(4 / 5)
A simplistic staging – we are greeted with a blank space, the floor filled with cylindrical tubes and in the corner, a dolphin.
Immediately this is comical and theme of comedy runs through this clever piece to counteract the raw topic. Tell Me Anything is the theatrical adaptation of David’s teenage years with his first love, who happens to have an eating disorder. This takes over their love and their relationship, as we see his side of the story. This is a new take on such a topic, seeing it through the eyes of a loved one, without the character whose disorder it is. David makes it very clear that his development of the piece isn’t without his former girlfriend, and now friend, Kate’s input and knowledge of the piece.
With mostly a true narrative, excerpts from his diary, emails and memories, it’s hard not to feel warmth in the piece and the love he had at the age of 15. Unfortunately the only thing with this is that is feels a little fairy tale; the ‘true love’ tales of conversations, feelings and interactions seem so blissful that at times it’s hard to really believe such things; the performance then feeling a little fantasy like – or maybe that is just the cynic in me talking?
David interacts with us constantly – his narration directed to us, involving us by asking us questions and also asking us to close our eyes and put ourselves in his shoes – this feels intimate and struck a chord with myself as being asked to envisage someone we love just as he describes his love for Kate, bringing up personal feelings of loss, love and all the in between.
The lovey dovey nature, soon takes comical turns when he creates satires through his energy and vocal inflections to show the silly nature of 15 year olds. And then it gets dark – his anger, his hopelessness and his pain shines through, even 14 years later it is evident on his face and in his performance. A theme throughout is that it isn’t about him, it’s about her, but this shows exactly how invested he is in his story to show both sides, without the other participant.
The lighting is simple, and it changes to flicker when anxiety and anger rises. The tubes are like a minefield, or like ‘treading on egg shells’ as he manoeuvres himself through them– the more the story deteriorates and their relationship does, the tubes and their movement by David as less controlled and begin to fall. An interesting representation of control and descent of happiness. And of course, the dolphin. The representation of being the dolphin who gently helps and nudges those in need, is brought in as support, strapped to David’s back, and later, is let out of air and crumbles as David does.
Tell Me Anything is full of theatrical symbolism, heartfelt emotion and a real life and raw story. A piece of theatre that resonates with anyone who has tried, hopelessly, to help someone they love.
https://www.bikeshedtheatre.co.uk/shows/tell-me-anything/
Tag Archives: Review
Review Alien Covenant by Jonathan Evans
(4 / 5)
Alien was always about the something in the dark that jumps out at you. But it masterfully crafted the art of anticipation and the jumping, as well as what it is that jumps out. Ridley Scott returned to his this world with Prometheus, which was more about the origins of us as a species rather than Alien itself. Now with this one it will definitely satisfy the people wanting the big bad creature back.
This has a lot more in-common with the other Alien movies, mostly because it’s definitely seeking to startle you in you seats. But it also comes with a few existential questions. So I guess this is a hybrid of what Scott created years ago and the questions that he wants to ask now.
The plot revolves around the spaceship Covenant, that is traveling through space to colonise another planet, a freak storm hits it and it takes a beating, the crew members wake-up but a few die. They then learn that there’s a planet nearby that could serve nicely as planet for them to settle down on. A search party lands and they find that there are things waiting for them when they arrive.
Katherine Waterson as Daniels
For the role of leading lady we have Katherine Waterson as Daniels. She does something a little different than other leading characters in an action horror. She fully displays her emotions, I don’t mean that there aren’t other examples of main characters in these types of movies having feelings, but they were more stern and gave hints of their vulnerabilities. Waterson is dealt disturbing information and one of the greatest terrors of the movies and it shows, you can see all the confusion and terror on her face but she also endures and deals with the situation knowing that she has a strong core to her. Not many people embrace so heavily showing their action stars in such a state, I applaud them for it and hope to see more.
Original Xenomorph design by H.R. Giger
The Xenomorph, based on the H. R. Giger illustrations, is one of the greatest creatures ever created. It’s shape and shiny black colour makes it instantly recognisable while having intricate details close-up that makes every inch of it fascinating to take in. Whether it’s melting into the darkness, camouflaged within machinery or fully lit it is terrifying because of it’s ferocious nature and in-human body. Unlike in Prometheus, there is no ambiguity, it’s here, we see it and the characters must deal with it. It seems like it’s one-hundred-percent computer generated this time but Scott and his effects team don’t go overboard with it. They still shoot it’s scenes like they would have back then, with build-up, followed but quick shots of a slash or a burst of blood. It’s able to move faster than anyone in the suit was and they utilise that so that the threat is in it’s deadliness.
There are some images within the movie that are inspiring and thought provoking. Others that are overblown and so far beyond practical that they’ll just drawn too much attention from what happening, others where it is gruesomely terrifying.
This is Ridley Scott returning to his roots. Alien, though as masterfully made as it was, was only Scott’s second movie, since then he has gotten a lot more experienced. This shows a man who’s has years to perfect his craft and think about the subject matter to deliver a very mixed bag but comes together as a strong whole.
Whoever said that what the human mind will think of will always be more scary. That person had never seen a Xenomorph in action.
Review Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat by Jane Bissett
(4 / 5)
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat is a familiar story taken from the bible. It is the tale of a younger son, of a favoured wife, being elevated by his doting father and put above his eleven brothers. The brothers, already jealous of their younger brother finally are pushed to action and when their father Jacob gives Joseph the gift of a wonderful new coat and their outrage is complete. The brothers plot to kill Joseph and thus dispose of the problem. However, they fail to complete their plan as they cannot bring themselves to actually commit murder. The answer to this dilemma comes in the form of a travelling slave trader from Egypt and they decide to sell Joseph into slavery. On returning home the brothers tell their father, Jacob, that his beloved son has met with an accident and has been killed by a wild beast and they show him the bloody torn coat as evidence. Meanwhile Joseph has been sold into the household of an Egyptian noble where he works hard and becomes a trusted slave.
However, he catches the eye of the Noble’s wife and is soon accused of wrongdoing. His master has him thrown into prison from which there seems to be no escape. In prison Joseph becomes know for his gift of being able to know the meanings of dreams and this quickly comes to the notice of Pharaoh through his butler, a man who has first hand experience of Joseph’s ability. Joseph is summonsed to Pharaoh’s palace where he is given the task of explaining the meaning of Pharaoh’s dreams. Clearly nervous, Joseph tells Pharaoh what his recurring dream means. Egypt will have seven years of bumper harvests followed by years of famine. When the dream comes to pass Pharaoh places his trust in Joseph and puts him in high office and he becomes a trusted Egyptian. During the famine the people are starving and Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt to try to secure food for their family. The last person they expect to see is Joseph and at first they do not recognise him. Joseph doesn’t make the reunion easy but the family of brothers are eventually reconciled and reunited with Joseph’s parents, so there is a happy ending.
Joseph is a roller coaster ride for the theatre goer of any age. From the moment to curtain rises the production is a vibrant mix of colour and sound to stimulate the senses. From the pens of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Joseph is a triumph. They have successfully taken a biblical tale and transformed it into a secular story that bridges the gaps of time and its message has as much meaning now as it had when it was written. Its appeal spans the generations and this was evident by the diversity of the audience what ever their age, gender or religious belief.
Joe McEdderry, gave a convincing and captivating performance as Joseph, his energy on stage is infectious and his smile and demeanour grabs the audience from curtain up right to the last number when he and the cast received a richly deserved standing ovation.
Henry Metcalfe’s choreography was creative and inspiring with many unexpected twists in the tale and lead us to expect the unexpected on several occasions. The costume design was creative and complimented the performances of the actors against a backdrop of scenery which was uncomplicated and did not distract from the telling of the story which in parts had distinctly modern twists and turns and some unexpected characterisations.
The Narrator, Lucy Kay, linked the scenes and lead the viewer on an unforgettable journey of characters, places and far away lands. With the added voices of the children it is a magical experience in which the audience is absorbed into playing an active role and ends in a well deserved standing ovation.
https://www.wmc.org.uk/Productions/2017-2018/DonaldGordonTheatre/Joseph17/
Review The North! The North! The Bike Shed Theatre by Hannah Goslin
(3 / 5)
Entering into the underbelly of The Bike Shed Theatre, we are greeted by a solo man dancing vigorously to unidentifiable music. The North! The North! Sees the story of one man in a post-apocalyptic / alternative universe to our world as we know it. The story features a narrative that is wildly imaginative and creative, and extremely unusual. People have deformities, the world has had shortages and events during the 1970’s/1980’s that never happened in our world – essentially anything and everything is possible.
This one man show is full of energy, changes in characters which still always feel like that have a sense of the main character, adding to the strangeness of the story and is impressive with the detail from speech to action to stage and how It is all memorised.
Speaking of stage – while small, the stage is full of technological surprises. Projection is used heavily with a Mighty Boosh-esque cartoons to give place, to show props and add to the storyline. This involves being precise and well-rehearsed which he is. Each time, it brings a new joy and intrigue.
The performer himself is endearing and speaks to us like we understand this world – something so extraordinary, he does not dumb down his tale and we feel engaged and interested.
A strange but interesting production – my mother who attended said she felt as if she had ‘been involved in his own personal acid trip’ – which easily sums up this adventure.
https://www.bikeshedtheatre.co.uk/shows/the-north-the-north/
Review, Rob Auton The Sleep Show, Exeter Phoenix by Hannah Goslin
(4 / 5)
Rob Auton’s The Sleep Show is like something I have never experienced before. This sounds negative but it is meant in every positive way.
The premise of the show is looking at sleep through comedy and spoken word. Beginning with a ‘support act’ which is Auton himself, we are eased into his unusual sense of humour and warmth as he engages with us personally. The support act is against the show’s title, but more giving us an introduction, a literal warm up to pumping music, and made us feel as if Auton was our friend, not just a performing stranger.
The Sleep Show itself was a roller coaster of emotions. Moments are of elation with comedy, ad libbing and times of going off topic. Auton is not afraid to come away from structure and script to find different paths, always returning back somehow but this shows skill and a comfortability in his performance style.
Other parts see a real deep and meaningful look into sleep, into the way we live, metaphorically and literally and brought new perspectives, poetic and theatrical approaches to the subject and was a beauty to listen to and watch how invested he is in his skill.
We found during the show the unfortunate events that come with such performances – hecklers. A woman who openly shunned the performance and Auton to his face, showed little respect and perhaps a naivety/lack of understanding of the performance type. Auton does well to change this into humour, taking my tweet to him earlier in the day and assigning the reviewer status to her. Without owning up, it was interesting to see how he used life events not only in my contact with him but in the relationship building with this woman and how he is able to think on his toes to come back in control.
Auton reminds me a lot of a mixture of James Acaster, The Mighty Boosh and Rick and Morty. A certain cup of tea, I really enjoyed the new and interesting approach he brought to the stage and encourage everyone to try him at least once.
http://www.robauton.co.uk/sleep-show
Review: The Request Show – The Cooperativa Maura Morales by Helen Joy
(3 / 5)
Smart hand-drawn backdrop. Black and white lines of a kitchen-living-room. Strange distorted dystopian home of the bored and disaffected. With a loo off the side. A few spots of red from some flowers in a painted jar. She is black and white too.
This is a very odd start. A woman neatly dressed piddling noisily, then stroking her hair back from her head with her wetted hands. What a thing to remember so clearly. How shocking it is. How very very personal. And so it continues.
Intense, in your face, curiously flamboyant. Radio triggers a reminder of passions unspent. English at first. German later. This is an extraordinary physical breakdown of a woman tried by her own life, afraid of engaging with the outside world, trapped in her silence. It is her world and she seems ok with that.
Till she changes half way. When her hair comes down.
One very able dancer expresses the need for company and contact through a very emotional, tight series of movements which I long to become fluid and sloppy, warm from cold. Which they do, just for a short while, not long before the end, not long before she eats the red roses, dropping their bloody petals onto her green dress. Her mouth crammed with sadness, her tears quite real.
It seems completely inappropriate to applaud. Wrong. Hurtful.
The audience slopes out. A few check out the set, taking pictures, reverently whispering. Me too. I do not ask anyone what they think this time.
Helen Joy for Get the Chance, 3rd Act Critics.
The Request Show – Cooperativa Maura Morales
The Request Show (Cuba/Germany)
Performed by Maura Morales
Music composed by Michio Woirgardt
Seen: 6th May, 2017
Where: Dance House, Cardiff
For tour dates and more information:
http://www.ndcwales.co.uk/en/what-s-on/calendar/spring-dancehouse-the-request-show-the-cooperativa-maura-morales/
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To support the National Dance Company Wales, please consider their new Lift Lifft scheme at http://www.ndcwales.co.uk/en/about/support-us/individual-giving/
Review Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 by Jonathan Evans
(4 / 5)
This movie is an example of the age that we, as a movie audience and MARVEL Studios are living in right now. There is an audience that is not so stuffy that can accept weird and outlandish concepts, characters and images and a studio that has accumulated enough capital that it is willing to spend money and delivery on them.
We get our Guardians of the Galaxy back for this movie. Chris Pratt is Peter Quill/Star Lord still a handsome well meaning fool. Rocket (Bradley Cooper) that’s still so tech savvy and can piss of anyone within a few moments of being in their company. Also still an amazing C.G.I. accomplishment. Drax (Dave Bautista) who might just get the most and biggest laughs from me this time, speaking his mind, no matter how uncomfortable or offensive it might be. Gamora (Zoe Saldana) who’s more defined here, she is the level headed one and the stern fighter. Finally is Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) still growing from the last movie, a really cute design that will probably sell many, many toys.
Our opening sequence is our Guardians defending batteries from, some kind of energy eating monster. They take it down eventually, though a more coordinated team would have been able to do it better, and receive their reward from a species of gold-skinned humanoids. Though Rocket has kept a few batteries for himself, which displeases them greatly.
This comedy style can be described as wise-ass, the characters constantly poke fun of their situation and other characters in the world. It helps by not taking itself too seriously, which would be a struggle with characters and visuals this wild and ridiculous. Some of the gags go on too long, with one character not hearing or completely misinterpreting what the other said so it all has to be repeated with rising frustration. This is milking a scene however it almost plays into the comedy, it’s funny that they don’t have to be stingy with their special effects and have a scene play-out.
These movies have distinguished themselves in their lavish production value. No other movie can I think of that has brought to life such crazy concepts with such care and skill. Having bars and ships filled to the brim with all these different alien designs and meticulously designed sets that vary from pristine palaces to dingy, leaky slums.
In the last movie Peter has a cassette tape of hit songs from the eighties and before. At the end of that movie he got the next volume, so this movie once again is filled with catchy songs. They’re not all as recognisable or as catchy as the first one, but I think they fit the themes of the moment they’re played in better.
There’s a lot less going on in this movie. Less characters and less intertwining narratives, the whole thing is more focused and consistent. I criticised the first movie for wanting to reach emotional placed but never being confident enough to go there. This one has short, but sincere moments of emotion but never tries to go too deep with them and are nearly always book-ended with comedy so the whole thing is much more consistent.
In nearly every MARVEL movie Stan Lee has made a little cameo appearance. It’s been something cute for the fans to see and develop theories for. Well here, he makes a cameo again and they do something special with it. What it is I wont dare spoil, but it’s good.
This is a franchise that never excelled in it’s depth of a story, profound message or even something philosophical. No it’s strength is in it’s incompetent, but fun characters and visuals. It strikes that great genre piece that made the eighties an enjoyable decade, colour and fun.
Review La Strada, Exeter Northcott Theatre by Hannah Goslin
(4 / 5)
Set in a timeless existence, La Strada sees the story of a group of misfits, a young girl is sold to a Strongman performer and meets and develops friendships, experiences with and learns from.
The proscenium arch set is the usual theatrical setting, however the company set up a changeable area with the use of props and staging to give the impression of different places and different venues. This works well with the idea that the story is set anywhere, at any time, with the bohemian costumes and dirty travelling circus attire.
One thing that I am a huge fan of and which was implemented well in this production is all the performers being involved at all times. A strange and different group of people, whether a prop, part of the stage, a character or providing the music/soundscapes, they were always involved, drawing our attention to the main action. This shows a great interest and investment in the production and an energy that was constant.
Each character was haunting, had their own comedic moments, but added to the atmosphere of fear, of confusion and oddness that the main character of the little girl experiences. A naive girl, the performer did well to transform her simple, youth to someone more profound and strong by the end. Her physicality and facial expressions were simple but well completed for the character, and her ability to admit humour from the script with what seemed like complete ease made this bohemian alternative world seem realistic.
The performers all used their physicality to represent parts of the stage and the story – from the motorcycle the Strongman drives to the metaphorical waves representing the young girl’s emotions. Again, this was well invested in and made the production feel a little more out of the world and again, place able on any time line.
And finally, the use of live music, taking the performer’s skills an adding it to the production made this feel more cosy, as if we were joining in a small community and provided an unusual but catchy background.
La Strada is comical, haunting and just a little bit clever – well worth the watch!
https://exeternorthcott.co.uk/calendar/la-strada/
Review You’ve Got Dragons, Taking Flight Theatre Company by Ysella Fish
You’ve got Dragons is a short, one act play targeted towards families and young children. Based on the book of the same title by Kathryn Cave, it follows Benjamina’s (Axelina Heagney) journey to come to terms with her dragons.
Despite a fairly slow start, this gave plenty of time to admire not only the chalkboard-effect set, designed by Stacey-Jo Atkinson but also the original music composed by Dan Lawrence which was still soft enough to allow chatting among the audience.
As the performance started, the introductions of Chloe Clarke and Hermon Berhane as the dragons caused gasps to come from the audience although humour was quickly created again through ‘old man dragon’s’ farting, which had many giggles coming from the audience.
Not only was Benjamina’s relationship with her dragon developed but her relationship with her father (James William Ward, who successfully played multiple roles) was too. The scene with Ben refusing to go to sleep was probably familiar to the many parents in the audience.
Having seen previous Taking Flight performances, I was interested in seeing how they created an accessible show while ensuring it was simple enough for children to follow. And they have delivered! Young children were clearly considered by Director Elise Davidson in all aspects of the performance, the caption boxes often use colourful pictures in place of long paragraphs of text while BSL and audio description were interwoven so well that they felt like an integral part of the story rather than being a distraction.
The performance is also often highly visual, creating many beautiful moments such as the postman where the cast used ribbons to create an image of a bike, while also adding audience interaction to make the children feel fully involved in Ben’s story.
Overall, the performance clearly highlighted for me how naturally Taking Flight have succeeding in creating an inclusive performance for children while still managing to make it enjoyable for all ages.
http://www.takingflighttheatre.co.uk
Review Sister Act, WMC by Eloise Stingemore
(5 / 5)
The smash hit musical production returned to the Centre with director and choreograph Craig Revel Horwood from Strictly Come Dancing at the helm. Who gave this tried and tested production that has gone through various permutations since the 1992 Whoopi Goldberg film a real musical heart.
Sister Act tells the hilarious story of Deloris Van Cartier, a sassy nightclub singer in 1977/78 in need of witness protection after witnessing a murder. Deloris is hidden in the one place she won’t be found – a convent! Forced to wear a habit, and eat nothing but mutton, Deloris clashes with Mother Superior and begins to lead her fellow sisters astray, until she finds her calling in teaching them to sing.
Alexandra Burke really shines in the lead role of Deloris Van Cartier, each witty line or facial expression is delivered to perfection. However, it is when she opens her mouth to sing, we’re reminded of why audiences voted for her in there millions during 2008 X Factor. Burke’s voice never falters; her dancing is wonderfully expressive and comedic, it is her ability to make her audience laugh while ensuring their feet never stop tapping, makes her truly sensational as Deloris.
This show contains a fabulous group of musicians, who, instead of playing in the orchestra pit, take the role of various characters such as the trumpet playing Mother Superior played by Karen Mann. Who along with Burke are truly at the heart of this warm, funny and entertaining production but they are by no means the only ones. The whole cast displays a great deal of energy and enthusiasm and present as though they are loving life when signing Alan Menken original musical numbers including ‘Raise Your Voice,’ ‘Take Me to Heaven,’ and the show-stopping finale ‘Spread the Love Around.’
From the first moment to the big finale, the show is wonderful. A perfect lead in Burke, a great cast as well as a superb script and songs have been combined perfectly by the director into perhaps the best show to grace the stage of the Centre in a long time.
https://www.wmc.org.uk/Productions/2017-2018/DonaldGordonTheatre/SisterAct/