Theatre: Shirley Valentine

Just before Easter I managed to catch Meera Syal in the Chocolate Factory's revival of Shirley Valentine, part of its Willy Russell season which also includes Educating Rita. I wasn't particularly in the mood to go and see this play as I was to be packing that evening for a holiday, but there was something about this show that sucks you in and has you hooked.

On one level the 1980s have never been so fashionable. But on another level, when you are watching a show with a set that reminds you of your mother's kitchen, and the first scene involves frying chips and egg (don't go to the theatre on an empty stomach), perhaps it isn't everyone's idea of a great night out. That's a pity as Syal's performance is great and the show is as good as ever (not withstanding the difference of opinions in the audioboos below)...

Willy Russell seems to love the cliches and dramatically obvious but here in this show that is an asset (unlike in Blood Brothers where it is just an embarrassment), particularly when there is the right actor to tell the story. It runs with Educating Rita until 8 May.

via AudioBoo

Posted via web from paulinlondon's posterous

via AudioBoo

Posted via web from paulinlondon's posterous

Fashion: Trends on the underground Saturday night

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Originally uploaded by Paul-in-London
It's all about brown shoes at the moment... Preferably your own not somebody else's...

Wandering about London Saturday

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Originally uploaded by Paul-in-London
Battersea Power Station with moody weather backdrop... Shortly after a monster dump of rain ensued...

Theatre: Anyone Can Whistle

Anyone Can Whistle, playing at the Jermyn Street Theatre is an odd sort of show that apart from potentially curing your insomnia will leave you wondering what on earth it was all about. I sat in the front row and even with all that great singing and acting I was none the wiser. It is one of Sondheim's shows that closed shortly after opening and that was probably less to do with the songs (there are a few good ones) and more to do with the book and subject matter.

Still, well done for the cast and the creative team for trying to make something out of it. Just pity the audience that has to sit through it. It is not every show that has four people falling asleep, and about half a dozen not returning for the second half...

It is Sondheim's eightieth birthday so there will be an onslaught of Sondheim shows in London this year. It feels like we get at least one major Sondheim revival every year for the past few years anyway... So perhaps no excuse was needed anyway. It runs a bit longer for those that have to see every Sondheim show out there...

via AudioBoo

Posted via web from paulinlondon's posterous

via AudioBoo

Posted via web from paulinlondon's posterous

Theatre: Soap

I don't recall anyone saying that you should see more shows that feature hot wet acrobats falling about. But there should have been. This great looking show Soap, is playing at the Riverside Studios and is quite a eye opener. And not just because the cast is well fit and lit with water and moody lights. The show was quite engaging on its own level and will have you hooked. After a slightly shaky start on Tuesday night (where I think the audience wasn't quite sure what to expect), we all settled in and went for the ride.

The programme notes make the point that this show has been a hit in Germany, this is the ideal sort of Cabaret / Variety show. That was fine with me. Some of the creative team was also behind the production of La Clique, however this show has a much more coherent thread through it. There may not be a woman playing a kazoo with her vagina, but there was water and acrobats so that was more than enough (as the clip above demonstrates). It runs for about ninety minutes, plus interval which seemed about right...

It is playing through until April and definitely worth catching. Here is hoping the buzz will grow on this one. Oh and sit towards the front. Not just to admire the fine bodies on stage, but it is much more fun to get squirted in your face with water...

Theatre: Once Upon A Time At the Adelphi

Last week I was watching Paint Never Dries at the Adelphi Theatre wondering if this is what passes for British musical theatre nowadays, maybe I should avoid it in future. This week I was at the Union Theatre watching Once Upon A Time At The Adelphi, which despite the overlong title (and perhaps an overlong second half), was enough to make me change my mind. There may be no projections or intricate melodies, but at least there is a coherent story and a series of characters that you could at least care about.

The musical, by Phil Willmott, is set at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool, which has been the source of many great stories, such as Roy Rogers taking his horse, Trigger, on the roof for some exercise or Hitler working in the kitchen. The action moves between the present day and 1930s. While it is more melodrama than drama, there is an emotional heart in it all, that had me hooked right up to the ending. And dare I say... It will leave you with a slightly misty-eyed view of Liverpool. Anything that makes you feel anything other than contempt for that city surely must be evidence of the power of theatre at work...

While the show might have benefited from a lavish production budget, there is enough fine singing and energy in this show (particularly with Andrew Wright's choreography) that you will forget that you are at the Fringe. Don't sit on the front row though as those high kicks really are something...

The musical is having its London premiere at the Union Theatre in Southwark, which is a great little reclaimed space under the railway arches and full of character... Although you do have to watch your step as one theatre luvvy made a less than grand entrance falling over some chairs upon arrival. This may not have been the attention he was craving for.

The programme notes that after its successful run in Liverpool while it was European Capital of Culture, there were plans to take it elsewhere... But they never eventuated. It is great to see that it has made its way to London eventually... It runs through this month.

Nights out: Show Off

London has never really done the piano bar... They are good at doing the rough bar, the noisy bar, the bar where everyone used to be hip but now look weathered, the bar with too much wallpaper but never a bar where there is just a piano and a singer... And an open mic... So Saturday nights may not ever be quite the same again after the inaugural Show Off Piano Bar, downstairs at the Cafe Koha behind Leicester Square Tube on Charing Cross Road. The lovely Nathan Martin and Marissa Dunlop entertained and then coerced (at least some) of the bar patrons up to the piano to sing. The standard was pretty good too... Particularly after a few drinks...

With such a wide selection of sheet music flying about the bar, finding a song in low level lighting wasn't the easiest of things to do but I did make do with a little number from The Producers. Show tunes did abound strangely enough but they weren't essential. An awfully sensible way to start (or end) a Saturday night. The next one is on 27 March. Given the venue is a little on the intimate side, you can reserve your place so you don't miss out...