Billed as a musical comedy, The Fabulist is actually a rare chance to see Giovanni Paisiello’s rarely performed light opera, The Imaginary Astrologers , translated and updated to Mussolini’s Italy. With sublime music, fine singing and a bit of additional silliness thrown in for good measure, it’s a welcome addition to the choices available on the West End. It’s currently playing at Charing Cross Theatre . In this update, the action moved to Italy in 1929. A magician (or, as he prefers to be called, Fabulist), Julian is on the run from both the fascists and the Catholic Church. On the run, he stumbles on a film shoot and dazzles the screenwriter Clarice with his charm while her sister tries to complete a series of mildly subversive historical films. What will win in a battle of ideas between science and magic, the church and the Fabulist? It’s an evening of light operatic comedy, so there are no prizes for guessing. Experts in clerical fascism and fascist mysticism may find some of the
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Theatre: The Last Five Years
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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...
David McVicar's oddly modern production of Rigoletto is back at the Royal Opera House . This modern and minimalist dark production has evolved over the years. It is better lit now but there is still an orgy and full frontal nudity within the first thirty minutes. This enables anyone not in the stalls an excellent view of a flaccid penis and a nicely shaved bush. But as time goes it seems more and more superfluous to the main focus of this tragedy of a court jester who seeks revenge. Here is hoping that the production continues to evolve... Conductor John Eliot Gardiner keeps the music well paced. Dimitri Platanias in the title role sounded great and received a rapturous applause for his interpretation of the role. You get a sense more of the doting father rather than the court jester or cursed man here. Vittorio Grigolo plays the Duke and sounds too lovely to be the cad the role calls for, but it is hard not to like when he is on stage anyway. And it is easier to understan
Nowadays no self-respecting gay play can be staged without full frontal nudity of some kind. It feels like the default response for the modern gay play now that gay rights are no longer an issue . Afterglow, currently playing at Southwark Playhouse , serves it up in spades. From the beginning, three men are in a bed, naked. There’s what appears to be a very brief exhalation of ecstasy, before the obligatory rush to the shower. But the gratuitous nudity and excellent performances can’t conceal this is a pretty conventional and predictable story about a fantasy couple. The three men in the simultaneous orgasm at the start of the piece are Josh, Alex and Darius. Josh and Alex seem to live in a New York world where they can afford a rooftop apartment in Manhattan while holding jobs as a theatre director and a grad student in chemistry. As writer S. Asher Gelman based it on his own experiences, perhaps gay plays with full frontal nudity are the way to achieve financial security
Damn Yankees at the Landor Theatre is one hell of a fun, sexy show. A great cast of dancers and singers give this show about a man who sells his soul to get on his beloved baseball team (and give them a chance of winning) new legs and balls. It also helps to up the ante with the sexiness with some healthy doses of cleavage and legs (and that's just the men). The musical is a retelling of the Faust story set in the 1950s when the New York Yankees dominated the game.
