REVIEWING THEATRE

Abigail's Party ~ Mike Leigh

Fri, 11 May 2012 20:57:06 +0100

The newest revival of one of Mike Leigh’s most famous and successful plays, Abigail’s Party, is a brilliant piece of drama and one of the best that recent theatre has to offer. After a completely sold out run at the Menier Chocolate Factory it comes to the Theatre Royal Bath before going to the West End. Lindsay Posner’s brilliantly directed adaptation is hilariously charismatic as it is poignant.

Abigail’s Party is about a social get together of neighbours and friends, including two married couples and a divorcee. It is an absurd and socially awkward party in which Beverly, the hostess of the party, outrageously flirts with Tony, her neighbour. Also, Ange, his socially awkward wife is present as is Beverley’s husband, Laurence. Lastly to make the occasion complete there is Sue, the nervous divorcee, constantly worried about the party her daughter, Abigail, is throwing across the road. Beverley flirts and entertains, filling her guests with nibbles, alcohol and cigarettes. As the evening progresses the party descends into depravity and drunkenness.

The play is a great mixture of comedy, tragedy and drama all set against a backdrop of Essex in the 70s. During the party we see into the relationships between husband and wife and between neighbours and friends. As the characters become increasingly more intoxicated the play heightens, the humour steps up as does the ludicrousness of the situation. The play ends with the most hilarious and ridiculous tableau you will ever see in a piece of theatre that Leigh somehow gets away with.

The play is a combination of marital misery, British life, society and the class system. We see marriages crumble before our very eyes as the night progresses and the tension that is the divide of social identification between friend and partner. Beverley and Laurence argue from the offset. It starts with a petty quarrel over the nibbles at the party and their disagreement over olives. With the addition of alcohol and guests, cigarettes and even more alcohol this turns into a more bleak and severe argument over their differences in taste and more serious and intimate marital issues between them.

All the characters are played brilliantly by a superb cast that don’t over exaggerate their characters, bringing humour but truth to them also. Andy Nyman is the snappy estate agent, Susannah Harker is the reserved and gloomy divorcee and Joe Absalom brings an attentive, passive but at times quite aggressive Tony. But credit has to be given to Natalie Casey as the socially incompetent and clumsy wife of Tony, Ange. She brings a sweetness to the role as well as awkwardness. Her comic timing is perfect and her characterisation flawless. Lastly, Jill Halfpenny is the controlling hostess Beverly. She is the rock of the production and is flawless in this role which she brilliantly portrays as being both sexy and quite ugly at the same time.

Leigh offers moments of great melancholy juxtaposed with moments of absolute hilarity and absurdity in Abigail’s Party. Brilliantly directed by Posner the play flows along smoothly from one moment to the next, from seriousness to humour naturally.

Red Light Winter by Adam Rapp - My Video Review

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 02:52:00 +0100

Red Light Winter by Adam Rapp - My Video Review

RED LIGHT WINTER ”Rapp’s ferociously sharp writing...

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 13:23:05 +0000

RED LIGHT WINTER

”Rapp’s ferociously sharp writing is matched in Richard Beecham’s production by three magnetic performances that wring out every scrap of viciousness, tenderness and dark, doomed romance.” - The Guardian * * * *

You have 2 weeks left to go and see it. Now go.

Your Last Breath by Curious Directive. Ustinov, Bath, 9th-11th...

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:09:44 +0000

Your Last Breath by Curious Directive. Ustinov, Bath, 9th-11th February.

YOUR LAST BREATH

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:44:11 +0000

A stunning piece of theatre and by far one of the most unique and brilliantly created pieces I have seen on stage recently. This production by Curious Directive is a worthy winner of the Fringe First Award, 2011. It follows four different stories that all intertwine and are loosely based on the same theme. We follow a young scientist who has left his wife and son in London to travel to Norway to produce the first maps of the uncharted Mountains. We then move forward a whole century to Anna, a girl who has been trapped beneath the ice after a skiing accident. Her body freezes, however amazingly after the doctors warm her, her heart begins to beat again. Next we have a decade later, current day, Freija, a business woman who travels to Norway to scatter her recently deceased father’s ashes. Our last story is set in the future of the year 2034, where doctors have had a serious breakthrough in science to suspend in animation the human body. The time of the four stories spans from the late 19^th century to mid 21^st century. We see scenes from all four stories throughout, each linked by an original and seamless piano soundtrack. It is played live and throughout the piece we see glimpses of the pianist at work. The reindeer were represented by the actors with an upside down chair for antlers. They were carefully interpreted and excellently executed by the actors, with just the right cheeky, staccato piano melody to represent the animals. Your Last Breath uses a great range of theatrical techniques and devices to create a beautifully unique piece. The design is very well constructed. The set is purposefully created and used throughout. For example the table was used, manipulated and moved to create quite a touching montage sequence culminating the four stories. The use of coloured string on rods that created lines and contours of the maps that Christopher imagines is stunning. The actors use these strings on rods to bring Christopher’s visions inside his head to life and onstage in an almost 3D effect. Anne’s character was brought to life by a stylised and brilliant dance routine, which resulted in all the characters following in sync at the end. The piece provides an interesting look into themes of life and death and explores the suspension between the two. The creativity in this production was endless and the acting was just as superb. This is definitely a theatre company to look out for in the future.

The Surprise of Love ~ Maviraux

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:28:00 +0000

The Surprise of Love ~ Maviraux

One Man ~ Steven Berkoff

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 21:57:00 +0000

Theatre at its best. Steven Berkoff’s One Man; a pair of contrasting monologues not to be missed!

One of the Theatre Royal in Bath’s gems, One Man shocked, criticized, mocked and had the audience in stitches. One of the funniest pieces of theatre I have seen in a while. Steven Berkoff had the audience in the palm of his hand, especially throughout the second monologue entitled Dog.

The first monologue, Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe and adapted by Steven Berkoff himself is an interesting story that explores dementia, murder and madness. This gothic and horrific story told by one man describes how he was driven to madness by another man’s eye and how he sets out to kill him one evening. This gruesome murder is told detail by detail, making the audience squirm in their seats. It is acted and mimed brilliantly with excellent sound effects made by Berkoff to emphasise the disgusting and quite gruesome nature in which he saws up the body to hide it beneath the floorboards.

The second monologue written by Berkoff, Dog, is a hilarious account of a day in the life of a typical English football thug and his dog, Roy. Dog, provided a really strong contrast to the first monologue. Acted sublimely with great comic timing it had me roaring with laughter. The brutal representation of the worst and most violent of British society is somewhat shocking in places but brilliantly funny in others. In this monologue Berkoff plays both the thug and the dog, Roy brilliantly with ease in the switch between the two characters.

With quite strong language and adult themes the play does come with an over 18 warning, and after watching the second gritty monologue it’s not surprising. It was a shame that some of the facial expressions were lost due to the high seats at the back of the theatre; however it is a great performance by Steven Berkoff, one of the most prolific actors and theatre practitioners of this generation. I would encourage everyone to see it, would be a shame to miss such a treat.

Sweeney Todd

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:19:00 +0000

Just heard that Jonathan Kent’s 5 star production of Sweeney Todd is transferring from the Chichester Festival Theatre to the West End next March.

Starring Michael Ball as Sweeney Todd and Imelda Staunton as a “fabulously funny” and “showstopping” Mrs Lovett.

Also features an old school friend playing the part of Anthony.

I will definitely be getting my hand of a pair of tickets!

Really excited for Berkoff…

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:58:00 +0100

Really excited for Berkoff…

West End Review - Grief - Mike Leigh at the National Oct...

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:33:00 +0100

West End Review - Grief - Mike Leigh

at the National Oct 2011.mpg (by theatregenius)

Grief ~ Mike Leigh

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:23:00 +0100

I will keep this review short and sweet, unlike the play. I was very split in my opinion of Grief by Mike Leigh. I really enjoyed the first hour of it however as it continued to drag on I think most of the audience grew bored and irritable.

The acting was extraordinary and it was a beautifully naturalistic play set in the late 50s. The play could go from being hilariously funny at times to other parts where it was incredibly touching and also at times quite painful and depressing.

The script was well written and brilliantly funny at times. However it was far too long. The scenes were short and there were far too many of them. The play lasted for 2 hours without an interval. The change between scenes would involve a black out with numerous stage hands moving props and set in between. The number of these just grew boring for the audience and distracted from the play itself.

Credit has to go to Sam Kelly for his portrayal of Uncle Edwin. The cast as a whole were superb. Beautiful singing from Uncle Edwin and Dorothy added a charming touch to the production. However these moments were included far too often.

The play ended with a somewhat predictable and inevitable ending, however it was harrowing. The frozen action from downstairs juxtaposed with the screams heard from the upstairs offstage sent chills down my spine. The theatre fell silent as we heard the screams of a mother in pain.

This is a beautifully acted play. However once the characters, time, location and relationships have been set up for the audience, Mike Leigh just goes on to repeat this through another 15 scenes which are virtually identical. As described by one reviewer, “’it’s a sledge hammer to crack open a walnut”.

Dr Marigold & Mr Chops

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:25:00 +0100

A bit of Charles Dickens bought to us by the awesome Simon Callow.

(TEST)