Monday 30 December 2013

Oliver, Sheffield Crucible 14/12/13



Sheffield Crucible have set themselves a high standard over the last few years with their Christmas musical offerings. There was the wonderful ‘Company’ in 2011, the breathtaking ‘My Fair Lady’ in 2012, and this year they have chosen the Lionel Bart Classic ‘Oliver’ for our entertainment and it certainly doesn't disappoint.
There was a deserved packed house when I visited, noticeably a lot more children in the audience than I have seen before, it's probably a welcome break from the standard panto outing for parents, and a well known and well loved musical for almost all ages. The combination of matinee audiences, excitable kids on sugar highs who knew people in the youth cast, and continual biscuit, sweet and crisp chomping surrounding me did make for a slightly distracting experience initially, but the spectacle on stage soon won out, and it's probably the one time I have actually been grateful for slightly over generous sound levels!

The stage and costume design is amazing. From the dark depressing workhouse, to the bright chaos of Fagin’s den, the stage is cleverly and seamlessly transformed before your eyes. And the costumes were beautiful, sumptuous deep colours blending with the muted tones of the streets, the drabness of the poorhouse contrasting with the the crisp bright colours of the more upmarket streets.
An excellent cast deliver a clever, fast paced and exuberant performance which includes some brilliant ensemble pieces, the act one finisher "Be Back Soon" and act two opener " Oom Pah Pah " being particular favourites for me.  Whilst the production has all the joy and humour you would expect, it doesn't shy away from the darker themes in the text, the hypocrisy of the moneyed classes when 'helping' the poor, the harshness of life and reliance on gin to take the edge off the hunger, the brutality of Bill Sykes and the tragic conflict of Nancy's life.

A mention should go to the excellent young performers who portrayed Oliver, Dodger, the workhouse children and Fagin’s gang (on my visit Jack Skilbeck-Dunn, Jack Armstrong and Blue team) They were just brilliant, very professional, sparkling performances, some lovely detail. They've clearly worked very hard and there are definitely some stars of the future in that lot.

The stand out performance for me in this production was Hayley Gallivan as Nancy. An astonishingly powerful voice, combined with terrific acting which really portrayed the complexities of her character. Her performance of 'As Long As He Needs Me' was simply stunning and heartbreaking.

So yes, Crucible Theatre, once again you have provided the perfect Christmas treat and made me glad I made the effort of a trip across from my usual stomping ground to see you. I'm pretty sure I'll 'be back soon'.

Thursday 14 November 2013

Sweeney Todd, Royal Exchange Manchester, 9/11/13



The Royal Exchange’s latest offering is a co-production with the West Yorkshire Playhouse bringing us Stephen Sondheim’s gruesome musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. I love Sondheim and was excited when I saw this in the season announcement, but it does feels like an unusual choice for the Exchange, not known as a regular home for musicals. In fact I think the only one I have seen in the ‘pod’ is Sex, Chips and Rock & Roll, which must have been around seven years ago
                                               
When the production was first staged at the West Yorkshire Playhouse it had the critics raving and received national press attention, no mean feat with our the London centric ‘national’ press. To bring it to the intimate, in the round setting of the Exchange the production has been restaged, and new elements of design and direction incorporated. This must have been quite a challenge for all concerned, for example I read that the cast were performing the play in Yorkshire at the same time as rehearsing the Manchester version, which must have been totally exhausting.
 
Most versions I know of, including the Yorkshire version of this production, use some form of trapdoor for body disposal, so I was interested to see how the Exchange, with no under stage area, would tackle this challenge. Without spoiling things for anyone yet to see it, the solutions are effective, allowing for a very efficient despatch of the victims.
 
The decision to set the action in a grimy, depressed Thatcherite era is a bold one. Whilst I'm not overly convinced by the fit of the initial asylum setting, this does emphasise the dark and grisly overtones of the piece and allows for some striking performances from the chorus, Joshua Manning and Eleanor Fanyika particularly standing out for me.
 
The production captures the gory nature of the tale excellently, to the extent that, if you manage to bag a banquette seat, I wouldn't wear your best designer wear just in case some of the literally bloodthirsty action heads your way. And whilst the horror of the tale is highlighted by the setting and characterisation, there are lighter moments that are excellently done, Lovett and Todd's 'A Little Priest' just before the end of the first act is a gloriously lascivious routine with plenty of pie action, that the actors clearly had a ball delivering.
 
Of the central cast, Barbara Drennan, as the Beggar woman is a delightfully mad old hag, utterly convincing in the role. And Don Gallagher as the perverted Judge Turpin, delivers a very unsettling portrayal that makes you very glad of his ultimate fate.
 
The pairing of Gillian Bevan and David Birrell as the central characters of Mrs Lovett and Sweeney Todd is just fantastic. Both give such energetic and skilful portrayals and the complexities of their characters and the journeys they, and their respective sanities, take is deftly portrayed. Quite apart from the acting performances, both the leads, and actually the whole ensemble, give astounding vocal performances which are highlighted further by the intimate settings of the theatre.

I was totally blown away by the scale and ambition of this production. Goodness knows how they managed to shoehorn such an epic production into such a relatively intimate setting, but they managed it, and it makes for an awe inspiring production and a memorable experience. Who needs London when two of our great Northern artistic venues can collaborate to create something this special?

 

 

Saturday 12 October 2013

All My Sons, Royal Exchange Theatre, 5/10/13



Ah, days of my youth! All My Sons by Arthur Miller was one of my set texts at A Level, and looking round at the audience I'm not the only 40something re-living their schooldays, a sight that serves to remind me I'm not actually as young as my inner self often assumes!
 
I fell in love with Miller's writing in my school days, and over the years have seen many productions of this play. These have ranged from the sublime (David Suchet and Zoe Wannamaker at the Apollo Theatre in London in 2010) to the ridiculous (an amateur version our English teacher Mr Cragg took us to in sixth form in which Chris appeared to be being played by an over-varnished Thunderbird, and at which we spent much of the play stifling giggles!)
 
This production has been brought to the Royal Exchange by Talwa Theatre Company, whose last offering here was the wonderful Raisin in the Sun in 2010.  Talwa was established to create artistic opportunities for actors from minority ethnic backgrounds and here it brings together an all black cast to bring to life this iconic play and more than demonstrates that casting decisions can and should be a little more broad as there is some amazing talent on display here that tells the story well.
 
A very fine cast has been brought together and give impressive performances. Don Warrington and Dona Croll work well together as the central characters Joe and Kate Keller, both in denial about events of the past that are just too hard to face. Whilst all the cast are excellent, an actor that really stood out for me was Bethan Mary-James as Lydia, a relatively small role but one that she brought something special to. I suspect we are going to see a lot more from her in the future.

If you read an Arthur Miller play you will find that the stage directions are very detailed, it is almost like reading a novel. I suppose this means that there are very few choices available in the interpretation of a piece when bringing it to the stage. This play is also very much set in a specific time and place in America. Because of that, and the fact that I know this play so well, it is hard not to judge it against other versions I have seen rather than just taking it at face value.

For me, the pace, especially during the first act, felt a little slow and laboured and the emotions on display were very measured and restrained. This is a complex story as the characters circle around the central truths that are to surface and shatter their comfortable lives. But in the first act especially, to me it seemed a little one level and plodding.
 
The performances and staging are undoubtedly great, and if it was my first experience of the play I am sure I would have had a different response. It has been getting very good reviews from the critics. But whilst the central story loses none of its impact, this production left me feeling strangely unmoved, not what I was expecting at all.