Faust @ Theatre Royal Newcastle

The story of Faust is well known the world over, even giving rise to the term "making a Faustian Pact" but until now I had not had the opportunity to watch in full the theatrical works which gives this social commentary its gravitas.

Whilst the original work is very gothic and medieval in both setting and context this production has been brought right up to date, featuring the presidential elections in modern day France and the life consuming challenges of the stock market.

We first meet Dr Faust (Peter Auty) as a failing stockbroker who, through both mid-life crisis and depressed markets finds himself stood, quite litterally, on the edge of life.  In calling out for some sign of faith or hope he finds himself not finding God but making a pact with Mephisto (James Creswell).  In return for his soul he shall have youth, vitality and the love of a beautiful young woman (Juanita Lascarro) but as with all deals, if it looks to good to be true, then it generally is.

This three hour show is a masterpiece of powerful music (arguably Gounods finest work), stunning performances and a masterful set (using huge sliding panels onto which surreal images of the stock market trading displays, Faust's tortured soul and the depths of despair were projected).  Sung totally in French, there were, for the less educated (of which I am happy to include myself) two screens in the stage side boxes displaying subtitles.  Whilst this was very helpful, the nature of the opera being delivered (which much repetition of phrases) meant there were many occasions where the screens remained blank despite the continued singing of the leads.

I applaud the attempt to bring the story into the modern age, but at times it felt that this was done to the detriment of the flow of events; one never really felt as though we were being immersed in the story but instead were having separate acts performed to us.  There was no real feeling of menace from Mephisto to Faust, his 'pact' seemed more of a business agreement than the selling of his soul.  Likewise Fuast seemed to have little hesitation in making this deal, there was little deliberation over the terms and no moralising over the decision. 

The focus of Faust's affections, Margerite, was portrayed as the virginal sister of Valentin, a

right wing presidential candidate standing on pro-life and the anti abortion campaign.  The first half of the performance (2 hours) made a great deal about Valentin's political crusade without any discernible reason apparent, not until the third act when Margerite was found to be pregnant and thus shunned by her brother, but by this time the seeds of confusion not only been sold, but had taken root and started to flower.  Again, the desire to modernise the story felt like it was trying to be too clever; it almost like there was one big 'in-joke' and those not included were left to try and work it out on their own. 

Despite the obtuse storytelling the lead performances were excellent and the music stirring; for my first foray into Faust it has left me wanting more, but I like my devil to be magnificently malevolent, my victims to be tortured souls and my innocents to be distraught and destroyed.

Bouncers @ Darlington Civic

Take 4 actors, already brilliant in their own careers and add to them the witty, insightful and hilarious writing of one of this country's best playwrights and what do you get - one of the funniest shows seen at Darlington Civic in years.

Bouncers takes us on a voyeuristic journey through the seedy nightlife of Britain's club culture as told by 4 doormen.  If you've ever wondered what these bastions of the entry queue get up to on a quiet night, or how they unwind after a heavy Saturday shift then this show lifts the lid on the toilet humour and lets you gaze down into the dirty water.

The fore-mentioned doormen make up one third of the clubbing collective, the others being a group of 4 guys out on the pull and 4 girls who are done up, clubbed up and p... well, out having a few end of week drinks.  The genius comes from the fact that all parts are played by just the 4 men, dressed in eponymous bouncer uniform of black suit, black vest and shades with only a white handbag each as prop as they don their feminine alter-egos.

Meet giggly girls and lads on the make as they prepare for their big night out. Later in the tatty, glitzy glamour and flashing lights of the nightclub follow their progress to the disco floor where an entire cross-section of disco-goers including lip-sticked, lacquered girls, and over indulged slobs gyrate to the pulsating beat.  And as Friday night gives way to Saturday morning the ever watchful, ever ready, ever observant ........... BOUNCERS take it all in. Slow dances, snogging, late night kebabs it’s all there. A journey through one of those nights that everyone has had and most would like to forget.

Told almost like 4 intertwined monologues, the humour is only punctuated for one of Lucky Eric's speeches which serve to unveil the seedier underbelly of the club scene.  This play appeals to anyone who has ever been to a club, pub or anywhere else on a Friday/Saturday night in town.  We have all seen the characters; we may even have been them on some nights (although we may not like to admit it!).

Delivering the tri-factor of nightly insight are Ace Bhatti, Don Gilet, William Ilkley and Ian

Reddington - familiar names and even more familiar faces.  Each has their own unique take on being a bouncer, a boozed up clubber and, funniest of all, a tipsy party girl looking for a free pizza and a quick kiss. 

Voted one of the greatest plays of the 20th century by the National Theatre, Bouncers has been winning awards for the past 20 years and will continue to do so for the next 20 years, after all, as each generation finds its way to the night club the Bouncers will be there waiting.

Grab your tickets now and enjoy the funniest show on the circuit, just be warned, you may recognise yourself up on stage.

Blood Brothers @ Darlington Civic 2012

First things first - apart from watching Becca's school drama abridged version of this modern masterpiece reviewed previously I have never seen Blood Brothers.  Sure, I know the story and, having ran lines with my eldest for 3 months, I had a pretty good idea of most of the dialogue, but this was scant preparation for the completely immersive way in which the cast & production team take you on the life journey of the Johnstone twins. 

Right from the beginning, the characters were real, as large as life and utterly believable.  There was no time, nor was there any need for time, to grow into the story as from 1st curtain we were in Liverpool in the 60's.  The accents, the scenery, the brilliant cast and I swear I could smell and taste coal fire smoke and street dust.  It was a "feet-up and let the story take you" type of show, one which is sadly all too rare now as theatre (and especially long running theatre) often tries too hard to be clever.

The part of the narrator was missing in my only previous experience of Willy Russell's masterpiece so I was intrigued to watch Marti Pellow and his portrayal of the 'devil on the shoulder' role. He was wonderful, a sinister mix of malevolent story teller and future-wise soothsayer.  His omnipresence lent an eery subtext to the whole story, as if watching everything in a 'told you so' hindsight which stoked the feelings of pending doom and prepared the watcher for the tragic ending.

The cast, especially those playing Mickey (James Templeton), Eddie (Jorden Bird) and Linda (Olivia Sloyan ) were truly believable as snotty-nose, fun loving kids complete with the simple innocence of make believe horses, gun fights and target practice.  In fact, it never occurred whilst watching the story unfold that it was the same actors who then moved through adolescence and into adulthood, it was simply Mickey, Eddie and Linda as they grew up. 

The story's heart rendering ending is as well known as the twist at the end of the Sixth Sense; everyone I know who has seen this play seems to like to confess to shedding a tear, so I was quite dubious as to how something so obvious and expected can provoke such a response, boy was I wrong.  I have not witnessed such sheer raw and visible emotion from a leading lady before;  Niki Evans as Mrs Johnstone was just mesmerising, hypnotic and I could feel myself rapidly joining the aforementioned group of "I cried at the end of Blood Brothers".  It was clear that  Niki puts a helluva lot of emotion into her performance, it was only on the 4th and 5th curtain call that she seemed able to lift the tearful veil and start to smile again.

The audience love this show, there was a full house at the start and a full house standing ovation at the end and I have to admit, it gave me goosebumps.  If you have yet to see Blood Brothers then tickets are still available, get your seat, get your hankies and get ready to join the "I cried at the end...." club.

Footloose by Darlington Operatic Society

"Let's hear it for the boys....and girls"

As a child of the 70's my early teenage years were filled with the Brat Pack style 80's movies - St Elmo's Fire, Pretty in Pink,  Stand By Me (I can't add Top Gun into that list, never seen it!) and of course Footloose.  The soundtrack was huge, the rebellious lead was instantly identifiable and the feel-good ending meant no matter what was going in life, you could escape for 2 hours and emerge feeling better (for a while at least).  Life seemed simpler, more black & white, more good & bad than it does now so it's great timing that we get to go back to mid America and relive some good ol' happy memories.

The story goes like this: 

When Ren and his mother move from Chicago to a small farming town, Ren is prepared for the adjustment to his new high school. What he isn't prepared for are the local laws - including a ban on dancing - which are the brainchild of a local preacher bent on exercising control over the town's youths. When the Reverend's rebellious daughter Ariel sets her heart on Ren, her muscle head boyfriend tries to sabotage Ren's reputation and with many of the locals so eager to believe the worst about the new kid, Ren has to prove to the preacher, the school and the whole town that dancing is something to enjoy and share.

Amazingly, the premise for the story is based on fact - a small town in Oklahoma had banned dancing for 80 years until a campaign by a local school class had the rule repealed.

Ren, wonderfully played by Nick Holmes, is the epitome of adolescent frustrations, still believing he can change the world and yet to experience any good reasons why he shouldn't.  The previous freedom he enjoyed whilst in Chicago gives way to the stifling small town rules, brilliantly portrayed in the song "Somebody's eyes".  Nick does a great job of treading the fine line between Ren's well intentioned but frustrated 'outsider' view and coming on too strong which would have undermined the still existent 'respect for y00our elders' culture of mid America.

Ariel, the feisty preacher's daughter, was originally played in the movie by Lori Singer but I always found this a little too contrived (what with her smouldering eyes and legs that just kept going on & on she was more the prom queen type of gal than the preacher's daughter).  Likewise, in the movie, Ariel looks old enough to be soon moving away from home thus removing the conflict between her & her father - Ariel needs to be younger, more innocent but with still a bit of dare and a lot of sass, and in being so the relationship between the preacher and his little girl is all the more important to be saved.  With this in mind Beth Stobbart simply nails it- Beth brings all the believability to Ariel that is needed to help the audience connect, not just with her character but also the preacher, plus she's got a great voice too.  Looking mighty purty in her foxy red boots she dominates each scene she's in and plays the perfect counterfoil to the ever impressive Julian Cound as her reverend father. 

There are also great performances from Claire Wilmer as Rusty and Ben Connor as Willard, the love shy couple who, once Ren teaches Willard to dance, are never out of each others arms (or off the dance floor).  Also of note is Rob McDougal, Ariel's meat-head mechanic boyfriend who brings the stereotypical menace akin to Biff from the Back to the Future films.

As expected from a musical there are great songs throughout the show; the big ones from the film went on to have chart success including "Let's hear it for the boy", "Holding out for a hero", "Almost paradise" and of course "Footloose" immediately spring to mind, but for me, the best number by far was Samantha Morrison (as preacher's wife Vi) singing "Can you find it in your heart?".  Samantha gives a heart rendering delivery as a devoted wife seeing her husband drift away without him realising anything has changed - there were a few sniffles and much searching for tissues in the audience around me after that one.

The stage show has brought a few areas of the story up to date but still retains it's mid American small town charms & prejudices.  What was wonderful to see was the number of young people in the audience, I was sat behind a group of children and dancers who had come together from Melsonby - all were still of junior school age so there's no way they would have seen the movie first time round but they all loved the show, the dancing, the songs. Given that there are one or two rather 'risque' snapshots ("...so just what do you do around here for excitement ?") I bet that a few of their mum's would be fielding some strange questions last night too.

The group dancing scenes, including the square dance at the C & W hall and the finale are a fitting testament to the hours and hours of dedication put into rehearsals- it is all too easy to forget that these performers are not full time dancers, they have lives outside of Footloose although I bet many have forgotten that over these past 5 months.

As with all Darlington Operatic Society productions, this is a masterful presentation of high energy, tight choreography and brilliant singing. Again the whole production team need to take their rightful and well deserved applause - Lets' hear it for the boys and girls of DOS.

Great Expectations @ Darlington Civic

Deeply and darkly delicious

It was a dark night; rain was brooding, the last vestiges of summer had been swept away by the cold north breeze while curtains were pulled tight to keep the night out and the warmth in.  It might sound like the start of a gothic horror but it was actually the weather in Darlington as we ventured to the Civic to watch Jo Clifford's adaptation of the classic Dickens tale, Great Expectations.  It seemed very fitting that it was such a bleak, cold and uninviting night for this tale by London's finest storywriter is not one of fun, love and joy but bitterness, resentment and betrayal and boy, does this version deliver.

I've always loved Great Expectations but I've been regularly disappointed by dramatised adaptations which seemed unwilling or incapable to delve truly into the depths of the darkness which lies beneath the story.  They always wanted to provide a happy ending, lighten the scenes with redemption and benevolence and paint both the main characters (Pip and Estella) as intrinsically happy souls who ride the rough passages before finding everlasting joy and love.  That's not what this story is about and Jo Clifford does a magnificent job in keeping the macabre, soul destroying darkness intact throughout the performance.

Set,in part by a recounting older Mr Pip, the story follows the life of Pip as he progresses from poor urchin to gentleman, from love hopeful to cold and stony hearted realist, from wealthy city toff to poor and cast aside wannabe.  In Taylor Jay-Davies (who played all but the oldest Pip) we had a lead who was able to very convincingly portray Pip from his earliest years, right through adolescence and into early manhood.  Taylor was totally believable in each of his characters' guises, taking the audience through Pip's maturing without any question of doubt that we were watching a young man grow, blossom and then harden to the cruel world around him.

Estella, played by Grace Rowe, was the epitome of stone-hearted - her tutelage by Miss Havisham (played by the delightful Paula Wilcox) into the follies of love and the pursuit and ruination of all men was a delicious foray into the gothic, macabre horror of the soul so often lamented by Byron and Shelly.  Ms Rowe was utterly brilliant; her portrayal of Estella's journey from total acceptance of Miss Havisham's philosophies on love to her own realisation that she has been damaged beyond all repair was played with a sad, sad pathos which at first was the juxtaposition to Pip's blind affections, but soon became the undercurrent for both the lead characters.

Jo Clifford's adaptation doesn't just rely on Pip, Estella and Miss Havisham hold the story, she takes the audience into a world of dark, circus-like horror which catapults the viewers onto an almost surreal and certainly unnerving trip amongst the Dickensian underbelly of life.  Humour is used sparingly, and even then only to accentuate the darkness that follows whilst only Joe Gargery (played by the wonderful Steve North) and Magwitch (played by the uber-talented Chris Ellison) were allowed to hold onto any semblance of goodness.  There was no place for a London friendship for Pip, no place for sentiment from Pip to his sister and certainly no place for any lightening of the mood at the end.

It was great to see so many students in the audience, obviously drawn by the fact that Great Expectations is always heralded as one of Dickens' greatest writings.  What was even more pleasing was that they will have witnessed a version of the story which is the closest to how Dickens wanted his story to be known - it has not the moral ending like Christmas Carol, it is not a rags-to-riches happy ending like Oliver Twist - this has the dark, original ending which left readers feeling so cheated and despondent that he was urged to write an alternative happier ending.

Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, brilliantly adapted by Jo Clifford is on at Darlington Civic until Saturday 20th October.