MY CHILDHOOD goes back to the days when we still were allowed cap guns and spent countless hours playing cowboys and Indians and cops and robbers when it was not frowned upon by the PC brigade.

It seems from the programme notes that Alan Parker devised his famous film ‘Bugsy Malone’ as a show his children could watch without being frightened or corrupted.

Instead of being a blood bath as bespoke suited-and-booted adult gangsters slaughter rivals with the rat-a-tat of bullets, Parker devised a scenario where kids play the gangsters and smother (rather than slaughter) each other with custard pie bombs and cream shooting tommy guns. When they get shot, they get up and wave goodbye ready to come back on and play again – ’til it’s last man standing.

Paul Williams makes a splendid job of providing a stage script and music to Parkers’ cinematic masterpiece and the REP along with Royal Bath and Kenny Wax have combined to produce something joyous in this latest set-to-tour production.

Gangland rivalry between Big Bosses Fat Sam and Dandy Dan in the prohibition 1920s speakeasy days, is the simple secret of the plot and gives a marvellous excuse for glittering dresses, feather boas and swanky dinner suits.

The music is steamy jazz, the vocals hitting the spot with a merry catalogue and the fact that it’s performed by a talented bunch of tots, teens and a few ensemble adults, makes it all the more magical.

There is a nice boxing back story and some boy meets girl schmultz  to break up the custard pie carnage.

On press night Bugsy was given lots of ‘cool-dudeness’ by Gabriel Payne and night club singer Blousey, by a joyous ingénue Mia Lakha.

On the creative front, director Sean Holmes has made it all pretty seamless, Jon Bausor produced a monochrome beauty of a set which provides the perfect backdrop for his ‘frock’ designs and Phil Bateman heads up the music.

Top marks go the creative talents of choreographer Drew McOnie and fight director Kate Waters.

With the wonderful bull from the Commonwealth Games billowing smoke approvingly outside the theatre doors and the city centre heaving with visitors, this production was given the perfect send off.

The REP’s Bugsy is a foot-tapping, rip-roaring, heartstring twanging, magical milk shake of a family musical.

Bugsy Malone runs at The REP until August 14.  Click here for times, tickets and more information.

****

Review by Euan Rose

Euan Rose Reviews

EDEN, a brand new psychological drama from the pen of fantasy horror writer Greg Stewart, received its’ premiere this week at the Crescent Theatre as part of Birmingham Fest.

It’s a tense 90-minute thriller in which a notorious self-help guru endeavours to hone his skills on a humble self-effacing attendee at a weekend retreat. All though is not as it seems as the protagonists reel between mind games of chess and snakes and ladders.

Clever stuff indeed – just when you think it’s about to be checkmate, a snake uses a common pawn to unseat the incumbent king – or words to that effect!

Tension hung over the near capacity studio auditorium as we breathed as quietly as possible, lest we missed the next twist.

Will it be suicide, assisted suicide or plain old murder most foul?

Stewart is served well by seasoned director Jonathan Legg who wisely keeps the action minimalistic and meaningful. No one moves without purpose allowing the plot to develop cerebrally, but when action happens – it explodes!

Legg himself has two superb actors to work with in Christopher Hampson as Edgar and Oliver Hume as Mark. Neither falters vocally or physically as they relish taking it in turns to be the cat or the mouse.

What I found particularly pleasing is there was no scriptwriting ‘cop out’ – unlike other new dramas I’ve seen recently both on stage and screen. Stewart gives us a beginning, middle and end so we leave feeling sated, not cheated.

Eden will no doubt go on from the Fest to other theatres – well worth watching out for.

****

Review by Euan Rose.

Euan Rose Reviews. 

WHENEVER I review ‘Tread The Boards’ at their gloriously bijou Attic Theatre home in Stratford, I wonder why I have left it so long again between visits.

After all, I always come away elated having witnessed some pure and inclusive theatre.

Last night was no exception as the company performed an adaption by Jonas Cemm of Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion with all the gusto of the ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’.

Shaw named his play Pygmalion after a Greek mythological chap. He was apparently a Cypriot sculptor who strove for perfection and when he finally created his perfect stone woman, he fell in love with her.

It is actually a very clever title and one, which aptly describes Prof Henry Higgins and his relationship with Eliza Doolittle. Her

transformation from urchin flower girl to lady of distinction has fascinated generations since it premiered in Vienna back in 1913.

John-Robert Partridge directs this show and also plays Higgins. He does the later with all the ego and narcissism of that obnoxious spoilt resident of Toad Hall. It’s beep-beep, poop-poop full throttle all the way and a delight to wallow in.

His ‘partner in cloning’ Colonel Pickering is played at completely the opposite end of the spectrum by Phil Jennings. His voice is as rich as his smile and he is as warm as Higgins is cold – they make for the perfect duo.

Emmy Coates as Eliza is the complete package as she transforms from whining fishwife to elegance personified. Quite simply Coates is the best Ms. Doolittle I have ever seen – and I’ve seen a lot over the years.

Lesley Wilcox plays Henry’s Mum – she sounds as elegant as he looks. Wilcox’s voice is like enjoying a cup of hot rich chocolate, which is to be savored every time she is on stage.

William Hayes is a suitably roguish Alfred Doolittle, Lucas Albion a likable buffoon as Freddy Eynsford Hill with Dawn Bush doubling as Freddy’s mum and Mrs Pearce, the long-suffering Professor Higgins’s housekeeper.

Cerys Evans as Clara Eynsford Hill completes the company and makes the most of her few lines.

They are a well-drilled talented bunch that never stop sharing across the curtain line, which is why I started by saying this is ‘inclusive theatre’.

The fourth wall twixt audience and cast is shattered into a thousand pieces – Joyous stuff indeed.

There are just a few performances left of Pygmalion, which is being performed in tandem with ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’.

After that come A Midsummer Nights Dream and The Three Musketeers.

Treat yourselves to a day or night out watching the Midlands’ finest fringe theatre company. Loads of choices of eateries nearby and you can enjoy a drink of cleansing ale by the river in Cox’s Yard and chat with the swans pre-show.

The show runs until Sunday, July 31. Click here for times, tickets and more information.

*****

Review by Euan Rose

Euan Rose Reviews

DUE TO A positive test for Covid, I was a little late to see this show, which had been high on my priority-reviewing agenda, and so it was my first trip out after getting the non-contagious all clear.

It was certainly worth the wait and I only hope that with just a few performances remaining, I can encourage as many of you as possible to experience this Crescent near masterpiece.

Bruce Norris wrote Clybourne Park in 2009 for which he won both a Tony and a coveted Pullizer in America, plus an Olivier when it opened in London a little later.

In truth it is not really a groundbreaking piece of theatre – controversial – yes – dealing as it does with racism and all the other ‘isms’ you can think of, but it’s in the clever storytelling of how balances have shifted over the decades that sets it apart.

Norris is a master of his craft, a weaver of plots and purveyor of blistering scandalmongering caustic dialogue, which is an actor’s box of delights.

Joy of joys the company also get to double as the play is divided into two acts with different characters linked by a common theme namely the said Clybourne Park property, which changes from an all white neighbourhood in the 1950/60s to run down black ghetto period and back to President Obama time when it was set to become multiracial and chic again.

Director Stewart Snape always impresses with his attention to detail and once again it is the little things that gets his stamp – let’s call it ‘Snapeness’. One example is the intricacy he has directed his actors to show in something as simple as moving a trunk.

He gets players to point up its significance verbally in conversation and with guarded aside glances before we see it. We hear it thump before we see it too and when we do, he lets us know it’s heavy then teases us as to what’s inside.

That trunk effectively became as important as any of the cast, and as memorable as the bone-throwing opener to Kubricks ‘2001 A Space Odyssey’.

Besides ‘the trunk’ there are also other outstanding performances.

Liz Plumpton as apple-pie, white liberal with a small ‘l’ mum, Bev, which she contrasts with feminist lawyer Kathy in Act 2.

Then there’s Shemeica Rawlins as Bev’s compliant maid and token black buddy Francine in Act 1 and modern gutsy ‘take-no-nonsense’ Lena in Act 2.

Rawlins is partnered in both acts by Papa Annoh Yentumi (what a wonderful name) – he’s her quiet respectful know-my-place afro-haired  husband Albert in Act 1 and loud successful ‘read my lips’ Kevin in Act 2.

Paul Forest reminded me of crooner Pat Boon in Act 1 where he plays ‘all teeth and smiles’ local white pastor Jim. Boon was also a pastor in gated community Palos Verdes LA, an area I knew well in the 70s.  Forest doubles this effectively as the methodical community group leader in act 2.

James David Knapp gives two powerhouse outings firstly as Karl, the angry white neighbour who doesn’t know or care that he is a rabid, raging, racist and the bigoted, foul-mouthed Steve who is more of the same but doesn’t admit it a few decades on.

Grace Cheatle partners Knapp, firstly as his pregnant, deaf wife Betsy who is an awe of her husband and secondly as Sfeve’s pregnant and possibly soon to be ex-wife Lindsey in Act two, as she reels in horror at his stomach churning diatribes.

Lastly comes the zenith  – a commanding contribution from Colin Simmonds as Russ, Bev’s husband in Act 1. Every twitch of the eyebrow, every rumble in the throat was a joyous addition to a mighty characterisation. His journey from smile to scowl and from control to explosion was spellbinding.

Simmonds bit part character in act 2, as Dan the clearing contractor, might well have been a scene-stealer if he hadn’t been amongst such talent.

Snape designed his own production frocks and like his direction the attention to detail is exemplary.

Colin Judges set was the stuff of a designer who doesn’t cut corners in meeting a challenge. His transformation from classy suburb to run down hood is nothing short of genius. I could happily have spent the interval watching it happen if we weren’t banned from observing the witchery.

This production is theatre at its finest – it deserves bigger audiences than just the Crescent faithful. The productions in the studio just keep getting better – catch it before it closes and book for whatever is coming next.

Clybourne Park runs at the Crescent until Saturday, July 16. Click here for times, tickets and more information.

*****

Review by Euan Rose

Euan Rose Reviews

IT HAS been 20 years since Ben Elton first wrote the book to accompany Queen’s songs and lyrics to create the musical ‘We will Rock You’.

To be honest when I saw it back then I thought the music was a sensational tribute but the book a little silly sci-fi which annoyed more than it entertained.

Picture by Johan Persson. s

Now this new version two decades on is a very different kettle of fish – whilst it is still a silly sci-fi, Elton has cleverly used world events and inventions to brush his old lamp and like Aladdin did – he’s released his genie and his genius. What was trite – now is witty and what rocked before – rocks louder.

Michael McKell as Cliff, Adam Strong as Khashoggi, Ian McIntosh as Galileo, Edward Leigh (standing in for David Michael Johnson) as Brit all rocked their socks off for us – whilst Martina Ciabatti Mennell, Elena Skye as Scaramouche and Jenny O’Leary as the Killer Queen were off the Richter Scale.

The band under the electronic baton of Zachary Flis are tight and feisty with a special shout out to guitarists James Barber and Simon Croft – oh hells bells let’s name them all they were so good, Matt Herbert on piano, Neil Murray on bass and David Cottrell on drums

If you think you know the show because you’ve seen it before – think again. Yes of course it’s still a jukebox musical but it’s now so much cleverer.

Picture by Johan Persson. s

In fact I’d describe it as a ’Pass the Parcel’ musical, as it unwraps it just keeps on giving even when we reach the walkdown where we think it’s all over – but it’s not!

Ben Elton with his director’s hat on has one big surprise left to give us. You’ll have to book a ticket to find out as my lips are sealed.

We Will Rock You runs at the Birmingham Hippodrome until July 30.

Click here for times, tickets and more information.

*****

Review by Euan Rose

Euan Rose Reviews