Dead Funny - Review

Vaudeville Theatre, London


****

Written and directed by Terry Johnson

Katherine Parkinson, Steve Pemberton, Emily Berrington, Rufus Jones and Ralf Little

Terry Johnson deftly directs the West End revival of his 1994 play, a sharply observed often painfully funny dark comedy with several dramatic twists, as well as a good dose of slapstick and added custard pies.

The action takes place on the eve of the death of TV comic Benny Hill in 1992. The Dead Funny Society are a group of comedy enthusiasts, sharing a common interest in laughter. They regularly meet to re-enact classic sketches and celebrate the late great comedy masters such as Frankie Howerd, Max Miller & Eric Morecambe.

Richard, a consultant obstetrician is married to Eleanor. He routinely performs 5 hysterectomies a day and professes to not wanting to be touched "anywhere", to the frustration of his wife Eleanor who craves a baby. Katherine Parkinson's Eleanor, who often has the wittiest of lines, watches her marriage disintegrate before her eyes; the more she tries to connect with her husband, the more distant and cold he becomes. Rufus Jones's Richard, a stifled man-child of huge proportions, ignores the constant advances of his wife, even when lying fully naked on the floor whilst receiving relaxation "therapy", a scene so painfully funny that Jones should be awarded a West End medal for services to full frontal nakedness.

As Brian, Steve Pemberton commands the stage from his first entrance in a multi-coloured anorak clutching a Tesco carrier bag. A lovable aging mama's boy with a poignant vulnerability, Pemberton relishes every moment on stage, with a physical comedy that is as compelling as his perfectly timed one-liners.

Ralf Little and Emily Berrington play married couple and new parents Nick and Lisa. They embrace their membership of the Dead Funny Society but also have a fractured relationship which we discover is not all as it first seems. The emotional survival of all five characters is brought to stark reality with sharp repartee and often toxic verbal missiles.

As the only non-member of the appreciation society, Eleanor’s frustration at their antics is palpable. Parkinson portrays her with a sardonic charm and intelligence, only thinly veiling her pain. Her portrait is rooted strongly in reality, even in the sections of the play that offer more than a nod to the farces of Ray Cooney.

Johnson's play feels slightly old fashioned but that's more to do with the changes in comedy tastes in the past twenty odd years than his writing. Many of his throw way lines are utter gems, whilst when Eleanor speaks of her "tiny taps being turned off inside" Johnson piquantly reminds us just how well he can juxtapose painful drama right alongside hilarity.

A refreshing comedy that's a welcome addition to the West End. The stars cast in this play should have appreciation societies of their own.

Booking until 4th February 2017

Reviewed by Andy Bee

Photo credit: Alistair Muir

Ian Bartholomew Talks About Mrs Henderson Presents

As the 2016 Olivier Awards ceremony draws closer, new musical Mrs Henderson Presents is nominated in four categories. 

Ian Bartholomew is up for Best Actor In A Musical and I spoke with him about the show.

Ian Bartholomew

JB:    Ian, what attracted you to Mrs Henderson Presents?

IB:     I was working with Terry Johnson (who has both directed and written the book for Mrs Henderson Presents) in Oh! What a Lovely War at the Theatre Royal Stratford East and he was doing some demos for this show. So I went along, did the songs, read the script and thought, you know what? I'd really like a crack at this. 

Parts for gentlemen of a certain age don't come along like that. There's a bit of a love interest, there are some cracking songs, there are a few laughs and my character Vivian Van Damm is very much at the centre of the show. Towards the end of the first half when Van Damm sings his big ballad Living In A Dream World, it takes the show to a different area. It’s not just about the nudity, the musical and the fluff that everybody sees. There's heart and tragedy to it. The war and the Holocaust are happening and it takes the show into a place that you don't expect.

JB:    You mentioned Oh! What A Lovely War a musical that offers a particularly powerful message about the 1914-18 conflict. Here, your character is telling a very difficult message about the time of the Second World War. Tell me your thoughts on the potential of musical theatre to educate.

IB:    Education is not a word that you'd normally associate with musical theatre, though I don't mean to denigrate the genre in any way. I think any good theatre should make you think. When it makes you think, it may make you want to go and read up on the subject you've seen. You may talk about it with people and all good theatre should do that. Particularly with Oh! What A Lovely War which was, (and I use this word sparingly because it's used far too much) an "iconic" show. It did something that nobody had expected, packing an incredibly powerful message wrapped up in this confection of an end of the pier show.

I think that juxtaposition is what worked for Oh! What A Lovely War, making it so powerful and I think, Mrs. Henderson has elements of that too. 

JB:    What has it been like to work on the development of a new musical?

IB:    It's always been very intense. Terry knew exactly what he wanted from the show. He's no fool, our Terry. He's a real craftsman and a showman. 

JB:    Were you involved much with Don Black, the show’s lyricist, as the production developed?

IB:    Don was always around and very supportive and encouraging. Of course the creative process as regards the writing was always done elsewhere. They’d take it away to be fashioned and hammered out in a room somewhere else, as we were going on with our routines and scenes. 

JB:    What has it been like to work with two of musical theatre’s most talented ladies, Tracie Bennett and Emma Williams? 

IB:    Tracie and I have worked together a lot over the years. We did Guys and Dolls together in Sheffield actually where she was Miss Adelaide to my Nathan Detroit. That was great fun and we developed an understanding and a language of how to work with each other. 

Tracie approaches it in a completely different way to me. Both of us respect each other's way of working. We just sort of go with it and whatever comes out of it we then put together and make it work. We do laugh a lot. Tracie can be very blunt and I quite like that. I'd rather know where I am then somebody hedging around it. We have a very easy relationship on stage and we support each other a lot.

With Emma, she's just got this glorious voice. She's very particular in how she works, crafting things and you just let her get on with it. 

What I tend to do is to let things flow around me and see how I react to it. I never go into a room with a very fixed idea of what I'm going to do, I let it develop. Whereas Tracie and Emma had started very quickly to have a very clear idea of what they were doing and I would just go with it. They're both fantastic in their separate ways. They fulfil their roles within the show, I think, brilliantly.

JB:    And finally, what else would you like to say about Mrs Henderson Presents? 

IB:    I'm very proud of it. I think it's a well-crafted piece of work that is new, original and British. It’s about a part of the British character that I think was very prevalent during the War and I think is very important to be remembered.

I also think it's quite a brave show to put on. It's an “old-fashioned, modern” musical. I know that may sound odd but the story is very relevant to the time in which the show is set. It's like an old musical but it's not, because you know, 20 years ago you wouldn't have been able to put something like this on. I'm just very proud of it. 

JB: Thank you very much for your time and good luck for the Oliviers this weekend!

The Olivier Awards are presented this weekend. Mrs Henderson Presents is booking until 18th June

Mrs Henderson Presents - Review

Noel Coward Theatre, London

****

Music by George Fenton & Simon Chamberlain

Lyrics by Don Black

Direction and book by Terry Johnson

Fresh out of the ‘Bath’ as it were and straight into London’s West End comes the eagerly anticipated transfer of last year’s adaptation of the film Mrs Henderson Presents. Perhaps most commonly known to most as the ‘striptease revue film’ starring Judi Dench, Will Young & the late great Bob Hoskins. Mrs Laura Henderson and her girls bring us straight to the heart of an austerity Britain, with the women and the workers of World War 2, providing a much more gut-wrenching hit than one might have imagined. 

The show is a glorious step back into the good old days of great British revue and sits comfortably when jumping between both the on and offstage lives of its characters. Delivering equal measures of comedy and song there is also Terry Johnson’s fabulously risqué book-full of one liners to make more than your hairs stand on end. Credit here also to Johnson’s direction, which alongside Don Blacks lyrics provides captures much of Britain’s earlier theatrical heritage. The book offers all the ingredients of a hit, with just the right amount of pathos and pain on display. George Fenton and Simon Chamberlain’s score serves the piece accordingly, adding a variety of flavours that all evoke both the era and the show itself. The only missing ingredient for this ‘revue’ would have been the delicious addition of an Overture and/or Entr’acte to the proceedings, that could perhaps have paid homage to some of the great British musical classics.

Helming her ‘Revuedeville’ Girls - the fabulous Tracie Bennett steals the show and the laughs with some outstanding lines and a wonderfully driven and deliciously dirty Mrs Henderson. Bennett gives an effervescent portrayal of wit, charm and sincerity that may well go on to pay dividends for her come awards season. And whilst it is left to Bennett to steal the laughs, Emma Williams has no problem in stealing our hearts with a beautifully epic portrayal of the wonderful Maureen. Williams again delivers comedy and heartache in abundance, providing another award worthy performance to add to her catalogue of recent successes. A special nod must also be given to Lizzy Connolly, Katie Bernstein and Lauren Hood, leading their fellow ensemble of girls through a whirlwind performance of both excitingly comical and poignantly beautiful work when it comes to Mrs Henderson’s show itself. Throughout, the ensemble provide a sparkling array of classic musical theatre magic, with production numbers such as the wonderful Mrs Henderson Presents led by Samuel Holmes and What a Waste of a Moon, with its beautiful choreography from Andrew Wright. 

With a wonderful supporting design by Tim Shortall, and some inspired musical direction of this fine new score from Barney Ashworth, Mrs Henderson Presents gives us more than a glimpse into the bleak and backstage struggle of Britain in the midst of crisis - and perhaps this is where both show and story triumph. It is what is going on behind the curtain that makes Mrs Henderson Presents quite such an epic statement on the country’s chaos. And, indeed, ultimately makes Laura Henderson herself quite the empowered and driven ambassador at the helm of her show, and our story. Mrs Henderson Presents certainly doesn’t fail to capture our attention - but quite unexpectedly it manages to capture our hearts as well.

Now booking until 18th June 

Guest reviewer: Jack Clements

Photo credit: Paul Coltas

Mrs Henderson Presents - Review

Theatre Royal, Bath

*****

Music by George Fenton & Simon Chamberlain

Lyrics by Don Black

Direction and book by Terry Johnson

Tracie Bennett

A musical can only be as good as its underlying book – and in Mrs Henderson Presents, the show’s fable couldn’t be more strong or poetic. Based upon the 2005 movie, the true story tells of Laura Henderson, wealthy widow and owner of London’s Windmill Theatre, who sought to halt the venue’s falling revenues by putting on shows of naked girls. Britain’s censorship laws were fierce at the time, forbidding nude performers, but in a bid to circumvent the Lord Chamberlain’s disapproval, Henderson, along with close adviser Vivian Van Damm, concoct a revue that will feature naked women but in still life tableaux. The Windmill’s success was assured and as war with Germany broke out in 1939, so did the Windmill never close, always packed with troops enjoying morale boosting visits even through the darkest days of the Blitz and in its own way capturing the essence of British resilience.

The story works on so many levels. Laura Henderson herself is an independently minded woman, ahead of her time. Van Dam is a Dutch Jew, painfully aware of his family’s destiny in continental Europe, the Lord Chamberlain is a deliciously blustering (and compromised) political buffoon (who one can easily imagine lived in Dolphin Square) and then there are the girls. Invited to contemplate performing in the nude, the show picks out their anxieties, aspirations and in the case of Maureen, a Lyons’ nippy who much like Mack and Mabel’s Mabel Normand is discovered by Mrs Henderson and fast becomes the star of the show, a poignant love interest too.

Terry Johnson’s book (and Johnson also directs) in conjunction with Don Black’s lyrics precisely fillets the shows emotions. There’s comedy that includes moments of fabulously rehearsed plank-based slapstick, naked men’s bottoms and a sprinkling of Carry On infused knob gags - a seam of humor which if mined responsibly can always prove eye-watering. But there is also the pathos of Laura Henderson’s love for her theatre and ultimately her girls, set against her own mortality and failing health. There’s the tragedy and passion of the war – and there is the portrayal of the girls’ journey to their nude performances, delivered without pulling any punches, but which is at all times beautiful, tasteful and not once gratuitous.

Making a welcome return to the English stage, Tracie Bennett plays Laura Henderson with her usual perfection in poise, presence and performance. Believable as a wealthy lady bucking the disapproval of her peers, Bennett commands the stage. Vocally magnificent, with Whatever Time I Have, along with a massive finish to If Mountains Were Easy To Climb Bennett reminds us what a star of today’s musical theatre stage she truly is. More of this woman, please.

Ian Bartholomew is Van Dam, bringing a carefully crafted compound of comic bluster with profound pathos to his part. There’s smutty genius in his number Rubens And Renoir, that sees him explaining the concept of nudity to the girls (in a scene that using a hugely oversized picture frame, speaks volumes just in imagery) – whilst Living In A Dream World offers just enough of a carefully weighted glimpse into his agony at what is happening across the North Sea.

Maureen is played by the truly scrumptious Emma Williams – whose voice and movement are exquisite. We see her rise and fall in love and in moments that wrench at heart strings, Williams is always on point, never sentimentalising, just delivering. Her number Ordinary Girl tells of plaintive aspirations, whilst her duet with Matthew Malthouse’s Eddie, What A Waste Of A Moon is a vocal and choreographic treat. Indeed, huge credit to choreographer Andrew Wright who at time brings traditional music hall, gorgeous tap routines and some moments of glorious ballet to the show.

Graham Hoadly’s Lord Cromer, the Lord Chancellor, is yet another turn from this gifted performer that defines comic acting through song, as Mark Hadfield serves up a treat as a stand-up comic, part narrator, part teller of gags that are as old as the hills, yet which still raise a chuckle.

The show’s nudity demands a professional bravura from its actresses and as Williams leads the line, she is ably backed by Katie Bernstein, Lizzy Connolly and Lauren Hood who all bring a respectful, tasteful dignity to their roles – beautifully sung and acted.

George Fenton and Simon Chamberlain have written a score that defines England through the 19th and 20th centuries. There is much of the music-hall in some numbers, whilst the Lord Chamberlain’s Song suggests a nod to Gilbert and Sullivan. Their lampooning of the Germans as the war rolls on and creation of melodies that define a sense of national pride, offer a musical take on history that speaks loud and clear to a modern audience. Theirs’s is beautifully crafted work, alongside Tim Shortall's inspired set design and Richard Mawbey's wonderful wig work.

The orchestra is under Mike Dixon’s baton and it is clear that this gifted music-man has had much to do with the show’s evolution. It was the Dixon and Johnson team (with Bartholomew starring) who last year so wonderfully revived Oh What A Lovely War! At Stratford East and there is just a touch of how that show marked The Great War, in how Mrs Henderson Presents tackles the war with Hitler.

Mrs Henderson Presents is innovative new writing – beautifully staged and so wonderfully British. Only dipping the briefest of toes into Bath’s delightful Theatre Royal, this show demands a transfer to the West End.

Runs until 5th September

Oh What A Lovely War

Theatre Royal Stratford East, London

****

Joan Littlewood's Musical Entertainment by Theatre Workshop, Charles Chilton,
Gerry Raffles and Members of the Original Cast

Directed by Terry Johnson

Ian Bartholomew

Fifty years after the outbreak of the First World War Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop commemorated the conflict with Oh What A Lovely War at London’s Theatre Royal Stratford East. Today, in the War’s centenary year, the same theatre re-stages the show. 

The musical opens frivolously, as an end of the pier Vaudeville extravaganza, with carnival lights, fancy drapes and a company of pierrots inviting the audience to join them in war games that condense the four year war into one evening. But by the interval the injuries and carnage are mounting and as the curtain rises on act two, the glamorous red drape that previously adorned the centre stage-back is now collapsed and crumpled, suggesting at turns the mud of the trenches or the blood of the fallen.

What makes Littlewood’s work all the more inspiring is that the musical numbers are all songs of the period, often composed with gallows wit by troops in the trenches. From the filthy irreverence of Christmas Day In The Cookhouse, through to the noble, heart-breaking dignity of And When They Ask Us, the poignancy of the songs lands like a whizz-bang. Hearing them a hundred years on, we know that they were once sung by men whose destiny was quite likely to be killed in battle. 

Terry Johnson’s visions are as beautiful as they are haunting. Trenches, ballrooms and Speakers’ Corner are all staged via simple scenery and classy acting. No stage-blood in this show, rather the horrifying mimes of bullets hitting men and gas being inhaled, as an electronic screen updates us with specific details of horrific casualty numbers. A cast of twelve play the many roles, with veterans Caroline Quentin, Shaun Prendergast, Ian Bartholomew and Michael Simkins sharing the most prominent characters. Quentin’s bosomy recruiting-showgirl turn, I’ll Make A Man Of You is a treat worthy of archiving, whilst the men’s interchangeability from pierrot, to soldier, to officer is seamless. Bartholomew’s General Haig is a clever caricature that avoids cliché.

There is something aesthetically pleasing about a show that honours the bravery of the humble foot soldier returning to its origins in E15 and to a theatre so rooted in London’s East End, the traditional heartland of the capital’s working man. That authenticity extends into the orchestra pit where Mike Dixon’s five piece band reject all digital instruments in pursuit of an entirely acoustic sound. Dixon plays a real piano rather than the eponymous keyboards, whilst Graham Justin’s brass playing sets a perfect tone.

In a moment of life imitating art, shortly before the show’s opening, Education Secretary Michael Gove slated it (together with the BBC comedy Blackadder's episodes set in WW1) for mocking history. As many of the First World War’s generals were buffoons, so too is Gove. The Great War with its two most notable technological advancements of the machine gun and poison gas gave rise to slaughter on an apocalyptic level. Most famously at the Somme and Ypres, Haig despatched nigh-on millions of British troops to certain death for what was to prove negligible strategic gain. Oh What A Lovely War does not mock war, far from it. Nations and armies deserve strong intelligent leadership, that for too much of the First World War, was lacking. Gove’s recent pronouncements only show his failure to have appreciated the show's message and remind us how easily history can repeat itself.

Alongside Picasso’s La Guernica and Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, Oh What A Lovely War is a work of art that brings the horrors of war into our collective conscience. Johnson and his company have honoured both The Glorious Dead and the vision of Joan Littlewood. Their show is moving, compelling and the finest history lesson in town.

Runs until 15th March 2014

Old Money - Review

Hampstead Theatre, London

****

Written by Sarah Wooley

Directed by Terry Johnson

Maureen Lipman in rehearsal for Old Money

Old Money is a new play by Sarah Wooley. Encompassing three (with an unseen fourth) generations of a south London family, it considers growing old (dis)/gracefully and throws several family relationships under the microscope, in a play that is very good (in parts) and is skilfully directed by Terry Johnson

Central to the piece is Maureen Lipman’s Joyce who we meet, together with her mother, daughter and son in law, at the funeral of her just deceased husband of 40 odd years. Joyce is proud to be the same age as Paul McCartney, Jean Shrimpton et al and as the story unfolds, it is clear that she has been the subject of repression and enforced emotional denial throughout her adult life. She talks wistfully of an affair she had whilst a teenager with a married neighbour, as being the happiest years of her life and when we learn in act 2 of her resentment of the fact that her late husband actually selected her wedding dress, we get a glimpse of the extent to which he had been a controlling individual and how those around her had continually sought to smother her spark of character. Condemned to suburbia but yearning for the city, upon achieving widowhood Joyce forays occasionally into London, where stopping at a pub for some refreshment, she stumbles across Candy, a young stripper and single mother, with whom she strikes up the most inspiring of friendships. Played by Nadia Clifford, Candy positively fizzes with a Facebook fuelled energy of modern youth in a performance that is a charming foil to the older woman’s quirky discovery of independence. Miss Lipman’s performance however is nothing short of remarkable and in Joyce, Wooley has created a heroine that inspires and commands our sympathy. Such is Lipman’s expert craft that this gently ageing woman becomes a character whom we find ourselves passionately caring for and cheering on her journey.

Timothy Watson is Graham, the workshy musician married to Joyce’s careerist daughter Fiona, played by Tracy-Ann Oberman. In a familiar scenario, Fiona likes to spend whilst Graham cannot earn and their dependence upon Joyce’s cash, whilst being ever so recognisable, is a plot line too thinly fleshed out by Wooley. Similarly, their eagerness to move into Joyce’s home as theirs is repossessed is again a clichéd mechanism. Whilst Oberman’s performance and the challenges she encounters are real, the dialog afforded her frequently lacks credibility and depth.

In his poem This Be The Verse, Philip Larkin wrote the now much quoted line, “They f**k you up, your mum and dad, They may not mean to, but they do”.  Few people however are familiar with the second verse, that opens, “But they were f**ked up in their turn, By old style fools in hats and coats” nor with the third and final verse that commences “Man hands on misery to man….” Larkin's famous words are a bitter reflection on the failures of parenting, and suggest that the cycle repeats itself through the generations. With Old Money, Wooley seeks to argue that the premise of Larkin’s first two stanzas is correct, but by providing Lipman's character with an ultimate escape to a life of freedom and expression, Joyce's own treadmill of misery is ended (who cares about the callous, albeit pregnant, Fiona?) in a climax that maybe unbelievably cheesy but is still rather uplifting.

Runs to January 12th