Category: Theatre
-
THEATRE REVIEW | The Solid Life of Sugar Water
This is a story that describes events between a couple who go through hell and back again while having disabilities.
★★★
-
THEATRE REVIEW | A Raisin in the Sun, Sheffield Theatres
- With the current controversy around the lack of diversity this year’s Academy Award nominees, it seems somewhat timely for Sheffield Theatres, Eclipse Theatre Company and Belgrade Theatre, Coventry to present “A Raisin In the Sun”, a landmark play in Black theatre and one which explores issues of racial politics and social attitudes through the eyes of the Young Family. ★★★
Set in 1950’s Chicago, the family await the receipt of a cheque for $10,000, a life insurance payment from the patriarch’s recent death. Each of them harbours their own ideas about how the money can be used to transform the lives of all of them and release them from the crammed apartment they all share. The tensions in the family are exacerbated by Walter’s propensity to drink, Benetha’s desires to go into medicine (despite the duel disadvantage of her sex and skin colour) and the challenges of a family all trying to do right by each other.
Ashley Zhangazha gives a very strong performance as Walter, bringing across the characters mixture of frustration, enthusiasm, desperation and ultimately his misguided attempts to better himself for his family’s benefit. There is a certain vulnerability within the character which draws the audiences sympathy and whilst his actions are questionable, his motives aren’t. Equally, Angela Wynter’s portrayal of Mama is just as accomplished; with her melodic intonation becoming somewhat mesmerising and softening the matriarchal figure.
The director, Dawn Walton, steers the production with solid confidence and garners performances from her small cast which allow you to instantly warm to the family, despite their individual flaws, fantasies and motivations.
The play looks at the issues of change on both a personal level and of the community at large. Written in 1959, Lorraine Hansberry’s script certainly reflects the mood of the time, leading to it being the first play written by a black woman to be produced on Broadway. The family comes across as a metaphor for the civil rights movement and social consciousness of a society on the cusp of change, with a mixture of methods and reasons for wanting to improve their situation for the better in the face of blatant challenge and prejudice.
The theme of the play remains relevant – motivation, money and moving forward – and steadily builds towards an emotional denouement, despite a handful of somewhat intrusive scene changes and a slightly overlong scene between Beneatha and Joseph Asagai towards the end. The play is a straightforwardly presented production which allows the script and performances to speak for themselves.
A Raisin In the Sun is currently at Sheffield Theatresuntil 13th February 2016. 0114 249 6000.
by Paul Szabo | @IAmScubamonkey
-
THEATRE REVIEW | Wonder.Land at The National Theatre, London
Alice’s Wonderland has had a major upgrade to version 2016 and it’s good. ★★★★
Wonder.Land comes to us via Rufus Norris, Blur’s Damon Albarn, who wrote the score, and playwright Moira Buffini, who have taken Alice and Wonderland and brought it right up to date for 2016. If you liked the original then you will not be disappointed, if you can get past the online element to the new wonderland. The usual characters survive such as the mad hatter, the rabbit, the twins and of course the Cheshire Cat, but as you have never seen them before.
Alice or Aly, played by Lois Chimimba and brilliant, is a teenager growing up in a suburban city dealing with a mother’s attention focused on baby brother Charlie, the feeling of responsibility for her parents’ separation and being bullied at school. Her only means of escaping the life she hates is a new online game ‘Wonder.Land’ where she can be who she wants and find answers to the ‘who are you’ question which is asked throughout.
It’s in this online world where Alice creates her online avatar persona, who is the complete opposite of herself, and follows the white rabbit through various online levels, meets other like minded gamers and battles against the red queen, who happens to be Aly’s head teacher in the real world with a hint of Cruella De Vil thrown in the mix.
The songs, which are easily recognisable as written by Damon Albarn, are great, each character having their own unique song that is the personification of that character. From the sad and desperate songs of Alice and her mother, the hypnotic and soothing song from the caterpillar and the mad and hectic song of the hatter all play their part in this wonderland on stage.
The staging itself is a mix of contemporary theatre, digital displays, weird and wonderful costumes and characters that all fuse seamlessly into one. The real world is grey and dull, even down to the costume which is in complete contrast to the colourful online world, and when they collide on stage, almost creates a hallucinogenic experience for both the stage characters and audience alike (not that I know what such an experience is like of course).
The only downside were the three school girl bullies who, when combined, reminded me a bit too much of Catherine Tate’s “am I bothered” sketches and I wasn’t sure if I should of laughed at their bullying or not.
That aside it was still worth a watch.
The modern musical story creates laughs, wonder, glitter, self driving sofas, and a baby throwing up, yes I did say a baby throwing up. So if you are a fan of Alice in Wonderland then you will not be disappointed by this modern take on the classic if you dare enter Wonder.Land at The National Theatre.
Also, for those who like that bit extra for their money, turn up a bit early for the fully interactive wonder.land things to do from entering the magical garden, creating your very own avatar to a musical tea party.
Wonder.Land plays at The National Theatre, London until 13 March 2016, 020 7452 3000
-
THEATRE REVIEW | Macbeth, Birmingham Rep
When a story is often told, there is a risk of it getting old, however, with Carrie Cracknell and Lucy Guerin’s Macbeth told the same story but through a completely new lens. It was Stargate meets Resident Evil bent of Macbeth. It had moving chambers and symbols that lit up, just like in the pyramids of the former film, and it had the underground facility feel of Resident Evil, with dim lights, almost appearing like they were trapped in the sewers. ★★★★
Having watched Macbeth the film starring Michael Fassbender, expectations were always going to be high. With this production, you just didn’t know what you were going to get, which made it so much more exciting, and John Heffernan’s Macbeth was his own, and it was genius.
The marvel that was the set made the show start before the actors had even walked on, as the tunnel type design, by Lizzie Clachan, let your mind loose imagining what would be happening first. The set is worthy of stealing all awards for a production’s visual masterpiece.
When the show did start, and through to the end there were no disappointments with the visual of this Macbeth, as every scene was coloured differently with physicality that was otherworldly. Particularly the witches of Macbeth, played by Ana Beatriz Meireles, Jessie Oshodi and Clemmie Sveaas, who stunned the senses with their movement, voice and visual shapes they created as an instrument of telling the story. I was glad to see them throughout the performance.
John Heffernan owned the show with his careful, precise, yet troubled portrayal of Macbeth, where the transitions of the character were strategic and well thought out. There were no exaggerations or contrivance, and there were plenty of shades of Macbeth oozing out of Heffernan, and I particularly loved the end where his last soliloquy was quiet and understated, giving it more a solid effect, as it drew people in to listen.
Unfortunately, Anna Maxwell Martin’s Lady Macbeth was not on the same level. The way she spoke was too quick, making it hard to understand what she was saying, and also overly predictable with presenting herself as mad throughout, not showing much depth to the character. The mad scene became expected and obvious.
Overall, a stunning visual and an outstanding version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth that needs to be seen all over the country and beyond.
Macbeth plays at The Birmingham Rep until 30th January, 0121 236 4455
-
THEATRE REVIEW | Alright Bitches, Above The Stag
★★★ Alright Bitches | Let’s go on a trip to Gran Canaria via Above the Stag Theatre in their newly-penned play ‘Alright Bitches.’
-
THEATRE REVIEW: The Snowman, The Birmingham Rep
The Snowman is a children’s picture book created by Raymond Briggs and was first published in 1978. The Snowman was televised as a 26-minute animated adaptation on the 26th of December 1982, Channel 4, and it conquered many people’s hearts thereon. It is also a production that has graced The Birmingham Repertory Theatre since 1993. ★★★ (more…)
-
Jonathan Larson to be celebrated in a one-off musical
The Life and Times of Jonathan Larson will be celebrated in the one-off show ‘Seasons of Love’.
Who is Jonathan Larson you might ask? He is the Broadway composer and genius behind the smash hit musical ‘Rent.’ ‘Rent’ is one of the most successful and award-winning musicals of all time. It tells the story of a group of young men and women seeking out a living in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. These young men and women have lots of real life issues that dominate their lives; poverty, drugs, volatile romances, and HIV
Larson composed Rent while at the same time waiting tables at Manhattan’s famous Moonstruck Diner. On the first day of its off-Broadway 1996 preview, Larson died unexpectedly at the age of 35. It was a shocking blow not just to the people close to him, but also to the actors and the rest of the crew. The show then premiered as planned and went on to critical and commercial success. ‘Rent’ was moved to Broadway in April 1996 after an extreme demand for tickets and excellent reviews. It went on to win four Tony Awards, including three for Larson (Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Score). ‘Rent’ went on to become the 10th longest running show on Broadway, closing in June, 2008. Various productions have toured around the world, including three different productions in London. It also went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama.
It’s not just the story that is poignant and timely for its time, it’s the music that’s most memorable and emotional in telling the story of these young people struggling to survive. Songs such as Seasons of Love, One Song Glory, Light My Candle and Santa Fe all convey the emotion and heartbreak and feelings these young people have and share.
And for only night only, on Monday, January 25th, at London’s Shaftsbury Theatre, several West End performers will sing songs from the show. Debbie Kurup, Krysten Cummings and Damien Flood, all previous cast members of ‘Rent,’ will perform some of the songs and will reflect on their memories of the show. Anton Stephans from the last series of the X Factor will also star in the tribute.
The concert will also include music from some of Larson’s earlier works, ‘Superbia’ and ‘tick, tick… BOOM!.’
For tickets to this one-off show, please visit: www.seasonsoflarson.com
-
THEATRE REVIEW | Botallack O’Clock
Dangling for 70 mins in a smoky room, adjacent to a stained mattress with Dessert Island Discs emanating from a Bush radio, alongside tick tock tick tock, Beethoven and the squiffed fantasies from an abstract artist who will drink to your health, insult if you were christened Darius or if you work for Blue Peter, might cause you to fornicate with a portrait and Monster Mash with a bear. ★★★
Writer and Director Eddie Elks interprets a suspended hour at 3am for artisan Roger Hilton CBE in his Cornwall basement/bedroom/studio, aided with a bottle of Teachers malt, a talking wireless and a paint-water-thirsty feline.
Attempted gherkin stabbing, a wife-eating crocodile composition, hide and seek with some teddy trouser pulling-down nonsense is enough to keep Hilton awake in the wee hours – will it keep your mince-pies open?
Turbulent and bonkers with glimmers of merriment as you delve deeper into the whisky-hazed, gifted mind of a boob-admiring canvas-and-oil prize winner.
Think self-indulgent luvvie in a student’s bedsit.
Botallack O’Clock run until 6th February 2016 at the Old Red Lion Theatre, 0844 412 4307
-
THEATRE: Le Corsaire English National Ballet
BALLET ‘Le Corsaire’ by English National Ballet@The London Coliseum, St.Martin’s Lane to 24th January. 5 Stars! Flesh made Furiously Fluent! ★★★★★ (more…)
