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Category: Review

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Roaring Trade – bankers misbehaving in a play with very little bark

    The strange world of bond trading and the lives of the traders who inhabit it is explored in the new play “Roaring Trade.” ★★

    There are four desks in an office in Canary Wharf where four unique personalities ply their trade day in and day out. Their goal, of course, is to make money. But not all of them do. Fortunes are made, and lost, in a single second. It’s a very stressful job, one that has direct effects on their families.
    ‘Roaring Trade’ is set on a bond trading floor of a fictional investment bank called ‘McSorleys.’ It introduces us to the four people who live and breathe their jobs. We’ve got beautiful blonde Jess (Lesley Harcourt), confident but not cocky. She’s got more balls than some of the men she works with, including Donny (Nick Moran), who’s putty in her hands, and is the cocky one. Then there’s PJ (Michael McKell), burnt out yet still slaves away at his job to appease his keeping up appearances wife Sandy (Melanie Gutteridge). Spoon (Timothy George) arrives as a new team member, very young, getting the job because his father is a fat cat in the City.
    For these four, it’s all about the money, and the bonus that validates their performances. It’s what drives them to succeed, at any cost, and whether that puts another team member at risk, so be it. When newbie Spoon makes £3.6 million on a trade, he suddenly becomes the golden boy. And when it comes to bonus time, Donny is oh so curious as to how much Spoon has received, enough so to attempt to take a peak at Spoon’s bonus letter. But when PJ receives less than what he’s expecting (a luxury trip to Barbados is cancelled for a trip to Brussels), this means his wife Sandy will not get her new kitchen, and their seven bedroom house will have to be put up for sale. Sandy says she’s worried that they will be the target of gossip if they sell their house, though PJ says that she likes to be the center of good gossip when the money is coming in and she is spending.
    Meanwhile, Donny instills his work ethic on to his son Sean (William Nye), teaching him how to make money using a sachet of ketchup as an example. He tells Sean that in the bond world, money can be made by selling something one doesn’t own, and making money off of it. It’s an example the son takes to heart.
    But things get very tense on the trading floor when Donny is down £8.6 million on a trade, and it gets even more tense when PJ is offered a head trading role at fictional investment bank Shads, and he wants to take the rest of the team with him. But when one trade goes in a different direction than expected because of internet chat room gossip, it’s anyone’s guess whose going to be in the money and whose going to be out of the money. And it’s not who you would expect.
    ‘Roaring Trade’ takes the ‘bankers are wankers’ phrase and runs with it. Donny, the veteran, seems to just care about making money. Jess appears heartless but always in control, while Spoon the newbie is so green that he will take risks just to get ahead. We get a different message from PJ – that not all bankers are bad. While the acting is not bad (George is superb as the new kid on the block) and Harcourt nails it as the tough-as-nails Jess, Mckell’s acting is a bit over the top, and the character behaviour not quite believable. Originally written for the stage in 2009 and quickly updated to reflect today’s news (a line in the show is “bonds are dropping like VW”), ‘Roaring Trade’ has more of a yelp than a roar. And while our real banks have taken risks in the past and are paying heavily for it now, as Donny says in the play – ‘There’s risk in everything that matters.’
    ‘Roaring Trade’ is playing until 24 October 2015 at The Park Theatre in Finsbury Park. To buy tickets, click here

  • THEATRE REVIEW | 5 Guys Chillin At The Kings Head Theatre

    5 Guys Chillin’ is a verbatim drama adapted from over 50 hours of anonymous interviews about the world of chem-sex on the gay scene. ★★

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  • REVIEW: Domyos Expander

    Lightweight weight training kit on the go. Domyos expander – fit for purpose?

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  • THEATRE REVIEW | Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love songs)

    ★★★★ – packed with explosive surprises. (more…)

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Kiss Me, Kate – Leeds Grand Theatre and National Tour

    As a sucker for a classic musical, I was very curious to see what Opera North would make of the Cole Porter classic. ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ is a typical tale of mistaken identity, a will they/wont they love story, a bit of swindling and a bunch of likeable characters all interwoven with an appealing collection of songs. ★★★★★

    Porter’s tale stages a play within a play, telling the story of Fred Graham, an actor and director who casts his ex-wife as his co-star; and finds himself in hot water when one of his other leading men signs off a gambling debt in his name. He tries desperately to keep his musical production of The Taming Of The Shrew on track, as a couple of inept gangsters show up to collect the debt and Grahams relationship with his ex-wife sways between love and hate. But as everything falls apart and the backstage bickering starts to mirror the story on stage, Graham does everything he can in ensuring that the show must go on.
    The songs from Kiss Me, Kate are some of Porter’s most sterling work, with an overarching jazzy vibe which made the musical numbers delightfully catchy. “Why Can’t You Behave”; “Tom, Dick or Harry” and “Too Darn Hot” were all proper toe tappers, and Tiffany Graves multiple reprises of “Always True To You In My Fashion” were simply glorious.
    Opera North have gathered a great company for this show, which draws from a variety of disciplines to produce a collective cast of people who not only specialise, but excel in their field. The classically trained opera singers blended absolutely seamlessly with the musical theatre actors and the dancers. The collective sound and sheer power of the ensemble was stunning. The cast combined to make the production one where each individual element was performed by those with pure strength in their performances and was all the better for it. Quirijn De Lang is vocally strong and charismatic as Graham, whilst Jeni Bern proves an equally impressive sparring partner, and Tiffany Graves and Ashley Day both playfully bounce off each other quite happily.
    But on top of that, the production was top notch, with a beautifully designed set, which was detailed and ingeniously versatile; showing what was happening on stage, in the wings and backstage on the twirl of a backdrop. The costumes were sumptuous, being full of sharp suits and flapper dresses behind the scenes; and lavish, detailed period costumes on stage. Jo Davis directs the show with a flair which mirrors the quality of the presentation and the whole thing oozes class. Add into that a cracking, brass filled performance from the orchestra, conducted by David Charles Abell, and you have an outstanding production which wouldn’t be out of place on any West End stage.

    The show looks and sounds superb and there are not many productions that have such a great show stopping numbers at the start of each act. The script glistens with wit and charm which is reflected in the performances and the whole thing is professionally polished to within an inch of its life. Don’t be put off by thinking this is traditional opera. It’s not. ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ is musical theatre as it should be performed.

    Kiss Me, Kate is part of Opera North’s Autumn programme, which also includes The Barber Of Sevilleand Jenufa. These shows can be seen on various dates at Leeds Grand Theatre until 31st October 2015, before visiting The Theatre Royal in Newcastle (3 – 7 November 2015), The Lowry, Salford Keys, Manchester (10th – 14th November 2015) and Nottingham Theatre Royal (17th – 21st November 2015). For tickets and further details, visit www.operanorth.co.uk

    by Paul Szabo | @IAmScubamonkey

  • FILM REVIEW | Wasp, Sexual tension in Provence

    A gay couple and a jilted woman spend a weekend together in a house in Provence. It’s a triangle that becomes messy, in the new film ‘Wasp.’ ★★★★

    Olivier (Simon Haycock) and James (Hugo Bolton) have been together for a year. Caroline (Elly Condron), a college friend of James, has just been dumped by her French boyfriend of 3 years. So James invites Caroline to spend the week with him and Olivier in a house that belongs to Olivier’s family. It’s a beautiful house, typical French Chateau, with an outdoor pool, a trampoline in the backyard, and amazing views of the valley. Olivier is a privileged man; he’s 30, handsome, has a great job, and comes from a well-off family. And he’s got a younger good looking trophy boyfriend in James. He also used to sleep with woman.
    So the tension, not just sexual but all sorts, builds up as the week progresses. Caroline hears Olivier and James having sex upstairs, yet she’s vulnerable and feels a bit left out.
    Olivier starts noticing Caroline more and more. He steals glances at her from across the pool, and Caroline notices. She plays it up, teases Olivier, until James realises what is happening right in front of him. And the relationship between all three of them may never be the same again.
    Director/Writer Phillippe Audi-Dor makes an auspicious debut film. His style of long shots of various places and objects (wasps being one of them) brings out the beauty of the locale, as well as helps to build up and sustain tension between the three characters. Audi-Dor begin filming Wasp just four months after graduating from film school, and what an impressive debut it is. And while the films winds down with a very melodramatic ending, Wasp is an impressive filmmaking debut with a just as impressive cast.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Vincent & Flavia in The Last Tango – Sheffield Theatres & National Tour

    If the return of Saturday Night stalwart ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ has whetted your appetite for some classic crooning, some archetypal moves on the dance floor and all things sequined, then why not swap your sofa for a theatre seat and see the whole thing live? ★★★ (more…)

  • FILM REVIEW | 45 Years

    Tom Courtenay is Geoff, while Charlotte Rampling is Kate, both giving superb performances. ★★★★★

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  • FILM REVIEW | LIFE: There Is No Life in Life

    There’s a famous photograph of James Dean in Times Square taken by Dennis Stock. It is now a movie called ‘Life.’ ★★

    The photo, taken in 1955, shows James Dean, cigarette in his mouth, head tilted towards the ground, the billboards of Times Square in the background, dark clouds overhead, made the cover of Life Magazine. It also made Stock’s career.
    So ‘Life’ the movie is all about that photograph, and the events leading up to, and after, that photograph was taken. It’s also a buddy movie: one man on the cusp of celebrity, another man trying to capture him while struggling to make it as a photographer and to also spend time with his young son, with an un-cooperative ex-wife. Stock (Robert Pattison) is tasked with an assignment: to do a photo essay on an unknown actor. So he’s introduced to James Dean (Dane DeHaan) at a party, where he’s also introduced to a young Natalie Wood (Lauren Gallagher). Dean in on the cusp of fame – his first film – East of Eden – was yet to be released. So Dean agrees to have Stock follow him around to get some shots. The first are rejected by his editor – who wants to see hazy shots of an unknown actor boozing it up in a club with Eartha Kitt (Kelly McCreary)? Stock thinks about taking another job, this one in Japan, but he decides to stay in New York and gets back together again with Dean, and on the spur of the moment that famous Times Square photograph is taken. Not to end there, ‘Life’ takes us with Dean and Stock to Dean’s hometown in Indiana.
    There is where Dean feels most at home, and comfortable; with family, aunt and uncle and Grandma and nephew (his mother died when he was nine and his father sent him to Indiana to live with them). More famous photographs are taken there; Dean with his nephew, Dean on the farm, Dean in the kitchen; these photos would become part of the Life Magazine photo essay. And that’s the movie.
    As you can second guess, there’s not much of a story to build on. ‘Life’ is not only about the photographs, it’s also about the relationship between these two men and especially the trust Stock builds with Dean. But ‘Life’ is boring, with stale dialogue, and with acting that is quite lifeless. Pattison is fine as Stock, but DeHaan, even though he has hair that looks identical to Dean’s, just doesn’t bring the right energy and sparkle that we can presume Dean had. Ben Kingsley, however, is excellent as Jack Warner – the man who guided Dean’s career. And while the period details (clothes, cars, hairstyles) are fine, it’s the story that is not a very exciting one and is not enough to warrant a 110-minute film.
    Director Anton Corbijn just doesn’t bring any ‘Life’ to this movie.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Sancho

    ★★★★ – timelessly humorous, and endlessly brilliant.

    When an actor comes on stage and asks the existential question “Who do I think I am?”, then we know it’s going to be a reflective piece where we and the actor come together and ponder the meaning of life, and begin dwelling on the smallest of things. ‘Sancho’ graced the studio theatre of The Rep with an energetic, hilarious and, with many shades of brilliance that grabbed the audience’s attention instantly, performance that left us wanting more by the end.

    Patterson Joseph wrote and performed the evocative and stunning production: ‘Sancho.’ It is the story of the first black gentleman in British history, which happened during the reign of Elizabeth I era, and monarch of which was extremely xenophobic. The black gentleman’s name was Charles Ignatius Sancho, and Patterson discovered the portrait of the said gentleman which was painted by Thomas Gainsborough, painted in a book entitled ‘Black Britain’ by Gretchen Gerzina, and this fuelled his research and the eventual creation of the play.

    It would not be existentialist if it didn’t have a plethora of Hamlet references deliciously embedded in the writing. Being a Shakespeare geek, I celebrated enthusiastically with every Hamlet quote spoken, such as, ‘Frailty thy name is…”Sancho”’; ‘That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain!’ and of course ‘The play’s the thing…’, all of which, I most powerfully and potently believe were designed to connect the thought of the actor with the audience’s thoughts about existential matters. It is clear from Patterson’s experience with performing Shakespeare plays that he is able to aptly adapt his writing to the era, and easily transport the spectators to the 16th century, where he laid his scene.

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  • THEATRE REVIEW: Romeo + Juliet – The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield

    For this production starring Freddie Fox, the story of Romeo and Juliet needs very little introduction, being Shakespeare’s classic tale of two young lovers from rival families who see beyond their family’s feud, and secretly marry. ★★★

    But when Romeo kills a member of Juliet’s family, the tragedy looks set to tear them apart.

    Whilst retaining the original text, the events are loosely set in the north of England, with northern accents aplenty and bold characters, some of whom have a slight hint of “Jeremy Kyle fodder” bolshiness about them. The costumes provided an overarching 70’s visual style, made up of a plethora of man-made fibres, bold patterns, skimpy trunks and jumpsuits. An empty set constructed of corrugated steel sheets and pressed wood flooring served to focus the audience on the performances of the cast and the use of only two contrasting materials reflected the two conflicting families of the story.

    But with so little on set, the performances were left to carry the production. There were two performances which stood out from the ensemble cast. Firstly Rachel Lumberg as Nurse, who was the epitome of the northern “salt of the Earth” working class mother figure. Secondly was a quirky, camp and awkward version of Peter, played by Joshua Miles. Skulking around like the lovechild of Alan Bennet and Jarvis Cocker, his scene stealing turn was rewarded with the majority of the audience’s laughter and affection.

    But the draw here is Freddie Fox, last seen by most people in “Cucumber”, “Banana” and “Pride”. Fox made for an interesting choice, with his youthful, almost androgynous and pale features, which worked surprisingly well. Fox’s performance was better than one would perhaps anticipate, demonstrating his versatility. His diction was clear and precise and he did hold a real stage presence, drawing the eye and teasing the audience with frequent flashes of his washboard abs and his toned biceps. You could easily believe that he was a young, somewhat naïve love-struck teenager, and his wide-eyed performance conveyed Romeo’s first realisation of true love over and above his romantic ideations that had come before it. The supporting cast was also filled with a slew of very handsome young men, in particular Scott Arthur, Joshua Miles and Simon Manyonda who all performed as well as they looked.

    Staging a new production of Romeo + Juliet can be tricky. As one of Shakespeare’s best-known plays and given its presence in popular culture, any company has to walk a fine line. If you make the production too modern, it draws the risk of being criticised as a pale imitation of the Baz Lurhman film starring Leonardo Di Caprio; too traditional and it becomes a bland and unimaginative re-tread which has all been seen before. But thankfully Sheffield Theatres manages to walk a line which means that there production doesn’t falls into either category, with a production that put me in mind of a Shane Meadow’s “This Is England 90” chav culture.
    The first act of the play picked out the comedy elements of the piece nicely and was engaging and entertaining, although the second act did seem to lose some of the momentum which had built up in the first act and there were occasions throughout when some of the diction was lost at times by some of the cast members. But that said; it was an interesting take on a classic and one which did just about enough to make it stand apart from versions which has come before it.
    Romeo + Juliet is at The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield until 17th October 2015. Tickets can be bought online at www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk or by calling the box office on 0114 249 6000.