Company - Sheffield Crucible 17/12/11

Well I certainly ended my 2011 theatregoing experience on a high, with an impromptu trip to Sheffield to see one of my favourite Sondheim musicals, Company, at the Crucible Theatre.

There really wasn't anything I could fault about this production, it was just a delight from start to finish. They had brought together an incredibly strong cast, it was brilliantly staged, had a wonderful set that allowed a great use of the space, and it was both funny in parts, and incredibly moving.

I loved Francesca Annis' portrayal of Joanne, and her drunken rant of 'Ladies Who Lunch' was just a delight. Samantha Spiro made a brilliant Amy and her 'Not Getting Married' was quite literally breathtaking (how any actress gets through that song without turning blue is beyond me!), and Damian Humbley as Harry has a voice that could melt Sheffield steel! But all the cast were just a delight.

Daniel Evans' portrayal of Bobby was wonderfully observed. Initially you see him as quite a shallow character, but there was a really clear point in the production, during the bouncy 'Side by Side / What Would We Do Without You' where you saw the depth and complexity of his emotions laid bare and your heart went out to him.

By the closing number 'Being Alive' I had a tear in my eye, party because of the emotion of the song, and partly because I just didn't want the show to end. I make no apologies for gushing, it was a gush worthy production and a great way to round off the year.

And on a side note, I don't know why I haven't been to Sheffield for theatrical jaunts before. Its incredibly easy to get to on the train, Sheffield itself seemed lovely (in complete contrast to the impressions I got on my last visit to the city for a uni interview quite a few years ago - actually when I realised how many years ago it was I felt ancient!), the Crucible staff are some of the most helpful and friendly I have come across and the ticket prices were amazingly good value. Looking at their exciting 2012 plans I suspect I'll be back!

Hope you like the festive picture - I can't tell you how long it took me to balance the programme on that tree!

Beautiful Thing - Royal Exchange Theatre - 12/11/11

Bit more formal than my usual style this one, but I was supposed to be writing it for a proper reviewing / writing opportunity that had come my way that has sadly fallen through. Oh well, never mind, when one door closes and all that......

Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing, directed by Sarah Frankcom, is the latest offering from Manchester’s Royal Exchange. Set on a London housing estate in a hot summer in the early 90’s, it centres on two under 16 year old boys, Jamie, and Ste, gradually coming to terms with their sexuality and growing attraction for one another.

There is a lot to like in this production. The simple but effective set, and clever use of sound and lighting, conjures up the oppressiveness of the estate and the summer heat perfectly. The cast give some fabulous performances, the stand out one for me being Claire – Louise Cordwell as the tough but kind hearted single mum Sandra – sharp tongued and abrasive at times, but also displaying great compassion for others and a fierce love for her son no matter what. The scene that follows her discovery of her son’s sexuality and relationship with Ste is particularly powerful, as she struggles with her love for her son, and her fear of the implications of their situation for both Jamie and Ste.

The relationship between Jamie (Matthew Tennyson) and Ste (Tommy Vine) is affectionately portrayed, and Ste’s acceptance as normal of the violence regularly meted out by his family is particularly heart wrenching. Tara Hodge, as the sassy neighbour Leah, expelled from school and putting on an outwardly tough mask whilst actually having great depths of feeling for life, and Alex Price as Sandra’s artist boyfriend Tony and his awkward attempts to bond with Jamie, complete an excellent cast.

What’s nice about this play is that it doesn’t feel issue led, its about real people, with their own unique faults and strengths. At its heart is a simple story of life and love – a mother’s unconditional love for her son, her search for a loving relationship, fulfilling job and escape from the estate, Leah’s search for meaning in life through the songs of Mama Cass (with a little help from mind altering substances) and two young people discovering love for the first time.

The first act took time to get into its stride, as it established the various participants, and the character of Leah, whilst well portrayed, felt under –explored to me. Also the use of the choir, whilst providing a lovely ending to the play, was such a fleeting appearance, that it felt a little incongruous.

Overall though this was a heart-warming play, with realistic characters that you cared about, and it provided a nice contrast to the darkness of this season’s Royal Exchange productions that preceded it.

Good - Royal Exchange, Manchester 22/10/11

The Royal Exchange's latest offering is a revival of C P Taylor's play, Good, set in 1930's Germany, as a Professor Halder, a man with a complicated home life (ill mother, neurotic wife, captivating student), gets increasingly caught up with the Nazi party.

The play is a complicated construct, jumping between situations and conversations in a non linear fashion, and also portraying Halder's inner thoughts and fantasies, including his tendancy to hear music in odd situations. I found it quite challenging to get used to its style to start with, and as such it was only on later reflection that I really picked up on some of the key threads. In fact, I don't think it was really until the second half when I really settled in to the style and pace of the play. But it was very clever in the way it portrayed the way an essentailly 'good' man was gradually sucked in to the sinister plans of the Nazi party, and the way his attitude to his Jewish friend, Maurice, changed over time.

Adrian Rawlins, as Halder, gave a fantastically energetic and accomplished performance. The play revolves around his character and as such he is on stage the whole time, switching from scene to scene, and from inner thoughts to dialogue at a breathtaking pace. His increasing alignment with the actions of the Nazi party was very disturbing and believeable.

The set design was simple but clever, although I wasn't wholly convinced by the big red curtain if I'm honest, seemed like a lot of effort for very little payoff! And there were some excellent effects incorporated into the action.

All in all a disturbing play, with a brilliant central performance, but quite exhausting to keep up with at times.

The Resonance of Seclusion - Whitworth Art Gallery 5/10/11

Tonight I went to an Art Gallery, to see a play about an artist, see I'm becoming quite the culture vulture! And it was an absolute delight!

I first heard about the development of this play on twitter of all things as the writer and director, Liz Postlethwaite, is from one of my favourite theatres, the Library Theatre Company. Her own company, Small Things, was developing a play based on the life of Joash Woodrow (1927 - 2006), a reclusive artist from Leeds who created an amazing body of work that only came to light, and to critical aclaim, after he moved to sheltered accomodation in 2000.

Anyway, Small Things set up a twitter feed, and by following that I was able to get an insight into the development of this project from concept to staging, which I found fascinating. So once the tickets were available I was straight on the phone to book my place (which was then followed by badgering my pals to come with me, Louise took up the challenge!)

So on a dark, rainy October night, we were ushered into the atmospheric setting of one of the galleries at the Whitworth, for the performance, and what an experience it was. A small cast, and a very simple set with minimal props, and no real 'off stage' area, and yet we saw Joash's family upbringing, education, withdrawal and eccentricities, family relationships, passion for his art, and eventual recognition.

It's hard to describe what was so magical about the production. It was a touching story, beautifully told and cleverly staged, in a very atmospheric setting. As it progressed the audience were completely capitvated. I just found myself totally lost in it. It was well constructed, good characterisations, with some nice touches of humour and an obvious affection for its subjects.

It seems a bit mean, in such a small and good cast, to single out performances but I am going to anyway! Lowri Evans played a number of characters, and even without the costumes changes, they were so well observed that you would have known exactly who each were as soon as she entered. And Niven Garner potrayed the journey of Joash from, boy to old man, wonderfully. There was one point in the play, probably partially lost on the portion of the audience at the far end of the U shaped seating arrangement, where you literally saw Joash age before your eyes through subtle changes in stance, set of the face and movement, which was quite remarkable.

When the play ended I was really moved, and felt so glad that I had been able to be a part of it. I believe it may be developed further and have a life beyond the Whitworth. I hope it does, and I hope I can be part of its magic once more.

Wizard of Oz, London Palladium 14/8/11

A sunny Sunday morning in London town saw me head up to the Palladium to see if there were any tickets available for that day's performance of the Wizard of Oz. Whilst I am not a big fan of TV talent shows in the main, I was hooked on the BBC's 'Over the Rainbow', and had been quite keen to see the stage production ever since. A lovely member of the box office team sold me an excellent seat in the centre of the second row of the circle (the advantage of lone theatre visiting is that you often get great seats!) at a bargain price. Sunday is obviously a family day at the theatre (one advantage being no queue at the bar!) as I was surrounded by very excited small people ready for a bit of theatre magic!

The show itself was great fun, although at times the clever set design almost upstaged the cast. I assumed that for Sunday performances the swings would take the roles, but it was the main cast with Danielle Hope, the winner of the BBC show, in the title role. For someone in her first professional stage role she did excellently, although to be honest the rest of the cast is so strong that her's was not the most memorable performance. Hannah Waddingham, as the Wicked Witch of the West, blew me away, what an amazing and powerful voice that lady has! And the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Lion (Edward Baker-Duly, Paul Keating, David Ganly) made a brilliant team. I however, was the only person in my bit of the auditorium who laughed when the lion stepped forward and declared himself 'proud to be a friend of Dorothy' getting some strange looks from my fellow audience members!

The actual staging of the show was very clever. There was a two piece central revolve that was also able to tilt and disappear below stage level, which meant it was able to seamlessly transform into the various settings. Characters swooped down from the full height of the auditorium (meaning at one point I was almost face to face with a witch), and it even snowed on me!

The songs you know from the film are all executed well, and there have been some new additions which really add to the show, rather than just padding it out. All in all, I, and all my small companions, had a very enjoyable afternoon at the theatre, but if you are a big kid reading this, I would really encourage you to also see Wicked, which will add to your whole Ozian adventure!

Much Ado About Nothing - Wyndhams Theatre 13/8/11

So, off to the Wyndhams Theatre with my pal Bronya for the much anticipated pairing of Catherine Tate and David Tennant as Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado. I say much anticipated as I think I've had the tickets for about five months, but I wasn't convinced I was actually going to see Mr T in the show as the last time I booked a play months ahead to specifically see him (Hamlet) he very selfishly sustained a back injury a few days before, how dare he! Although, the RSC's Hamlet was a brilliant production, and his understudy, Ed Bennett, was fantastic as were the rest of the cast.

Anyway, Mr T made it to the stage this time, along with Ms Tate and an excellent cast. The setting for the play was 1980's Gibraltar, which was a great excuse for cheesy disco, dodgy eighties fashion and the odd rubics cube!

I think this is probably one of the most accessible, and fun, productions of Shakespeare I have had the pleasure to see. It stayed true to the text, but incorporated some hilarious slapstick (especially the Beatrice and Benedick 'eavesdropping' scenes, which I won't spoil here just in case anyone reads this who is going to see it), riotous stag and hen do's, dance numbers, and even a bit of eighties style 'hey nonny no' thrown in for good measure!

As for the cast, well T & T were a fabulous partnership, as expected, but the production had brought together a terrific ensemble - I was particularly impressed with Hero (Sarah MacRae, making her West End debut) and Claudio (Tom Bateman, who I was amazed to read in the programme was making his professional debut) - but all the performances were well realised and you could tell the cast were having fun with the roles.

All in all a production that was definitely worth the wait, an extremely enjoyable afternoon of Shakespeare, and dare I say it, worth every penny of the astronomical London ticket price! And I got to see David Tennant in a miniskirt and fishnets - what's not to like!

Top Girls - Trafalgar Studios 12/8/11

I went to this show knowing very little about it. I had seen an interview where Suranne Jones mentioned the eighties setting, and I knew it was by Caryl Churchill, and that's it really.

Trafalgar Studios have been renovated since I was last there, and you actually enter at stage level now, which gave me a bit of a shock as I thought I'd got lost in the theatre and taken a wrong turn! But it makes for a nice theatre space where you feel very close to the action.

The first act of the play is a fantasticly clever concept, although it took me a little while to realise what was going on! Marlene (Suranne Jones) is hosting a dinner party for some other 'Top Girls' from various points in history. It's realistically played out, guests talking over each other, trying to outdo each other's stories, more than one conversation going on at the same time, and the whole mood getting increasingly loud and raucous as the Frascati flows. The cast do an incredible job, the timing on its own must be a challenge, but each of them gave an finely observed performance and it feels wrong to single anyone out. However, I especially loved Olivia Poulet as Dull Gret, who initially does not have much to contribute 'lines wise' but had the audience in stitches. There is a lot going on in this Act, I would love to see it again as its quite a challenge as an audience member keeping up and knowing what to focus on. Its also a very moving piece, there are elements of high comedy, but also some extremely tragic stories unfold. Lucy Briers as Pope Joan, desrcibing the 'end' of her story in a very matter of fact way is quite shocking and you could hear the collective intake of breath from the audience!

The second and third acts were more 'normal' in terms of storytelling, looking at Marlene's life and background, although moving back a year in time between the two acts. Again there was a lot of comedy, but at its heart a some quite hard questions about what it is to be 'successful' and what can be lost. Suranne Jones as Marlene was fantastic, and the final scenes between her and her sister Joyce (Stella Gonet) were brilliantly played by both actresses.

I really enjoyed this play, it was unusual, clever, made me think, and had an very strong cast. If I lived nearer I would definitely be tempted to see it again.