Grease The Musical

Step back in time, this version of Grease is more real life grit than the saccharin polish of the 1978 movie and is all the better for it.

Director Nikolai Foster has gone back to the original stage production and reset Rydale High.  Using Warren Casey and Jim Jacobs’ initial story, this production delves into the struggles of adolescence in the atomic age of working class America. The ‘everything is sunny’ West Coast feeling of the movie is replaced by a more threatened feeling of life under the mushroom cloud, darker, deeper and in doing so, gives a reboot to one of the most popular, and by default, well-known musicals of the 20^th century. 

For fans of the film, for which I would guess 99% of the audience are, this is not just a stage version of the Travolta/Newton-John movie; there will be surprises in the way the scenes knit together, the timeline of events is quite different, as too are the dynamics of the ensemble.  The choreography is high octane and dirty and there is a distinct sense of teenage angst and sexual tension which is missing in the sanitised movie.

In revisiting the original, director Foster has resurrected some of the songs lost to the movie and added some new ones specifically for this production.  Sure, the big hitters are there – Summer Nights, Sandy, The One That I Want, Teen Angel but added to these are new (old) hits including Tattoo Song, How Big I’m Gonna Be and Mooning.  Stand out performance is Rizzo’s heartbreaking There Are Worse Things I Could Do which Rhianne-Louise McCaulsky delivers with tragic passion.

For the cast, comparisons will always be made on the Danny/Sandy dynamic; Dan Patridge and Martha Kirby try hard but are just a little short of a believable chemistry that suggests they would really hook up.  The aforementioned McCaulsky is a great Rizzo, vulnerable and afraid but covered in a veneer of faux brashness.  Eloise Davies is a wonderful Frenchy; cute, kooky and still holding onto the ideals that everything is going to be okay.  Of course, the loudest cheer of the night (from the ladies in the audience at least) is reserved for the appearance of Teen Angel, Peter Andre, looking as smooth and charismatic as he did in his pop days.

The show ends with the much expected ‘mega-mix’ giving the audience the opportunity to get up and dance and leaving all with a lovely set of ear worms for the journey home.

Had this been a straight remake of the movie, it would be a solid 3 star production, but the return to the original, the brilliant choreography and the excellent direction lift this up to a 5 star Must See.

The Good Boyfriend @ Edinburgh Fringe 2019

The Good Boyfriend by The Woolly Sheep Theatre Company is a unique take on the classic whodunnit which brings the audience right into the heart of solving the crime.  Using clever wordplay and a classic songbook, follow Inspector LeFevre as he tries to decipher the clues left behind following a callous murder.  

A dysfunctional family, small village secrets and an inspector with some rather off the wall techniques will keep the audience guessing right to the end.  

As with all good mysteries, not everything is as it seems so watch and ‘listen’ carefully.  Part Columbo, part Pop Master, brilliantly written by Rob Wilson and using the considerable acting talents of Sarah Fells and Peter Cockerill, this The Good Boyfriend is sure to be a chart topping hit.

Performing at theSpace on North Bridge, check out https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/good-boyfriend for times and tickets

Stones in his Pockets

Marie Jones’ brilliantly funny and heartwarming play about the local extras involved in the filming of a Hollywood movie hits Darlington Hippodrome and gives a masterclass in characterisation and storytelling.

Directed by Lindsay Posner (Abigails Party, View from a Bridge) and starring Owen Sharpe and Kevin Trainor, the story centres around a small Irish village turned upside down when a Hollywood film crew descend, employing most of the locals as extras and washing over real life with the gloss of tinsel town.  

Good friends Charlie Conlon and Jake Quinn take centre stage as they, like the village, are initially excited by the razzamatazz of filming, (especially as Charlie has himself written a script) As time goes by however, they realise they are simply wallpaper, scenery no more important than the cows in the fields for a production company more concerned about fading light than fading life.  Following the tragic suicide of a young villager Sean Harkin (who is humiliated by the crew and drowns himself by putting stones in his pockets, hence the title) the village have to decide whether the £40 a day fee is worth selling their souls.  Charlie and Jake decide to change his script and make it about poor Sean’s life and, despite the usual attempts by Hollywood to glamorise it, they stick to keeping it real.

Sharpe & Trainor play all the parts between them (including Ashleigh the production assistant and Caroline the glamorous superstar) using nothing more than an extra hat or a different jacket.  Their mannerisms and appearances morph brilliantly from one character to another and would provide an budding actor with a textbook study on how to project individualism with minimal props.

Whilst Jones wrote this in 1995, well before Netflix and the mega money productions we see today, it is strangely prophetic – take Game of Thrones for instance and how this show has taken over whole towns to film scenes, or the recent Marvel Universe movies – all promise the ‘locals’ some glamour and prestige to have been a part of a blockbuster, but reality all the production team want to do is get in, film, get out as quick and cheaply as possible.

Stones in his Pockets is a wonderfully funny yet sadly tragic story packed with great characters and performed brilliantly – the pace is non-stop, almost frenetic and coupled with the enchanting Irish brogue (and more than a few ‘choice’ words) it is a must see 5 star production.

High Def Joseph and his Technicolor Dreamcoat

Back once again like a renegade master, this timeless classic has been revamped for the modern age, a High Def version if you like and, as one would expect from a show which centres on such a range of colours, it really benefits from the use of 'new age' technology and choreography.

The story of the Lloyd Webber /Rice musical collaboration is probably as well known as the biblical story of Joseph itself; for many it is their first foray into musical theatre either as a child on a school trip or playing a part in a school production.  As such, as you settle into your seat and the first few bars of the opening overture build, there is a comforting warmth of knowing contentment, but with this comes the danger that familiarity breeds contempt.  Well, fear not, for this production is as fresh and dazzling as a first year show trying to get an extension.

Jaymi Hensley (who found his fame as a member of pop group Union J) has a hard act to follow, the alumni of previous Josephs reads like a who’s who of musical theatre but, after 30 years of watching, it is my opinion that his is the best performance I have ever seen.  Naive at the start, powerful and confident by the end, he takes the audience through Joseph’s journey from young boy to kings confidante with complete believability.  His renditions of the two standards, Any Dream and Close Every Door are given real depth, emotion and gravitas, breathing new meaning into the words and, even after 30 years, surprising with the feelings they stir  - the bar is now set super high for any future wannabees Joes.

Trina Hill as the narrator is inspired; Hill takes centre stage regardless of where she stands, has all eyes on her without demanding any attention and has the perfect voice to tell the story.  This is one of the hardest roles to perform in musical theatre, it needs verbal gymnastics linked to an impeccable memory to keep track of all the brothers and colours, there needs to be sympathy, empathy, passion and no small amount of humour, it all has to be kept within the frame of being a storyteller and Hill manages it with aplomb.

The rest of the supporting cast have boundless energy, which is just as well as Gary Lloyd has the choreography turned up to 11.  Flappers, cowgirls, vamps, Frenchmen and of course, camels, all test the repertoire and all are fabulously performed with no shortage of humour – there is plenty of references to other musical theatre, pop culture and even a cameo by Jersey Boys.  Nick Richings’ lighting design is particularly worthy of mention, never have the colours been so pure, so vibrant and clear - High Def theatre for the High Def era.

So, for lifelong fans and new additions to the Joseph family, get your tickets, warm up your camel and head on down to the Hippodrome but be prepared not to leave early, the cast clearly love what they do and respond to the audience demands for encores; with standing ovations guaranteed at every performance you're going to get at least 3 additional numbers at the end.

Agatha Christie's Mousetrap at Darlington Hippodrome

It’s amazing how some things stand the test of time despite changing fashions, changing cultures and changing tastes.  The Mousetrap was established in 1952 and over the following 67 years cinema, tv, theatre and entertainment in general have all undergone evolutions of their own.  Yet, here is one play that continues to attract audiences across the land and across the ages.

The opening night of this current production, directed by Gareth Armstrong and produced by Adam Spiegel and Stephen Waley-Cohen once again played to an almost full house – an amazing sight from within the audience and no doubt an equally encouraging and satisfying one from the stage.  The fact that most people have probably seen Christie’s most famous whodunnit at least once and still want to come back for more is testament to the brilliance of the writing and the guarantee that you are going to get a great evening’s entertainment. 

The current cast include Gwyneth Strong (best known and loved as Cassandra in Only Fools and Horses) playing Mrs Boyle, a brilliant lynchpin performance of Mollie Ralston by the wonderful Harriett Hare and a deliciously delightful Lewis Chandler playing Christopher Wren.

Set in Monkswell Hall Guest House (with some exquisite set design), the new owners Giles and his aforementioned wife Mollie take in their first set of paying guests on a bleak and snowy night.  Each present themselves having previously booked accommodation and yet all seem to be there for a different reason. Suspicions rise as one by one they are forced to interact with each other in the now snowed in hotel.  Right from the off the audience can see elements of the mystery evolve, little details that link each other and failings in credibility hitherto unobserved by the characters,  and yet we are still none the wiser or any closer to working out who the likely killer is.

The pace is perfect, allowing the audience time to play a little ‘Cluedo’ of their own as we delve further into the guests back stories but what may surprise some is how funny this play is;  the humour being neither farcical, nor distracting, but integral in creating depth of character and giving no short measure of laughs.

For obvious reasons I will not go further in exploring or explaining the story, nor will I say who actually ‘dunnit’;  like many that have come since, this story must retain it’s mystery right to the end – afterall I daren’t undo 67 years of keeping audiences guessing.

The Mousetrap is on at Darlington Hippodrome until Saturday 4^th May (Star Wars Day)