Vintage Blues
BluesClub
The Eel Pie Club, Twickenham, 11th January
Review by Vince Francis
A welcome return to the Eel Pie Club last Thursday, to see the first gig of the year featuring BluesClub. I wouldn’t claim to be an aficionado of the genre, but, as a sometime guitar player, I’m well aware of the history of blues music and how it has influenced much of the popular music of western culture, including Jazz, Folk and Country & Western. Apart from all that, I do enjoy the occasional immersion in the baptismal font that is a live blues gig.
This particular area of London also has a noble history in taking the blues to its bosom and continuing the form. The Eel Pie Club acknowledges in its name the original home of British blues on Eel Pie Island, a venue which provided the seedbed for talent such as Alexis Korner, Long John Baldry, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones and many, many others. I think it was B. B. King who said that without the interest shown by the British in the late 50s and early 60s, the form might well have died out. It’s also fair to say that the British blues scene introduced (re-introduced?) the form to the mainstream U.S. audience. Today, of course, there is a fairly healthy scene, both here in London and elsewhere in the country and considerable credit is due to people like Warren Walters and Gina Way, who continue to walk the walk with regard to live music.
Being a geek, the first thing I noticed was the banner at the back of the stage advertising the club and using the image of a Gibson Les Paul guitar to underline the point. All fine and well until a recce of the kit onstage revealed everything guitar related to be Fender. Just sayin’.
On this particular evening, the BluesClub’s stellar line up was:
• Guy Fletcher – Keys and Steel Guitar
• William Topley – Vocals
• Peter Hope-Evans – Harmonica and Jew’s Harp
• Paul Beavis – Drums
• Robbie McIntosh – Guitar
• Elliott Randall – Guitar
• Alan Rogan – Fender Bass
Each of the above has a very respectable CV and this was demonstrated in the opening number, a cool version of Taj Mahal’s 1968 track She Caught the Katy, probably most famously known for underscoring the introduction to the 1980 film The Blues Brothers.
It quickly became apparent that there was an issue with Elliott Randall’s amplification during an otherwise slick performance of Junior Reed’s I Ain’t Got You. This meant his solo went unheard which I felt was a shame for a musician of this standing. As vocalist and front man William Topley wryly observed, vintage gear sometimes breaks down and needs a little TLC – a bit like vintage people, really. In this instance, Robbie McIntosh stepped in with the solution of plugging Elliot’s guitar into the spare channel on his amp, which got us to the interval effectively, after which the original amplifier was back in the line and working.
Peter Hope-Evans deserves a mention for staying power on harmonica and Jew’s harp. Always in there with an appropriate musical flourish to underpin the number and ready to step forward as required.
I also liked drummer Paul Beavis’s work: crisp, enthusiastic and, again, ever ready with a tasteful fill to drive matters forward.
But, overall, it feels churlish to critique musicians of this standard and experience in detail. Suffice it to say that this is a band that admirably demonstrates what professional standard live playing should be and which is well worth booking tickets for.
Of the numbers, the standouts for me were the trance like, Latin influenced Meet Me at the Clubhouse, the whacky, cross-rhythmed I’m Drunk and the very tasty lap steel work from Guy Fletcher in Bring It to Jerome.
I don’t know if I imagined this, but I felt there was a further nod to the area’s illustrious blues past in William Topley’s vocals. I thought he sounded a bit like Long John Baldry – and I intend that as a compliment. Baldry and his Hoochie Coochie Men band were regulars at the Eel Pie Island Hotel in the 60s and the legend goes that Baldry provided the launch pad for Rod Stewart’s career, having heard him busking at Twickenham Station.
I like this club a lot. It fulfils a need for properly equipped and managed performance spaces. The 11:00 p.m. curfew keeps things sweet with the neighbours and means you’re not tempted into a 3:00 a.m. session (believe me, I could be). As indicated earlier, Warren and Gina have a long-standing and heartfelt commitment to live music, which I find admirable.
Every venue has its own quirks and limitations and the EPC is no exception. You need to be in the queue early in order to give yourself a chance at getting a seat. It can get very crowded, although I’ve found the crowd to be very friendly each time I’ve been. Also, I would have liked to have heard the solos more forward in the mix, but this might have been due to where we were seated.
And a final thought. I don’t want to guess at the average age, but looking around the audience, I was struck at one point by the soft shimmer of grey ponytails nodding sagely to old school riffs in the dimmed lights. I do wonder what’s going to happen to this music when this generation of performers and fans finally hangs up their Strats. I said earlier that there is a fairly healthy scene at the moment, with some brilliant young players, such as John Mayer coming through. I hope they continue to acknowledge the roots – of the music, that is.
Vince Francis
January 2018
Photography by Pat Stancliffe
Skilful Subtle Dark Comedy
Marie
by Sarah MacGillivray and Phil Bartlett
Old Sorting Office, Barnes, 11th and 12th January
Review by Eleanor Lewis
In a previous review last year, I enthused about how fabulous actors are. I’d been to see a new play in a tiny little theatre over a pub in Camden on one of the hottest days of the year, and just after the Grenfell fire. Three actors gave it their all while their audience sat on benches (at least it felt like benches) in the dark, ready for a new experience and to be taken out of themselves. The Leviathan we call The Arts has to keep moving forward but it’s a frustrating and only intermittently rewarding working life for the actors and writers who make that happen. A sweaty pub in Camden (welcoming and civilised though it was) is a long way from the thrill of the West End.
Sarah MacGillivray and Phil Bartlett’s new play Marie is mainly concerned with one of these ‘key workers’. Though described in the publicity as “a darkly comic new play inspired by the life of Mary Queen of Scots”, it isn’t really. It’s definitely a darkly comic new play but whether it’s inspired so much by the life of Mary Queen of Scots or the grindingly frustrating life of young actors trying to get a break is at least a moot point.
The play is the story of two women. Chirpy landlady Liz runs a London pub with her husband Barry. Marie, an aspiring actress from Edinburgh, arrives at the pub after a difficult first couple of hours in the capital and is given a job and a home. From then on Marie pursues acting jobs and Liz runs weekly history nights at the pub at which people turn up as costumed, historical characters and do some sort of ‘turn’.
Marie encounters the usual difficulties whilst going to auditions, including a misdescribed porn film, but begins to enjoy playing Mary Queen of Scots at the pub’s history night. Eventually a recall from the RSC yields a job and from then on there’s a gentle but significant change in pace. Events begin to take their toll on Marie in disturbing ways that would amount to spoilers if described here. Suffice to say that what starts as an endearing tale ramps up into something that might have resulted from a collaboration between Hitchcock and Alan Bennett.
Being a one-woman show, Sarah MacGillivray plays all parts, switching from London Liz to Edinburgh Marie with occasional interventions from husband Barry and various other characters. MacGillivray is a skilful, subtle actor, she does justice to the tight, focussed writing and draws her audience gradually closer without making either main character needy or unsympathetic. In one of the OSO’s studio spaces, alone on stage under soft lighting with only a tea towel and a glass for support, this is an impressive performance.
(The tea towel and the glass for most of the time were the only props (aside from a chair) and used exclusively by Liz, which made the transfer between characters slightly unbalanced, Marie, I think, would have benefitted from a prop of some sort – bag maybe? – to make the change of identity a little sharper.)
Marie is a great piece of writing, well performed and at little over an hour it’s entertaining, funny and time well spent. Recommended.
Eleanor Lewis
January 2018
Photography by Laura Sedgwick and Phil Bartlett
Mark Aspen’s New Year Quiz
In expectation yet more great theatre locally in 2018, here are twenty questions, all on a local thespian theme.
If you are looking for help, there are many clues here at Mark Aspen, just follow the great theatre photographs of a year in the theatre!
- One hundred and ten years ago Leopold Glasspoole set up a local theatre company, which is still thriving today. What is it now called?
Photograph by Ace
- In Jonathan Dove’s new opera adaptation of a Jane Austen novel, the Crawfords sing of the “follies and grottos of Twickenham”. Which novel?
Photograph by Robert Workman
- On 16th January, it will be ten years since a local theatre was officially opened, having been in use for some while. Which theatre?
Photograph by Marc Brenner
- The Temple to Shakespeare was built in 1756. In whose garden?
Photograph by Christina Bulford
- In October a new theatre was opened opposite Twickenham railway station. What is it called?
Photograph courtesy of Ian Hughes
6 The present Q2 theatre performs at The Avenue. But the original Q theatre opened to the public on Boxing Day, 1924. Which landmark did it face?
Photograph by Connor Ballard-Pateman
7 The tenor John Templeton (1802-1886) sang in the first English production Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute. Which local theatre now stands near his house?
Photograph by Christina Bulford
8 Which opera by Philip Glass had its UK premiere last year in Hampton?
Photography by Stephanie at stephotofocus.com
9 Which songwriter was born at 131 Waldegrave Road, Teddington?
Photograph courtesy of Venture Wolf
10 “With his receding hairline and goatee beard, he is one of those theatre critics who could normally find something good to say about almost any production with a particular penchant for leading actresses”. Which local theatre reviewer is the British Theatre Guide describing?
11 Which Grade II* listed theatre has the largest collection of fully restored Victorian scenery in the world?
12 Which European president had his stage plays premiered at The Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond?
Photograph by Christina Bulford
13 In February 1603 a month before her death, William Shakespeare once again brought his company of actors to a local venue to perform for Queen Elizabeth. Where was it?
Photograph by Step-on-Stage Productions
14 Richmond Theatre was opened in 1898. Who was the architect who designed it?
Photograph by Brinkhoff Mögenburg
15 Which famous local artist was baptised in the Actors’ Church, St Paul’s, Covent Garden?
Photograph by Col Whitbread
16 In 1934 Errol Flynn’s first major film role in Murder at Monte Carlo was shot where?
Photograph courtesy of Britain Express
17 The Richmond Shakespeare Society has been performing Shakespeare’s plays annually in the open air since 1934. In recent years, these have been put on in various locations in York House, Twickenham. What was the previous venue for the open-air performances?
Photograph by Simone Sutton
18 What is the official name of the theatre that would you find next to Barnes Pond?
Photography by Marc Pearce
19 Which Twickenham poet mocked special effects in the theatre in these words: “Gods, imps, and monsters, music, rage, and mirth/ A fire, a jig, a battle, and a ball / Till one wide Conflagration swallows all.”
Photography by Craig Sugden
20 Who was the theatre and music hall impresario who had a lavish houseboat built on the Thames at Hampton, which included a full sized concert-hall and theatre?
Photograph by Alastair Muir
Mark Aspen
January 2018
Answers will be published next week.
A Devilish Dormouse, but a Kind Monster !
Alice in Winterland
by Ciaran McConville adapted from the stories and poems of Lewis Carroll
RTK Productions at The Rose Theatre, Kingston until 7th January
We asked two of our younger reviewers to share their thoughts on Alice in Winterland, to complement Mark Aspen’s review. Evie and Milly write:
Review by Evie Schaapveld (aged 7)
I loved the parts where they showed the Jabberwock and the Bandersnatch, because how they made them was very creative.
The Bandersnatch was very kind even though he looked very ferocious, and he looked like a half skeleton, half the Jabberwock, and half cat. I was terrified by the Jabberwock and he looked like an enormous pterodactyl skeleton.
The blue caterpillar was very good, and very funny, and they made him very long. I liked the stairs on the stage and I liked how they had two Alices. One was in her own house, the other was the one who went to wonderland.
Evie Schaapveld
December 2017
Review by Milly Stephens (aged 12)
I thought that it was a wonderful twist on the original story by Lewis Carrol. It was full of hope, bravery and adventure, but can bring a tear to your eye.
I loved the play because it had a range of characters. Some of my favourite were, the mad March Hare, the operatic Queen of Hearts and the cute but devil souled Dormouse.
I recommend it for all ages because you can never be too old or too young for a magical tale.
Milly Stephens
December 2017
Photography by Mark Douet
Showing the Grown-Ups How it’s Done
Annie Jr.
lyrics by Martin Charmin, score by Charles Strouse
Dramacube Productions at Hampton Hill Theatre until 23rd December
Review by Georgia Renwick
The story of downtrodden little orphan Annie, who is gifted with the opportunity to stay with a self-made millionaire for Christmas and finds the chance of a new, happier life, is a story we all know and love; but seeing these little stars shine in Annie Jr, a Dramacube production, is a Christmas treat we can all enjoy!
With Christmas just around the corner, there is an infectiously feel-good atmosphere at HHT as mince pies are munched and hot chocolates sipped on. You maybe have already seen some Christmas pantos this season, traditionally for the children. But tonight, it is time for the children to show the grown-ups how heart-warming Christmas theatre is done.
Over the last two and a half years, Dramacube has brought young talent (7-14 years) from across Richmond borough – and now Kingston – to the HHT stage, with a touch of creative flair and professionalism. Their Christmas production this year is no exception. The three teams of children each have two performances this week to show off all their hard-work to their families and friends, appreciation that has been hard earned by the children and Dramacube’s creative team.
The script is a cut-down version of the tony-award winning musical, but though it is cut down in length it is not lacking in spirit, in plot, or in challenges. If you have seen Annie playing in the West End this year you will recognise the songs, because everything in this Jr. version is in the ‘real’ show. The kids do not get off lightly with easier versions! And yet each and every child tackles the singing with aplomb. Of course, not every little girl can be Annie, but the production has been well balanced to allow for solo lines and moments to shine. Excellent experience for these young performers in handling nerves in the packed-out theatre, as well as the singing itself. It is singing as a unit however, where each child really gives it some gusto! Hard-Knock Life hit with the force of many knocks, even from the balcony!
Annie Jr 2016: Photograph courtesy of DramaCube
Music is provided in the form of a professional quality backing track, allowing for a professional sound without the headache of fitting an orchestra on the HHT stage! I have also seen productions fall-down where children struggle to adjust to live performers that inevitably sound different from a backing track, so this seems a wise choice.
The choreography in this production is especially strong under the guide of director Stephen Leslie and assistant director Mathew Bunn. The stage, filled with orphans, neither feels too crowded or too sparse, and everyone gets their moment in the limelight. Their little heads popping out from blankets and a make-shift pile of mattresses in the opening scene is an especially sweet and memorable moment. The children move very well, they know their marks, and the production overall is quite slick. Although this production does not allow for as much dancing as some of Dramacube’s previous shows, it has its moments. The production does not strive so hard to be slick that it loses its heart and soul, a quality Dramacube are garnering a reputation for.
Of course, working with children of all ages it can be challenging to manage visual perspective. It’s tough for a pint-sized police officer to convincingly arrest a Miss Hannagan a couple of heads taller than him, but it’s certainly funny, and certainly sweet!
Akshy Marayen had her work cut out with costuming, some children had as many as three changes. The change from Orphan to Sandy the Dog and then back again was especially inventive.
Annie Jr 2017: Photograph by Bomi Cooper
Sally Somerville’s set has been well-designed with multiple spaces spliced together so that set changes are kept to an absolute faff-free minimum. There is a tense moment when Miss Hannagan stumbles and falls down the intentionally rickety looking stairs, but not to worry! It is testament to the young cast member’s good acting that we were (thankfully) more startled than we needed to be.
Annie is a sweet tale, but it also offers us an important lesson in the value of an optimistic outlook. Afterall, “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile”, a mantra which every child on that stage seems to have taken fully to heart, is a mantra not just for Christmas, but to carry the whole year through; children and grown-ups alike.
Georgia Renwick
December 2017
Images from Dramacube’s 2016 production of Annie Jr.
Step lively!
Cinderella
OSO Arts Centre, Barnes until 23rd December
Review by Matthew Grierson
When the programme for a panto thanks someone for ‘the loan of her leg’, you can look forward to a fun evening. Well, you can be sure that someone is legless at least. And Cinderella, at the OSO Arts Centre in Barnes until Saturday evening, is quite a feat.
I would ask that you pardon the pun, but that would hardly be in the spirit of this loveable production, which throws wordplay and similar silliness at you with free abandon. ‘We’re fastidious.’/‘Yes, I’m fast, you’re hideous!’ Or: ‘I’ve a good mind to ¬–’/‘No you don’t.’ When the script is not punning it’s winking, knowingly: the ugly sisters are topically named Theresa and Arlene, and true to form, spend most of the show ruining things for everyone else. And in case you weren’t sure that Richmond Park voted Remain, Cinderella gets blamed for Brexit by the sisters, along with everything else from Donald Trump to North Korea. The locale is also brought on stage, with references to Hounslow, Mortlake and the beauties – or boredoms – of Barnes, although the producers have missed a trick by not getting sponsorship from the Coach & Horses on Barnes High Street.
The japery doesn’t all find its mark, and sometimes it’s shoehorned in just a little too awkwardly, leaving the cast to change step abruptly. There is still a sufficient hit rate to keep us occupied, though, and if it’s clear the audience isn’t biting, the cast have the good grace to shrug and move on to the next gag. But heaven forfend we miss a chance to boo the sisters – when the audience’s customary disapprobation does not come up to scratch, Joel Coussins as Theresa returns stroppily to the wings, complaining that everyone’s gone to sleep (well, he is also the director). When Theresa repeats his/her entrance a second or so later, s/he gets the catcalls s/he’s been expecting: ‘We like the booze!’ s/he jeers. Maybe he and Arlene will be in the Coach after the show.
They won’t have long to wait if so: the show doesn’t run too much over the hour, and has to be pretty fleet to get the whole story in. Such is its pace in fact that, mid ‘On no it isn’t!’/ ‘Oh yes it is!’, Theresa yells ‘Time for some plot!’ to keep things stepping lively. Even the poor old Baron No-Dough hobbles briskly on and off stage, with Buttons wryly commenting as much.
Like a fat foot in a slim slipper, the show is crammed with business. Apart from the badinage and satire, and, oh yes, the story, there’s everything you’d expect from a panto: a smattering of songs (pinched from the charts and other shows), plenty of audience interaction, pratfalls, custard pies, a false leg, and dancing. Yet for a show that cracks along at a fair old pace, it’s odd that Cinders’ and Prince Charming’s turn on the dancefloor is so timid, with the couple swaying side to side as though they were as hapless on their pins as yours truly. As Cinders, Alex Payne busts more moves when she later recounts her night to Buttons, so perhaps this gives an idea of where the heroine’s feelings really lie? Although once she’s married to the Prince in the end, her poor old friend and faithful helper is left hanging. Not even a peck on the cheek from the Fairy Godmother, poor sod.
At its best, the show’s action is nicely choreographed – the ugly sisters waylay Dandini, disguised as the Prince, to get an invitation to the ball, while all the time the real Prince and Cinders are making eyes at one another behind them as Buttons looks on enviously. At other times, there’s more exposition – this works fine as part of the lively warm-up by Will Jarvis as Buttons, but slows things down when the Fairy Godmother appears midway through proceedings. Maeve Carlin has a lot she has to tell us, and seems far more at ease when singing (what a voice!) But her sleight of hand comes in useful for the crucial transformation scene, when Cinders asks where she can see her regal carriage: Carlin responds that the budget is not enough.
The real magic, of course, is with the cast themselves, ebullient, ad-libbing, warm and funny to a man or woman. Make that man and woman in 50% of the cases. The sisters are a couple of men (Coussins and Frankie Brickmann) dragged up, who only make the slightest of gestures towards femininity, yet vie to make the most ludicrous claims to the contrary. Then there is Hana Jarrah’s turn as Baron No-Dough, alternately sprightly and sighing; while Rachel Coussins as Dandini stooges gamely for the Prince (Alex Hill), even though her moustache doesn’t stay the course … unlike Arlene’s hipster beard. As if there weren’t enough mixing up of parts, the Prince also changes guise with his factotum (another source of much wordplay) to make his way around ‘Pantoland’ and call on Cinders incognito. Like the sisters, PC and D also have a well-worked double act – imagine Blackadder’s Baldrick, complete with cunning plans, sallying forth with a boss midway between Flasheart and Prince George.
At 900-odd words, I realise am now at risk outwriting the script itself, and surely trying the patience of its younger audience members. For while the kids are not always attentive, the production has rhythm – and sweeties – enough for them never to be distracted for too long. Well, it wouldn’t have a leg to stand on otherwise.
Matthew Grierson
December 2017
Photography by Laura Sedgwick and Caroline Silfvering
Editor’s Note
Children’s shows are returning to the OSO on 12th February with Walter and Maisy Have A Very Long Day which is aimed at 4 to 7 year olds and has a short run until 16th February.
One Giant Step for Putney
Jack and the Beanstalk
PTC at Putney Arts Theatre until 22nd of December.
Review by Melissa Syversen
The pantomimes are upon us in all their sparkling glory and this time I was off to Putney Arts Theatre for Putney Theatre Company’s production of Jack and the Beanstalk. This classic pantomime story, as you probably all know, is based on the story of Jack and his adventure up a giant beanstalk after trading the family cow for some magic beans in efforts to save the family farm. The Putney Theatre Company has created a new and original script written by PTC’s New Writing Team consisting of Lizzie Iredale, Tim Iredale, Marcia Kelson and composer Simon Herd
As the audience enters, we are welcomed by the inhabitants of Comfart Farm and other villagers. Originally known as Comfort Farm, the farm is run by Mama Trott, her son Jack and their farmhand Pat who take care of their prized cow Buttercup and the rest of the livestock. Due to his profession and name, Pat is, quite understandingly, affectionately nicknamed Cowpat. Times on Comfort Farm are hard. Mama Trott is crippled by debts and cannot afford to grow anything other than beans, which in return barely generates any profits. Having nothing else to eat but beans, their cow Buttercup can hardly produce any milk. Caught in this vicious circle, what meagre income the farm can scrape together is quickly taken by the evil debt collector Lord Wonga (A funny gag throughout the show is his increasingly lavish clothing and accessories) and his sidekick Quik Quid, claiming to work on behalf of the evil giant who lives above the clouds.
Jack and the Beanstalk, though one of the more popular pantomimes, it is done less than say Cinderella, Aladdin or even Dick Whittington. Given that the story involves both a literal giant, a castle in the sky and the growing of a gigantic beanstalk, it is understandable that many theatres, including professional, might take pause when choosing to stage it. Putney Theatre Company, however, is undaunted by these challenges and meets them head-on. And we the audiences are very lucky that they did.
The new writing team of PTC has created a witty script with many funny jokes and references. Together with an original score, they have been particularly successful in finding the balance between comedy set pieces, storytelling and music. I find that this is a strength that many smaller and local pantomimes often share. Often the larger, professional pantomimes can be a bit too much spectacle with little if any, story or character along the way. (Palladium, I am looking at you.) And in the capable hands of director Jeff Graves and the creative team, the whole piece is staged in a very clever way with many satisfying tricks and surprises along the way. I particularly enjoyed those giant tears. The story in Jack and the Beanstalk ‘trotts’ along nicely with much of the exposition provided in rhyming couplets by the fairy godmother, played by a charming Caroline Slater.
The songs fit nicely into the story, helping move the story along rather than just being random pop songs just for the sake of it. There were times I struggled to make out the lyrics, which is a bit of shame because what I heard was often quite clever. The backup music provided by a live three-part band on stage, which is a very welcome addition. We have Simon Herd, Dave Herd and Liam Bridgen on guitar, bass and drums respectively. All the songs are of good quality, but the standout musical moments to me were Cowpat’s power ballad dedicated to Buttercup after his beloved cow has been sold, performed with perfect comical sincerity by Lois Saville. Another great song was Jack and Jill’s (Tamara Smith and Eliza Jones respectively) duet as they climb the beanstalk together.
Ian Fleming is very capable in the Dame role of Mama Trott, the woman struggling both with debt and excessive flatulence. Rounding off the core-characters we have Tim Iredale as the villainous debt-collector Lord Wonga, and Inka Jaroszynki as the hapless but sweet Quik Quid. Iredale is particularly successful in addressing the audience and asides. They both make for an excellent pair of comedy villains. I also quite enjoyed their costume aesthetic, seemingly modelled after silent film era model complete with cloak, the top hat and goatee. I was half expecting a comedy set piece where Mama Trott is tied to a railway track … there is always next year. A definite scene stealer and crowd favourite though was undoubtedly Buttercup the cow, impressively played by Ellen Fife and Emma Fleming. Anyone who can do synchronised jazz while wearing a pantomime cow costume are heroes in my book.
Jack and the Beanstalk at Putney Arts Theatre prove that you don’t need a huge budget, former X-factor winners or Qdos Entertainment to create a great piece of pantomime. All you need is an efficient, well-written script, clever staging, some catchy song and a cast overflowing with energy and playfulness. Add a generous and willing audience and together they will all create a great evening together where everyone can share laughs, surprises and build that wonderful sense of community in these difficult times. And that boys and girls, is what pantomime is all about.
Melissa Syversen
December 2017
Images by Rich Evans Photography
Beware the Jabberwock!
Alice in Winterland
by Ciaran McConville adapted from the stories and poems of Lewis Carroll
RTK Productions at The Rose Theatre, Kingston until 7th January
Review by Mark Aspen
As a Christmas bonus, two of our younger critics have also offered their thoughts on Alice in Winterland. You can read reviews, Evie Schaapveld (aged 7) and Millie Stephens (aged 12) at “A Devilish Dormouse, but a Kind Monster ! Alice in Winterland“
Mark Aspen writes:
Taking our vorpal swords in hand, my seven-year old companion and I wended our way through the mimsy borogoves to The Rose Theatre, Kingston to see Alice in Winterland. On the way we discussed how Alice’s Wonderland would become Winterland. Her fertile mind foresaw a plethora of possible adaptations, but would the wonder be lost? , we asked ourselves.
Not only were our concerns misplaced, we were rewarded with a production that not only keeps the mystery and the mysticism, and the surreal style of Lewis Carroll’s Alice stories, but one that underlines their spirit of adventure and that decodes some of their messages. Moreover, most of the original familiar characters are there too. Plus there are a few others, penguins for instance … you see this is Winterland.
Director Ciaran McConville’s adaption takes the basis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Alice through the Looking Glass and parenthesises them in a World War One packaging. It is 1917, Alice’s father returns home badly injured and, when Alice’s mother is also lost to the war, Alice is to be taken into the guardianship of her overbearing and insensitive Aunt Margaret. This all sounds very mawkish and indeed the sentimental wrapping does have genuine tear-jerking moments, but then … suddenly a White Rabbit appears and steals the watch that her father has just given her. Alice is off, chasing him into Wonderland, and we discover that the theft of the watch is to coerce Alice into helping to rescue Wonderland from a perpetual winter afflicted on it by the Queen of Hearts, who has stopped time at her Birthday. We are in Alice’s magical world, now subjugated as Winterland.
The magic of this world is brought vividly to life in Timothy Bird’s design concept, which makes full use of the wide stage and broad cyclorama at The Rose. Whilst a long grand staircase transverses the set, it is mainly left open for unrestricted stage action. Its spaciousness is enhanced by the lighting and video designs of Tim Mascall and Dan Denton. Projections are very imposing: an enormous Zeppelin figures in the prelude; the Queen’s palace is visually assembled before us.
It is the unfeeling and tactless Aunt Margaret who in Winterland is transmogrified into the Queen of Hearts. If you thought Aunt Margaret was the hyper-harridan, wait ‘til you see the Queen. Here is the ultimate compulsion: decapitation mania. Susannah van den Berg relishes this role, giving it gold-plated welly. All this energy is complemented with a powerful singing voice. Could so much coloratura ever have been given to a rendition of Happy Birthday to Me ? Priceless!
Van den Berg may have been in danger of stealing the show, were it not for the twenty-six young actors of The Rose Youth Theatre (on Press Night it was the Blue Team) who between them play the majority of the fifty roles called for by the script. Amongst many noteworthy performances are Frankie Oldham as the jumpy White Rabbit (aren’t all rabbits jumpy?) Rhea Norwood as the totally batty March Hare, and Emily Porter who is endearing as Dormouse. Jack Barlett skilfully extracts all the comic potential from his role as the unflappable (well, it is a flightless bird) Dodo. In the eponymous role, the Blue Team fields Madeleine Lynes as Alice, who with confident stage presence brings a well characterised portrayal of the unshakably steadfast Alice and all her mixture of caution, curiosity and courage.
In the same way as the Aunt Margaret – Queen of Hearts conflation, other adults from the fragmenting world of Alice’s real-life household transmute into symbolically significant characters in Alice’s surreal world. The Mad Hatter reflects her father, the Cheshire Cat her mother, and the White Knight the family butler.
Daniel Goode’s depiction of Father, emasculated by shell-shock and battle scarred, is truly moving. Although rightly played by Goode for all its comedy, the tangential moods and crazy japes of the Mad Hatter reveal the sad truth behind his scarred mind, echoing the physical wounds of Father.
Although Alice’s Mother is killed in the Zeppelin raid, Amanda Gordon, in the Mother–Cheshire Cat pairing, tips the mood more towards the light-hearted comedy of the enigmatic Cat. Gordon’s nimble playing makes the Cheshire Cat seem ubiquitous on the stage. One moment punning (“tab-by or not tabby”), the next she is giving philosophical aphorisms: the magic door is “only as narrow as your mind”.
Tony Timberlake’s expressive White Knight is portrayed as chivalry faded and reverberates in the character of the urbane but impassive Dodgson, the butler in the real-world house. Of course, the polymath Charles Dodgson used the pen-name Lewis Carroll to write the Alice stories. (Homework is to draw parallels.)
If all this seems heavily psychological, well, it is … lightly psychological. But the nature of RTK’s Alice in Winterland is that it can be read at many different levels. That’s why it succeeds as a good family show. Children can enjoy it as a very funny fairy tale, teenagers as a 3D version of the computer fantasy games, whilst their parents can unravel the psychology and unpick its deeper messages.
So where does that leave the Blue Caterpillar? Jonathan Andrew Hume’s lusciously languid lepidopteran pot-head may have become blue as a result of his sad recollections, or of his overuse of the hookah, or possibly Hume’s jazzy voice and husky rendition of the Jabberwocky poem hints at singing the Blues. However, the writhing caterpillar body, created by four unseen actors, remind us of the butterfly inside waiting for the spring. For this is Winterland where all are trapped. Hume’s thwarted Knave, both powerful and powerless under the Queen of Hearts, also gives an air of frustration of a trapped creature. For in Winterland, all are trapped at two minutes to four in a sterile world, awaiting release by Alice.
Nevertheless, Alice in Winterland is packed with action, choreographed by Jamie Neale for movement and Lyndall Grant for fight (commuting for Australia!) but much rests on brilliantly inventive use of puppets. Director of Puppetry Yvonne Stone, and her team of puppeteers integrate fluid use of puppets, many designed by Nick Ash, to feature strongly in the action. We progress in size from the shrunken Alice, ex-“drink me” misadventure, to a charmingly cute talking piglet.
Then comes the Bandersnatch, a snowy emaciated wolf-like creature, taller than the actors. As he leaps onto the stage, most of the children in the audience cower under their seats, until they discover that he is really quite inept, and then they quite warm to the would-be monster when they discover that he is friendless. (Mind you, after he had eaten a few, the rest rather prudently drifted away.) Francis Redfern’s voice of the Bandersnatch comes across as a character chummy but a little dim. The vision of Alice riding away on the back of the Bandersnatch, flying on iridescent wings through the snowstorm, is pure magic.
If you think the Bandersnatch is scary, wait until you see the Jabberwock! It is terrifying! It towers above everything on stage. (Don’t worry, the children get used to it.) Stone’s Jabberwock owes much to John Tenniel’s original illustrations. In Alice in Winterland a flaming eyed palaeontological predator meets Tenniel. So it’s Bandersnatch versus Jabberwock in battle that ensues between all the protagonists. It is impressive.
Eamonn O’Dwyer’s music and lyrics form an atmospheric backdrop to the story, following the mood, be it sad, mystical, lyrical or rush-along exciting. Often though it is metronomic, the tick-tock of the clock, for the symbolism of time is important in this story. Watches feature throughout, but all but Alice’s father’s watch are frozen at two minutes to four.
Another all-pervasive symbolism is that of the game of chess. The pawn, like Alice, may be the smallest piece on the board, but at the end it becomes the most important.
On the way home (avoiding the borogoves) my young expert and I discussed Alice in Winterland. Many of Carroll’s characters are not there (she missed Humpty Dumpty), but fifty is enough. I missed much of Carroll’s rich prose, but its ambience is there. And Alice’s wonderland? The wonder is there, sparkling in Winterland.
Mark Aspen
December 2017
Photography by Mark Douet
A Cornucopia of Panto
Aladdin
by Jonathan Kiley and Alan McHugh
Qdos Entertainment and ATG
at Richmond Theatre until 14th January
Review by Mark Aspen
“Everything you could wish for in a panto”. So says the advertising blurb for Richmond Theatre’s production of Aladdin. And this is a pretty accurate description of what you get, with everything piled into this cornucopia of panto treasure. From its glitzy opening front-drop to its ceramic finale (ceramic? …more about that later) there are more riches, well, bling, that you would find in Aladdin’s cave.
The approach is traditional panto knock-about fun with a little musical romance thrown in to soften things. With all the abrasive news about this year, political references are out. The near-the-pale innuendoes are in, but come so fast that you need to be well tuned-in to catch them. This leaves the field wide open for traditional family pantomime, and all the children and mums and dads that packed the theatre on press night certainly had a rollicking good time. (Whoops! did I almost fall into an n-t-p innuendo?)
The dads may have been slightly disappointed about the absence of a thigh-slapping principal boy, but this is more than made up for by the four gorgeous and lithe ladies, who together with the two (for the mums) equally handsome and athletic young men, form the ensemble of dancers. The versatile contemporary dance skills of this ensemble, expertly choreographed by Paul Robinson, make a scintillating foil for the shenanigans of the stage.
And on this stage nothing is spared for a sparkling spectacle. There is no danger of being under-the-top. Pyrotechnics come almost as fast as the quick-fire jokes. (There lots of flashy things on this stage.) Pete Watts’ lighting and Tom Marshall’s sound designs make for an exuberant extravaganza. Add in glitter balls, flutter drops, bubbles and smoke and it adds up to quite a spectacle. Then to all this lavishness, there are Mike Coltman’s mind-bendingly inventive speciality costumes. (These include washing machines, teapots, prison cages and talking coolies; and that’s just a start!)
Who better could there be to fill these costumes, than the humourist and raconteur Christopher Biggins. As Widow Twankey, one can understand why he is called a pantomime legend. Totally relaxed on the stage, at one with his fellow cast members and audience alike, pantomime is his genre. It takes some verve to make a first entrance wearing oversize cherries on an oversize bosom, or to try not to corpse when a leg falls off of one of your more outrageous costumes. The traditional pre-finale children-on-stage novelty song is I Am the Music Man and when a bemused toddler is presented with an enormous trombone, it requires a skilled and kindly performer to teach him how to get a note out of it.
Comfortably within the variety tradition, the part of Emperor Ming is filled by Count Arthur Strong, the inseparable alto ego of Steve Delaney. The Count (now firmly rooted via Kommedia at the EdFringe and BAFA-lauded television) is not to be parted with his trademark trilby even for an imperial crown, but then again he has landed the position of Emperor via his local job-centre. The poor old Emperor is the butt of many of the gags, none more so than the panto staple, the novelty song of If I Were Not [Upon the Stage] (here In Old Peking). In this version, the swinging arms don’t miss, plus all the other principals come round as a second persona; this time parting him from the trilby (It didn’t go with the tutu anyway.)
Equally consummate in the stand-up (or knock-down) comedy role is Rikki Jay as Aladdin’s brother Wishee-Washee. The ebullient Jay soon has the children of the audience firmly “in his gang” rallied with a “Wacko, wacko Wishee!”. His zip motors the show along, firing up every gag with impressive energy. The now standard shopping trolley routine fairly rattles along in his hands, as he puns away over the groceries, recounting his romantic adventures at the check-out. After the interval, he goes into overdrive with a patter routine giving a resume to Widow Twankey of the story so far, which had the audience convulsed with laughter. Jay understands what pantomime is all about.
Now, every good story needs a goody and a baddy, and as baddies come Abanazar is up there with the baddiest. Blackly bejewelled, Bob Harms begets boos like no other, relishing the role of Abanazar, as he sends the youngest members of the audience scurrying under their seats. But there is more to Harms than “bringing on the booze” (as W-W puts it): he has a magnificent singing voice. Act Two starts with an atmospheric dance sequence with the ensemble, which features Abanazar’s song, Better the Devil You Know and exhibits the full power and richness of Harms’ baritone.
Leading the goodies side is Issy van Randwyck as the Genie of the Ring, Scheherazade, the perfect antithesis of Abanazar, as soothing as perfumed balm one moment, mischievously twinkling the eye the next. Van Randwyck is a truly versatile actress, taking Shakespeare, edgy drama or musicals all in her stride. I remember seeing her at the EdFringe in the comedy cabaret Fascinating Aïda, where she has clearly honed the panto comic timing, pitched just right to parry with the other three principals.
The Genie of the Ring of course teams with The Genie of the Lamp, here a puppet the height of the prosc’ arch from which he springs rather alarmingly out from amongst the pyros. A rather battered but endearing Satchmo sound-alike, he is the creation of the award-winning special effects team, The Twins FX. They are busy in this production, culminating in the spectacular flying carpet, which takes Aladdin, seemingly unsupported, swooping out over the audience in the stalls. This is his flight from Peking to Egypt, largely an excuse for some business with mummies and for a pyramid-full of puns, but ostensibly to rescue his love interest, the Princess Jasmine.
In the eponymous role, newcomer AJ Jenks is a very personable Aladdin, head over heels for the Princess Jasmine, demurely and prettily played by Denquar Chupak. The script does not give the couple too much to get their teeth into, so to speak. (They are proposing marriage a few sentences after first meeting.) However, it does give then some good singing opportunities and they have a number of nicely touching duets. One, You Are My Everything, has a solo soprano introduction which is sung with great precision and clarity by Chupak.
The musical aspects of this production add a very pleasant bonus to a family show. And the music is in good hands with Musical Director Pierce Tee leading his band of four musicians from the keyboard.
Director, Ken Alexander, has put everything he has wished for in this panto, and some more besides, and has obviously had great fun putting together an enjoyable show. The cast and company’s fun and enjoyment is readily infectious and has audience and cast laughing together at many points. Aladdin’s cave is open to the family, with all its bling and glitz. Oh, and that … ceramic … finale: a beautiful secondary colour tableau of the Willow Pattern of old China (and old china) to set off primary colours of the closing fireworks.
Mark Aspen
December 2017
Photography by Craig Sugden
An Idyllic Slice of the Countryside
The Wind in the Willows
by Alan Bennett adapted from the book by Kenneth Grahame
Teddington Theatre Club at Hampton Hill Theatre until 16th December
Review by Melissa Syversen
It is fitting that on the day I went to see Teddington Theatre Club’s Christmas production, snow was happily dancing in the air. The less than desirable effect it had on my train notwithstanding, it created a nice ambiance for some holiday entertainment. And what better to bring that warm fuzzy feeling then Kenneth Grahame’s classic The Wind in the Willows as adapted to the stage by Alan Bennet in 1990?
But do you know what, instead of following the more traditional beats of a play review, I really want for once to begin by applauding the creative team of Teddington Theatre Club. Once again they have created a beautiful and in this production charmingly whimsical world on the stage of Hampton Hill Theatre. The set, designed by Fiona Auty is absolutely beautiful. And more impressively, it is also malleable and playful in all its details (suitcase beds!). There are so many lovely images from Ratty’s boat gently rowing along, to the otters’ head suddenly bobbing up from the river during a picnic to autumn leaves gently falling. The gasp of delight that rippled through the audience as Ratty’s home was revealed said it all really. Mags Wrightson has built an impressive range of costumes that are all both aesthetically pleasing but also informative of species and the different character traits amongst the play’s characters. A fox dressed in fox hunting garb was a particularly gallows-humoured choice. It is also noteworthy that the production feature four talented live musicians backstage as well on keyboards and woodwind instruments. Then, of course, it is Nick Eliot on sound, Heather Morgan on props and Colin Swinton on lighting. I really must say, to all of you and the entirety of the creative team and crew. Very well done and an excellent job to all of you!
It is a rather embarrassing confession but I have actually never read The Wind in the Willows nor indeed seen any other adaptation of the story. It is one of those titles I have always known, but for some reason have never actually engaged with, so I was very much going in blind for this adventure. And what a lovely adventure it was! Together we follow the well-known characters of Mole, Ratty, Badger, and Toad through a year in the English countryside as they go boating, escape prison and fight off weasels. There is really something quite special about Edwardian children’s literature, be it The Secret Garden, Peter Pan or The Wind in the Willows. They share a loving yet somewhat bittersweet and nostalgic look back an English pastoral that may or may not have existed in the first place. These worlds are all filled with wonder and magic in their own unique ways yet carry a deeper and darker undercurrent of pain, longing and social commentary. I do believe that this is part of the reason why they all continue to be so loved and cherished generation after generation. There is definite feeling of love and tenderness towards the story in this production. Some of this comes down to the strong script by Alan Bennet. But more importantly, it comes from the cast and crew. I have already expounded upon how impressed I was with the crew and creative team, but the cast is no less stellar. I really got a strong sense of camaraderie and joy from everyone on stage, which for theatre is invaluable. Director Matt Beresford has really directed his cast as a family it seems, and it shows. This show contains up to forty-six characters which here has been split over a cast of fifteen actors. The Hampton Hill Theatre is not the largest stage, but Beresford makes sure that it all flows nice and evenly and the stage rarely feels cluttered or crowded. All the inhabitants of this idyllic slice of the countryside are all nicely and clearly acted out by the ensemble.
As the main four, Nigel Cole (Badger) Robin Legard (Toad) Abigail Francis (Mole) and John Mortley (Ratty) are all uniformly excellent. Though, I do have to give an extra little nod to Abigail Francis as what is arguably the lead role. Toad might get the action scenes, but Mole is the kind and open heart in the centre of it all, and Abigail embodied that perfectly (also, she has a stunning soprano voice ..!) There was a little girl in interval who declared Mole to be her favourite character and I must say I agree.
[My only complaint here is one that isn’t even the production’s fault. I was rather unlucky in that the evening I attended there was something that can only have been a smorgasbord of snacks being consumed happening somewhere behind me. For a Christmas family show, some noise is to be expected of course, but this was so loud that there were times I genuinely could not hear the dialogue over the noise from the wrappings. And unfortunately, during the interval, I overheard other patrons complaining about the same issue. Now normally this isn’t something I would mention in a review but I just wanted to complement the cast (and indeed the patience of the other patrons in attendance). If the cast were in any way distracted by the incessant crunching away, they did not show it even once. Tedding Theatre Club is perhaps an amateur theatre club, but to work and keep focused through such disturbance is truly the height of professionalism.]
Melissa Syversen
December 2017
Photographs by Sarah Carter
Mark Aspen 