(4.5 / 5)

Jim Cartwright originally wrote The Rise and Fall of Little Voice with Jane Horrocks in mind for the starring role. Horrocks had just appeared in Cartwright’s acclaimed debut hit, Road and so Cartwright had witnessed her perfectly mimicking the likes of Edith Piaf, Judy Garland, and Shirley Bassey throughout their time together at rehearsals, at the theatre etc. The story of a painfully timid girl living with her brash and drunken mother and only able to express herself through her uncanny impersonations of her favourite singers, made Horrocks a star overnight. The production at the Cottesloe Theatre, London (now the Dorfman) was an instant success and did no harm at all to the reputation of little-known, young director, Sam Mendes! There have been several revivals since and of course, a film adaptation also starring Jane Horrocks in 1998.

This revival certainly does not disappoint; the only issue with this particular production being a technical one. As the play begins, we hear music from an old record player, Mari, and daughter Little Voice, conversing over it. At first, I assume the idea is that the music’s drowning out the sound of their voices, the title character’s quiet, mousy voice exaggerated. However, as the piece unfolds, I struggle to catch some of the dialogue and hear other audience members speak to staff about the same problem in the interval. Luckily, this does not take away too much from the rest of the production and I have a thoroughly enjoyable evening at theatre.

As the audience take their seats the curtain is open and we see a small, two-up/two-down house; clearly unkempt and unclean and somewhat dilapidated, perhaps to mirror their disorderly lives. Mari, a single parent who clearly enjoys a drink, a party, and a few men, is portrayed superbly by Shobna Gulati, who most will recognise as having played Anita in dinnerladies and Sunita in Coronation Street. For a start off, Gulati looks fantastic for her 55 years and stuns in iconic fashions from the nineties…leopard print, mini-skirts, sequins, and fishnet tights! This is such a well-written, complex character; fun-loving, sexy, brash, harsh, angry, emotional! Gulati’s comic timing is spot-on, and she gets across the gritty stuff beautifully as well. The character’s use of the English language also provides for lots of giggles with dialogue such as ‘you don’t know nothin’ about electrickery, do ya?’ and ‘you can imagine me feelin’s on signin’ marriage register… Mr. And Mrs. F. Hoff’! Cartwright’s script is certainly memorable and with its working-class backdrop, certainly has a feel of Willy Russell to it.

The set is highly effective, the house unmoving with only the curtain coming down and a simple, flashy archway representing Mr Boo’s club lounge where Little Voice will eventually perform, forced on by the sleazy, money-chasing Ray Say, played perfectly by Ian Kelsey. Also clever is the portrayal of the house fire in Act 2, brilliantly created by only the use of onstage smoke, sound effects and lighting. There is no questioning the event unfolding despite the absence of actual fire. LV spends most of her time in her little bedroom upstairs playing her records, surrounded by posters of Judy Garland etc. and a photograph of her late father, from whom she clearly gained her love of music. Mari spends most of her time downstairs, banging the ceiling with a mop handle to discourage LV’s playing and stringing along her ‘friend’ Sadie, brilliantly played by Fiona Mulvaney. A seemingly simple part whose dialogue mostly consists of the word ‘okay,’ Mulvaney provides numerous comedy moments; chugging mouldy Cornflakes from the box, dancing to the Jackson 5 and ‘vomiting’ whilst stood looking directly into the audience!

Finally, praise must go to Christina Bianco as Little Voice herself. Despite Bianco being in her forties and American, she plays the young, Northern lass to a tee from drooping around the house in her pajamas to her Pygmalion style transformation to a starlet in a gorgeous gown. And her impersonations are impeccable! Close your eyes and you are at a Judy show, a Cilla show, a Bassey show, sitting with the President whilst Marilyn sings him Happy Birthday! Bianco’s range, tone, and ability to mimic are outstanding!

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice continues its UK Tour on April 25th at the Theatre Royal, Brighton and finishes on July 16th at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham. Head to the website to book your tickets:

https://littlevoiceuk.com/

Theatr Clwyd, Mold
April 19th-23rd, 2022

Cast & Creatives:

Little Voice: Christina Bianco
Mari: Shobna Gulati
Ray Say: Ian Kelsey
Billy: Akshay Gulati
Sadie/Understudy Mari: Fiona Mulvaney
Mr Boo, u/s Ray Say & Phone Man: William Ilkley
u/s LV & u/s Sadie: Anna Hale
Phone Man, u/s Mr Boo/Billy & Resident Director: James Robert Moore

Writer: Jim Cartwright
Director: Bronagh Lagan
Set & Costume Designer: Sara Perks
Lighting Designer: Nic Farman
Sound Designer: Andrew Johnson
Musical Supervisor & Associate Sound Designer: Eamonn O’Dwyer
Associate Costume Designer/Supervisor: Sarah Mercade
Production Manager: Felix Davies
CSM: Terry Dickson
DSM: Karen Habens
ASM: Suzi Kelly
Tech Swing: Jade Hicks-Williams
Associate Lighting Designer/Relighter: Joseph Ed Thomas
Fit-Up Carpenter: Chris Bewers
Head of Wardrobe: David (Daisy) Morgan
Production Coordinator: Ollie Hancock
General Manager/Assistant Producer: Chris Matanlé
Co-Producer: Tiny Giant Productions
Co-Producer: Neil Gooding Productions
Co-Producer: Bonnie Comley and Stewart F. Lane
Producer: Glass Half Full Productions
Producer: Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment

Running Time: 2 hours (including interval)

The performance was preceded by an announcement Northern Broadsides had needed to bring in two actors at extremely short notice because of Covid. This is a difficulty companies are going to face for some time to come. However, I didn’t feel it was just the pandemic which weakened this production. Its main problems were a lack of enthusiasm for Shakespearean verse and a belief the play’s comedy could be improved. If you are going to do As You Like It, though, I think you need to relish the poetry in the lines, the situations and the setting. You need to accept there will be long speeches telling stories, and that complex ideas will be introduced in imagery. You have to tread warily if you think you can improve on Shakespeare’s comedy, or think you have more to say about the human condition than he does.

So, the fact that the stand-in Duke had to read his lines was less intrusive than the TV show commentary introduced into the wrestling scene. As the wrestling itself was well staged and exciting, the commentary was unnecessary. Then there were distracting asides throughout the performance using modern English. They interrupted the flow of the action and the establishment of the its imaginary world. There was a conversation with the audience at the beginning of the second half (why?). There was additional cross-dressing, which weakened the humour emerging from Rosalind’s disguise, rather than complementing it. The ‘Shall I compare thee..’ sonnet was added in to the ridiculing of Orlando’s scribblings for a quick laugh. Despite the difficulties and the ingenuity involved in bringing four couples together for a simultaneous marriage at the end, they danced off with different partners.
Some of the cast managed the verse well, finding expressive intonations and getting into role easily, whilst others struggled, rushing what they had to say or grinding out their speeches. At times it was easy to follow and appreciate what was being said – Touchstone’s final speech was an excellent example of making the most of the lines, and he made the audience laugh with it – but all too often it was difficult to disentangle what was being meant. For example, far too much of what Jacques said was lost and this meant the character never established himself. Considering how vital and original Jacques is – he’s one of Shakespeare’s great wordsmiths – this was more than a pity. Overall, I thought the supporting cast led by Celia (Isobel Coward) sustained the play with funny cameo appearances and the business that surrounded them. They appeared comfortable in what they were doing and saying; in contrast the principals were unsteady.

For me, Rosalind (EM Williams) spoke too quickly and too emphatically. Every line was accompanied by an expression or a gesture. She was tense, almost angry throughout and whilst she was always interesting to watch she was also demanding to listen to. I felt like saying ‘relax’. She needed to stop trying to impress and simply win the audience’s sympathy because, although Rosalind does win through in the end, hers is no foregone conclusion: her success and the happy ending is not just the result of energy and aggression.

Orlando (Shaban Dar) was too slow and earnest although the character, with his confused attempts at expressing himself emotionally, can be highly amusing. There was little of the chemistry that can come out of a relationship between a duffer and a high achiever when he was with Rosalind. The comedy of the scene in which he, as a wholly unreconstructed heterosexual has to make love to the supposed boy, Ganymede, in order to practice for the real thing, was lost and with it Shakespeare’s clever exploration of gender and appearance.

Jacques(Adam Kashmiry) turned his back on the audience too many times and had a limited range of gesture, repeatedly stretching out his hands to make his point. I didn’t see what having him wear a skirt added to his character. He came across as troubled and sad rather than brilliant and artificially melancholy. The audience enjoyed the way the other courtiers fleshed out his ‘All the world’s a stage..’ but nothing was done with the very last act of all –

second childishness and mere oblivion,/Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything

• which is a sixteenth century description of senile dementia and could, therefore, be made quite topical today.

Touchstone (Joe Morrow) established a rapport with the audience by his exuberance and by speaking clearly and confidently but I thought the actor was miscast. He was not a fool with a wit –

as dry as the remainder biscuit/After a voyage

• so there was no real explanation for Jacques’ fascination with him. His seduction of Audrey, which represents a realistic contrast with the romantic goings-on everywhere else in the forest, didn’t make a lot of sense, either.

The backdrop to the play’s plot is the contrast between the confused, often corrupt world of the court and the honest simplicity and working life poverty of the country. Those that travel from the court into the country are all changed for the better, up to and including Duke Frederick who, like Putin, begins an invasion of Arden intending to commit mass murder and is then converted to benevolent pacifism, unlike Putin. On a technical and design level the production did not reinforce this basic distinction of setting – we didn’t get much of a forest – so observations like sweet are the uses of adversity fell flat.

In the last act, the middle son of old Sir Rowland de Boys arrives from out of nowhere to describe this fantastic conversion. His speech is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, with Shakespeare repeating and emphasising the magic of the return to nature, and it went unremarked although dramatically it completes the comedy. (Another production might have considered then and now attitudes towards the natural environment.)

Northern Broadsides is to be commended for keeping its show on the road and helping to revive theatres after the pandemic but, on the evidence of this performance, I think the company might be better advised to steer clear of Shakespeare, possibly tackling work by Brecht or other dramatists whose work is less reliant on verse where their inventiveness can be deployed without disturbing the basic fabric of the play.

I first came across the Horrible Histories books when I was in primary school, back 25 years ago! Saying that out loud seems such a long time ago. I enjoyed the humour bringing history to life. I still do to this day and I’ll be sharing the books with my children when they are studying a particular area.

They even now have a TV series!

That’s what drew me to the show. Coming to see Horrible Histories Terrible Tudors on stage, with a live performance, known modern songs with a twist, to remember the past, the humorous acting. The show was delivered by just two actors who were very clever portraying and changing their costumes, voices and style for each character. They started with Richard III through to Elizabeth I.

I was in the 2nd row, in the wheelchair space, and I had a great view, could clearly see the fantastic expressions.

The show ran for just over an hour, without an interval.

It was fun interactive show! It looked almost full and was so good to see the audience participation.

I keep singing, divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived, to remember Henry VII’s 6 wives. That’s helped jog my memory!

https://youtu.be/rTdTDCRKvvM

I came along to the Sherman foyer about an hour before the show started as they had colour in sheets and booklets for children to help explain what happens at a theatre. I thought this was such a good idea. In the past before Covid, I occasionally volunteered with the Sherman theatre through the Sherman 5 scheme. It was my first time back after a couple of years.

Sherman 5 is a fantastic scheme to support people to attend the theatre, whether they have never been before or haven’t been in a long time. It’s for people who face barriers and / or are at a disadvantage. A great opportunity for all of the community.

(4 / 5)

Sad is a deep dark comedy about the messiness of life, fragmented mental breakdowns & the overall sadness that the effects of life can have on humanity as a result of loss, failure, regret, disappointment & remorse.

Sad is produced by Felicity Paterson, directed by Marie McCarthy and written by ‘Victoria Willing’ held at the Omnibus Theatre starring Debra Baker as Gloria, Kevin Golding as Graham, Daniel as Lucus Hare & Izabella Urbanowicz as Magda. Sad explores the themes of pain, fear, loneliness, hurt, distress and trauma.

The powerful emotions felt when watching this play are super relatable! The original & authentic scenarios & resonating characters which we’ve all encountered at some stage in our lives is why! A truly strong emphasis on passive aggression, discrimination, subjection, perversion, secrecy, corruption, societal class, relationship issues and dysfunctional families.

Real life inflicting experiences which all contribute towards making our worlds an even sadder place from the outside looking in! Not to mention being let down by the system when they’re the only ones we can depend on. Sad!

Gloria, the adorable agitator & irritated instigator lives with her partner Graham in solitude where she finds harmony alone by herself, squating in the attic all day. Gloria’s conflicting insecurities & mid life crisis mentally blocks her till she refuses to express herself without being contentious. Being affectionate, loveable, warm & transparent towards her loved ones is too much to redeem. Pride soon becomes the foundation of Gloria eating away at her friendships, costing her relationship and being the ultimate maker or breaker of her destiny which only she can decide alongside Grapham’s support!

A compelling production that gives a strong reminder into a broken elderly woman’s mindset, livelihood and ongoing struggles which proves old age doesn’t mean life’s completely figured out! A play to help us acknowledge the what ifs and buts as we journal are life events! how easy life gradually becomes to loose yourself whilst trying to re-find yourself in the midsts of the internal chaos we desperately try to suppress rather than address.