Sunday, April 26

REVIEWS

Double Bill: The Masks of Aphra Behn and Oranges and Ink
18Jul By Paul DownhamNo Comments
REVIEWS

Double Bill: The Masks of Aphra Behn and Oranges and Ink

Claire Louise Amias’s pair of plays resurrect Aphra Behn from a place of relative obscurity into sharp relief as a chatty, warm, and witty raconteur. Directed by Pradeep Jey and Alex Pearson, they were originally presented at the Tristan Bates Theatre as part of the Women and War Festival and were streamed together as part of the Online Fringe Festival this spring. Behn is a complex and fascinating character from the Stuart era. Born in Kent, she worked as a spy in Antwerp, had a brief marriage to a Dutch merchant, and was the first female playwright to make a living from her work. Played by Amias, she is presented as a historical gossip, a pragmatic conversationalist, and a feminist ground-breaker. In The Masks of Aphra Behn, we hear a fraction of her life story, yet I wanted to get...
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Amadeus – National Theatre
17Jul By Paul DownhamNo Comments
London

Amadeus – National Theatre

Director Michael Longhurst’s 2016 production of Peter Shaffer’s iconic play is a stunning piece of theatre starring Lucian Msamati as Salieri alongside Adam Gillen as Mozart with the musicians of Southbank Sinfonia cleverly weaved into the action providing live accompaniment to the story. We begin at Salieri’s end as he recalls the almost Faustian bargain he made with God at the age of sixteen: to become a fêted and famous composer in exchange for living a virtuous life and honouring God at every turn. Fast forward to 1881 Vienna and all Salieri’s dreams have come true in the court of Emperor Joseph II (Tom Edden). But nobody expected Mozart. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. A rowdy young prodigy who arrives with his wife to be, Constanze (Karla Crome), determined to leave his mark  Whi...
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Robin of Sherwood: Fitzwarren’s Well – Spiteful Puppet
17Jul By Paul DownhamNo Comments
REVIEWS

Robin of Sherwood: Fitzwarren’s Well – Spiteful Puppet

Fully capturing the atmosphere of a story can be very difficult to do in audio dramas, especially when that story is set in the great outdoors, but in this new audio adventure from Spiteful Puppet, Robin Hood is given a new lease of life. Based on the world created in the 1980’s TV show from Richard Carpenter’s, this is a brand new adventure written by Jennifer Ash and directed by Barnaby Eaton-Jones, and features original and new cast members. From the opening of the piece the forest atmosphere is beautifully created with excellent sound effects. However, we’re not actually with the Merry Men in the depths of Sherwood, who have all been cursed with a deadly and serious illness, but with Marion (Judi Trott) as she asks the mysterious shaman Herne The Hunter (Daniel Abineri) for help. ...
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The Tempest – Shakespeare’s Globe
16Jul By Paul DownhamNo Comments
REVIEWS

The Tempest – Shakespeare’s Globe

Often played as tragedy with revenge at its heart, it is refreshing to see director Jeremy Herrin bring a fresh perspective embracing the spirit of the supernatural in this tale of forgiveness, generosity, and enlightenment set on a remote and mysterious desert island with this production from 2013. Twelve years earlier, Prospero (Roger Allam), formerly Duke of Milan, was usurped by Alonso, King of Naples (Peter Hamilton Dyer), Alonso’s brother, Sebastian (Will Mannering), and his own brother Antonio (Jason Baughan), and cast adrift with his three-year old daughter, Miranda (Jessie Buckley). Before they were put to sea Gonzalo (Pip Donaghy), his loyal counsellor, ensured he took his magic books, and now living on an island, he has used his magic art to reign over the native Caliban (Jam...
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Hamlet – Royal Shakespeare Company
16Jul By Paul DownhamNo Comments
REVIEWS

Hamlet – Royal Shakespeare Company

In this 2016 production Simon Godwin’s version completely re-imagines Hamlet from a visual perspective.  The text largely remains the same, albeit tweaked in places and the small changes have accelerated the pace of the play - it rarely rests on its laurels. The African theme brings a freshness to one of the most regularly performed of Shakespeare’s plays.   Dressed as military guards Barnardo (Kevin N Golding) and Marcellus (Theo O’Gundipe) have asked Horatio (Hiran Abeysekera) to come along to see the ghost that has a likeness to the dead King to prove that they are not crazy.  The scene is dark, and it creates a feeling of menace but undershoots slightly as there is no ghostly apparition and we must wait until the next scene before we see the ghost of the King.&nb...
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The Space Between – A musical short by David Hunter and Caroline Kay
15Jul By Paul DownhamNo Comments
REVIEWS

The Space Between – A musical short by David Hunter and Caroline Kay

The Space Between is a short musical for the times we live in. Filmed entirely in a medium of zoom meetings and WhatsApp/FaceTime calls, as a young couple reflect on their broken relationship, first with their confidants, and then with each other. The music is fun, and a good representation of modern musical theatre. The opening number in particular is sensationally written and delivered, and also has the strongest vocal - it is the best of the three numbers contained within the short - although all three are meaningful and entertaining. The performances from Hunter and Kay are relatable, fun, and vocally very strong. The key point to this work is that musical theatre (of a top quality) can still be made at this difficult time. We all miss it, and we all want to do what we can...
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Romeo and Juliet – The Royal Ballet
12Jul By Paul DownhamNo Comments
London

Romeo and Juliet – The Royal Ballet

I have a confession to make. Before today I had never watched a ballet in full. Sure, I had seen clips, and as a dancer myself (although clearly not a classical one) I’ve seen many contemporary productions, but never a ballet. Such is the benefit of companies such as The Royal Opera House streaming past productions online – you can give yourself new experiences from the comfort of your own home. Despite me knowing nothing about ballet, I am however much more experienced in the works of the Bard and have played Juliet myself on several occasions. For this reason, I found the story very easy to follow, and could clearly identify who each of the characters were. As in many of Shakespeare’s plays, the female characters are few and far between, but in this production the women were given mor...
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The Lady Killers – Double Trouble Theatre Co.
11Jul By Paul DownhamNo Comments
REVIEWS

The Lady Killers – Double Trouble Theatre Co.

A trio of short monologues written by Matt Fox and featuring three young women who share a common bond – they have all killed for one reason or another. There is some good storytelling going on here and the actors (Zoe Wells, Rosie Dunjay and Daniella Piper) perform each piece really well. Produced over Zoom and soundly directed by Mack Newton & Emily Collier this short piece of isolation theatre excels in creating an almost claustrophobic atmosphere to each of the stories that the women have to tell. Fox’s monologues are direct and to the point. The standout monologue for me was 150 which featured Daniella Piper and a story of revenge in the USA (no spoilers!!), the other two monologues were reasonably interesting but 150 really did stick in the memory. Produced by Adam Bayli...
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Stay Holmes – The Pantaloons Go Online
11Jul By Paul DownhamNo Comments
REVIEWS

Stay Holmes – The Pantaloons Go Online

When an outdoor theatre company celebrated for helping themselves to their audience’s picnics are forced to go online to perform it’s natural to worry about them, and not just that they may be going hungry. But never fear, when The Pantaloons are here then, as with this show, it is simply elementary: you are in for a great night. Following a brief stay in the Zoom waiting room to the lovely accompaniment of solo violin from Fiona McGarvey, we were launched in true Pantaloons fashion into seventy-five minutes of high jinks and madcap entertainment that was kindly followed by a Q&A with writer and chief Pantaloon Mark Heyward and tonight’s outstanding cast of Edward Ferrow, Kelly Griffiths, Alex Rivers, and Christopher Smart. Dynamic duo Holmes and Watson are well and truly put thr...
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The Deep Blue Sea – National Theatre
10Jul By Paul DownhamNo Comments
London

The Deep Blue Sea – National Theatre

Terence Rattigan was one of the finest playwrights of his generation and over the course of many years he wrote some outstanding pieces of work for the theatre. The Deep Blue Sea is probably the best play from his repertoire, an absolute masterpiece set in post-war Britain and centred around a woman caught between worlds and realising that passion can sometimes suffocate and harm. Rattigan’s beautifully constructed play explores many issues including those of mental health, self-worth and self-esteem. The play is set over one day in a flat in West London, it’s 1952 where  we first meet Hester Collyer (Helen McCrory) trying to “end it all” but through the intervention of other people who also live in the building, she thankfully fails. Hester just needs to be heard, to be loved and ...
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