Don't bother, they're here
“You have told me every story I’ve ever heard”
I still can’t work out what I want to say about Fairview, a show that by its very nature demands that you don’t give anything away about it (even though saying this itself feels like a heightening of expectation you could do without).
So why not read this piece from Gal-dem instead.
“I don’t have drama.
‘Girl you got drama. I got drama'”
I’m opting out of writing about Fairview, for now, for a number of reasons, most of which will become apparent when you see the show. And you should really see this show, Jackie Sibblies Drury’s drama is a Christmas gift of a different sort, destined to make you really think and really want to debate the issues it raises. I’ll be back, and I’ll be considering the right way to respond, if at all. Until then, get booking.
Best Actor in a New Production of a Musical
Andy Nyman, Fiddler on the Roof, Menier Chocolate Factory
David Hunter, Waitress, Adelphi Theatre
David Ricardo-Pearce, Kiss Me, Kate, The Watermill Theatre
Kayi Ushe, Kinky Boots, UK Tour
Tom Bennett, Only Fools and Horses: The Musical, Theatre Royal Haymarket
Tyrone Huntley, The View UpStairs, Soho Theatre
Best Actress in a New Production of a Musical
Amara Okereke, Oklahoma!, Chichester Festival Theatre
Audrey Brisson, Amélie The Musical, UK Tour
Caroline Sheen, 9 to 5 The Musical, Savoy Theatre
Rebecca Trehearn, Kiss Me, Kate, The Watermill Theatre
Samantha Pauly, Evita, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Sheridan Smith, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, London Palladium Continue reading “2019 BroadwayWorld UK Awards Shortlist”
“Just because I said that’s what I want doesn’t mean that’s what I want. I mean, that’s what I want but that doesn’t mean that I’m necessarily ready for it”
I remain unconvinced that what London wants, needs or is ready for is yet another new theatre but regardless, the Turbine Theatre is here, lurking under the arches in the shadow of Battersea Power Station like a cross between the Menier Chocolate Factory and the Union Theatre.
Its opening salvo is a production of Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy, directed by Drew McOnie in his straight play debut and in terms of appealing to – indeed finding – a new core audience (in lieu of the community of people who will actually live in this new development, heading for the gays makes for a wise choice. Continue reading “Review: Torch Song Trilogy, Turbine Theatre”
“Reaching up to something beyond attainment…”
The Almeida’s Summer and Smoke was a huge hit in the spring so it was little surprise to hear a West End transfer was on the cards (especially compared to, say, The Twilight Zone…). And it has transplanted to the Duke of York’s in fine shape, Tom Scutt’s set losing none of its invitingly curved intimacy as it replicates the bare bricks of the N1 venue.
And Rebecca Frecknall’s production has lost none of its charge, mainly through retaining the electric chemistry between its leads – an exceptional Patsy Ferran as Alma and Matthew Needham as John. The complex emotional connection between their characters is the heart of the play and the stark simplicity of the staging reflects that from the outset. Continue reading “Re-review: Summer and Smoke, Duke of York’s”
“I suppose I like both, but that’s okay isn’t it, that’s okay?”
Sometimes you look back at a cast you’ve seen and think wow, I’m glad I booked for that. The original Royal Court production of Mike Bartlett’s Cock – revived here at Chichester’s Minerva – had a cast that included no less than Katherine Parkinson, Andrew Scott and Ben Whishaw enclosed in the claustrophobic intimacy of Miriam Buether’s brilliant design. So no pressure for director Kate Hewitt to live up to, honest…
And it is pressure that she lives up to, mainly because Bartlett’s play remains as fresh as a daisy (chain) nearly 10 years after it was written. Its exploration of fluid sexuality feels ripped out of the frothing mouth of clickbait-muffin Piers Morgan, its rejection of conventional sexual identity labels still a key issue for many, the complication of the dating world in the 21st century as sharply pertinent as ever.
Continue reading “Review: Cock, Minerva”
“I’m more afraid of your soul than you’re afraid of my body”
When ‘director’s theatre’ looks and feels like this, it’s hard to believe that anyone would take against it. Director Rebecca Frecknall, aided by designer Tom Scutt, throws out the rulebook when it comes to Tennessee Williams, and comes up with something beautiful, something that genuinely feels like Williams for a contemporary age.
It helps that Summer and Smoke is relatively unheralded among his vast canon. And that the Almeida under Rupert Goold is as close as you’ll come to a director’s theatre. But the key is Frecknall’s vision of a world unmoored from the turn-of-the-century Mississippi setting and relocated to somewhere altogether more elemental. Continue reading “Review: Summer and Smoke, Almeida Theatre”
Starting off the new brightly, the full cast of the Almeida’s production of Summer and Smoke has been announced.
Joining Patsy Ferran in the revival of Tennessee Williams’ play will be:
Rebecca Frecknall directs, with Tom Scutt on design duties and Lee Curran on the lights . Summer and Smoke opens at the Almeida on 7th March for a month-long run.
“We’re not looking for a needle in a haystack but for an alien in a diner”
There’s a scene in the second half of The Twilight Zone which is almost unbearably, poignantly astute on the subject of race relations in the US. Never mind that it was written in the 60s, it says so much about the America of today that it can’t help but chill the bone about the predictability of the baser notes of human nature. It is though, the only moment in this theatrical adaptation of the classic TV show that registered any real impact with me.
Anne Washburn (she of the extraordinary Mr Burns) has fashioned this play out of eight of the stories told by The Twilight Zone and presents them as if shuffling a pack of cards. Some stories broken up and interwoven with each other, some told in toto, all seeking to disrupt and disturb with shocks and scares and no little amount of wry humour too. It makes for a strangely suitable piece of counter-intuitive festive programming but ultimately felt insubstantial to me. Continue reading “Review: The Twilight Zone, Almeida Theatre”
The Almeida have revealed the cast for their forthcoming Christmas show The Twilight Zone which promises a different take on seasonal fare! Directed by Richard Jones and adapted by Anne Washburn, responsible for the brilliant mindfuck that was Mr Burns, I reckon this will be one to look out for.
Cast includes: Oliver Alvin-Wilson, Franc Ashman, Adrianna Bertola, Lizzy Connolly, Amy Griffiths, Neil Haigh, Cosmo Jarvis, John Marquez, Matthew Needham, and Sam Swainsbury,