Category Archives: Musical Theatre

Ticket to Bollywood (New Town Theatre, 7 – 30 Aug : 21.30 : 1hr)

Posted in 4*, Dance, EdFestivals 2015, Musical Theatre, Other by

“Thoroughly enjoyable and an impressive showcase of the best of Indian dancing”

Editorial Rating: 4 Stars

Ticket to Bollywood is split into three distinct parts, each of which is given a short audio introduction to explain the style and background of the dance. The first of these covers love and marriage (very common themes in Bollywood films), and at first the six girls perform with the innocence of teenagers, being supportive and playful with a photograph of one of their loves. When the boys enter, it all gets much more flirtatious, and games are played between the two groups as if not wanting to appear to keen. There is a very brief duet between the two lovers, which is surprisingly less expressive and a bit more awkward than the group numbers, but the section ends in a big bright wedding celebration.

Next comes a section focusing on traditional dance, and three screens are brought on to stage, which three girls dance in front of, and three more make silhouettes behind them. However, it’s not long before they are all together and in the middle of another high energy group routine. The male dancers bring a real sense of bravado with their very macho and aggressive routine, which resorts into a short fight sequence, complete with weaponry.

The last section is loosely themed around celebration, and while I’m sure there were differences between this and the previous two, style-wise to me this section didn’t produce anything we hadn’t already seen, apart from an interesting array of props. It was no-holds-barred up-tempo extravaganza.

While the group routines, always in perfect unison, were very powerful and precise, for me it was the sections where added props were used that really stood out. These ranged from oversized lotus flowers to swords and shields, kites and huge poles. Their creative use made this piece really unique and made these moments definitely raised the bar when compared to the rest of the performance. I should also mention the absolutely stunning costumes throughout, which really added to the overall colour and sense of show this performance brought.

For a show that’s basically an hour of non-stop dancing it’s performed with amazing energy, attention to detail and beaming smiles. Yet despite the overwhelming sense of celebration it exudes, I would have liked to see some calmer or more restrained sections to balance out some of the franticness. I also felt a little cheated that the singing wasn’t live, and that almost all the music was pre-recorded, and I would personally call this show dance rather than musical theatre.

However, that’s not to say it wasn’t thoroughly enjoyable and an impressive showcase of the best of Indian dancing. Just not quite what I was expecting.

 

Star (blue)Star (blue)Star (blue)Star (blue)

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Reviewer: Steve Griffin (Seen 27 August)

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THIS REVIEW HAS NOT BEEN SUBEDITED

The Bakewell Bake Off: A New Musical (C, 5 – 22 Aug : 17.00 : 1hr 10 mins)

Posted in 3*, C Venues, EdFestivals 2015, Musical Theatre, Rated: Nae Bad by

“A sweet, easy-to-watch crowd pleaser”

Editorial Rating: 3 Stars: Nae Bad

It was only a matter of time before a GBBO-themed show made it to the Fringe, and this one has all the necessary ingredients for a sweet, easy-to-watch crowd pleaser.

The plot is exactly what you would expect – an eclectic group of wannabe bakers pit their culinary skills against each other to please three ultra-competitive judges and be crowned Bakewell’s best baker. There are some interesting characters and relationships, including a cross-dresser, a nun, a woman obsessed with Christmas, an Asian doctor (who becomes the subject of some racist abuse), and it’s all hosted by the very talkative yet incredibly likeable hostess called Victoria Sponge.

The script is full of wonderful baking-related puns: from characters whose names include, Tina Tartan and Henrietta Apfelstrudel, to a nun’s “Desecrated Coconut” cake, which tickled me the most. Indeed the writing is clever throughout the piece with lots of quips and wordplay to keep the audience amused, even if the narrative itself is pretty thin.

For me Sophie Forster as catty judge Griselda Pratt-Dewhurst delivered the best comic performance with an array of scathing put downs, while rival judge Hugh Dripp, played George Rexstrew, commanded the stage with great presence and energy.

Overall the singing was good, but at its best in the choral numbers. One can’t be too critical of sound levels of a student production in the Fringe space – the soloists did as best they could and with a full band and microphones I am sure they would have dazzled. This was most evident in gospel number Bake Your Way to Heaven, where I was longing for Imogen Coutts’s vocals to soar above the rousing backing singers. Alas, a commendable effort.

The choreography was perhaps more impressive, with a great range of routines for the varied musical numbers, all delivered deftly and with great energy. My favourite was the tango to the cleverly named “The Original Bakewell Tart”, which was performed with great finesse.

At an hour and 10 minutes this show is a decent length, although I feel that one or two of the characters could have been sacrificed to allow us to get to know the others better and build up more tension between them. There was a lovely moment towards the end between Freddie Twist (Charlie Keable) and Susie Sunflower (Ros Bell), who formed a very believable romance throughout the competition, and more layers like this would help turn this show from being good into really great.

nae bad_blue

Star (blue)Star (blue)Star (blue)

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Reviewer: Steve Griffin (Seen 16 August)

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THIS REVIEW HAS NOT BEEN SUBEDITED

RENT (Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 7- 30 Aug : 22.00 : 2hr 30 mins)

Posted in 3*, EdFestivals 2015, Greenside, Musical Theatre, Rated: Nae Bad by

“A masterclass in simplicity and stunning individual performances”

Editorial Rating: 3 Stars: Nae Bad

RENT is one of my absolute favourite musicals, and I was very excited to see a full length version of it at the year’s Fringe. I’ve seen it many times in many guises, and this one offered a fresh approach, performed on a thrust stage for a more immersive experience. In some ways this interpretation packed real musical theatre punch, but unfortunately it fell flat in others.

In many ways this was a production of two halves. The first half, on the whole, was somewhat mediocre, with a few missed notes, some questionable staging (particularly in the support group scenes) and some rather “wooden” performances – Today 4 U in particular seemed a bit awkward and forced. Yet something completely flipped in the second half, and apart from the death scene that really should have been cut, it was a masterclass in both simplicity and stunning individual performances.

What I felt often held the show back was a real sense of grit and connection with the material – the opening number about the horrors of being made homeless seemed to be more mildly annoying to the actors rather than traumatic; while some of the dancing seemed clumsy and could have been sacrificed in favour of a simpler, stripped back approach. Perhaps I’m being harsh, but given how spectacular the second half was in comparison to the first, it’s clear that this company does have the ability to dazzle.

I must highlight this performance’s real triumphs. La Vie Boheme/I Should Tell you was a very powerful ensemble number and arrangement, with a genuine sense of life and passion that had been missing up until that point. In the second half, the duet Take Me or Leave Me was both incredibly staged and incredibly sung with intense grit and emotion, while the funeral scene was the stand out moment of the show. Performed with heart-wrenching rawness, it is one of the best versions of this section of the show that I have ever seen.

Rob Young as Collins was stunning throughout, with a smooth and souly voice, layered with emotion and depth. Hannah Simpson as Maureen was also very impressive, with an original take on the “drama queen”, making her cheeky and very likeable, while also delivering with a stunning vocal performance. Special mention should also go to Stephanie Marie Napier as Mimi, who struggled slightly on the higher notes in Take Me Out, but delivered all of her other songs with real gusto.

Overall, this is a very commendable effort from New Horizons Theatre Company, with some very exciting stand out moments. I hope to see them back at the Fringe next year with an even more impressive production.

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Star (blue)Star (blue)Star (blue)

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Reviewer: Steve Griffin (Seen 14 August)

THIS REVIEW HAS NOT BEEN SUBEDITED

Ushers: The Front of House Musical (Momentum Venues @ St Stephens: 5 – 30 Aug. 21.30: 1hr 20mins)

Posted in 3*, EdFestivals 2015, Musical Theatre by

“Performed with real gusto and joy”

Editorial Rating: 3 Stars

I find it very hard to review this show as I had quite high expectations in going in to see it. And while in some ways it was truly fantastic, in other areas it unfortunately missed the mark, however much I willed it to wow me.

For the most part, and especially in all the group songs, Ushers is performed with real gusto and joy. The opening number is slick, energetic and sets exactly the tone one would expect from an off West End hit. The smiles and precise choreography indicate a company that’s well rehearsed and clearly love what they’re doing.

Rory Maguire as Ben impressed me the most vocally, with a deliciously sweet high register for the power notes. Ben Fenner as Gary came across as the most real, displaying great emotional depth, while Alexandra Parkes was infectiously hilarious as Rosie.

Essentially Ushers has everything you could want in a musical: big chorus dance numbers, full of pizazz; emotional ballads; a complex, multi-layered six part showpiece song midway through; a love story; bags of humour and a dash of homoeroticism. For the musical theatre geeks amongst us there were several other small treats, in the form of creative references to other well-known shows. From the casual name drop, to that riff from the end of Defying Gravity there was plenty to smile about. Yet while a lot of the constituent parts were there, it seemed to be everything holding it together let the show down somewhat.

This may be partly due to the stage being so vast that the more intimate scenes got somewhat lost in it. Also, while the writing had a fairly decent plot (packed with laughs), some of the individual storylines were quite difficult to believe, so even though the cast acting were their hearts out, it occasionally came across as somewhat disingenuous. I lost count of how many times a character left the stage to “count programmes”, while the Theatre Manager was so outrageous it formed too much of a dischord with the rest of the action.

Unfortunately the performance I saw was blighted with a few technical failures in the sound department, but to give the actors their credit they ploughed on regardless and by the end of the show all was forgotten. Indeed the cast’s overall demeanour – from the way they ushered us to our seats when the house was open, to selling their own merchandise, and everything in between – was slick, professional and vivacious.

Overall I think the company did the best they could with what they had to work with, and anyone who loves their musical theatre or has ever worked as an Usher will really enjoy this show.

Star (blue)Star (blue)Star (blue)

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Reviewer: Steve Griffin (Seen 10 August)

THIS REVIEW HAS NOT BEEN SUBEDITED