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Birds of Paradise is a funny, charming, and heartfelt musical from Winnie Holzman, the writer of the
smash hit Broadway and West End show Wicked. This is the sort of musical which will leave you
smiling, but without so much sweetness you get toothache. The story follows a community theatre
group in a small town, a group which provides an escape from the monotony of everyday life for its
members. Although there may be some bickering, the group is all agreed that they’re there for the
same purpose – to have fun. But this all changes when a face from the past arrives in town, Laurence
left years ago to pursue a career as a Broadway actor, surely a success story to inspire! But when
Laurence hears a song from the musical which one of the community theatre actors, Homer, has
written he makes the decision to direct the show. What ensues is a power struggle between a writer
desperate to maintain the heart of his work, and a director with an ambitious creative vision.

There are a lot of shows about making shows, but this has the nice angle that it’s set within a
community theatre setting. The relationships the characters have with theatre, and with each other,
is the core of the musical, and there’s no denying that it leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling as you
leave the theatre. There’s great energy from start to finish, with incredible voices across the board.
The quality of acting drastically surpasses anything you might expect to find in pub theatre, none of
the cast would look out of place on a major West End stage. The musical itself is a hidden treasure, a
simple but hugely entertaining piece about people and art. Some of the songs are hit and miss,
though generally very enjoyable, none of them are particularly memorable, although it hardly
matters in the moment as this show and its music is brilliantly uplifting.

The lighting design for Birds of Paradise is particularly good, a clever series of spotlights and fades
which really enhances the action, dialogue, and songs and adds another layer to what’s happening
on stage. The whole production feels very reminiscent of Jonathan Larson’s Tick Tick Boom! In the
way in which it deals with the connection between people and the theatre they invest themselves in.
It’s about maintaining the integrity of creation in a world that measures success by popularity and
money made. It’s also a witty, tongue in cheek parody of the process of making a musical hit that
sticks. It objectively explores the fine line between taking direction, making changes, and destroying
the heart of creative work.

Overall, Birds of Paradise is a delightfully entertaining musical with bags of character, it’s
wonderfully sentimental in the best way and highly recommended!

Birds of Paradise ~ [The Drayton Arms Theatre] ~ Review
★★★★

To Be or Not to Be Scarlett O’Hara takes place in a hotel room mere hours after Vivien Leigh, one of the most famous early film actresses of the twentieth century, has discovered that she has been given the iconic role of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind. This is the part of a lifetime and she knows it, but landing such a role is not without its complications, and personal sacrifices will have to be made in exchange for such a career defining opportunity.

Vivien’s main problems come in the shape of her less than supportive lover, screen and stage legend Laurence ‘Larry’ Olivier. The pair’s relationship is one of Hollywood’s worst kept secrets, but appearances must be maintained and they both have very different ideas about what their futures look like. Vivien expects Larry to be overjoyed for her when she brings him the news that she will be Scarlett O’Hara, but is met instead with jealousy and criticism, both for the film’s script and for herself as an actress. What follows is a lengthy debate about the profession of acting, screen writing, and being in the public eye.

This is a well-paced play with some good ideas, it beautifully captures the atmosphere and mood of its time and offers a fly-on-the-wall view of what life behind the glitz and glamour of Hollywood in the 30s and 40s might have really been like for the stars of the day. The dilemmas faced by Vivien and Larry are heartfelt and believable, giving a human voice to these real life legends. The costumes add a lot to this piece, Vivien in a stunning shimmering red dress and Larry in a tailored black suit and bow tie. Both are still enclosed in their red carpet trappings even whilst discussing very private and intimate affairs behind closed doors, which acts as a constant reminder to the strange double lives they both lead.

The play is carried by Sophia Eleni who plays Vivien Leigh, with a finely clipped accent and the fluid physicality of a natural born actress she is both believable and endearing. Although undeniably eccentric, there is never a sense that she is over the top, in fact some of her most subtle gestures are the most powerful. Frederico Moro‘s Laurence Olivier unfortunately doesn’t quite have the same punch, his lines are often too fast or his accent a bit too forced, and many of the words get a little lost along the way, which loses some of the impact of what he’s saying.

To Be or Not to Be Scarlett O’Hara is a three hander, but it should really be a two hander. The character of George Cukor, director of Gone With the Wind, appears towards the very end of the play but doesn’t really add anything to it. He could just as easily remain a voice on the phone, which he has been until this point in the play, and nothing would be lost. The script is also rather contrived throughout, containing a lot of clichés and repetitions which really need to be re-worked. The ending line is so predicable that there were people in the audience who actually mouthed along with it.

Overall, To Be or Not to Be Scarlett O’Hara is a wonderful idea for a story, it has a lot of good elements and a lot of potential, but just doesn’t quite hit the mark. I’m confident, however, that with some further edits and a few changes this could be a really excellent play.

To Be or Not to Be Scarlett O'Hara ~ [Etcetera Theatre] ~ Review
★★

This double-bill is an absolute treat, a rejuvenation of two lesser known one act Tenessee Williams plays from theatre company Blunt Pyramid. Although both plays were written in the 1940s their themes are as relevant today as they have ever been, discussing issues such as prostitution and domestic abuse in an unflinchingly human way.

Hello from Bertha is the doomed tale of a young woman who has lost her way. We find Bertha at her lowest point, sick, washed up, and penniless. Alcohol, prostitution, and helpless misery have left Bertha bedridden and unable to work, and during the course of the play we see her try to plead her case with the owner of the bordello in which she lives and plies her trade in. The proprietor of the establishment, Goldie, wants her room cleared out for a girl capable of working, Bertha is taking up valuable bed space and therefore losing her money, but Bertha is head sick and delusional and refuses to budge.

This is a hard but honest portrayal of lost youth and innocence, we see the terrible results of one woman’s fall from grace and the hopelessness of situation she finds herself in. Hannah Dale, who stars in the title role, absolutely makes this show. Her fearless performance as the young working-girl whose drink-addled brain can no longer differentiate between what’s real and what’s not is heart-breaking. Broken both mentally and physically, possibly beyond repair, this poor woman’s desperation is conveyed with no-holds-barred by Dale as she quite literally drags herself around the stage and rambles hysterically in the vain hope that someone will come to save her.

27 Wagons Full of Cotton is the story of a young couple struggling to keep their heads above water and the place of a woman in the rural south of America in the 1930s. When her controlling husband takes on the task of working twenty seven wagons of cotton after the cotton gin of their neighbour Silva mysteriously burns down, Flora finds herself having to spend an afternoon alone on the porch with her husband’s dominating new employer. In the air between them hangs a terrible secret, and what follows is an agonising game of cat-and-mouse as the menacing Silva attempts to pry the secret from lips.

Dark and unsettling, 27 Wagons deals with themes of domestic abuse and sexual violence, and touches on themes of poverty and racism. Sam Raffal’s spine chilling performance as the oily slick and dangerous Silva is enough to make you tremble – from his serpent like Southern drawl to his predatory physicality, he dominates the stage with a threatening presence that’s impossible to ignore. The innocent and simple minded Flora is played to perfection by Hollie Murten, who is both funny and wonderfully endearing. Flora’s glow of naivety and innocence makes this tale even more unnerving, it’s enough to make the audience want to jump onstage and whisk her away from these horrible and violent men before they can inevitably destroy her.

Both plays take a hard look at the problems faced by women in a world dominated by men. Troubling and thought-provoking, you’ll leave the theatre with goose bumps, guaranteed. The quality of acting is first class and the direction is simple but incredibly effective. This is Tenessee Williams at his finest, executed with sensitivity, care, and heart.

Hello From Bertha and 27 Wagons Full of Cotton ~ [Hen and Chickens Theatre] ~ Review
★★★★

Fifty years ago homosexuality was decriminalised in the UK, but five decades on the LGBTQ community still faces a host of challenges as a result of homophobic discrimination, leading to mental and physical health problems on a huge scale. One dangerous practice prevalent in certain pockets of LGBTQ culture in particular is still worryingly overlooked and underreported – chemsex. This is the foundation of Patrick Cash’s raw and painfully honest play The Chemsex Monologues, which started life in the King’s Head Theatre’s 2016 Queer Season and is running now through to the 9th April.

Five interlinking monologues from four characters reveal the dangerous and complex world of chemsex chillouts in a very candid and human light, exploring the complications of love, lust, and addiction and their devastating consequences. A touch of humour and some heart-breaking tragedies turn these four characters from statistics into human beings, providing a glimpse into the lives of people mixed up in the chemsex scene and the ramifications that the overuse of sex and drugs have on their hearts, minds, and bodies. For anyone who has spent any time on the LGBTQ party and clubbing scene the kinds of events described in the Chemsex Monologues are very familiar, an oversaturation of casual sexual encounters and euphoria inducing drugs like GHB, mephedrone, crystal meth, and MDMA. The situations are not exaggerated for effect, they ring true, and they spare no detail.

The Chemsex Monologues is highly energetic and painfully engaging. Denholm Spurr delights and disarms with his captivating performance as Nameless, a beautiful boy with a broken heart whose inevitable tragedy unfolds before our eyes. But it’s a standout performance from Matthew Hodson as the irresistibly likeable sexual health worker Daniel which really steals the show. His performance is both thoughtful and amusing, with a wonderful physicality and perfectly timed delivery. It’s from Daniel’s point of view we can capture a glimpse of the chemsex scene through eyes not tinted by over dilated rose coloured pupils.
Unfortunately some parts of several of the monologues are let down by pacing issues, as the high energy script runs away with the actors and important lines are lost in gabbled excitement.

At times the plot feels overstressed, Cash’s monologues tell a powerful story about the chemsex scene but that story only really has one thing to say and repeats themes a little too often. It also doesn’t seem to say anything particularly new, plays like Mark Ravenhill’s ‘Shopping and F***ing’ and ‘Mother Clap’s Molly House’ having had similar conversations in the late 90s and early 00s. But that being said it is still a vital topic and it’s important to keep returning to this discussion.

Explicit, shocking, painful, and also very humorous, The Chemsex Monologues is an insightful view into the destructive reality of some parts of LGBTQ social culture. It’s a grim reminder that even in the twenty first century society’s prejudice against gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer people continues to create a toxic environment which can lead to the kinds of loneliness, mental health problems, addiction, and recklessness exacerbated by hate and intolerance.

The Chemsex Monolgues ~ [King's Head Theatre] ~ Review
★★★★

It’s always a good time for political satire but lately, with everything going on in the world, it feels like a great time for it. That’s why the Pentameter Theatre’s production of Bernard Shaw’s delightfully witty play ‘Press Cuttings’ is the perfect way to indulge in an hour of pure entertainment.

Set in 1912, the play centres on the subjects of war and women’s suffrage, which tangle together with hilarious results. General Mitchener and Prime Minister Balsquith meet in Mitchener’s office and debate the best course of action to take to deal with the unrest caused by groups of soldiers and women protesting their rights, (or rather lack of). Mitchener is a brash man with old fashioned views, a military mind, and an overbearing attitude, while bumbling Balsquith doesn’t seem to know which way to turn to keep everybody happy. The situation is only exasperated by the arrival and input of an orderly and three women of very different minds but equally strong characters.

Press Cuttings is a charmingly British play with bags of wit and a traditionally satirical style. Evenly paced and rounded off with a satisfying conclusion, this show is pure entertainment. The cast of six infuse the play (which is more than 100 years old) with fresh energy and a real sense of fun. Clive Greenwood impresses with his dynamic performance as the bull-headed General Mitchener, his dialogue hurtling forward with brazen abandon, every inch a cocksure military man. Seamus Newham is an awkward but somewhat endearing Balsquith, fumbling and stuttering through his lines with an ever-present sense of long suffering exhaustion. Joe Sargent’s Orderly is created with fantastic physicality and is a joy to watch, a straight-talking everyman we can all relate to. Battle-axe, Mrs. Banger, is irresistibly funny thanks in no small part to a wonderful performance from Alexis Leighton, while Bethany Blake is a sublimely graceful but undeniably powerful Lady Corinthia Fanshaw. Last, but by no means least, Linda Bardell approaches the character of the reliable (but never to be underestimated) Mrs Farrell with a winning and easy humour.

Michael Friend’s Press Cuttings is naturally comical without feeling forced. The energy is fantastic, though one criticism is that in some places it could do with slowing down. There were times when it seemed too afraid to pause and unfortunately some of Shaw’s razor-sharp dialogue was lost in the rush to get to the next line. Overall though this play is very well put together and enormously good fun. Thoroughly recommended.

Press Cuttings ~ [Pentameters Theatre] ~ Review
★★★★

Often the real dramas happen not on stage but behind closed doors, and that couldn’t be truer than in Halley Feiffer’s dynamic edge-of-your seat play ‘I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard’. Gripping, shocking, and raw, this is a black comedy with an emphasis on the black, so if you’re looking for some light evening entertainment then this probably isn’t for you.

The immediately striking thing about this play is that from start to finish it is high energy - a whirlwind of frantic emotion and twists and turns that isn’t easy to pull off with a two-hander. The play primarily takes place over the course of one night while ambitious actress Ella spends the evening drinking with her successful playwright father David as they put off reading reviews for her latest show. David tells Ella stories of how he started in the theatre business and the path which led to his success. Father and daughter are extremely close, but it’s not long before it emerges that things aren’t all happy families …
Jill Winternitz plays Ella, the neurotic actress desperate for her father’s approval. This is an emotional and nuanced performance which Winternitz delivers by throwing her whole self into it. At the start of the play her reactions seem a little forced, but as the play progresses her performance becomes much stronger and thoroughly convincing. Ella has very little dialogue for the first part of the show, the opening half an hour may as well be a monologue as David rants and barrels on at an alarming pace, pausing only to allow intermittent “Oh God’s” and “No!’s” from Ella, but as tensions build and emotions start running high it’s impossible not to feel sympathetic towards her.

Adrian Lukis, who plays David, is just out of this world. Not for a moment does his energy drop, not for a second is the audience in any doubt about who this man is. He swings from one extreme to another with natural ease, laughter and anger, ranting and whispers, love and disdain … his emotions turn on the edge of a knife with finely choreographed precision and he’s frighteningly believable. From the way he holds his hands to the set of his jaw, he is every inch David. The subtlest change in expression tells a thousand words, his eyes both warm-and-freeze the heart in the same moment, he’s enchanting and terrifying all at once and, while trapped in that theatre with him, we are all Ella.

‘I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard’ is an extraordinary play which is funny, gritty, and self-aware. There are moments where it’s a little too obvious, where some of the parallels between the two characters, for example, are a bit on the nose. The dramatic ironies could use a little more tact and subtlety but it’s still highly enjoyable, despite being a tad heavy handed in parts. It’s a shame that it’s taken this long for it to have its UK premiere. ‘I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard’ has all the makings of a modern classic and one can only hope that this won’t be the last time it makes an appearance on the London stage.

Fast paced, compelling, and very real, if you get a chance to see ‘I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard’ then go. To witness such a brilliant play and such a high calibre of acting in such an intimate space is really something special.

I'm Gonna Pray For You So Hard ~ [Finborough Theatre] ~ | Review
★★★★

Madame Butterfly is Puccini’s beautifully tragic classic opera about a young woman’s ill-fated relationship with an American Naval officer. There have been plenty of re-imaginings of this bittersweet story over the last century, including a modernised musical in the form of global sensation Miss Saigon. Paul Higgins’ adaptation of Madam Butterfly at the King’s Head theatre is yet another unique take on the tale, bringing it into the 21st Century and setting it in a Japanese Maid Café. This adaptation has been stripped back and abridged, making it approximately an hour shorter than the original and with only six characters. It has been translated from Italian into English by Olivier Award winner Amanda Holden.

What this production has going for it is some incredibly strong vocal performances, particularly by Stephanie Edwards who, in this instance, was in the role of Butterfly. Emotive and powerful, Edwards hits every note with ease and is enjoyable to listen to. Praise also for Hollie-Marie Bingham as Suzuki, bringing a performance which is both vocally impressive and a joy to watch. Most notable is David Jones who makes a sweet and sympathetic Sharpless with a wonderfully multi-dimensional and nuanced take on the character and an outstanding singing ability to accompany it.

The idea of setting Madam Butterfly in a modern day Japanese Maid Café is great on paper – it’s an interesting parallel and it could certainly be said that the sexualisation of young girls in these sorts of establishments is not dissimilar to the geishas of the past, but for all its good intentions this production just doesn’t quite manage to pull it off. For anyone with even a passing interest in manga, anime, and Japanese culture a few neon lights and some anime style illustrations on posters do not a Maid Café make. The production bashes the audience around the head with set and props associated with modern day Japan (Butterfly comes in clutching a Hello Kitty doll at one point), which isn’t necessarily a bad thing in itself, but when you take into account the fact that every single member of the cast is white/Caucasian then problems start to occur. The issue is not that white actors are playing Asian roles, it’s that white actors are playing Asian roles by caricaturising their Japanese characters – the excessive bowing, eyelash fluttering, and bashful tittering is at best uncomfortable to watch, and at worst racially insensitive.

The setting creates more problems in the second act when Butterfly and Suzuki are penniless and starving. They sing of their suffering moments after Butterfly enters their decently furnished modern apartment listening to an iPod, and she later comes in with a bucket of Legos. The stylistic choices undermine the tragedy at every turn, and it causes the whole production to feel cheap and without depth.

All in all Madam Butterfly has a strong cast, is a delight to listen to, and has an interesting concept but is not without flaws. Ultimately it trips up at some key hurdles and in doing so takes much of the power and beauty of Puccini’s beloved masterpiece down with it.

Madam Butterfly ~ [King's Head Theatre] ~ | Review
★★

One woman, eight characters, and an hour of incredible good fun. Mouths in a Glass is a one-woman show directed by Julia Faulkner and written and performed by Sophie Dora-Hall, adapted from her successful mini-web series on YouTube. The transformation from screen to stage adds a new dimension to Mouths in a Glass, bringing the characters to life in interesting and exciting ways. The seven monologues are strung together by shorter scenes from an additional character who offers increasingly amusing revelations about her life as an actor (darling!) as the show progresses.

Each of the monologues are exceptional in their own right - well paced, interesting, and highly entertaining. Dora-Hall moves seamlessly from cockney café owner to upper middle-class housewife to a toddler’s doll without so much as one jarring moment. Her characterisation is flawless, she captivates the audience effortlessly and is wonderfully watchable. With only a handful of costume pieces and props, accompanied by her superb character acting, we watch Sophie transform into someone totally new before our very eyes. And the best thing is that every single one of them is believable.

Mouths in a Glass is a show which is funny, witty, and often surprisingly moving. Thoughtfully and insightfully written, it catches the audience off-guard with some very poignant and touching moments, but without them feeling forced. At the end of the day this show is comedic, but when thought-provoking moments do occur they’re placed with care. The monologues feel natural and shift elegantly between humour and drama, so there’s no fear of emotional whiplash or severe tonal shift.

Sophie Dora-Hall has a bright career ahead of her if Mouths in a Glass is anything to go by, an incredibly strong writer and performer in equal measure. She aims to continue creating and developing Mouths in a Glass for stage and screen, and if the performance at The Hope Theatre is anything to go by then we’re all in for treat. Definitely one to watch!

Mouths In a Glass ~ [The Hope Theatre] ~ | Review
★★★★

It’s the night before Abbie’s wedding and she couldn’t be happier – she has her dream dress, the perfect dinner planned, the venue she’s always hoped for, and in less than twenty-four hours the man of her dreams will be waiting for her at the altar. What could go wrong?

As it turns out - plenty! The arrival of Abbie’s sister Juliet puts a spanner in the works and suddenly Abbie’s big day gets a whole lot more complicated. Juliet thinks Abbie’s fiancé is a misogynistic Neanderthal, that she’s only getting married because it’s what she thinks society expects of her, and that she’s not quite over her ex-girlfriend. Juliet is loud, obnoxious, opinionated and blunt, but the worst thing is… maybe she’s right? But for all her talk Juliet has her own problems that she’s not dealing with and in a twenty-four-hour period secrets are revealed, long-standing feuds re-emerge, and tensions between the two sisters escalate to breaking point.

‘Sisters’ is a fun but poignant two hander about relationships. It centres on the different bonds between family and between lovers, and explores the complications of negotiating them both. Love doesn’t come with a handbook, but if it did you’d probably need ten bookshelves just to fit all the volumes. Here Natalie Audley’s play may not answer many of the questions the heart asks, but boy does it resonate with anyone who’s ever had to say ‘it’s complicated’. Charming, brutally honest, and very real, ‘Sisters’ is an hour-long show which packs a punch.

One hour shows can be notoriously difficult to pace but here Audley has done a fantastic job taking us seamlessly through the narrative in a way which feels very natural. There are moments when the energy dips and it takes a little while to get back into gear, but once it gets going it’s impossible not to get hooked!

Emily Ambler and Charlie Lees-Massey play Juliet and Abbie respectively and do a fantastic job of portraying two very different women who, although they may not always agree, ultimately love one another very much. Lees-Massey brings a frantic nervous energy to the role of Abbie and delivers some brilliant deadpan one-liners, while Ambler’s Juliet is sassy, funny, and impossible to dislike.

‘Sisters’ is a must-see for anyone who enjoys a good old-fashioned family drama!

Sisters ~ [The Bread and Roses Theatre] ~ | Review
★★★

An honest and insightful look at our relationship with old age, youth, and memory, Seven Letters sees three very different women whose paths would otherwise likely never have crossed thrown together through societal circumstance. The one thing these women have in common? They’re all in the midst of their twilight years.

Rian Flatley’s new play provides a platform for seldom heard voices and explores our society’s relationship with the elderly. Three lives are unfurled before us through a carefully constructed recipe of dialogue, monologue, and song. Stories are told, secrets revealed, and friendships forged in this moving and poignant, yet charmingly funny tale.

Seven Letters is a wonderful example of monologues done right. Flatley’s powerful script brings these multi-layered and unique characters to life with natural ease. Sensitive subject matter is handled with delicacy and care, but also brutal honesty. The entire cast hit the mark with energetic and heartbreakingly raw performances which capture and captivate, taking the audience on a journey through their memories. This play sparkles with vibrancy and life, underpinned by a constant sense of aching nostalgia. A fierce hunger rages within these women, a need to be heard, to be remembered, to be loved, and to be alive.

Lindsay Bridgewater’s beautiful songs bring the whole piece together, a series of strong ballads providing an echo of youth and hope for the future. This is a play which is constantly asking us to pause a moment and think about the path ahead of us. If you could see your future for fifteen seconds, would you? And would it be enough?

Seven Letters is beautiful, bittersweet, full of heart and most importantly, incredibly human. Prepare to laugh, cry, and then laugh again at this firecracker of a show. Thoroughly recommended, a must-see.

Seven Letters ~ [Tabard Theatre] ~ | Review
★★★★

A delightful and endearing one man/woman show, executed with courage and a whole lot of heart. Sweet and surprisingly moving, it balances on the fine edge of comedy and tragedy with a tightrope-walker's precision, simultaneously funny and heartbreaking. Thoroughly recommended, particularly if you're a fan of facial hair, Phil Collins, and emotional whiplash.

★★★★☆

As far as festivals go the Canterbury Shakespeare Festival is still in its infancy, Summer 2016 marking only its second year of performances, but anyone not in the know would be forgiven for thinking that it had been founded decades ago. Boasting five unique productions set in five spectacular open air locations, this year’s festival was an undeniable treat for anyone who considers themselves a fan of the Bard. Canterbury is the perfect location for this wonderful calendar of events, already rich in literary history (Geoffrey Chaucer, Christopher Marlowe) and steeped in architectural, historical, and natural beauty it provided an inspiring setting for some truly enchanting performances.

As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice, Macbeth, and Twelfth Night were all on offer at this summer’s most succulent Shakespearian buffet, along with a new piece of experimental theatre entitled Iago, written by playwright Ciaran Barata-Hynes. The casts were made up of a variety of amateur and semi-professional actors from all walks of life, a feast of incredible acting talent, and the volunteer creative and crew did an amazing job. I was fortunate enough to catch performances of both Macbeth and The Merchant of Venice, both of which were an absolute delight.

The Merchant of Venice was performed in the beautiful Greyfriars Garden, a pretty little patch of land surrounded by flowering greenery and accessed by crossing a bridge over a crystal clear river and then passing under a stone archway. The place seemed like a secret garden, strangely secluded despite its location just off of the main high street. Audience members were invited to sit on the grass and bring along their own picnics, and many did. The variety of food being consumed said a lot about the real mixture of people in attendance; everything from strawberries, cream and, champagne, to pork pies, chocolate, and to-share bags of Quavers. The young, the old, and even a little dog settled down on this sunny evening in August to enjoy a charming location and some wonderful theatre. They were not disappointed.

Not one of Shakespeare’s most well-known plays, it’s clear to see why The Merchant of Venice may not be people’s first choice when putting on one of the bard’s classics. It’s not really a comedy or a tragedy, but sits somewhere in the middle of the two. In short it’s the story of a merchant, Antonio, who borrows money from the scorned Jew, Shylock, so that his good friend Bassanio can afford passage overseas to try to win the hand of the woman he loves. Shylock has Antonio sign a bond swearing that, in the event that he cannot pay back the money he has borrowed, Shylock may take a pound of his flesh. The ending of the play is unsatisfying, and a few of the side plots are unnecessary and ill-executed. The characters are quite bland, the tone is odd, and the writing itself is not some of Shakespeare’s best. The saving grace is Shylock, a man with his own moral code and a fierce determination to see his justice served. Complex and intriguingly multi-dimensional, Shylock is a character you won’t forget in a hurry.

So Merchant may have some holes, but that said the Canterbury Shakespeare Festival’s production was highly enjoyable. Antonio was gender-swapped, played with grace and great feeling by actress Claire Watson, who gave a strong and emotional performance. Her resignation at the point when she realised she was facing a gruesome death at the blade of Shylock’s knife was particularly heart-wrenching. Bassiano, a rather blandly written character, was given new life and certainly some much needed charm by Philip Hunt, while Charlotte Groombridge gave an intelligent and witty performance as his true love, Portia. Bassanio’s friend, Gratiano, was played to perfection by Oliver Graveson, who portrayed him as a highly loveable and somewhat soppy young rogue, whilst some welcome comic relief was provided by Ynaqui Inocian, who multi-rolled as both the Prince of Morocco and Arragon, the other men hoping to win Portia’s hand in marriage before Bassanio can get to her. Nicole Driver zipped around the stage like a caffeine fuelled spaniel whilst playing the energetic and talkative jester of the play, Gobbo, and one of the highlights of the show for me was the alarm on an audience member’s face when Gobbo left the stage to help herself to the poor woman’s picnic! And then, of course, there was Shylock, a beast of a character tackled exceptionally well by Ciaran Barata-Hynes, who brought a real understanding of the character’s complexities to the role and evoked reactions of anger, disgust and pity in equal measure. The entire production was vibrant and energetic, thoughtfully directed and crafted by Elliot Huxtable, whose eye for detail and ability to bring the best out in his cast was clearly evident throughout.

Open air theatre has its pros and cons, and one criticism of the CSF’s Merchant would be that it had a few projection issues. Halfway through the first act the wind picked up and I found that a few of the lines were being snatched away and lost in the breeze. However, as the play drew to its climactic courtroom scene the delights of open air theatre worked their magic and the skies began to darken as Antonio’s grim fate drew ever nearer. By the time Shylock was sharpening his knife to a lethal edge ready to cut the pound of flesh owed him, the heavens had turned black and the illumination from the stage lights below cast an eerie and menacing glow over the horrifying scene. It was quite the spectacle.

The Canterbury Shakespeare Festival is now sadly over for this year, but I know that I for one will not be passing up the opportunity to attend again next summer. I have no doubt that the festival will continue to grow, both in size and quality, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store next time. To find out more you can like the Canterbury Shakespeare Festival on Facebook or visit their website at www.canterburyshakespeare.co.uk and show your support for this incredible event.

The Canterbury Shakespeare Festival Presents: The Merchant of Venice| Greyfriars Garden, Canterbury| ★★★★☆

“From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.”

The setting for Kenneth Branagh’s Romeo and Juliet is a very chic Verona, a very fashionable Verona, a Verona where its citizens sit outside cafés sipping espressos from tiny cups in the hot afternoon sun, where the women chatter in the street whilst sporting gorgeous swing dresses, while the men lounge in bistro chairs puffing away on cigarettes and setting the world to rights. It’s mucho Italian, and it’s mucho bene. Now, if you’ve never been before, let me tell you that The Garrick is not a warm theatre, whether it’s prone to drafts or simply has an overly enthusiastic air conditioning system I don’t know, but it's 7:30pm in the middle of July and I'm freezing. What’s the point of me telling you this, you’re wondering? Well it’s to emphasise the point that as soon as the play starts I no longer care about the chill in the air – I'm transported to the Mediterranean climate of Italy and the scene set before me is hot, hot, hot!

Lily James plays one of the title roles, she’s got that look about her that’s beautiful and innocent in a ‘too-pure-for-this-world’, Disney princess sort of a way. But James’s Juliet is not a clueless damsel waiting for her man, oh no, she’s a fiercely curious teenager on a road to sexual and emotional discovery. She’s a girl in a world which wants her silence and obedience, but she’s on the path to finding herself, and with her growing maturity comes a slightly timid rebellion. James gives a delightful performance which highlights Juliet’s teenage awkwardness with hand wringing, cloth clenching, and bashful tittering, whilst still portraying her with strength and a firm sense of justice.

On this night Freddie Fox plays the dashing Romeo, he’s standing in for Richard Madden, or rather Richard Madden’s understudy… The role seems to have come with a bit of a curse, Game of Thrones star Madden injured his leg early on in the show’s run, and then his understudy also suffered a leg injury not long after. Freddie Fox was rushed in, having just played Romeo in a production at The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. With less than a week to prepare Fox is pushed onto The Garrick’s stage with the task of keeping an audience expecting TV star Madden happy, not an easy task! But Fox knocks it out of the park. With an Adonis like body chiselled from the smoothest, palest marble, a head of blond locks, and a cheeky smile never far from the corners of his mouth, Fox is a Romeo right out of Oscar Wilde’s wet dreams. He's strikingly angelic, but with the smoothness and charm of the devil. But he’s not just a pretty face, he’s also I highly engaging and capable actor, bringing multiple dimensions to Romeo’s character and throwing himself into the role with an admirable intensity. For example, Romeo’s grief in Friar Laurence’s cell after learning that he has been banished from Verona is genuinely haunting. Fox holds nothing back and gives a performance filled with the kind of all consuming, self-involved despair needed for this scene, unashamedly coupled with tears, snot, and inconsolable retching. Whilst he’s writhing around on the floor with his blood stained shirt half open and his body trembling with distress I have to remind myself firstly to keep breathing, and secondly not to rush up on stage to help him!

Now let’s talk about Derek Jacobi as Mercutio – I’m a big fan but this casting does not work. His relationship to the other characters is unclear and his friendship with Romeo and Benvolio feels completely out of place. This makes his fight with Tybalt and his consequent death lose most, if not all, of its impact. This scene is the turning point of the entire play, but it doesn’t seem to make sense in this instance why Romeo would avenge an elderly, lascivious, slightly senile tag-along Mercutio so passionately. Mercutio’s character ends up more like the rambling, cantankerous, creepy but ultimately harmless old man who just won’t stop talking to you at the bus stop, the sort of man who ends up sitting next to you on your way to work and walking you all the way to your office door every morning. His Queen Mab speech is performed well, his slightly kooky, out-of-his-mind vibe gives it a different edge, but other than that Jacobi’s Mercutio has little depth and unfortunately feels like little more than a big name thespian bumbling about for a few cheap laughs. Jacobi’s acting style also feels jarring in this production. He’s an old school Shakesperean thespian with an enormous list of big Shakespearean roles under his belt, and a heavy, old fashioned stage presence. He orates in a grand, booming, authoritative and borderline academic style which is perfect for a more traditional, classic interpretation of Shakespeare, but which simply doesn’t fit here. There is a time and place for this sort of performance, and unfortunately Kenneth Branagh’s Romeo and Juliet is not it. In fact it sticks out like a sore thumb amid the emotive, multi-dimensional, contemporary performances of his cast mates. His absence after the interval is barely noticed.

From a character who is traditionally young being played by someone older, to a character who is traditionally older being played by someone young. Friar Laurence, for me, is the unsung hero of Branagh’s Romeo and Juliet. An aged Mercutio might not work but a young Friar Laurence certainly does. Here a fresh perspective is brought to an often overlooked character who, although pivotal to the show, has never been of much more interest to anyone than as a plot device before. With this performance from Samuel Valentine, it all changes. Looking a little like Ed Sheeran in a long black priest robe, this Friar Laurence is full of life, love, and subtle complexities. A man of the cloth engaged with humanity and the realities of the day to day struggles of the heart. In every decision, in every comfort, in every word of advice he fights to do the right thing, struggling to keep the balance between doing right by his faith and doing right by his people. A compassionate friend with a gentle temperament underpinned with an energetic zest for life and all its wonders. The scene in which Romeo and Juliet’s bodies are discovered is heart breaking, but not for the usual reasons. The priest’s realisation that his well-meaning advice has caused so much death and misery absolutely destroys him, and his anguish and devastation kind of blows Romeo and Juliet’s actual death scenes out of the water. They were good but, wow, Friar Laurence just shatters irreparably before our eyes. A huge well done to Valentine for getting an audience to notice and really care about such a usually flat character. I look forward to seeing him on stage much more in the future!

Lord Capulet – Another incredible performance that cannot be overlooked. Initially Lord Capulet is everyone’s friend, that awesome guy who commands the attention of everyone in a room simply by being the life and soul of the party and encouraging everyone else to follow suit. There’s an edge to him, so subtle it’s barely there, barely noticeable until you’re looking back at it in hindsight. A sort of manic energy that’s probably completely harmless… until it’s not. Cocaine chic, maybe? It isn’t until the scene in which his daughter refuses to marry Paris that Lord Capulet reveals his true colours. The following onslaught is fifteen minutes of pure heart-in-the mouth terror as he subjects his wife, his daughter, and the nurse to an onslaught of brutish, intense, unrelenting, vicious abuse.

All in all this production is stylish, energetic, and packed with emotion and fantastic performances. The direction is good and the set, though quite simple, transports the audience to exactly where they need to be. Hats off to Freddie Fox for stepping in at the last minute and doing such a stellar job. It’s heart-warming to see co-star Lily James push him forward during the curtain call to get a personal standing ovation, and even more so to watch him receive it with overwhelmed gratitude and modesty, covering his face with his hands and grinning bashfully.

Romeo and Juliet ~ [The Garrick Theatre] ~ ★★★★☆

★★☆☆☆

When I booked my ticket to see Doctor Faustus at The Duke of York's Theatre I was very aware that it would be my first review on this blog. I was really hoping to see something that would blow me away, I wanted to be able to sing its praises and make this first post a really positive one. I have never wanted to be a mean critic, it would be much too easy to sit back and nit pick every little perceived fault in a show from the (relative) comfort of a little fold down seat, safely hidden amidst a sea of strangers in the dark. The amount of time and energy that goes into theatre deserves more consideration and respect than that. Unfortunately I also promised myself that, above all, I would be an honest critic, which is why it pains me to say that the review which you are about to read is less glowing praise and applause, and more scowling and muttering under one's breath in a disgruntled manner.

The fact that I arrived five minutes before curtain-up and the theatre was still half empty should have been the first sign that something was amiss. I sat down and was quickly asked to move again by a member of staff who informed me that I was being upgraded. This is how I managed to watch Doctor Faustus at The Duke of York's Theatre from a very good seat in the stalls for a mere £25. Incredible value for money! At least that's what I thought before the lights went down...

Almost from start to finish Doctor Faustus was messy, that's the only way to describe it. There were too many ideas flying about, too many concepts, too many 'clever' plans for it, and not a single one of them was completely followed through on. It started off with a promising opening, with Faustus played by Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) bare foot and bundled up in a grey hoodie and tracksuit bottoms, fixated on a television screen amidst a dingy, council-flat-chic set. As the first lines of dialogue were spoken the play seemed to be going for a 'displaced and disillusioned youth' narrative, Faustus's character bringing to mind a young man in a world with nothing to offer him. He seemed like the sort of youth who's mugshot might be found pictured below a murder headline, the angsty young man who couldn't get a decent job or a girlfriend so wallowed in self-pity, stewing in his own perception of how unfair life is until finally losing it. The sort of kid described by the press as a 'mentally disturbed lone wolf' let down by the system, ultimately going out into a public place with a shotgun to let loose a few rounds into innocent civilians. Faustus came across as a creepy, introverted creature, dwelling in a cave-like bedroom and finding solace in an obsession with demons, magic, and the occult on online forums.
At least for the for the first ten minutes.

If The Jamie Lloyd Company had chosen to stick with this initial concept they could have made a more than decent bit of theatre, but just as it was getting into its stride it seemed to falter and morph into something different. There was suddenly a gratuitous amount of vomit, spit, blood, shit, and sexual attacks happening all over the place, with some full frontal nudity thrown in for good measure. I'm not the sort of audience member who's sensibilities are too delicate for this sort of theatre, but I do take offence when it's done for shock value alone. It all seemed totally unnecessary. I wondered whether the creators thought they were putting on Sarah Kane's 'Cleansed' over at the National and had stumbled, fistfuls of blood capsules in hand, into the wrong theatre.

Knowing that a large part of the play had been re-written by Colin Teevan, I had joked with the friend who was accompanying me that the new bits might be better than the parts with the original Elizabethan script. To my horror this ended up being the case. Many of the cast, Harington not excluded, were guilty of simply orating their lines from Christopher Marlowe's portions of the play, butchering the script until it was void of one ounce of empathy or emotional engagement and losing the meaning completely. It was as if the cast were going through the necessary evils of the Ye Olde Script and just waiting for it to be over so that the modern bit, which started about twenty minutes into the play, could kick in. The Marlovian script being replaced halfway through the first act with a twenty first century script was something else that, sadly, just didn't work at all. On paper it probably sounded great, but the reality of it was puzzling and felt unnecessary. The Elizabethan scenes were without a doubt the weakest and hung off of either end of the new modern script at odd angles as though they'd been badly bolted on with the wrong kinds of fixtures by someone who'd never done DIY before.

Doctor Faustus was trashy and it was tacky, and that was probably its only saving grace. The trashiness and tackiness almost succeeded in enhancing and highlighting some of the attempted themes of capitalism, political corruption, and media saturation. It could have been a great play, or at least a good one, if it had had the courage of its conviction and just followed through on one or two of its themes instead of skirting around the edge of a mess of different things. If it was trying to be controversial it failed. If it was trying to be poignant it failed. If it was trying to tell us something about modern celebrity it sort of missed the mark there too, especially when you consider the irony that its main pull for audiences was TV heartthrob Kit Harington, who spents half the show wearing tiny pants and not much else for some inexplicable reason. The direction was bad. It would be easy to knock Harington as a one trick pony and accuse him of a wooden and perplexingly scattered performance in the title role, but most of Doctor Faustus's main issues stemmed from some really lousy and conflicting direction, which unfortunately resulted in making the final piece feel a bit like an A-Level drama assessment.

Who was this play for? What was it trying to be?

It's a shame, there was a lot of potential here, but needless to say Christopher Marlowe is probably turning in his grave every evening while this abomination is taking place, pausing just long enough to appreciate the scenes of homo-eroticism and Mephistopheles singing 'Bat Out of Hell' on karaoke.

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Birds of Paradise ~ [The Drayton Arms Theatre] ~ Review
To Be or Not to Be Scarlett O'Hara ~ [Etcetera Theatre] ~ Review
Hello From Bertha and 27 Wagons Full of Cotton ~ [Hen and Chickens Theatre] ~ Review
The Chemsex Monolgues ~ [King's Head Theatre] ~ Review
Press Cuttings ~ [Pentameters Theatre] ~ Review
I'm Gonna Pray For You So Hard ~ [Finborough Theatre] ~ | Review
Madam Butterfly ~ [King's Head Theatre] ~ | Review
Mouths In a Glass ~ [The Hope Theatre] ~ | Review
Sisters ~ [The Bread and Roses Theatre] ~ | Review
Seven Letters ~ [Tabard Theatre] ~ | Review
Dame Nature the Magnificent Bearded Lady ~ [Wilton's Music Hall] ~ | Review
The Canterbury Shakespeare Festival - Hath Not This City Talent?
Romeo and Juliet ~ [The Garrick Theatre] ~ | Review
Doctor Faustus ~ [The Duke of York's Theatre] ~ | Review

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Musings of a Theatre Junkie

Entries tagged with review

Birds of Paradise ~ [The Drayton Arms Theatre] ~ Review

To Be or Not to Be Scarlett O'Hara ~ [Etcetera Theatre] ~ Review

Hello From Bertha and 27 Wagons Full of Cotton ~ [Hen and Chickens Theatre] ~ Review

The Chemsex Monolgues ~ [King's Head Theatre] ~ Review

Press Cuttings ~ [Pentameters Theatre] ~ Review

I'm Gonna Pray For You So Hard ~ [Finborough Theatre] ~ | Review

Madam Butterfly ~ [King's Head Theatre] ~ | Review

Mouths In a Glass ~ [The Hope Theatre] ~ | Review

Sisters ~ [The Bread and Roses Theatre] ~ | Review

Seven Letters ~ [Tabard Theatre] ~ | Review

Dame Nature the Magnificent Bearded Lady ~ [Wilton's Music Hall] ~ | Review

The Canterbury Shakespeare Festival - Hath Not This City Talent?

Romeo and Juliet ~ [The Garrick Theatre] ~ | Review

Doctor Faustus ~ [The Duke of York's Theatre] ~ | Review