Still full of beans

The conversation in the stalls is animated and excitable as we settle into our Art Deco red velvet seats that. No, not a famed Shakespearean venue but the wonderful grade II listed Hackney Empire, a theatre built as a music hall in 1901 and has seen the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Julie Andrews perform there. For twenty years it was a bingo hall but thankfully today, restored to its former glory, its well worth having a good look around, it is once again home to a diverse performance programme, reflecting the community it serves. Oh yes it is. Yes we are back on Mare Street for the welcome return of their pantomime Jack and The Beanstalk. People come from far and wide to make this an essential part of their festive fun and press night is full of thespians, celebrities and political has beans (couldn’t resist and no I won’t tell…oh no I won’t).
Following Susie McKenna’s departure in 2017, who previously wrote and directed many of the pantos, this year that mantle is passed to writer Will Brenton with Clive Rowe and Tony Whittle co-directing. It’s a buoyant start on Cleo Pettitt’s traditionally colourful set and the young effervescent company come singing, dancing and slapping their thighs, setting the scene for that timeless tale of good (Jack) overcoming evil (Giant). But we are all awaiting the entrance of Jack’s mum, Dame Trot, played by award-winning Clive Rowe, with his array of outlandish costumes that are a performance of their own. The first consists of several shopping bags including bakery chain ‘Dreggs’, ‘Marks and Dentures’ and ‘Burper King’. They get progressively more outrageous with the Welsh dresser being my winner.
We are invited to consider the plight of “Hackney on the Verge” which will eventually become “Hackney on the Rise”. Unlike previous pantos this is politically tepid for Hackney meaning we adults have to let the child within us run free and join in with all the shouting and silliness. The manic and hilarious Twelve Days of Christmas song, including lots of custard pies, has the audience in a frenzy. Meanwhile a poor sod in the front row is picked out by Rowe as his whipping boy, forced to shout out his love for Dame Trot every time she says “cooey” which happens often.
Ruthie Stephens’s choreography is ebullient and witty, the tap dancing cockroaches are a gem, and bubbly musical director Mark Dickman and his five musicians lend excellent support. Veteran performer Kat B (Simple Simon) continues to shine and perform splits like a twenty year old, as does fellow old timer Tony Whittle (Councillor Higginbottom), though he is underused. Daisy the Cow is oh so sweet and the Giant (Leon Sweeney) is strangely loveable gargantuan puppet.
In the end this is all about the Dame. When Rowe sings, he can croon or belt ‘em out – Stay with Me Daisy is a delight – he has the audience singing along with him and when he plays around he has us eating out of his hands . This is not Hackney’s best panto but as dames go this one is still full of beans and has stage presence and charisma that many a diva and dame would die for.
Meanwhile Athasha Lyonnais experiences a great contrast…

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Troubador Wembley Park Theatre) is an adaptation of the wildly successful 2004 novel sharing the same name. Christopher (Connor Curren) has a learning disability (unnamed but very clearly modelled after autism) that makes it hard for him to connect with others. When his neighbour’s dog turns up dead, killed with a garden fork, he decides against his dad’s concerns, to solve the mystery.
The production, ambitiously staged by Marianne Elliott (War Horse), combines light, sound, projection and some amazingly choreographed moments of a physical theatre to convey the unique and remarkable way that Christopher perceives the world around him.
Performances are very good with the best work coming from Tom Peters as Ed, Christopher’s father – his anguish at being unable to help, or even to understand his son is compelling and moving.
Serious thought has been put into the portrayal of Christopher’s condition, and of neurodiversity. This production cast actors with lived experience of neurodiversity and is supported by Access All Areas (who ‘Make award winning, disruptive theatre by learning disabled and autistic artists’). This comes across in the production, which I thought was at its best when it was portraying sensory overload and hypersensitivity – something I struggle with myself, and found astonishingly accurate. Well worth seeing!

2
Conversely Police Cops The Musical (New Diorama Theatre) is the kind of production I prefer to avoid. It’s a two and a quarter hour remake of a 2016 sell out Edinburgh fringe show Police Cops (1 hour) focussing on physical comedy, slapstick, mime and prop work, parodying 70’s cop show conventions. They’ve also added some 80’s music, not sure why.
The offensiveness includes jokes about the LGBT community and paedophiles (this play suggested that they were the same thing) with the odd flippant remark about transvestites thrown in for good measure. The best moments are the physical set-pieces, genuinely inventive pieces of slapstick, frequent and quick costume changes and the chemistry between the 3 main characters is good. The songs are mainly cheesy ballads. Not my scene at all.
And Parikiaki newbie Natalia Mujendra is really feeling it…

We know lots about the music of famous groups but often very little about their back story. The Drifters are one such band and The Drifter’s Girl (Garrick Theatre) homes in on Faye Treadwell, the band’s manager. Who I hear you say? Exactly my point. There would be no Drifters without the sheer dedication and determination of this woman who had a vision and the will to make things happen at a time when women, and a woman of colour at that, were not being taken seriously by the music industry.
It’s an uplifting story and the cast of six are an amazingly talented bunch led by Beverley Knight who plays Faye with the boys playing multiple roles. It works well and it’s clever how they do it all. Credit to the little girl too, what a career she’s going to have ahead of her. From start to finish I was gripped by the story, the songs, the dancing, the humour & the emotion. The songs had us all singing along, tapping our feet and dancing in our seats. This show is a must for fans of The Drifters as well R&B and Soul lovers. A pleasure to watch.
Finally, Gracia Erinoglu loses herself in dance innovation …
Part two of Akram Khan’s latest episode of creativity was XENOS (Sadler’s Wells), a new one man show, an intense experience and open to all sorts of interpretations. For me it was life, death and war, beautifully done but also incredibly sad and emotionally overwhelming. The extra dimension of Indian drumming and singing was an exhilarating addition, typical of Khan’s willingness to blend styles and cultures. A visceral work from Khan who continues to be one of Britain’s most talented and daring choreographers.

Jack and the Beanstalk – www.hackneyempire.co.uk
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – www.troubadourtheatres.com
Police Cops The Musical – www.newdiorama.com
The Drifter’s Girl – www.thedriftersgirl.com
Akram Khan – run complete