Tag Archives: Ben & Max Ringham

“The Tempest” at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Director Jamie Lloyd delivers every time. The big draw for his new production of Shakespeare’s late play is the West End debut of Sigourney Weaver as Prospero and, since she never leaves the stage, we get a lot of her. You came for a star? You get a star…

Weaver’s is not the clearest delivery I’ve heard, but it is good. She is a focused presence, often stationary, drawing in energy as her character’s magic controls what’s going on. We never doubt this Prospero’s power – which diminishes tension a little – but Weaver is truly magnetic.

No doubt it’s a thrill to see such famous faces on stage (Lloyd’s career proves as much). But the production has more to offer. There’s a reason actors of Weaver’s status want to work with him: the production is bold, controlled, and has big ideas.

Let’s take the bombastic first; Soutra Gilmour’s set is stunning. Shakespeare hasn’t been staged at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in a long time and the space, so perfect for big musicals, is huge. Maybe with a nod to Weaver’s movies (although it is described as “barren”) the isle’s setting looks like a moonscape. Gilmour works marvels with huge curtains of gauze. For added drama there’s Jon Clark’s ambitious lighting design including some tricky total blackouts.

The island is, famously, “full of noises”. Sound designers Ben and Max Ringham must have been rubbing their hands at the job. Their work is loud. Too often the amplification is to the detriment of the poetry, but the effects are good and help with the plot. The Ringham’s are also co-composers to a score from Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante, available to buy soon I’d bet.

For all the epic feel, the production is emphatically not cinematic. Lloyd knows theatre shouldn’t compete with film – it has something else to offer (that’s his point when he uses live recordings). There are good old fashioned theatrical techniques here, including a lot of aerial work for… Ariel!

To further balance the grand touches, this is also a cerebral version of The Tempest. Weaver reflects the thought process behind the grief, revenge, and forgiveness that is going on. And Lloyd points out that much of this is happening in people’s heads. It is the mental anguish Prospero’s illusions creates that are continually emphasised (notably, the joyous wedding masque is downplayed). There’s a focus on choreography, with characters coming forward into a spotlight or circling one another in their confusion. It all looks great. And, often it makes the play easy to follow. But there is a sense that characters are puppets for Prospero… or maybe for Lloyd.

Much of the cast suffer from the stylised staging. The play’s villains merge into one, despite the efforts of Tim Steed and Oliver Ryan. Young lovers (Mara Huf and James Phoon) fade into the background. Like romance, there’s little room for humour so Jason Barnett’s Stephano and Mathew Horne’s Trinculo (always difficult roles) are also lost. Jude Akuwudike and Selina Cadell, as Alonso and Gonzalo, fare better and make their roles unusually interesting.

Mason Alexander Parks in The Tempest
Mason Alexander Park

It’s the characters that are other-worldly that excel. An unrecognizable Forbes Masson takes the part of Caliban; the physicality of his performance is commendable. Mason Alexander Park’s Ariel is particularly impressive, benefitting from the music in the show and its special effects. Affection for Prospero is balanced well with the desire for freedom, giving the character a melancholy touch. And there’s an element of theatricality to this Ariel that is fascinating; they seem to enjoy tricks played and fear induced. Park is the only challenge to Weaver’s dominance and does so well that they may be the real star of the show.

Until 1 February 2025

www.thejamielloydcompany.com

Photos by Marc Brenner

‘Prima Facie” from NTLive

A sell out in the West End and due to travel to Broadway, Suzie Miller’s play is also a hit in cinemas thanks to this live recording. The neatly written monologue is motivated by a powerful sense of injustice surrounding sexual offences. The statistics shock – check out the website. The play’s important message benefits from an excellent production.

When criminal barrister Tessa becomes a victim, in a case like many she has defended, the stage is set to put the system on trial. The intelligence of the script is clear. Let’s submit as evidence the protagonist’s own position of privilege, which is used to great dramatic effect. She knows the difficulties to come, and the piece highlights an important point – if Tessa can’t get justice, what chance does anyone else have?

Miller’s writing about the law is dynamic. At first, Tessa’s excitement about her job being a kind of game is palpable, and it makes the transformation to frustration more powerful. The thrill of being a barrister might be overstated, but it works for the stage.

A slight nag cannot help but be reflected in the excellent performance from Jodie Comer. There’s a breathlessness to the first scenes that’s uncomfortable. And Tessa’s humble origin story might be more convincing. Nonetheless, Comer creates an appealing character and has a comic touch an audience can warm to.

The energy in this long monologue is consistently high – more credit for Comer. Powerful imagery guarantees applause for director Justin Martin and designers Miriam Beuther and Natasha Chivers. A bold approach is less successful when it comes to the overpowering soundtrack (composed by Self Esteem’s Rebecca Lucy Taylor and designed by Ben and Max Ringham). 

Seeing theatre in the cinema is never quite the real deal and Prima Facie is a good case in point. Comer is playing for a house, so views of her face at traumatic moments don’t seem quite fair – no seat could get that close. It’s a brave performance throughout and really cannot be praised enough.

Best of all, the show is wonderfully theatrical. Direct addresses to the audience about those statistics become so urgent you wonder if Comer herself is speaking to us. As the lights rise, do we move from drama to debate? Could the show have ended already? There is a conclusion to the story, but it is the lesson that Miller wants to teach that gives the play its power.

www.primafacieplay.com  

“Blindness” at the Donmar Warehouse

All hail Michael Longhurst and his Covent Garden venue for staging a show during the lockdown. Not a performance exactly – the description is a ‘sound installation’ – as it is a recording of Juliet Stevenson that the audience listens to through those fancy headsets. It’s still a chance to get back into a theatre. That, alone, is worth applauding.

Simon Stephens’ adaptation of José Saramago’s novel is close to home – it’s about an epidemic, albeit one where the population suddenly goes blind. But there’s still escapism and entertainment in the far-fetched story. It’s exciting at first – a tale of the unexpected with creepy touches that Stevenson narrates exquisitely.

Close your eyes…

…for a bit of plot spoiler. As the disease becomes rife, Stevenson moves from being the storyteller to a doctor’s wife, who joins him in suitably gothic quarantine, pretending to be afflicted herself. Too quickly, Blindness becomes too generic. The script is well constructed and full of strong imagery. As with the last motif of the play, Saramago’s writing has a certain grace. And it is always impeccably directed by Walter Meierjohann. But it is not original. This is a very standard sci-fi societal breakdown: surely such views convince less and less? The only surprises come from not encountering familiar tropes; why isn’t the one woman immune investigated and what about those who are already blind?

You can open them again…

Few would be thrilled to go to the theatre for a radio play. OK, maybe I am desperate enough. But, with sound design from Ben and Max Ringham and the sculptural work from lighting designer Jessica Hung Han Yun, this piece comes closer to immersive than many that aim for that label. 

Along with a sense of excitement from the solicitous staff, there’s also the irreplaceable connection of watching as part of an audience. With the hope that none of this talented team is offended, my highlight came at the end, catching the eye of another theatregoer who, like me, wondered if we should clap. Yes, we can, and yes, we did – deservedly so.

Until 22 August 2020

www.donmarwarehouse.com

“The Girl on the Train” at the Duke of York’s Theatre

Before embarking on a national tour, Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel’s adaptation of Paula Hawkins’ best-selling thriller is having a month in the West End. With considerable help from its star Samantha Womack, playing the alcoholic Rachel trying to remember what happened at the scene of a crime, it is a commendable effort to bring suspense to the stage. If you’re a fan of the novel, you might have some reservations, but the show’s journey is speedy and stylish, resulting in happy travellers.

As with a delayed departure announcement my heart sank at first. One of the more interesting things about the book is its unreliable narrator, deftly handled by Hawkins, and that’s sacrificed here for the sake of brevity. Rachel is, straight away, in a terrible state, puking up into a takeaway pizza box. Womack is a good stage drunk – her performance throughout is spot on – but Rachel is a victim from the start. It’s no plot spoiler to reveal that, unlike with the novel, you quickly dismiss the idea that she could be the villain of the piece.

The Girl on the Train is a mystery about memory, with maternity as a big theme. The suggestion fought with is that infertility has driven Rachel mad, while the victim of a crime, a babysitter called Megan, has a back story about a baby worthy of Barbara Vine. The themes are a juggling act Hawkins doesn’t quite pull off, so it’s no surprise that cramming it all into the play ends up unsubtle at times. Womack and Kirsty Oswald, who plays Megan, do well in emotional scenes, but director Anthony Banks doesn’t give them quite enough space.

You wouldn’t call the show very theatrical. Wanting to be faithful to the original source, and the film, takes precedence. Megan has some nice flashback scenes, but Oswald is oddly wooden in them. And Rachel’s tenuous grip on reality could surely have been made more of; might some of her fears be more literally shown? And maybe her ex-husband (while Adam Jackson Smith’s performance in the role is good) should be written with more ambiguity from the start?

For all these customer complaints, you wouldn’t want a refund. What the adaptation lacks in finesse it makes up for with action. The plot is précised expertly and the pace is fantastic. Banks does a keen job throughout. Jack Knowles’ work with the lighting is strong and the sound and music design from Ben and Max Ringham is up to their usual high standards. The audience is gripped and entertained at every moment, making this one train service with an eye on the clock that is a model of efficiency.

Until 17 August, then touring until 23 November 2019

www.girlonthetrainplay.com

Photo by Manuel Harlan

“Berberian Sound Studio” at the Donmar Warehouse

This must be the show of a lifetime for composers and sound designers Ben and Max Ringham. It follows a fictional sound engineer – the oddly named Gilderoy – who is working on an Italian horror film, and a claim might be made that sound is the subject matter for this whole show. Let’s be ringing, crystal clear that the Ringhams do a great job throughout. It is their night… but perhaps theirs alone.

A too thin plot fails to hold attention even at just over 90 minutes. As Gilderoy works behind the scenes to find a particularly horrible noise, and as his backstory is clumsily developed, there’s little tension and no surprises. Tom Brooke makes for a charismatic lead, doing well to restrain the hammy humour in the piece, but the character’s timid English manners are too caricatured, and contrasting his inhibitions with his continental colleagues becomes painful. As for the continually promised horror that’s played with, you’d have to be very timid to jump even once. While Gilderoy is searching for what frightens us most, his biggest fear is literally written above him in lights – no wonder the quest ends up dragging.

Weightier themes painfully forced into the play are the real terror here: Art and Ethics, screamed out loud. We get two sides of the debate, first from a voiceover actress offended by torture scenes. Eugenia Caruso does well and manages to craft a credible character here, but her points are pretty obvious. Then the auteur director himself comes in with a seductive defence. Credit to Luke Pasqualino, who has a good stab at making the part memorable, but the appearance is too brief and, by the time he arrives, it’s already obvious that the film being worked on is too awful to bother about.

Director Tom Scutt tries hard to raise the stakes. This show is clearly a pet project for him and writer Joel Horwood, who have brought Peter Strickland’s screenplay to the stage. As well as bells and whistles, Lee Curran’s lighting design includes complete blackouts (rarer than you’d think in the theatre). And there’s an effort at comedy with two assistants, both called Massimo (chortle), played by Tom Espiner and Hemi Yeroham, whose creation of the sound effects before our eyes proves a diversion. But restricting action to the booths that make up Scutt’s and Anna Yates’ design makes the show static, as surprisingly little of the stage is used. And placing the actresses’ booth in one corner of the stage is a big mistake – if you do bother to see the show, don’t sit stage right. Time and again it’s too clear that a film would be (and was) more effective. There’s a growing frustration that anyone bothered to stage the piece at all. Let’s hope that the Ringhams, at least, had fun.

Until 30 March 2019

www.donmarwarehouse.com

Photo by Marc Brenner

“Richard III” at the Trafalgar Studios

Jamie Lloyd has all the bases covered with his new production of Richard III. After an acclaimed first season at the ‘transformed’ Trafalgar Studios, theatregoers are excited and bringing another star to the stage attracts a new crowd. Taking on Richard is Martin Freeman, of Hobbit and Sherlock fame, giving an assured performance within a show full of eye-catching touches.

Lloyd would, I am sure, be proud to be called populist. This Richard III is remarkable for its clarity. Helpful gestures ensure those pesky family trees, important to claiming the disputed throne, are clear. Staged as a Cold War thriller, set among military coups in the 1970s, there’s a cinematic air that aids the plot and adds a contemporary feel.

Also, there’s plenty of action. It’s often commented that the killing in Richard III takes place off stage. Lloyd is having none of this: Richard brutally murders Anne before our eyes and the blood flows freely – if not quite enough to justify the pre-show hype around being splattered if you are in the front rows.

Angling the play as a spy story and all the gore make the show feel fresh and enable Lloyd’s interpretation. I wonder if anyone else feels they have seen too much filming and recording on stage by now? Nonetheless, a sense of paranoia is efficiently created. Seated in a war room, playing with toy soldiers, this is a modern military world familiar from recent Shakespearean productions. It’s a shame that Richard’s famous line about his horse is thrown away but, if not revelatory, Lloyd is on sound enough ground.

Freeman’s Richard is a serious fellow, as it’s the politics and the twisted practicalities of power that are emphasised. There are laughs, but quite a few are sacrificed to the speed of delivery and that bloodthirsty touch. The acting is consistent and intelligent, with touches of charisma and addresses to the audience that will please fans.

It is the thoroughness that makes you admire Lloyd. This is a strong supporting cast – especially of women. Maggie Steed gives a bold performance as an increasingly bizarre Queen Margaret, calmly sipping tea as prophecies of doom are fulfilled. Gina McKee, too talented an actress for the relatively small role of Queen Elizabeth, is outstanding – bringing home the emotional impact of Richard’s tyranny. Jo Stone-Fewings is also superb as Buckingham, Richard’s “other self”, presenting the crown as if won at a game show.

Final praise to Ben and Max Ringham for their sound and music. With a microphone frequently used to emphasise public announcements, sound indicating changes of scene and music that makes the atmosphere gripping, the Ringhams’ work is a good example of how detailed and committed this show is.

Until 27 September 2014

www.trafalgartransformed.com

Photo by Marc Brenner

Written 11 July 2014 for The London Magazine

“She stoops to conquer’ at the National Theatre

Any production of a comedy at the National Theatre is likely to be compared to the venue’s most recent success, One Man, Two Guvnors. As Richard Bean’s updating of Goldoni’s play moves to Broadway, and opens with a new cast in the West End, the National’s newest attempt to make us merry is a traditional version of another 18th-century classic, Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer. Remarkably, the National has succeeded again – this is a delightful production with guaranteed belly laughs.

Our hero Marlow is sent to visit his prospective bride Kate, played commendably by Harry Hadden-Paton and Katherine Kelly. But while Marlow can banter with barmaids he is impotent when flirting with women of his own class. A practical joke by Kate’s half-brother Tony Lumpkin (a superb comic creation in the hands of David Fynn) leads Marlow to believe the home of his future father-in-law is the local inn. Exploiting the confusion, Kate joins in the deception, bawdily stooping in class to conquer her diffident suitor.

SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER by Goldsmith
Sophie Thompson as Mrs Hardscastle

Another pair of lovers, Constance (the appealing Cush Jumbo) and Hastings, joins the fun, planning to elope under the nose of the former’s guardian, the pretentious and avaricious Mrs Hardcastle. Sophie Thompson is superb in the role, her deliciously exaggerated performance making her one of the most endearing characters of the piece. But it’s John Heffernan as the foppish Hastings who takes the evening’s comic laurels delivering a master class in buffoonery and raillery.

It’s a relief that director Jamie Lloyd doesn’t try anything tricksy with the play. She stoops to conquer is “old-fashioned trumpery” that doesn’t need a modern take. Lloyd has the confidence to play it straight, knowing he just has to control the action, and the laughs will follow. Mark Thompson’s design provides the doors to slam – the text doesn’t really call for them but they add a reassuringly farcical touch. And the music – all pots and pans and trolololing, provided by Ben & Max Ringham, directed and arranged by David Shrubsole, adds immeasurably to the production. You have to see the ensemble perform it to believe how funny it is – that’s if you can hear it above the laughter.

Until 28 March 2012

www.nationaltheatre.org.uk

Photo by Johan Persson

Written 1 February 2012 for The London Magazine