THEGAYUK

Tag: Theatre Review

All the latest breaking news on theatre in the UK. Browse THEGAYUK’s complete collection of news, articles and commentary on LGBT+ theatre in the UK.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Beautiful

    ★★★★ | Beautiful

    Will you Still Love me tomorrow. I feel the Earth Move. You’ve got a Friend. These are just a few songs written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin that are included in the new West End Show Beautiful – The Carole King Musical.

    While Carole King might not be known to the younger generation, anyone 50 and older know her, and her music, very well. In the 1960s she, along with her husband Goffin, wrote dozens and dozens of hit songs including The Locomotion, You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling, and Up on The Roof. Beautiful tells the story of King’s life, how when she was a young girl and sold her first song to music producer Don Kirshner, to meeting her songwriting partner, and partner in life, Gerry Goffin, to being a single mother as well as a very very successful singer and songwriter. In Beautiful, King is played by the energetic Katie Brayben, from the piano playing right down to the curly hair, the resemblance is very good.

    Beautiful covers King’s life from age 16 to the age of 29, when she’s at Carnegie Hall performing So Far Away – a hit single from her mega-selling and multiple grammy winning album Tapestry. It’s just Brayben and the piano on stage. The show then goes back in time, the time when teenager King (Brayben) is at home in Brooklyn wanting to go into Manhattan to sell songs to Kirshner, but her mom tells her that she’s not going into Manhattan all by herself. When King does get to Kirshner’s (played by Gary Trainor) office, she meets people there who will be the key players in her life. She meets Cynthia Weil (Lorna Want) and Barry Mann (Ian McIntosh), a songwriting couple, but more importantly she meets Goffin (Alan Morrissey). They start a romance, but King gets pregnant so her and Goffin (played by Alan Morrissey) get married. He loves her, and they literally make beautiful mussic together – they are at their best when writing songs, and they write some of the biggest hits of the 1960s. But over time Goffin starts to feel like he’s being tied down and wants to take advantage of their new celebrity status, while King wants them to go home at the end of each day and spend time as a family. It’s a stressful situation for King, and it doesn’t help that Goffin is having mental problems to go along with his infidelity. And this is the plot of Beautiful – the relationship between King and Goffin and their very close friendship with Weil and Mann.

    But in between this storytelling we get great musical performances by the ensemble in the show – the actors who play the musicians that King and Goffin write songs for. And this is when Beautiful comes alive. The ensemble really lets it rip, and brings life and colour to the show when they perform songs such as 1650 Broadway Melody, Some Kind of Wonderful and On Broadway, among others.

    Beautiful is a female singer, songwriter, mother, daughter, an American, and British-born Brayben does a fine job in portraying King. Recently seen in American Psycho, Brayben can sing and act, and can hit all the notes, and like King, Brayben writes her own music. Her hairstyle changes throughout the course of the show, most of these styles, however, make her look much older than the character she is playing.

    Morrissey is fine as Goffin, excited about their love yet still not sure that’s he’s happy or not in their relationship. Want and McIntosh are excellent as their best friends, and even more so when they provide emotional support after King’s breakup of her marriage. The staging of the show is fine, moving from living rooms to recording studios to Kirshner’s offices – but it’s Peter Kaczorowski‘s lighting that literally and figuratively lights up the stage. If only the book of the show was as good. By Douglas McGrath, the book is very mundane and not very dramatic – sure we care about King’s life but give us more of the music and razzle-dazzle and less of their bickering and conversations.It’s a musical that should be a musical, yet Beautiful plays more like a drama show with bits of music thrown in. But the show redeems itself when near the end, Brayben (as King) and the ensemble bring down the house with the song ‘You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman” – it’s a moment when you realize that King really is the greatest female songwriter of all time.

    Beautiful The Carole King Musical plays at the Aldwych Theatre,  until 5th August 2017

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Back Down: Cheeky, Dramatic and Sincere

    Back Down is an intense play by Steven Camden aka Polarbear, whose excitement stems from writing dialogue and unashamedly falls in love with his own ‘Brummie’ story, and the action centralises itself on the friendship of three ‘brummie’ friends: Zia, Tommy and Luke. ★★★★ (more…)

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Bathhouse, The Musical

    ★★★★ | Bathhouse, The Musical

    For their second production of 2015, Above The Stag have chosen to revive their hugely successful production of Bathhouse The Musical.

    It comes with a few changes of cast and new choreography by Carole Todd, a choreographer of some renown, who comes with an impressive list of credits which includes West End musicals as well as work at the Royal Opera House and Sadlers Wells.

    What was always a hugely entertaining and hilarious show now emerges slicker, tighter and cleaner.

    In case you missed it last time, the show is set for its entirety in a Bathhouse, with the cast wearing nothing but towels throughout. The story (such as it is) revolves around the adventures of young Billy, who starts out a bathhouse virgin, but finishes a lot more experienced. He is guided through his adventures by the disembodied voice of Giles Brandreth.

    The score is a wonderfully witty amalgam of styles ranging from hoedown to full out Broadway ballads with quite a few other musical references between. With song titles like I’m a Bear Chaser, the hilarious Penises Are Like Snowflakes, Clickin’ for Dick and Seduction Tango, the jokes aren’t exactly subtle, but nor are they meant to be.

    In a show that is such an ensemble piece, it would be invidious to single out any one individual. Each and every one gets their moment to shine and they are all excellent, so kudos to Will Ferris, Matthew Harper, John R Harrison, Ryan Lynch, Luke Webber and Tim McArthur, who also directs the fast-paced production, which doesn’t flag for one second.

    Great entertainment, not so pure and simple.

    Bathhouse the Musical runs at Above the Stag until 29 march 2015.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Yarico, London Theatre Workshop

    ★★ | Yarico, London Theatre Workshop

    Yarico, an Amerindian beauty, is a young woman with a fierce, independent spirit. Bored of the monotonous routine of small island life, she longs to escape. When Inkle, the third son of a British merchant is shipwrecked on her island, he faces certain death at the hands of the islanders. Yarico intervenes and saves him from his fate, marking the beginning of a story that ultimately takes them to the island of Barbados where fate has a horrific surprise in store for her.

    This new musical is based on a true story that fired the world’s imagination and contributed to a social movement against the slave trade. It’s a story of great historical significance that has been told from the 17th century onwards and one that caused a change in attitudes towards slavery.

    Sadly, the musical doesn’t quite do justice to the power of the underlying story. Performing a musical in a small space has inherent difficulties and the staging of this piece doesn’t lend itself to an intimate theatre. The performers are bawdy, expressive and, at times, brash. In a larger venue this would work but in this case, it made the action seem like a pantomime at times. There are some very powerful musical numbers but equally, there are some incredibly weak ones and the dialogue is also very hit and miss, leaving a mixed bag of a show. The humour is often juvenile, dated and laden with double-entendres; failing to raise more than the occasional titter and a few tumbleweed moments on the night I saw the show.

    Credit to the leads though: Newcomer Liberty Buckland as Yarico gives an exceptional performance in a vehicle way beneath her fine acting and vocal talents. The very able Tori Allen-Martin does her best to enliven a weak role as Yarico’s friend Nono and Alex Spinney shows fine vocal performances if slightly less polished acting skills at times.

    Ultimately this felt like a musical that had potential but failed to deliver. It didn’t seem to know what it was: an educational story, a love story or a bawdy romp? None of these elements quite worked and they certainly didn’t gel in a story that was at times rushed and unconvincing.

    In spite of all of this, it’s worth going along just to see Liberty Buckland who is surely bound for great things.

    Yarico runs until the 14th of March 2015

    Buy tickets here: http://londontheatreworkshop.co.uk/yarico/

  • THEATRE REVIEW | The Honey Man, The Birmingham Rep

    ★★★★ | The Honey Man, The Birmingham Rep

    Sweet, Charming and Sincere.

    The Honey Man, written and acted by the extremely talented Tyrone Huggins and elegantly directed by Emma Bernard, delights the Birmingham Rep Door with an evening of sweetness, surprise and wonder, as we see the Honey Man captivating the soul of the young character Misty. The audience are quickly gripped too.

    The Honey Man tells the story of two very different backgrounds: the wealthy and white high class via a teenage girl who is seen constantly battling with boredom, yet she appears to trying anything she can to get away from working; and the segregated and left to rot class represented by a West Indian gentleman whose past time and lifelong dedication is looking after bees.

    The drama revolves around the mystery of the Honey Man’s bees’ deaths, and the incessant preoccupation of finding the solution to the problem. Misty spills into Honey Man’s home when he happens to open the door to visit his allotment, much to her surprise, for she thought that the overgrown cottage that he lived in was uninhabited, and the ideal place to smoke cannabis away from the Concorde Manner, which was her home. They have conflictive dialogue at the start, but the enigma of the Honey Man flirts with curiosity of this young girl. She is so enthralled that she promises to help him find a cure, which happens to be living in her dad’s gardens.

    Two very special moments live in my memory from this theatre performance. The first being the Honey Man showing Misty how bees dance and he does this with the sweetness that a granddad might have when playing with his young granddaughter. He creates bee sounds and physicalises movements that show bees moving about the hive which enchant her. Misty misses her grandmother very much, so it seems that she sees Honey Man as a replacement for the relationship she had worshipped with her grandmother. By the end, they establish a special and unique bond.

    Tyrone Huggins masterminds contemporary writing with exalting a current issue that is affecting the planet today: the deforestation of lands and the fragmentation of wild habitats, both of which are ruining a lot of animals’ lives, particularly bees, who cannot pollinate and ensure the growth of plants. Huggins gave the audience a secret pleasure, for he played The Honey Man himself. The accuracy of emotion and the intricacy of character portrayal don Huggins a heavy-weight champion of contemporary drama, as he creates two parallel worlds that are crying for help, and when they meet they seem to be each other’s salvation.

    The Birmingham Rep graces us with an actress whose professional debut is The Honey Man. Beatrice Allen commands the stage most delicately, but with a hint of rawness to it too. Allen’s portrayal of Misty is both engrossing and overwhelming, and even though she may lack experience, this does not show on stage, as she matches Huggins’ ingenuity pretty convincingly.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Top Hat, Sheffield Theatres and National Tour

    ★★★★ | | Top Hat, Sheffield Theatres and National Tour

    Based on the RKO Pictures musical of the same name, the story is one familiar to the genre – a will they / won’t they love story filled with mistaken identity, rekindled romance and gentle comedy. Jerry Travers (played by Alan Burkitt) is a huge Broadway star who jets to London to star in his first West End show, produced by his friend, Horace Hardwick. He meets and falls for Dale Tremont (Charlotte Gooch), but she mistakes him for Horace, the husband of her friend, Madge Hardwick. Thinking that he is cheating on his wife, Dale gives Jerry the cold shoulder despite having fallen head over heels with him. Dale goes to visit Madge in Venice, but will the arrival of Jerry and Horace, who are unaware of her confusion, lead to true love?

    I can’t resist a good, old-fashioned, large-scale musical; and Top Hat did not disappoint. The songs by Irving Berlin were irresistible and the large ensemble based production numbers had me tapping my feet and grinning from ear to ear. Highlights were the opening number; Puttin’ on the Ritz, which kicked things off nicely, the Act One closing tap dancing spectacular, Top Hat, White Tie and Tales, and the sweeping renditions of Cheek to Cheek and Let’s Face The Music and Dance, all of which were performed brilliantly.

    Birkett, as Jerry Travers, effortlessly tapped, glided and leapt his way through the dance routines, wholly impressing with every step. Gooch, as Dale Tremont, was warm, likeable, glamourous and very well cast as the 1930’s trendsetter. John Conroy gained most laughs as Bates, the long-suffering butler, and the look, feel and vocal performances of the cast as a whole accurately captured the atmosphere of the 1930’s.

    The production values were incredibly high and some of the best I have seen in a touring musical for some time. Top Hat is a show which is grand in scale, and has none of the feeling of being stripped back or watered down that can often accompany West End touring productions. The detailed art deco sets were beautifully constructed and visually grandiose, reflecting the decadence of the story’s 1930’s setting. The costumes were simply stunning and elegant, both in their design and in their sheer volume; and the show’s direction was very impressive, utilising screens to enable multiple set changes and to focus the audience’s attention forming a production which was slick, polished and professional overall.

    The only flaw I found was the slightly uneven pace between the two acts. The first act flew by, with a barrage of show-stopping numbers, whereas the second act was much more narrative based and more spaced out musical numbers.

    Despite reaching the grand old age of 80 this year, Top Hat is certainly up there for musical lovers and has lost none of its whimsical charm for such an old lady. If you enjoy shows like High Society, Anything Goes or any of those old Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers films, then Top Hat is a quality production of a top-notch tap spectacular.

    Top Hat is playing at Sheffield Theatres until 7th March 2015 (www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk) before continuing on its national tour through to the end of July 2015 (www.tophatonstage.com/ )

    DATES:
    Tue 24 Feb – Sat 7 Mar
    SHEFFIELD Lyceum Theatre
    Tue 10 – Sat 21 Mar
    BIRMINGHAM Hippodrome
    Tue 31 Mar – Sat 11 Apr
    NORWICH Theatre Royal
    Tue 14 – Sat 25 Apr
    CANTERBURY The Marlowe Theatre
    Tue 28 Apr – Sat 9 May
    PLYMOUTH Theatre Royal Plymouth
    Tue 12 – Sat 23 May
    SOUTHAMPTON Mayflower
    Wed 27 May – Sat 6 Jun
    DUBLIN Bord Gais Theatre
    Tue 16 – Sun 21 Jun
    BROMLEY Churchill Theatre
    Wed 24 Jun – Sat 4 Jul
    SUNDERLAND Empire Theatre
    Tue 7 – Sat 18 Jul
    WOKING New Victoria Theatre
    Tue 21 – Sat 25 Jul
    EASTBOURNE Congress Theatre

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Unknown Male

    ★★★★ | Unknown Male

    Unknown Male depicts a tragic story of Heather who has recently got a job as train a conductor. All is very well. Until, after the tunnel, a person jumps off the platform on to her incoming train.

    The story revolves around Heather and her coping mechanisms, or the lack of; Emily, her daughter who has been trying to comfort her mum, but unsuccessful, so she decides to investigate who the victim who was run over by her mum’s train; and Mark, Heather’s boyfriend, who also has trouble relighting Heather’s will to live, and deviates from the house to very familiar territory.

    Unknown Male brings to the Rep Stage a topic that is rarely talked about, and if it is, then the story tends to emphasise the sympathy of the individuals who died under the train. However, Stephanie Ridings ambitiously captivates the audience with the other side of the story: the victim being the person who ran over the individual. Excellently portrayed and greatly realised under the direction of Nick Walker. Both visions equally combine the success in delving deep into the topic and expertly deliver the content where, with a quick glance at the audience, there was evidence of a few tears being shed with many eyes.

    This was also achieved by the brilliant cast that consisted of Lorraine Stanley as Heather; Phoebe Frances-Brown as Emily; and Mark was played by Ged Simmons.

    The three actors conveyed the emotions brilliantly. Particularly, Lorraine’s conveyance of Heather, whose emotion range was a phenomenon. Stanley portrays Heather more than convincingly, to the point of thinking one was sitting in the family’s front room with a feeling of awkwardness as the drama ensued. Ged did a sterling job with Mark, as he evidenced on stage what a person in his position might go through and the ability to explore the dark sides of a man whose world is ripping apart. Finally, Phoebe delights the spectators with her portrayal of a young teenager; the actress, of course is older than Emily, but she shows an innocence and defiance of Emily’s age in a subliminal way.

    Stephanie Ridings does the Birmingham Rep Foundry proud, as she showcases the ability to create a piece of theatre in a way that transports the audience from a seat at The Door, to a seat inside Heather’s flat most magnificently, drawing every person on to the tragedy explored in Unknown Male.

    The set was minimalist, but was used to great effect; especially in the very last scene, as it was converted to a train station platform, to which Emily is found standing over.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Superman The Musical, London

    ★★ | Superman The Musical, London

    It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no – it’s Superman the Musical.

    Playing until this weekend at the Leicester Square Theatre, Superman is not just a musical but it is also a comical look at the man we all know and love as the saviour of Gotham City, preventing disasters and capturing criminals.

    Originally produced for the Broadway stage in 1966, and coming directly from Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre where it played last year, its transfer to the West End brings with it a set made up of cardboard props, and a cast who mostly struggle with the all-encompassing singing, dancing and acting.

    Craig Berry plays Superman. Sure, he’s got the look down – the black gelled-back hair and the chiselled chin, but Berry just doesn’t have much stage presence for playing such a larger than life character. Sure, the costume fits him, but that’s about it. Michelle LaFortune doesn’t fare much better. Her Lois Lane is bland. LaFortune can sing, but it doesn’t help when she forgets a line or two.

    So what’s the plot you ask? We should know it as we’ve all seen those Superman movies. Lane is in love with Superman but not with Clark Kent, who works with her at the Daily Planet, and you see Clark Kent is actually Superman! Another man in the office – Max Mencken (a good Paul Harwood) – is the office lothario and vies for Lane’s affections, though he’s with Sydney (a good Sarah Kennedy), a clueless co-worker who’s looking for love in all the wrong places. However, when Mencken teams up with Dr Abner Sedgwick (an excellent Matthew Ibbotson) to devise a plan to turn Superman into an ordinary mortal, one who would obey Dr Sedgwick’s every command, things don’t look too good for Superman, and it is Lane who happens to fall in love with Dr Sedgwick’s assistant Jim (Charlie Vose), and forgets all about Superman.

    Superman plays like an amateur production (a high school production) with a few talented members of the cast (Harwood, Kennedy and especially Ibbotson), but it’s the ones who aren’t as talented that bring this show down. And the backup dancers do their darndest, all trying very hard to keep things moving (especially the adorable Christine Harris), but they just can’t save this production. Music by Charles Strouse with lyrics by Lee Adams help the show move along, but the end just doesn’t come soon enough.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | She Loves Me, Landor Theatre

    ★★ | She Loves Me, Landor Theatre

    Mistaken identity has long been the theme of love stories. This love story centres round a perfume shop in Budapest where two sparring employees unwittingly exchange love letters via a lonely-hearts advertisement. Sound familiar?

    The musical was based on a play that inspired “The Shop Around the Corner” and the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan film You’ve Got Mail.

    Staging a musical in a small space like The Landor is fraught with difficulties and is a challenge that the team always rise to. One of the issues is that in a fringe venue there isn’t the scope for a huge dazzling set, scores of dancers and big choreographed routines. This puts the focus back onto the musical itself. In the case of their previous triumphs, such as “Damn Yankees”, this isn’t a problem. Where the musical is as weak as this one, with lacklustre and forgettable songs, lame comedy and a tedious plot, it simply doesn’t work at all and makes for dull viewing.

    There are lots of positive aspects to the production. “Britain’s Got Talent” finalist Charlotte Jaconelli makes a dazzling stage debut and has a superb voice as well as a lot of acting talent. Equally, Matthew Wellman is a singing sensation with a beautiful voice and Emily Lynn also puts in a great performance. Indeed, the whole cast work incredibly hard to make this work. The Art Nouveau inspired set is well thought and cunningly used.

    This production tries really hard but ultimately; the source material is so weak that the efforts of the team can’t revive this dated corpse of a show.

    She Loves Me is at the Landor Theatre until the 7th of March 2015.
    http://www.landortheatre.co.uk/index.php/booking-office/musicals/she-loves-me-93/

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Blasted, Sheffield Theatres

    Sheffield Theatres opens their Sarah Kane season with Blasted, her first and possibly most controversial play. Ian, a racist, sexist and homophobic middle aged journalist, arrives in a hotel room in Leeds, accompanied by a young girl, Cate, whose youth and naivety is exacerbated by her learning difficulties. As their abusive relationship, characterised by manipulative behaviour and sexual violence, continues; a soldier bursts into the room and, through a series of shocking events, there is a shift in power, control and dependency.

    When considering how to describe this play, three words repeatedly surfaced in my mind – uncompromising, unflinching and unapologetic. Themes of control, dominance, sexual violence, manipulation and dependency are thrown at the audience in a shocking and, at times, difficult to watch play, causing you to shift uneasily in your seats and bullishly charging at your boundaries of acceptability. In line with the initial controversy when the play was first performed (where it was described as a “feast of filth”), it still has the power to not only emotionally gut punch the audience, but to be genuinely upsetting and distressing.

    In this three-hander, Martin Marquez impressed as bigoted and thoroughly unpleasant Ian, carrying a genuine air of menace and nastiness. Mark Stanley, as the soldier, complimented that performance with a restrained portrayal of a man numb from his own hatred; but I was most affected by Jessica Bardon’s performance as Cate, who carried a haunting look of vacancy which bore straight into you and lingered with you long after leaving the theatre.

    Richard Wilson confidently directs with a steady hand, not shying away from extended periods of silence or inconsequential action, but equally not shying away from the visceral and shocking aspects of the play. The set, with its hints of glass surrounding the stage, places you directly in the voyeuristic position of peering in through the hotel room window, watching events unfold; and was both visually impressive and well designed. Crucially, the pivotal moment in the play was accompanied by a jolting and effective transformation of the stage.

    Featuring very adult themes, offensive language, scenes of male and female rape, nudity and strong, bloody violence, this is certainly not a play for everyone, and is a heavy, controversial and hard-hitting piece of theatre, which I have no doubt many people will find offensive and distasteful. It is also surreal at times and contains a number of aspects which are particularly uncomfortable to watch, especially in the confined arena of the Crucible Studio.

    If you are seeking a challenging piece of heavyweight theatre, then this is a quality and technically impressive production which offers that in abundance. But whether you consider the themes explored and the events of the narrative as suitable subjects for entertainment will very much depend on your individual viewpoint. My suggestion is that you read a little about the play before you decide whether it is for you or not.

    Blasted is currently playing at Sheffield Theatres until the 21st February 2015.

    The Sarah Kane season includes all of the playwright’s works over the coming months. Full details can be found at http://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/event/blasted-15/

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Gods and Monsters, Southwark Playhouse

    ★★★★★ | Gods and Monsters, Southwark Playhouse

    It’s the late 1950s and ageing Hollywood director, James Whale, best known for his iconic Frankenstein films, is languishing in his Los Angeles house.

    Whale is incapacitated by a series of strokes that have left him frail and prone to crippling headaches, dark moods and memory lapses. In spite of his infirmity, he hasn’t lost any of his impish ways with young men, persuading them to swim in his pool or pose naked for portraits. Old habits die hard. Unashamedly gay in an era of repression, Whale is a singular and striking personality. Enter pneumatically muscular new gardener, Clayton Boone who becomes the object of Whale’s lust and an unlikely player in the final drama of his life.

    Whale’s life is told in a series of flashbacks that happen alongside the on-going drama; portraying the story of his childhood in a working-class family in Dudley through his horrific World War One experiences to his Hollywood career.

    The play is based on the 1995 novel Father of Frankenstein written by Christopher Bram. The the same source material was used for the 1998 Oscar-winning film, “Gods And Monsters”, starring Ian McKellen, Lynn Redgrave and Brendan Fraser. The story works as well as a stage play also.

    In terms of script, performance and production values this is a triumphant piece of theatre. Seasoned actor, Ian Gelder is magnificent as Whale. His performance hits a fine balance between comedy and tragedy and is subtly nuanced. The script is tight and in spite of the intensity of the subject matter the play never drags and is filled with finely written comedic moments. Excessively muscled newcomer Will Austin takes on the role of Boone with a surprisingly fine performance. He manages to portray a man with unexpected depths with gentle empathy and sensitivity.

    The intimate space of Southwark Playhouse and the cunning lighting, sound and set design add extra dimensions to the performance also. I must also mention that the play contains male nudity (if the fine acting and script doesn’t grab your attention then three different male nudes might).

    This really is a stand out production in London theatre and a must see.

    Buy tickets here: http://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/the-large/gods-and-monsters/