saga, is inspired. The audience at the press performance comprised very young school children who laughed and clapped through most of the show.

The story however carries some flaws. The ultimate change of heart of the latke, to willingly accept being deep-fried (and hence die) is not explained and similarly in the battle, from amongst a wealth of available fruit and veg, the writers elect to portray the Jews using potatoes, vegetables that within this show’s structure at least, have a sole destiny that is to be grated, fried and ultimately consumed. Whilst children may not make such a dark connection, this is a clumsy mechanism that inappropriately addresses a classic piece of history. The Chanukah dreydl, or spinning top, is introduced but not satisfactorily explained, nor is the closing Hebrew song of Moaz Tsur, which whilst being familiar to a Jewish audience, will leave other faiths bewildered. Perhaps the producers could provide a more detailed programme, rather than the current meagre sheet of A4 paper.

Amongst the cast , Michael Lambourne is a delightful lead, whose movement and facial expression had the kids in fits of giggles. Stuart Barter’s guitar, with other actors on clarinet provides an authentic klezmer background, whilst Heather Saunders as a sultry Miss Candy Cane is sweetly seductive.

The show is a fun fifty minutes that will broaden your mind and leave you craving a hot fresh fragrant latke.

Runs until 30 December