2015

“The Legacy” at the Hope Theatre

Reminiscent of David Mamet’s work, Angela Clarke’s new play, The Legacy, is strong and exciting writing. A simple story of two sisters, reunited for the reading of their father’s will, there’s a dark secret to be revealed in this tightly constructed, character-driven drama, which is well observed and full of tension.

The cast gives careful performances, each character ripening from an instantly recognisable acquaintance into a thought-provoking, well-realised figure. Lucinda Westcar’s Rebecca has a frozen compliance with her suburban existence that becomes febrile when events threaten her Farrow & Ball lifestyle. Her successful husband Adam is easy to dislike, but Jim Mannering gives him an angry edge that, disconcertingly, invites sympathy. As a depiction of that infamous ‘squeezed middle’, the couple makes you stop and think about this much derided demographic. Finally, while I trust we’d all agree with prodigal activist Esther’s politics, Claira Watson Parr’s calm and clever performance shows how irritating the character might be and plays with suspicions we might have about her motivations.

It’s the turbulent ride of repulsion and sympathy for these characters, so deftly handled by director Michael Beigel, which impresses most. Along with expertly placed plot reveals, there’s a respect for the audience’s intelligence that engenders a mutual respect. Clarke raises serious feminist issues, with potential to expand into a longer piece, creating a trio of characters I sincerely hope to meet again in another theatre for a longer run.

Until 13 June 2015

www.thehopetheatre.com

Photo by Ben Broomfield

2015

“Fanny & Stella” at the Above The Stag Theatre

A true story that’s a gift to a dramatist, Victorian transvestites Ernest Boulton and William Park, with their inspiring friendship, risqué love affairs and dangerous brush with the law, are truly fascinating. Playwright Glenn Chandler’s masterstroke is to have the characters’ eponymous drag personas present their own story in a music-hall style that makes for great entertainment.

Charles Miller’s accompanying Victoriana songs are a wicked delight that I’d have like to have heard more of. And the whole cast is superb. Phil Sealey, whose character represents the manager of the venue uneasily hosting Fanny and Stella’s performance, takes on numerous roles in the retelling of their shocking story. Along with the ladies’ attempts to outshine each other, there’s a faux improvised humour that adds charm as well as laughter. As for the rest of the many jokes, some gags positively creak and the plentiful innuendo isn’t exactly sophisticated, but it’s all great fun.

While the history forms an effective questioning of Victorian attitudes, there’s a purposefully contemporary feel to the show, seen most clearly in the two leads. Robert Jeffery and Marc Gee Finch, in the title roles, are both fine performers, great with the songs and even better with the show’s bitching – sorry, ladies, I daren’t pick a favourite. Camping it up for all their worth, yet capable of providing space for more sombre moments, it’s always funny to see characters milking applause when they are so clearly already commanding the spotlight.

The second half, dealing with Fanny and Stella’s scandalous trial and cruel imprisonment, drops off a little. There’s a touch of preaching to the choir and wish fulfilment – I am not convinced the story shows an early ‘victory’ over prejudice – but the show knows its audience; as the UK’s only full-time professional LGBT theatre, receiving no public subsidy, Above The Stag can’t afford not to. It’s a tribute to the show’s strength that I think the company is selling itself short. I’d love to see the show in a bigger venue (what about Wilton’s Music Hall?) and believe Fanny and Stella have the potential to appeal to all – they deserve to be massive stars.

Until 14 June 2015

www.abovethestag.com

2015

“Heartbreak Hotel” at The Jetty

A stay at the Heartbreak Hotel will be a disappointment for those who love the current trend for immersive theatre. The show is really only immersive if your definition of such is shuffling around a pre-fab cluttered with bric-a-brac. And flagging the play as ‘unique’ only serves to highlight that other theatre companies have used real hotels far more effectively. The performers’ valiant attempts at interaction simply feel like fillers between sketches.

There’s nothing wrong with Sam Curtis-Lindsay’s direction of the actual scenes, which are neatly presented and well acted, especially by Will Harrison-Wallace, as the hotel’s owner, and Natalia Campbell as an “open and honest” dominatrix who uses one of the rooms. But there’s a frustrating lack of coherence. Is this a conventional domestic drama, albeit one that is a little dull? Or are there pretentions to make it some kind of memory play? Neither element is explored and the inspiration for a lot of the staging isn’t that original.

Something, too, has gone awry with the play’s script, possibly edited into incomprehension, with established characters disappearing and mooted ideas quickly abandoned. The weakest element is a feeble satire based on a twisted self-help programme called A.C.H.E. – Achieving Creative Heartfelt Experience. The idea is thin enough to be insulting but hasn’t got off the ground before everyone is traipsed up to the roof (which admittedly has a lovely view) for a “keynote speech” from its charisma-less developer. We have been given only a “glimpse” of the project, we didn’t need telling that, but this is a recruitment drive that I don’t think anyone should check-in for.

Until 30 August 2015

www.heartbreakhoteljetty.com

Photo by Ben Hughes

2015

“Oresteia” at the Almeida Theatre

A sterling start to the Almeida’s Greek season, Robert Icke’s new version of the Oresteia is a mammoth achievement, presenting all three plays in one spirited and, at times, gruelling evening, where the trilogy’s themes of society and justice come alive in a stirring, contemporary fashion.

Agamemnon comes first, the king powerfully portrayed by Angus Wright as a politician, military leader and man of faith, who sacrifices his daughter Iphigenia before setting out for Troy. The murder occurs onstage, which some will find objectionable in itself, but for me the clinical approach of feeding the young actress some pills makes the scene so brutal I cannot say I fully support the decision to show it.

After a break that is strictly timed by a countdown on television screens, Clytemnestra comes to the fore. Consummately controlled, plotting to kill her husband as revenge, Lia Williams is mesmerising in the role, her exclamation that “the war came home” emphasising the consequences of battle abroad on the families left behind.

For the second play, The Libation Bearer, we see Orestes avenge his father by killing his mother. Previously presented as undergoing therapy, he joins forces with his sister Electra, with Jessica Brown Findlay making a forceful stage debut, the highlight of which forms a meditation on mourning. The fate of Electra later brings a penny-drops-twist from Icke that doesn’t deserve a plot spoiler.

The Eumenides sees the judgment upon Orestes for his matricide. Wright and Williams, reappearing as legal council, aid high emotions, and issues of gender are satisfyingly forefronted. But the scene rests too heavily on Luke Thompson’s fraught performance in the title role. At least those countdowns make sense – it wasn’t just to hurry people’s G&Ts – we have been watching a re-enactment in real-time. Instead of being treated, Orestes was being cross-examined.

It’s possible the production is too stylish for its own good. Hildegard Bechtler’s design, with its ghostly sliding glass that becomes opaque, looks so great that, combined with the moody background soundtrack, it becomes slightly distracting. And having live recordings played back onto screens may illustrate the public nature of this family, but it’s becoming a bit of a theatrical gimmick.

Reservations are small compared with the scale of Icke’s accomplishment. The dialogue is modern and easy to follow, with references to Whitman and even G&S. Icke is obsessive about retelling these stories, which justifies the liberties he has taken but also aids the coherence of his production; the omnipresent reiteration of concerns for signs, stories and interpretation is clear, convincing and engaging.

Until 18 July 2015

www.almedia.co.uk

Photo by Manuel Harlan

2015

“Death of a Salesman” at the Noël Coward Theatre

Gregory Doran’s revival of Arthur Miller’s Death Of A Salesman fully justifies the director’s claim that this is the greatest American play of the 20th century. Although rooted in post-war US society, Miller’s family tragedy and critique of capitalism transcends time and place. Perhaps recent economic woes make this powerful play freshly pertinent: the loss of job security for long-serving salesman Willy Loman rings alarm bells for us all. And perhaps, too – aided by our increased awareness of dementia – Willy’s tragic decline has added poignancy. Just as likely, the play is simply a masterpiece.

Antony Sher is confident and controlled in the lead role. Clearly passionate about the part, Sher projects an intensity that enfolds you. It’s an exceptionally subtle and intelligent delivery: for all Willy’s faults, we see why his family loves him, he isn’t made an underdog and there are no excuses for his behaviour – but he still retains our sympathy. Willy’s confidence seesaws constantly, moments of self-doubt are carefully hinted at. When Willy is presented with the gas pipe he plans to kill himself with, Sher’s whole body becomes frozen. It’s a tremendous theatrical moment.

Backed by Harriet Walter as Willy’s wife, with Alex Hassell and Sam Marks as his sons, the family struggles with the delusions of success and excess of optimism that construct their dreams. This is an unbeatable quartet of performances. The fight to see facts instead of fantasy is a relentless focus. Willy’s memories, possibly false, presented as the consequence of his age and misfortune, slide into the action dynamically. The downward spiral of the whole family in the second half is gut-wrenching and miraculously suspense-filled. We can all predict what’s coming but Doran makes it riveting, obeying the play’s demand that “attention must be paid”.

Until 18 July 2015

www.rsc.org.uk

Photo by Ellie Kurttz

2015

“The Railway Children” at the King’s Cross Theatre

Boasting a purpose-built theatre and a real-life steam train, York Theatre Royal’s adaptation of E Nesbit’s children’s classic is an extravagant family treat. Even the waiting area is a delight – a retro theme-park-style refreshments room that serves as a place for youngsters to let off steam. There’s no bad behaviour inside, though. I can report that this clever adaptation is a hit with the kids.

The work of Mike Kenny, the show isn’t just a question of nostalgia – and a big tick for that. The story of three youngsters, whose father mysteriously goes away after a visit from some policemen, forced into poverty and a move to the country, is told with clarity. Damian Cruden’s direction uses the railway platforms and moving stages on the tracks to great effect: the cast is constantly on the move.

There’s a lot of waving.

It must be dispiriting for any performer to be upstaged by a steam train, but it has to be admitted that the locomotive is impressive. Nonetheless, Serena Manteghi, Jack Hardwick and Louise Calf play the children skilfully. They engage their audience conscientiously and have stronger roles than the adults in the piece.

To be fair, the humour is very much aimed at children. There’s little effort to create a wider appeal – unusual nowadays – but it’s a consistently applied decision that pays dividends. A room full of attentive under-tens is not to be underestimated and a calculated price worth paying for leaving adults a little restless at times.

www.railwaychildrenlondon.com

Until 8 January 2017

2015

“The Beaux’ Stratagem” at the National Theatre

A Restoration comedy of love and manners, so steeped in cynicism that its heroes plot to marry for money, George Farquhar’s classic is a snapshot of 18th-century society that brims with life and adventure. Replete with desperate gentlemen, crooked innkeepers and comedy highwaymen, Simon Godwin’s revival feels credible and fresh.

Samuel Barnett and Geoffrey Streatfeild make appealing leads as Aimwell and Archer – the “marksmen” out to hunt rich women. Pippa Bennett-Warner and Susannah Fielding are similarly engaging as their love interests. Fielding carries the part of the miserably married Mrs Sullen well – tricky in a production that seems extravagantly enamoured of her. Mrs Sullen is pivotal, yes, and Fielding embodies her with sense and sensuality, but the production halts, shouting “This is important” so loudly that it becomes patronising.

Jpeg 16. Geoffrey Streatfeild (Archer) and Samuel Barnett (Aimwell)_The Beaux' Stratagem_credit Manuel Harlan
Geoffrey Streatfeild as Archer and Samuel Barnett as Aimwell

There are some great insults in The Beaux’ Strategem: I look forward to being able to use “prostrate engineer”. And Farquhar’s similes are superb, describing marriage as “two carcasses joined unnaturally together”. The cast, along with music, provide nice comic touches, but Godwin blunts the play’s momentum: smaller parts aren’t tamed enough and the initially impressive set by Lizzie Clachan becomes cumbersome.

There’s a great swashbuckling fight where we see how Archer “fights, loves, and banters, all in a breath” and for a moment the show lifts off. But we’re back to down to earth, with added sentimentality, as our heroes become disarmed by love. Maybe it’s Godwin’s ponderous build-up to these unexpected changes of heart that has slowed things down? If there is a strategy here, it has failed. The whole show feels too… thorough. That should be praise, but a lack of spirit and spontaneity means that the production just isn’t funny enough.

Until 20 September 2015

www.nationaltheatre.org.uk

Photos by Manuel Harlan

2015

“Crouch, Touch, Pause, Engage” at the Arcola Theatre

The life of Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas, including his well-publicised struggle with his sexuality, makes for compelling drama. There’s a danger, though, that it might interest rugger fans more than anyone else. Here is where Robin Soans’ play, based on Thomas’ life so far, first scores: far more than a biography, or a work about sport, Crouch, Touch, Pause, Engage is ambitiously expanded into a big, bold play. Full of intelligence and power, it lives up to its verb scrum of a title.

Working with Thomas, there’s a searing sense of honesty to the piece. The player is a hero because of his sporting status and charity work, but he is movingly portrayed as human and hurt. That the play isn’t a star vehicle is enforced by having all six cast members, male and female, don a jersey and take the leading role at some point. The casting works surprisingly well, although predictably the younger men, Rhys ap William and Daniel Hawksford, who also ably double as Thomas’ father and best friend, have the edge.

Expanding the play, Thomas’ story is told in tandem with that of a troubled young girl, also from Bridgend, in Wales. In a stunning performance from Lauren Roberts, Darcey’s story of self-abuse and attempts at suicide emphasises the admirable unsentimentality that marks the piece. Connecting these two very different locals, the play becomes a bullish kind of community theatre, rooted in geography and exploring politics in the punchy manner that director Max Stafford-Clark excels at. With the production ending a UK tour here in London, it’s stirring to know it has deservedly been offered over the country.

Until 20 June 2015

www.arcolatheatre.com

Photo by Robert Workman

2015

“Les Misérables” at the Queen’s Theatre

For a lot of Londoners, Les Mis is as much a landmark as a musical. Something that’s just there: a show seen long ago and now for tourists. The statistics about its success are on the dot matrix outside the Queen’s Theatre – and they are impressive. But the real phenomenon is how, despite knowing the story and songs, having seen the film and bought the t-shirt, Les Mis moves as much as ever.

Speculation about the show’s success has existed since it surprised critics and started selling tickets. Never forget how crazy adapting Victor Hugo’s epic of post-revolutionary French history must have seemed. First up, the tale itself: a good old-fashioned yarn that’s sentimental and exciting. As for the telling – by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel – it doesn’t stop, with an impressive pace that belies the show’s three-hour duration.

Claude-Michel Schönberg’s music is big and best described as filmic. Though the many hits are worth waiting for, the score has a satisfying coherence. With leitmotifs that emphasise themes as well as characters, it builds emotion so effectively it borders on exploitative; pretty much the whole of the second act guarantees goose bumps. OK, I confess, I was teary before the interval.

Carrie Hope Fletcher as Eponine and Rob Houchen as Marius. Photo by Michael Le Poer Trench

The music demands massive voices and the current cast are superb. From the start the strength of the male chorus is hugely impressive. Both leads, Valjean and Javert, with their personal stories embodying a divide between law and justice, are given powerhouse performances from Peter Lockyer and David Thaxton. Looking to the younger characters, whose story culminates on the barricades of the June Rebellion in Paris, both Rob Houchen and Carrie Hope Fletcher are tremendous as Marius and Eponine. More tears I am afraid.

John Napier’s design is surprisingly simple; mostly a matter of smoke with David Hersey’s excellent lighting (and the revolving stage so brilliantly parodied in Forbidden Broadway). Directors Trevor Nunn and John Caird handle the crowd of a cast with exemplary skill, directing audience emotions as much as anything; the best example being ‘Empty Chairs At Empty Tables’ – Marius’ lament – which sees his martyred friends breathtakingly emerging into view.

Like any work of theatre, Les Mis can’t be frozen – a live crew makes it work. The cynical might see its success down to reputation – it’s a safe bet and visitors tick the ‘done that’ box. But believe me, nobody working the performance I saw was resting on any laurels. But the real key to the success is both simpler and more profound: Les Misérables moves you. It’s still one of the best theatre experiences around.

www.lesmis.com/uk

Main photos by Johan Persson

2015

“High Society” at the Old Vic

Here’s a bold claim: Maria Friedman’s production of High Society has more laughs than the much loved film it’s based on. More than an amusing trip down memory lane, the show is laugh out loud funny, making the most of Cole Porter’s hit-crammed score and the humour of Arthur Kopit’s book. Updating the original 1930s setting to match the movie’s 1956 date injects a rock and roll feel, making the piece energised and a whole lot sexier.

Admittedly there’s a somewhat slow start. The sound could be bolder and some characters take time to establish themselves. The initial preamble to the wedding of wealthy socialite Tracy Lord and her arriviste fiancé George Kittredge lacks tension, despite her ex-husband CK Dexter-Haven being around. It feels like we’re being served a good prosecco rather than the champagne that plays such a big part in the show.

But by the time I Love Paris is sung, by Tracy and her feisty young sister Dinah, to bemuse two gate-crashing journalists, we’re onto the real thing and laughing a lot. And after the interval the use of the Old Vic’s current in-the-round format is embraced. When the cast sing What A Swell Party, we really feel part of it – it’s a tremendous scene that makes you glad you’ve been invited. The finale also uses the space cleverly as Tracy announces that the wedding is off to the audience, who at this point double as the congregation.

Of course, we’re all happy Tracy ends up with the right man. Rupert Young makes a suitably charismatic CK, while it’s best not to think too much about the fate of the unfortunate George. Dinah and the rogue reporters, played superbly by Ellie Bamber, Jamie Parker and Annabel Scholey, are on our side to allay complicity in the snobbery.
Amongst such a talented cast it’s all the more remarkable that Kate Fleetwood’s Tracy stands out so much. Her sexy voice and stunning comic skills mean you daren’t take your eyes off her. And she looks fantastic in Tom Pye’s glamorous costume designs. I’m not classy enough myself to know the best brand of champagne, but whatever it is, it should serve as a metaphor for Fleetwood’s performance. And she deserves a jeroboam of the stuff.

Until 22 August 2015

www.oldvictheatre.com

Photo by Johan Persson