Lazing on a sunny afternoon

In their teens two brothers Ray and Dave Davies railled together two of their childhood friends Pete Quaife and Mike Avroy to form a band. Known then as The Ravens, these four young musicians from Muswell Hill went on to better known as the 1960’s British rock n’ roll group The Kinks. Sunny Afternoon is a jukebox musical that charts The Kinks turbulent rise to fame, battles over royalties, familial tensions and their struggle to break America. Following an extremely successful run at Hampstead Theatre, Sunny Afternoon has just transferred to the Harold Pinter Theatre, where audiences continue to bop along to the band’s iconic tunes such as: You Really Got Me, Dedicated Follower of Fashion, Lola and of course Sunny Afternoon. 

With music, lyrics and the original story of Sunny Afternoon penned by Ray Davies himself,  instantly establishes a level of credibility to the work. An authenticity that is echoed by the fact that the reimagined version of The Kinks -  Ray (John Dagleish), Pete (Ned Derrington), Dave (George Maguire) and Mick (Adam Sopp), all play their own instruments live on stage, and much like their real life counterparts are all talented and accomplished musicians.

Interwoven between The Kinks’ the back catalogue of classics, this bio show shines a light on the band’s frontman and songwriter Ray, who we learn was given his first guitar and passion for music by his late sister Rene who passed away suddenly on his thirteenth birthday. Naive to just how ruthless and money hungry the music industry can be, the group are soon saddled with four hapless managers each demanding a sizable cut of their earnings. By the time they make it to America, they are met with another barrage of people  queueing up to exploit them financially. Drowning in a sea of royalties and unpaid dues, coupled with the bands rebellious streak, resulted inThe Kinks becoming the first group to be banned from America. As they attempt to deal with their rocky rise to stardom, tensions soon begin to form within the band. 

Sunny Afternoon  was not without its’ faults, I found Maguire’s depiction of ‘Dave the Rave’

a tad overbearing, yes he was playing the youngest and most reckless member of band, but the slapstick nature of his portrayal in my opinion could have been toned down a little.  In an attempt to make a more linear narrative, the team had shoehorned in a few songs that aren’t by The Kinks which unfortunately fell flat alongside such well loved hits. 

That said, Sunny Afternoon is a triumphant celebration of The Kinks music, the final megamix had audience up on their feet dancing proving that many Waterloo Sunsets after the songs were first written they still ‘really got me going’, which is surely the sign of an entertaining night out.    

Sunny Afternoon is playing at The Harold Pinter Theatre until May 2015, for tickets and more information visit http://www.atgtickets.com/shows/sunny-afternoon/harold-pinter-theatre/

An unlikely friendship and a pile of books

Amy is a hot-headed, feisty and wayward teenager who is failing at school, fallen out with her lifelong best friend and to complete her run of bad luck has just been kicked out of her family home. Unsure of what to do next, Amy finds herself on the doorstep of an opinionated elderly widow from the East End called Glenda, who has advertised a spare room in the local paper. Spine charts the unlikely friendship between a disillusioned teenager and a rebellious pensioner, both of which are played masterfully by Rosie Wyatt who flits seamlessly from a brash cockney youngster to the quiveringly frail Glenda. Spine is a fast-paced and tender portrayal of friendship with an undercurrent of political upheaval. 

As Amy, Wyatt delivers the monologue at break-neck speed, as she hurtles through tales of: family, fights, friends and failed relationships. Wyatt’s portrayal of Amy is gutsy, yet brilliantly peppered with hints of vulnerability too. When she describes first meeting Glenda to the audience, she seems coy about donning the quivering voice of an elderly lady, but then resigns herself to it. Similarly, before revealing her misdemeanors, Wyatt winces uncomfortably with embarrassment and reluctance. It was also excruciating to see her double up in pain as she described her boyfriend brutally beating her.

The characterisation of Glenda was particularly refreshing, as far from being the archetypal sweet little old lady, skilled writer Clara Brennan has created a true radical and politically charged individual who thinks nothing of stealing hoards of library books to salvage them from her local library that was closing down. Her rebellious streak coupled with her expletives and toilet humour, mean that Glenda is the epitome of growing old disgracefully. Glenda’s defiant spirit awakens Amy’s previously apathetic attitude towards politics and also instills in her a new found love of literature. Their gradual bonding process results in a touching portrayal of friendship that crosses generations.

Spine is a moving piece of theatre, that praises community spirit and the transformative nature of friendship. It was awarded a string of awards at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year, and I think deservedly so. Throughout Spine, Glenda imparts a great deal of wisdom to Amy, as after all  ‘there’s nothing more terrifying than a teenager with something to say’.

‘I never do anything I don’t want to, except grow old’,

‘It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile. Be yourself no matter what they say’, is a lyric from An Englishman in New York, which Sting penned in homage to the inaugural debonaire dandy: Quentin Crisp. It also reads as one of the many mantras that non-conformist Quentin chose to live his life by. A natural raconteur and clearly at his happiest when all eyes are clapped firmly on him, Mark Farrelly takes to stage adorned with a purple rinse wig to convey: Quentin Crisp Naked Hope - a one man show recounting Quentin’s conventional Surrey upbringing, many debauchery filled escapades in 1970’s Soho; that resulted in his reputation of international notoriety preceding him wherever he ventured. The night began with Quentin professing that he’d ‘retired at birth’, swiftly followed by the notion that he can’t think of anything more ghastly than having to work for a living, a fate which he avoided as at all costs. Quentin Crisp Naked Hope is an continuous flow of witty societal observations and wry infused quips. 

It came as no great surprise to discover that as well as starring in the work Farrelly also wrote it, as every line was delivered with such conviction that it radiated his intense admiration and duty to attempt to mimic Quentin’s charismatic manner and eccentric nature. One of Quentin Crisp Naked Hope’s defining characteristics was the endless stream of aphorisms, which although were cutting and chuckle inducing, the sheer quantities employed in such quick succession meant that many began to lose their impact and in parts hindered any clear narrative progression or thread. 

     

Thankfully any momentum and substance that the first part of the piece lacked was redeemed in the section that followed. The structural division was marked by a short burst of Sting’s An Englishman in New York and Farrelly swapping the purple rinse number for a grey and more distinguished grey coiffeur. Now, in his seventies living in New York, Quentin by his own admission was a ‘senile delinquent.‘ Celebrated for quintessentially English eccentricities, Quentin treats us to one of his lectures, crammed with his inimitable aplomb. Due to failing eyesight Quentin enlists a member of the audience to help him read aloud some of the audiences questions. Needless to say, the audience member is soon as red in the face as the rouge that adorns Farrelly’s cheeks and lips. Aside from swapping headpieces, as the elder Quentin Crisp Farrelly’s whole physicality and overall presence changes, he is now hunched over and reflective of being in the Autumn of his life and approaching the end of his days. The younger and more sprightly Quentin from earlier in the evening commented ‘I never do anything I don’t want to, except grow old’, suddenly seemed to have acquired has a new level of profound poignancy. 

Prior to seeing Quentin Crisp Naked Hope I had of course heard of Quentin Crisp but knew very little about the man behind the eponymous name. Farrelly brings Crisp’s flamboyant nature to life in a captivating manner, depicting him as everyones ideal dinner party guest. 

Quentin Crisp Naked Hope is playing at St James Theatre, until September 7th for tickets and more information please visit: http://www.stjamestheatre.co.uk

The Ronseal of Opera companies

OperaUpClose really are the Ronseal of Opera companies, as they do exactly what it says on the tin. By taking Opera, an art form that is more commonly associated with being performed on large grandioso stages, and instead placing it in the smaller and more modest Soho Theatre, the audience partake in a more intimate, intense and of course up close experience of operatic talent. In keeping with the companies ethos of attempting to make Opera more accessible to the masses, director Robin Norton-Hale has taken Verdi’s La Traviata, and translated the libretto it into English. With a rotating cast of leads, the songbird Louise Tee was captivatingly delightful as the ill-fated Violetta. The epitome of an opera-comique the plot of La Traviata is comically farcical, owing to the fact that at whistle-stop speed in which Violetta falls in love with a bespectacled stranger called Alfredo (Lawrence Olsworth-Peter), embarks on a relationship with him, a relationship that his father swiftly forces her to end. Following a few more twists and turns in their break-neck speed rendezvous, and the work culminates with a frail Violetta dying from an unnamed illness in the arms of her beloved Alfredo.  

As Violetta, Tee’s wows with her vocal acrobatics, trills and vibrato that were so powerful they seemed to reverberate off the walls of Soho Theatre. Such a impressive voice, coupled with natural flair for conveying buoyant yet enigmatic nature of Violetta’s contradictory personality made for a spellbinding performance. Perhaps it was due to nerves, but as Alfredo, Olsworth-Peter got off to a shaky start as he didn’t seem to have the same level of control that his female counterpart exuded so effortlessly. That said, his portrayal of the bookish and hapless Alfredo character traits is believable and engaging. This small cast of five were perhaps at their finest when accentuating the inherently humourous moments of the work such as the champagne fueled ‘Drinking Song’ which sets the piece upon its’ merry way.  

Verdi’s sprightly score was brought to life majestically by just three musicians, it is orchestrated in such a clever manner that the only instruments that were required were simply: a piano, a cello and a clarinet. Once again, this is testament to OperaUpClose mantra of stripping back any unnecessary pomp and ceremony associated with the genre, and leaving only the bare essentials. An approach that I for one think should be applauded. As with any other art form Opera has to keep reinventing itself in order to not stagnant, OperaUpClose’s production feels like a fresh and exciting direction that the operatic world should consider moving in. 

If you have ever dismissed Opera thinking that it really wouldn’t be your cup of tea, then I would urge you to give La Traviata a chance, as it may just act as your gateway to discover a world of operatic delights.

La Traviata is playing at Soho Theatre until September 14th, for tickets and more information please visit  http://www.sohotheatre.com

In a word - phenomenal

Set in the deep South of Alabama, the year is 1847: it’s a time of masters and slaves, racial inequality is rife and people are bought and sold on the basis of the colour of their skin. Dessa Rose’s large cast of fifteen, populate every nook and cranny of the already cramped Trafalgar Studio’s tiny stage. A tapestry of powerhouse voices, live accompaniment and the rich and soulful sounds of Lynn Ahrens’ and Stephen Flaherty’s gospel infused score, consume all the available space. From the opening number of Dessa Rose it is apparent that the British premiere of this American musical is

entertainment of the highest calibre, but more importantly there was tangible air

in the auditorium that we were about the witness something truly special, a collective sentiment that undoubtedly lived up to our expectations and perhaps even surpassed it. 

The eponymous Dessa Rose (Cynthia Erivo), is a feisty sixteen year old with an intrinsic need to fight for what she believes in by stamping out any forms of injustice that cross her path. Dessa Rose’s unshakeable will to do what is right, is what drives her to lead a rebellion against  her slave master, an act so disobedient that she is brutally beaten, placed in an inhumane sweatbox and is sent to prison to be hung. Despite enduring a multitude of unspeakable hardships, Dessa Rose remarkably remains defiant. Her infamy is revered by her own community and feared by others who brand her the she-devil. Upon hearing of her remarkable tale, an unsavoury author called Adam Nehemiah (Jon Robyns) visits her in jail, keen to commit her story to paper. However Nehemiah underestimates Dessa Rose’s intoxicatingly cunning nature, which is what ultimately sparks his downfall. 

After the interval, the focus shifts away from Dessa’s Rose’s plight and instead casts a more detailed light on the interaction between the black slaves, and wealthy farm owner, Ruth (Cassidy Janson). More specifically it charts Ruth and Dessa Rose’s turbulent and tempestuous relationship. 

 Often in musical theatre, a strong narrative is sacrificed in favour of catchy songs and flashy dance routines. Dessa Rose proudly bucks this trend, as not only do the musical numbers linger in the audience’s mind long after the final clap of the well deserved standing ovation, these are complemented by a well paced story that is littered with twists and gasp worthy turns. Largely thanks to a supremely talented cast, stellar musicians that are of course all brought together by Andrew Keates’ faultless direction.

For want of a better expression, Dessa Rose is far from a black and white portrayal of  slavery and racial tension, in fact it ranks as one of the best pieces of theatre that I have had the pleasure of seeing this year. In a word is was phenomenal. 

Dessa Role is playing at Trafalgar Studios until August 30th. For tickets and more information please visit: http://www.atgtickets.com

Different Holes

It’s the end of the world and the only known survivors are three colleagues on their way to a conference and a sixteen year old girl. Marooned on an island we find Marie (Elizabeth Berrington), a busybody head of HR who seems more concerned about rooting through the abandoned suitcases from the plane crash than thinking up a survival strategy. Gus (Mathew Baynton) a straight talking realist with an unlikely penchant for Lionel Richie is juxtaposed brilliantly by daydreamer, idealist and natural comedian Ian (Daniel Rigby). Completing the unlikely quartet is Erin (Sharon Singh) , a young girl who after a prolonged period of stunned silence reveals that she has been recently orphaned as her parents tragically died in the crash. Considering Holes centres around the bleak subject matter of apocalyptic survival, it may surprise you to learn that Tom Basden’s play is in fact an extremely funny black comedy. 

In the centre of the Arcola’s pop up summer tent venue, the stage is comprised of a circular sandpit. Basden’s flair for off beat and slightly twisted humour is apparent for the moment that Rigby’s character Ian announces that he is going to dig graves to bury the fatalities using a children’s bucket and spade set. With only the remains of what was left on the plane, the group decide that their only means of survival is to resort to drinking the miniature beverages from the plane’s refreshment trolly. One of my personal comedic highlights was when gossip filled Marie pilfered some Louboutin heels from one of the abandoned suitcases and insisted on strutting around in them despite repeatedly sinking into the sand beneath her. Alongside the humouristic moments, there are also tense and dramatic exchanges as the group and young Erin in particular are faced with a series of morally complex dilemmas. 

Holes, is a fine example of character driven drama, engaging protagonists portrayed by this impeccably talented cast, mean although very little action occurs - Holes was utterly captivating from start to finish. I think it was largely due to the natural rapport and onstage chemistry between the small cast of four. Rigby in particular with his James Corden-esque, and charismatic delivery was a true delight to watch. 

I found the ending of Holes unexpected, bizarre and for a play that had otherwise been of staggeringly high calibre a tad unsatisfying, which I thought was a real shame. That said, for the most part Holes was witty, funny and a sand filled corker of a play. 

 Holes is playing at the Arcola tent until August 9th, for tickets and more information visit http://www.arcolatheatre.com

A Fun Palace you say?

In 1961 theatre director Joan Littlewood was frustrated by the limitations conventional theatres imposed on the way in which art could be depicted. Rebelling against the notion that creative expression should be safely contained within restrictive proscenium arches, she enlisted the help of architect Cedric Price, to design a revolutionary performance space called a Fun Palace. This ambitious project was coined a ‘laboratory of fun’ and a ‘university of the streets’, their primary aim was to create a temporary and moveable home for arts and sciences that would welcome adults and children alike. The weird and wonderful world of Fun Palace is best described by Joan Littlewood herself, explaining in the original design plans: ‘Dance, talk or be lifted to where you can see other people make things work. Sit out over a space with a drink and tune in to what’s happening elsewhere in the city. Try starting a riot or beginning a painting - or just lie back and stare at the sky.’ 

Joan Littlewood campaigned tirelessly for seven years trying to make her dream of creating a Fun Palace in the heart of London a reality, yet her grand plans for moveable walls, unbounded creativity and twenty acres of land, required a great deal of funding. Despite an endless stream of correspondence Joan Littlewood was unable to raise the money required, and all plans of building a Fun Palace sadly came to a halt. Fast forward to 2013, where at a Devoted and Disgruntled event, writer Stella Duffy proposed that a fitting way to mark Joan’s centenary would be to finally finish what Joan Littlewood started and stage a modern day Fun Palace. 

Following an overwhelming response on Twitter and receiving  an Exceptional Award from the Arts Council, co-directors Stella Duffy and Sarah- Jane Rawlings are spearheading the modern incarnation of Fun Palace. With over 105 Fun Palaces signed up to take part that span from the Isle of Man to the Isle of Wight, Iceland to Canada, Fun Palaces 2014 genuinely feels like a cultural celebration and revolution that is really worth getting excited about. From large and established organisations such as the Southbank Centre, the Roundhouse and the Royal Exchange to quirky and unusual locations like Brockwell Lido which will host a physics lecture in canoes, to a giant insect procession in a wood in Cheshire - to name but a few  of the wonderful events that are happening as part of Fun Palaces. With an ethos of complete inclusivity anywhere can be a Fun Palace so long as it is: free, local, innovative, transformative and engaging. 

What really sets Fun Palaces apart from other large scale cultural events, is that all of these expressions of unleashed creativity will be taking place simultaneously on the 4th and 5th of October, in what the creators hope will be a yearly event. We are constantly hearing that the arts are striving to engage with their local communities and that theatre and art should be accessible and enjoyed by all, and there is an undeniable sense that the work that Fun Palaces are doing is a step in the right direction to achieving these aims. It is certainly a more fitting way to celebrate Joan Littlewood’s centenary than simply another revival of Oh, What a Lovely War!    

Fun Palaces 2014 is presented by Fun Palaces and the Albany, and has been made possible with the support of public funding from the National Lottery through the Arts Council England’s Exceptional Awards programme. For further information please visit http://funpalaces.co.uk