Murder by Gaslight @ Tyne Theatre

The art of storytelling is very much alive, even if the topic is rather, well, dead !

I was a child of the 70’s and 80’s and as such I was brought up with the BBC children’s programme Jackanory – this was a half hour story telling show with one narrator who drew the audience in with the power of words alone.  I loved it so I was very excited when I realised that Murder by Gaslight was a one man, 2 act retelling of grisly Victorian/Edwardian horror.

Written and performed by Jonathan Goodwin, the two tales are very imaginatively staged. Playing to a very intimate audience (the numbers are purposefully limited) we were sat ON the stage in a semi circle which, due to simple but very atmospheric lighting, became deliciously claustrophobic by the end of the evening.

The two ‘murderers’ – William Palmer and Hawley Crippen – are well known to fans of the macabre but Jonathan not only brings these stories alive, he adds quite a unique approach to both which stops this from being a simple recounting of the normal prose. 

Palmer is an infamous serial poisoner from Rugeley, known to some as the Prince of Poisoners, whose constant chasing of wine, women and the old ‘jingle jangle’ meant he was always finding himself in situations requiring a tincture or two.  For this show we find Palmer in his cell awaiting the hangman and so, to kill time (pardon the pun), he recounts his life.  It is testament to Goodwin’s writing that within the first few minutes you forget that you’re sat on the stage watching a performance and instead can almost smell the stench and taste the damp of a Stafford prison cell.  Palmer was undoubtedly a man of much persuasion and little morales, which, when coupled with the access and knowhow of poisons made for a very deadly combination – what Goodwin does very well is to give glimpses of the man whilst never letting the audience forget about the monster.

Following the interval we meet Dr Crippen, whose ‘other’ claim to fame was to have been the first person to be arrested with the use of the Marconi Wireless telegraph.  Crippen was a native of Michigan who studied to be a homeopath.  On moving with his wife to London he found his credentials to be pretty much useless and so was unable to secure a high paying job resulting in his overbearing and materialistic wife to pursue many extra marital affairs, cuckolding him in the family home.  If story be believed it was through this behaviour that Crippen finally reached the end of his tether and he killed her.  Crippen, however, maintained until his death in Pentonville Gaol that she had left him to return to the states and the remains in his cellar were unknown to him.  For this tale Goodwin brings us into Crippen’s London home, 39 Hilldrop Crescent, where the mild mannered and somewhat meek Doctor, explains his side of the infamous events.  Once again, Goodwin’s writing is first class – the characterisation of Crippen is brilliant and his acting, complete with a wonderful Midwestern accent, is strong and very persuasive that perhaps Crippen was the victim of a malicious wife and an over zealous police force.

In this day of instant gratification through special effects, clever (and expensive) staging and over complicated plots designed to show off rather than just show, Jonathan Goodwin has brought 2 deep and dark stories to life and resurrected the art of storytelling in it’s purest form –a brilliant example that young and old most definitely should go and see.

The Voice of Roy Orbison @ Journal Tyne Theatre Newcastle

Howdy folks

Over the past few weeks I have been very fortunate to see a wide & diverse range of musical acts all serving to widen my appreciation of the recording artists and helping me to relive my youth or share in the living of my daughters youth.

In my quest for continuing this I ventured back in time to a period (way) before I was born - The 50's & 60's !  Accompanied by someone who could give me a much better critical appraisal of the fayre on show, my Mum & Dad, we made off to the Tyne Theatre in Newcastle for a night of Rock 'n' Roll legends.

The show is billed as The Voice of Roy Orbison, and, supported by 'The Everly Brothers' and 'Buddy Holly' promised to be a blast from the past from 3 of the eras best known and well loved acts.

There are many tours on at the moment; lots of them are the actual original artists who are still playing to their fans, bringing their hits back to stage and doing their very best to recapture the atmosphere and stage presence of the 'first time round'.  Unfortunately these artists, whilst still masters of their trade, are often showing the effects of time (don't we all) - lets be honest, an artist who in 1963 was bouncing round stage, belting out their top 10 hits would now be almost 50 years older; the legs, the eyes, the voice all will have suffered (except for Tom Jones) and sometimes this leaves the audience lamenting the passing of time and comparing them to the recordings of the past.

For this show we had artists who were still very much able to not only give an amazingly accurate recreation of the original artists, but who also were able to maintain the energy and strength to 'own the stage' with movement, charisma and presence.

For over 2 hours we were treated to an amazing rendition of over 40 'hits' - and, contrary to the current music climate where selling 150 singles from the back of a Vectra Estate at a Sunday car boot warrants entry into that weeks charts, these hits were ALL classics.  The audience were quite an eclectic mix of ages, group demographics, styles and fashions proving that real songs cross all boundaries.  The fact that many of these tunes have become almost anthemic through their use in TV, Movies and even Adverts just goes to further prove that form is temporary, class is permanent.

Anyway, back to the show - The Everly Brothers, who tonight were played by Geoff Bate & Colin Fidoe were completely in character as the two brothers from Brownie, Kentucky - (so much so that when we met them at half time and asked where they really came from they still maintained it was the Bluegrass State, despite them actually hailing from Wolverhampton !).  Geoff & Colin are seasoned pro's on the music tour scene having played in their own bands, as solo artists and even line dancing shouters before they harmonised their talents into 'The Everly's Experience'.  They have spent hours meticulously recreating every detail of the toothy two-some, the hair, the costumes, the guitars and of course the songs; everything from 'Bye Bye Love' and 'Wake up Little Susie' all the way to 'All I Have to Do is Dream', '('til) I Kissed You' and, prophetically, 'Claudette' which was penned by Roy Orbison and given to the boys to record 45 years before this show brought The Big O and the brothers back together.

Ask anyone if they know Tim Harwood and I would expect all but his mum to answer 'Who ?' ..... but there are thousands & thousands of people who have watched Tim in his many forays into stage, screen & music.  Tim has toured as a dancer, been in the West End with Michael Ball & Jason Donovan, has an extensive Musical list (Grease, Fame, Joseph, Rocky Horror, Blues Brothers, Chitty Chitty...) has played Elvis in Bill Kenwright's national tour and even starred in George Lucas' Star Wars Phantom Menace.  But, in the famous words of a Saturday evening, "Tonight Mathew I will be..... Buddy Holly" ...and he was !

Playing one of the founding fathers of Rock 'n' Roll, Tim delivered Buddy's full repertoire of guitar lead 'Western Bop' which has formed the bedrock of almost all genres of popular music ever since.  Complete with Buddy's trademark NHS-style specs and perfect in his stance and rhythms, we were treated to a catalogue of pop-tastic, foot-tapping, hand-jiving classics including 'Everyday', 'Peggy Sue', 'That'll be the Day', 'Rave On' and 'True Love Ways'.  The fact that Buddy died all the way back in 1959 aged only 22 and yet his music and legacy is still as strong today as ever, is testament not only to the originals genuine brilliance but also Tim's amazing talents.

Finally it was time for the headline act and again another artist whose overall impact on the music scene was most certainly greater than the sum of its parts. Roy Orbison was an amazing song writer, performer, poet and producer who made soulful, lost-love, almost manically depressing ballads into mainstream mega-hits.  His vocal range was unbelievable; from deep, smooth, velvety tenor all the way up to a belting falsetto.  Elvis Presley once famously declared that Roy Orbison was 'the greatest singer in the world'.

Not an easy feat to replicate but in Damien Edwards we had an absolute masterclass in vocal ability.  Damien is a human mynah bird when it comes to stars of the late 50's and early 60's - he has starred as Elvis Presley, Ritchie Valens, Del Shannon and, in his biggest and longest staged role, Roy Orbison.  He has also performed in an eclectic theatrical & TV mix including Captain Walker in the Who's 'Tommy', Parson Nathaniel in 'War of the Worlds', an irate cabby in 'Doctor Who' and even a drunken lush on BBC2's 'See Hear'.

Roy Orbison's hit list includes 'Only the Lonely', 'It's Over', 'Crying' (which was brilliantly parodied by Jim Broadbent in an episode of Only Fools & Horses), 'Pretty Woman', 'Blue Bayou' and umpteen more which have subsequently been covered by artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Don McLean and even Van Halen.  And Damien gave every one the Big O treatment.

The finale of the evening saw all the artists take to the stage together to complete an amazing medley which had everyone up out of their seats, singing & dancing and genuinely enjoying a wonderful end to a fabulous show.

My dad said that as each act came on stage, if you closed your eyes, you really believed that it was the originals that were there; the originals from the 1950's, backed by their original bands and singing with the original, naive excitement of people just doing it for their love of being heard and making people happy.

I have to admit, while I would never profess to be much of an expert on music of the 50's & 60's, I recognised almost every song and surprised myself as to how many I actually knew the words to.  A great show by a group of artists who are truly phenomenal in their craft - if you like live music, great pop songs and are aged between 8 and 108 then this is one show you will certainly be sad when 'It's Over' !

Many thanks to Mum & Dad for helping in this appraisal & their feedback on the show's authenticity (I wasn't around for the originals ;-)