Marie & Rosetta - Revew

SohoPlace, London

*****

Written by George Brant

Directed by Monique Touko

Beverley Knight and Ntombizodwa Ndlovu

Journeying from Chichester and Kingston through 2025, Marie & Rosetta at last receives the West End opening it deserves. And like a smooth bourbon, this show has matured beautifully on the road, its double act of Beverley Knight and Ntombizodwa Ndlovu delivering one of the finest pieces of theatre to be found on a London stage.

Knight plays Sister Rosetta Tharpe, born in Arkansas in 1915 to cotton-picker parents, and who rose to become ‘The Godmother of Rock and Roll’. A gifted guitar player and even more blessed singer, Rosetta was to influence the greats including Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix and Elvis.

Ndlovu is Marie Knight, an equally gifted pianist singer with a gospel heritage, who for three years in the 1940s was to tour with Rosetta.

That’s the background - the genius of George Brant’s play is how the two women’s stories are woven into a narrative that speaks so much of the USA’s racial, social and musical history through the 20th century.

Born from the women’s success in the music industry, Brant sets out a narrative that reflects the pain they both endured. The damnable policies of segregation, the despicable behaviour of abusive partners together with brutal moments of domestic violence are all touched upon -  but it is the beauty of Brant’s imagined dialogues between the pair, so powerfully given life by the two performers, that makes for this evening of humbling and uplifting theatre. When Rosetta tells of having sung at church in the morning and The Cotton Club at night, a whole landscape is painted by Brant in those few words.

And then there’s the songs. Beverley Knight and Ntombizodwa Ndlovu are both blessed with magnificent vocal strengths, along with their impeccable acting skills. Fuse those talents with a bond that has been forged through this show’s evolutionary early months, and the result is a collection of songs that are delivered with such an intense authenticity, they transform the Soho Place into a gospel hall of love, passion and harmony.

Frequently sung a capella, the evening’s musical gems showcase a range of numbers from the period, all performed to perfection. Solos and duets pepper the evening, none more powerful than the two women singing Four or Five Times in exquisitely synchronised harmony and at a breathtaking tempo.

The chemistry that has evolved between Knight and Ndlovu is rare and precious. As the two women lift the roof off the Soho Place, they create an evening of unmissable theatre.

Runs until 11th April

Photo credit: Johan Persson

The Unfair Advantage - Review

SohoPlace, London

****

Harry Milas

In an intriguing hour-long show and to a crowd of only 35, Harry Milas demonstrates his extraordinary abilities in both magic and, to be frank, cheating at cards.

The audience have all signed NDAs before the show begins – but once it gets going Milas offers a jaw-dropping display of false deals, riffle shuffles, and a card-counting stunt that sees him perfectly memorise the order of a fully shuffled deck of cards. It comes as no surprise to learn that Milas has been hired by casinos to advise them on the security of their gaming tables.

The NDA prevents any spoilers being gven here – except for the one proviso. Milas makes it clear he has no special powers or abilities. Rather, he has dedicated himself for years in honing and sharpening his abilities. His card genius lies in an ingenious combination of sleight of hand, dexterity and most of all, his coolly deployed brain power.

Stunning entertainment!

Runs until 11th October

Medea - Review

Soho Place, London

***

Adapted by Robinson Jeffers from the play by Euripides

Directed by Dominic Cooke

Sophie Okonedo

Sophie Okonedo bestrides the Soho Place like a colossus such is the depth and power of her Medea. In Robinson Jeffers’ adaptation of Euripides’ classic tale, hers indeed is “a bitter thing to be a woman”. Betrayed and dumped by husband Jason for the beautiful young daughter of Creon, her fury is palpable and in a 90 minute one-act telling of the old yarn, Okonedo burns at its core like a brilliant flaming torch.

But Medea’s infernal misandry towards Creon and Jason is matched only by that of director and co-producer Dominic Cooke, who lumps all of the play’s adult male roles onto the solo shoulders of the unquestionably talented Ben Daniels. We have been here before with Cooke’s mean spirted multi-role casting in his recent Good, a casting tendency that is not good. Daniels’ multi-faceted performance is a distraction, with his Aegeus proving annoyingly camp. Elsewhere Marion Bailey’s Nurse is a decent turn, however the Chorus of three women of Corinth, sprinkled amongst the stalls are a lacklustre trio.

It is when Okonedo speaks that the play becomes alive, such is her genius. But, save for Creon serving her with a Decree of Banishment that deliciously echoes Den Watts' 1986 serving of divorce papers on Angie, much of the other spoken parts are tedious.

As the horrific climax draws near, one is almost willing Medea to get on with it - such is the soggy  (yes, there’s water) melodrama that the cast make of the play’s endgame. And (spoiler alert), when she does slaughter her boys (great work from the ice-cream slurpingly duo of Ben Connor and Heath Gee-Burrowes on press night) even then the audience is shortchanged, with the murders frustratingly happening offstage and represented only by Okonedo’s outstanding acting and her arms drenched in blood. 

Okonedo is one of the most gifted actors of her generation. To have seen her murderous actions, rather than just her emotional reactions, could have made for a moment of outstanding theatre.

See this play for Okonedo’s work - she will be remembered as a magnificent Medea. Sadly, the production will not.