Theatre Reviews
Dreams of Liberation and Peace
“…I’ve been to the mountaintop … I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.” The words of Martin Luther King Jr in Memphis, Tennessee, 3 April 1968. A day later he was assassinated. His prophetic words meant he did not get there and many of those who remain believe there is still a long way to go before that Land comes into view. Racial politics is as divisive as ever in the USA with the latest focus on “Replacement Theory”, a stark and insidious reminder of the long journey yet to be travelled.
Katori Hall’s two-handed The Mountaintop (Yvonne Arnaud) is set in room 306 of the Lorraine Motel on what was to become his final day. A man with a dream, completely devoted to a cause, already been subject to intimidation, arrests and other assassination attempts. We see him as a solitary figure, holed up in a basic motel room on Sandra Falase’s evocative shadowy set portentous of the day ahead. As he paces up and down, testing out what was to become his last speech, the emotion and personal struggle of a man carrying the weight of a people on his shoulders is self evident. As he checks for bugging devices – he was identified as a primary target by J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) who believed he was influenced by Communists and that he could become a “messiah” capable of unifying black nationalists – Camae the chambermaid enters the room. A chambermaid who can charm birds out of the trees.
Although King is initially suspicious of her intentions, the atmosphere pivots into the antithesis of what has gone before. The tension is gone and once they have measured each other up they turn into a couple of kid-adults toying and teasing with silly games. The pillow fight ends in a conversation with God whom she identifies as a black woman. Beneath the frivolous façade is a woman of wit and wisdom behind her years. The dialogue is now no laughing matter as she urges King to understand he has done enough and it is the turn of others to lead. Prescient words from the young woman who also symbolises the crucial role played by countless women involved in the struggle.
Luke Wilson brings humanity and fallibility to his role, a man revered but an imperfect one, he suffers with smelly feet, whose inevitable marriage difficulties are the collateral damage of the life he leads. Boni Adelyi brings an abundance of likability to Camae. She comes into the room bearing gifts of coffee and cigarettes, flirts and taunts and is then revealed as a deep thinker. She may well have the best lines but she makes the most of them and some. They work very well together.
Hall ensures we are in no doubt this drama has to be seen in the context of a continuous struggle with Camae giving a rousing call and rallying cry to all those who will continue to fight for their rights. Premiered in 2009 it is a valuable, and very real, addition to the pantheon of work about King and his legacy.
Meanwhile Stefanos Cresta is an excited first-timer…
I walked into the impressive Globe Theatre thinking why, since it was opened in 1997 by Her MajestyThe Queen, have I never been to a production? I did the tour but that’s like walking round a football stadium with no match going on. Nothing like the real thing and here I was to see Julius Caesar. This was to an evening full of surprises. Firstly the cast. Eight in total. Lots of multi part playing so you have to have your wits about you. Diane Page’s production is neatly put together kicking off with the obligatory audience participation as we are led in a football like chant ‘Pompey is a wasteman’, the latest enemy crushed by an all conquering Caesar. I did wonder if Page knows that Pompey is also the nickname of Portsmouth FC, therein being the link to footie. Be that as it may the first half is a riot of fun. Silly me for thinking of blood, gore and tragedy.
There is a fair amount of ‘gender-bending’ too which works well and that ambiguity generally works well although a couple of times I had to remind myself who was playing who and it seems slightly stereotypical in making the women moral arbiters of the truth and the men as megalomaniacs. A tenuous link to the denizens of Downing Street perhaps though to be fair nobody is planning on murdering our Prime Minister. Caesar here, played by an enjoyably pompous Dickon Tyrrell gets a deserved comeuppance, stabbed in the back. As I write this I’m making more and more connections to recent political events…that’s just me.
Overall this ensemble piece is great entertainment, even if the second half is less coherent and when Cassius and Brutus commit the equivalent of Roman hara-kiri I laughed out loud.
Overall excellent entertainment and definitely not my last visit to this historic venue.
And Marquinhos Galogerinos is in karaoke mood, but…
Mention of the musical Grease (Dominion Theatre) and people start singing. It’s a great singalong musical and karaoke favourite but this Nikolai Foster production, which originated at the Curve Theatre in Leicester, is somewhat different with a gritty and surprisingly dramatic storyline that is given more prominence, quite dark in parts, and so much more than another jukebox show. As a result you have to consider more seriously the character acting as well as song and dance skills.
The undoubted standout for me is Eloise Davies as Frenchy. This is definitely not a caricature and somebody we laugh at for she is a strong, worldly wise woman keeping it real. To be fair she does get the best comedy lines which she delivers in style along with hilarious facial expressions. Dan Partridge is a cool cat Danny Zuko but thankfully not in the John Travolta vein. He does ooze sex appeal but that is not overplayed. The best voice belongs to Olivia Moore as Sandy who makes every song her own.
A couple of the other performances are also worthy of mention, namely Jessica Croll as Patty Simcox, a cracking dancer, and Damon Gould as the loveable Sonny. The one negative about the show is the imbalance between Act I, which outstays its welcome, and Act II, which has many more songs and we even have one Peter André popping in as an oh so camp DJ Vince Fontaine. Not the greatest singer he does bring a sense of self deprecating fun, especially as Teen Angel in a crazy dream sequence.
Not what I was expecting but this Arlene Phillips choreographed show is a great night out. Maybe not quite “grease lightning” but definitely “electrifying”. See it and you’ll understand why it’s the one that you want.
Gerontius Brantiou on the other hand needs ear plugs…
The screaming began before anything happened. Hundreds of ‘mature’ women getting in the mood for the National press night of Dirty Dancing The Movie in Concert (Eventim Apollo). Love it or hate it, and I know people in both camps, the love story of Baby and Johnny is adored by millions worldwide and now celebrating the film’s 35th anniversary, the digital screening on a massive screen includes a band and singers live on stage. Quite an experience as the songs are performed live, in sync with the film.
Set in the summer of 1963, Baby Houseman (Jennifer Grey) and her family vacation to the beautiful Catskills resort, Kellerman’s. Intrigued by the staff’s dance instructor, Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze), and the vastly different lifestyle of others, Baby finds herself learning to dance while having the time of her life and falling in love. It is a summer she’ll never forget. Neither will you when you see this!
Finally, I return to Guildford for a moving, and topical, story…
For somebody who has created an international hit in War Horse to say that his favourite work is Private Peaceful (Yvonne Arnaud) is some statement and accolade for said play. That is what writer Michael Morpurgo believes and on this viewing I can understand why. Set in rural Devon and the battlefields of Northern France it tells the story of the Peaceful brothers, Tommo (Daniel Rainford) and Charlie (Tom Kanji), whose tough rural childhood, framed by the loss of their father, forges an irrevocable sibling loyalty. Until one day they both fall for the same girl. And then the Great War comes. The idyll becomes a nightmare, they are sent to fight a foreign enemy.
We see 18-year-old Private Tommo in the trenches as he takes us on a journey through his most cherished memories and tells his story of courage, devotion, family and friendship on what may be his last night on earth. The stark contrast between the bucolic bliss of Devon and the abhorrent killing of 900,000 young men in horrendous conditions provide all that is needed to make you question the futility of war, both then and now. The bleak message is poignant and beautifully portrayed. Just as importantly it gives us a picture of the left behind who fear the worst every day; mothers,p. Molly (Liyah Summers), the childhood friend who has Charlie’s baby and the boy’s mum (Emma Manyon).
Simon Read’s adaptation, sensitively and skilfully directed by Elle While, invades your emotional centre. As we watch Tommo slowly fall apart under the pressure of propaganda and dedication to country the abiding message is one of “There but for the grace of God go I”. These youngsters had no choice as in Ukraine today, young Russian conscripts sent to kill their “brothers”. It also has great impact, because apart from uniformly excellent performances, it feels very real and unexpurgated. You can smell the verdant green pastures alongside the stench of death and desolation of the trenches. Haunting and enlightening, a timely reminder, should we need it, that our pursuit of peace is as urgent as it ever was.
The Mountaintop (tour) – www.visitthemountaintop.co.uk
Julius Caesar – www.shakespearesglobe.com
Grease – www.greasemusical.co.uk
Dirty Dancing’ – www.dirtydancinginconcert.com
Private Peaceful – www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk
Leave a Reply