Tag Archives: Luke Fredericks

“Gay Pride and No Prejudice” at the Union Theatre

It’s clear enough what you are going to get with David Kerby-Kendall’s riff on Jane Austen’s classic novel. Examining the literary canon is a perennial pursuit, and applying a queer perspective has been popular for a while. But while Darcy and Bingley running off together doesn’t seem as radical as it might once have done (which is good news, of course), there’s still the question of whether this effort is any good?

Kerby-Kendall has a neat move – which is to focus on Elizabeth Bennet. It turns out she’s more radical than Austen could probably have imagined, and Darcy agrees with her revolutionary ideas. They are each other’s allies. The strategy maintains the couple as our heroes and gives Sophie Bloor and Michael Gillette, who take the roles, plenty to do. And it’s a relief that Austen’s heroine is, somehow, preserved.

A touch ironically, Darcy and Elizabeth still make a good couple. And their chemistry is matched by that of Noah Butt and Sophie Bradley, who play a diminished Bingley and Jane Bennet – it seems their characters are genuinely in love, which sets up a poignancy that could have been exploited more. When closer to the original source material, the action is fine, plot points are picked out well and the piece has potential. But problems arrive.  

After the interval, the piece loses its way to the extent of becoming confusing. There’s the suggestion that Darcy and Bingley are going to marry the women and only go for “walks” together. But they can’t keep their hands off one another and are discovered! Don’t worry. After the briefest mention of eternal damnation, it turns out that the Bennets are all darling liberals who decide to forgive and stay friends. It’s all society’s fault, after all, so Jane bakes a cake with two grooms on it. 

The trouble is twofold. Firstly, the (small) anxiety the characters experience manifests as preachy and laboured (Gillette is the only one who manages to make speeches about equality sound anywhere near natural). While no prejudice is admirable, it also means no drama. And then there’s a problem with the wit. I’ll go for the one about opening a hostelry for men and calling it Persuasion. But the humour is chaotic, and too many jokes fail to take the period nature of the piece into account. That Mr and Mrs Bennet just aren’t funny is confirmation something is wrong: we move from laughing at their silly old-fashioned ways to enduring random bons mots and knowing gags that characters themselves wouldn’t understand. 

Of course, Kerby-Kendall isn’t trying to be historically accurate. Pride comes first and he wants to avoid a fall in the mood. The project is closer to a fairy tale – which is fine – but such retellings should be joyous rather than didactic and clunky. Luke Fredericks’ direction is slow and the fussy set doesn’t help. There are some good ideas here but, regrettably, they are poorly executed.

Until 2 November 2024

www.uniontheatre.biz

Photo by Lucy Nixon

“The Country Wife” at the Southwark Playhouse

Two mannequins dressed Restoration style adorn the stage at the start of this production of William Wycherley’s 1675 play. The dummies are a nice nod to the original, as Morphic Graffiti’s Luke Fredericks and Stewart Charlesworth move this story of cuckoldry into the 1920s. Charlesworth’s costumes make it all look gorgeous and the stage is filled with a cast of bright things, young and old. A larger aim, to make the piece feel relevant, may fail, but this is a well-performed and spirited effort.

Anti-hero Harry Horner poses as a eunuch to abuse women (it’s explained… kind of). Eddie Eyre, who takes the role, deserves a lot of credit for making this misogynist who “hates women perfectly” tolerable. Richard Clews, Sam Graham and, conspicuously, Daniel Cane play a trio of fools about to be betrayed and there’s enough humour in their delivery to get over a lot of unpleasant behaviour… although it’s a close call. Special effort is made to balance the sexes, almost despite the text itself. As the titular character, notable for her stupidity as much as her honesty, Nancy Sullivan does a good job, while on the other side of the town/country divide Siubhan Harrison is a suitably sophisticated girl about town. There are problems with the rhythm of the lines – some actors become stuck and the resulting delivery is monotonous. But the cast does well with the wit and raillery – which are great fun – and the theatrical asides (bravo to lighting designer Sam Waddington).

The adaptation itself is credible. With his direction, Frederick shows a keen appreciation of the comedy. There are fake orgasms aplenty and more than enough innuendo, but the production seems to labour under the impression that the audience is unaware that Restoration comedy can be bawdy. Crude touches fail to shock and too many jazz cover versions of contemporary numbers slow down the action. The result is a theatrical climax that doesn’t come soon enough. The impression is of a production that’s a little desperate and lacks confidence in the play itself. It’s a shame, given the talent and effort behind it all.

Until 21 April 2018

www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk

“Bat Boy” at the Southwark Playhouse

This cultish musical, which ran for a few months at the Shaftesbury Theatre back in 2004, has been revived by Morphic Graffiti’s director Luke Fredericks and designer Stewart Charlesworth. Its camp, fringe feel has an appeal, taking a tabloid fantasy of a boy who is partly a bat and having fun trying to make such an outlandish premise fly.

Bat Boy is really a standard misunderstood monster story. Our sympathies lie with the young orphan, renamed Edgar and taught to speak RP, while fun is made of the small town hicks our vampiric hero seeks approval from. It’s a strong role for the titular character, played with athleticism by Rob Compton, who earns the distinction of sounding good with fangs.

Matthew White and the excellent Lauren Ward perform well as the local vet and his wife, the Parkers, who give Bat Boy a home. It gives away too much plot to detail their relationships but a lot goes on and it’s interesting enough. Touches of schlock horror and tastelessness abound and the show revels in these, injecting enough comic book touches to get away with being so crass.

But the show isn’t as funny as it could be. There’s a brilliant use of stuffed toys, but overall Charlesworth’s B-movie aesthetic relies too heavily on impressive projections, which becomes tiresome. Some performances are the wrong side of overblown, with the notable exception of Georgina Hagen, who excels as the young Shelley Parker, the show’s most sympathetic character.

The book by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming is bravely outspoken in its contempt of ‘Christian charity’. The show is full of the cynicism so popular in musicals right now (think Book of Morman and Urinetown) and not much to my taste. Still, though religion and prejudice make easy targets, the aim here is sure and the bull’s-eye hit.

The music is pure pastiche, but damn clever. Composer and lyricist Laurence O’Keefe knows how a musical works, with particularly rousing numbers around the interval. The lyrics are impressive too – fast, funny and polemical. The sheer cheek of the plot carries Bat Boy a long way, to a positively Jacobean finale, so it is easy to imagine many will, you’ve guess it, be batty for this show.

Until 31 January 2015

www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk

“Carousel” at the Arcola Theatre

A favourite musical for many, a new production of Carousel opened at the Arcola Theatre last night. Making the most of this intimate venue, with astounding up-close choreography, this is a high energy affair that does wonders to work the big scale of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s masterpiece within a small space.

Director Luke Fredericks has a clear grasp of the fantasy within Carousel. The overture is used to establish the fairytale atmosphere with an interesting air of danger surrounding a trip to the fairground. Let’s be honest, the love story of “bad un” Billy Bigelow and the innocent Julie isn’t that believable, so adding a surreal touch is clever, especially for later scenes set in the ‘backyard of heaven’.

Tim Rogers as Billy Bigelow and Gemma Sutton as Julie Jordan in CAROUSEL. Photo Credit QNQ Creative
Tim Rogers and Gemma Sutton

As Billy and Julie, Tim Rogers and Gemma Sutton seemed nervous at first but their acting was strong throughout. No easy task when you consider how many of the morals within Carousel make their characters unhappy ones for a modern audience. Rogers’ manages to make the vicious Billy sympathetic and Sutton insures Julie’s martyrdom is moving.

Joining them in romance, Vicki Lee Taylor and Joel Montague have a jollier time as Carrie Pipperidge and Mr Snow. Their sweetness doesn’t cloy and the humour is well developed. When The Children Are Asleep is a highlight, with the odiferous sailor Snow washing those fishes right out of his hair on stage. The whole ensemble is incredibly hard working. Special mention for Amanda Minihan’s spirited Nettie and a lusty rendition of June Is Bustin’ Out All Over.

Nettie’s raunchy appeal is matched at several points by earthy touches in Fredericks’ production. I normally quite fancy the clambake in Carousel – not so much this time as it seems to make everyone sick – but I can see the point of bringing the show down to earth a little. Similarly Richard Kent’s villainous Jigger makes an impression with a knowing delivery of his character.

Best of all is Lee Proud’s choreography, with a stirring combative streak and a use of circus skills that is inspired. So close is the action you might feel a little nervous if you are on the front row. Rest easy with the wonderful score, which soars under Andrew Corcoran’s musical direction. Here the coup is the presence of a harpist, squeezed onto a platform above the action, sure to please Carousel connoisseurs.

Until 19July 2014

www.arcolatheatre.com

Photo by QNQ Creative

Written 24 June 2014 for The London Magazine