All posts by Edward Lukes

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“Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder!” at the Ambassadors Theatre

This strong new musical from Jon Brittain and Matthew Floyd Jones is quirky and has lots of laughs, with both its originality and humour boosted by excellent performances. Smart and entertaining, it offers something different while maintaining wide appeal.

We follow the adventures of schoolfriends Kathy and Stella, whose true crime podcast goes viral when they become part of a murder story themselves. As amateur sleuths, with little ability and a morbid streak, they provide a lot of grisly fun. But, although he plots well, Brittain’s book for the show isn’t really about crime. The focus is female friendship.

Support given in the battle against low self-esteem is explored in depth to great effect. The show isn’t afraid to poke fun at its heroes, and the performers show an admirable lack of vanity… But you don’t laugh at Stella and Kathy – you want to be their friend. The show’s success rests on performances with real heart from Bronté Barbé and Rebekah Hinds.

There are more than a few sweet moments, a nice surprise given that the show is ostensibly about a serial killer. But Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder! is also a strong satire. Brittain has plenty to say about the true crime genre, and is suspicious, if never vicious. So, while fangirl Erica is a great chance for Imelda Warren-Green to show how brilliantly funny she is, the character is more than just a gag. And celebrity writer Felicia, played with suitably larger than life touches by Hannah-Jane Fox, is such a big character she gets to appear in three different versions. It’s a great way to keep cast numbers down while giving her the air of Cerberus! And don’t worry, Brittain is aware of how much his own show gets from the genre. Maybe it’s worth pinpointing that it’s the internet that’s really in the crossfire – and when you’re in a theatre, enjoying something live, that always feels good. An easy target, maybe, but Stella’s solo about validation is excellent – a theme for our times.

Floyd Jones’ music is good, perhaps serviceable rather than memorable, but the main theme is catchy, with just enough variety. And the songs are impressively ambitious, requiring extremely strong voices, which Barbé and Hinds certainly have. The lyrics by from Floyd Jones and Brittain are excellent – consistently strong, funny and surprising. There are some brilliant rhymes, not least on Felicia’s surname. Even the swearing is smart. Expletives aren’t thrown in for a cheap punchline – they are used often but wisely. And we get the best use of lesbianism in a lyric since Jerry Springer the Opera… and I’ve been waiting to write that for a long time.

There are jokes about pretty much everything in Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder! With a great use of northern accents, both Barbé and Hinds are very funny. They get the most out of every line with impeccable timing. But behind comic characters, full back stories lead to a detailed portrayal of two young women who are both a little lost. It’s hard to escape the suspicion that Barbé and Hinds are best friends in real life. The chemistry here is among the most convincing I’ve seen on stage and is something special to behold.

Until 14 September 2024

www.kathyandstella.com

Photo by  Ellie Kurttz

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“A View from the Bridge” at the Theatre Royal Haymarket

Arthur Miller’s 1955 play is far from his best work. Yet this revival, which comes from Bath, has a strong cast, while director Lindsay Posner succeeds in making the text swift and exciting. If the play has dated badly, it still provokes thought, and excellent performances make the most of the characters.

Miller’s setting is specific and vividly evoked – a community of longshoremen who live and work near Brooklyn Bridge. When two “submarines”, illegal immigrants from Italy, arrive at the Carbone home, the already uncomfortable balance between Eddie, his wife Beatrice, and niece, Catherine, results in tragedy.

There are plenty of ‘themes’ in A View from the Bridge. Many feel topical. There’s immigration, of course, where Miller explores how sympathy for those arriving from a poverty-stricken continent comes with conditions. And a contemporary audience will note Eddie’s toxic masculinity and the domestic violence in the play. Posner handles the tension well: Beatrice and Catherine suffer psychologically, and Kate Fleetwood and Nia Towle are terrific in these roles.

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Pierro Niel-Mee and Callum Scott Howells

Catherine’s affair with newly arrived Rodolfo isn’t written as well – it seems included to reveal Eddie’s inappropriate obsession with the orphan girl he has raised. While Callum Scott Howells brings a strange glamour to the role of Rodolfo (you can imagine a young girl falling for the character he skilfully creates), Towle seems wasted in her part. Similarly, Rodolfo’s brother, capably performed by Pierro Niel-Mee, has little to do. In short, characters are only foils to Eddie.

“Blue in his mind”

Given the play’s focus, having a star like Dominic West as top billing is essential. West is truly commanding, so imposing that his hold over his family convinces. And he brings an affability to the role that makes Eddie occasionally, appealing. But there is a problem with humour, at least for some audience members, when it comes to Eddie’s homophobia. A conviction that Rodolfo isn’t “right” shouldn’t be something to laugh at. From Eddie’s perspective, it’s a genuine concern, even if he is using it as an excuse to hide his jealousy. There’s no doubting Eddie’s anger (West is excellent here), but, overall, torment is underplayed – it should be bigger than his unrequited lust. Catherine’s observation that Eddie is “blue in his mind” could be made more of.

It’s hard to have sympathy for Eddie. West is good at making him creepy, but the production might have more nuance and offer something fresh if his mental health was given more time. Still, even without it, the play is sometimes slow. A pivotal moment, when Eddie betrays the Italians, illustrates how drawn out it can be. And the role of a lawyer, a kind of narrator, played by expertly by Martin Marquez, is downright cumbersome. All the performances here are strong enough not to need so much pointed out to us. The cast is the reason to see this show.

Until 3 August 2024

www.trh.co.uk

Photo by Johan Persson

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“Passing Strange” at the Young Vic

Another fantastic American musical has, finally, reached London. Stew’s 2006 award-winning piece, which follows the adventures of a ‘Youth’, narrated by his older self, is full of big sounds and grand ideas. Ben Stones’ wide-open set makes the Young Vic feel huge. It’s an appropriate stage for tremendous performances from the two leads – Keenan Munn-Francis and Giles Terera – that nobody should miss.

Like Hadestown and Next to Normal (now in the West End), Passing Strange is a very grown-up affair. Despite being a story about a young man, and both leads being magnetic performers, it is the older character we watch. Our narrator is harsh about his early years, coming close to suggesting such self-discovery is just a phase.

There are tough political topics tackled. The ‘passing’ of the title refers to race, but Stew also looks at prejudices associated with being a songwriter – as both he and his characters are. Observations are bravely close to the bone… and specific. The 1970s middle-class Los Angeles milieu is keenly observed (there are sure to be nuances missed). This is the life Youth wants to escape, and we travel with him to vivid depictions of Amsterdam and Berlin. 

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Rachel Adedeji

In each location, supporting performers – David Albury, Nadia Violet Johnson, Renée Lamb and Caleb Roberts – get the chance to shine in a variety of roles. It’s noticeable that the women we meet are treated badly, but the characters played by Johnson and Lamb have great numbers (and tricksy accents). All the time the action is anchored by Youth’s long-suffering mum – a role brilliantly performed by Rachel Adedeji.

“The head’s footnotes”

There’s also humour in the piece. Again, some depends on understanding what is being satirised. The laughs don’t always fit comfortably in such a serious work, but director Liesl Tommy appreciates the power of such disquieting moments. Mental health is examined as is, as part of this, frequent drug use. As one girlfriend sings, Youth is deep in his “head’s footnotes” (what a great description) and such self-absorption is intense. Like a third recent show from the states, A Strange Loop, there’s an interest in how the mind works that is insightful.

If this weren’t deep enough, the big topic is Art itself. Those questions about the mind, and the past, connect to how we tell stories. Passing Strange looks at how art is made, but also at what it can do, what a comfort it can be. Want another step? The search for “the Real” is an obsessive refrain. Again, it’s about passing – what passes for the real… and what is really real. There’s some profound thinking here, saved from pretentiousness by a big heart and humour.

Given the big ideas, Stew’s songs (the music written with Heidi Rodewald), have a lot to do. The score doesn’t just deliver, it is full of unexpected turns and hugely exciting. While predominantly rock, it serves up a potted musical history with so many styles that it is clear, despite protestations to the contrary, Stew can write anything. Numbers are heart-breaking, funny and dramatic. They are all catchy and their story telling is excellent. The lyrics are consistently intelligent – every word is worth hearing – and matched by superb verse dialogue. 

The trials and tribulations of artists can be a turn-off. I don’t doubt how difficult the job is and how much suffering is involved, but they do go on about it don’t they? But Passing Strange plays with such tropes, interrogating them and providing tough love, thereby breathing new life into old questions and sounding great along the way. 

Until 6 July 2024

www.youngvic.org

Photos by Marc Brenner

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“The Book Of Grace” at the Arcola Theatre

In Suzan-Lori’s Parks’ excellent play, honourably discharged US soldier Buddy returns to his estranged family. One of a trio of fantastic characters, Buddy is superbly performed by Daniel Francis-Swaby who, appropriately for his role, is a strong orator. Buddy is counting “strikes” against his father and against “the man”, and we all know nothing good happens after the third one. Parks plots brilliantly making this cerebral also a thriller. Francis-Swaby reveals how disturbed his character is with skill. Director Femi Elufowoju jr makes the most of the script and cast to make sure not a single ball pitched is missed.

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Peter De Jersey and Daniel Francis-Swaby

The subject of Buddy’s anger, guilty of “unspeakable” acts never specified, is his father Vet, an unhinged border guard played with passion by Peter De Jersey. Vet’s obsession with the “fence” he patrols (the play dates from 2010) comes close to comical. But Parks explains its importance with conviction. Despite being a terrifying figure, De Jersey makes Vet vulnerable; when he snarls about “my home” the delivery expertly conveys his fear as much as his anger. The play scores as a family drama as much as it provides insights into American politics. Vet is scary, every moment with him is a roller coaster, and his instability provides the play with many twists.

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Ellena Vincent

Vet’s victim, and the heart of the piece, is his wife Grace, whose scrapbook of good news stories gives the play its title. Bearing in mind her husband has dug a grave for her in the garden, her optimism surrounding family reconciliation might seem misplaced. Yet a commanding performance from Ellena Vincent means we believe in Grace’s quest for positivity and her taste for Cat Steven’s Peace Song doesn’t seem silly…it is important. The book, another device that allows Parks to structure the play so well, becomes a precious object; its fate is painful. But living up to the virtue Grace is named for provides optimism, insight, and a home run for a play that is both bleak and brilliant.

Until 3 June 2024

www.arcolatheatre.com

Photos by Alex Brenner

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“Multiple Casualty Incident” at the Yard Theatre

A group of medics training to work in a disaster zone guarantees plenty of drama in Sami Ibrahim’s new play. As four characters read out scenarios and role-plays to prepare for a future far away, their pasts, and the here and now, come into focus.

The scenes are super short but director Jaz Woodcock-Stewart still provides time for the audience to think. There are a lot of questions about motives, of course we assume all are well intentioned. And the impact of corruption within the charity they work for could be the subject of a play itself.

As we get to know the quartet, their personal lives are explored in detail. Ibrahim has created great roles. Dan, played by Peter Corboy, is an effective comic character and developed wonderfully. The group facilitator, Nicki, has the chaos under her calm exterior skilfully portrayed by Mariah Louca. 

The focus of the play though, is Khaled and Sarah, who start a romance that Luca Kamleh Chapman and Rosa Robson excel at depicting. There’s an age gap between them, as well as differences in race and religion – but none of this is overplayed. Fathers feature big for both, two very different legacies that weigh heavily. But the audience isn’t clear if this is enough to bring them together, or even if Sarah is telling the truth about what happened to her Dad.

The role-plays, and the gap between fiction and reality, are used to great effect with tension mounting terrifically. As the exercises are acted out, the characters’ “improvisation” becoming better – and more aggressive – everything starts to blur. Sarah even gets Khaled’s name wrong at one point.  Confusion is deliberate and brilliantly handled by Woodcock-Stewart. Similarly, the TVs that are the main feature of Rosie Elnile’s design: of course it makes sense the trainees are filmed, but the screens come to dominate and cleverly obscure our view.

Multiple Casualty Incident is a play of considerable wit, as well as passion, and intelligence. As well as being funny and sexy, the games it plays with the audience raise important questions about prejudices. Imagining drama used in this very different context reminds us of its raw power. If there’s a flaw here, it’s that Ibrahim doesn’t quite know how to finish the play… then again, I can’t say I wanted it to end.

Until 8 June 2024

www.theyardtheatre.co.uk

Photo by Marc Brenner

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“Between Riverside and Crazy” at the Hampstead Theatre

Danny Sapani’s star performance makes Stephen Adly Guirgis’ play fly. The script, neatly directed by Michael Longhurst, is a quality affair: considered, solid, maybe a touch slow to start. Sapani makes the most of the play’s strong moral dilemma and brings out the text’s focus and intrigue.

Sapani takes the part of Walter ‘Pops’ Washington, a former black police officer who was shot by a white rookie while off-duty. How’s that for a smart take on police violence? And if you think it needs a twist, well…Guirgis’ plotting is so strong it doesn’t deserve a spoiler.

Black, white, blue, and green

An eight-year battle for compensation brings money into the mix. Although Washington stresses his motivation is a matter of principles. Add his wife’s death and it’s no surprise our hero has been left a mess. Or has he? Maybe…he was troubled before. Throughout the twists Sapani commands attention. He is believable as both stubborn and dignified, gruff, yet loveable, easy to dislike and winning admiration. Washington is a strong creation, brought to life with style.

Martins Imhangbe
Martins Imhangbe

Unfortunately, the main character overwhelms the show. Other roles – all well-acted – don’t just pale, they fade away. Washington’s misfit family come too close to caricature. There are funny moments, with strong performances from Tiffany Gray and Ayesha Antoine. And moving ones, played by Sebastian Orozco and Martins Imhangbe (the later especially strong with a great mix of anger and frustration). But they are all just foils, circling around the central figure.

For a London audience, Sapani’s recent role as King Lear will spring to mind. Especially as the character’s rent controlled apartment is under treat and his kingdom about to disappear! Indeed, Washington’s ironically regal touch makes for great moments. But it’s the differences that are more interesting and come in the form of former colleagues, capably played by Daniel Lapaine and Judith Roddy. Their efforts to persuade Pops to settle his law case are strong scenes. Longhurst brings out considerable momentum. They show us different power dynamics, with a balance of discomfort and humour the whole show aims for but isn’t always present.

Until 15 June 2024

www.hampsteadthetare.com

Photos by Johan Persson

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“Twelfth Night” at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

This sparky new production is bold and zippy. It marks the welcome return of Shakespeare to this gorgeous venue – apart from a brief Romeo and Juliet in 2021, productions have focused on younger audiences. Director Owen Horsley offers a big, luxurious show with lots of fun and music.

Everything happens in a bar, named, in neon, after our heroine Olivia. The characters are either customers or her entourage, musicians dressed in Ryan Dawson Laight’s clever sailor-inspired outfits. Fabian is renamed Fab Ian (which tickled me no end) while Sir Toby is a drag performer and takes to the mike, along with Olivia’s fool, Feste.

It’s all eye-catching, a drunken atmosphere isn’t a bad idea, and although sometimes the single setting proves cumbersome, it isn’t a bad innovation. But underneath, the production is a traditional affair. It is spoken wonderfully. The shipwrecked twins who arrive and cause havoc, played by Evelyn Miller and Andro Cowperthwaite, sound especially good.

Music should always play a big part of Twelfth Night. And music suits this venue well. The production goes all out and composer Sam Kenyon has been busy. The band adds atmosphere and pace, with Shakespeare set to song very nicely. It’s a shame the quality of the delivery isn’t consistently high, even if Jule Legrand’s Feste and Michael Matus’ Sir Toby have plenty of charisma.

Like all good productions, Horsley searches for insight, to show us something new. Here it is with Olivia and, thankfully, Anna Francolini, who takes the role, meets the challenge. Olivia is the star turn in her own bar, getting the best of Kenyon’s numbers, carrying her brother’s ashes around in an urn, overt in her attraction to Viola, and often bizarrely dressed, she is a larger-than-life character who threatens to unbalance the show. For instance, Raphael Bushay, as would-be suitor Orsino, doesn’t seem to stand a chance. And Olivia ends up alone… with the idea that Sebastian stays with Antonio. I did wonder if this Olivia might be a little too mad… but Horsley is on firm ground, after all the character questions her own sanity.

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Anita Reynolds

It all makes for more laughs than romance. But Horsley doesn’t shy away from the melancholy of many characters or more vicious moments in the play. “Sad and merry madness” is the key. It should be no surprise that the balance between the two can be stark. So, while the tricks masterminded by a particularly strong Maria (Anita Reynolds) are nasty, Richard Cant proves a sympathetic Malvolio. It’s all a gorgeous night out, but, as it should be, a thought-provoking one too. Great, grown-up fun.

Until 8 June 2024

www.openairtheatre.com

Photos by Richard Lakos

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“Spirited Away” at the London Coliseum

Based on the phenomenally successful Oscar-winning Studio Ghibli film, London audiences now have the chance to see this stage adaptation, direct from Japan. The show has the air of an event and Fans are sure to love it.

The production looks and sounds fantastic. Jon Bausor’s constantly moving set design is superb, likewise the lighting from Jiro Katsushiba. The costumes by Sachiko Nakahara could be on display in a museum. With every aspect of design, details thrill.

There’s a big orchestra for Joe Hisaishi’s score – a soundtrack I’m sure many would listen to at home. And a lot of dance: the choreography by Shigehiro Ide (also credited with staging) is both ambitious and otherworldly. Most notable is a brilliant performance from Hikaru Yamano as ‘No-Face’. What the cast achieve, given how many of them are covered and wearing masks, is impressive.

Spirited Away is vast and technically ambitious. The puppetry (Toby Olié) runs through nearly every scene and is strong.  The result is that every movement is planned (including some witty plays with the music) and John Caird’s direction has to have the utmost precision. The use of projections is, thankfully, limited; the show works as a live event – but that level of control does mean little sense of spontaneity.

Caird is also the show’s adapter and has, again, done well. This is a simple story of a young girl called Chihiro who finds herself trapped in a magical world. Events are fast paced. There is some urgency about the fate of her parents, transformed into pigs by a witch called Yubaba. But this journey is one of discovery rather than a quest: Chihiro follows instructions rather than working things out. She is a passive heroine. Ironically, the role is high energy, barely off stage and running around all the time (four performers are listed – Kanna Hashimoto, Mone Kamishiraishi, Rina Kawaei and Momoko Fukuchi – giving an idea of how demanding the role is).

While the story is entertaining, with little sense of peril, it is hard to see much drama. Likewise, the romance fails to convince and is underexplored – Chihiro’s potential boyfriend being a magical figure who can turn into a dragon doesn’t help. These may be memorable characters but they lack psychological insight. And the humour is limited. 

If the style has shortcomings, they all reflect Studio Ghibli’s popular and acclaimed work. The show has wider appeal than another hit from the same source, My Neighbour Totoro. But there’s still a sense Spirited Away is primarily for kids. Clearly it crosses over – box office figures tell you that. But it is the world created, rather than what goes on it that interests.

Until 24 August 2024

www.londoncoliseum.org

Photo by Johan Persson

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“Long Day’s Journey into Night” at Wyndham’s Theatre

In the satirical novel Cold Comfort Farm there’s a quip that Eugene O’Neill’s plays get in trouble with the RSPCAudiences for being so long. It’s true, you won’t get out of the theatre until quarter past ten if you see Long Day’s Journey into Night. And depending on your seat, you might well be in pain. But this revival from director Jeremy Herrin is a reminder of what a masterpiece the play is. Hard work but worth it.

The piece is remarkably static; as the family Tyrone struggle with their problems, we get a collection of talking heads. Despite drug addiction, drinking and a terminal illness discovered, nobody moves very much. Herrin holds his nerve and keeps the action controlled. Jack Knowles’ lighting is dark and even Tom Gibbons’ excellent music and sound design is minimal. The result is engrossing in a distinctive manner.

Focus is needed because O’Neill’s play is big. There are so many ‘themes’. As a family drama you expect parenthood and home to figure. The “shabby place” Lizzie Clachan’s set makes so sparse offers no distractions. Meanwhile the marriage between James and Mary, and the sibling relationship between James Jr. and Edmund, are all examined with forensic detail. And don’t forget that Long Day’s Journey into Night can be considered a kind of ‘memory play’. Characters are stuck in, or looking to, the past. Is this starting to sound like CliffsNotes? It’s been mentioned already… there’s a lot to think about.

mother’s boy and daddy’s pet

Such material makes fantastic roles for a star-studded cast. Brian Cox takes the lead as patriarch James and is suitably commanding. This is a generous performance; even the fact that James was an actor is underplayed. Cox is the lynchpin of the play but never steals the limelight. The production is an exciting opportunity to see Patricia Clarkson on the London stage and her performance as Mary is terrific. The “constant suspicion” her character suffers from is clear and, as the play goes on, develops a nuance Clarkson’s colleagues feed off. Mary’s drug addiction is never sensationalised, like her son in the play, a role admirably performed by Daryl McCormack; these are characters living with their substance abuse. O’Neill was ahead of his time in seeing addiction as an illness.

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Laurie Kynaston

Still, it’s Laurie Kynaston who, in making so much in his role as “mother’s boy and daddy’s pet” Edmund, makes the biggest mark. The character is surely closest to O’Neill himself and is written with a ferocious edge, but Kynaston brings a vulnerability to the role that strips away much of his posturing.

As if all the personal drama were not enough, there’s a discussion of pessimism verses optimism hardwired into the text that Herrin brings out brilliantly. James may be a miser but he also looks on the bright side, in conflict with the younger generation’s admiration of Schopenhauer or Nietzsche. Yet even Edmund (so “degenerate” he likes French poetry!) gives us a magnificent philosophical passage about becoming one with nature that provides a highlight.

These characters have big problems and existential angst, there’s so much about thwarted ambition and loneliness, it is easy to see the piece as depressing. But there’s as much affection as pain in the play. From the opening you can sense how the arguments contain love, something gentler. Behind the quips about snoring is the fact that nobody in this house sleeps. They have too much on their minds. But note, everyone is worrying about everyone else being awake.

Until 8 June 2024

www.longdaysjourneylondon.com

Photos by Johan Persson

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“The Cord” at the Bush Theatre

Parenting, with a focus on fatherhood, is the subject of this new play written and directed by Bijan Sheibani. Intense and poetic, it sees a trio of brilliant actors examine emotions and experiences around having a child.

Ash and Anya are new parents. Overwhelmed by their love for little Louie, the everyday dramas – around grandparents or restarting a sex life – are overshadowed by bigger issues. Sheibani handles tension with subtlety, as do Irfan Shamji and Eileen O’Higgins, who take the roles and are convincing as being sleep deprived and on the edge. There’s a continual refrain that problems are not a big deal. So when arguments escalate, the atmosphere is especially fraught.

Ash’s status as a new father – indeed his whole life – seems overshadowed by his mother, Jane, who suffered from post-natal depression. Again, there is a surface calm, brilliantly portrayed by Lucy Black. But any pretended ease – over not seeing her grandchild or worrying for her own son – is effortful. When the arguments really start, there are painful home truths. Black’s performance is controlled and powerful.

All the emotion is emphasised by the composer and cellist Colin Alexander, who joins the actors, his harmonics echoing the action brilliantly. Oliver Fenwick’s lighting design is also strong, with a huge light box overhead subtly shifting colours. The whole production is stylish, with a heightened air, but it’s a shame some of the miming isn’t better.

Jane doesn’t have a lot of time for the possibility that Ash might be suffering. Does the audience? It’s a further tribute to Shamji’s performance that his character has appeal (although I wonder how much responses to the role depend on whether or not you’ve given birth). Ash does seem to want the focus of the women to return to him. And that’s hard to get past.

There’s another problem that might prove increasingly annoying… Ash’s Dad is around – he is mentioned several times and the two talk. It seems odd that Ash doesn’t speak to his own father about fatherhood. At least, there might be an explanation as to why this conversation doesn’t happen. It’s a stumble in such a detailed, focused work. The script is so skilful, I’ve no doubt the decision is deliberate, but it seems such a glaring omission that it skewers the whole play.

Until 25 May 2024

www.bushtheatre.co.uk

Photos by Manuel Harlan