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Posts Tagged ‘Southwark Playhouse’

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Posted in Theatre, tagged , , , , , , on May 31, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I loved this show when it premiered at Southwark Playhouse’s ‘Little’ space almost exactly four years ago so I couldn’t resist seeing it’s scale-up in their new ‘Elephant’ space. The cast of five has swollen to twelve hugely talented actor-musicians, led by Jamie Parker as Benjamin and Molly Osbourne as the barmaid who becomes his wife, both excellent. Two of the original cast – Matthew Burns and Philippa Hogg – have returned to the show

It’s great to report that it’s even better – more rousing, even more enthralling. It’s amazing how such an implausible story (a man living his life backwards) can draw you in, captivate you and even move you. Everything else I want to say about the show I said four years ago, here:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

All I can add now is that you’d be mad to miss this brilliant ‘folk musical’ by Darren Clark and Jethro Compton (who also directs and designs). There seem to be West End producers behind this new production – lets hope it joins the growing number of fringe transfers like Operation Mincemeat ‘up West’, but catch it here while you can.

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How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Posted in Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 17, 2023| Leave a Comment »

A show from the composer & lyricist of the iconic Guys & Dolls that came some ten years later, and his only other show that appears to have survived, though it’s rarely revived. It’s 18 years since I saw it in Chichester and six since a London fringe outing at Wilton’s Music Hall.

It doesn’t live up to the earlier show (what does), but it has some great tunes, it’s huge fun and the premise – how nepotism, sycophancy and back-stabbing can propel your career – proves rather timeless! The show’s title is a self-help book (it probably exists and is still in print!) which window-cleaner J Pierrepont Finch uses as his guide to enter the business world, starting his meteoric rise in the mailroom of the World Wide Wicket Company. In quick succession he becomes Mailroom Manager, then Junior Executive in Plans & Systems before being promoted to that department’s head. Finally he gets what has hitherto been the corporation’s poison chalice of Advertising Manager. His nemesis is company president J B Biggley’s nephew Bert Frump, but he even turns this to his advantage. Along the way he falls in love with secretary Rosemary Pilkington.

There’s a comic book quality to the show and the production has a charming tongue-in-cheek style which is well matched to this. The Southwark Playhouse space seemed particularly small on this occasion, so Georgie Rankcom’s staging and Alexzandra Sarmiento’s choreography face their challenges, even with just ten performers, but win. It may be the most diverse cast you’ll see in any London theatre, in every sense of the word. The roles of Biggley and Finch, usually played by men are here played by women, with Gabrielle Friedman bringing a cheeky but determined quality to Finch. In a cast that’s strong in both dance and vocal departments, Allie Daniel and Danny Lane stand out as Rosemary and mailroom boss Twimble / company chairman Womper respectively. MD Natalie Pound’s small band do a grand job, with particularly good orchestrations bringing strings to the fore.

It’s a touch long at 2 hours 45 minutes (particularly as the theatre website suggests 30 minutes less) but it is an infectious ball of fun which carries you away, and with his masterpiece a mile down the road at The Bridge, a great opportunity to see what Loesser did next. Catch it while you can.

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The Lion

Posted in Contemporary Music, Theatre, tagged , , on June 13, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Songwriter Benjamin Scheuer wrote this autobiographical one-man musical for himself, and he performed it 500 times on both sides of The Atlantic. Now it’s time to see if it works with others as him, in this case Max Alexander-Taylor.

Scheuer was born and brought up in New York City with his two younger brothers. His mother was British and his father an American mathematician, and a wannabe singer. He tells his story from aged 3 to 30. His relationship with his father was problematic. He dropped out and became a singer-songwriter. When his dad died, the family moved to the UK, but he returned alone to NYC where he meets his girlfriend, but she sets off to see the world on her own just before he is diagnosed with cancer. His family return to help him through.

This story is told in both dialogue and song. Any thoughts that it is a song cycle are banished by the seamlessness of the transitions, the songs carrying as much of the storytelling weight as the dialogue. You really do get drawn in and become completely wrapped up in the story, and the life. This is helped significantly by Max’s audience engagement, greeting us on arrival and making eye contact with what seems like every single one. There’s an incredible warmth about the evening.

I never saw Scheuer tell his own story, but on this evidence it works well when the responsibility passes to someone else. A 75 minute gem.

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Anyone Can Whistle

Posted in Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »

So the first Sondheim show I’m seeing after he’s left us is his biggest flop, which lasted for just nine performances after its 1964 opening night on Broadway. In recent years, though, the London fringe has been interested in it enough to stage it four times in less than twenty years. This is the fourth, and I’ve seen them all. It’s also the best.

It’s a satire without enough satirical bite. It has a Brechtian quality about it, but that doesn’t quite work either. One could argue it hasn’t stood the test of time, but it’s stage history suggests it never worked in the first place. What this production does, though, is invest it with a more manic quality, much more of a sense of fun and exceptional musical standards. If only someone would rewrite Arthur Laurents’ book.

In a bankrupt town, they search for a miracle that will bring in tourist bucks. A spring provides the opportunity. Mayor Cora Hoover Hooper and her three officials start to exploit their luck, or is it? So far so good. Then there’s the arrival of the residents (cookies) of the local asylum (the cookie jar) under the care of Dr Detmold, led by Nurse Fay Apple, intent on disproving the miracle. This derails it. A new doctor, J Bowden Hapgood, arrives (or is he?) and joins Nurse Apple, now in disguise as a miracle inspector from Lourdes. Let’s just forget the story, shall we?

The show does have three great songs which have had a life outside it, and two of them – There Won’t Be Trumpets and the title song – are sung by the nurse, and Chrystine Symone’s excellent vocals ensure they are highlights. The third – Everybody Says Don’t – showcases Hapgood, and Jordan Broatch delivers this superbly too. I’ve been following Alex Young’s career since she brought me to tears singing Send in the Clowns in A Little Night Music whilst training at the Royal Academy of Music (something Judi Dench and Hannah Waddingham hadn’t previously done!) and here she reveals a real flair for comedy as Cora, and sets the tone of the piece brilliantly.

The show has clearly been cast purely for talent, which makes it an exceptional diverse ensemble. I thought the musical standards achieved by MD Natalie Pound were outstanding and the venue’s troublesome acoustics were mastered by Justin Teasdale. This is a relatively new production team, led by director Georgie Rankcom, who bring new life to a dodgy show. The late Bridewell Theatre did well in 2003, as did Jermyn Street Theatre in 2010 and the Union Theatre in 2017, but for me this comes out tops. Sondheim fans should be flocking to Elephant & Castle!

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Straight White Men

Posted in Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 29, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Before it even starts, and in the introduction, we meet two characters who are about as far from straight white men as you can get. They are called ‘persons in charge’ and their role appears to be to subvert our perceptions of what this play is about.

In no time at all, we’re in the home of widower Ed, who lives there with his eldest son Matt. It’s Christmas and Ed’s other two sons arrive, successful banker Jake, divorced with children, full of bravado, and teacher / writer Drew, a gentler, more cerebral being. Much of the play is given over to Christmas traditions, including matching pyjamas, and sibling joshing and banter, until Matt’s unhappiness surfaces.

He’s left his human rights career behind and is now in a temporary job. He seems to have lost his way in the world. His dad wants to set him free by paying off his student loans, Jake wants to help him get his confidence back and Drew thinks therapy is the answer. This is where the underlying themes come to the fore. The difficulty of achieving fulfilment, living with privilege, the growing desire to opt out of the rat race, or even abandon work altogether, resisting the pressure of having a career at all.

It’s a great tribute to the four actors – Simon Rouse as dad Ed, Charlie Condou as troubled Matt, Alex Mugnaioni as Jake and Simon Haines as Drew – that you believe in them as a family; only siblings could interact like this with each other and with their father. The Christmas rituals, though American and specific to this family, somehow seem familiar. I’m not sure the presence of the ‘persons in charge’ really works, but it adds a quirkiness I suppose.

A personal story with universal themes; a well written new play by Young Jean Lee, staged by Steven Kunis, designed by Suzu Sakai, with movement from Christina Fulcher, all of whom bring the realism that is the key to its success. Well worth a visit.

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You Stupid Darkness!

Posted in Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 3, 2020| Leave a Comment »

I’m still not sure how playwright Sam Steiner’s play about troubled souls in a bleak world turned out to be so hopeful, but it was warm hearted and funny, despite the backdrop of a crumbling planet.

It’s set in the office of Brightline, a helpline manned by four volunteers; think The Samaritans. We know the world in which they live is bleak because they arrive with breathing masks, and we can see and hear dramatic climatic events going on outside. They listen to those who call in, and have to deal with those who abuse them. We hear their personal stories too. Heavily pregnant team leader Frances, soon to bring a newcomer into this hostile world, Jon in a troubled relationship, work experience student Joey trying to make his way in this world, and lonely Ange on an emotional roller-coaster.

There’s much humour, but it doesn’t swamp or trivialise either the personal stories or the world events. There are a lot of scenes, which do make it feel a bit staccato at times, but the character development is very good, and the interweaving of the big picture backdrop with the helpline setting and the personal lives works well. It really draws you in, as you find yourself interested in, and empathising with, these people.

Amy Cook’s excellent design manages to feel both huge and intimate, with perfect sight-lines everywhere, and the invasion of the outside into the inside is really well done. Jenni Maitland is superb as the eternally positive, very motherly Frances. Andy Rush plays Jon very well, a more complex character, cynical, suspicious, a touch brittle. Lydia Larson is lovely as chatterbox Ange, a bit neurotic and fragile. Andrew Finnigan, so so good in one-man musical Drip at the Bush, gives another charming performance as 17-year-old Joey, initially seeming naive but proving to be wise beyond his years.

Director James Grieve brings this all together to create a surprisingly feel-good cocktail of big issues and personal tales, which got a rare spontaneous standing ovation on the night I went. Paines Plough on fine form again.

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The Best Theatre of 2019

Posted in Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 31, 2019| 1 Comment »

One of the most positive things about 2019 was that more new plays and new musicals made my shortlist than revivals of either; new work appears to be thriving, theatre is alive.

BEST NEW PLAY

I struggled to chose one, so I’ve chosen four!

Laura Wade’s pirandellian The Watsons* at the Menier, clever and hilarious, The Doctor* at the Almeida, a tense and thrilling debate about medical ethics, How Not to Drown at the Traverse in Edinburgh, the deeply moving personal experience of one refugee and Jellyfish at the NT Dorfman, a funny and heart-warming love story, against all odds

There were another fifteen I could have chosen, including Downstate, Faith Hope & Charity and Secret River at the NT, The End of History and A Kind of People* at the Royal Court, The Son and Snowflake* at the Kiln, The Hunt at the Almeida, A German Life at the Bridge, After Edward at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, Appropriate at the Donmar, A Very Peculiar Poison at the Old Vic and Shook at Southwark Playhouse. Our Lady of Kibeho at Stratford East was a candidate, though I saw it in Northampton. My other out of town contender was The Patient Gloria at the Traverse in Edinburgh. I started the year seeing Sweat at the Donmar, but I sneaked that into the 2018 list!

BEST REVIVAL

Death of a Salesman* at the Young Vic.

This was a decisive win, though my shortlist also included All My Sons and Present Laughter at the Old Vic, Master Harold & the Boys and Rutherford & Son at the NT Lyttleton, the promenade A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Bridge, Noises Off* at the Lyric Hammersmith and Little Baby Jesus at the Orange Tree.

BEST NEW MUSICAL

Shared between Come From Away* in the West End and Amelie* at the Watermill in Newbury, now at The Other Palace, with Dear Evan Hansen*, This Is My Family at the Minerva in Chichester and one-woman show Honest Amy* at the Pleasance in Edinburgh very close indeed.

Honourable mentions to & Juliet* in the West End, Ghost Quartet* at the new Boulevard, The Bridges of Madison County at the Menier, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Fiver at Southwark Playhouse, Operation Mincemeat* at The New Diorama and The Season in Northampton.

BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL

Another that has to be shared, between the Menier’s The Boy Friend* and The Mill at Sonning’s Singin’ in the Rain*

I also enjoyed Sweet Charity* at the Donmar, Blues in the Night at the Kiln, Falsettos at the Other Palace and The Hired Man at the Queens Hornchurch, and out-of-town visits to Assassins and Kiss Me Kate at the Watermill Newbury and Oklahoma in Chichester.

A vintage year, I’d say. It’s worth recording that 60% of my shortlist originated in subsidised theatres, underlining the importance of public funding of quality theatre. 20% took me out of London to places like Chichester, Newbury and Northampton, a vital part of the UK’s theatrical scene. Only two of these 48 shows originated in the West End, and they both came from Broadway. The regions, the fringe and arts funding are all crucial to making and maintaining the UK as the global leader it is.

The starred shows are either still running or transferring, so they can still be seen, though some close this week.

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Shook

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

I’m so glad I caught this brilliant new play in its last week in London, before it heads off on tour. Samuel Bailey has written something very original that tackles a subject rarely covered with both empathy and humour that finds you laughing uproariously one minute and devastated the next.

We’re in a young offenders institute with three teenage boys attending parenting classes with trainer Grace. They are all about to become fathers, one already so, and they are learning things like feeding and changing nappies, though not always entirely willingly – it’s all a bit embarrassing, but its something to do. We learn why each of them are there and that the common thread in their backgrounds is parental issues themselves. Though they banter and spar with each other, you can feel a bond forming, as it questions the rehabilitative value of such incarceration, and examines the reasons why they are there in the first place. The friendship that’s forming seems the only light in a hopeless situation. You really do develop an empathy with these boys.

The writing is hugely impressive, particularly as its Bailey’s debut full production. Jasmine Swan’s set oozes authenticity and George Turvey’s staging is finely tuned and sympathetic to the material. Josh Finan is brilliant as livewire motormouth Scouser Cain, a bundle of energy that erupts continually. Ivan Oyik is superb as Riyad, more mature, intelligent and cool. New arrival JonJo, struggling in this new world for him, is played with great restraint and delicacy by Josef Davies. All three are playing below their age but all three characterisations are totally believable. Andrea Hall brings a calmness and positivity to Grace, with occasional flashes of frustration and hopelessness.

I’ve seen a lot of theatre in prisons, and once in a young offender institute. The programme biographies are often written by the residents describing their past and their hopes for the future and this plays like they read. It was great to see a full house standing and cheering such a good play given such a fine production. I do hope it returns to London so that more people can do so.

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Dear Evan Hansen

Posted in Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 20, 2019| Leave a Comment »

It’s only three months since I saw newcomer Sam Tutty in the British Theatre Academy’s production of Once On This Island at Southwark Playhouse (co-incidentally, Benj Pasak & Justin Paul’s other stage show Dogfight was in the same season) and here he is starring in this enthralling Broadway transfer of a musical with the unlikley themes of teenage anxiety & depression, parenting and the irony that social media has made us more connected but lonlier. Both he and the show are extraordinary.

Evan Hansen is a troubled teenager. His parents split up when he was seven and he lives with his mum, who spends most of her time working and studying to improve her and Evan’s lives. He suffers from anxiety for which he has medication and a therapist, who has set him the task of writing letters to himself to build his confidence and self-esteem. Fellow student Connor, himself a troubled teen who uses drugs to deal with his depression, bullies Evan, stealing one of these letters. When Connor commits suicide, his parents find and misinterpret this letter, which sets Evan on a series of lies that gets out of control.

He effectively invents a friendship with Connor, and initially this has positive impact on his confidence, proving to be better therapy than therapy, and brings comfort to Connor’s parents. Even his fantasy of a relationship with Connor’s sister Zoe becomes a reality. At school it’s more surreal as a grief bandwagon begins to roll, with people who hardly knew Connor inventing friendships. It goes viral with its own hashtag #youwillbefound and Evan becomes the de facto leader, spurred on by colleagues Alana and Jared, though the latter for more cynical reasons. Throughout all of this, his mother is oblivious. Then the truth comes out…….

You rarely see an actor invest so much into a role, but Sam Tutty’s neurotic, vulnerable, emotionally raw, authentic performance captures just about every heart in the theatre. There’s another auspicious professional debut from Lucy Anderson as Zoe, a much cooler, guarded, suspicious character. Jack Loxton is great as the more worldly wise Jared who can hardly believe all this emotional stuff, Nicole Raquel Dennis delightful as Alana, fully wrapped up in it, and a fine performance from Doug Colling as Connor, who we see briefly alive, but also in Evan’s head. The parents – Lauren Ward, Rebecca McKinnis & Rupert Young – are all excellent, each having their own revelatory journey.

The design, which relies heavily on projections, is simple, facilitating an organic flow for Michael Greif’s impeccable staging. The musical theatre form suits the story because musicals are good at conveying the emotional and Steven Levenson’s book and Pasek & Paul’s music and lyrics are seamlessly conjoined and produce something even deeper, addressing serious themes delicately but with humour and heart, leading to a hopeful conclusion. I loved every moment of it and left the theatre emotionally drained but exhilarated.

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Islander

Posted in Theatre, tagged , , , , , on October 8, 2019| 1 Comment »

Another one I missed in Edinburgh, this is billed as ‘a new musical’, which is deceptive. For me it’s a folk tale with music, highly original, with bucketloads of atmosphere and charm.

Eilidh is the last child on a remote Scottish island which has been depopulating rapidly and may soon become unpopulated entirely, depending on the outcome of a referendum. Eilidh’s mum left her with her gran, a bit of a prankster. We meet other characters who live on the island, including a heavily pregnant woman (on an island without a midwife!), but the significant event is Eilidh finding a beached whale, then meeting Arran, a stranger who seems to have a connection to the creature. There are allusions to the Scots mythical Finfolk and Skelkie.

Bethany Tennick and Kirsty Findlay play Eilidh and Arran respectively, plus all other roles. They sing unaccompanied, beautifully, using live electronic loops to provide extra vocals, foot & hand percussion, harmonies and sound effects. They conjure up a strange, mysterious world and the story captivates as it unfolds. I struggled a bit with the dialect at first, particularly as the speech is underlaid with music / sound, but I got into the rhythm of it. Staging it in Southwark Playhouse’s smaller space, The Little, provides the intimacy it needs.

Stewart Melton’s has written a folk tale, Finn Anderson has added music and Amy Draper has animated it. I thought it was lovely. Go see.

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