The Nutcracker Re-Miced

 

A beautiful land of pure imagination in which everyone is welcome.

At this time of year taking the family, especially if there are young children, to see a show is a wonderful way to share experience and enjoy some quality time together, away from the hustle of work, school and shopping.  Whilst there are a lot of traditional pantomimes on offer, one show promises something a little different; The Nutcracker Re-miced.

Written by Laura Turner and with original songs and score by Laura, David Barton and director Jake Smith, the Nutcracker Re-Miced is a brilliant piece of storytelling which will equally enthral youngsters and adults alike.  The story is of a Christmas Eve adventure for 2 young mice, Spike (Benjamin Storey) and Cookie (Rebecca Tebbett) who, with their mam Molly (Jessica Brady) live inside a broken clock in Durham Castle Tower.

Spike (who dreams of being a rock star)  has found a Nutcracker left at the station and would like to return it to its owner, however come night-time on Christmas Eve, it comes to life and explains to the two youngsters that they are needed to help defeat the evil Mouse Queen in Dreamland.  Off they set on their mission to find the Sugar Punk Fairy,  sail on the Honey River and return the stolen Dreamland cheese.  Along the way they have to hide from the Cat Patrol, escape from the Queen’s jail and find the missing piece to fix their clock. 

As a Christmas show this has everything you need; great characters, brilliant songs and heaps of imagination.  With all the young children in the audience encouraged to sit on rugs at the front they are immediately placed right inside the make believe world.  We took our granddaughter Emilia (5) who was transfixed throughout the show.  It’s no mean feat to hold young minds’ attention, especially at this time of year, but Jessica, Ben and Rebecca and Laura’s writing guarantee to keep them entertained throughout.   As we left, Emilia declared she loved it, and then proceeded to recount the whole story again on the drive home, a ringing endorsement.

The Nutcracker Re-Miced is on at Durham Gala from December 7^th right up to Christmas Eve – a perfect way to spend some magic time for everyone.

Robin Hood at Durham Gala

 A wonderful family Pantomime

It’s Panto season again (oh yes it is) and true to form Durham Gala are putting on a wonderful traditional family show.  The in-house team have a long history of bringing the best of panto land to the good people of Durham and this year’s offering – The Adventures of Robin Hood, is another great production guaranteed to give kids and grown ups the best of starts to the festive period.

The story of Robin Hood, Maid Marion, the merry men and their battles with the Sheriff of Nottingham is well known and this panto remains true to the tale, albeit with a little added local fun from the Monks of Murton.

Jacob Anderton (Dark Angel, Coronation Street) is our titular hero, bedecked in his posh tights and with the dash and poise of Errol Flynn.  The beautiful Millie Banks (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium) is Maid Marion, King Richard’s daughter and target of the Sheriff’s affections.

Whilst tradition used to decree that the principal boy in a panto would be played by a girl, this show goes one better and posits Robin’s Merry Men as those of the fairer race; Kylie Ann Ford is Friar Tuck, Lauren Waine is Dennis of Dawdon and Lily Storey/Katie Thompson play Little John.  This presents many opportunities for some great gags, especially as Robin doesn’t seem to realise his Merry Men should be called Merry Women.

Of course, no panto could be complete without the bad guy and here Durham Gala excel yet again – since 2008 Neil Armstrong has been teasing the audience, chasing the heroes and welcoming the boos.  I’d offer that there is no one in the country as good as villain as Neil and this shows every time he takes to the stage.  Playing to both the children and the adults, you can’t help but love him as the evil Sheriff.

Rounding out the cast, and providing the madcap silliness are Gala stalwarts Paul Hartley as Will Scarlett and Paul Dunn as Dame Gertie Gossip the castle cook.  The 2 Pauls are wonderfully daft giving the kids all the traditional elements of a panto and ensuring the front 5 rows stay very much on their toes.

This is a great family friendly panto – the jokes and fun all land firmly with the younger members of the audience while the ribbing of local towns gives the adults a cheeky grin, the dancing and costumes are shiny and bold and the use of the whole theatre brings the show right into the laps of those watching. 

Educating Rita @ Durham Gala

A magnetic performance, as fresh, witty and relevant today as it was 35 years ago.

Educating Rita, written by Willy Russel, is the tale of a working class hairdresser and her striving to break free from her everyday existence by taking an Open University course in English Literature.  Her tutor, Frank, is a long in the tooth, cantankerous alcoholic lecturer whose disdain for the modern approach to learning is only bettered by his hatred for an empty bottle of scotch.   Indeed, Frank only agrees to take on an Open University student in order to pay for his bottles of booze and yet, very quickly he sees in Rita a freshness, an unsullied mind and an unpretentiousness that challenges his jaded and tainted outlook on life.

As a play, this two hander is solely performed from the confines of Frank’s study – set with bookcases, piles and piles of volumes and copious bottles of ‘hidden’ scotch, yet even the simplest of props, the study door, the waste paper bin, the flower vases are all cleverly used to create a richness to the interaction between student and teacher. Brilliantly directed by Rebecca Frecknall, you aren’t so much drawn into this world as sucked headlong and enveloped so deep I could swear you could taste the dust and smell the must.

Playing Frank, Patrick Driver (Silent Witness, Call the Midwife) gives a masterful appreciation of the abject resolution that at some point in life “is this it?” seems to be the most oft used phrase, even if it is in self-denigration.  Challenged by Rita’s unbridled hunger to learn, he portrays both tutor and father figure with equal amounts of paternal care and longing to be young again.  Indeed, Driver brings a lot more of a father figure to the role than merely a university lecturer.  The journey he takes us on is akin to a parent watching their offspring move from wide eyed 13 year old starting out on secondary education (and asking questions on everything) to the know-it-all 18 year old who sees their parent as merely a hindrance.  His frustrations towards the end (and the increased drinking that accompanied them) were not borne from Rita’s changing attitudes so much as Franks inability to accept his work was done.

Rita (or Susan as is her real name) is played by Jessica Johnson, local born and boy have we got ourselves a star in the North East.  The original Rita was a Liverpudlian, broad scouse, but Jessica’s portrayal is all North East and it is testament to her delivery that the character is all the better for it.  The way Jessica uses her local style of talking, the machine gun delivery and the typical convoluted journeys that we love to take people on when trying to recount a simple event felt like being wrapped in a warm proggy mat.  Her outwardly brash attitude which belied a delicate and vulnerable core was there for all to see and so well balanced that her whole performance was magnetic. 

Huge kudos to the Gala, Durham for producing an amazing piece of theatre and a real treat – congratulations to Director Rebecca Frecknall and her team, and to the management and marketing at the Gala theatre for a fabulous evening and a perfect example of why the Gala Theatre has so much to offer.

The Horne Section @ Durham Gala

The Horne Section @ Durham Gala

It takes a rare talent to stand up and make a theatre full of people laugh – it also takes a rare talent to entertain the same crowd with impromptu music, magic and mayhem yet Alex Horne and his Horne Section do both with consummate ease. 

People might know Alex from appearances on 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown, Live at the Apollo and other chat shows; small segments which serve as comedic interludes but watching his full show, as we did at a sold out Gala Theatre, Durham, makes for an original and fun packed couple of hours.

Me and the Big' Lil' Bro had taken a 'lite' supper at the Lebanese restaurant Lebaneat, tucked into a whopper of a meze platter and, despite the walk back down the hill to the Gala, we still needed a bit more exercise to burn off the delicious range of grilled meats, rices, dips and salads - we need'nt have worried as our arms, legs and laughter muscles were about to get a great workout. (on a side note, we can DEFINITELY recommend Lebaneat, up near the Cathedral but better book a table, we were lucky to get one but, as is the sign of a great restaurant, it was packed with non-stop walk ups having to find somewhere else.)

 

Combining brilliant musical comedy with plenty of visual gags, including the most original use for Henry and Hetty Hoovers (which is more than a little trippy) , Alex performs a stand-up routine to rival the modern funny greats – Lee Evans, Al Murray, Lee Mack, Tim Vine et al,  yet what Alex has extra in his hilarity arsenal is a backing team who themselves have great comedic timing and no small amount of playing skills.

Routines like “the reverse Conga”, getting the whole auditorium to do a “Zumba” workout, “songs are better for including the Baker Street sax” and plenty of audience participation make the evening uniquely funny without ever verging on silly or banal.  Indeed, Alex manages to pay homage to old time vaudeville and music hall theatre, days when acts had to be experts in every aspect of entertaining and not resort to clichéd sexist or ‘shock’ tactics to entertain their audience.

The Horne Section is on tour and there’s not many better ways to spend an evening, just remember to take your comfy trainers and strap up your ribs.

Empty Nesters Club @ Durham Gala

My first show of the year and to be honest, even though it’s only February, I know it will be one of the one's I remember most.  The concept for Empty Nesters Clubs is not a new one, well, not new to the US, Australia and, funnily enough, South Korea, but for the UK we have yet to embrace the notion of sharing feelings when our children finally leave home.

Empty Nesters Clubs are meeting points for parents who suddenly find their once full and noisy homes (and lives) become bereft of chaos, forcing them to finally stop hiding behind the ‘doing it for the kids’ and take a long hard look at what they’ve become.

John Godber is the master of taking an everyday life event which many can relate to and peeling back the layers to expose the humour, fear, insecurities, prejudices and love upon which our lives are built.  For this play, which is in its early stages of a 4 month tour, John takes a couple, Vicky and Phil, and their daughter Millie through the process of her leaving home and moving to university.  Set with only an IKEA table (other brands are available) and some shelving units, the focus remains firmly on the characters, the stage lights seeking only to illuminate the reality of a couple who slowly realise that they lost their own identities years ago and now feel only defined by being Millie’s parents.  Millie, on the other hand, seems oblivious to it all (as you would expect and hope an 18 year old should be), not realising the impact of a flippant change of mind or the total obsession of getting a bass riff right.

Whilst Vicky and her drive to reinvent herself through creating the Empty Nesters Club drives this story, for me it was Phil’s progression from doting dad, taxi man, fixer, dog walker, music muse and political enabler that really hit home.  In almost every scene you could see him lose a little more purpose forcing him to question “Is this all there is now”.  Searching for a substitute for his time and a focus for him to keep getting up in the morning, Phil takes up Kung Foo, cycling and protracted dog walking, all singular pursuits, in an effort to fill the void and counter his feared journey towards invisibility (echoing completely my own current situation as my eldest started uni in January and my youngest heads off in September).

The relationship between Vicky and Phil is undoubtedly a strong one but it’s not until Millie leaves that they realise the glue that stuck it firmly together was their shared investment into Millie’s future, and now that that is no longer needed do they really have anything else in common ‘cept for time spent.  Millie, on the other hand, questions that, at only 18, is it really possible for a young adult to fully know what they want to do, yet the expectation is they will make such a choice and have little option to change it.  Likewise, as seen in some of her poems, she is more astutely aware of the impact her leaving has had on her parents lives than they might believe, something which parents in general often miss as we still see them as our little children.

The script is tight, at times claustrophobic as anyone who’s been alone in a large family house when it’s quiet will recognise just how small the rooms feel when you’re hemmed in by the walls of your own mind.  The diverging paths of Vicky and Phil strain any remaining bonds they have with Vicky seeking her own personal reinvention (tattoos, charity bike rides, spritzers for lunch) while Phil battles to find any way to cling to the past. 

If you have had children leave home then this will ring so very true – we stayed behind afterwards to talk to Mr Godber and the cast; the audience seemed to be quite firmly split into 2 camps – those who saw their children leaving as a reason for celebration and those who felt the loss somewhat akin to bereavement, made only harder as you still seek the daily contact which was ever present whilst the children live at home. If you, like me, are nearing the time to say goodbye then this play is an ideal precursor to the emotions you are going to face - go see it, class it as entertainment, insight, research, therapy – but above all else, enjoy!

Aladdin Panto @ Durham Gala

Fabulous start to the festive season

It's funny how some traditions live long and strong, year after year. Take Panto season, which is here again (oh yes it is); the usually demure and sedate theatre going audiences are suddenly turned into and accompanied by screaming kids sporting all manner of flashing appendages; the knowing whispers when an actor misses a line are swapped for roars of laugher both on & off the stage and the 4th wall is torn down and ceremoniously trampled on as young and old are encouraged to great the cast with cheers, boos, chants and giggles.

This years offering at Durham Gala is yet again a riotous mix of song & dance which will have everyone in tears of laughter (tho not always for the same reason). Clearly aimed at the kids, the script stays clean and simple, the use of musical numbers fresh and engaging while the visual gags, especially the laundry scene, will never fail to get everyone laughing (or cowering if you’re in the front 6 rows).  Directed by the brilliant (in both talent and name) Gareth Tudor Price, this is another sure-fire success his the every growing list of box office smashes.

Opening with my favourite panto villain, Neil Armstrong, as Abanazar, ensures that the audience are left in no doubt that this is as traditional panto as ever there was. Looking very much like an evil Harold Meeker (from Rentaghost) he elicits all the boos from the kids while playfully abusing their parents. Neil has been playing this type of role for many years and has honed it to such a fine art that I hazard to suggest he probably gets booed throughout the year, not just in panto season. The other Gala stalwart, Paul Hartley, is back, this time as Wishee Washee, and like Neil, brings his perfected panto craft that the kids lap up in spades. The perfect foil for the evil Abanazar, Paul’s Wishee is daftness personified.

Adding to the well known panto cast are some ‘newbies’ – fresh from their run in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Durham, Chris Connel, Viktoria Kay and Robert Hudson make their Panto bows. Chris, as the panto dame, Widow Twankey, had a choice to make, either play it totally camp (a la Christopher Biggins) or bring a more butch element to the role – Chris has gone for the latter and it works perfectly, he never tries to disguise his wonderful northern accent and coupled with his imposing figure in a frock he makes for a quite intimidating dame; if he picks you as his ‘boyfriend’ then you’d better say yes and quick. Viktoria plays the Emperor’s royal policeman and is a fabulous comedic sidekick. Sporting a silent movie style tash which has a life of its own, she is reminiscent of the Keystone Cop Sergeant, full of energy and a huge hit with the kids. Finally Robert, as the Emperor, has the regal poise and authority needed to demand obedience, but underneath there is clearly a sense of fun just waiting for the chance to break free - their homage to Wilson, Keppel and Betty (Google them, you'll know who I mean) had me literally gasping for breath.

Of course, Aladdin wouldn’t be Aladdin without the lead and his Princess. Matt McGoldrick is a very youthful ‘street urchin turned prince’, a friendly and engaging guy who draws the young kids into the land of make believe and keeps them rooting for him throughout. Christina Andrew is every bit the princess; beautiful, kindly and there is clearly some great chemistry between the two.  Ably supported by very talented backing dancers including the uber-lithe Andrew Wragg and Antony Edwards, and the dynamic duo of Jade Bailey and Sophie Taylor, the whole stage is filled with light, colour, movement and fun – a perfect and heady recipe for the best possible start to the festive season.

The Gala pride themselves on providing a wonderful family panto and have rightfully built a reputation of being one of the very best in the north – over 28,000 came to see last year’s and I wouldn’t be surprised if that number is matched again this year. So, if laughter is the best medicine, then go and get your fix and remain healthy all winter.

Sleeping Beauty Panto @ Durham Gala

They say that fortune favours the brave, well, after watching this festive feast, Fortune,  Steve Fortune that is, favoured us all. 

The story of Sleeping Beauty is well known as one of the more traditional panto favourites - plenty of scope for beautiful princesses, wicked wizards, helpful fairies and of course a panto dame.  In an age where kids' imaginations are grabbed by Harry Potter, Transformers and a whole host of TV wizardry, I feared that the annual stage-set story telling would fall between the CGI cracks but my fears were completely misplaced.  What the production team at Durham Gala have done is to bring the story and it's portrayal right up to date. The set designs are vibrant and deep, the choreography is very 'street' and the cast are very much in tune with their audience.   I won't spoil the very special effects save to say they drew gasps from the audience,young and old, but this is very much a panto for the modern day audience.

Of course, panto wouldn't be panto without the usual audience participation - "Oh yes it would" - and the Gala at Durham is possibly the best venue in the north east for bringing audience and performers together. The proximity of the seats to the stage, the fact that the orchestra is sat up high to the side and the perfect sight lines mean every person was close enough to see, hear and on many occasions feel the action (they could even mark the first 8 rows as a designated 'splash zone').  The cast, in particular Dame Miriam and Silly Billy use this perfectly, and keep the feeling of inclusion and participation going right to the end.

Talking of Dame Miriam, Steve Fortune is simply fantastic - he knows how to deliver not just double entendres but triple and quadruple ones - the kids love his wacky outfits, the mum's envy his 'womanly' strength and the men just marvel at how he manages to dance in 'those' heels. Played with much more burlesque than camp, Steve and his/her son Silly Billy (played to big kid perfection by Paul Hartley) are the perfect counterfoil to the evil wickedness of Wizard Scorchard (Neil Armstrong) and his minions.

Pantos are all about family fun and this show delivers it in buckets, literally buckets.  If you haven't got your tickets yet, get them now and treat yourself to a fab night out - you know you want to......Oh yes you do !!

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.

Barry & Stuart Magicians @ Durham Gala

On Friday I took Mrs B up to Durham to the Gala to see the latest in a long line of Scottish double acts.  For those of you who have yet to go to the Gala theatre you're really missing out on a treat.  From the modern and spacious entrance, the light and airy bar and the intimate size you go into a perfectly formed, excellently designed auditorium ideal for smaller shows, stand up and, in this case, magic (magic .... magic .... magic.... that was my attempt at an echo for dramatic effect). The seats are super comfy with more leg room than a 1st class seat on BMI and the sight lines are all excellent.

So, we came to watch Barry & Stuart; a two-man magic act also known as the 2magicians. They are known for their dark and sinister performing style, weird and bloody tricks and for hosting and arranging the recent BBC series 'Magicians' (where celebrities were coached into doing magic & illusions) 

I can't really delve too deeply into the act without giving away the essence of surprise & wonder but I will say that these two young men have honed their act into a very slick, very modern take on a range of quite traditional illusions & slight of hand tricks.  Afterwards you are left thinking, "I've seen that trick before, but never like this" and you still can't work out how they do it.  Inter-played with the magic is an amazing feat of memory recall which uses a bed of nails in a very novel way.  My personal favourite was probably the simplest; while Stuart performed the appearing coin trick, Barry accompanied his actions on a sound-box loaded with Super Mario jingles & effects - watching Stuart run around the auditorium do the strains of Nintendo's famous plumber was indeed simple but very, very  funny.

I thought that some more ornate tricks would be difficult to do with such an intimate audience, but having the two of them on stage means you are always torn as to who to watch and, of course, while you are watching one the other one is busy keeping the illusion moving.  Suffice it to say I really tried hard to pay close attention to the set up of tricks, felt sure I would be able to at least work out how, even if I couldn't see when but alas, no, they are just too slick or they throw in a last minute curve ball and the trick morphs into something completely different.

Their humour is dark, modern and very much grounded in who they are; two 20 something lads from Scotland who are rapidly rivalling the great Penn & Tellar for the crown of best in crass & class - not all their tricks are family friendly so beware - there is an age suggestion of 14+ and there is reason for that :-).

Barry & Stuart are busy touring 'darn sarf' for the moment, but then they have almost all of August in Edinburgh, so if you're heading up north for the festival I would definitely recommend taking in their show.