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Theatre

REVIEW Ghost Cities, Sherman Youth Theatre by Barbara Hughes-Moore

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The Sherman Theatre turns 50 this year, and there’s no better way to celebrate than with the golden line-up they have planned for their anniversary: Gary Owen’s much-anticipated Romeo & Julie, Nia Morais’ magical Imrie – and the Sherman Youth Theatre’s Ghost Cities. It’s a new take on Gary Owen’s 2004 drama Ghost City, directed by Justin Teddy Cliffe and incorporating new material by the Sherman’s Introduction to Playwrighting Participants Mared Seeley, Loki Skyrme-Croft, Lauren Hindmarsh and Emma Phelps.

The cast of Ghost Cities. Image credit: Chris Lloyd

Set in Cardiff over a single night, Ghost Cities follows the capital’s lonely souls in a series of interconnected vignettes. There is little to link them directly, save a postcode and a prayer: a universal yearning for connection, understanding, and empathy. I haven’t seen the original play, but there seems to be a nice synergy between the original and its additions. You might be able to spot some of the new material, but it synthesises well with Owen’s text into a cohesive and rewarding whole. And while not every story carries the same sway (some seem as weightless as ghosts), others linger like spectres – largely due to the skill and enthusiasm of its cast and creative team.

The cast of Ghost Cities. Image credit: Chris Lloyd

Designer Ruby Brown (supported by The Fenton Arts Trust) and lighting director Rachel Mortimer have worked wonders with the set. Fragments of what’s happening onstage are projected onto an imposing pyramid, distorted and partial; casting doubt on whether what we’re seeing is what’s really happening. At one point, the pyramid becomes the inner core of a Matrix-like computer algorithm; at another, the live feed of an increasingly sinister political broadcast. These are just some of the many striking images that make the play gripping: a hooded stranger leaning against a door, a phone line stretched across the void, a eulogy illumined by a single beam of light as if from heaven.

The cast of Ghost Cities. Image credit: Chris Lloyd

After The It in 2020 and Treasure Island last year, this is the third Sherman Youth Theatre production I’ve had the privilege to attend – and it’s incredible to see such talented young actors continue to grow in their skill and their craft. They navigate brilliantly through drama, comedy, and even tinges of horror, creating a very specific world for the stories to inhabit: the standouts for me were a teacher explaining her gender transition to a previously scornful student, a hilarious night out at Walkabout that ends in both hope and disaster, and a Deliveroo rider philosophising on the meaning of life. All the while, a disenfranchised young man haunts the stage, very much alive and very much at our elbow – we, and the characters, may just overlook him at our own risk.

The cast of Ghost Cities. Image credit: Chris Lloyd

Ghost Cities is a celebration of Cardiff in its hidden corners. It begins with a single voice and ends with many: in doing so, it seems to say that a city is a living thing, and we are its lifeblood: our lives, our stories, the connections we make and the ones we might miss.

Ghost Cities is performed by Rashid Ali, Lily Cole, Rhys Evans, Theo Greenwood, Daisy Griffiths, Twm Llwyd, Edith McCarron, Maya McDarren, Orrin Niziblian, Pringles North, Elian Owen, Jim Pesticcio, Lucia Taher, Brooke Thomas, Nia Thomas, Rory Tune, Indigo Wernick, and Jett Wood.

Ghost Cities is performing between 2 – 4 March at the Sherman Theatre. More information and how to book tickets here. Tonight’s production is a double bill with the Youth Theatre’s ‘Chaos’.

The cast of Ghost Cities. Image credit: Chris Lloyd
Musical, Theatre

REVIEW Mamma Mia! New Theatre Cardiff

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If there’s anyone we should thank for the music, it’s ABBA. One of the best-selling bands of all time, this iconic Swedish quartet made a grand Arrival on the scene in 1974 with the Eurovision-winning Waterloo and went on to dominate pop music for the next decade. Disbanding in ’82 with a smorgasbord of songs (and many millions of dollars) under their belt, their star has never dimmed. (Songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus even went on to write original musical Chess). Forty years on, they embarked on a new Voyage, with a chart-topping comeback album and a virtual arena residency featuring concerts performed by their holographic ‘ABBAtars’.

So, who better to form the basis of a jukebox musical? Produced by Judy Craymer, Mamma Mia! premiered in London in 1999 and went on to become the sixth longest-running show in West End history. Its movie adaptation, directed by Phyllida Lloyd and starring Meryl Streep, smashed box office records and, for a decade, was the highest grossing film to be directed by a woman. Now, this beloved show is taking off on a massive UK and International Tour to remind us all why we should Take a Chance and Have a Dream.

Written by Catherine Johnson, and helmed by Lloyd, Mamma Mia! is set on the fictional Greek island of Kalokairi. 20-year-old Sophie (Jess Michelmore) is soon to marry fiancée Sky (Christopher Foley). She is determined to have her dad walk her down the aisle, but her fiercely independent mother Donna (Sara Poyzer) has never revealed his identity. So Sophie does some snooping, whittles the potential candidates down to three, and invites them to the island in secret. The players in this particular paternity lottery are Harry Bright (Neal Craig), Bill Austin (Phil Corbitt) and Sam Carmichael (Richard Standing), who each captured Donna’s heart one Last Summer many years before.

The plot is as light and frothy as the waves lapping the island shore, and the lead-ins to each ditty tenuous at best – “I’m old enough to be your mother!” Tanya (Sarah Earnshaw) says to lovestruck Pepper (Jaden Osheneye): cue Does Your Mother Know – but who cares? Benny and Björn’s songs are so iconic that they’re ironclad – and all you need to do is sing along. And I defy you not to start doing just that when the title track’s opening marimba kicks in, and the show really kicks off.

Fun is the Name of the Game here, and there’s more than enough to go round: Rosie (Nicky Swift) and Tanya cheering up bestie Donna with a one-two punch of Chiquitita and Dancing Queen; Sky and his mates’ laddish rendition of Lay All Your Love On Me; a rowdy reception that culminates in a plea to Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight). It also makes time for the smaller moments between characters: Donna singing The Winner Takes It All to Sam, the one that got away (Poyzer and Standing, a couple offstage as well as on, bring a genuine chemistry to their interactions). And rhe way Poyzer performs Slipping Through My Fingers as she tearfully does her daughter’s hair one last time brought a tear to mine.

The show’s celebration of love beyond the heteronormative was progressive for its time – though it would benefit from some updating (it’s 2023, yet Harry’s husband remains resolutely offstage). Even so, the musical is defiantly inclusive and crafts a world for itself that – save for the need to scrape for Money Money Money – is positively utopian. In Mamma Mia!, anything is possible: old flames reignite, new love blooms, and the only obstacles to ever after are just a song away from solving. For all its fluff and fabulousness, its subversive quality is perhaps its most enduring: giving its older women characters focus and agency, and the space to be sexy, messy, and fun.

Mamma Mia – you’ll want to go again! This is a show for every Dancing Queen and Chiquitita who ever had a dream. If you’re thinking ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme a ticket’, you might want to act soon – because they’re selling out faster than you can say Voulez-Vous! It might not be the most polished gem in the West End’s crown – but when it’s good, it’s gold.

Mamma Mia! Is playing at the New Theatre in Cardiff through to Saturday 4 March

Musical, Theatre

Review Sister Act, Venue Cymru by Richard Evans

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Venue Cymru, February 13th to 18th 2023

Directed by Bill Buckhurst, book by Cheri Steinkellner and Bill Steinkellner, additional book material, Douglas Carter Beane

Produced by Jamie Wilson productions, Kevin McCollum, Gavin Kalin, Robbie Wilson and Curve

Music by Alan Mencken, Lyrics, Glenn Slater 

out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

“This is a house of worship” “But this could be bigger than Broadway!  Bigger than Vegas!”

The premise behind Sister Act is great: a nightclub singer and gangsters moll on the run after witnessing a murder finds sanctuary in a convent and turns good while transforming their choir from a discordant mess to angelic sweetness. There is plenty of room for farce and slapstick in here and a thrilling ending to go with it.  

There are some excellent parts to this production, especially the singing, as you may expect from Sandra Marvin as Deloris, Lizzie Bea as Sister Mary Robert and more surprisingly from Clive Rowe  as Steady Eddy who stole the show a couple of times.  There is a nice line in humour and some great costuming and choreography.  The set is imaginative and the change from nightclub to convent to police station and back again is slick.  Leslie Joseph is both assertive as she dictates what she expects of the order yet vulnerable as she sees firstly her church community and then the sacred traditions threatened by modernity and the whirlwind that is Deloris. 

As this play is based on the 1992 film of the same name, there are some tough acts to follow. Does this play manage to recapture the appeal of the film?  I have heard some people bemoan the fact that the music is totally different, but this underestimates the quality of the songfest here.  

However, from memory, one thing the film did well was get a good balance between respect and parody.  Like all institutions, the church should be open to being satirised but they are entitled to be represented fairly as well.  I am not sure the play does this as successfully as the film. I was not convinced with a lyric from the mother superior that questioned whether God existed.  In addition, the lyric where the young novice expressed the desire to choose rather than to obey misses the point which is that the monastic life is one where you chose to obey.  In both these examples the musical seems to underestimate the power and depth of personal devotion.  

The limited scope of the stage compared to the film set also precluded the emphasis on service to the community which was a major feature in the original and is something that any faith community should seek to do.  However, there was a willingness to debate the relative merits of a materialistic and spiritual lifestyle and plenty of respect was paid to those who have taken the vows of a nun.  Whenever a play has some gentle moralising, it is important to get these social issues comments correct.  

However, such criticism is perhaps unfair on a production that is primarily a musical show with a happy ending.  In this light, the play is highly successful.  All in all, this was a good nights entertainment and was warmly appreciated by the sell out crowd. 

Theatre

REVIEW Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, New Theatre by Barbara Hughes-Moore

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Take your first Steps to a perfect Christmas! With last year’s Aladdin interrupted by the pandemic, the New Theatre’s annual in-house panto returns with the spirit of Christmas back in full swing. Presented by Crossroads Pantomimes and directed by David Burrows, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a magic apple you’ll want to take a bite of.

Nay-Nay Gapomo in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (photo credit: Tim Dickeson)

Alan McHugh’s script draws on the story we know from Disney’s animated retelling while bringing some big panto laughs. Denquar Chupak plays the titular princess with characteristic sweetness and style, making a welcome return to the New after playing Princess Jasmine last year alongside Gareth Gates as Aladdin. A lovely romance blossoms between her and Nay-Nay Gapomo’s Prince Carwyn, who Queen Lucretia (Siân Reeves) has her (evil) eye on.

Siân Reeves and Ian ‘H’ Watkins in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (photo credit: Tim Dickeson)

Local boy and pop icon Ian ‘H’ Watkins from international supergroup Steps plays the Spirit of the Mirror and has an absolutely smashing (!) time onstage. Decked out in silver sparkles (imagine if the Tin Man started a pop career and you’re halfway there), he gets the audience on their feet and Stomp-ing to the beat of a classic pop medley quicker than you can say 5, 6, 7, 8! He’s far and away the Heart(beat) of the show. If, by the time you see H from Steps riding a flying motorbike over the audience, you don’t feel as though you’ve got your money’s worth, then that really is a Tragedy.

Siân Reeves and Gareth Thomas in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (photo credit: Tim Dickeson)

He riffs especially well off the other two feathers on the show’s Welsh crown: legendary Welsh rugby player Gareth Thomas as Henchman ‘Alfie’, and Panto Dame Extraordinaire Mike Doyle as Nurse Nancy (who’ll be at the New again in February with his own show, ‘Rock with Laughter’). While a few of the tropes could do with an upgrade – the 12 Days of Christmas went on about a week too long for me, but the kids in the audience were loving it – they’re performed with such joy that you can’t help but join in (though I think the time could have been better spent with another Steps dance-break, for example!) There’s potty humour for the little ones and innuendo for the adults, and while it’s not always my cup of tea, it was often my cup of cocoa – which Mike Doyle dresses up as in one memorable moment! His Shirley Bassey has to be seen to be believed, though my personal fave is an outfit that cannot be described and certainly not Trifled with.

Mike Doyle in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (photo credit: Tim Dickeson)

While ‘The Magnificent Seven’ of the title don’t feature often, they make an impression when they do – kudos to Gareth Elis, Ella Howlett, Mia Jae, Tiaan Jones, JB Maya, and especially James Rockey as the Seven’s eccentric Eric Idle-esque leader Doc (though I was quite surprised they hadn’t cast actors of short stature in these roles). But it’s better the devil you know as Siân Reeves vamps and camps it up as the vain(glorious) Lucretia, especially during her own Steps number – though if anyone’s walking away from this show with a crown, it’s Britain’s Got Talent finalist Steve Hewlett, whose ventriloquist act with grouchy puppet ‘Arthur’ has more than earned his royal seal of approval!

Denquar Chupak in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (photo credit: Tim Dickeson)

With enchanting scenery and brilliant special effects, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is brimming with festive magic and brings a fantastic new twist on the original tale you know and love.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is playing at the New Theatre through to 8 January 2023. You can find more information on the show and book tickets here.

Ian ‘H’ Watkins in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (photo credit: Tim Dickeson)

Musical, Theatre

REVIEW Tales of the Brothers Grimm, Sherman Theatre by Barbara Hughes-Moore

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Grangetown, 1913. A young girl called Stevie (Lily Beau) is about to face another Christmas without her mother, a Suffragette who is spending Christmas Eve on the campaign for women’s rights. Much to her mother’s disapproval, Stevie’s uncles gift her with a book of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm. Yearning for a story of her own, Stevie finds herself transported in the weird and wacky Grimmdom and assembles a chorus of fairy tale characters on a quest for a happily ever after.

Written by Hannah McPake (who also plays Mother / the Snow Queen), and directed by Joe Murphy, Tales of the Brothers Grimm is proof positive that there’s no place like the Sherman at Christmastime. Their annual production has become as integral a part of the festive season as a mince pie, and their latest offering is a treat for all the senses.

McPake, most recently Peter Quince in the Sherman’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, continues to prove herself as a real tour de force both onstage and behind the scenes. Her writing is as crisp as snow and sparkles almost as much as her Snow Queen costume does: when she crashes onstage dressed like Elizabeth I as styled by Vivienne Westwood (actually the wonderful Hayley Grindle), you know you’re about to see something iconic.

While riffing on some of the most beloved fairy tales in existence, the show also affectionately draws on The Wizard of Oz, with Stevie stranded in a strange and magical world and wanting to get home. Her actions in the Grimmdom end up disrupting the fairy tale trajectories of Cinderella (Katie-Elin Salt), Sleeping Beauty (Bethzienna Williams), and Rapunzel (Sarah Workman) – and so they journey through the forest to find the Brothers Grimm and put their stories back on track.

The production plays with archetypes and doubles, with much of the hugely talented cast playing multiple roles and instruments. Kyle Lima and James Ifan play both Stevie’s stern bookbinding Uncles and the Brothers Grimm, who make a grand entrance singing a Europop banger while dressed in sparkly lederhosen – and if that doesn’t make you want to see the show, I don’t know what will. Ifan also steals hearts as a soul-searching Prince Charming while Lima huffs, puffs and blows the house down as a bluesy Big Bad Wolf.

Lily Beau leads the adventure brilliantly while Keiron Self as the Narrator (in his seventh Sherman Christmas production) holds everything together with a dollop of charm and a huge dose of silliness – he and apprentice actor Michael Morgan also get to join in on the sparkly lederhosen front, with much aplomb. Elin-Salt, Williams and Workman first take to the stage as the Uncles’ automaton-esque Bavarian helpers, before returning in full Disney mode to great effect. Williams, a finalist on The Voice in 2019, lends real power to ‘Wide Awake’, one of a host of brilliant songs by McPake and Lucy Rivers (with musical direction by Barnaby Southgate). Meanwhile, Hayley Grindle’s set and costumes underscore the jagged magic of this topsy-turvy fairy tale world.

Fairy tales are stories of transformation: straw can be turned into gold, a pumpkin into a carriage, and a frog into a prince. But while ‘happily ever after’ bookends the stories it can also trap its characters: in gender roles, in unhappy relationships, in the illusion of closure. The Narrator yearns for a name, Stevie for purpose – even the Snow Queen longs to rewrite her story. The princesses might all call on Prince Charming to save them, but he is just as much a victim to the patriarchy as they are. Even the Brothers Grimm are trapped by fame and expectations.

In a beautifully subversive move, McPake – as both actor and scribe – encourages her characters and her audience to think beyond ‘The End’: to flout the rules, to rescue ourselves, and to write our own stories. Tales of the Brothers Grimm is a feat of pure Grimmagiantion, and it proves something even deeper: the Sherman isn’t just the place you go to see a show: it’s a place you go to feel like you belong.

Tales of the Brothers Grimm is playing at the Sherman Theatre through to 31st December. There are a number of accessible performances (captioned, relaxed, and BSL interpreted) through its run, and reduced ticket prices for children and under 25s. More information on the show and how to book tickets here.

Theatre

REVIEW Death Drop Back in the Habit, New Theatre by Barbara Hughes-Moore

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Hallelujah! Following three West End runs and a sold-out UK tour, the original Death Drop took the theatre world by storm by filling the stage with an all-star cast of drag queens and kings. It was easily the filthiest and funniest thing I’d ever seen – and the sequel promised to be even more anarchic, swapping out Dragatha Christie for Dragnus Dei. Produced by TuckShop and Trafalgar Theatre Productions, Death Drop: Back in the Habit centres on a gaggle of glamorous nuns who occupy the remote convent of St Babs. With a gamut of ghostly goings-on, and a potential serial killer slashaying their way through the sisterhood, the Vatican sends Father Alfie Romeo to sleuth out the truth – though he’s no Sis Marple.

River Medway, Cheryl Hole, Willam, Victoria Scone, and LoUis CYfer in Death Drop: Back in the Habit. Image credit: Matt Crockett

Written by Rob Evans and directed once again by Jesse Jones, Back in the Habit is the newest entry in the self-proclaimed Death Drop Cinematic Universe (DDCU), created by Christopher D Clegg. The sequel is blessed with the presence of drag royalty, including two returning stars: RuPaul’s Drag Race US Superstar Willam (the only contestant to be disqualified!) as Sis Titis, and award-winning Drag King LoUis CYfer as Alfie Romeo. They’re joined by a holy trinity of Drag Race UK stars: River Medway as Sister Maria Julieandrews, Cheryl Hole as Sister Mary Berry, and Cardiff-based Victoria Scone (the first cis woman to compete in the franchise’s history) as Mother Superior. Blessed are they who pun in the name of the lord.

Willam as Sis Titis in Death Drop: Back in the Habit. Image credit: Matt Crockett

The cast are on top form and bring glamour, gags, and gravitas to a script that isn’t quite as tight as the costumes. There’s a lot of camp, comedic potential in Christianity – for further reference, see the Met Gala’s 2018 bash – and its ecclesiastical extravagance is suitably eviscerated here. In true Death Drop fashion, the jinks are high and the brow is low, with no innuendo left unturned. Despite throwing shade at the ‘cheap’ production values, Peter Mackintosh’s set and Rory Beaton’s lighting are extremely effective, especially in the scarier scenes (demonic possession, ghostly apparitions, and a ghoulishly good reprise of Flo and Joan’s ‘Oopsie Whoopsie’).

River Medway as Sister Maria Julieandrews in Death Drop: Back in the Habit. Image credit: Matt Crockett

The characterisations are top-class – but I must make a confession: while the performers are truly doing the Lord’s work, the material they’re given is far from divine. Cheryl Hole’s Sister Mary Berry and Willam’s Sis Titis are brilliantly named and performed, but their comedic potential isn’t mined as much as it could be – Mary Berry isn’t even the resident chef! If we already have Sister Maria Julieandrews, why not have her be joined by other onscreen nuns: can you imagine Willam donning Deborah Kerr’s iconic white wimple from Black Narcissus while Cheryl Hole channels Debbie Reynolds’ guitar-strumming Singing Nun? In recent years we’ve even had Saint Maud, Warrior Nun, and The Conjuring movies – but there’s one obvious omission: to not have a queen take on the role of Whoopi Goldberg’s Sister Mary Clarence here is practically blasphemous, especially as its her film which lends this show its subtitle. Its second-to-none cast, though, is its saving grace.

Local girl Victoria Scone as Mother Superior in Death Drop: Back in the Habit. Image credit: Matt Crockett

While it might not be the answer to all your prayers, Death Drop: Back in the Habit is a Joyful, Joyful slay ride that features a heavenly host of drag performers that put the ‘original’ in ‘original sin’. Can I get an Amen?

Death Drop: Back in the Habit is playing at the New Theatre Cardiff from 29 November – 3 December

LoUis CYfer, River Medway, William, Victoria Scone and Cheryl Hole in Death Drop: Back in the Habit. Image credit: Matt Crockett
Theatre

REVIEW SPIKE, New Theatre by Barbara Hughes-Moore

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‘I told you I was ill’: this is the epitaph of one Terence ‘Spike’ Milligan, who holds the rare honour of being able to make people laugh long after shuffling off this mortal coil. Milligan was the man behind The Goons, a satirical radio show broadcast by the BBC between 1951 and 1960. As co-creator, chief writer and one third of the titular trio along with Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe, Milligan took postwar Britain by storm and influenced comedic greats from Monty Python to the Muppets. Premiering at the Watermill in January and now ending its successful UK tour at Cardiff’s New Theatre, Ian Hislop and Nick Newman’s SPIKE celebrates the man behind the madness.

The cast concludes the play with a raucous performance of The Goons’ ‘Whistle Your Cares Away’, which inspired Monty Python’s ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’. All images credited to Pamela Raith.

Directed by Watermill AD Paul Hart, SPIKE takes place during the tumultuous making of The Goons, which was just as chaotic and surreal behind the mic as it was in front of it. This trio of working-class lads had a penchant for the surreal and direct line to your funny bone – but, as with anything creative, tempers flared and egos clashed. Robert Wilfort (aka Gavin and Stacey’s Jason – he of the infamous fishing trip) is nothing short of stupendous as Spike, no small feat when considering that the man was a one-off who was always ‘on’. Determined not to play him as a ‘Tears of a Clown’ caricature (for more, check out our interview with Robert here), Wilfort plays Spike as the beleaguered eccentric he was – a loyal friend, a frustrating colleague, and a loving if distant husband. Wilfort captures Spike’s soul in all its anarchic, defiant glory, and has the comic chops to make his iconic quips soar.

The cast’s recreations of classic Goon gags are nothing short of stellar

He’s supported by a rabble-rousing, gag-tastic cast who collectively had the audience in stitches. While this is Spike’s show through and through, Mischief Theatre alums Patrick Warner and Jeremy Lloyd as Peter Sellers and Wales’ own Harry Secombe, not to mention Ellie Morris as Spike’s first wife June, all have their time to shine. Warner and Lloyd are uncanny as their comic counterparts – and when they share the stage with Wilfort, they nail the Goons’ very particular magic: they’re just three (extra)ordinary people who enjoy making each other laugh. Robert Mountford does a brilliant job as both a haughty BBC Executive and as one third of a toffee-nosed trio of critics, along with James Mack and Margaret Cabourn-Smith (who also plays enthusiastic sound engineer Janet). It’s no surprise that cast and crew have been nominated for multiple Broadway World UK awards.

The flashbacks to Spike’s time serving in World War II are effective and affecting – not to mention an inventive recreation of the writing process set to Rimsky-Korsakov’s ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’

While the show focuses on a relatively narrow portion of Milligan’s life, it covers a lot of ground, from his service in the Royal Artillery during World War II to his struggles with PTSD and bipolar disorder and the breakdown of his first marriage. Most vividly, it captures his infamous battles with the BBC: you see, the war never really left him, and neither did his rebellious attitude to authority. When he discovered that the Officer Class were to have command over him again, this time as the pen-pushing Heads of Department who nixed anything vaguely novel, Spike took up arms anew.

Spike infamously died on his feet during a solo set in Coventry, telling the booing audience: “I hope you all get bombed again.”.

In the excellent post-show talk (of which the New should do more, if possible), co-writer Newman admitted that the play gave him and Hislop (The Wipers Times) the chance to ‘steal all of Spike’s best jokes’. While the play lacks something of a dramatic through-line, the love for Spike is in every second; there’s a reverence about his irreverence that makes it as moving as it is hilarious. Even Spike’s daughter, Jane Milligan, expressed how much she misses her dad’s ‘anarchy’, and his ability to hold power to account – remember that even the reigning monarch did not escape unscathed from Spike’s cutting wit.

SPIKE doesn’t gloss over the hardships Milligan faced, but it portrays both the rough and the smooth with a lightness of touch and a fondness for the man that radiates from the stage

While Peter Sellers went on to great success in movies like The Pink Panther and Dr Strangelove, and Secombe (iconic as Oliver!’s Mr Bumble) went into music, Milligan became a prolific memoirist (Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall), poet, and children’s author – but never reached their flashy heights. His influence, though, is immortal – and SPIKE is, in true Goonish fashion, an eccentric celebration of a man who, even after a lifetime of making the world laugh, was still gone too Goon.

SPIKE concludes its UK tour at the New Theatre Cardiff this week – make sure to catch it between 22 – 26 November before it’s Goon forever! More information on the show and how to book tickets here.

Music, Opera & classical

REVIEW BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Mahler 9 with Markus Stenz             

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Reviewed by Barbara Hughes-Moore

The Cardiff Classical 2022-23 continues with its latest concert at St David’s Hall, featuring one of the finest symphonies by one of the greatest Romantic composers. German conductor Markus Stenz leads the BBC National Orchestra of Wales through Gustav Mahler’s 9th Symphony, the last completed symphonic work before his death in 1911.

The 9th is something of a culmination of Mahler’s lifelong fascination with death, which we can trace from the ‘Polka with Introductory Funeral March’ which he composed aged seven. That doesn’t mean Mahler was aware of his unravelling mortal coil when composing the 9th, although – like Beethoven and Schubert before him – he died without completing his 10th symphony. After losing his daughter and being diagnosed with severe health issues himself, Mahler moved his family to their summer residence on the Austro-Italian border, to grieve and to recuperate. The gorgeous natural surroundings of Toblach were one of the key inspirations behind his final work, and its fascination with nature can be heard in every note, from the earthy second movement to the volcanic eruptions of the third.

Conductor Markus Stenz

And, as conductor Markus Stenz mentioned in the excellent pre-show talk with Jonathan James, you have to be personal with Mahler – the success of any performance is about what you put into it. It’s no surprise, then, that performances of any Mahler piece can vary significantly in timing and style (including those conducted by the man himself!) To play any piece of music is to be in dialogue with the composer – and Stenz’s connection with Mahler is positively subatomic. He received a German Critics’ Award for his recording of Mahler’s 5th with the Gürzenich Orchestra, and conducted Mahler’s 2nd with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra earlier this year.

Markus Stenz and the NOW in rehearsal. Photo credit: Yusef Bastawy

Stenz, who studied with Bernstein and who has performed on three continents this season already, is a characterful and expressive leader who embodies every emotion of Mahler’s vivid tapestry. The Orchestra is on fine form, and there are myriad ‘Mahler Moments’ to be enjoyed here, including a slew of terrific solos by the NOW’s finest, from lead violin Lesley Hatfield to principal percussionist Chris Stock (who, before the concert began, was presented with the Royal Philharmonic Society award for his charitable work in Patagonia).

Markuz Stenz and the NOW take a bow. Photo credit: Yusef Bastawy

While many Mahler symphonies journey from darkness into light, the 9th goes from the living to the otherworldly, with Stenz and the NOW seguing seamlessly from the frenetic bombast of the Big Bang to the emotional serenity of the closing Adagissimo. These fading refrains, according to Adorno, marked the first steps into modernity. Having begun with a universe bursting into being, the symphony culminates in a peaceful acceptance of mortality; a beautiful controlled stillness, like lying in the grass looking up at the stars. While death is inevitable, Mahler crafts beauty in its last breath – and Stenz and the string section’s delicacy and restraint are positively unearthly here, as together they conjure heaven in the Hall.

James Murphy, CEO of the Royal Philharmonic Society, presents Chris Stock with the society’s orchestral award. Photo credit: Yusef Bastawy

Stenz returns to Mahler (Adagio from Symphony No. 10) in January with the Philharmonia Zürich, after conducting the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra through Wagner’s Operas in December. He will tour across Europe and America through next year, conducting pieces from Beethoven and Bruckner to Tchaikovsky and Liszt. The BBC National Orchestra of Wales continue their spellbinding 2022-23 season with Stravinsky, Ravel and Boulanger, conducted by Sofi Jeannin, at BBC Hoddinott Hall at the end of November before playing a succession of Christmas concerts in Cardiff and Swansea.

Theatre

REVIEW How My Light is Spent, Chapter Arts Centre by Barbara Hughes-Moore

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Last year, Company of Sirens and Sight Life Wales collaborated on an innovative installation piece called ‘With Eyes Closed’, in which people with sight loss shared stories from their lives. The theatrical space was transformed into a beach, and the performers would unearth a memento from the sand and from their past. Their second collaboration, ‘How My Light is Spent’, was postponed in August due to covid, and finally premiered this week with two highly in-demand performances at Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff. It takes inspiration from the sonnet of the same name by John Milton (author of ‘Paradise Lost’) who lost his own sight around the time of its publication.

Lou Lockwood in ‘How My Light is Spent’

The company’s phenomenal debut caught me completely off guard, and it meant that I walked into the ‘sequel’ with high expectations – and it exceeded every one. What the creative team has achieved here is nothing short of profound: a level of emotional authenticity and community that sets a new standard for what theatre can achieve.

Jane McCann in ‘How My Light is Spent’

Many of the performers from ‘With Eyes Closed’ return here, and it is a joy to see them grow to new heights both as individual storytellers and as a group – so, first and foremost, kudos to Roz Grimble, Sharon Hale, Emma Juliet Lawton, John Sanders, Lou Lockwood, and Jane McCann. Their reflections here centre on their experiences in lockdown, and of their relationship with their senses and with nature.

John Sanders in ‘How My Light is Spent’

Each performer brings their own distinct light, letting their unique personalities and voices shine (they also do this literally: when each takes centre stage, they are illuminated by a different colour, having worked with lighting designer Dan Young to convey the unique shade of their story). Alastair Sill provides characterful audio description and acts as both guide and emcee, leading them to the stage and lending an attentive ear to their stories. In the forest setting, his performance takes on an otherworldly quality: a sweeter, gentler Puck watching the dreamers’ visions unfold.

Alastair Sill in ‘How My Light is Spent’

The set, designed by Edwina Williams-Jones, is strewn with autumnal leaves and twigs that crackle underfoot, creating a tactile image of a forest out of time. Sion Berry’s multimedia films, Chris Durnall’s direction and Stacey Blythe’s music are, themselves, sources of light: they guide, encourage and illuminate the performers without turning the attention on themselves. The piece is cleverly bookended by Yazoo’s ‘Only You’ and Johnny Nash’s ‘I Can See Clearly Now’ which resonate with the themes of the piece, and Blythe’s use of both accordion and harp interweave the merry with the melancholic (and there really aren’t enough accordion dance breaks in modern theatre!)

Stacey Blythe in ‘How My Light is Spent’

The piece is a rich, engrossing experience: stories of happiness and hardship alike are told with compassion and without compromise, and always with a light touch and a sense of humour. What the cast does here transcends ‘acting’: this is soul-deep communication, a placing of story in the palm of your hand. The sense of community, too, is moving. You see, the forest can liberate but it can also entrap: only by telling our story, and guiding each other through the darkness, can we be truly free.

Roz McGrimble and Alastair Still in ‘How My Light is Spent’

The first play was themed around water – this one, earth. Perhaps in their third collaboration, Company of Sirens and Sight Life will take to the skies. In many ways, they already have.

‘How My Light is Spent’ performed at Chapter Arts Centre on 18 and 19 November 2022. Company of Sirens will restage ‘Stone the Crows’ in February 2023 (you can check out Get the Chance’s five-star review here) before premiering ‘Rhapsody’, a new play about pioneering Welsh writer Dorothy Edwards, at Chapter in May.

Musical, Theatre

REVIEW My Fair Lady, Wales Millennium Centre by Barbara Hughes-Moore

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There are few things more magical than a classic Hollywood musical: a lavish spectacle with characters to adore and songs to die for. And there are few more beloved than My Fair Lady, one of the last golden age musicals, in which a snooty phonetics professor vows to transform a Cockney flower girl into an English rose. Based on George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play Pygmalion, the film starred Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle and Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins and featured iconic Lerner & Loewe songs like ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’ and ‘Wouldn’t It Be Loverly’. It’s a classic for a reason – and, direct from the West End, the Lincoln Center’s dazzling new revival is here to remind us just how loverly a show this is.

Charlotte Kennedy and the My Fair Lady ensemble (photo credit: Marc Brenner)

Lerner & Lowe also brought us the musical delights of Camelot, Gigi, and Brigadoon (not to mention the vastly underrated Paint Your Wagon) – but it’s easy to see why My Fair Lady is their most beloved work. Directed by Bartlett Sher (helmer of the critically-acclaimed revival of The King and I), this new production – the first major revival in fifteen years – comes with revitalised sets, costumes and musical arrangements. The score has never sounded as magnificent does here under the musical direction of Alex Parker, and you won’t find a finer chorus this side of the Edwardian era.

Michael D. Xavier, Heather Jackson and Charlotte Kennedy (photo credit: Marc Brenner)

Having made her professional debut in Les Miserables in the West End, Charlotte Kennedy puts her own instantly-iconic spin on the beloved character of Eliza Doolittle. Her powerful voice and equally powerful performance makes her the beating heart of every scene she’s in – and her hilarious conversation with the aristos in Ascot is truly one for the ages.

Michael D. Xavier, Charlotte Kennedy and John Middleton in My Fair Lady (photo credit: Marc Brenner)

Two-time Olivier Award nominee Michael D. Xavier (who performed opposite Glenn Close to great acclaim in Broadway’s Sunset Boulevard revival) brings a haughty charm to Henry Higgins, pitched somewhere between David Tennant and Dickie Attenborough. Xavier brings a beautifully self-aware silliness to the totally oblivious Prof, especially in ‘An Ordinary Man’ and ‘I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face’. His rapport with Emmerdale’s John Middleton as Colonel Pickering is especially fun to watch – and their ‘Eureka!’ moment with Kennedy during ‘The Rain in Spain’ is a joy.

Adam Woodyatt and the My Fair Lady ensemble (photo credit: Marc Brenner)

EastEnders’ Adam Woodyatt is perfectly cast as the lovably roguish Alfred P. Doolittle, a role he was born to play – in his hands, ‘With a Little Bit of Luck’ is delightfully puckish, but it’s the barnstorming ‘Get Me to the Church On Time’, culminating in an exceedingly camp can-can, which really brings the house down. Woodyatt flexed his dramatic chops the last time he performed in Cardiff, to great effect – but it’s brilliant to see him really let loose here.

Lesley Garrett, Michael D. Xavier, Charlotte Kennedy and John Middleton in My Fair Lady (photo credit: Marc Brenner)

Tom Liggins brings a boyish charm to Freddy Eynsford-Hill (and a sublime rendition of ‘On the Street Where You Live’) while Heather Jackson, known to many as the West End’s Madame Giry (The Phantom of the Opera), brings gravitas even in just a few scenes as Mrs Higgins, as does world famous soprano wonderful Lesley Garrett, who – if slightly under-utilised – brings warmth to the role of Mrs Pearce, and lends her beautiful voice to some of the show’s best numbers. And kudos to Tom Pring for stealing scenes as a sardonic butler.

The My Fair Lady ensemble in full swing (photo credit: Marc Brenner)

Michael Yeargan’s sets are nothing short of an architectural marvel and make an ingenious use of the Millennium Centre’s impressive stage. Especially extraordinary is the way in which Higgins’ luxurious London townhouse rotates during musical numbers to show off an elegant hall, a stylish study, a chic bathroom and a leafy alcove within which an amorous young couple meet by midnight. The sets transport you from the East End to the Embassy Ball, aided by Catherine Zuber’s exquisite costumes which capture every inch of the scale and grandeur of the classic film.

The My Fair Lady ensemble dressed to the nines for a day at the races (photo credit: Marc Brenner)

While there are a few aspects that might benefit from a modern touch – the decision to keep all of Higgins’ unpleasantness towards Eliza does threaten to undercut the budding romance and has an impact on how you view the ending – the sheer talent on display makes My Fair Lady an unmissable night of sumptuous entertainment. With a little bit of luck, you’ll not only have a bloomin’ loverly time, but you’ll dance all night too!

Touring throughout the UK, My Fair Lady is performing at the Wales Millennium Centre for 3 weeks only from 9 – 26 November. For more information and to book tickets, click here.