Neville’s Island
The Duke of York’s, London
17/11/2014
What excitement I felt when I knew I was about to see Neville’s Island, staring comedy greats such as Adrian Edmondson, Miles Jupp, Neil Morrissey and Robert Webb.All known for their influence on British culture, I was sure that a comedy performance was in store.
The story of Neville’s Island saw four business men, shipwrecked on a work’s team building exercise. The story embarks on the foursome’s hunger, fears and conflict with one another. We see four very different individuals, and as the show unfolds, different significant stories of each person is revealed.
The main source of comedy was seen in the angst and anger of Edmondson’s character, inflicting insults upon the apparent stupidity of the other character’s in the scenario. This proved many laughs and was helped by the minimal acting of the other’s in retaliation; later building into each burst of madness that they experience as survival begins to be a struggle.
There were times of slapstick comedy, using the very well constructed and realised set of trees, rubble and real water at the front of the stage. Audience members near the front were even given rain macs with the knowledge that this water became a element to some of the comedy gold on stage.
However, I wouldn’t call this production ‘side splitting’. These little moments created hysterical laughter but were far and few between. It felt that more activity was needed on stage to compensate for quiet moments where the comedy did not quite hit the funny bone. While each actor was fantastic in their performance and execution and couldn’t be faulted, the content wasn’t enough for them to truly show their comedic skills and left myself wanting more.
All posts by Hannah Goslin
Review Miss Saigon Prince Edward Theatre London by Hannah Goslin
Miss Saigon
Prince Edward Theatre London
11/11/2014
In the heart of the West End, the Prince Edward Theatre transported us deep into the depths of the Vietnam War. A remarkable and detailed set, Miss Saigon was full of oriental decoration and this vast stage contained so much detail to help us feel as if we had come off the wet streets of winter London and into the slowly destructive slums and alleys during this time of conflict.
It can be argued that a production must firstly rely on its actors performance and not trust that set, lighting and sound must take a centre stage. However, this was different for this show. These elements only enhanced the performance on stage and created phenomenal and easily changing locations, at times it was difficult to comprehend how so much was possible on stage. For example, the piece de resistance of the production for me was the projection of a helicopter coming to land; air conditioning was switched on for a gust across the audience to really feel this and suddenly, a huge functioning helicopter appeared on stage. Gobsmacked is a severe understatement!
This tragic tale of a love story between a Vietnamese girl and an American Soldier and how the war tore them apart contained so many amazing characters. These main character easily professed the sheer Hollywood true love that we only wish to experience; their performances pulling heart-strings of the most cold. Along with the Engineer; a money hungry ‘pimp’ who continues to play a sidekick part in the life of these two star crossed lovers, manages to bring not only a slimy and seedy character that we would expect from such a profession, but also provided much humour – a wonderful way to break the intensity of the heart breaking storyline.
Not knowing exactly the story, it was a shock for me to see scantily clad women (and at one time, also a man) writhing on stage. The movement of these performers was as slimy and seedy as the Engineer, at times a borderline imitation of sexual acts being played out on stage. I began to feel uncomfortable and to really question whether there was a need for acting so obvious to be played out in front of us. Till I warmed up to the reasoning that to feel as the main female character feels in these prostitution dives, we had to also feel as intimidated and uncomfortable as her. And happily, this worked extremely well.
This performance also wouldn’t have been anything without the chorus. The scantily clad women, the Vietnamese and American soldiers and the Vietnamese villagers – all together produced beautiful song and dance numbers, creating the right feeling of fear from the villagers, the seedy yet fear of the prostitutes and the military strict fashion of each sides soldiers.
Miss Saigon managed, what all theatre should do, to create a magical world where despite the unrealistic song and dance, was easily a, what one would assume, realistic representation of this historical period – but theatrically sound and relatable for audiences all the same.
REVIEW Good Cop, Bad Cop, Primley Road Productions BY Hannah Goslin
Good Cop, Bad Cop
By Primley Road Productions
Leicester Square Theatre
11/11/2014
Leicester Square Theatre is one that I have never been to before. In the basement of this small theatre, I sat in front of a simple set of a table with three chairs – the table containing only a mug and a lamp and a filing cabinet with a fax machine and telephone on. A sign with the ‘L.A.P.D’ ‘s rules the force lived by also hung from the wall. This seemed all reminiscent of the typical Cop dramas we are used to seeing on TV and in Hollywood.
As the name suggests, Good Cop, Bad Cop is set within a interrogation room and undertakes the story of an older detective, Alan, joined by a young trainee, Jonathan on his first day, interrogating the suspected drug trafficker known as ‘Noah’ whose character goes by the name Joe – a hippy looking, down and out man.
L.A.P.D isn’t what we expect it to be. The London accent soon appears to announce it as the ‘Luton Airport Police Department’ and soon the hilarity in this illusion unfolds. Alan and Jonathan undertake the stereotypical scene of playing Good Cop and Bad Cop to try and lure the suspect into a confession. Alan as the older detective insists on his Good Cop nature despite seemingly being a ‘hard nut’. Jonathan, however is a timid and shy man who has no idea how to convincingly be tough and so his attempts forever become hilarious through clumsiness and sheer lack of confidence in his new persona.
Not only are these confused and unlikely characters thrown together to convincingly go around in circles such as a comedy routine would encourage, but Joe, our hippy suspected ‘drug lord’ soon speaks up to become, not only a little strange, but a well educated Oxford Graduate. This surprise in itself is humorous and provides a third party for the original characters to hilariously bounce off.
The relationship and understanding the actors have of one another and the writing proved to create a slick and well directed performance. At no point was a single actor not ‘on’ and even developed to combine both exaggerated movement and gestures with small actions and facial expressions. To combine both and still achieve audiences to belly laugh, in itself, is a achievement, showing how much of a substantial understanding of comedy this company has.
Review John DV8 National Theatre, London by Hannah Goslin
Photo (Hannes Langolf) by Hugo Glendinning
‘For nearly thirty years, Lloyd Newson’s DV8 Physical Theatre has produced original and challenging dance theatre unafraid to push audiences out of their comfort zone’
During my performance training from the age of 15, I was introduced and inspired by DV8’s work. Thirty years of bringing thoughtful and impacting theatre into the forefront of audience’s minds. After seeing ‘Can We Talk About This?’ in Truro a few years ago, knowingly, DV8 brings a great approach to discussions that can be taboo, or if beginning to be spoken more about, still laid bare, and this has always had an amazing impact on me.
John was no exception. A simple rotating staging was easily turned into several different locations with little change; just the addition of occasional props. The performance was about the story of John, not stage and lighting trickery and attempt to astonish audiences in this way.
John’s life was from verbatim – a production based on a solo interview with a normal human being and how his turbulent life from childhood to his present shaped who he was, what he wanted and despite a possible more negative life compared to some, something relatable … wanting someone to love and love us.
A combination of physicality and spoken word caught the eye and ear of every audience member. A pin could be heard within the theatre as John’s story of the horrors he had experienced and the life he was entering were laid in front of us, with no fear or cover of the truth. For some, this blunt-ness of the taboo subjects may have been much to handle, with, at times, comedy with topics that could make the strongest person cringe but what would DV8 be without this?
The versatility and fluidity of the performers brought interesting scope to the spoken word ; each one was astonishingly capable of beautiful movement and never took away from the intent of their words. How their ability to contort themselves and move in such a way and still easily and with steady breath speak their lines was inspiring. And ensuring that their words still gave as much meaning as the movement, left myself in tears of awe and from the impact of the story.
DV8, as usual have brought a fantastic and must see performance into the public eye. It is almost impossible to come away without a feeling of elation at seeing theatre at its best.
Review The Commitments Palace Theatre, London by Hannah Goslin
The Commitments
Palace Theatre, London
05/10/14
The intimate and ornate setting of the Palace Theatre in itself was a great experience. Picking seats close to the action, I felt it was a perfect place for The Commitments. A story about a group of working class North side Dubliners trying to hit the big time with a make shift band – my seats allowing me to look up in awe at the action.
Set in the 80’s, even the relatively young in the audience would be able to relate to the stereotypical costuming with large mullet-ed hair and velvet ruffles in abundance. To complement this, the songs that are either in full performance or even snippets of are well-known and repeated by the audience – a real concert style atmosphere begins.
As a regular visitor to Dublin with close Irish friends, many of the references to the ‘North Side’ and the prominence of U2 during this era with the dislike of this fact, tickled a funny bone. I wondered if all of those who had come into this performance would have understood the gags and puns as well as others.
The actors themselves were very inspiring. With Dublin accents and enlisting the same amount of professionalism as one would expect from a continuous running show. Despite this, the performance seemed new and fresh; not expectant of a performance which would have been shown a mere hours before. General movements and speech in the background, interaction with one another and the set was constant and almost naturalistic in such an exaggeration of comedy; showing the subtle skills that these actors are capable of. Such a talented group of performers – not only do their acting abilities rival many of this genre in the West End, but their singing and musical abilities are also top-notch, giving something very special and unique to this show.
Ending on a high is an understatement. The Palace Theatre was turned into a concert, leaving you forgetting that this is a written play; with little bits of improvisation, along with a borderline of acting versus personality of the actors themselves; This production was wonderful to see as it showed the joy and excitement that the performers themselves have with this production. The standing sing along, clapping and dancing of the audience looking onto this pretence band was a strange but also an endearing ending to a West End musical and brought a great sense of the Irish community to London.
REVIEW Briefs-The Second Coming, London Wonderground
Inside the European Spiegeltent on London’s Southbank, a new world is formed.
This cabaret, fringe style hub hosts a huge supply of performances to see, all different and all spectacular.
London Wonderground introduced me to the Briefs – a circus, cabaret, boylesque drag show from Australia.
As a fan of all these types of performances, I thought I would know what I was heading for, but in reality, I could not have ever guessed !
We were introduced to a host who not only welcomed you to their show, in a friendly and personal manner but also cracked many a joke and innuendo that could only be described as side splitting. Her costumes were ever changing and lived up to the notoriety of drag acts for being stunningly beautiful – from her costume, to her make up, to her on stage persona.
Not one group of performers has ever had so many skills and used them so well together in such a polished show. Dallas DellaForce brought her stunning change of drag acts, lip syncing and changing her personality from a Cher lookalike, to a posh dog owner, to even a boylesque balloon act with a split personality syndrome. Her beauty, charm and fantastic acting skills won over every audience member.
Acts such as a young gentleman able to complete a rubik’s cube in little more than 3 minutes while dressed as a cheeky school boy made everyone astonished and giggle. His skill in as little as yo-yo tricks, while talking about it here may seem tedious, but was in fact awe-inspiring, linking this into a burlesque routine, also divided the audience from the strong to the prude, releasing the naughty but rude nature of the show.
This continued with acts such as a crazed and clown-like monkey character, who used innuendos and phallic inspired jokes to ensure that this show was not for the faint hearted, but definitely for those with a great sense of humour.
Of course, this wasn’t always the aim of the show. Adult content always ticks a box for me in shows such as this, but moments of sheer awe not only gives a break for those who feel a little shocked, but to also gives a moment for your jaw to drop. A flexible and strong male who was able to contort himself, fly high above us in a hoop performing tricks that you could only wish to do left the room in silence, with the occasional ovation and cheer for the fantastic tricks he was able to do.
Finally, to end the show, a fantastic burlesque act. Beginning in an outfit to die for as a beautiful bird of paradise, ending up in a Dita Von Tease style champagne glass of water, and again, a series of acrobatics movements above us, this act was not only verged classic and elegant, but comedic with water splashing everywhere, drenching the poor premium Wondergound seating areas at the front. Who could ever be mad at water-soaked performance when it was executed so perfectly and gracefully!
REVIEW Briefs-The Second Coming, London Wonderground BY Hannah Goslin
Inside the European Spiegeltent on London’s Southbank, a new world is formed.
This cabaret, fringe style hub hosts a huge supply of performances to see, all different and all spectacular.
London Wonderground introduced me to the Briefs – a circus, cabaret, boylesque drag show from Australia.
As a fan of all these types of performances, I thought I would know what I was heading for, but in reality, I could not have ever guessed !
We were introduced to a host who not only welcomed you to their show, in a friendly and personal manner but also cracked many a joke and innuendo that could only be described as side splitting. Her costumes were ever changing and lived up to the notoriety of drag acts for being stunningly beautiful – from her costume, to her make up, to her on stage persona.
Not one group of performers has ever had so many skills and used them so well together in such a polished show. Dallas DellaForce brought her stunning change of drag acts, lip syncing and changing her personality from a Cher lookalike, to a posh dog owner, to even a boylesque balloon act with a split personality syndrome. Her beauty, charm and fantastic acting skills won over every audience member.
Acts such as a young gentleman able to complete a rubik’s cube in little more than 3 minutes while dressed as a cheeky school boy made everyone astonished and giggle. His skill in as little as yo-yo tricks, while talking about it here may seem tedious, but was in fact awe-inspiring, linking this into a burlesque routine, also divided the audience from the strong to the prude, releasing the naughty but rude nature of the show.
This continued with acts such as a crazed and clown-like monkey character, who used innuendos and phallic inspired jokes to ensure that this show was not for the faint hearted, but definitely for those with a great sense of humour.
Of course, this wasn’t always the aim of the show. Adult content always ticks a box for me in shows such as this, but moments of sheer awe not only gives a break for those who feel a little shocked, but to also gives a moment for your jaw to drop. A flexible and strong male who was able to contort himself, fly high above us in a hoop performing tricks that you could only wish to do left the room in silence, with the occasional ovation and cheer for the fantastic tricks he was able to do.
Finally, to end the show, a fantastic burlesque act. Beginning in an outfit to die for as a beautiful bird of paradise, ending up in a Dita Von Tease style champagne glass of water, and again, a series of acrobatics movements above us, this act was not only verged classic and elegant, but comedic with water splashing everywhere, drenching the poor premium Wondergound seating areas at the front. Who could ever be mad at water-soaked performance when it was executed so perfectly and gracefully!
Our first London correspondent for Young Critics Wales!
The Big Move to London!
Finally, the 4 years of working hard and waiting for my dream to come true is suddenly over. Since I was young I have always wanted to live in London and work in the Theatre Industry. With a BA(Hons) in Performing Arts with modules in performance and arts marketing and events management from the University of Wales, Trinity St David, I created my own city wide business, worked in arts marketing and event management on many projects, worked with countless companies and performers on a personal, professional and educational levels and taken up many opportunities to not only work in box office, front of house and administration but also running the former two in sizable teams.
A little stint in writing reviews for the Theatre Royal in Plymouth added another string to my bow. When moving to Cardiff to complete a masters in Events Management (particular interest in cultural/theatre events), I aimed to continue my experience in Theatre with front of house work in a couple of venues, working in hospitality at the Wales Millennium Centre as well as devise and create my own work, still running my business from one city to another till finally handing over and leaving my company behind for bigger and better things. My determination lead me to pick up my interest in writing reviews and a little social media contact with Young Critics Wales lead me to becoming a young critic over the last 6 months, giving me many opportunities to see fantastic performances, be part of huge events and meet some incredible people. It also gave me the kick to start my own website and blog and delve into art journalism as a whole. A meeting with many in this industry opened my eyes to the reality of how art journalism is suffering in Wales and I then felt that my passion should be spoken about, and from my own words (something I continue to strive in).
With only a dissertation left, which I am basing on theatre events in London, I am moving to the big smoke in less than two weeks. While I’m there I’m hoping to work in the industry and soon work my way up, something I feel I have the determination and drive to do to build an even more fantastic career. In such a dynamic and diverse theatrical city, I hope to continue my work as a reviewer and art journalist as a correspondent for Young Critics Wales and with my own freelance work. The excitement and buzz that theatre gives me and the opportunity to write about it has and will be nothing but a joy to do!
What is only left to say is to thank Young Critics Wales and particularly Guy O’Donnell, the project coordinator, on the fantastic opportunities this scheme has offered me and hopefully will offer more in the future. It is a shame to miss out on great Welsh theatre in our fantastic venues but to see more theatre as a whole is an opportunity that is hard to miss!
If you are a London based venue or company please get in touch with Hannah at the contacts below.
Check Hannah Goslin out at the following websites :
http://gozzers.co.uk
http://gozzers.wordpress.com
http://hgozzers.wordpress.com
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/hannah-goslin/67/263/173
Twitter – hgoslin_2
Review ‘Toast’ and ‘Ken and Steve’ – Velvet Trumpet by Hannah Goslin
Cardiff Comedy festival has brought many opportunities for a belly laugh over the last few weeks. Being invited to watch comical plays by South London group, Velvet Trumpet was a great opportunity and just what I needed today.
Toast began with us looking at a simple dining room table with all the pieces to the puzzle for Toast eating. What made this short skit special was that the toaster was fully functioning, filling the room with the smell of warm bread and the steam against the simple whitewash lighting. We are introduced to Michael; the usual man, making his breakfast and getting ready for work. His love affair with toast is something that most can relate to. The gluten and wheat intolerant in me could even relate to the versatility and ease of toast eating in a previous time. However toast is only a metaphor for Michael’s failed marriage and his way of coping. Hilariously taken through his story, his take on his ex-wife and his life provided many opportunities for a laugh. Interaction with the audience, bringing one on stage also made us feel hilariously awkward, such as the story at that point in time tried to express and the uneasiness of this made the audience laugh continuously. The actor playing Michael managed comedy in an almost natural way in this story telling style, without trying to bring slapstick into the performance which could have been an easy way out; so when the story turns a strange journey, this provided more comical outlets for the absurdity.
A short ten minute break and the change from the original minimalist staging and props turned into an even more simple projection. This longer piece began with a short video of Ken and Steve and their travel of 200 miles from London to Swansea, all in the name of art. However, the support of the Welsh for these two Swansea Jack’s were severely lacking, and during their ‘presentation’ Ken’s anger comes alive. This, what seemed slightly unscripted, piece was a complete turn on the night so far. A simple piece focussing mainly on the telling of a story had turned into the back and forth relationship between Steve – an average and calm man and Ken – a melodrama-ed version of a proud Welshman. More audience interaction, multimedia usage and plenty of slapstick, it was hard to not laugh. Since the actor of Ken was played by the same man as Michael in Toast, himself as a performer was really interesting to watch to show his versatility as a performer; from a naturalist story-teller to a complete over exaggerated being. Ken and Steve picked up many part of Welsh comedy, looking at stereotypes of the Welsh and of particular places in both their telling of their journey, their quips and characters themselves. Combined with high energy movement at times and use of film, this simple but effective piece was a great ending to the night.
Velvet Trumpet had combined the two pieces well by beginning with something so calm and ending with something so solidly humorous – this company sure know how to get their audience and how to combine two different forms of comedy for a fantastic night.
Review Roberto Zucco, August O12, Chapter Arts Centre by Hannah Goslin
Production Photograph by Jorge Lizalde – studiocano.co.uk
In the midst of sparkly confetti and placed in a traverse corridor shaped stage, we were invited into the play of Roberto Zucco; a serial killer known for his murders of his father, mother, a police officer and a child.
From the above brief synopsis, we would expect that the play by Bernard-Marie Koltes would be an emotional impacting play, veering on the disturbed and the almost uncomfortable. And to a point, this is correct. August 012 have taken the play and ventured into this concept, but with a twist. Two hours of something so heavy could turn an audience away, but with the comical factor and the impressive staging concept, not to mention the fantastic acting by all cast members, Roberto Zucco changed into a play with a range of emotions, from fear, to excitement, to hilarity.
The production as a whole reminded me of an alternative universe. There were hints of what we can relate to in modern age in characters and in the scenes, but with occasional glimpses into historical stereotypes, such as the American style 1940’s detective. The use of bright colours in costumes and props such as blood that is spilt in contrast to some more plain and plaid areas added to this concept, reminiscent of the comic book style of film genres such as ‘Sin City.’ This came with inventive ideas which I cant mention here as they may be a spoiler for the production! but rest assured these moments accompanied by lighting and sound effects were a real highlight of the work. The ‘Little Chicago,’ filled with its lust of prostitution and crime ,vibrant with colour and stereotypical of such places. It felt as if we were in a strange different world, where the norm was not possible.
This take on a real life story however, could make you forget that this is indeed based upon a true serial killer. The actor playing Roberto, Adam Redmore brought this back. For very controlled movement, facial expressions and overall persona, it could only take a very skilled actor to accomplish. With the hectic nature of some characters in their farce take, this cool and collective character almost seemed like the most normal of them all. And of course, the accompanying actors tended to take on several roles, an impressive feat I would say. Not only did they manage to make us forget that they were playing different characters, their physicality and attitude to the different parts was astonishing and well accomplished. Not one character could be said to have outshone as they all showed their very well trained skillset.
The contrast of recorded music as well as an in person choir was a lovely idea and did add something different to the piece. The choir sat on high staging behind the audience around the room, at times taking part as very minor characters. While this was a good addition, as well as the shining talent in the audience with impromptu speaking and movement parts, it felt that more time was taken on the main actors rather than work on the choir. Eye contact at times that were from their own inquisitive personalities I felt broke some of the atmosphere, with fumbling attempts to get onto the staging drawing attention away at times and ‘character’ breaking when finding some of the action comical themselves. To me personally this at times, spoilt the well-executed action on stage.