The Full Monty @ Darlington Civic

Over the years there have been a myriad of theatre shows which have been borne from successful movies; Flashdance, Footloose, Sister Act, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Kinky Boots to name but a few. Usually they are ‘adapted for stage’ which means recognising the constraints of limited scene changes, streamlining dialogue to keep the pacing fresh or losing the copyright permissions to use original soundtracks, and because of this, many people are left feeling a short changed that they’re not seeing their beloved movie made flesh.  The Full Monty bucks this trend completely; the original screen treatment was written by Simon Beaufoy, in fact it was his first screenplay, and it is Simon who has penned this stage production; with it he has retained all the humour, the pathos, the punchlines and the politics that made the original the global smash hit. 

The story hasn’t aged at all; due in part to the fact that, despite the bawling hysterics of the hordes of hen parties who regularly attend desperate to catch a glimpse of the naked male form, it is a story about life, love, families and relationships, but also, more sadly, because the economic and political climate of the Thatcherite 80’s is in danger of coming back to haunt us again – for Sheffield Steel now read Redcar or Doncaster or Motherwell.  It is a very British trait that allows us to sympathise with men who have had their livelihoods removed with very little scope on the horizon but then to laugh at them clinging hopelessly to the routines of the 9-5 by visiting the park or the bus shelter; I know personally how demoralising and emasculating being out of work can be but deep down we don’t lose our sense of humour, even if the object of the jokes become ourselves.

The story, for anyone who has lived in a cave for the past 30 years, is about a group of steel workers in Sheffield who, having been made redundant 6 months ago, reach desperation in both financial and emotional terms.  Driven by a need to show he can provide for his son, Gaz (brilliantly played by Gary Lucy) has tried every route to raise some cash (all of which are dubious to say the least) until he stumbles on a Chippendales night at the local club and realises that there is a huge market for male strippers.  Of course, the Chippendales are all Adonis’s – toned and tanned, whilst Gaz’s gang are normal blokes, a mix of middle age, middle of the road and middle England but what they lack in physique they more than match in guts and self-depreciation.    Realising that they need an extra hook to attract the punters, Gaz decides that, for one night only, they will perform ‘The Full Monty’ – stripped down to nothing but a hat and a smile and so begins their hilarious and touching training and practise.

The set for this show is possibly the most imaginative, visually stunning and complex I’ve seen here at the Civic – it resembles the interior of the steel works, complete with 7 tonne blue crane (nicknamed Lady Maggie), loading bays and security gangway.  Flown into this are a series of extra scenes which make up the Conservative & Labour Clubs, the Job centre, the park and the rear alleyways, all of which are brilliantly designed and expertly installed.

As mentioned earlier, the soundtrack remains true to the movie – the main theme, a lilting reggae/ska hook written in a minor key is ever present whilst the dance routines are performed to the strains of Wilson Pickett, Donna Summer, Hot Chocolate, James Brown and, of course, Sir Tom Jones’ “You can leave your hat on”.

The cast too are very close to the original movie and this ensures that the dynamics, so crucial to bringing more than just slapstick belly laughs, are easily recognisable.  Gaz’s calorie-challenged best mate is perfectly played by Martin Miller, on the front of it a funny fat lad but with plenty of insecurities underneath making his self-depreciation all too real.  The timeless Louis Emerick plays Horse and it’s a real treat to see him live on stage, he’s got expert comedic timing and is no stranger to dance moves either.  Baby faced Bobby Schofield plays Lumper, the half hearted suicidist who finds himself drawn to Guy, the toned & tanned surfer dude to which Rubert Hill brings his ‘super-sized’ talent !.  For this performance Nathan, Gaz’s son, was played by Ewan Phillips – Ewan was brilliant, held his own amongst the adult stars, displayed fantastic comedy timing and certainly didn’t hold back when given the chance to enjoy the banter with Lucy.  Completing the men’s line up is Andrew Dunn, one of the UKs finest comedy actors and a stalwart of TV & stage, in this he plays the lads former foreman who, like them, has been out of work for months but has yet to even tell his wife, scared of what she will say but also scared of her continued spending.

In all, whilst this show continues to attract a 95% female audience, it is not a show about male strippers (although the final number doesn’t fail to deliver) – it is a story about friendship, hardship, despair, sexual equality, impotence, suicide and the resolve of the human spirit – not normal ingredients for a feel-good musical but boy does it work – just remember to bring your hankies. 

Brave New World @ Darlington Civic

Is this our real life, is this just fantasy?

Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1930 and set it in 2540, and whilst its themes were, for the time of original publication, rather fantastical, the warnings he cleverly cloaked in the futuristic science fiction are today more relevant and worrying than ever before.  His portrayal of the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ , of recognising, ney classifying ,the population into units of function and the acceptance that ‘the state’ can, through a utilitarian approach, decide what is best for everyone is so close to today’s western society that he was either extremely farsighted or a soothsayer to rival Nostradamus.  The blinkered and unerring belief by our current government that their austerity measures are the ONLY way to progress is all but Huxley’s new world made real, save for the fact that we have yet to enjoy the use & overuse of Soma – the wonder drug of ‘pleasure’ and compliance.

Oft read by students of modern literacy, beatnicks and wannabe social commentators alike, Brave New World has, for the most part, resisted an effective translation to the stage;  that is until Dawn King, together with James Dacre and the Touring Consortium Theatre Company embarked on reminding everyone just how powerful and disturbingly brilliant this modern classic is.

Set in the future, there was always a temptation to overplay the ‘tomorrows world’ part of Huxley’s vision, yet, to King’s credit, she has ensured that everything is instantly recognisable to today's culture; people are classified by their education, their breeding and their usefulness – whilst modern medicine and research are not quite ready to mass produce embryos to order, the technology and, in many circles, the desire most certainly exists.  Likewise, having a state that actively promotes the pursuit of material happiness while allowing an over-dependence on prescription medication (ie Antibiotics, anti-depressants and general analgesics)  is readily assimilated into the thoughts and feelings conditioning which forms the bedrock of the 2540 future state.

Under Dacre’s expert directing, we are constantly feeling that, as observers of this new world, we would never let things get this bad and yet we have, we do and no doubt we will continue to – as is so poignantly explained it is the ‘ice berg’ society – the elite sit above the water while 8 ninths work furiously below the surface to keep them afloat.  Coupled with some brilliant soundtracking by These New Puritans who bring a delicious and heady mix very reminiscent of Brian Eno, Tangerine Dream, The Orb and my favourite, Wendy Carlos, the overall effect is like the unwritten upper class side of Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange – a sort of what happened next once Alex & Dim and the gang were rounded up and dispatched to an island.

Gruffudd Glyn, as Bernard Marx wrestles perfectly with his deep seated desire to ‘fit in’, to comply, to meet the expected social norm within this Brave New World, and yet, as a class pariah, he really knows that it is only through good luck that he still holds a higher cast status – the Director and many of his acquaintance view him as a bit of a freak and certainly not one of the pure form they subscribe to.  People are created in labs, to order and are genetically programmed so that, once grown they will fulfil their place in the class tree – there is no place for feelings, free thought or even dreams.  Besotted with Lenina (Olivia Morgan) he happens on a chance to take her to the outside, an opportunity to witness first hand the ‘savages’ or classless outcasts who still hold sway to the old ways of thinking; religion, superstition and family values.  Whilst on this trip, they find an ex-lover of the Director and, more importantly, his bastard adult son, John (William Postlewaite) whom he never knew existed.  Believing this would grant him an exalted status and give chance to undertake a social experiment akin to a futuristic Pygmalion , Bernard persuades them to return to the new world with him & Lenina.

What transpires is a conflict between Johns supposed savage ways (he is well versed in poetry, Shakespeare and philosophy) and society’s desire to control, to conform and to suppress individuality – the feelings & emotions run very high as he is first touted a cause celebre, then mocked for not following the norm and finally cast out as a savage heathen, his ideals in ruins and his hope that society would be a better place completely smashed.  The ending, though rather swift in the telling, leaves a very deep feeling of unease – more so because writers, directors and film-makers keep issuing these warnings and yet we, as mankind, keep ignoring them – think King Kong, ET, the fore-mentioned Clockwork Orange, all of which show that the ruling classes believe that control is the only way for progression.  Even once the tragic end is done, we are returned back to the original start, the process must continue and the lessons, scarcely realised, are never learned.

Huxley’s take on a future world was originally a sci-fi piece with a nod to potential social commentary, now it almost reads like a joint editorial from the Lancet and The New Statesman.  This production is by far the most powerful and entertaining  piece of theatre seen this year; every school child should be made to watch it lest we hope that they will not make the same mistakes of the generations that come before them.

The Importance of Being Earnest 2015 @ Darlington Civic

A wonderfully witty and erudite play from the master of clever words given a new and highly entertaining twist.

There are many examples of the ‘play within a play’ style of production; some, like ‘The Woman in Black’, use it as a narrative retelling, others, like ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ use it to justify a farcical and somewhat madcap mashup of a familiar tale.  For this version of The Importance of Being Earnest, the ideal is used to couch the well known and much loved Oscar Wilde play within the confines of an amateur theatre group whose own traditions appear to be even more deep rooted than the original.

Brilliantly imagineered (and yes, that is a word, made up by the Disney Corporation but I’m having it now) by Lucy Bailey, the fictitious Bunbury Company of Players have performed the play so many times that they no longer treat it with the reverence oft reserved for Wilde’s work and instead demonstrate that familiarity indeed does breed contempt.  The curtain rises, not on the plush London home scene of John Worthing, but on the cast & crew of the Bunburians hurriedly readying themselves for final dress rehearsals.  There are many in-jokes, some based on Wilde’s prose but many  seemingly on previous years’ performances to which we, the audience, have not been privy – fear not however as these jokes play so heavily on the stereotypical theatre ‘types’ that they are still heartily funny.

Pitching the performance within the guise of the amateur group’s production allows total freedom with the casting; knowing as we do that the cast are all long term statesmen of the Banbury Company we are no longer expecting John or Algernon to be the 30-something men about town, nor do we insist that Gwendoline and Cecily are innocent, fresh-faced young ladies (although I’m positive the beautiful Christine Kavanagh could easily pass for 18 any day of the week).  Through very clever scripting there is thus a subtext of additional humour derived from these clear diversions from the original character profiles which gives a delicious overlay of extra fun.

Of course, most people coming to see The Importance of Being Earnest are already knowing of its story - the light hearted shenanigans of two London based gents who enjoy living double lives, free to create alter-personas through which they can enact their fantasies safe in the knowledge that they can, at any time, 'kill off' their doppelgangers and revert back to their true characters.  With twists aplenty, coupled with the juxtaposition of both leads wanting to assume an 'Earnest' character to capture the affections of their betrothed but realising that neither is very ‘earnest’ at all, it is the quintessential piece of Wilde’s social commentary.

It is wonderful to see such stage & screen luminaries as Nigel Havers, Martin Jarvis, Rosalind Ayres, Nigel Anthony, Carmen Du Sautoy and the irrepressible Sian Phillips on stage at Darlington Civic; a collective worthy of gracing any theatre in the country and one which, simply to observe them at work is worth the ticket price alone.