The Buddy Holly Story @ Darlington Civic

 

I have a lot to thank my Mum & Dad for; my sense of what is right & wrong, a confidence in the kitchen to try new tastes and a great appreciation of all types of music.  It's true that our choices in music are probably very different now, but growing up, my brother & I were treated to the whole range of early rock 'n' roll, pop, country and 60's contemporary.  One of dad's favourites was Buddy Holly and although I knew a bit about his life and his songs, I wouldn't profess to knowing the full ins & outs. 

The show is a great story of Buddy's life from his initial song writing, his first radio play, first aborted attempts with a contract with Decca and how he & the Crickets finally broke into the national & international music scene.  What I hadn't realised was the speed in which they turned out the songs - less than 3 years from start to tragic end and yet there are over 20 songs in this show, all of which are classic toe-tappers.  His speed in the music writing was only matched by his speed in courting - he proposed to his wife after knowing her for only 5 hours !  Of course, we all know about the terrible early end to his life in a plane crash; this too had a touch of the inevitable about it; they weren't due to fly at all, but Buddy wanted to get to the next venue ahead of the rest of tour to help get things set up and so they chartered that ill-fated flight.

The production for this tour is wonderful with some great use of scene fades to help keep the sense of time in the studio moving along, while the stage shows are full of energy.  The depiction of Buddy & the Crickets' 1st show at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem was wonderful & funny.  The musicians are all very talented, none more so than Roger Rowley who expertly played the lead with all the mannerisms, drive, passion and innocence that the great man was known for.  Of all the actors on show, however, one stood out for me - Felicity Chilver who played Buddy's wife Maria Elena.  Maybe her Mexican accent had the slightest tendency to slip towards Welsh (which made it even more adorable) but that was completely forgiven by her captivating performance as 'Mrs Holly', not to mention that she is very, very cute !

Approx 95% of the audience were of an age who would have remembered Buddy Holly 1st time round and this became even more evident as the show moved towards it's climax - a thrilling, high energy melody of the best rock 'n' roll songs of the time.  Whilst there may have been a few stiff hips stopping too many dancing in the aisles, the singing was loud and the handclapping in complete unison.

If you enjoy live music, if you love rock 'n' roll and if you want to see a great story with a great cast then Buddy is most definitely for you - it's on all week at the Darlington Civic so get your tickets & Rave On ! 

As always, the Civic plays a great host, excellent sound & sightlines and very friendly & helpful staff.

Drumchasers @ Darlington Civic

 

You know, with all the social media, tweeting, Facebook etc I honestly thought that the days of finding a new show for which I had no ideas, expectations or pre-conceptions was sadly over.  (To tell you a secret, all my life I have wished I had been in the audience for the first showing of the Rocky Horror Show, way back before the midnight costume parties and the huge cult following but alas no, I was destined just to be a follower.)  Well after tonight I honestly believe that in years to come I can stand proud and say "Yes, I saw it before they took the West End by storm"

Ethan Lewis Maltby's DrumChasers is unlike any other show I have ever seen; a mesmerising blend of unbelievable drumming coupled with beautiful dancing all set to a futuristic tale of power, rivalry and love.  Actually, to say its all drumming is doing a grave dis-service to the whole percussion experience including some truly beautiful glockenspiel melodies.  This is story-telling-without-words at its best and it had me hooked from the first beat to the very last.

Georgina King's choreography is wonderfully synchronised, evocative and yet simple, but it's not until you really watch the stage that you realise that it's no mean feat to match expressive dance with demanding drumming & exacting rhythms.

Make no mistake, this is not a show of 10 drummers simply stood on stage; each character has their own story, their own personality which they bring to the fore through genuine acting (there is no dialogue at all which makes the story telling even more engaging) and very quickly you understand the premise of the show, even before Stephen Fry's narration of the Noiseland Tale (written by Jenna Donnelly) comes in about half way through act 1.

The story, without wanting to give too much away, is about a race of people, the Drumchasers from Noiseland, who, through the loss of a worshipped relic become fractured and warring.  This relic finds it's way to earth and is discovered by Mr Bennet, a stage caretaker (played wonderfully by somebody's grandad - actually its none other than Mr Jack Warner).  His unwitting discovery prompts the Drumchasers and their guardian peacekeeper Weckl (deliciously played by the vampish Rachel Stock) to come to earth and continue their rivalry.  This is done through what I can only describe as battle drumming, a sort of dance off using percussion.

Through all of this we are treated to the impish mischief of Gene (played by Amy Kelly), the macho posturing of Blades & Vinnie (James Hulme & James Godfrey) and an age old story of two lovers from the opposite sides. Playing out like a futuristic West Side Story, Buddy (a very dishy Simon Morgan-Thomas, according to my daughter) and Eve (a very cute Stephanie Clarke) try to unite the two sides but as with all torn-lovers tales, it is far from easy.

As the story works towards its conclusion the beats become more frantic, the surprises get bigger and the choreography even more impressive (there's a great scene set in almost complete darkness - honest, believe me!).  I won't spoil things by telling you the rest of the show, 'cept to say that you should really seek out this production, take the family and go lose yourself in the rhythm.

At the end, once the final curtain came down, there was a quiet sense of awe in the audience, almost like a collective reasoning, like we had shared a moment.  We probably had as no-one truly knew what to expect, yet everyone agreed it was awesome.

There have been some iconic shows which define or even create their own genres; Riverdance, Cirque de Soliel,  The Mousetrap, We Will Rock You - I believe that we have seen another tonight which could do the same - it truly is that special that I urge anyone to treat themselves and go and see it.

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Added 8/10

Just back from watching the DrumChasers at Durham Gala, a fabulous venue and perfect for this show, the acoustics were spot on and the view (we were sat at the back of the stalls) meant we could truly appreciate the wonderful precision playing, especially the 2 James on the marimba. 

Its funny how much more you see when you watch a show again; I guess the first time I was quite unprepared for it all, whereas this time I could really take it in - I hadn't been aware of how much was going on on the gantry at the back, especially with Weckl.  Word of Warning - I honestly believe that following Rachel Stock's hips could give you whiplash !

Anyway, the show is on a break now, but is back touring towards the end of October so check out their web site for details - www.drumchasers.co.uk and  keep chasing drums.