Review – Some Mothers Do ‘Av ‘Em, Orchard Theatre, Dartford ****

I must confess to approaching this with some trepidation. Even if you can rise to the challenge of taking something so well-suited to the small screen and making it work as a stage play, can you really do it without Michael Crawford’s central performance as Frank Spencer?

Fortunately the answer is a resounding yes, on both counts. Writer/director Guy Unsworth shows a sure touch with the material, crafting an impressively satisfying plot to explain the chaos whilst being true to the spirit of Raymond Allen’s original. He also adds an element of word play which I don’t recall being a feature of the TV show, but which suits proceedings admirably. He clearly loves the material and doesn’t do anything too clever to reinvent it or give it a post-modern twist. It remains set in the 1970s (that wallpaper! Well done designer Simon Higlett) but wears this lightly so you still feel you are watching something fresh and current (as it was when first broadcast) rather than a self consciously period piece.

Joe Pasquale has the dubious privilege of following in Michael Crawford’s footsteps. He turns out to be a brilliant choice. Having only previously seen him on television my concern was that his own comedy persona would be too much to allow Frank Spencer a look-in. But Pasquale has an innocent and naive quality. This not only suits the role, but brings it to new life in a way which honours the huge contribution of Crawford to the character’s creation while at the same time enabling you to put aside any memories of the original almost immediately he is on stage. He becomes our Frank Spencer and brings warmth and humanity to the role as well as many, many laughs.

Unsworth’s script also gives other characters more room to breath. Sarah Earnshaw is effortlessly Betty, ever supportive of her exasperating husband, and shows us how their marriage works. And Susie Blake (pictured) as her mother gets to show off shamelessly throughout with a richly comic and crowd pleasing performance. The three innocents who experience the Spencer mayhem are Moray Treadwell as the bank manager who almost gets cajoled into funding Frank’s latest venture, James Paterson as the family priest Father O’Hara and Ben Watson as a BBC cameraman and police constable. They wisely play it straight for the most part. Like the many serious actors who sparred with Spencer in the original TV show, the only thing to do it is behave as you would if you actually encountered a character like him in real life.

On top of all this there is the physical comedy and chaos. It’s not unlike The Play That Goes Wrong in some ways, although here the physical elements are just part of the comedy mix and don’t dominate.

Some Mother’s Do ‘Av ‘Em is at the Orchard Theatre, Dartford until Saturday 11 June 2022 and then continues on tour.

School of Rock, Orchard Theatre, Dartford ***

Fans of the movie will be pleased to know that this musical version is a pretty faithful adaptation which stays true to the original not only in terms of story but also to Jack Black’s performance as Dewey Finn. For new readers, Dewey Finn is a failed wanna-be rock musician who finds his way into the role of substitute teacher at a New York private school. Here he discovers his class of young students actually have musical talent which he decides to nurture into a rock band, while ignoring subjects on the curriculum that aren’t rock related – meaning all of them!

Music is by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who has clearly used his own early works (notably Jesus Christ Superstar and, I think, Variations) as an influence on this score. We had perhaps forgotten that Lloyd Webber has a rock pedigree, having invented the rock opera as a musical theatre form along with Tim Rice in the 1970s. Here he is on fine form with catchy and powerful numbers like You’re in the Band, Stick it to the Man and Time to Play. We also get the title number from the film, written not by Lloyd Webber but Sammy James Jr. and the film’s screenwriter Mike White. Other numbers are less successful. Yes they move the story forward and effectively introduce both characters and the school the children attend. But they don’t really set pulses racing or deliver any standout moments, which begins to be a concern during the early part of the show.

The book is by Julian Fellowes, a world away from Downton Abbey. He claims in the programme to have given us more back story on each child in the band. I’m not sure his scene with several of the children confronting their parents at home with the ‘rock homework’ delivers the goods as effectively as the original film. In that, such insights are shown in the classroom as the reticent and up-tight pupils discover their true selves whilst they gradually open-up to the emotional power of the rock music being introduced to them by Dewey Finn. In this stage musical that journey takes place in the course of a single number, so the children go from Hogwarts to School of Rock in five minutes, which leaves plot and character development with less to do in the remainder of the show. This means much sense of dramatic tension about the ability or willingness of the children to become a rock band is missing. We go straight from them not being a band, to being a band – so we can see pretty much the rest of the plot from this point on, which is quite early in act one.

Jake Sharp as Dewey Finn has enough energy to power every light on the set. It’s almost a one-man show. Finn’s enthusiasm has to be supremely contagious, and Sharp absolutely makes sure it is. He drives the show along and this, combined with the bouncy commitment of the children in his class, soon wins you over and carries you along through any of the less thrilling musical moments. It really is a tour de force. His relationship with head teacher Miss Mullins has added depth thanks to Rebecca Lock’s strong vocals and a great number she gets to herself revealing her own history with rock music (Where did the Rock Go?).

The children are also great. They sing and move with joy and gusto, while some display prodigious talent on guitar, keyboard and drums. We have come to expect children in musicals to be amazing, with a number of shows over the years, like this one, really relying for their success on their young performers. For instance Matilda, Annie, and Oliver! But this large group (twelve of them) really bring the theatre alive with their energy and commitment, backed-up by what the programme calls the ‘grown up band’ – who do a terrific job, whilst allowing themselves to be overshadowed by the on-stage talent.

A word, too, about the set which is satisfyingly grand and moves about swiftly and slickly to effect the scene changes.

School of Rock is at the Orchard Theatre, Dartford until Saturday 28 May 2022 and then continues on tour.

Review – Chicago, Orchard Theatre, Dartford *****

Chicago is, unbelievably, based on a true story. Originally a stage play in 1926, Kander and Ebb (the team behind the current West End smash hit revival, Cabaret) turned it into a musical in 1975. It tells the story of Roxie Hart, awaiting trial for the murder of her lover, and her rivalry with fellow prisoner Velma Kelly for the attentions of super slick lawyer Billy Flynn and, most importantly, a fickle public eager for salacious gossip.

Chicago has been around for a long time. The original Broadway production transferred to the West End in 1979, but it is the 1996 Broadway revival version which has given the show such tremendous staying power. It opened in London in 1997 where it stayed for 15 years and has been touring almost continuously ever since. And it’s still an unusual and striking way to stage a musical. For a start the band (a hugely impressive 10 piece plus MD) takes centre stage in a set reminiscent of a court room. There is hardly any other set and performers sit around the edges on chairs watching the action when they are not involved themselves, as if, I suppose, in the public gallery of the courtroom.

Despite it being, effectively, almost a concert performance, the enormous strength of the score and the stylish production numbers make it a memorable and captivating show.

Djalenga Scott gets a great entrance in the opening number, rising up through the band to perform All That Jazz. She is a slick and elegant dancer with a powerful voice. She also showed great comic timing as her Velma is constantly out-witted by Roxie’s media manipulation skills. Faye Brookes, perhaps best known as Kate Connor in Coronation Street, is Roxie. Sparkly, sassy and with complete command of all the moves and tunes, she makes a terrifically watchable star. I would have to say though, that Scott has the slight edge in the dancing, but the difference only shows in the final number when the pair get to perform together.

This production has a particularly strong cast. Over the years various non-singers and even non-actors have been cast as both Mama Morton and hot-shot lawyer Billy Flynn. But here we are treated to the great original Three Degree Sheila Ferguson as Morton and proper singer Russell Watson as Flynn. Ferguson has the easy authority and cynical world view to carry off Mama Morton with aplomb. Watson’s accent may have wandered a little and he’s not a natural mover (not that he’s really required to dance), but he’s convincing as a lawyer with money rather than justice as his driving focus and, of course, he sure can sing!

Ultimately the key to any musical’s success is its score, and Chicago is packed with numbers you probably know even if you’ve never seen the show – All That Jazz and Razzle Dazzle, to name just two. Thanks to the aforementioned on-stage band, they are given all the panache and power they need. It’s not that unusual to have the band on stage, but to give them centre stage throughout and have an MD who conducts without also having to play the keyboards, creates a whole new dynamic.

Chicago brings a true West End experience to the theatre with no compromises on quality in any department.

Chicago is at The Orchard Theatre, Dartford, until Saturday 23 April 2022 and then continues on tour.

Review – 3 Steps to Heaven, Orchard Theatre, Dartford and on tour ****

Buddy Holly’s enduringly popular songs practically invented the modern so-called juke box musical, with the often revived Buddy Holly Story. That’s a great show, but in 3 Steps to Heaven the concept is taken to its ultimate: shorn of any pretence of telling a story this concert lets the music do the talking. Alongside Holly the producers have chosen another writer and star whose life and career was cut tragically short (in a car accident travelling from a UK concert), Eddie Cochran. His posthumous hit provides the title for the show. Completing the trio we have Roy Orbison. He was stylistically quite different from Holly or Cochran. But then his style was uniquely his own and doesn’t neatly fit with anyone else’s. He also has influences from the 60s to the 80s in his catalogue as he lived until 1988, even then dying relatively young at only 52.

The concert is an invention as the three never performed together. It does, though, bring together a huge catalogue of huge hits. We are reminded that Holly wrote and recorded eight hit records in just two years. These are songs that are still well known today. What’s more they are well known in their original versions, not from re-worked and re-imagined covers. Quite an achievement for someone who died in 1959 aged just 22. Cochran also had hits which live on, such as C’mon Everybody and Summertime Blues. And whilst most people in the audience would either not have been born or at best have been children when Holly and Cochran had hits, many more remember Orbison, whose You Got It chartered immediately after his death in 1988.

So that’s the history and the context; what about the show? Our three leads perform as Cochran, Holly and Orbison without breaking character. As Cochrane, Jonny Labey has a rich voice and a winning stage presence. Edward Handoll has history playing Holly and dons the famous specs with ease. His set contains probably the most well known songs and he re-creates the Holly sound perfectly. Peter Howarth stands rock solid still as the man in black, the big O, (complete with black wig and sunglasses) allowing his soaring voice and huge range to complete the transformation.

The three stars are backed by a supremely professional band headed by musical director Pierce Tee on keyboards. He skilfully enables us to hear live the Holly songs recorded with string backing, something I imagine Holly himself could never do in concert. And whilst the stars are in character from the 50s and 60s, the backing musicians are just themselves. Indeed, the quality of the sound and the stylish lighting design make this concert, I suspect, technically superior to anything either Cochran or Holly would have been able to aspire to in the 1950s.

The whole thing comes together brilliantly to recreate live versions of songs most people know so well from the original records. Being so well known gives the musicians a challenge because every note, every pause, every detail of the arrangements has to be spot-on. And it is (or at least it seemed so to me). They could have sat back and assumed that the audience would be happy just to hear such well known songs again. In effect just letting the songs to do all the work. But these musicians provide highly polished and professional performances which honour the music they are playing and provide more hits in one evening than you’re likely to find in any other show.

3 Steps to Heaven is at the Orchard Theatre, Dartford until Saturday 12 February 2022 and then continues on tour.

Review – Hairspray (UK tour at Churchill Theatre, Bromley AND Orchard Theatre, Dartford) *****

Hairspray is one of my favourite musicals. I came to it without having seen the original film so for me having Edna rather more butch than John Travolta’s is always something that takes a little getting used to. Here it’s Alex Bourne doing the honours. His credits include Lex Hogan in Eugenius, another of my favourites, so he starts off scoring highly in my estimation for that!

The story is about Tracy Turnblad’s desire to become a star on the local TV dance show in her home town of Baltimore. It’s 1962 and she encounters and deals with racism and body shaming along the way to getting into the arms of the show’s heart-throb, Link Larkin. The serious underlying issues are served up with seriously great songs and light comedy, which combine to make this an enduring classic. 

Newcomers will find Marc Shaiman’s tunes instantly appealing and the on-set band are terrific.

I saw the original London production with Michael Ball and its Coliseum incarnation (where it was a little lost in that cavernous space last summer). I thoroughly enjoyed them both but this production is absolutely the best of all. The simple staging puts the focus on the performers. And this works brilliantly because the cast give performances of such high quality. Director Paul Kerryson has clearly worked hard on every moment from every character on the stage. The result is a show crammed with great reactions and expressions alongside the core dialogue and musical numbers.

Katie Brace makes her professional debut in the role of Tracy Turnblad. As well as being a good singer and dancer, Brace brings a whole other dimension to her performance, showing Tracy to be the free thinker and breath of fresh air she’s described as in the script. She’s even brilliantly entertaining when just watching the dance show on TV or standing to one side during heartthrob Link Larkin’s big number.

Brenda Edwards is Motormouth Maybelle. She has great stage presence and delivers two outstanding bring-the-house-down numbers, full-on, front and centre. You could watch her all night. 

Alex Bourne plays Tracy’s mother who towers over her doting husband and Tracy’s father Wilbur, played by Norman Pace. The required ‘corpsing’ and rehearsed ad libs are there in their duet and Pace’s version of joke shop owner Wilbur is heart warming, showing us that Tracy’s heart too will always be in the right place . Rebecca Thornhill as the producer the of TV dance show, Velma Von Tussle, has a diffcult role because Velma is such an unsympathetic character. But she brings something extra to the part which makes her completely watchable. Rebecca Jayne-Davies is Tracy’s slightly dim sidekick Penny. She has a much better part than in the film version and really makes the most of it. Her partner Seaweed is played by Reece Richards who looks so right and dances so well. First class in supporting roles we have Richard Meek as TV host Corny Collins and Ross Clifton as Link Larkin.  

Hairspray is at the Orchard Theatre, Dartford until Saturday 26 March 2022 and then continues on tour.

Review – Pantoland at the London Palladium ****

The Palladium panto was re-established as a Christmas tradition in 2016. Since then the few remaining elements of plot or character have been gradually removed each year so we’re now left with a kind variety show. This is not a criticism. Clearly the producers have realised that they will get best value from the likes of Julian Clary by giving them as much time as possible to do what they’re best at, without burdening them (and us) with mundane things like a story.

This year we are treated for the first time to the star being an international icon – Donny Osmond. No time is wasted in getting him on stage as he opens the show. There’s no doubt there is something quite magical about being in the beloved and world famous Palladium and hearing the name Donny Osmond announced as the curtains open to reveal the man himself.

The rest of the cast is comprised of what has become in effect the Palladium Panto Repertory Company. Gary Wilmot is the dame and his patter song naming all London’s tube stations (yes – including the new ones on the Elizabeth line) is spectacular. You feel you are witnessing something really special as well as amazing. Nigel Havers is the butt of jokes about his age and not really having a part in the show. Ventriloquist Paul Zerdin is a class act who delivers not only some great laughs but also a range of impressive set pieces including a brilliant moment when his puppet Sam is left in the hands (literally) of Donny Osmond. Cue carefully rehearsed mistakes and corpsing with resultant crowd pleasing hilarity.

Song and dance numbers are left in the more than capable hands of Sophie Issacs and Jac Yarrow, with support from the famous Tiller Girls.

There is, of course, one more person to mention. Julian Clary can, and does, turn the most apparently innocent phrases into complete filth. For example, “I’ve never done Aladdin” and “Put your hand up (pause). In the air!” In the most extravagant costumes he parades about the stage picking on either members of the audience or the cast with waspish remarks and put-downs which in turn bring the house down.

The cast appear to be having a really good time. In less skilled hands this could leave the audience feeling left out of the joke. Not here. The casual mayhem and supposed mistakes only work because this is a slick and hugely professional show that knows exactly what it’s doing and mines every comic opportunity to maximum effect through deft technique and spot-on timing.

My review is missing the fifth star only because, as a Palladium panto fan, I have seen most of this before. Don’t get me wrong, I love the company and wouldn’t want to lose any of them. But the addition of Donny Osmond created the opening for some fresh content and more of this would be welcome. Who knows which international superstar will be joining in the fun next year?

Pantoland is at the London Palladium until 9 January 2022.

Disney’s Frozen The Musical ****

Despite attending a matinee where the average age of most audience members was probably about three, I can still say this is a show that works pretty well for adults. It’s no Lion King, but has some great, even spectacular, moments – hence four, not five, stars.

The musical captures the feeling of the film admirably. It also adds something to the characters of the two sisters, Elsa and Anna. They are, perhaps inevitably, more real and relatable as played in the flesh by Samantha Barks and Stephanie McKeon than in the film. This in turn brings even greater emphasis on their relationship as the driver for the story, making other characters such as Olaf the snowman (Craig Gallivan) and Kristoff the ice salesman (Obioma Ugoala) into cameos. Even the latter’s reindeer Sven (Mikayla Jade and Ashley Birchall alternate in the physically demanding role), although stunningly realised, has little to do.

The highlight is, as it should be, Let it Go, moved along in the story so it comes as the closer to Act One. Samantha Barks is terrific and really does let go as the song builds. She transforms in front of us in an instant from wearing a dull cape to a sparkling white dress – a true coup de theatre which drew gasps and cheers from everyone in the audience (not just the three year olds!).

Olaf is a delight, with the puppet operated and voiced in-view by Craig Gallivan in suitable winter togs. He captures the charm of the character using basic puppetry skills but little other obvious trickery, and has a remarkably close vocal likeness to the film version.

There are, though, a couple of peculiar choices. As Anna travels to find her sister with Kristoff she crosses a huge, icy bridge (shown in the photo above). This comes on from stage right and travels across the stage, at one point only the centre section is on stage before, eventually, the steps down at the other side come into view. It’s the largest single piece of moving scenery I’ve ever seen. It must have cost a fortune and been a nightmare to fit in the wings even at Drury Lane. But I couldn’t see why it was needed. Yes, it showed Anna had to make a journey, but surely there were either simpler ways to do it. Or they could have done more with the bridge than simply walk across it and dump it in the wings! The other similar moment comes at the very last bars. For anyone other than those in the stalls it was obvious there was a revolve and a centre circular platform cut into the stage. Unless I missed it they were never used until the final 30 seconds of the show. Again, an extravagance which added little to the story and created only minimal impact.

Review – Hairspray ****

Hairspray continues to please, with it’s bouncy tunes and appealing story about outsiders finding their place in a society initially unwilling to welcome them in. This year it’s been the (belated) summer musical at the ENO’s home at the London Coliseum.

The story concerns schoolgirl Tracy Turnblad’s ambitions to win a place on the local TV dance show and to integrate the black and white performers, the black company being allowed to perform only on ‘negro day’. The cast for this revival of the production last seen in the West End with Michael Ball just up the road at the Shaftesbury theatre is top notch, with Mr Ball once again doing the honours as Edna Turnblad, as he did for the whole of the previous West End run. He clearly loves the part and displays all the qualities you’d expect from a musical theatre star. Playing his husband Les Dennis proves to be a great choice, being both convincing in the part and with a warm on-stage chemistry between him and Michael Ball’s Edna.

I’m ranking it four stars because of the performances and the brilliance of the score, but it was nearly three, simply because the show is almost defeated by the theatre itself. The Coliseum is vast, with a huge space between the front rows of the circles/balcony and the stage. Even the stalls are kept at a safe distance by the large orchestra pit, sparsely but very effectively filled by the band. Added to that, the stage itself is framed by a front cloth with a TV-screen shaped opening through which we watch the show. As well as being apposite for the plot this also serves to reduce the width of the stage by about a third. In short, the theatre is too big for the show. It feels lost on the stage and remote from the audience. The music itself is so strong it just about compensates for this. Michael Ball is sufficiently bold and twinkly to come across no matter what. And Marisha Wallace storms the place as Motormouth Maybelle, although not all of the cast are as successful.

I’ve seen several of the ENO summer musicals and this problem of scale is not unique to Hairspray, but others seemed to have worked better (for example Bat Out of Hell and Man of La Mancha). Extending the stage over the vast pit would help. Next summer, though, it’s My Fair Lady, which might just be grand enough to live up to the room where it’s due to happen.

Review – The Woman in Black *****

The Woman in Black is remarkable in two ways. Yes, it’s a long running West End show that’s not a musical spectacular or The Mousetrap. More significantly, it’s a brilliantly theatrical experience, which is remarkable considering its origins as a book. The adaptation to the stage is so complete and integral to the work, it’s hard to imagine it having ever been anything

Having seen it on tour in modern venues I had always wanted to experience it ‘at home’ in the older Fortune Theatre. Host to treats I wish I could have witnessed such as Flanders and Swan and Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in Beyond the Fringe, it has its own rather magical history of laughter. Since 1989, though, The Lady in Black has haunted the place in more chilling style.

Set in the 1950s, the story concerns Arthur Kipps, who is sent to sort out the papers of the recently deceased Alice Drablow, entailing a visit to the spooky Eel Marsh House. The local village is akin to that in An American Werewolf in London, where any talk of the deceased and the house is quickly and mysteriously shut down. Add in a dangerous causeway to reach it, swirling mists, a graveyard and a child’s nursery and you pretty much have the classic ingredients for a classic ghost story. But this is so much more than that, thanks to Stephen Mallatratt’s brilliantly theatrical approach, which turns these familiar ingredients into an experience which engages the audience’s imagination to such spectacular effect that, as producer Peter Wilson said after the first evening of the re-opened show, “you scared yourselves”.

We are enormously helped in this by perfectly judged lighting and sound, whose timing is critical to some moments where you’ll be the most scared you’ve ever been in a theatre.

With all these ingredients in place, we find ourselves in the hands of Arthur Kipps, our nervous but reliable narrator, played by Terence Wilton. Kipps is at an empty theatre to be coached by ‘the actor’ (played by Max Hutchinson) in order to be able to recount his tale of his visit to Eel Marsh House. Wilton is so effective as the traumatised and hesitant Kipps that it comes as a real shock to see him assume in an instant the various other characters in his story. A scarf, a hat, a coat, a change in gait and we are in the company of someone else entirely. He also gets a moment when the child’s nursery is revealed where he has to list the numerous toys it contains. I’ve learned a few lines in my time and lists are just horrid to get in your head. Surely a little actors’ test added by Mallatratt! As his acting coach, Hutchinson is typically actorly and we feel confident in his presences. He has a rhythmic and almost percussive way with his lines. But the telling of the tale requires ‘the actor’ to assume the role of Kipps at the most dramatic moments. It’s a tribute not only to the writing but to Hutchinson’s engaging performance that you could tell the audience was gripped with fear and trepidation with him.

With some genuine jump-out-of-seat moments and a pervading atmosphere of suspense, this remains the benchmark for ghost stories in any medium and shows how live theatre can do things with you and to you like nothing else.

Review – Ploutos, an Aristophanic comedy ****

Ploutos is the Greek god of wealth. In the play he is personified as a blind man. Our hero, a farmer called Chremylos, and his servant stumble upon him and, after a little light bullying, take him home. Wealth is blind so he can’t discriminate between the deserving and undeserving. But our farmer has other ideas and a visit to a shrine sees Wealth’s sight restored. This occasions a visit from the god of poverty, who advises against Wealth and in favour of learning from hardship. Nevertheless, the miraculous restoration of Wealth’s sight results in a transformation amongst all those visiting the farmer, with good people rewarded and others ridiculed.

This new production by Thiasos theatre company in a new translation by David Wiles is bouncy, energetic and huge fun. The stylised costumes and make up are a real treat, adding humour and a touch of warmth to the characters. And how wonderful to be in a theatre again and hear the band tuning up! Yes, we have real live musicians (many of whom double up as members of the large cast of characters) playing delightful ‘Greek’ music from musical director Manuel Jimenez. For those of us denied our annual pilgrimage to a Greek island this summer, this added another layer of wistful enjoyment to the piece. On top of that there are musical numbers and even some Greek dancing (although no broken plates!).

The performances are big and bold like the costumes and make up. Our narrator is Chremylos’s servant Carion, played by Salv Scarpa. He has an appealing stage presence and brilliant clarity and power in his voice, immediately getting us into the play. Like all the other performers, he uses movement a great deal. This keeps the whole thing feeling alive, vibrant and intimate, despite the cast having to keep back further from the audience than they otherwise might have. Oengus Mac Namara plays both Wealth and Poverty which great gravitas, which Charles Sobryy as Chremylos plays against delightfully, reminiscent of Percy’s relationship with Blackadder.

This large company has made a serious investment in this play and the quality and love they have for the material shines through in the performance. How they make it work financially for a small, socially distanced audience I don’t know, but thanks go to The Space for making this happen and for looking after us so well.

Ploutos is at The Space until Saturday 3rd October, after which you can catch it in Poland!