Crunch, Arts Theatre – Review

Once upon a time, not so long ago that we don’t remember it, there was a man called Adam and a woman called Eve that worked in the Fruit Naming Department of Eden Enterprises. All is well, for a long time, but then… the apple arrives. Yes, that one. What’s missing in the equation? Yesssssss, the sssssssssnake. Guess what he convinces Eve to do. Yessssss. They’re being kicked out there and are set to find another apple – to match the one currently in Eve’s greedy stomach – to save their jobs and their place in Eden.

Every conceivable apple story is told in roughly an hour and a half, including Sir Isaac Newton, William Tell, Apple Mac, The Big Apple and The Golden Apple of Troy – with a little Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Swedish singing thrown in.

Sara Lewerth, Johan Westergren, Troels Findsen and John Hinton are all absolutely delightful. The Arts Theatre is small and cosy, the mood is relaxed, you can expect to be greeted by a charming guitarist before the show as you find your place and quite possibly get dragged up onstage during the show if you’re on the front row. I was, needless to say, sweating – as I was one of three shaking in their boots on row one. It’s almost like a pantomime, in the sense that the audience is very much a part of the show. Like when Adam holds the girl – that has been sleeping for a very very long time – in his arms and asks what he should do. “Kiss her!” was the obvious answer, but “Give’er some coffee, mate!” was also suggested.

It’s charming, it’s hilarious, it’s involving, it’s the perfect remedy if you’ve had a bad/annoying/hard day at work and need a good laugh. Just steer clear of row one unless you want to become a performer for a night. Daniel Goldman directs this multi-national company formed last year by Lecoq graduates.

“Crunch!” can be seen at the Arts Theatre from Wednesday 28th March to 14th April.

Did You Hear That…?

• Peter Ackroyd is writing a play about Shakespeare, possibly for the Old Vic?
• The Trevor Nunn production “Porgy & Bess” is due to close 5th May instead of 27th October?
• “Little Shop Of Horrors” is extending three months and will run until September 2007?
• Tony Hadley stays on as Billy Flynn in “Chicago” until14th April after extending his original run from 26th March?
• Connie Fisher is to play six of the eight shows a week in “The Sound Of Music“, being let off the remaining two by fellow reality star Aoife Mulholland?
• You can catch the Sherlock Holmes tale “The Hound of the Baskervilles” at the Duchess Theatre from 17th April?
• Kevin Spacey and Eve Best start previews this week for “A Moon For The Misbegotten” on Broadway this week?

The Rose Tattoo, Olivier Theatre – Review

The Story
I found my way to the Olivier Theatre on Wednesday night to see Tennessee Williams’s “The Rose Tattoo”. I didn’t know what to expect. I had only vaguely heard of the 1955 film with Burt Lancaster, but didn’t know what it was about. Turns out, it’s about an Italian-American family living in Louisiana.

Their lives are disrupted when Serafina’s husband Rosario Delle Rose is killed while driving a banana truck/dope. Serafina (Zoë Wanamaker) loses their recently conceived child, basically retires from life around her, worships her husband’s ashes that she’s placed under the Virgin Mary. She expects her 15-year-old daughter Rosa (Susannah Fielding) to do the same; stay in the house, grieve and stay away from men.

Rosa, however, has other plans with a certain hunky sailor Jack (Andrew Langtree). Suddenly, when Serafina’s life is about to fall to pieces, another truck driver, Alvaro Mangiacavallo (Darrell D’Silva), shows up.

The Play
The first half had me shifting uncomfortably in my chair from some… varying Sicilian accents. I’m pretty sure my Italian friend would have thrown a tantrum, but it can’t be easy being British and pretending to be Sicilian with a slight Americanised accent to boot. Besides, up in the roof where I was sitting I had trouble hearing everything. Zoë Wanamaker did a good job of talking to the entire audience throughout the whole play, but there were some whose voices didn’t reach the upper circle all the time.

The first half, to me, felt somewhat pointless. One of the characters I enjoyed the introduction of was Jack Hunter in his tight, white outfit. Andrew Langtree did a very good job of talking to everyone, in a very convincing N’awleans accent. (That’s New Orleans, by the way). I know someone that grew up in N.O. and to me it was spot-on. Though it has to be said that the highlight for me was when banana-truck-diver Alvaro Mangiacavallo entered the stage – with what actually sounded like an authentic Sicilian accent and some self-irony. Like how he was conceived – by “the village idiot” – made me laugh. Darrell D’Silva, to me, probably had the best stage-presence of everyone.

There’s nothing getting away from the fact that the National Theatre is the most charmless theatre I’ve ever been to in London. It’s a cold brick box with stairs. Modern, they call it. Impersonal, I call it. The Olivier Theatre is an auditorium, not unlike those you have business conferences in. It’s colder than a bad day in February. Maybe it was the surroundings, or maybe it was the play itself, but the whole experience left me feeling rather cold and indifferent.

It wasn’t because of the acting, because that was overall very good, but the play itself did nothing for me. (I’m aware that I’m probably swearing in church by criticising a Tennessee Williams play.) The only things I noticed with the acting that needs a bit of work was the voice-projection to the upper tier and some interesting accents, but other than that it was all very good. I am – however – expecting that these minor glitches will be sorted out before opening night on 29th March. I’m also sure if you liked the original movie, you’ll like this production.

“The Rose Tattoo” is still in previews at the Olivier Theatre – National Theatre and will be on until 23rd June.

• Starperformance coming soon.

Word On The Street: Equus

So what did the audience think of “Equus”?

• Equus Review
• Starperformance: Richard Griffiths
• Starperformance: Daniel Radcliffe

Equus, Gielgud Theatre – Review

I have to admit that I giggled just a little when I realised that Row B – my row – was actually the very front row. And so did every other person that walked past us, saying things like, “Are you kidding me?” and “This is a bit close, innit?” It became very clear, very quickly, from a number of loud, sniggering conversations that a lot of those as close as we were, were that close to – pardon the bluntness – check out Harry Potter’s… wand.

The set is dark and haunting, in a round room, six horse-heads in metal hanging on the walls, boxes scattered around the stage. Smoke entered, and so did Richard Griffiths as psychiatrist Martin Dysart. The moment Richard opened his mouth, he had us all paying close attention to every word he said. There’s something about the way he delivers his lines that just makes you unable to look anywhere else.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I heard about Daniel Radcliffe making his stage-debut as mentally unstable teenager Alan Strang with an obsession with horses. I’ve heard of juvenile delinquency, but worshipping Equus (latin for horse) and finding him/them sexually arousing isn’t something you read about in the papers every day. There’s also the nudity thing, and taking into consideration the kid is only 17, I had mixed feelings about just that. It’s not that I’m a prude, by all means, but seventeen years old…

However, I needn’t have worried. Not only is it a classy play, the way they’ve dealt with the nudity (that of Daniel Radcliffe and his love-interest Jill played by Joanna Christie) very much becomes a part of the play rather than and oh my God moment. I was sweating a little when he talked about baring everything in the first act, but when they got to the actual scene in part two it wasn’t like the elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about. Though a couple of girls on the first row held their breaths for longer than is humanly responsible.

Another performance worthy of note in the play is that of Joanna Christie. She puts in a wonderfully engaging and believable performance as the stable girl, Jill. Christie’s scene with Radcliffe near the end of the play is a daunting one; and here she showed an ability to display real emotional range. She looked genuinely delighted with the enthusiastic reaction she received from the audience at her curtain call.

The six horses are played by six very well-built men wearing horse-heads and horse-shoes made out of metal. It looks almost like something out of the cult film “Donnie Darko” (read: Frank the Rabbit) and works remarkably well. How Dr Dysart’s life and fears unravels as he digs into the psyche of Alan is very interesting. He compares his own existence with that of Alan to his colleague Hesther (Jenny Agutter), adding dryly that after going through his own routine every morning – after spending the previous evening with a woman he hasn’t kissed in six years – he comes to the hospital to help Alan with his sanity. That’s what his stare has been saying to me all this time: ‘At least I galloped – when did you?’ Meaning, whatever his mental state is, at least he has passion.

The play itself, I think, ranks up there with “A Moon For The Misbegotten”, a play I’d rank as not far from “Frost/Nixon” and “The Entertainer”. “Equus” is on at the Gielgud Theatre until 9th June 2007.

Additional Reviews:

• Starperformance: Richard Griffiths
• Starperformance: Daniel Radcliffe
• Word On The Street

Starperformance: Richard Griffiths in "Equus"

You can expect a new section here on the blog from now on called “Starperformances”. It will be a more focused review of, in my opinion, the star of each performance I see.

The moment Richard Griffiths opened his mouth, he had us all paying close attention to every word he had to say. There’s something about the way he delivers his lines, that’s so compelling, that it makes you unable to look anywhere else. I’m aware that many came to the play to admire the view (Daniel Radcliffe), but for me it wasn’t even a competition as far as where my attention was drawn time after time.

I noticed this about Richard Griffiths when I first saw him in “The History Boys”. I hadn’t seen him in a leading role before (besides his role as Uncle Vernon in “Harry Potter”) and found myself looking forward to every scene he was in. I didn’t find him compelling because I necessarily think an older man hitting on his younger students is something to admire, but because Griffiths made Hector multi-dimensional, dared to play him with enough charisma and charm that I started sympathising with him. To me, that’s talent.

In “Equus” he has the same compelling presence onstage, that way of delivering his lines with indescribable charisma. I still don’t know what it is, exactly, but he has something I think is quite extraordinary. In this performance, to me, it was “Richard Griffiths” then “Everybody Else”. He could have done the whole thing as a monologue, just explaining all the other roles, and I don’t think it would have made one bit of difference. Well, having said that, having the boy (Radcliffe) present would add another perspective to the situation, but if he was to do a reading of it from the psychiatrist’s point of view alone, it would have worked. Not to undermine the other actors, by any means, but Richard has something that brings him into another league.

So if you’re one of those (very few) that doesn’t think seeing Daniel Radcliffe naked is draw enough, rest assured that if you book your tickets for this play you’ll be in for a fantastic performance from Richard Griffiths.

“Equus” is on at the Gielgud Theatre until 9th June 2007.

• Equus Review
• Starperformance: Daniel Radcliffe
• Word On The Street

Starperformance: Daniel Radcliffe in "Equus"

You can expect a new section here on the blog from now on called “Starperformances”. It will be a more focused review of, in my opinion, the star of each performance I see.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I heard about Daniel Radcliffe making his stage-debut as mentally unstable teenager Alan Strang with an obsession with horses. There’s also the nudity thing, and taking into consideration the kid is only 17, I had mixed feelings about that. How would a teenage actor that’s used to, first of all, acting with most of his clothes on deal with having to bare it all in front of nearly a thousand people eight times a week?

Very well it appears. Though someone managed to pour half their drink down my neck after part one, leaving me smelling of Eau de Beer for half the performance, I found myself rather impressed with Daniel Radcliffe’s portrayal of a highly distressed boy. I do realise it’s a bit of an unfair comparison, considering Daniel’s age and experience compared to Richard’s, but I do feel that he spent a lot of his time onstage in the shadow of Richard Griffiths. However, before I need to seek shelter for flying daggers and axes, I’d like to point out that I do see fantastic potential in this young actor.

It takes a lot of balls (so to speak) to do a role this emotionally charged and baring (in both meanings of the word). I can imagine Daniel wanting to move away from ‘the Harry Potter image’ and make a name for himself without having that title hanging over his head. The good thing in that respect, for me, is that I didn’t think, “That’s Harry Potter playing an insane kid.” Daniel Radcliffe very much is Alan Strang, and when he explains his past, his distress, his secrets to his psychiatrist, you believe every emotion he acts out. Give him a few more years in developing himself as an actor and as a man, and I’ve no doubt we’ll witness something extraordinary. I’ve no doubt he’ll get there, but though I was very impressed with his performance, I know he can improve his stage presence with experience – both in life and on the stage.

If it’s moving away from Hogwarts and towards a different and more serious stage of his career Daniel Radcliffe wants, I’d say doing “Equus” was a very wise move. If you’re a fan of Daniel’s, and ready to see a deeper side to his personality and acting ability, go see him in this play. Yesterday.

“Equus” is on at the Gielgud Theatre until 9th June 2007.

• Equus Review
• Starperformance: Richard Griffiths
• Word On The Street
  

Starperformance: Maggie Smith in “The Lady From Dubuque”

You can expect a new section here on the blog from now on called “Starperformances”. It will be a more focused review of, in my opinion, the star of each performance I see.

“The Lady From Dubuque” wasn’t that exciting until Maggie Smith entered the stage. Many plays have an introductory first half, where you get to know the characters, and save all the good stuff for the second half. In this play, saving Maggie Smith for the second half was like saving the best for last. As soon as she set foot on the stage and said, “Are we in time? Is this the right place? Yes, we are in time. This is the place” I know at least I sat up in my chair and willed the break to be over before it had begun.

Maggie Smith has perfect comedy/sarcastic timing. There had been some good one-liners in part one, but they all pretty much faded once Maggie delivered one well-executed line after the other, making me not only sit up in my chair but lean forward in order to not miss a thing. She delivered her lines, totally dead-pan, which made them even funnier. She didn’t even have to say much to make me chuckle. Like when Carol told her she was actually a blonde and her reply was a simple, “Really?” There are many ways of delivering a line – or, in this case, a word – and she said that really in a way that meant more than if she had given a four-page monologue.

Some actors have enough presense to make you notice them on a stage. Some don’t. Then there are a selected few that have enough stage-presense to fill the entire stage on their own. Maggie Smith has that gift, and in “The Lady From Dubuque” she made me wait in anticipation for every line she was about to deliver. No wonder she managed to convince everyone she was Jo’s mother.

Read the play review here.

Starperformance: Robert Lindsay in “The Entertainer”

You can expect a new section here on the blog from now on called “Starperformances”. It will be a more focused review of, in my opinion, the star of each performance I see.

If I was to sum up Robert Lindsay with one sentence it would be that he executes a perfectly elegant balance between comedy and drama. In “The Entertainer” he’s playing a third-rate music-hall entertainer, and even though singing and dancing is something Robert isn’t a stranger to, he has said that “The problem with playing Archie Rice is that he’s rather third-rate and I always hoped I was better than that.” He also added that once someone in the audience had got rather involved in the forever descending quality of his act, shouting at him, “Oh, say something funny, please!”

When I saw him in “The Entertainer” I found myself giggling guiltily at his rather bad jokes and convulsive chattering that were seemingly endless without any kind of punctuation or breaks. It’s rather clear that he’s dying on the stage – and he knows it. However, it appears that he does-not-care. Robert has the look of desperation on his face, like he’s dying to say something that’s actually funny – though there are some good one-liners thrown in – and you can practically see the ghost of his successful father poking fun at him all the while he’s performing.

Robert Lindsay does bad comedy very well, it has to be said. You can tell that the man can move better than what he does in Archie’s entertainment act in “The Entertainer”. Archie does know how to move his little bowler hat and swing his cane, but as soon as he opens his mouth and endless sentences with not-that-funny stuff rolls out you can’t help but wonder why it’s so important to him to be an entertainer. Maybe it is to show his father that he can do it. Maybe he can’t do anything else. Maybe he doesn’t care.

His family life is rather depressing, though Archie is amusing himself by picking on his wife. He doesn’t care that he cheats on her in the same house, that he upsets her, that he gives her more of a hard time than she deserves. Even though Archie could have been a highly unlikeable character, there’s something in Robert Lindsay’s portrayal of this man – that appears to fancy himself as a bit of a sadist – that makes you want to know why. It also makes you feel for him.

“I do try and care about the characters I play,” Robert has said. “With Archie I had trouble caring about him and Pam Ferris said I had to find something I liked about him, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to play him so long.” When asked if he had succeeded in finding something likeable about him, he said yes. What that was remains unsaid, but whatever it is, it comes out in the way Robert Lindsay plays this battered, non-caring, selfish Entertainer that is scarred by his past and almost appears to want to go downhill – maybe because he thinks that’s all he deserves.

Read the play review here.

Did "The Entertainer" entertain the press?

John Osborne’s “The Entertainer” opened yesterday at the Old Vic Theatre, starring – amongst others – Robert Lindsay and Pam Ferris. Make sure you catch it before 19 May.

WHAT DID THE CRITICS THINK?

“Lindsay also artfully suggests that Archie’s mechanical quickfire patter carries over into the family scenes. He also conveys the self-loathing of a man who is aware of his own moral shabbiness in seeking to save himself by ditching his wife and putting his old father back on the halls. I’ve always thought the key to Osborne lay in his nag of self-disquiet. And Lindsay, in a triumphant performance, shows that seediness can coexist with a capacity for self-awareness.”
- The Guardian -

“Pam Ferris verges on the extraordinary as Archie’s wife, Phoebe. She dares to do something difficult for any actress, transforming herself into a blubbery, florid mix of inarticulate sentimentality and lachrymose rage. She even allows us to laugh as well as pity her as she receives Archie’s insults with goofy, drunken bewilderment and, soon afterwards, collapses with an animal yowl of dismay. We’re never allowed to forget that she’s better off than Lindsay’s Archie, who is intelligent enough to know he’s lost respect for, and belief in, anything, starting with himself.”
- Times Online -

“Sidling on to the stage, jaunty bowler hat wobbling and cane spinning, Lindsay doesn’t show too many signs of the burden of history. As Archie, he clings on to the disinterested audience’s attention for a few precious minutes before the main attraction of the nude tableaux. Eyes glinting with desperation, he is a twitchy, uncomfortable presence, constantly interrupting himself with irritating stage patter and vaudeville gestures. But on odd occasions his voice cracks to reveal a man “dead behind the eyes” and teetering beneath the false jollity and smutty innuendo.”
- The Independent -

“Doing a bad comedy act in a convincing manner with zero irony takes a man confident in his own ability. Robert Lindsay had us all in stitches as he did one bad and inappropriate joke after another, following a number of dodgy self-penned songs with added dance-routines and juggling Laurence Olivier’s cane. Yet, even though he claimed to feel nothing and care about nothing – it’s clear that he does. There’s something in his eyes, something that comes out towards the end of the play, that gives you the idea that maybe it’s just wishful thinking.”
- Terri’s West End Blog -