Category: Review
-
THEATRE REVIEW | My Mother Said I Never Should
★★★★ | My Mother Said I Never Should
CREDIT: Savannah PhotographicMy Mother Said I Never Should is an award winning debut play written when the author was just 25. It was chosen as one of the most significant plays of the twentieth century by the National Theatre and is, apparently, one of the most performed plays by a female artist. Yet, strangely it hasn’t been seen on a major London stage since the 1980s. Maybe plays about the relationships between women still don’t have commercial appeal? It’s a shame that it’s not been revived before but director Paul Robinson and producer Tara Finney have more than rectified that and have resurrected a thing of beauty and power.
The stage is almost bare with stark white backgrounds and hints of furniture. Piles of television sets suggest eras and portions of scenery, helping to frame the action in the non-linear structure. The four women start the play as sinister schoolgirls (which could be excruciating to watch but is actually cleverly done), chanting rhymes and plotting to kill mummy. The play then evolves into a series of scenes from the lives of four generations of women in Manchester helped by subtle lighting and sound changes.
ADVERT
[adinserter block=”1″]
It’s a standard potboiler plot that could be found in a fat Catherine Cookson novel or a television soap opera: difficult marriages, terminal illness and illegitimate children. The script is cleverly written, though, and although the storyline veers towards mawkish sentimentality at times it always steers back and feels lifelike and moving rather than trite.
Maureen Lipman is magnificent as Doris, a fearsome mother, grandmother and great grandmother. There’s depth to her character as she progresses through stern 1940s mother in the Blitz through to a more benign and charitable but still waspish old lady sunbathing with her pop socks off in the garden. She delivers her lines with skill and inhabits the role beautifully. Caroline Faber is convincing as her at times put upon daughter. Katie Brayben (who played Carole King to critical acclaim in the musical Beautiful) portrays Jackie with skilful restraint and Serena Manteghi is suitably boorish yet ultimately wise as Rosie.
The play will resonant with a wide variety of people. Provided you had a mother/grandmother/aunt/sister or daughter then it’ll be hard not to reflect on your own experiences whilst you watch this. The yearning to be loved and approved of is innate and powerful. Don’t expect a tragic, visceral weepy though. There are so many comedic moments and killer lines that the blow of the deeper hurts being presented is softened suitably.
This is a strong production with a skilled cast and high production values and is a welcome return to form for The St James Theatre. Highly recommended entertainment with underlying resonance.
My Mother Said I Never Should plays at the St James Theatre, Victoria until 21st May 2016, 0844 264 2140
-
CAR REVIEW | Citroen C3 Exclusive PureTech 110
Bettered with Time Like Wine
★★★★
Citroen came to me and said “take your pick of our current range of motor vehicles” so l opted for the C3. For a start, the C3 has been with us for 14 years and l wondered if during that time the C3 as l remember it, had got better to still justify it as a viable supermini in today’s current crop of little city runners to the buying public.
The original C3 was frightful. I have driven several over the years and if it did give you feelings they were of gratitude that you got to your destination and were able to walk away from it. It wasn’t that it was a bad car but it was so very cheap in every way and not very engaging. So has it got any better?
It sat parked in the work’s carpark all bright and purple on shiny 17” alloy wheels lost in a myriad of great machinery we had on that day. We called it the Bruise but it gave you anything but a bruise. It bristled with verve on its little 3 cylinder 1.2cc turbo engine. I usually have a problem with 3 pot engines, in that they resonate and jerk around in such a way that I get motion sickness. None of this was evident in the 200 miles I did shooting around the world of Surrey in my purple machine. From low expectations, they rapidly rose with every mile I took to where it excelled itself.
There is a lot of praise to be thrown at the little Citroen so I’ll start with the negatives first. Firstly the rear door openings are small for that of a car its age. Getting in and out isn’t a problem for anyone small like a child. The more rotund of us will complain and then there is poor headroom. Despite its high sides there is limited height in the back for anyone 6 foot and over. And that is my only real complaint which for a car that has seen developments and 3 facelifts over its 14-year life is quite good.
Today in Britain want our cars with a Germanic ride, all taught and poised. Sadly this transfers into the cabin as harshness on the ride. True to say this is no roly-poly Citroen from yesteryear but the ride is compliant and smooth giving no cause for bruises on the bottom. And the handling is fun – though sadly hampered by an over sensitive traction system that kicks in too readily even when switched off. However, what it doesn’t take away from you is the fun of torque steer when all that power of 151lb.ft torque is applied to the front wheels from a lowly 1500rpm.
It’s a hoot to drive. Mind your step though because that little engine will propel it in a forward motion to 60 in 10.6 seconds at a great alacrity that you will get points on your licence!
The rest of the performance figures are impressive too. It loves to rev and at 5500rpm it is pumping out all of its 110bhp. Used in the way that the C3 allows itself to be motored it will kick you in the nuts at the pumps. The urban cycle of 47.9mpg is impressive but you have to drive like the boot is full of eggs to get it. The higher 30’s is where I got it to while enjoying its rapid ability. l don’t doubt the 60mpg combined figure Citroen state if used at its torque maximum.
The fit and finish have been greatly improved. It wasn’t the flimsy C3 I remember. On this model, we get handsfree Bluetooth connectivity that once mastered for it will ask for your PIN number first it works quietly away in the background. In operation, it was clear to use and couldn’t have been any simpler. We also get a reverse camera with guiding lines and the stereo will only mute a notch if the sensors go off. It also had leather seats that while not Aston Martin in quality was up to spec for a top of the range supermini.
The dashboard layout was totally logical and everything fell to hand. What was poor was the glovebox. It is only half the width of the draw. Thankfully you won’t need to put your satnav in there when you park up because it has one built into the infotainment system. Again it isn’t the best out there but l was able to find another route from the garden centre that l didn’t know existed because of the clarity of the screen and colours. I’ve only lived here for a year and it takes a 14-year-old car full of new tricks to show me. And it coped well with that trip to the garden centre. The tall Caprea Kilmarnock fitted nicely laying down and soil spilt was hoovered up without fuss from the hard-wearing carpets.
And that is that. The C3 like all things French has got better with age. It will never have the lustfulness that the DS3 has but then again it doesn’t carry a £4000 premium for 2 fewer doors. And does it still manage to be a viable proposition to those on the lookout for a city runner? Yes, it does. The range starts at £11000 and rises accordingly. The model I was given was the flagship in the range and its price isn’t cheap. If it was more reflective of its ageing design and in view of the newer crop of little wonders out there I would have given it 5 stars.
Likes
Build quality
Ride
Specification and equipment
Loathes
Limited room in the rear
Glovebox
Some quality issues with paint in the door shuts
The Lowdown
Car – Citroen C3 Exclusive PureTech 110
Price – £17,009 (as tested)
MPG – 60.1 mpg (combined)
Power – 110 bhp
0-62mph – 10.6 seconds
Top Speed – 118 mph
Co2 – 107 (g/km)
Find out more from Citroen.co.uk
-
THEATRE REVIEW | Haram Iran
★★★★★ | Haram Iran
CREDIT: Above The Stag Two young men were publicly hanged in a square in Mashhad, Iran on 19th July 2005. The new play Haram Iran tells this horrific story.
Ayaz Marhoni and Mahmoud Asgari were both teenage boys who liked to hang out together. But it was suspected that these two young men had a homosexual affair, though the true nature of their crime had never actually been confirmed. But they were publicly executed after being convicted on the trumped up charges of raping a 13-year old boy.
The Above the Stag theatre in Vauxhall has produced a play that re-enacts and tries to give credence and understanding to the story of these two young men, and their lives, and their execution. It’s an amazing and relevant play.
Ayaz (Viraj Juneja) and Mahmoud (Andrei Costin) play ball, study together and hang out at Ayaz’s house. They’re fast becoming good friends, enough so that it makes Fareed (Merch Husey) jealous. Mahmoud spends a lot of time at Ayaz’s house, in his bedroom, just hanging out. Ayaz is obsessed with books, books that his mother (Silvana Malmone) has illegally kept as she’s not allowed to have them because of Sharia law.
ADVERT
[adinserter block=”1″]
Ayaz is most enraptured by The Catcher in the Rye, and he reads passages of the book to Mahmoud. Some of the passages are sexual, making the young men a bit turned on. One day Ayaz notices huge marks on Mahmoud’s back, caused by whippings inflicted on him by his father. Ayaz rubs oil on Mahmoud’s back, but it’s this act, witnessed by Fareed, which causes their downfall. Ayaz is initially charged with corrupting, and penetrating Mahmoud, is thrown in jail, and repeatedly raped by the prison guard (Fanos Xenofos). Eventually they are both charged with consensual homosexual acts and the judge (George Savvides) punishes them to death.
Haram Iran is a hugely important play that highlights the brutality and injustice that these two young innocent men endured in Iran. While not every scene in Haram Iran might not have actually taken place, what is fact is the murder at the hands of the Iranian government of these two young men.
Directed by Gene David Kirk with brutal and emotional intensity, Haram Iran was written by Lawyer Jay Paul Deratany, who happened to find the story online. And each member of the cast are excellent. Juneja and Costin are both very believable as Ayez and Mahmoud, young and innocent but punished nonetheless. Maimone as Ayaz’s mother is superb in her role. Xenofos is very scary (and a bit too believable) as the prison guard who shows no mercy, while and Savvides is downright cold, mean and heartless as the judge.
Haram Iran is a brutal yet delicate story of two young men who didn’t deserve to die because of who they were.
Haram Iran plays at Above The Stag until the 1st May 2016
-
THEATRE REVIEW| Twelfth Night, Birmingham Rep
★★★★★ | Twelfth Night
If Adventure Time were to come up with an episode of Twelfth Night, what was seen last night, created by Filter theatre company, would be what you would see. A lunatic, ‘filter-less’, bold and a surprising production that literally got you on your feet playing with balls.
CREDIT: Pr Supplied Nerves start to unsettle when one gets an invitation to watch ‘another’ production of Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. But those were soon soothed when we walked in to The House of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre to come upon what looked like a set for a band. If one could sum up Filter’s creation, it would be: ‘A Shakespeare Rave’. My leg certainly didn’t stop bobbing up and down to the music.
The quadruple –threat cast multi- part and multi-instrument played with energy that was coming from the power sockets. Electric like no other. Harry Jardine, who played Orsino and Aguecheek must have got his muscles from the rehearsals, for he was continuously running, summersaulting switching characters so efficiently that one would get dizzy after a few blinks of an eye. Effortless performance and Harry still managed to speak in blank verse to an excellent standard. Ferdy Roberts, who redirected Twelfth Night alongside Oliver Dimsdale, played Malvolio to a degree of mastery. The ‘don’t-know-what-you’re-going-to-get’ type actor kept the audience on their toes, as Ferdy sauntered around as Malvolio capturing the danger of the character. At the same time, rocking out with his air guitar solo, and stripping off to his yellow stockings which capitalised the ‘b’ of bold. Dan Poole as Toby Belch was hilarious and had comedic timing down to a ‘t’. Olivia Darnley who played Olivia was funny and charming, and did formidably well in the scenes where she tried to seduce the male characters. All in all, everyone had an incredible talent that brought the show alive, ingredients of which have led me to see this as my favourite Twelfth Night production I have ever seen!
The highlight for me was when Harry as Aguecheek asked/made me get on stage with the rest of the cast. He did this because I missed his Velcro cap when throwing the ball at his head. So, Harry kindly allowed me another chance, but I missed again. In the end I had to wear a cap like his to which the audience were given balls to throw at us. I loved it! This tour should be a sell-out and where dates need to be bolted on for more to see!
Twelfth Night plays at The Birmingham Rep until the 16th April 2016, 0121 236 4455
-
THEATRE REVIEW | Tom: A Story of Tom Jones – Sheffield Theatres And National Tour
★★ | Tom: A Story Of Tom Jones
Tom – A story of Tom Jones tells the tale of the early days of the legendary singer and the struggle he faced as he moves from the green, green grass of home to the big city lights of London in search of his big break. Constantly supported by his wife, Linda, Tom struggles with self-doubt and frustration as he pursues his dream in this musical biography.
Photo Credit – Simon Gough The show was presented nicely enough, with projected backdrops and some well-staged, if simplistic, musical numbers; all held together by a good vocal and physical performance from Kit Orton as the Welsh crooner. The songs were inconspicuously slotted in to the show, and flowed naturally within the story, rather than feeling shoehorned in; and the live band added both atmosphere and energy.
Despite this, the show just had too many flaws to allow it to hang together. The show is primarily narrative based, so those expecting a run through of Tom’s greatest hits will be disappointed. The songs were just too few and far between, and consisted primarily of a collection of cover versions of 60’s hits or songs which were not always instantly associated with Tom Jones by the casual observer. It’s only after the best part of two hours has passed does the show provide the songs which the audience most likely came to hear, and only then in a closing mini concert consisting of four or five numbers.
The show demonstrates the drive and ambition that is needed to succeed and the determination by both Tom and his wife Linda to hit the big time. Underneath it all, there is a story of self-belief and about paying your dues to achieve your ambitions, but the constant cycle of Tom threatening to quit and his wife urging him to keep going seemed to be on a perpetual loop, with all dramatic tension lost given that we all know he makes it in the end.
The problem with the show is not the performances, staging or direction, but rather the writing, which has a narrative which just doesn’t have enough about it to ever really drive the show forward. The show focusses on Tom, his relationship with his wife and his struggle to make it, but the reality is that this story is one which is just to too bland and repetitive to make the narrative interesting, especially when compared to other similar musicals such as Soul Sister – The Tina Turner Story, Jersey Boys or Buddy!. In a lifetime career of a legendary singer with so many highlights in it, it feels like a missed opportunity to restrict the story to the narrow focus of repeatedly gigging in working men’s clubs.
That said, the audience was packed full of Tom Jones fans, and there were more whoops and cheers from them than you can shake your pelvis at. The show clearly appealed to Tom’s dedicated fan base and they thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a show which will no doubt thrill existing fans of the singer, but unfortunately is unlikely to have a much broader appeal than that.
Tom – The Story of Tom Jones – The Musical is currently at Sheffield Theatres until 16th April 2016 before continuing on its national tour until the 4th June 2016. Visit the show’s website for further details at www.tomthemusical.co.uk/
-
THEATRE REVIEW | In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel
★★★ | In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel
CREDIT: Scott RylanderA middle-aged woman sits in a bar in a Tokyo hotel waiting for her husband; knocking back cocktails, sexually harassing the waiter and throwing out barbed comments. Her speech is unfiltered and whilst lyrical at times is also staccato and brutal at others. She sits well within the ranks of Tennessee Williams’ characters: a brittle yet beautiful monster who is bemoaning the onset of old age and so tightly coiled that an unravelling of some sort is inevitable. In short, she’s simultaneously a joy and a horror to watch.
Tennessee Williams’ late play “In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel” was met with a hostile critical reaction when it was first staged in 1969 and has rarely been produced since. It’s a shame that this work has floundered out of sight, as there’s much merit to it, despite its flaws. Written at the start of his final descent into addiction and depression’ it’s an unusual play with absurd elements and strange patterns of speech. The characters are unsympathetic at times, the dialogue isn’t easy to follow and the interactions are surreal. Yet, it’s also a very funny play in parts and there are moving aspects to the scenario. As the play progresses it becomes easier to fall into the patterns of the dialogue.
Director Robert Chevara has bravely mounted this version and done so with aplomb. The movement and rhythm is perfectly captured in his use of a well-chosen cast and a stylish set. The great Linda Marlowe plays Miriam with spiky coolness and is pitch perfect. She careers round the vertiginously steep stage on heels like a terrifying Gorgon crushing everyone in her path yet flashing hints of her underlying vulnerability. Andrew Koji is desperately handsome as the deadpan barman, gritting his teeth as Miriam shamelessly fondles him. Alan Turkington puts over the waspish campness of Leonard with style. Yet beneath all this lies an imperfect play that just doesn’t quite rise to the occasion.
If you’re a fan of Williams’ work then this play is an interesting addition to the body of his work. Within the period piece hallucinatory style there are echoes of characters, themes and styles that will be familiar. If you’re a newcomer to his work then it’s still worth a try.
Even at his less than best Williams is a monumental writer and always worth revisiting.
In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel plays at Charing Cross Theatre until the 14th May 2016
-
CAR REVIEW | Fiat 500X 2.0 Multijet 2 Automatic Cross Plus
★★★ | Fiat 500X | 500 x 500 = BIG
Since I was a child I have always liked Fiat. I am sure one of the first words from my mouth was Fiat. I like them so much my personal fleet consists of an X1/9 and a Tempra and until recently we also had a 500 Pop. Fiats do something to you that not many other manufactures can. It could be that Fiat have always been a bit of an under dog; making well thought out cars, but somehow not executing the product to the same standards as those from Germany.
There is an illogical passion behind every Fiat owner.
The Fiat range has sadly become all about the 500. Launched almost decade ago Fiat now list 3 variants in their 5 car line up in the UK. There is a now a 500 for everyone’s’ needs. I had thought that Fiat, my once great love had lost their way, so when I was offered the chance to look over the 500X I didn’t refuse. I even washed my hair for the occasion.
You give it a name and you pat it when you park it up at night. It’s become a thing to touch and more than just an item to behold.
The 500X is more than just a larger version of the 500 with 5 doors, a lot more space and all for an extra 70 cm in length. Sadly it lacks the tactility of the little 500. You can’t fault the exterior looks. Fiat have done a great job in making something small keep its visual pleasures in this bigger model. The inside however on this model just tries too hard to do a job that it can’t on such a grand scale.
It has 500 touches but the tactility of its smaller family member are lost in great masses of black plastic and dull fabric colours. What I am trying to say is it’s too dark inside. That said, it is well put together.
As you would expect from a small sport utility vehicle type of machine, the ride would be compromised. The fact that this shares the same platform as the Jeep Renegade that l liked so much, I was sure I would have been able to write exactly what I did for that. I can’t. Unlike its Jeep sibling, the 500X rode with a much softer ride.
The 500X felt very much more like the urban runaround with pretensions to go off the beaten track. You couldn’t fault the ride and handling. It was reassuring on the road and handled the road far better than some SUV’s l have tried. I would even go as far to say that the extra weight in the rear also helped plant it better on the road thus helping its handling over many front wheel drive cars with fatter lower profile tyres.
The package is different too; with some of the FCA software working better in the 500X than the Jeep. Lane assist for one seemed to work more fluently, detecting even the worst painted line and making corrections where needed. Though it is not to be used as an autonomous system, it managed an S bend I use with frightening ease.
The 9 speed automatic gearbox was faultless with its silky smooth changes. The torque curve of the engine often making the car change 2 gears at a time which caused no noticeable problems. To be honest there were times when I had no idea what gear it was in and never felt the need to shift manually.
However this all changed when you selected ‘Sport’ mode. l like most sport modes. They alter the throttle responses and stiffen the steering but on the 500X it was best to keep it in normal for town and traffic. Quick blasts out-of-town also saw it seldom used. All that low down torque of 258 lb/ft at 1750 rpm means it’s ready to go flat-out in the right gear with no fuss. Sport holds on to the gears for too long making the engine work harder than it should and for no gain in forward momentum.
Normal mode was just perfect for every situation I found. What was nice though was the ‘off-road’ option. Despite not taking it truly off-road we did manage to find a quagmire of a pit. We pointed the 500X at it and let it do the magic. At one point I did think we had got stuck. Then out of nowhere you felt the little car clawed its way to freedom. In the end we decided to try it several times. The event needed The Great Escape soundtrack.
At the end of the day you buy a car like this to do a job. It’s not the kind of car you wake up one morning and think “I must buy a 500X because I want one” and this quandary had me puzzled for I spent many hours thinking what it was. It’s a 500. They look cute and this one manages to hold aces over the little 500 with all that extra room for 5 and the added ability to go where you like. And with that in mind you can’t really wish for more.
If you were to buy one, spec it up appropriately to suit your needs. For the price of the 500X I had it had all I would have wanted for a tad more than I would have wanted to pay. There are 17 combinations available at present for the 500X and with prices from £15,000 to £24,000 so there is a 500X out there to meet your needs as well as mine whatever those needs might be.
Loves
Build quality
On/off road ability
Looks
LOATHES
Price
Dark interior
Sport mode
LOWDOWN
Car – Fiat 500X 2.0 Multijet 2 Automatic Cross Plus
Price – £25,935 (as tested)
MPG – 51.4 mpg (combined)
Power – 140 bhp
0-62mph – 9.8 seconds
Top Speed – 118 mph
Co2 – 144 (g/km)
Find out more at http://fiat.co.uk
-
FILM REVIEW | Boulevard
★★★★ | Boulevard
A 65-year old man in great conflict makes a life changing decision in the new film ‘Boulevard.’
The late Robin Williams is bank branch manager Nolan Mack. He’s literally just going through life’s motions – working at a bank, with a longtime wife (Kathy Baker) and a very sick father in the hospital. Then one late evening after visiting his father, he drives through a derelict part of town and almost runs over a young man, Leo (Roberto Aguire), who turns out to be a male prostitute. Nolan checks to make sure Leo is fine, then out of the blue, invites him to go to a motel. This chance meeting opens up something inside Nolan who perhaps realised but didn’t accept that he has feelings for other men. While his relationship with Leo becomes more involved and more complicated, Nolan starts giving Leo money and starts acting like a surrogate father. Their relationship is not sexual but it’s intimate. Nolan tries and tries to his hide his encounters with Leo from his wife and his best friend Winston (Bob Odenkirk), but as Nolan becomes more and more involved and emotionally tied to Leo, his wife suspects that something is going on. But eventually Nolan comes to the realisation that Leo does not feel the same way about him, but at this point it appears that Leo’s life will never be the same again.
Williams gives a delicate performance as the lonely and subdued Nolan. He’s a man whose conflicted, despondent and depressed until Leo comes into his life. Shot in 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee, Williams would eventually hang himself a year later. This story of a lonely and depressed man is eerily parallel to William’s life. Baker, known mostly for her parts on television, is very good as Nolan’s wife, who knows her 40-year marriage is slipping away and there’s nothing she can do to about it.
Aguire more than holds his own against seasoned veteran Williams, their scenes together are both calm and gentle.
Director Dito Montiel (2013’s Empire State) does a great job in getting great performances from his cast, with a good script by Douglas Soesbe. But it’s Williams performance that will stay with you for a long time as it’s one of his last, ever.
11 Things You Need To Know About Boulevard – Robin Williams’ last ever film… Posted by The Gay UK on Saturday, 9 April 2016
-
THEATRE REVIEW | The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
★★★★ | Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It’s not your usual type of play.
CREDIT: Supplied(more…)
