"Being deceived by art is one of the few pleasures available to the middle classes..."

The Ladykillers

Saturday 12^th November at Liverpool Playhouse

Cast

Constable Macdonald… Harry Peacock

Mrs Louisa Wilberforce… Marcia Warren

Professor Marcus… Peter Capaldi

Major Courtney… James Fleet

Harry Robinson… Stephen Wight

One-Round… Clive Rowe

 

Louis Harvey… Ben Miller

Mrs Jane Tromleyton… Beverley Walding

Mrs Wilberforce’s Guests… Janice Bradshaw, Judith Cain, Alison Gent, Margaret Gill, Gillian Patterson-Fox, Margaret Jones, Lace Akopjaro, William Troughton, Marcus Taylor

I had always been a fan of the original film, but I have to confess that it was the names involved that drew me to this production.  And seeing as you couldn't get tickets to the London production for love nor money, I managed to get three seats at the Liverpool Playhouse. 

My initial fears that the play would be too far removed from the film proved unfounded, Graham Linehan, the creative genius behind Father Ted and Black Books, has created here a piece that is true to the spirit of the original, yet with an approach of it's own, and he pulls off the dark comedy with aplomb. There is not a single faulty performance, Marcia Warren's moralistic yet dotty Mrs. Wilberforce is a brilliant foil for the gang, James Fleet a nervous delight as Major Courtenay, who may or not be a policeman, but is certainly a little too interested in women's clothing, Stephen Wight gets a much-more expanded role as the pill-popping Mr. Robinson, Ben Miller and Clive Rowe (both of whom were kind enough to sign autographs for me) are both threatening and entertaining at the same time, Miller's Romanian (perhaps a reference to his film counterpart Herbert Lom) idiom spouting Mr. Harvey casually discussing his first kills but becoming petrified when faced with a mob of little old ladies while Rowe is the closest thing the group has to heart (albeit a rather dim-witted one) as the former boxer One-Round, whose operatic death throes are a particular delight, leading Louis to quip 'If only he'd had a knife in his head sooner.' Last, but by no-means least, is Peter Capaldi in a tour-de-force performance, ably stepping up to the central role of Professor Marcus with sinister charm (and an indeterminable accent) convincing both when he is flamboyantly displaying his group's 'musical talents' and when he begins to lose his mind towards the end, coldly threatening the other members of the gang into compliance.

Linehan claims to have been inspired by the theatrical production of 39 Steps, and its influence can be clearly seen with the set pieces, particularly the heist which is performed with remote control cars on tracks that cross the stage. There is also a touch of Monty Python about the characters, particularly Mrs. Wilberforce's friends, several of whom are clearly men (the actors understudies) in classic 'Pepperpot' disguises. The staging also deserves mention, producing several moments taht really leave you scratching your head in amazement as to how the effects were acheived. My only criticism of the piece is that in some places the darkness lost its humour, such as with the fate of Mr. Robinson, although this did exhibit a brilliant sinister moment as Marcus and Louis listen to the murder takign place whilst at the same time coldly barring the door, prevent any escape.

So, The Ladykillers moves soon to London, about which I am conflicted, for while such an excellent piece deserves a long run, I worry that once its excellent cast are replaced, it will lose the vital ingredient that make a good show almost perfect.

A Hour Upon The Stage: "Call it sad, call it funny, but it's better than even money..."

Guys & Dolls: A Musical in a Weekend

19^th April 2009 at the Y Theatre, Leicester

Cast

Sky Masterson … Luke Barrow

Sarah Brown … Aimee Southin

Nathan Detroit … Ethan Tattersall

Adelaide … Charlotte Hurst

Nicely-Nicely Johnson … Jak Skelly

Benny Southstreet … David Stevens

Lieutenant Brannigan … Devan Fulham

Arvide Abernathy … Stephen Leach

Big Jule … Jason Wilson

Rusty Charlie … David Griffin

General Cartwright … Amy Washington

Angie the Ox … Bradley Setchell

Agatha … Rheanne Thomas

Mimi … Jane Hearst

Harry the Horse … Catherine Moran

Some days after 'The Match Girls' came my first venture into a musical I had actually heard of (admittedly only by way of The Simpsons and Mark Hamill's rendition of "Luke Be a Jedi") was quite challenging due to the performance brief- learn the script in a matter of weeks, with only a three-day weekend with which to block, rehearse and perform. And yet, we managed it. The director, musical director and choreographer were all professionals, while we most of us had limited experience (save for our Nicely-Nicely, whose tap dancing was nothing short of spectacular - he has since made his way to the West End stage). The only minor hitch was my microphone initially not working, Sky's forgetting o the words to Luck Be a Lady (though he recovered and continued admirably) and the fact that several of our male parts had to be played by women (you don't get many men in the youth theatres of today). A challenge, but highly enjoyable, and this time I didn't make the mistake of destroying the script.

Notes

I later worked with several of the cast members on other projects: Luke Barrow (Sky- The Crucible, our A-Level project which I can't remember the name of and Back to the Eighties), Charlotte Hearst (our dry run of The Crucible, in which she played Elizabeth) and Bradley Setchell (Back to the Eighties). I also worked alongside Stephen Leach (Arvide) during my short stint at the Leicester WAVE.

The show is partly uploaded here:
Part One 
Part Two 
Part Three

The Archives: "O brave new world, that has such people in't!"

The Tempest

The Courtyard Theatre, Stratford

Cast

Gonzalo … Ivan Abrahams

Alonso … Jeremy Crutchley

Spirits … Nkosinathi Gaar

                 Alex Halligey

                 Thami Mbongo

                 Omphile Molusi

                 Chuma Sopotela

Ariel … Atandwa Kani

Caliban … John Kani

Ferdinand … Charlie Keegan

Stephano … Elton Landrew

Antonio … Lionel Newton

Sebastian … Nicholas Pauling

Prospero … Anthony Sher

Adrian/Francisco …Royston Stoffels

Trinculo … Wayne Van Rooyen

Miranda … Tinarie Van Wyk Loots

I don't quite recall why our school decided to take us to see "The Tempest" as it had no connection to any of our curriculum. However, always eager to see a Shakespeare I've yet to experience, I went along. 

The RSC's production of the 'The Tempest' featured a cross section of actors, with the majority of the spirits being played by actors of African origin, notably John Kani as Caliban, who gave a performance that was at times loathsome, comical and, towards the end somewhat pitiable, the final address not being presented to the audience, but from Anthony Sher's Prospero to his slave, finally releasing him onto the isle he claimed as his birthright. And speaking of Anthony Sher...

One of those actors you can't study Shakespeare without hearing of, Sher proved why he holds legendary status upon the stage, commanding every scene he is, though he is ably matched, particularly by Atandwa Kani as Ariel. Providing light relief are the odd troop of humans who find themselves washed up on Prospero's isle, with Elton Landrew and Wayne Van Rooyen performing an entertaining double act as the King's jesters (though I could not for the life of me place where their accents were supposed to be from). The staging of the production was also well done, the magical effects not overshadowing, but rather complimenting the performances, never taking away attention from the human conflict.

The only complaint I would have about this production os one that remains constant whenever I see an adaptation rather than an original, the obvious undertones that were intended to echo throughout the play, namely the race and slavery themes. Fortunately, they did not overwhelm the show and it was not difficult to ignore this niggling problem and enjoy the excellent performances.