I couldn't pass up the chance to see David McVicar's production of Aida at the Royal Opera on Tuesday. I liked the first time around so an invitation to see the dress rehearsal with a few other bloggers seemed like an awfully sensible way to spend a Tuesday morning.
After getting past the crowd of old age pensioners and students that seemed to make up this preview audience (and they are a tough crowd - well the pensioners anyway - steer clear of their elbows), having a strong cup of coffee, we settled down in our seats to watch the drama unfold. Johnnyfox and I were given the choice of the stalls or a box. We opted for the director's box.
There is something thrilling about this production of the opera that lingers with you. It is alternatively bloody and sexual, but never feels out of place or over the top as Aida productions can tend to be. Instead there is an intimacy that draws you in to the central characters and recurring themes of war and love. War comes first, and chatting with associate director Leah Hausman after the opera she noted that it is war or "guerra" that is what gets mentioned most. The love of course being the love triangle of Amneris, daughter of the King of Egypt, Aida, her Ethiopian slave and Radames, Commander of the Egyptian army.
Friday night was an opportunity to catch My Beautiful Laundrette, which is playing at Above The Stag at Victoria. This adaptation of the film is briskly paced and well acted by the ensemble, particularly the two leads - Yannick Fernandes and James Wallwork - who are totally convincing as Omar and Johnny.
The drama unfolds on a set that feels like you are watching a game of tennis (not to mention having to see some gratuitous graffiti... This toned down adaptation of the film doesn't extend to the set). But getting past the twisted necks, there is a heart to the story of two boys in eighties London who meet again after leaving school. And one is a skinhead. And the other is setting up a laundromat.
This production will have you strangely nostalgic for the eighties, which may be the result of the sweeter tone the play strikes over the film... And the fact it is a mildly retro location of the Stag helps too... You can smell the eighties the minute you walk into the venue (although that might be the clientele). At £15 is good value and runs until 10 April. Get there early and have a beer in the unintentionally retro bar downstairs. The Stag has had a reprieve from closure for now, but its days are numbered. Enjoy it while it lasts...
In an attempt to see something different from the usual theatrical fare on Saturday evening, I was at the Drill Hall to catch The Storeroom, which has been described as a potent cocktail of glamour murder and intrigue. This one-woman show starring Sian Williams is very intriguing and inventive. And certainly something different. Williams does hold your attention while she is on stage, thanks to her intense performance and mildly sexy outfits...
While its origins from the Edinburgh Fringe appear obvious at times (economical sets, lighting and props), it was an enjoyable piece from The Kosh. And the red raincoat and the ventriloquist scenes were particularly entertaining. There's one Sunday matinee performance to go today...
Normally I catch a show just as it has opened (or started previews), but for a change this week I caught An Ideal Husband, which ends its run at the Vaudeville Theatre on Saturday.
It is a great production, and I gained a new appreciation for Wilde and his work watching the performers in this production. It highlighted to me (at least) that everything hinges on the performances in making this show amusing or ordinary. The laughs are totally dependent on the actors' delivery, timing and emphasis. For the most part they got it right.
Watching this production is like eating a tub of good vanilla ice cream. Awfully satisfying and enjoyable. It also helps having a drink at the circle bar in the Vaudeville Theatre amongst all the newly restored Victorian splendour. You will feel somewhat civilised and reminded that this is what going to see a play in the West End should be all about. A jolly good sense of occasion.
It would be fair enough to say (to borrow from the Opera and from the late Ms Anna Nicole) that the Royal Opera's Anna Nicole blew us... away on Thursday night. The performances, production and the opera was inspired.
What starts as a dig against a C-list American celebrity ends up becoming a strangely poignant opera where you feel some sympathy for the slapper. You may even begin thinking she is the Traviata of the day. That is the trouble with the arts, they can make people seem so much nicer than reality. Still if you can stomach sympathy for Anna Nicole, this cautionary tale against fame turns out to be quite a ride. Then again the real Anna Nicole was quite a ride too...
The music by Mark-Anthony Turnage is a jazz-operatic fusion that keeps things moving along nicely and seems perfectly matched to the story and subject. The libretto by Richard Thomas is often good too, although it seemed (at least in the first half) there was too much emphasis on profanities rather than anything resembling poetry or at least clever rhyming patter. I also never expected to hear so many euphemisms for breasts. Or the word "cuntalicious" sung by a chorus at the Royal Opera...
The story is kept simple and told via flashbacks from a series of tacky reporters who double as a terrific opera chorus. We first see Anna Nicole in a large gold chair that could have come from the big brother set. Her film and modelling career (for what that was worth) is omitted and the focus is on her rise to fame after leaving "the breast-less masses" and poor paying jobs to work in a strip club. It was working there she meets an 89 year old billionaire. In one of the many nice touches of this production, his arrival comes via a giant stairlift. It had the audience in hysterics. The first act ends with a marriage and so for the second act it is all downhill, as the billionaire's death, endless court cases and prescription pills start taking a toll.
The production is at its best in the second half as things get creepy and the score gets more dramatic. There are plenty of other unsettling touches in this bright production when things start to go sour. Towards the end dancers with television headdresses begin to encircle Anna, and start rummaging through her garbage.
The performances across the board are phenomenal, although with no major arias anyone is singing there it relies more on their comic and dramatic talents. Eva-Maria Westbroek as Anna Nicole is simply amazing, and gives a performance of a strong yet sympathetic character. Given the audience's reaction to her on Thursday, perhaps she will be entering into the realms of the opera superstars after this turn. Alan Oke as her billionaire octogenerian husband, also gives a strong performance as a man who wants to have some fun before he is dead. Gerald Finley is good as the vilain of the piece as the laywer-come-boyfriend. And even Wynne Evans from the irritating (but strangely memorable)Go-Compare commercials is in this show.
Keeping it altogether was conductor Antonio Pappano, and it was clear that the orchestra were having a good time with it all.
Away from the stage, there were additional nice touches that made Thursday evening a little more memorable for the world premiere of this piece. This included having the foyers Anna Nicole-ised. Every bust, statue or picture frame had Eve-Maria Westbroek's face and breasts covering them. Towards the end of the evening, the tape holding some of the photos in place was coming off and the Anna Nicole pictures began to fall away. It was a nice little symbolic moment for a work about the overwhelming but temporary nature of pop culture.
If there were any reservations about the choice of subject matter for this opera, it is that it gives another chance for British audiences to feel smug about American culture (as if we don't get enough of that here already). Sure England has its own answer to Anna Nicole with it's very own slapper saint Jade Goody, but she isn't as interesting as Anna Nicole. Nor does she come with global recognition. Besides her two-act opera would be confined to a reality television show and having her cervix fall out.
The show is sold out, but is bound to be repeated given the interest. A broadcast is to follow on BBC4 shortly. All involved in this show should be blown (kiss or otherwise) for their efforts... A night to remember at the Royal Opera...
Wednesday night was an opportunity to catch the ENO's Parsifal. This 1999 co-production with San Francisco Opera and Lyric Opera, Chicago and is purportedly the last time it will be staged. There are seven more performances to go.
Directed by Nikolaus Lehnhoff, What makes the opera a standout is the brilliant staging and imaginative English translation. This translation transforms this production and keeps things moving at such a pace you won't realise you have been there for over four hours. On top of this there is such spectacle at times it is almost hypnotic.
A stunning cast includes John Tomlinson as Gurnemanz, Australian tenor Stuart Skelton as Parsifal and Jane Dutton as Kundry. Mark Wigglesworth conducts.
Wagner is still an acquired taste, but this probably goes some way to make this work accesible (and palatable). Leave work early and go. There are greater powers at stake.
I was part of a large gathering of bloggers who went to see Tuesday night's preview of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Donmar organised by the West End Whingers. It was a huge gathering and it felt as if half the circle audience had their own blog and a minor following...
Anyway, this is a show about a spelling bee, and the lives of its awfully competitive American contestants. This show looks so polished now that it is hard to believe it is an early preview. Only the sounds from the grumbling of the creative team (if you're sitting in the circle) would give away that this is still a work in progress.
I was familiar with this show and had seen it on Broadway in 2006. As I also was a speller back then, I was familiar with the audience participation format, which requires a careful selection of participants who won't ham it up or be too smug... That ruled out most of we bloggers I suspected...
This show is quirky and very funny with the book by Rachel Sheinkin and songs by William Finn giving it a heart. It is an odd sort of musical for the Donmar, given that they usually stage musicals about psychologically damaged people in despair. Maybe their angle is spellers in dispair, but at least in this show it is a comedy. Tuesday's preview did not get the balance between comedy and cartoonish characters quite right, but hopefully this will be ironed out as the run progresses.
The show looks great and even the black wall of the Donmar gets painted brilliant white. It is also tempting not to take one of their cute t-shirts home after the production. Or an usher wearing one of them. They are all so cute.
It runs until 2 April at the Donmar, but surely now Avenue Q is no longer around there is room in the West End for a new warm and fuzzy show to have a long run...
Pre and post-show boos (as there is no intermission) are as follows...
Zenaida Yanowsky and Nehemiah Kish were Odette and Prince Siegfried (pictured above). It is a pleasure to watch Ms Yanowksy. Sitting close, you could appreciate the commanding performance she gives. And she is a very tall swan too...
A very satisfying production of a perfect ballet, worth repeat viewings. It is a great date ballet too and given it was Valentines Day there were a few couples around and dare one suggest romance was in the air (hopefully not the cursed kind)... It runs various dates until April 5.
It is February, so it is long overdue for another production of Jason Robert Brown'sThe Last Five Years. This time at the Tabard Theatre in Chiswick. It seems like there isn't a month in London when you can't catch this show. And then during Edinburgh Fringe, there are usual competing productions of it, along side multiple productions of "Sweeney Todd" and musicals about infectious sexually transmitted diseases. It is understandable that this show is popular as it covers a range of emotions (sad, happy etc), gives two actors a chance to shine, and is potentially cheap to stage. The popularity of staging this show should not be confused however with the show being any good.
The problem with The Last Five Years is it contains two unsympathetic characters who never connect with each other (let alone the audience). And the series of songs are of varying quality. Sure some of the songs are funny, but others come across as smug, insincere or unpleasant. Inspired by the composer's own failed marriage it's glib more than analytical, feeling more like settling old scores. These things make it tough going. And it is only eighty minutes.
That being said, it is an excellent opportunity for two young actors to show off their talents. In this case it is Lauren Samuels, who came third in BBC Television's Over the Rainbow (hopefully she will be known soon for something more memorable), and Christopher Pym. Samuels comes off better here, probably because we weren't convinced of Pym's Jewishness while wearing boxer-briefs (even though he looked quite fine in them). She was a delight to watch, although she was much more convincing in the comic songs than the sad face songs... Still to make this show work it's tough going and so you have to admire the stamina and perseverance of both.
Special mention has to go to the band, production design and lighting which all gave this production a lot of class. This show sounds and looks great and goes some way to redressing the limitations of the piece. This is a worthwhile evening out and not just for fans of Ms Samuels or Mr Pym in boxer briefs. Besides the Tabard theatre is a great venue to catch shows given that it is an intimate space. The pub is not bad for catching a pre or post show drink, assuming you can put up with the live music that may be playing when the show finished.
The play runs until 5 March and the views from the jaded are boo'd below...
The Royal Opera posters for Anna Nicole are all over the tube network at the moment and they look great. There is also the following trailer for the opera. There is a growing buzz about this show (the Royal Opera is even getting news stories in Marie Claire) and so it will be fascinating to see what Eva-Maria Westbroek, who I last saw in Tannhäuser, does with the role when I catch it later this week...
