So here we are, myself and LibraryGirl, on holiday in the garden of England quite literally a stones throw from central London. Have we crossed into the capital? Of course we have. Was it worth it? Oh most definitely. Tonight I thought I would just share with you some of the finds we have acquired for the 'Theatre From My Head' library and RTDA book list.
This lovely little selection was actually presented to me by LibraryLady, LibraryGirl's Mum, who had sourced these all in Kent and they are just wonderful. The Cowards are particularly fantastic because they seem unread. However I was instantly drawn to the Dover Thrift editions which I think have the most wonderful covers and readable print inside. These too were near mint copies and I just got stuck in, I am halfway through reading 'The Cherry Orchard' by Anton Chekhov and am really enjoying it. I played Gayef, the same role Stanislavski himself played in the original production I would quite happily wager that I was a better Gayef than him, when I performed it in my BA course and we went very over the top and it was all just very odd. The play itself is of course odd and full of absolutely mental situations like 50 year old women crying over cupboards! Why on earth we thought that the way we should tackle a high comedy like this by completely blowing our characters up to the level of caricatures I do not know but it was great fun. I would highly recommend 'Cherry Orchard' because it is very sad as well as very funny, there is a great pathos to the comedy within the script and it does make this a very satisfying read as well as a great play. So thank you LibraryLady for providing me with plenty of resources for RTDA. Coward is now next on my list of playwrights works to start reading.
This little lot is part one of the haul I got whilst traipsing around West London yesterday. It was a very cold day but completely worth it just for these few tomes and the goodies LibraryGirl discovered.
Noah by Andre Obey first came to my attention a few months ago when I read a review of Gielgud's performance of the play. I have been looking for it ever since and yesterday it was the first book I spotted.
Picasso at the Lapin Agile and other plays by Steve Martin. Steve Martin is someone I grew up watching in films such as Father of the Bride and Parenthood, I never really understood who or what he was until I got into Saturday Night Live and witnessed his madcap comedic style. His writing has been highly respected for many years and this will be my first chance to read one of his scripts.
Brief Lives by John Aubrey is one of those things you hear about but you don't actually know anything about. I had heard good things about this piece and the fact it is another one man show, an ongoing theme for me it seems at the moment, made me want to read it just for the audition monologues potential.
I, Fatty by Jerry Stahl. This one I could get a slap on the hand about, after all it's not a biography really, it isn't about how to perform slapstick. It is in fact a novel about the life of Fatty Arbuckle from the viewpoint of Arbuckle. It just sparked an interest in me and I hope it proves a nice break from all the theoretical and non fiction books I read about people and the world of theatre/film.
The Actors Book of Contemporary Stage Monologues. Sort of self explanatory really isn't it? Granted they are not contemporary now but still reading monologues from plays generally makes me want to see or read the whole piece and that can't be bad can it?
Kenneth Tynan Letters. Letters from the great theatre critic, something both LibraryGirl and I are very excited about reading.
And now for my favourite find....
Nine different souvenir brochures from various productions held in the West End over the past 25 years. I was absolutely flabbergasted to actually find these, so many times people buy them and just throw them away after they have been left to rot or gather dust in a drawer somewhere. I collect these because they show a small glimpse of the theatre of that time. Some of these are just brilliant and some are just plain disturbing, I'm looking at you 'The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus', but all have great insight and shed light on a multitude of things. Look for these to turn up in my next set of 'Theatre Programmes' articles.
LibraryGirl and I have enjoyed our holiday so far and the finds keep on coming... I am going to need a bigger library!
Ok so another Saturday and another day out and about on the South Coast where yet again I found more tomes for my studies with the RTDA. Here is the list of purchases...
State of Revolution by Robert Bolt
Presence by David Harrower
Shakespeare - Hit or Miss? by John Gielgud
German Expressionism Five Plays by Georg Kaiser
Marat by Peter Weiss
Postwar German Theatre An Anthology of Plays printed by Macmillan
Punch at the Theatre
All in all a good little haul which was most fun gathering together.
Musings from the Week at RTDA
So this week whilst getting drenched at work a couple of thoughts about RTDA crossed my mind, slight little things that I didn't take into account when enrolling in this course. Learning prose, verse and the intricate nuances required to properly convey emotions on stage is relatively simple with practise and study, which is of course the point of this whole exercise, compared to learning two skills that most drama academies and schools teach but for which I do not really have the facilities nor the talent to teach myself. These are 1. Dance and 2. Singing. Now my singing voice is alright and and in many ways perfect for choral singing, plus when I get round to Cicely Berry's Voice and the Actor its breathing techniques and voice control exercises will probably improve my singing voice. I just wonder how much I can learn on my own singing along to 'Starlight Express' and 'Grease 2' compared to taking lessons, however perhaps I should peruse youtube and see if anyone on there is offering free lessons or tips. Then there is the dancing, well I have two left feet and when I HAD to do dance on my BTEC ND in performing arts course I was atrocious to the point of looking like I had only had one rehearsal when performing for an audience. So in a world and industry where you are expected to sing and be able to handle simple dance moves in Street Jazz, Tap, Jazz and Classical its kind of a problem being rhythmically challenged like myself. In the past I had looked up home dance courses and they were very pricey, I think the cheapest course I found back then was around one hundred pounds so I initially ignored the idea. Then today when I searched again I found a UK based company that offered a reasonably priced course on DVD.
This dance studio has produced several dvd classes worth investing in but when I saw the title of the complete beginners I was hooked. 2 Left Feet Complete Beginners looks like its exactly what someone like me who has hardly any talent needs to increase their technical base and boost their confidence. A snip at £26.99 and something which the RTDA may need to invest in for the future.
RTDA isn't going to address everything that a drama school will but there is always another way of getting round these problems you just have to be willing to look and get creative with your solutions.
As for Lear, it is there waiting and it will be done soon. Having read the background and contexts has made me mull ideas over of the staging and presentation of such a dramatic piece of work. All of this is very well and good but for me as a creative person I really cannot put together a solid vision until I have studied the content and hopefully in the next week time will become available to really crack on with Lear and Approach to Theatre.
Remember to check in throughout the week for new articles and further content from the RTDA project. I hope you have a great week and please feel free to comment.
Ok so the Tony award nominations were released yesterday and they are interesting to say the least. I should point out that whilst this blog doesn't focus on Broadway and the american theatre in general the happenings in the USA do effect the Theatre here in the UK. Tony award winning shows and Tony nominated shows generally get at least a chance to be considered for our London stages just as our Olivier Awarded shows get a chance for a Broadway transfer. So with that in mind here are the nominations and I am going to comment on a couple of those nominations.
Nominees for the 64th Annual Tony Awards follow:
Best Play
In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play
Author: Sarah Ruhl
Next Fall
Author: Geoffrey Nauffts
Red
Author: John Logan
Time Stands Still
Author: Donald Margulies
Best Musical
American Idiot
Fela!
Memphis
Million Dollar Quartet
Best Book of a Musical
Everyday Rapture
Dick Scanlan and Sherie Rene Scott
Fela!
Jim Lewis & Bill T. Jones
Memphis
Joe DiPietro
Million Dollar Quartet
Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
The Addams Family
Music & Lyrics: Andrew Lippa
Music: Adam Cork
Lyrics: Lucy Prebble
Fences
Music: Branford Marsalis
Memphis
Music: David Bryan
Lyrics: Joe DiPietro, David Bryan
Best Revival of a Play
Fences
Producers: Carole Shorenstein Hays and Scott Rudin
Lend Me a Tenor
Producers: The Araca Group, Stuart Thompson, Carl Moellenberg, Rodney Rigby, Olympus Theatricals, Broadway Across America, The Shubert Organization, Wendy Federman/Jamie deRoy/Richard Winkler, Lisa Cartwright, Spring Sirkin, Scott and Brian Zeilinger
The Royal Family
Producers: Manhattan Theatre Club, Lynne Meadow, Barry Grove
A View from the Bridge
Producers: Stuart Thompson, The Araca Group, Jeffrey Finn, Broadway Across America, Olympus Theatricals, Marisa Sechrest, The Weinstein Company, Jon B. Platt, Sonia Friedman Productions/Robert G. Bartner, Mort Swinsky/Joseph Deitch, Adam Zotovich/Ruth Hendel/Orin Wolf, Shelter Island Enterprises, The Shubert Organization
Best Revival of a Musical
Finian's Rainbow
Producers: David Richenthal, Jack Viertel, Alan D. Marks, Michael Speyer, Bernard Abrams, David M. Milch, Stephen Moore, Debbie Bisno/Myla Lerner, Jujamcyn Theaters, Melly Garcia, Jamie deRoy, Jon Bierman, Richard Driehaus, Kevin Spirtas, Jay Binder, StageVentures 2009 Limited Partnership
La Cage aux Folles
Producers: Sonia Friedman Productions, David Babani, Barry and Fran Weissler and Edwin W. Schloss, Bob Bartner/Norman Tulchin, Broadway Across America, Matthew Mitchell, Raise The Roof 4 Richard Winkler/Bensinger Taylor/Laudenslager Bergrère, Arelene Scanlan/John O'Boyle, Independent Presenters Network, Olympus Theatricals, Allen Spivak, Jerry Frankel/Bat-Barry Productions, Nederlander Presentations, Inc/Harvey Weinstein, Menier Chocolate Factory
A Little Night Music
Producers: Tom Viertel, Steven Baruch, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel, The Menier Chocolate Factory, Roger Berlind, David Babani, Sonia Friedman Productions, Andrew Fell, Daryl Roth/Jane Bergere, Harvey Weinstein/Raise the Roof 3, Beverly Bartner/Dancap Productions, Inc., Nica Burns/Max Weitzenhoffer, Eric Falkenstein/Anna Czekaj, Jerry Frankel/Ronald Frankel, James D. Stern/Douglas L. Meyer
Ragtime
Producers: Kevin McCollum, Roy Furman, Scott Delman, Roger Berlind, Max Cooper, Tom Kirdahy/Devin Elliott, Jeffrey A. Sine, Stephanie P. McClelland, Roy Miller, Lams Productions, Jana Robbins, Sharon Karmazin, Eric Falkenstein/Morris Berchard, RialtoGals Productions, Independent Presenters Network, Held-Haffner Productions, HRH Foundation, Emanuel Azenberg, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Michael Kaiser, Max Woodward
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Jude Law, Hamlet
Alfred Molina, Red
Liev Schreiber, A View from the Bridge
Christopher Walken, A Behanding in Spokane
Denzel Washington, Fences
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Viola Davis, Fences
Valerie Harper, Looped
Linda Lavin, Collected Stories
Laura Linney, Time Stands Still
Jan Maxwell, The Royal Family
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Kelsey Grammer, La Cage aux Folles
Sean Hayes, Promises, Promises
Douglas Hodge, La Cage aux Folles
Chad Kimball, Memphis
Sahr Ngaujah, Fela!
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Kate Baldwin, Finian's Rainbow
Montego Glover, Memphis
Christiane Noll, Ragtime
Sherie Rene Scott, Everyday Rapture
Catherine Zeta-Jones, A Little Night Music
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
David Alan Grier, Race
Stephen McKinley Henderson, Fences
Jon Michael Hill, Superior Donuts
Stephen Kunken, Enron
Eddie Redmayne, Red
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Maria Dizzia, In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play
Rosemary Harris, The Royal Family
Jessica Hecht, A View from the Bridge
Scarlett Johansson, A View from the Bridge
Jan Maxwell, Lend Me a Tenor
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Kevin Chamberlin, The Addams Family
Robin De Jesús, La Cage aux Folles
Christopher Fitzgerald, Finian's Rainbow
Levi Kreis, Million Dollar Quartet
Bobby Steggert, Ragtime
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Barbara Cook, Sondheim on Sondheim
Katie Finneran, Promises, Promises
Angela Lansbury, A Little Night Music
Karine Plantadit, Come Fly Away
Lillias White, Fela!
Best Scenic Design of a Play
John Lee Beatty, The Royal Family
Alexander Dodge, Present Laughter
Santo Loquasto, Fences
Christopher Oram, Red
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Marina Draghici, Fela!
Christine Jones, American Idiot
Derek McLane, Ragtime
Tim Shortall, La Cage aux Folles
Best Costume Design of a Play
Martin Pakledinaz, Lend Me a Tenor
Constanza Romero, Fences
David Zinn, In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play
Catherine Zuber, The Royal Family
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Marina Draghici, Fela!
Santo Loquasto, Ragtime
Paul Tazewell, Memphis
Matthew Wright, La Cage aux Folles
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Neil Austin, Hamlet
Neil Austin, Red
Mark Henderson, Enron
Brian MacDevitt, Fences
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams, American Idiot
Donald Holder, Ragtime
Nick Richings, La Cage aux Folles
Robert Wierzel, Fela!
Best Sound Design of a Play
Acme Sound Partners, Fences
Adam Cork, Enron
Adam Cork, Red
Scott Lehrer, A View from the Bridge
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Jonathan Deans, La Cage aux Folles
Robert Kaplowitz, Fela!
Dan Moses Schreier and Gareth Owen, A Little Night Music
Dan Moses Schreier, Sondheim on Sondheim
Best Direction of a Play
Michael Grandage, Red
Sheryl Kaller, Next Fall
Kenny Leon, Fences
Gregory Mosher, A View from the Bridge
Best Direction of a Musical
Christopher Ashley, Memphis
Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Ragtime
Terry Johnson, La Cage aux Folles
Bill T. Jones, Fela!
Best Choreography
Rob Ashford, Promises, Promises
Bill T. Jones, Fela!
Lynne Page, La Cage aux Folles
Twyla Tharp, Come Fly Away
Best Orchestrations
Jason Carr, La Cage aux Folles
Aaron Johnson, Fela!
Jonathan Tunick, Promises, Promises
Daryl Waters & David Bryan, Memphis
Now we have got the nominations out of the way its time to talk about a couple of them. I will start with the nomination for best performance by a Leading Actor in a play for Jude Law. Long time readers of HeadTheatre may remember an article I wrote in October of last year named Jude Law: Hamlet in which I analysed Jude Law's work on Broadway and the reaction he was getting, I criticised him and his type of film actor as people who use the theatre for credibility. I would like to apologise and congratulate Jude for his nomination, as I said in my article at the time he was receiving decent notices praising his work and I was surprised to hear that but also very happy to hear it and now I am glad his work has been nominated. Good for Jude and again I wish we had seen it at the Donmar when it was on in London.
I would also like to congratulate Douglas Hodge for his nomination for best leading actor in a musical for his performance in La Cage Aux Folles. Having seen Hodge perform in Guys and Dolls, as Nathan Detroit, back in 2005 I have been following his career to see how he does and the clips shown on British TV for LCAF during its West End run showed that Hodge is one of our top actors at the moment. He moved with the production to Broadway for its New York run and I am really happy that he has gotten this international recognition.
The other two nominations I want to talk about are for Nathan Lane and American Idiot.
American Idiot, based on the album by Green Day, is a Rock Opera in the same vein as Tommy. I have been waiting for this show for years, when the album originally came out I was so excited by the talk of a Rock Opera and I have been waiting to hear about it for the past 5 years. It opened on Broadway just two weeks ago and has already garnered this nomination alongside many favourable reviews. So knowing how Broadway is now utilising the world wide web I headed over to youtube for a gander and this is what I found.
I instantly felt like I was watching a little bit of WWRY but then also a little bit of RENT. It seems full of that anguish that RENT has and the unending happy teen bopping that WWRY was so guilty of. Not knowing where the show really will go means that I am unable to truly give a meaningful critique of its style etc. However being a piece written by, including the book, an international band means the liklihood of either a film deal or West End run being brokered increases the chance that at some point I will see this piece of new Rock Opera. I am most interested to see how much of the albums criticism of American society will have made it into the show. None the less even if the show doesn't win the Tony I predict a long run on Broadway.
The other nomination was for a favourite of mine, Nathan Lane. Lane has for me been the most entertaining american broadway star I have seen for years. His work both in film and onstage has kept me laughing for many years and I am really happy he has been nominated yet again. It did however surprise me considering that this $15 million production, The Addams Family, is a huge artistic flop with Lane being the only good thing in the entire show. Having watched a clip from the Letterman show (see below) I can see why people do not like it but the American public have lapped it up and the show has been playing to mostly full houses... something virtually unheard of at the moment in the theatre industry. Only two shows have been making more money than The Addams Family and that is 'Wicked' and 'The Lion King' both massive shows that have got a very impressive following. Lane has signed on to play Gomez Addams until March 2011 and it looks like there is nothing that will stop this artistic bust becoming at the very least a moderate commercial success. I would say that if it does huge megabucks I really can see this show making its way across the Atlantic and if it does you can bet that just like when the Producers came to London that Lane will follow to fill his role and if he does I will go and get tickets just to see him.
In conclusion I would like to congratulate once more those artists I have mentioned and of course everyone else who has been nominated for a Tony Award.
On the note of awards, tomorrow I am attending 'Morecambe' at the Pavillion Theatre in Worthing and will post a review of the show on headtheatre before Saturday. There will also be a special analysis episode of Theatre from My Head reviews on youtube regarding 'Morecambe' next week.
Easter is on its way and as we make our way towards the holiday weekend that indulges our every wish for chocolate and a new beginning I have gone up to Dartford to spend a fortnight with LibraryGirl's family. Being just outside the Capital means I am basically staying on the fringe of theatre land and here at the moment there are some really interesting events lining up in the forthcoming months for the area.
Hall Place a 16th Century house built for former London Mayor Sir John Champney's has several events listed as coming to their beautiful property over the coming months. These include Chapterhouse Theatre Company on the 17th of June with their production of 'A Midsummer Nights Dream' by William Shakespeare. Then on the 26th of August the Cambridge Touring Theatre will be doing their musical version of 'Robin Hood'. On Sunday the 6th of June there will be a talk by 'Mr Mackett', played by an actor named John White, a Victorian School Master which is sure to be an interesting educational performance piece. Then on the 3rd of October John White will return as 'Master Peter Simpkin' a Tudor Privateer who sailed round the world with Drake. For more events please go to the very helpful and informative Hall Place website here. Or if you want to read their leaflet on upcoming events you can read their pdf file here.
The Orchard Theatre in Dartford is having a brilliant event on Sunday: an open audition for 9-19 yr olds who want to be part of a 250 strong cast in the summer youth project of FAME. If you want to take part you can find the information at this link here. In the evening of Sunday 28th of March the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will be playing Mozart, Handel, Grieg and Dvorak. On the 7th of April Rory Bremner will present his satirical stage show 'Rory Bremners Election Battlebus'. Then from the 14th of April until the 17th of April DAODS, Dartford's premier Amateur Musical company, will present The Wizard of Oz.
The Geoffery Whitworth Theatre a reperatory amateur theatre based in Dartford is currently in the middle of their 2010 season and is presenting next week their GWT Youth Theatre show 'Grimm Tales' by Carol Ann Duffy. From the 24th of April to the 1st of May they present 'Miser' by Moliere before moving through May and June with plays by Minghella and Nick Dear. This is a company with a wealth of experience with a real drive to put on good community theatre, I would highly reccommend attending any one of these shows or indeed all of them.
Today's addition to the ranks of my 'Just a Small One' columns is the Tom Thumb Theatre in Margate which is one of the most well known small theatres in the country. It consists of a former double garage/coach house built in the late Victorian period which was converted in the 1980s to a theatre space. Between the 80s and late Noughties there was a drama club on the premises and an entertainment agency as well as the Theatre. Sadly the theatre closed and was put up for sale in 2009.
However the good news it that it is now open once again after being purchased last year. It was purchased by a family group who pooled resources to buy up this important venue. They now have their own theatre company based out of the venue called the Tom Thumb Players. It looks like things are on the up once again for the Tom Thumb Theatre and with only 60 seats (according to BBC Kent) it looks to be a nice intimate space. They also seem to be starting some really interesting projects including in April 2 'Play in a Day' for performers 11+ where they will get to create, rehearse and perform a play with professional actors in one day. Priced at £20 for the day it is a very well thought out little project and in this writers opinion the sort of workshop young actors and talents should experience. There is lots happening at the Tom Thumb in the next month or so, so please check out their website here. You can also follow them on Twitter and join their Facebook page/group by just searching for them on each site.
Its great to see a creative little theatre back from the brink of complete closure, I really hope they go from strength to strength.
Yes as anyone who has read my blog, especially the Meatloaf article, or indeed knows me will know that if there is one show I saw that I could not stand it was We Will Rock You.
Now I think I should start this article by explaining that I do not dislike Queen's music, it is not an issue with the music its my disdain for the actual book and perhaps to a certain aspect the performance that got my blood boiling. No Queen are my favourite band of all time, perhaps this jaded me to the show, and Freddie Mercury is the best front man of all time in my eyes. Transcending several different genres of Rock, Queen had done progressive style rock, heavy metal, rockabilly, punk rock, hard rock, ballad rock... the list goes on and on. For me hearing them and seeing their live footage at the age of 11 made a light go on in my head and I realised and discovered Rock music through them. Their music influenced so many and has garnered them multitudes of fans worldwide, in 2007 they were even declared the greatest British Rock Band of all time by listeners of BBC Radio 2, they have spent 27 years on the charts with their albums (longer than any other band) and their greatest hits album is the biggest selling album of all time in the British charts. When you take all this into account, no wonder they created a musical based on their music. With such a huge built in audience, they would have been stupid not to.
So Queen are a successful band with a back catalogue of huge hits, what could possibly go wrong? My answer is Taylor + May with Ben Elton did not work. Roger Taylor and Brian May have been touting themselves and performing as Queen since the retirement of John Deacon in 1997. Since Deacon left they have made a lot of decisions that have pimped the Queen name out and tarnished their legacy, at least in my mind, as a rock band. They even resurrected the band as a supergroup with that great Rock vocalist Paul Rodgers as lead vocals, with a voice that was nothing like Freddie's it just seemed like a bad cover band in sound but with great rock pedigree. The union between Elton and May/Taylor though would make me very excited when it was first announced and I was just hoping that I would get the chance to see it. Well luckily enough for me in 2003 my Dad bought us all tickets to see the show and I was really stoked. Its a real shame that reality didn't live up to the hype but why didn't it?
Ben Elton is someone I really respect because of the quality of his work on The Young Ones, his play Gasping and his many novels. However he wrote a real dud of a book for this musical. Of course me calling it a dud is not totally right, after all its a smash hit but artistically WWRY is a complete and utter blunder. The problem is that the script is dire, the story absurd and completely half baked. If you have seen the show and do not believe me then pick up Eltons novel from 2007 called ‘Blind Faith’ which is set in a similar type of world and the story is pulled off with much more finesse and logic. The problem is that the start of the show has some interesting but not rib ticklingly funny gags about the heroes of Rock who are slowly taken out and disposed of by the new governments who suppress the kids and their music with pop and electronica. This leads to in jokes about Taylor and May as well as other Rock legends. I giggled with trepidation when I saw this on the screens as I knew as an audience member it was my job to laugh but the material wasn’t funny. Things would go from bad to worse as the first number started with the ‘Ga Ga Kids’ singing… Radio Ga Ga. Sure it was a great musical chorus performance, after all this was a heavily financed production and I couldn’t fault the chorus but suddenly the music of Queen had lost its edge. Then I lost all willingness to be sitting in that theatre when the lead character named Gallileo, go figure, started singing ‘I want to Break Free’ whilst running up and down the width of the stage thrusting his hands at us and with a pleading look on his face. It was just awful and I felt embarrassed being there and I was so glad I wasn’t in the abomination I was watching. I wish I could say it didn’t get worse but it did, again and again and sadly yet again. When some run of the mill musical theatre actor with spiked up hair and a pure white grin is claimed to be the second coming of Freddie Mercury that makes Xtofer a mean boy. It made no sense, the fact that Ben Elton would in many ways rip off the Matrix is quite sad really and to then neuter the edginess of the story by putting in such asinine and unfunny pop culture references is appalling. The Matrix worked because it was not a defined time in the future, this shows cultural references are all set around 2001- present day and they are not funny. By the time the second act started I had made up my mind on the show, it would have to take a hell of a story to pull me back in. To say it didn’t would be an understatement, during this messy second act I was watching these two teenagers rampaging around going on and on about rock music before somehow going to Montreux, in Switzerland, where they found the statue of Freddie Mercury who was apparently pointing to Wembley Stadium the place of ‘The Living Rock’. Now there are two reasons I was mad at this, the first being the complete and utter idiocy of the two main characters travelling across Europe and just stumbling across some old hippy who tells them to go to Freddie’s statue and the second is that when Elton was writing this script the stadium was already closed with plans of demolition on hand. I know this is fiction but he basically made a redundant piece of architecture a main plot point. When the two leads reach Wembley they search for the secret stash of real instruments (do not ask it’s a headache) placed there by the three members of Queen, wow Deacon got respect from the other two, just before they were executed. They find an electric guitar for the big finale, play their rock music over the global net thing and defeat the bad guys. Rock and roll saves Earth sorry I mean ‘Planet Mall’ whoop de doo. Now this just filled me with apathy. The show ended to a huge round of applause as people cheered obviously entertained but then the pain didn’t end. We had smug actor after smug actor bounce out and just take what seemed like endless bow after bow. I am sorry but that’s not just a criticism of WWRY but of nearly all shows, the curtain calls run too long. Have 2 or maybe 3 at most otherwise why am I still clapping 3 or 4 minutes later? To satisfy some actors ego? Why? I paid my ticket so why should I feel I have to applaud for so long. Then they disappeared before the video screens flashed up ‘Do you want Bohemian Rhapsody?’ to which the people who enjoyed the show screamed yes. I was filled with terror and sadness, terror at the upcoming blandness that this rendition would surely be and sadness at how they could ruin a true musical masterpiece. It was an awful rendition and it was followed by yet more bowing. By the time I left the theatre I was furious. My sister however really enjoyed it, she has seen it twice more, my Mum who for some reason likes to know my opinion before making her own wasn’t really bothered and my Dad was just mad because he spent all that money and I didn’t really like it.
Now I know I have totally slated the show but can I just say that there are some things about the show I really liked. I think the best moment in the show is ‘No One But You’ is sung which is when the revolutionaries sing about the fallen rock stars and especially Freddie Mercury and it was sung so beautifully that I had a tear in my eye. The songs itself is a wonderful piece of writing and for any Queen fan it has a lot of significance so its probably not a surprise that it moved me. The set and lighting was brilliant and in many ways the best I had seen on the West End since Starlight Express back in 96. The Killer Queen was a brilliantly played panto villain, similar in vein to a Disney villain rather than a really evil and menacing foe. The theatre itself, the Dominion theatre is a beautiful building and it was a real pleasure to see a show in there.
So would I recommend a show that I hated? That the Guardian dubbed ‘really as sixth form as it sounds’ no I wouldn’t. Not unless you want to see an illogical piece of science fiction musical theatre with none of the tongue in cheek humour of the Rocky Horror Show. This one is strictly I would say for the 12-18 yr olds. It isn’t offensive, it’s a big spectacle and teens love it so it does its job, it doesn’t push our art forward but its not meant to. It’s a populist piece and when people look back on the noughties and musical theatre in London they will be more inclined to mention Wicked, Hairspray and Avenue Q as having more of an artistic impact, WWRY is just going to go down as smash hit and rightfully so.
Now if you won't take my word for how awful this show is then check out the official WWRY website right here.
I also want to say please check out this website for tickets.
Oh and of course please visit the Best Band Ever! At their official website:
I have been incredibly lucky in my Theatre career so far in that I have performed at some very interesting venues with a variety of different stages; The Northbrook Theatre at STAC, The Assembly Hall in Worthing, The Nightingale Theatre in Brighton and many different alternative spaces in the West Sussex area. From your normal proscenium arch setup to Promenade pieces if it can be done with a stage I have generally done it. Now many people who know me and my tastes in the Theatre, which despite rumours to the contrary they have changed over the years, would probably believe that my preference would go hand in hand with the traditional staging that you can see in nearly all the major theatres the good old fashioned Proscenium arch. Sorry to dissapoint those people but after my first experience of the West End, the moment that showed me that I wanted to be an Actor, Starlight Express wasn't just a show it was a spectacle. The staging snaked around the entire auditorium with the rollerskaters racing on it and a huge bridge that descended from what seemed to be the heavens, to a ten year old whose only experience of the theatre was the panto at the good old Connaught Theatre this was mind blowing. It was there that I realised a raised platform with an arch isn't the only way to present theatre. Then when I started learning the ropes of the theatre with the Pilgrims Drama Group in Worthing we had to create our own theatre 'area' in a church hall with no in built staging. Generally this comprised of two folding tables each side of the acting area for the 'wings' with a sheet over each table with a basic backdrop painted on. It was only when the childrens group, of which I was a member, would work with the adults group to produce the yearly pantomime. Then we would borrow a mobile stage from my Middle School as well as their lights, and using members of the church's skills we would build our own set. It was a community and those small blocks of staging were my first taste of 'treading the boards'. Then my whole outlook changed when in 1998 we got the chance to do 'Ernies Incredible Illucinations' by Ayckbourne and Mavis, who ran the drama group, taught us about Alan Ayckbourne and his theatre in the round. I was instantly fascinated by the complexity and discipline required from being seen from all angles by the audience and having to act with every part of your body. I was hooked on this new idea and over the next few years through High School drama classes and productions, Blood Wedding by Lorca in particular, due to us only really having a drama studio I got to do lots of work in that style. What I didn't know was that I was participating in what is known widely as 'Studio Theatre' and how important this would become to my future development.
In 2002 I joined the Northbrook Theatre thinking I would get to be acting in the main theatre which was a classic proscenium arch style theatre which could be turned into a huge black box. Instead I found myself rehearsing and performing in rehearsal studios before getting my first chance at working in a real black box theatre in the play 'The Last Resort' by Chris Owen. The room was tiny and cramped, it seated approx 20 people once any sparce set was placed within it. It was amazing we had to sit to one side, everytime we went onstage the audience could see, everything was stripped back and showing. The lights and speakers were very obvious and you couldn't hide them but what struck me was the versatility of the space. You could do anything in there, as it was just completely black and it opened my imaginative mind. The exploration of the space when we performed 'The Last Resort' was minimal but being on top of the audience for a first year drama student was daunting enough. Working in there cut a lot of my bad habits out quickly, fiddling hands being the crime I was chastised for the most, and by the time our second show in there was put on I was ready. 'Taking Breath' by Sarah Daniels was our piece and for it we had a pretty audacious design considering the size of the space. The stage which was approximately 12 feet across and 8ft deep was split in two with one half being the first part of the story and the second was that of the final part of the story, we had to have a piece of set representing a tree home for enviromental activists and a hospital bed. The tree home was a pallet left in the top corner of the space on which the actors playing the activists had to sit and the bed was for the lead character who falls from the tree. This of course taught me all about the importance of the luxury of space and how constraining the amount of space an actor can use is a positive thing. The last time I performed in the black box space at Northbrook was for our production of 'The Crucible' by Arthur Miller. Now in this production I was very lucky in that I played two characters and in one scene I had to change costumes quickly and re-enter, now this was not just a challenge for me as an actor artistically but also logistically. There needed to be a place I could quickly change my clothes within a packed tiny little space, where the audience would not see me. They constructed next to the actors bench a tiny cubicle I could change in. A challenge met and it really inspired me to find solutions to spacial issues. The other thing that the Crucible taught me was that good design can sometimes alter percieved ideas of space. I remember when we first heard that we would all be in this tiny space doing a show we thought it couldn't work, and then when we were told it would be in the round I wasn't sure it could look clean and tidy, all those bodies in such a small space. However we ended up getting a stage which comprised of rostrum and had a good rectuangular space to play with. What happened was the claustrophobia of the space helped feed into the plays feelings of oppression and the trap that had been thrown up in the community. This was another revelation, if the play called for a small space or for a tight situation if used effectively a black box or small studio theatre can be a real boon.
In 2006 I got my first real chance at directing at the Nightingale Theatre in Brighton. Under the watchful eye of Prodigal Theatre's representative Thor and in conjunction with Lisa Perry my tutor at Northbrook I directed 'Don Juan Comes Back From the War' by Horvath. I won't go into too much detail as to what happened during this period as I have already documented it several times, however I was quite far out of my depth. The luxury however of having a beautiful space, in a luscious building within Brighton was not lost on me. I learnt more in that space about myself and directing/acting than I had done the previous 3 years of college. We used every little aspect of that space, from the bay windows to the fireplace. Every actor was on stage at all times, there were no breaks for them. We had them playing background characters to enhance the main scenes. The work produced was effective and the open to public performance went down well. It was an experience.
From then on I pretty much worked in a way that took the studio and in the round style as my main focus. It holds so many more opportunities to the performer and director who doesn't have or need an expensive set or intricate design. The final year of my BA Hons Course I was given many opportunities to direct and act and I found the studio and black box system simpler for my theatrical eye. I get it, I understood the way the mind works, how the fourth wall not being in place can truly lift a piece and allow the actors to bring the audience on a journey. When audience members can see each other across the acting space, keeping them focused on the performance is imperative and therefore everyone has to work much harder. However another thing I love about studio and black box theatres is the ability to focus on an image. My piece 'Love' which I wrote and directed in 2006 was a very simple idea and I believe verges on the line between installation art and theatre, I therefore dubbed it a piece of installation theatre (I know this is not the greatest phrase due to the lack of logic in the claim but I thought it sounded smart and good at the time) and had strict instructions regarding length of the piece and audience size. The black box and main theatre were not an option so we got a rehearsal studio and I blacked out the windows so there was no light in the room. Then we got our actress, Juline Pethig, to sit on a stepladder, which was covered by the white dress she was wearing and she held a heart shaped chocolate box. In the background there was a sinister heart beat pounding away very loudly and the bass on that track turned up. 10 audience members were brought in at a time, the lights were turned on and they were guided round the ladder and had only 30 seconds to see the piece before the light went off. When the light went off the heart sound stopped also. With no words and no action some people questioned my motives and justifications but if Samuel Beckett, and his avant garde theatre, could put on 'Breath' then my piece which was partly an homage to his artform was perfectly justifiable. It surprised my peers and tutors also who didn't believe I had that type of work in me.
My final performance at Northbrook, and a personal dream come true, was the adaptation of the Tempest that Jenna Stannard and I came up with from the original Shakespearian text and a Restoration version by Dryden. Faced with the opportunity to perform it in the traditional manor in the Northbrook Theatre, our set designer Scott Nimmo decided to put the piece in the round and create an island within the theatre space. We created an island in the Northbrook Theatre using two tonnes of sand... which blew most of our budget but I think it really helped the piece be effective. Judge for yourself.
Pictures courtesy of Kirsty Jeffery. Thanks Kirsty.
The other aspect of this was the great lack of space we had, the piece restricted where certain characters could or would go. My character Prospero would only move in his small corner of the island and it really gave us a bigger challenge. A normal set would have nullified a lot of the action in this piece and being in the round allowed us to really show off our talents.
Since leaving University and forging on with my own career I have been testing and trying my work in the round. Simply put I believe it is the most versatile work place for an actor. If you have never tried to perform in a town square in the round then you haven't had one heck of a funny experience. Last years fptheatreproductions living history piece 'The Worthing Tales' was performed in South Street in Worthing on a busy August Saturday morning. We were heckled, we were ignored, our space was walked through, we had the public come up to us during the performance and we had hundreds of spectators looking at us. It wasn't a typical piece of theatre for the town centre or even for the town but it was amazing having that public forum and was a true throwback to the days of the Medieval mystery play being done on carts in the Market place.
However as much as I loved outside I crave a black box of my own to use and to cherish. After all with a black box you get a blank canvas, and all the basics you need to start painting the eventual masterpiece you want your work to be. That is why I love Studio/Black Box theatres, and it would take a lot to change my mind.
Etcetera Theatre is the smallest theatre in London. Situated above the Oxford Arms pub in Camden it is the same age as me and has been producing and presenting good quality work for the past 23 years. It has been used for many different uses from venue for the Camden Fringe to Edinburgh Fringe Previews, this is an embodiment of the true underground pub theatre spirit.
To find out more about the Etcetera Theatre Camden please look here.
It is not everyday that I find a tool for theatre studies that generally blows me away. Now Theatron is one of those tools which is very exciting for its interface and depth of knowledge. This tool basically gives you a history of theatrical spaces, how they work, were developed and how they looked all in a 3D model. Now this software was developed in 2000/2001 and as such it is basic looking compared to 3D modelling that is done today on computers, however looking and studying it is still important due to the wealth of knowledge it provides. I would say that this is an excellent tool for anyone studying GCSE level Drama or History (if studying Roman and Greek architecture) or even Diploma level Theatre Students.
It takes a while to understand and really appreciate the subject you learn and to master it is near impossible, once you have your degree where do you go? Do you continue and work towards a Masters Degree? Then what? Move onto your PHD? Or do you go into the real world and leave the academic world behind? Well I chose to leave the University lifestyle and enter day to day life and consequently did what a lot of people my age did and still do, worked in a job sector completely unrelated to my degree. The result of this was that for the past 2 and a half years vital knowledge and information I pored over hungrily at College has begun to ebb away from my conciousness. This leaves me feeling a bit stupid because I did work very hard but I didn't keep it up outside of my Univeristy life and there are people who work in the Theatre Arts sector and not remembering certain things or having any knowledge of other aspects can sometimes be the difference between being taken seriously and seen as a joke. So to combat this LibraryGirl suggested I study at home a Drama Course which could easily be found in the... Library and the book we sourced together was 'Theatre Studies' by Keith Pickering and Mark Woolgar which is a book that covers all the subjects required by undergraduate and diploma courses in Theatre Arts. I have so far found it to be very helpful in its writing and exercises for reminding me how to do certain things and subjects that may have fallen to the wayside in my acting and directing technique. I am enjoying it a lot and its just nice to be learning something once again. I feel better to be able to back up my own knowledge much like someone backing up their computer files. The biggest boon though has been some of the subjects I don't know about and resources it has thrown up for me to talk about on here. So yes there is a lot going on in 'Theatre From My Head' right now from our 'Just a Small One' series on small theatres in the UK to our 'Curtains!!! Project' so keep your eyes peeled for more updates.
The Swallow Theatre in Whithorn Scotland is a tiny 48 seat theatre located on the Moss Park estate. It was created by converting a barn with various materials, at times the staging and raised chair areas were pallets and it used to run a bring your own chair scheme. However nowadays they have retractable seating. One of the most interesting aspects of this theatre to me though has to be the lighting which according to their website is powered by solar panels and wind turbines! Truly an ecological theatre then.
I think it looks really quaint and it has a great 'can-do' attitude in its creators. Please check out the website here.
The Old Stagers is an amateur Theatre Company that I have recently come across during my research into the Theatres of Canterbury for my Curtains!!! Project. One of the venues which I have looked up and researched at great length is the Theatre Royal Canterbury and whilst looking at the Times Digital Archive found reference to this group going back over a hundred years.
Formed in 1842 The Old Stagers hold a very strong claim on being the longest surviving amateur Theatre Company, originally founded by the Honorable Frederick Ponsonby it was set up to provide extra events for Canterbury's Cricket Week. According to their own website the actors were the cricket players! This of course left them little time to rehearse and on their website they talk about how they would rehearse on the green and in the tents. However reviews of these performances from 1908 onwards give these performers great respect and commend them for providing a lot of fun during the evenings before the next days cricket.
I cannot imagine a better day out really than a fine Kentish Ale in Canterbury watching the Cricket in the August Sun and then a piece of theatre in the evening. Sounds like my sort of Summers Day.
The next Canterbury Cricket Week is in August and the Old Stagers Website is advertising dates of August the 2nd until August the 7th.
For more information on Kent Cricket please go here.
For tourist information on the beautiful city of Canterbury please look here.
