Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

 

The Spring DOS show is packed with camp glamour, a rocking soundtrack, stunning costumes and some of the best performances you’re likely to see anywhere on stage.

The story is of 3 drag artists, Tick (Ben Connor), Bernadette (Julian Cound) and Felicia (George Hurley) who trek across Australia to perform a show for Tick’s wife Marion (Kirsty Furness) at the Alice Springs Casino.  Tick, who also has a son to Marion whom he has not seen in years, is desperate to give fatherhood a try.  Bernadette, a slightly neurotic former Les Girl has just had her heart broken by the death of her love, Trumpet and sees the trip as an opportunity to escape the sadness. Felicia is a hedonistic party fiend, for whom the trip will give her the chance to fulfill a lifelong dream of climbing Ayres rock in full drag. 

Ben’s Tick is as close to watching Hugo Weaving as you’re ever likely to see; brilliant campy when needed, soft and vulnerable and with impeccable comedic timing.  His MacArthur Park routine will have you gasping for breath.  Julian, as the older, more mature Bernie makes for a very glamorous MILF; stone cold in his sarcastic put downs he anchors the two younger fly-by-nights.  George takes on the renegade role, the “can’t be stopped and to hell with the consequences” I’m going to poke this with a stick and see what happens.

Of course, the Australian outback isn’t the most of tolerant of differences and so their journey is met with a mixture of acceptance and appreciation coupled with bigoted scepticism and prejudice.  The story is as much about asking the audience to consider their own tolerance as it is about celebrating the glam and glitz which, without ever preaching, is rather apt in the current world.

Bringing the 1993 movie to the stage is a wonderful opportunity for cast and crew to big up the bling, the hair, the heels and the eye shadow and this version leaves nothing in the dressing room.  Scene changes are seamlessly accompanied by Miss Understanding (Eddie Taylor-Jones at his most flamboyant EmCee-esque best) and the Divas. Led by Jess Harrison with Jenny Poole and Claire Wilmer, they treat us to some of the biggest, campest pop songs including Go West, It’s Raining Men, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Venus. Brilliant costumes (fans of the film will be delighted to see some favourites) and a wonderful Priscilla make it impossible to turn your eyes away for even a moment.

Notable other mentions must also go to David Murray as Bob, the dusty outback gentleman who wins Bernadette’s broken heart and his mail order wife Cynthia, played by the irrepressible Natalie Robinson, following which I will never be able to watch table tennis or listen to M’s ‘Pop Music’ ever again.  Tick’s son Benji is played by either Noah Abbas or Alfie Webster – we saw Noah who was amazing, a great actor and no slouch in the singing.

The ensemble, as is customary with every DOS production, can turn their hands, feet and voices to a whole range of numbers; Cowboy hoedown, Kylie inspired 90’s pop, Outback seedy bar and of course 70’s disco are all given the DOS treatment with Director and Choreographer Joanne Hand once again creating phenomenal multi-layered routines which show off the cast’s talents perfectly.

All in, this is a perfect show for fun, laughs, sing-a-long, feel good and boy do we need some of this at the moment – I’d go so far as to say this is the best DOS show I’ve seen in over 10 years of reviewing.

Priscilla runs until Saturday 7th May - tickets available from

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/darlingtonos/e-jvekxd

Bishop Auckland Food Festival 2022

 If Bishop be in Love with Food, Come on

This weekend is the annual Bishop Auckland Food Festival and this year is by far the best yet.  Combining street food, artisan producers and cookery demonstrations, there is something here for everyone and much more than you would expect.

The evolution of Bishop Auckland Food Festival has seen it move from the Palace grounds (where it was as much about arts & crafts as it was food)  into the market place, then up the lower part of Newgate Street, back into the market place and now it spreads up Bondgate and into the car park on the site of the old Bus Depot and Clarendon Motors.

Chilli Jam Man

The current layout is certainly the best; clearly lessons have been learned to give more space for the stalls, more room to wander and a better sense of identity.

Weardale Cheeses

Old favourites are here; the wonderful Weardale Cheeses are one of a number purveyors of dairy produce (blessed are they all), The Chilli Jam Man, Screaming Chimp and Twisted Curry are stalwarts of providing zip and zing to the taste buds while Geordie Bangers remind us that good sausages make great meals.  If it’s more than a sausage you’re looking for then Shaw Meats have a huge range of local meats, steaks, smoked and cured slices and brilliant versions of black pudding.

Pie'wich

Adding to these are some new attendees; national award winning Pie’wich who combine a Brioch dough as a pie case and fill them with amazing combinations like 3 cheese, Lamb and Rosemary, Sea Bass, and smoked sausage.  Wiga Wagaa add an international array of sauces and pickles perfect to create foods from the Caribbean, South Africa and the far east. 

AB Gold Rum

Locksley Gin

With all this food on offer you may be in need of a drink or two and this year the Food Festival represents the current trend and demand for all things Gin; Pitwheel, Little Quaker and Locksley are wonderful local distillers who know their craft, can guide and enhance your gin drinking with advice of how to serve and how to mix.  If you’re looking for something different to gin then the amazing and award winning AB Gold Rum is like sipping ambrosia (the food of the gods, not the rice pudding).

Pitwheel Gin

Gyros

Rose Cottage

Of course, you won’t just want to buy to take home, there is plenty of food cooked there for you to eat as you wander; Gyros’,  Armenian flat breads, Gourmet Sausage Butties, Halloumi Fries, Giant Yorkshire Puds and in Rose Cottage the best farmhouse bakers with pies, rolls and cannonball sized scotch eggs.

 

Grab a brew from Caps Off, the Cocktail Pickers Club or Gin and Tonia and sit in the sun enjoying the sea of smiling faces, the waft of delicious smells and the feeling that you’re at the best food festival in the North East.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

 

Enter the fantasy world of magic and make believe.

Adapting a much loved animated film, let alone a Disney classic, is always going to be a challenge.  You can do so much on screen which defies logic, physics or simple understanding; let’s be honest, that is what makes such movies appealing to everyone, yet the current tour of Bedknobs and Broomsticks manages to create all the mystery, magic and danger of the original 1971 Disney movie right before your eyes.

Right from the opening scene, which, without any words being spoken begins the story of 3 London children (Charlie, Carrie and Paul) who, having lost their home and their parents during the Blitz, are bundled up, put on a train and transported away.  The scene changing as they move from the war torn capital through the hustle and bustle of panicked evacuation and out to the serene calmness of the countryside is stage craft at its very highest.  Eldest Rawlins, Charlie, is played by Conor O'Hara with the two younger members of the family being shared cast.

On reaching their designated ‘safe house’ the children soon realise their patron is more than just an eccentric lady; she is a trainee witch.  Dianne Pilkington as Eglatine Price is wonderful in the Angela Lansbury role; kind yet direct, fantastical yet recognising the children need to remain grounded.  In proving her abilities to doubting Charlie she turns him into a rabbit using the The Turn-a-Man-into-a-Rabbit Spell (Filigree apogee pedigree perigee), wonderfully effected using puppets and prosthetics.  Cue the next step in her development and her first flight on her broomstick.  This is simply magical; again, the staging and effects are better than any CGI as you can see it happening right before your eyes. 

In a desire to use her magic to help end the war without further bloodshed, Ms Price realises the one final spell she needs is missing from her tome of magic and so back to London they must go to find the other part of the book, currently held by small time street illusionist Emelius Browne (Charles Brunton).  Time for the Bedknob, bewitched by a Travelling spell (Hellebore henbane aconite glow-worm fire and firefly light) by Ms Price, and yet more wonderment as the bed begins to fly, it too defying gravity in the most magical of ways.  Gone are obvious wires and strange pulleys, the flying scenes in this show will have you transfixed in trying to see how they do it.

From London, and with Mr Browne in tow, they venture to the land of No Pee Pol and seek an audience with the King, a majestic lion (another brilliant puppet akin to Lion King or War Horse).  On the way Browne and Price take part in an underwater version of Strictly Musicals, great dancing but sadly for some in the audience, a little too long to keep their attention. 

Emboldened with the necessary final spell - Substitutiary Locomotion (Treguna mekoides trecorum satis dee), they return back to the house and begin to enchant a new army of objects to take the place of people just as the invasion begins.

A wonderfully told story, though possibly a little too long for younger members of the audience; the original movie runs at 97 minute however this production returns it back to the original 2 hours 15mins, however with great numbers such as  "Bobbing along", "The Age of Not Believing" and "Negotiality" this show positively flies by (both figuratively and physically).

The Last Quiz Night on Earth

What would you do if you were facing the last night of existence?  Would you spend it at home, at work, with family or, as is the topic of tonight’s show, at your local having the Quiz night to end all quiz nights.

Box of Tricks Theatre have created a brilliantly different take on something that is all too familiar for so many of us – the pub quiz.  Set in The Four Horsemen, the audience play the part of the pub regulars, all seated at small tables, equipped with our quiz answer sheets, fliers and pens.  As soon as we walked into Scarth Hall it felt like a local, there was a hum of conversation, groups who already knew each other and a busyness of pulling drinks and clearing tables.  

Playwright Alison Carr and Director Hannah Tyrrell-Pinder have a rather unique task at hand; Alison has had to write the play to be performed knowing the audience will be involved, while Hannah has to direct the cast & creatives but also allow for that unknown entity of the audience – for this to work well, the audience need to be engaged, active not passive, but also respect that there is still a show being performed.  It is testament to all involved that it felt seamless between script and reaction, a real sense of ‘we’re in this together’.

Landlady Kathy (Meriel Scholfield) is hosting her very last night before an asteroid crashes into planet Earth and dooms everyone.  Meriel is a wonderful Kathy, she is warm and engaging, a little scary (as all good pub landladies should be) and has a genuine desire to make sure everyone has a good time.  She constantly interacts with the audience/pub regulars without it ever feeling false or planned.

Her quizmaster for the night is Rav (Matthew Khan) – funny, flamboyant and focussed on hosting another great quiz.  Rav takes his craft very seriously so any interruption to the flow of his question & answers is particularly galling for him – not ideal when a) it’s the end of the world and b) unexpected guests keep turning up.

Bobby (Chris Hoyle) is Kathys estranged brother, long since removed from her life and yet, on this, the day of days, he decides to return and settle some old scores. Chris packs so much energy and emotion into his part that you are torn between pity, scorn and empathy throughout the night.

Finally we have Fran (Tilly Sutcliffe), a nervous 20 something who apparently Rav has already known from a previous life and who still holds a candle for him, or for the person she has believed he is.

Twists and turns continue at apace, all bound by the 5 rounds of the quiz, in which we the audience/regulars, partake.  The questions are very good, a great range of topics and enough of a challenge to keep everyone engaged without it becoming too competitive. Likewise the choice of music to accompany the rounds.

As the end of the night approaches we play witness to more soul searching, more revelations and finally some reconciliation – after all, why hold a grudge, “we’re all going to die soon”.

This was the first Box of Tricks production I have seen but it most certainly won’t be the last – I was very impressed with the writing, the styling, the storytelling and of course the cast. My only disappointment is that this was the last show of the rural tour; I would have loved to have watched it again (and to have prompted more friends and family to do so too).

Performing this in Scarth Hall, Staindrop was a great choice of venue – Scarth Hall is ideal for small productions ad is ran by a group of trustees and volunteers who make your visit warm, welcoming and one you want to repeat.

Carmen by Opera North

Since Bizet first composed his legendary opera Carmen back in 1874 there have been countless performances, re-imaginings, movies, books and plays; this new production by Opera North is a very worthy addition to that list and one which will live long in the memory.

This current version, gives the traditionally Spanish drama a uniquely modern set of sensibilities centred not in Seville as the original, but on the French/Spanish border.  Carmen ( Chrystal E. Williams) is a burlesque dancer in a somewhat seedy nightclub; entertaining the soldiers and toreadors alike while trying to bring up her daughter safe from the hate and corruption war brings.  Drug use and smuggling takes place openly in the bar, alcohol flows freely and the characters are gregarious and brash.  Carmen is the dancer, the leader of the showgirls, the main attraction, but we are left in no doubt that first and foremost to her, she is a mother, a single mother.  This plays beautifully against pregnant Micaela (Alison Langer) who believes that she must have a husband and her unborn child a father, save that she will suffer the shame from her family and home village.  Sadly for her, the man in question, soldier Don Jose (Satriya Krisna) has become besotted with Carmen and so begins the one of many manage a trois.

Don Jose is stationed in the garrison, enjoying the soldier life freedoms and male camaraderie.  He does not want a ‘reminder from home’ and shuns the demands to do the right thing by Micaela.  Ribbed by his soldier friends and tempted by the life of drink, drugs and loose women, he is constantly torn.

Playing out behind this love triangle is the fated superstar toreador Escamillo (Phillip Rhodes) – an 18^th century Elvis Presley who, complete with his followers and cheer leaders, performs his bull fighting in a bid to woo Carmen.  It is not clear if his intentions to Carmen are driven by love, lust or simply to add another conquest but what he manages to do is inflame Jose’s passions and the two rivals fight, spurred on by the baying crowd and overseen by Carmen.  Jose cannot accept that Carmen does not love him, especially as he has now estranged himself from Micaela and when Carmen finally sides with Escamillo, Jose sees that there is no other way to rid himself of his jealous anguish but to kill her.

Under conductor Antony Hermus,  Bizet’s operatic storytelling is given full throttle; high drama, passionate characters, dark comedy and a deep reflection on the human condition, the audience is gripped from the moment the opening overture begins.  Sure, there are plenty of well known ‘songs’ in this opera, indeed many have found their way into popular culture, tv ads and even football chants, however it is only when observed as a whole performance can you truly appreciate the character portrayals and wonderfully absorbing storytelling.

This production is Opera North at its very finest – they make classic opera so accessible for the modern audience; exciting, enthralling, energetic and totally engaging.  Traditional opera fans will love this version, new ones will wonder why they have not been to see their work sooner.

Catch Me if You Can

What to do when you can’t believe your eyes.

Advertising executive Daniel Corban (Patrick Duffy) and his new wife Elizabeth are spending their honeymoon in a remote Catskill mountain lodge.  Only 2 weeks since they tied the knot, it seems an idyllic way to celebrate but clearly something has broken the spell.  We open on Daniel once again phoning the local detective to see if there has been any news of Elizabeth’s disappearance; she stormed out of the lodge after a drunken row over music choices and has not been seen since.  Inspector Levine (Gray O’Brien)  assures Corban that he is doing all he can, but over Labour Day weekend it is not uncommon for people to take off and spend time alone, even if they are recently married.

Corban is unconvinced that this is simply a tiff gone wrong and insists on more attention on his case, attention which Levine can ill-afford, however when Elizabeth suddenly returns (accompanied by Father Kelleher, Ben Nealon) we are left in no doubt that something is strangely amiss.  To Corban, THIS Elizabeth (Linda Purl) is not his wife.  THIS Elizabeth insists she is the same woman who left the lodge a few days ago, she seems to know all the details of their courtship and wedding and even has the keys to their car, but Corban is totally convinced she is an imposter. 

This is only the beginning of a truly baffling train of events in which nothing is as it seems and no-one is as they appear.  As with many stories it is money, passion and greed that sit at the heart of everything, but whose greed is not always clear. 

Duffy is wonderful at spinning between total conviction and wracked with self-doubt, Purl is simply divine as the femme fetale and O’Brien envokes all the 50’s and 60’s film noir detective style.

Written by Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert and Directed by Bob Thomson, Catch Me if You Can Packed is with twists and surprises, cross and double cross; the only thing missing is someone stepping out of a shower and finding it was all a dream.

80s Mania

 The Hippodrome stepped back in time and a full house went wild

 

The 80’s was the age of big hair, big shoulders and even bigger stars, pop was its most diverse with the charts being shared by new age romantics, post punk modernists, sex bombs, heart throbs and a wild and crazy everything in-between.  Before things got too serious in the world, pop music was something everyone could enjoy and share and, by the raucous noise of a full house it is clear that our love for the 80’s is still as strong as ever.

Opening to the sirens of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Two Tribes, this was 2 hours of total hedonistic abandonment – every line was sung, every act was cheered and every memory was relived.

 

With 28 chart topping hits performed by brilliant tributes and backed by the Legs and Co dance troupe, this was the best mix tape made real.

Bringing their unique jukebox to the stage, the 80’s Mania team ensured our favourite artists were represented in all their 80’s glory;  Adam Ant, Madonna, Kim Wilde, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Soft Cell, Erasure, Madness, Boy George, Bananarama and many more. 

Sure, they are not trying to imitate, more to emulate but the attention to detail, the costumes, the dancing, the music are all as good as a vivid dream, backed by huge screens that show clips from corresponding music videos.

If you’re a fan of pop music and hark back to the halcyon days when Covid, Brexit, energy prices and invasions were something only your parents would be concerned about then this is most certainly the show for you.  You'll leave with sore feet, a sore throat, maybe a sore head but with massive smiles and songs in your head for days.  80’s Radio 1 DJ Mike Read raved “it’s like Live Aid meets Top of The Pops” and he is spot on.

No better way to spend a Saturday evening, the tour is across the UK and tickets are on sale now– booking and further details

https://www.reuniongroup.co.uk/80smania

Dreamgirls

Ever wondered just how much soul you can pack into a stage show ?  Well wonder no more as Dreamgirls hits all the right notes.

Book and lyrics by Tom Eyen and music by Henry Krieger, this story of ambitious wannabee pop superstars The Dreamettes has a very familiar feel and yet, despite all the years it has been on stage (and the 2006 movie),  it still has the power to wow, surprise, shock and delight. 

Set in the early 60’s in Harlem, New York, it tells the tale of three singers – beautiful Deena, sassy Lorrell, and big-voiced Effie – and watches their rise to stardom, through heartbreak and out the other side, while simultaneously following the rise of black music and its challenge to the dominant white music industry. 

This is a tale of transformation: from naive hopefuls into jaded superstars, from raw R&B into the disco era, from success to failure, and then back again. The Dreamettes desperately want their shot at the top and as ambition and raw talent come up against ‘the machine’ it is clear that the industry care as much about if your face fits as whether you have the ability.   Tim Hatley’s sets are constantly on the move, creating a succession of stages, dressing rooms and recording studios. Gregg Barnes’s costumes, covered in a boatload of sequins and in shades of ever startling neon track the movement of time, gown by gown (with some awesome quick changes). And respect to Josh Marquette’s hair design – you can see the wigs getting more expensive with every move up the charts.

On a stage full of great singers, Nicole Dennis’s Effie White stands out above all others, her voice switching from a dagger to a whisper. The first act closes with the barnstorming And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going (a song that in the wrong hands could easily be And I Am Yelling...) and Dennis’s Effie is defiant even as she’s crumbling. Her massive voice rips through the auditorium, the killer line: “You’re gonna love me” addressed first to the man breaking her heart, then direct to the audience. “You’re gonna love me,” she growls again, and it’s not an appeal, it’s an order. And we do.

For some, Dreamgirls will not be their kind of musical - make no bones about it, this is huge, incredibly noisy and with the emotional impact of a wrecking ball coming right at you, but it is performed with such commitment and passion that you can’t help but smile with pleasure throughout.

Birmingham Royal Ballet present Don Quixote

 

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Director Carlos Acosta promises entertainment for all ages when he brings an explosion of Spanish sunshine, spectacular dance and vivacious comedy to Sunderland Empire March 10^th – 12th.

In a new production created especially for Birmingham Royal Ballet and featuring all-new designs by Tim Hatley, Don Quixote introduces us to Cervantes’ famous knight himself, lovers Kitri and Basilio, and a host of supporting characters. As the Don sets out on a quest to track down his true love, with his loyal friend and servant Sancho Panza at his side, he finds himself embroiled in an unlikely adventure of love and dreams.  Steeped in literary references, Don Quixote is a tale of love, lust, laughter and longing for better things, most of which seems to only be present in our hero’s mind.

Don Quixote on stage has been played by some true greats including the famous Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov – usually a traditional production, Director Acosta promises this updated version will wow audiences whose tastes and expectations are now more keenly attuned with Strictly and Dancing on Ice.

“For this new production, I wanted to give it a completely new take and a new look to the one that I gave to the Royal Ballet so that Birmingham has its own. It’s a new production with new concept and designs, re-orchestration, new elements of the choreography, new colours, a whole new palette. “Don Quixote is the best ballet to attend if you are not a ballet connoisseur,” Carlos says. “If you don’t know anything about ballet this is a great chance to learn something about it by watching Don Quixote. It appeals to family audiences; it is great for children because the story is easy to follow.

"It’s very sunny and people will laugh a lot. The world of ballet is so full of tragedies, Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet etcetera, they are all tragedies but in Don Quixote nobody dies, it’s a happy tale.

“The ballet is very exotic; it provides escapism into this amazing world of colour and the music has an amazing Spanish flavour.  When it’s raining and cold then you want to come and see Don Quixote because it’s a sunshine ballet. It’s a great show - when you’ve seen it, you leave on a high.”

This promises to be a wonderful new version for the discerning connoisseur but perhaps just as importantly, a brilliant introduction to anyone who has not yet been captured by the magic of live ballet – funny, witty, amazing and enthralling.

Tickets are available from https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/birmingham-royal-ballet-don-quixote/sunderland-empire/

Gary in Punderland

 

A Pun - a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words which sound alike but have different meanings. A Pun Meister – an expert at telling puns, making people smile, aching their ribs and filling evenings with much laughter.  Gary Delaney – a Pun Meister General – one of the very best.

Playing in the round of Darlington Hippodrome’s Hullabaloo is a perfect venue for stand up – it is intimate, the act can clearly see the faces of the audience and the laughter is infectious.  By his own admission, this is what Gary has been missing, craving and his enjoyment of performing is matched by the audiences non-stop laughter.

Packed full of one liners, Gary’s very personable approach make this feel like a really good friend holding court at a family party – he begins by testing the levels to which the audience will allow his jokes to rise (or stoop) and with that, we’re off.  Cleverly breaking up the non-stop punning, we are treated to big screen examples of his spurious Amazon reviews, Wikipedia entries and hilarious observations of the everyday world.  For those of a certain age, there’s a lot of ‘That’s Life’s Doc Cox’ (and a little of Cox’s alter ego Ivor Biggun) combined with puns ranging from the ‘safe to repeat at work’ to the ‘wouldn’t dare in a month of Sundays’.  No topic is really off limits (albeit Jimmy Carr has probably closed the door on a few more by now) so it all makes for a deliciously naughty evening; a brilliant show for adults to kick back, relax and laugh without caring who knows what you find funny.

Supporting Gary on this tour is Steve Day – one 1/3 of the infamous ‘3 wise monkey’ comedy troupe.  Bringing his own unique take on comedy (Steve is the best deaf comic he’s never heard) this South London Brummie is very funny, lots of great anecdotes and someone who I’d love to see much more from.

Gary’s tour continues throughout 2022 with North East dates in Helmsley, Sunderland, Newcastle, Carlisle and Alnwick (and potentially more dates being added).  Check out his website for full details - https://www.garydelaney.com/live/

The Addams Family Musical Comedy

 

Spellbinding masterpiece of modern musical theatre which is sure to last as long as its famous TV counterpart, this current show is drawing crowds back to the theatre and leaving them in howls of laughter.

Based on the original Charles Addams comic strips and latterly on the book by Rick Elice and Marshall Brickmand, Andrew Lippa’s music and lyrics tell the tale of Wednesday Addams (Kingsley Morton), now a teenager, who is ready to spread her wings and fly into the arms of a ‘normal’ boy, Lucas Beineke (Ahmed Hamad).  

Of course, Wednesday being an Addams means when the two families get to meet one and another, things aren’t exactly plain sailing.  (Quick note – look out for Kingsley in any future shows, she is a powerhouse of a singer, wonderful actor and has impeccable comedy timing).

Head of the house Gomez (Cameron Blakely) is part suave sophisticate and part ‘light on his feet’ fop – Cameron oozes charisma and charm and no little in the funny bones.  Torn between keeping Wednesday’s impending announcement a secret and honouring his Mi Amore Morticia’s expectation of complete honesty, Gomez tip toes through the tulips of duplicity.  His "Two things/Three Things" is hilarious, his "Happy/Sad" will resonate with any father watching his daughter grow up (and I've done it twice).

The Ying to his Yang, Morticia (Joanne Clifton) is the epitome of a 50’s American ‘mom’ – only wants the best for her family, so long as that ‘best’ is her version on her terms.  Joanne is simply wonderful, she naturally glides around the stage effortlessly which just adds to her other-worldly persona.  Of course it would be remiss of the director Matthew White if having a ‘Strictly’ champion in the cast he didn’t show us the full range of ‘Morticia’s’ prowess – the Tango De Amor is possibly one of the best routines you’re likely to see on stage this year, I am certain the temperature in the auditorium went up 10 degrees while we watched.

The rest of the family are all afforded plenty of stage time to ensure we feel the whole familiar familial.  Grant McIntyre as Pugsley is a brilliant stooge to Wednesday’s torturings while their Grandma (well, ‘somebody’s’ Grandma) Valda Aviks is an ever present lurker just waiting to drop a potion or two.

The Beineke’s visit to the Addams household cumulates in them playing The Game (“the game, the game, the game”) – Full Disclosure, a kind of truth or dare whereby they each reveal a deep secret.  Aided by some of Grandma’s potions, Alice Beineke (the stunning Kara Lane) casts off her oppressed housewife shawl and challenges her stuck in his ways husband Mal (Sean Kingsley) to do the same or risk losing her forever.   Mirroring the same ultimatum that Wednesday has set Lucas (and for that matter Morticia sets Gomez) we are led into a brilliant musical battle of “Crazier than You” – warning, this is the one that will stick in your head and you will suddenly be singing at your partner, children, pets when you get home.

The final 2 main characters are possibly the two favourites from both TV & Screen – Uncle Festa (Scott Paige) and Lurch (Dickon Gough).  Scott’s Fester is brilliant – I was fortunate to watch this show twice, once from the circle and then from only 2 rows back in the stalls and to see Scott’s nuanced ‘Festerisms’ is genius; lovestruck by La Lune, devoted to his family and as mad as a box of frogs, he could easily carry a spin off show of his own.  As for Lurch, well, Dickon manages to portray the Addams’s butler as though he is 9 feet tall – ominous, broody, creepy and moody, but there are some fabulous stand out moments for which I will not issue any spoilers.

The ensemble all play deceased ancestors of the Addams’ throughout history, ever present as ghoulish onlookers and phantom friends.  Keep an eye out for the pictures at the back of the set, there’s almost as much going on there as there is front of stage.

As mentioned earlier we were sat 2 rows from the front in the stalls and as such we have a brilliant view of the band – led by Bob Broad who one can only describe as the Tasmanian Devil on a keyboard – Bob packs so much energy into his band leading (and clearly the band respond to that as could be seen by their laughs and smiles throughout)  - it is not only a joy to see but clearly why the performances are so hugely entertaining for everyone.

The Addams Family Musical is touring the UK – if you only go and see one show this year, make this the one, and then take your friends, and then your family, and then your neighbours – Everyone deserves to have a little Addams in their life.

The Invisible Man @ Northern Stage

 

A deep dark look into the conflict between societal norms and the human psyche, this is powerful, immersive theatre at its best.

Forget the Ian McCallum, Claude Rains or the recent Elizabeth Moss movies, this version concentrates the viewer towards questioning “can you be invisible in plain sight?” and "if you could be invisible, what would you do?".

With the ever present social media, news broadcasts, agencies and digital surveillance, it is nigh on impossible not to leave a footprint, yet there are many people who are still overlooked to the point of them feeling invisible.  This production tells the story of Griffen ( Daniel Watson) a troubled young man from the North East with violent thoughts and a chequered past who,  following his claims that he can make things invisible, is referred to a local psychiatrist, Dr Kemp (Kate Louise Okello) for evaluation.  Kemp, a media doctor, is intrigued by his claims, and whilst at first she is very sceptical she begins to understand that Griffen’s belief is so absolute that there must be something more than pure fantasy.

Challenged to explore his past and a tragic event for which Griffen blames himself, the audience is drawn deeper into his world.  This is not a sci-fi story, there is no mad professor or spooky lab, instead, and perhaps more frightening, we live for the most part in Griffen’s head as he slowly unravels; caught between wanting to be seen but desperate to disappear.  The similarity of his life with that of Dr Kemp's begins to create a kindred affinity between doctor and patient, slowly blurring the lines.  As she continues to be drawn closer, we find Dr Kemp ending up in front of a medical disciplinary panel.  Has she helped Griffen to finally become invisible, or has, by shining a spotlight in him ha she removed any hope he had of not 'being seen'.

With all other parts being played by Izzy Ions and Jack Fairley (who also provide the soundscape live on stage), this is a totally immersive experience which flew through the 90 minute running time.

A wonderful example of how brilliant writing (Phillip Correia) and really focussed Directing (Anna Girvan) can have a lasting impact on an audience, long after the final scene.

Northern Stage performance details and ticket information can be found here - https://www.northernstage.co.uk/event/the-invisible-man 

Tour information, including details of Durham Gala and Barndard Castle Witham can be found here - https://www.list.co.uk/event/1774299-the-invisible-man/