Month: February 2020

ACTRESS Jodie McNee as Johanna Faustus is a one-woman powerhouse.

She spends two hours on stage expounding as much energy as would the winner of a gruelling marathon or a 15-round title fight.

Her performance is relentless – from the moment where we first meet Johanna trying to levitate and time travel by having her head held in a tub of water to the final seconds when a clock chimes midnight and the devil takes his due.

McNee speaks, acts and delivers like a continuous burst of machine gun fire in a quite remarkable tour de force.

As to this new version by Chris Bush of the tragedy Christopher Marlow penned way back in 1631 it is complicated – enjoyable and worthy but most definitely complicated.

Picture by Manuel Harlan. s

There is much to like – an outstanding set by designer Ana Inés Jabares-Pita that comprises a cross between a giant wasp nest shaped cowshed and a time warp tunnel – the walls of which become projection screens. The tunnel provides for some interesting acting spaces, including a dark and moody recess at the back from where devilish things brew up and emerge.

Richard Howell complements the Jabares-Pita set with a lighting design taking us from a true pitch black to galactic explosion and splendour whilst eerie music and noises from sound designer Giles Thomas complete the creation of this strangeness.

Heading up the creatives is director Caroline Byrne, who sets a frantic pace for her company to pursue. Everything is always delivered at the gallop never a trot, which is merciful lest we should have too much time to actually try and comprehend everything we are seeing and hearing.

Our female Faustus, the daughter of an impoverished apothecary and a wicken witch, dear Johanna, is an inquisitive soul. She conjures up Lucifer (an ingenious double as dad and devil by Barnaby Power) to find out if her mother was his acolyte. Mother was you see, martyred by pious Christian goody-goodies and to find if she ended up in the nice place or the hot place, Johanna needs to access the list in Hob’s little white book. For this she enters into a contract with him but one where he will let her enjoy knowledge that is mostly denied to women.

Old Nick insists she has a companion, his oily servant Mephistopheles – played with superb ‘best mate’ believability by Danny Lee Wynter.

Johanna gets an extra 144 years of life and the ability to become a time traveller.  She sets out to beat Lucifer at his own game and make things good and better – sadly the reverse always thwarts her best endeavours though she does get to meet female pioneers Elizabeth Anderson and Marie Curie.

In truth, the further forward in time our heroine travelled. the more confused I became.  That doesn’t mean to say I didn’t enjoy the production – I did immensely. In fact the last Faustus I saw was four hours long at the Other Place at Stratford and where someone behind me loudly whispered ‘For God’s sake get on and die’.

This Bush/Byrne epic is original, challenging and enthralling with a liberal dose of humour thrown in for good measure.

Faustus runs at the Birmingham Rep until March 7.

Click here for times, tickets and more information.

*****

Review by Euan Rose.

THE GOLDEN rule of adapting any classic novel for the stage is that it must present what the writer intended their audience to see and feel in a comprehensible way. In essence- achieve good story telling.

Tilted Wig are a new theatre company to me, but one I shall certainly be watching out for in the future.

In this production of DH Lawrence’s erotic masterpiece they manage to tick all the boxes and add some – including an innovative programme, which has the feel and stains of a well-thumbed copy of the original novel and sets the scene perfectly for the performance.

It was 60 years ago that the famous literary trial at the Old Bailey allowed publication of the said banned book, which was supposed to poison the minds of polite folk and servants alike turning us into degenerates. In fact, the verdict not only led to long queues outside bookshops but changed history by heralding in the swinging 60s and with its monumental changes to sexuality. Lady Chatterley and her pheasant-rearing lover pioneered sex as something to be enjoyed – not endured – by both or more participants.

In this Tilted Wig production adaptor and director Ciaran McConville has worked in close harmony with his designer Katie Lias to bring together a tale of life after the Great War – the changing British class structure and sex going on behind drawn curtains and closed doors – all wrapped up in one big smacker of a love story.

The curtain rises on a noisy battle in the trenches, during which Lord Clifford Chatterley becomes paralysed from the waist down. Others die in that opening skirmish, a fact of which Clifford remains cognisant as he spends the rest of the play confined to a wheelchair.

Lias’s war trench setting, which is a permanent fixture, is somehow perfect as an all-seeing eye over the claustrophobic situations the characters find themselves in as the action moves to England and the Chatterley stately home and estates. Dead soldiers add their comments and this doesn’t seem out of place either.

Trapped in a sexless marriage because of her husband’s loss of all genital related activity, Clifford’s young wife Constance resents being destined to be a carer forever and seeks fulfilment elsewhere. After a few false starts, she settles on a passionate affair with the gamekeeper Oliver Mellors. The cold cemetery-like trench now becomes his hut – a place of warmth where passions are unleashed.

Inevitably, ardent secrets eventually become tainted lies or spoken truths. The final scenes where Clifford falls from his chair and crawls across the floor a broken man and Constance leaves in search of a new destiny is jaw-dropping stuff. We feel sorry for them both – Clifford may have lost the ability to perform sexually but not the desire and Constance does not deserve to forever be the ‘scarlet lady’.

Rupert Hill is perfect as Mellors, the sultry sexual gamekeeper who is a respectful as much as masterful lover – Phoebe Marshall simply oozes sexuality when she unleashes it from its cage as Constance and Mark Hawkins takes us through his personal journey of pain and frustration in a very joined-up performance.

Bethan Nash, Tom Richardson, Daniel Goode and Guy Dennys add depth to the company in the many other parts they play. In fact everyone from creative to cast work together impeccably to produce this Lady Chatterley for today’s generation – it may not shock anymore but rather lets passion engulf us in a joyful experience.

Bravo Tilted Wig.

Lady Chatterley’s Lover runs until Saturday, February 29.

Click here for times, tickets and more information.

****

Review by Euan Rose. 

ALAN Bennett’s multi-award winning masterpiece, ‘The History Boys’ proved to be an excellent choice for this year’s first venture into in-house production for the Wolverhampton Grand.

Picture by Tim Thursfield. s

The clever script, based on Bennett’s own schooldays, is set in a fictional Sheffield grammar school in the early 1980s and concerns a group of history students studying for the Oxbridge entrance examinations. Three teachers with very different styles – Hector, Irwin and Mrs Linott – tutor them.

Ian Redford gives an absolutely outstanding performance as Douglas Hector – radiating warmth, joy and a touch of insanity to the role of the eccentric and sad schoolmaster who is unsure of his sexuality and where he actually belongs in society. His life is ruined when he is reported for fumbling with a boy travelling pinion on his motorcycle.

Picture by Tim Thursfield. s

Before this incident though, through the ambitions of Felix, the hard-nosed headmaster (a spot on performance by the seasoned Jeffrey Holland) Irwin – a supply teacher with a track record of success through ruthless methods – is employed to teach alongside Hector. It turns out Irwin (Lee Comley) too is a latent homosexual, a fact that does not go unnoticed by the all-seeing history boys.

The third teacher and the only female in the cast is the foul-mouthed yet compassionate Dorothy Linott, played with an amusing balance of ‘plague on all academics and ‘we can do this’ approach by Victoria Carling, which cleverly makes the character three dimensional.

All of the boys bring different strengths to the class of students on their voyages of discovery. Jordan Scowen exudes charisma as the handsome, wise-beyond-his-years Dakin, Frazer Hadfield makes much of Scripps, the calm piano-playing collaborator and Dominic Treacy makes the perfect, overweight, ‘cheeky chappie’ Timms.

Picture by Tim Thursfield. s

Thomas Grant is outstanding as the young, gay Jewish Posner who worships Dakin, Joe Wiltshire Smith turns in a sometimes scene stealing performance as the athletic, non-academic Rudge, James Schofield does well as the opinionated Lockwood, Arun Bassi makes a poignant job of Akthar the Muslim and Adonis Jenieco completes the class as wannabe actor Crowther.

Picture by Tim Thursfield. s

Jack Ryder directs with a passion for the play and his superb knowledge of pace and timing is obvious, moving the action as he does through monologues, back stories and time zones, teasing and pleasing, dutifully following the complexity of Bennett’s storyline whilst making us care about every single participant.

The set by designer John Brooking comprising a cycloramic movie screen above the stage and a flowing series of space creating walls beneath it, make for a continuous journey.

Jack Ryder also directed the film made using the cast plus pupils of Thorns Collegiate Academy in Brierley Hill, which appears on the screen and underpins and expands the action seamlessly.

This ‘History Boys’ is a magnificent achievement for the in-house company and I hope the Wolverhampton Grand gets the full houses it deserves.

The History Boys runs at the grand until February 22.

Click here for times, tickets and more information.

****

Review by Euan Rose.

EVERY TIME I see a Matthew Bourne production, there is a small part of me that wonders how he can possibly top his previous show.

After more than 20 years of choreographing spectacular ground-breaking ballets, how can he find a way of engaging us and taking the genre to new heights?

I’m happy to say that The Red Shoes does not disappoint – hooking the audience from the moment the curtain opens and keeping us on the edge of our seats right up to the collective audience ‘gasp’ of the final scene.

Picture by Johan Persson. s

The story is based on the classic 1948 film by Pressburger and Powell, which starred Moira Shearer as the dancer who coveted the red ballet shoes only to find that once on her feet, she could not stop dancing, eventually sending her into a spiral of despair.

The original Hans Christian Anderson story is typically gruesome in its ending and this production manages to retain the shock-factor too.

The cinematic surrealism perfectly reflects the film and the characters are beautifully drawn with their movements instantly conveying their personalities.

This is a true ensemble production – with every dancer giving their all and not one superfluous or out-of-sync step.

Picture by Johan Persson. s

The action largely takes place in a ballet theatre switching seamlessly between on-stage and back-stage through the ingenious set (from long-time Bourne collaborator Lez Brotherston) which includes a suspended proscenium arch that glides and pirouettes almost as much as the dancers below.

Add to that the subtle, pin-point accurate lighting by Paule Constable and Brotherston’s stylistic costumes and the whole show is visually stunning.

The evocative music score has been assembled from film music of the era written by Bernard Herrmann, most notably his orchestral scores for Farenheit 541 and Citizen Kane which adds to the filmic quality.

Interestingly, as Matthew Bourne explained in the Q&A that followed the show, the cast rotate in the roles, so that in one show they could be playing a principal role and the next be part of the corps-de-ballet.

This helps to keep performances fresh and constantly evolving.

or this reason, I am not ‘naming-names’, instead referring to the characters in the story.

Picture by Johan Persson. s

Vicky Page is the girl who dreams of a career as a ballet dancer and eventually is spotted by ballet impresario Lemontov, who becomes besotted with her. He takes her into his ballet company, along with her boyfriend, Julian Craster a struggling composer, who is writing the score for a new ballet ‘The Red Shoes’, inspired by Vicky.

‘Vicky’ is sublime – dancing with a passion and intensity that both delights and awes.

Lemontov is suitably controlling whilst Craster perfectly conveys the angst of the struggling artist.

There is plenty of humour to lighten the intensity – from cameos within ballet chorus, a delightful seaside scene when Lemontov’s company arrives in Monte Carlo, to the hilariously seedy music hall dance act that Vicky is forced to perform with when she leaves Lemontov in pursuit of love.

The ‘Red Shoes’ ballet-within-a-ballet that Craster has created for Vicky is simply stunning; the set transforms to stark black and white giving a film noir feel.

The devil that offers Vicky the red shoes is suitably slimy and menacing, the ‘storm’ scene as she descends into madness breath-taking and the pas-de-deux she dances with her lover from beyond the grave totally heart-breaking.

Matthew Bourne ensures he is in the audience for every first night on a tour – with that level of commitment and attention to detail and there is no danger of the show ever getting stale.

It is heart-warming to see a capacity audience enjoying ballet on a wet Tuesday night in Brum – bravo to Matthew Bourne and his New Adventures Company for making ballet so accessible without compromising on artistic integrity.

It received a long, well-deserved standing ovation.

Matthew Bourne’s Red Shoes runs until Saturday.

Click here for times, tickets and more information.

*****

Review by Johannah Dyer for Euan Rose Reviews

KAY MELLOR is renowned as a powerhouse writer who has brought gritty, northern humour to stage and screen for quite a few decades.

Her TV series ‘Band of Gold’ was watched by millions back in the 1990s and now, a quarter of a century later, she has revisited her much-loved  Bradford sex-workers in a stage version.

Picture by Ant Robling. s

The cast comprise ‘soap royalty’ and the audience had come to pay homage to their heroes from Eastenders, Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks – plus X Factor winner Shayne Ward thrown for good measure.

‘Anita’ is the mature hooker-come-pub-singer, who at the start of the play is only ‘doing’ one chap – her married, overweight boyfriend who pays her rent and furnishes her flat in return for sex.

On press night, Anita was played by Virginia Byron, standing in for the indisposed Laurie Brett – ‘Jane Beale’ from Eastenders.

Picture by Ant Robling. s

Other ladies of the band of gold are ‘Carol’, the house proud mum who dispenses bleach and sex in equal quantities – though thankfully not at the same time – and is played with humour and gusto by Emma Osman, Gaynor Faye – Emmerdales’s Megan Marcey and Kay Mellor’s real life daughter – is ‘Rose’, the tough Queen Mother of the patch, to whom all who work ‘The Lane’ must pay a street tax, completing the line-up is Sacha Parkinson as Gina who takes up the oldest profession after failing to make enough as an Avon Lady to pay off a nasty loan shark.

Olwen May plays  Carol’s mother ‘Joyce’ and steals the female acting honours for me by bringing in an extra touch of realism to her role.

There are some familiar names and faces on the male side too, Hollyoak’s Kieron Richardson plays Carol’s abusive ex-husband Steve with a whisky bottle permanently in his right hand, Coronation Street’s Andrew Dunn plays the seemingly nice guy, Councillor Ian Barraclough, whilst two more ex-Corrie chaps Mark Sheals and Steve Garti play Anita’s misogynistic provider and Curly the chicken farmer with a foot fetish and a bad rash.

Picture by Ant Robling. s

In addition there are very strong male performances from newcomer Joe Mallalieu as the menacing loan shark Mr Moore and the said X-Factor star Shayne Ward in the small but memorable role of Inspector Newall, the caring copper.

Kay Mellor directed as well as wrote the drama, which has more of a screen than stage feel about it,  comprising of a myriad of small scenes moving from a variety of flats to a karaoke pub, street corners and other places. So fast in fact that there is little time for character development or to become engaged in the storyline other than superficially.

I realise these are a cast more used to being mic’d than having to project, but so loud were the radio mics they wore that it was like listening to a TV set on full blast for the hard of hearing.

This coupled with deafening music destroyed any chance of subtlety. A fight scene went badly awry but that may have been a one-off and down to the enforced cast changes.

The set by talented designer Janet Bird involve the use of sliding dark semi-transparent flats/legs to create an atmosphere of street corner seediness.

This brings a degree of order to the almost constant cacophony of location changes. However, the sparseness of the furnishings doesn’t quite work sympathetically in the overall concept.

Fine when you’re cutting from scene to scene on film, but jarring when it’s  got to be done practically on stage – makes for switching off, not tuning in.

There is no doubt that Kay Mellor is a huge talent and she has assembled quite a formidable team for this production.

For me though, it is lacking in detail and is not a joined-up stand-alone drama.

Fans of the series might be content but new audiences may not be so engaged.

***Review by Euan Rose.

‘GASLIGHT’ is a ‘cop’ show – not as in the cops and robbers sense but a ‘creaky old potboiler’ that rears its head every decade or so.

What made folk have nightmares back in 1934 when Patrick Hamilton’s melodrama/thriller first graced the stage, should surely today be dismissed as more farcical than fearful.

Enter director Stewart Snape who is obviously on a quest to prove that Gaslight can still thrill without the need to drag it into modern day, nor must you pay homage to the era in which it was written, but merely to do the job the writer intended with a team that is up to the task.

Picture by Graeme Braidwood Photography. s

By team, I mean a fusion of cast and creative, which has certainly happened here – resulting in a show, which exudes theatrical excellence.

The excellence begins with the set design from Colin Judges where he has created a Victorian residence in the Ron Barber studio complete with flock wallpapers and tiled floors, a practical fireplace, dark voids where danger lurks and a second floor that isn’t there – yet we look up and see it above the coving that ends in blackness.

Judges’ set is complemented by furniture and properties of the finest detail sourced by a team comprising Andrew Lowrie, Paul Forrest and James Browning

Lynn Hems adds to the realism with her lighting design ensuring that the gaslight lamps dim and glow. They become inanimate cast members, whilst the musical neck-hair-raising soundtrack composed and performed by Brendan Stanley, coupled with haunting sound effects from the desk of Ray Duddin makes for auditory perfection.

Picture by Graeme Braidwood Photography. s

Snape himself gives a master class in theatrical pace. He allows a table to be laid without a word being spoken, content for us to hear the swish of the tablecloth and the chink of china. He allows us thinking time – but when the action hots up he never leaves us waiting for one door to open when another closes – that is a literal. He knows that a dead ten seconds on stage is ten minutes to an audience.  Pace is everything and is the difference between taking us on a journey and sending us to sleep.

Jake Benson makes a good job of playing the iconic baddie as the loathsome, misogynistic Jack Manningham, who is on a mission to drive his poor wife Bella insane whilst the cad himself consorts with music hall artistes and actresses.

Ilana Charnelle Gelbart’s performance as the said Bella is superbly measured – initially she brings an air of dutifully ‘knowing her place’ then adds depth piece-by-piece until she finally springs out of her box like the proverbial Jack.

Picture by Graeme Braidwood Photography. s

Charlotte Thompson is deliciously naughty as housemaid Nancy who has designs on getting into her master’s pants, whilst Zena Forrest’s silky voice brings comfort through the chaos, making her ideal as the good maid Elizabeth.

Finally to Colin Simmonds as Inspector Rough – he is the real deal in every sense. When Rough asks Mrs Manningham to look him in the eyes and believe him, we do. Simmonds takes us from mirth to melodrama and then back again. His performance is simply a joyous experience.

It’s so pleasant when you are not expecting too much from a show and it turns out to be something special. In summary, ‘Gaslight’ – which could so easily be clunky – is triumphant and gets five well-deserved stars from me.

Gaslight runs at the Crescent Theatre’s Ron Barber Studio until Saturday, February 8.

Click here for times, tickets and more information.

*****Review by Euan Rose.

‘ASKING For It’, adapted for the stage by Meadhbh McHugh in collaboration with the show’s director Annabelle Comyn from Louise O’Neill’s devastating novel, is as much a conversation starter as it is a powerful piece of theatre.

Although the play is set in Ballinatoom in West Cork, Ireland, its central theme of sexual consent is as relevant here in Birmingham (where the UK premiere took place last night at the REP) as it is anywhere in informed society.

Picture by Ros Kavanagh. s

The central character of Emma is a feisty, opinionated and beautiful 18-year-old schoolgirl who is horrifically gang-raped and dehumanised by local college football heroes at a party whilst she binges on a lethal cocktail of drink and drugs. She is debased, abused, photographed and then dumped on her own doorstep to be discovered by her appalled parents.

Emma – an all-consuming powerhouse performance from Lauren Coe – tries to take legal action but rather than receiving a sympathetic reception, community and society questions how much of a victim she really is. Was she a willing participant or, as in the show’s title; ‘asking for it’?

The cleverness of the writing is that although Emma is not particularly likable, we like her all the same. She wears an unseen crown, is put on a pedestal by her mother and admired by the boys. She leads a somewhat charmed life and is not particularly tolerant of others, yet when we are asked to be tolerant of her – we are!

Picture by Jed Niezgoda. s

Paul O’Mahony’s quite amazing set starts off as the sparse interior side of a giant garage door – before transforming into a series of celluloid shapes to become the home, the school and the party house. It is multi-levelled and allows for giant projections as part of the storytelling.

Act one chronicles the events that lead up to the party. Piece by piece we are introduced to the nastier side of teenage angst, bravado and sarcasm. When the incident happens, the set allows it to be shown honestly and brutally without reliance on too much graphical acting; the projected implications and sounds are enough to induce total revulsion at what is occurring.

Act two opens with the set moving hydraulically to create a walled kitchen complete with a glass roof. Black rain trickles permanently down the glass and is as dark as the mood on stage as the family unit spirals into disintegration.

Dawn Bradfield oozes believability in her descent from euphoria to manic depression as Emma’s mother. Simon O’Gorman is her mild-mannered father – mild that is until he too explodes.

Picture by Jed Niezgoda. s

Liam Heslin dominates the second half as Emma’s brother Bryan who is the only family member that wants her to go all the way to trial – partly because he wants to save face with his own friends and partly because he feels guilty he didn’t protect her ‘that’ night.

Despite the excellence of directing and staging there is a dip of around 20 minutes in the second half, which could do with some pruning. Nothing much happens for too long. Bryan breaks the mood and from them on it once more becomes compulsive watching.

The press night audience comprised mostly those of us of the silver fox age group, which was a shame, as I believe this is a play every young person should see.

Overall the cast and creatives of this Landmark/Everyman production do a sterling job in breaking down that fourth wall twixt them and us – to the point where when it came to the walkdown, it seemed impolite to give a standing ovation. Subdued applause seemed to say much more – we were stunned into silence by what we had witnessed and ready to start those minefield conversations among ourselves on our journeys home.

Asking for It runs at The Rep until February 5.

Click here for times, tickets and more information.

****

Review by Euan Rose.