Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Amy Jane Cook’

The Season – Royal & Derngate, Northampton

Posted in Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , on November 22, 2019| Leave a Comment »

This is the third musical I’ve seen over the last seven days, and on a way smaller scale than the other two, but I enjoyed it just as much. It’s a two-hander RomCom, a debut for its writers Jim Barne & Kit Buchan, and a tribute to those that have nurtured them.

Dougal arrives in New York City on Christmas Eve for the wedding of the dad he’s never met; he deserted his mum and moved there before he was born. The bride’s sister Robin is there to greet him. He’s a movie buff, so he’s bubbling with excitement to be in such an iconic city, and to at last meet his dad. Robin is busy, somewhat jaded and a bit unhappy, and clearly finds Dougal irritating. His hopes of a sightseeing companion for his short 36-hour visit are quashed, but he tags along as Robin undertakes wedding tasks for her sister. She begins to fall for the charms of this cheeky, chirpy young Brit and they begin a whirlwind tour of the city that becomes more touristy, more Christmasy and more romantic as the evening and night progresses. Robin is melting as the snow starts to fall, but Dougal heads to the church on his own as Robin has a very good reason to give the wedding a miss.

The seventeen songs are excellent, the lyrics particularly good at adding thoughts and emotions to the narrative. I found the song Dad very moving, a simple but lovely number where Dougal sings about what he missed by not having a dad. There’s a very original touch when they row, with accompaniment added by the band. It’s all beautifully sung, and played well by Grant Walsh’s trio. I loved Alex Cardall’s characterisation of Dougal; you fall for his charms within minutes of meeting him and by the end you adore him. Tori Allen-Martin navigates Robin’s melt really well, and is a very authentic New Yorker, who you also grow to love. Tim Jackson’s staging and Amy Jane Cook’s design bring an intimacy and a flow and it fits this theatre like a glove.

A lovely show. Well worth the trip to Northampton. Surely to have a life beyond this short run, but catch it there before the end of November if you can.

Read Full Post »

Mydidae

Posted in Theatre, tagged , , , , , , on March 21, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Playwrights normally choose their own subjects, but on this occasion Jack Thorne was asked by new writing theatre company DryWrite to produce something that explored privacy and intimacy, with a man and a woman, set in their shared domestic bathroom. Well, you can’t say he didn’t deliver!

Mydidae is apparently a family of large flower-loving flies. I only scraped a biology ‘O’ level (remember those?), so I had to go to Wikipedia to find that out. I’m still not sure why it’s called that, but perhaps it’s a reference to the audience. You really do feel like a fly on the wall as you sit in the tiny Trafalgar Studio Two space looking into an uber-realistic bathroom without walls, watching David & Marian clean their teeth, shave, pee and bath!

It all starts out very RomCom and not at all uncomfortable to watch. They appear to be a perfectly normal happy couple doing normal everyday things, both together and alone. In addition to the aforementioned acts you expect in a bathroom, they scratch in places and in a way people normally scratch and make customary overuse of the mirror. David talks to a work colleague on the phone about that day’s sales pitch and Marian calls her mum and plans a visit. Yet you know there has been some tragedy in their recent past and there’s an undercurrent of walking on eggshells.

The play takes an extraordinary turn when they take a bath together, and this was the point where, for me, realism turned into implausibility. I didn’t really buy the motivation behind the shocking turn of events and in particular the reaction to them, so as they lost the plot, so did I. The concept is original and the writing is good. Vicky Jones’ staging and Amy Jane Cook’s design are both highly effective. Keir Charles and Phoebe Waller-Bridge are exceptional and their relationship seems ever so real.

Though I’m glad I saw it, my failure to believe in the turn of events ultimately undermined my satisfaction with the play. Great that it’s getting a showcase in the West End, though, and at accessible prices too.

Read Full Post »