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Macbeth - The Watermill Theatre (2019)

5/5/2019

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Photograph by Pamela Raith.
Paul Hart’s demonic reinterpretation of the Bard’s best -loved comment on regicide and tyranny falls remarkably flat. Hart’s production attempts to incorporate the musical talents of its cast to create a cacophony of sound to accompany the terrible tale of ambition, greed and murder. Yet the jagged interruptions of various versions of Johnny Cash and the Rolling Stones seem to take the piece out of itself and far from subverting the darker themes or enhancing a sense of unease and foreboding, they simply read as inauthentic.

Following the ascension of Macbeth to the throne of Scotland a cover of Frank Sinatra’s L.O.V.E accompanies the monarchs dance and far from being a moment of subversive hilarity or imbuing the moment with a deeper disturbance seemed frankly, out of place. Elsewhere the production is riddled with structural inconsistencies through ill-thought through gender swaps. Banquo and Fleance become woman and girl, causing one to question whether Lady Macbeth’s descent into madness isn’t rather postponed; given it is originally the brutality and wasteful murder of Macduff’s wife and children that provides the ultimate catalyst for her demise. Hart works around the question of witches by animating an army of military undead as a cohesive voice of supernatural prophecy, which given the over-reliance on demonic imagery seems rather a missed opportunity for occult visuals.

Despite the clear effort exerted by the production team to work the concept of the Macbeth's owning a hotel in hell, as one long neon sign flickers out the ‘O’ and ‘T’ periodically to spell ‘HEL’ atop three hotel room doors each baring the number 6, the concept seems rather haphazardly hustled together. Given that the play’s themes are already alarmingly obvious the extension of this into the slightly campy set design in the Watermill’s intimate, murky interior does very little to transport us to Scotland’s harrowing heaths and the Macbeths fortress. Likewise Emma McDonald and Billy Postlethwaite as our cunning bloodthirsty couple shimmer with overly zealous determination to really sell it to us without the crucial connection between them that makes the exploit so electrifying. Victoria Blunt’s Malcom is one of few standouts in an overwhelmingly young cast, bristling with regal recalcitrance and poignant pragmatism and despite the productions desperate need for dramaturgical re-evaluation, the sight of a gender equal cast in regional theatre is genuinely heartening.
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Review by Jordana Belaiche.
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The Box - White Bear Theatre

23/10/2017

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A new play by Chris Szuca (and his solo debut as a playwright) and directed by Jodi Burgess (Secrets), The Box explores darker sides of romantic love through two plotlines.

The first one follows younger Robyn and Andrew (Emma Stirling, Dan Burman) as they move in together, while in the second story we find the couple’s elder selves (Pat Garrett, Will Anderson) as older Robyn pays her former lover a visit.
Given younger Robyn’s reaction to Andrew’s first surprise, seeing then that older Robyn has left Andrew doesn’t come as much of a shock. What could make less sense to some is how long it takes younger Robyn to do so. But for anyone familiar with psychological abuse, the length of time and gravity of the deeds that can happen before someone breaks free often defy logic. And thanks to Dan Burman’s fantastic embodiment of younger Andrew, blending caring warmth and understated charm with more dangerously unpredictable tones, and to Emma Stirling’s very moving, subtly restless incarnation of younger Robyn, the couple’s downward spiral is both believable and interesting to watch.
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The other plotline, however, unfortunately takes some of the edge off. Given the very first tableau, it is quite clear from the start where older Andrew really is, and how the play will end (but I might have annoyed friends who saw 'The Sixth Sense' and 'Fight Club' with me, so take this one with a pinch of salt). In addition, the older couple’s story is more one of telling and reminiscing than showing and doing. Finally (and maybe due to the size of the stage and very minimal light design) the two couples are hardly ever on stage at the same time. As a result, entrances and exits often cut wonderful tension after certain scenes.

Given the extremes reached by both younger characters and the fact that we start the play when at least a big move has been made by one of the characters, I found myself craving for a beginning set earlier in the couple’s life together, and seeing less of their older selves in spite of Garrett’s and Anderson’s fine performances (and in spite of finding the concept of the younger/older double narrative incredibly cool). Maybe the two plotlines could find a more compelling cohabitation if the four characters remained on stage throughout, and with a light design that creates two worlds, almost haunting one another. This may also give a more pivotal place to the box in which Robyn keeps her diary, and which (as the title suggests) is an important element of the play (a lovely choice of colour for the diary and older Robyn’s jacket did move in that direction though).
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Whichever way this balance is found, vignettes of happier/earlier days would have pulled me in the story and in Robyn’s psyche a lot more, to probably punch harder as the play ends. The loftier the start, the bigger the crash.
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Review by Sophie Martin.
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The Tempest - Perform International - The Steiner Theatre

21/4/2016

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The Tempest by William Shakespeare
The Steiner Theatre
Director: Geoff Norris
Music Composition: Hedi Pinkerfield

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The Tempest is being performed at The Steiner Theatre from the 28th-30th of April at 7:30 with a matinee performance at 3pm on the 30th of April.
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As part of the year long celebration of 400 years since William Shakespeare's death, there are a whole raft of performances going on in and around the capital, so if you are yet to see any of The Bard's plays performed as he intended them to be, now is a great time to do so. In my view a large number of people are put off ever going to see Shakespeare at the Theatre because of negative experiences at school. Shakespeare wrote plays yet so often schools ruin students first exposure to them by insisting they are simply read. This removes any of the dramatic nuance and dumbs down the brilliance of the word play so terminally that many never show interest again. Neither do I believe Shakespeare ever intended his plays to be scrutinised and dissected in the horrendous way that English Tutors seem to love doing. Who cares how the cadence rises and falls during Portia's wonderful speech in The Merchant Of Venice and who is even the slightest bit bothered about how Prospero's eulogy is relevant for us today? No one! Shakespeare wrote baldy and earthy plays for the unwashed masses. They feature comedy and delinquent behaviour with a peppering of language that would make even the most open minded of individuals blush. I love Shakespeare but I imagine Shakespeare himself would deliver a hearty smack across the jowls to my English Teachers.

It is not my intention to review The Tempest, there are shelves of books who will do that far better than I, but to focus on this production of The Tempest. As each Director attempts to bring something new to the story of Prospero, surely this becomes an increasingly difficult task. So, as the house lights dim and strange etherial music begins to fill the auditorium we are taken to a ship on the high seas that is about to become a boat under the high seas...

Before that though, the music! In this production of The Tempest the renowned composer Hedi Pinkerfield has composed a score that features throughout the play. When I say throughout I mean that it's a constant companion to the scenes being performed. Strange, etheric sounds fill the stage and float around the audience and my immediate concern was that this would prove too great a distraction. My fears were unfounded as, once they are accepted, the almost otherworldly quality of the sounds and snatched riffs really succeed in underlining the spiritual qualities of the island. In the case of the opening scene, bangs and crashes from percussive instruments really do add to the image of a ship that is becoming an ex ship. Pinkerfield's sublime scoring throughout the play adds to the action and emotion on stage without ever threatening to overwhelm it. I have never seen a production of The Tempest which moves so successfully away from using period musical instruments of the era Shakespeare wrote in. A bold and strident move but one that really does work.
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Once the play moves to Prospero's mysterious island, and the venue for the remainder of the production, the sparseness of the staging really becomes apparent. Geoff Norris as director has made Shakespeare himself the main character in this production, in that it is his masterly plotting and scene development that holds sway and the audiences attention. Too many times in past productions and, I would guess, with far larger budgets directors have bamboozled and beguiled with effects and lavish sets. For me, this isn't what Shakespeare is about. It is the beauty of the words and phrases when partnered with the brilliance of performing the script that should always focus the audiences attention. The responsibility of bringing The Bard to life once more is that of the cast and not a well stocked FX department! The lighting effects are effective and sparingly used with most of the focus on the large backdrop with the sun/ moon being lit appropriately to accentuate the time of day. The use of actors to convey the drowning scene are effective and brilliantly portrayed with minimal fuss.

The cast for The Tempest are an international delight and expertly bring to life every emotional delicacy that is available to be tasted. This sounds like an overly flowery statement to make but it is one that is perfectly appropriate. Richie Donaldson's Prospero has the depth and emotional power of a man that has long ago slain his past demons but, and at the same time, demonstrates his
world weariness. Here to is a deep love for his daughter, Miranda, and I delighted in the scenes where he lovingly tells the story of how they came to live on the island. Miranda, brought to vivid and stunning life by Italian actress, Elena Mazzon. I have enjoyed some of Elena's previous productions and always love the emotional intensity she brings to her performance. Samuel Mattioli's Ferdinand is simply a wonder and his dizzying, almost drunken stupor, on learning the news that Miranda is in love with him lit up the stage. Manish Srivastava is appropriately oafish as the slow witted, Calaban, yet evokes tremendous sympathy as a character who just wants to escape the shackles of slavery. Drunken comic relief is provided by Michael Claff and Alexander Yousri in their portrayals of Stephano and Trinculo respectively provided many comedic moments. The dastardly and quick witted Antonio is brought to acerbic life by Eshy Moyo and his scenes with Sebastian, Robert Land, are both funny and intense. Their planned betrayal of the irritatingly wordy Gonzalo, turncoat and weasel, is devious but perhaps understandable if only to cease the man's incessant prattling. Ted Duran is strident and true in his performance of Alonso and it is his scenes with Prospero that provide an emotional resonance.
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With this production every actor feels just as important as the next, regardless of the part they play in the story. Joanna Bodo portrayed the Lord with a wonderful assuredness and her performance as Goddess Iris was both breath taking and seductively brilliant. Sahu Tao Shen brings a masculine and visceral quality to the role of Francisco, a reliable and accomplished man at arms you would want by your side. Special mention to Zita Konyari, who's singing during the wedding ceremony was truly stunning and elevated this pivotal scene to an entirely different level.

It is the decision to divide the central character, Ariel, into three that drew my particular attention. Lindsey Jacobs, Aisha Kent and Bowy Goudkamp are magnificent whether on stage as ensemble Ariel or divided into literally their separate elements (Earth, Wind and Fire) For me, this is a very welcome and innovative take on the mischievous Ariel and is one that is effectively performed. There were only a few occasions where Ariel's lines were obscured by three actresses speaking them together. Whilst this isn't a criticism of the three actresses, it is a risk of portraying the character in such a bold and original manner. Lindsey, Aisha and Bowy portray the individual dimensions to Ariel so strikingly and so individually it is a risk that I am delighted was undertaken and it brings an entirely new dimension to The Tempest.

This is an absolute triumph and the most effective production of The Tempest that I have ever had the pleasure of watching. I simply cannot find anything that I didn't enjoy about it! It serves as a glorious example of what can be achieved with a talented cast and assured direction to anyone that enjoys fantastic Theatre. I hope that those who had long given up on Shakespeare's work as a closed book to them will go and see this production. Perhaps The Bard's work isn't as inaccessible as you had previously believed!
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Review by Daniel White.
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The Nether

31/3/2015

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Jennifer Haley’s newest play is now at the Duke of York having transferred from the Royal Court. The Nether takes a step into the not so distant future and the idea of people being hooked into a nether realm (an alternate reality) for most of their lives. Something we are seeing become more and more apparent as we move towards virtual reality. In this world Haley discusses what happens to those of us with a slightly darker sexual appetite.
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The couple sitting next to me were clearly on a romantic evening out and after the first sign of con-sensual sex between a fully grown man and a young girl being hinted at.. I got the feeling this wasn’t going to be the romantic night out they had planned! The play surrounds child abuse and argues that as it’s in a computer generated world, is paedophilia legal? The arguments raised by Haley are legitimate and in the current climate of scandal after scandal being discovered it’s an extremely relevant piece.
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The subject matter is inspired and shown to us in a creative way, however, a show like this does have it’s problems. One of the problems I had is with the script, in particular the overly descriptive way of getting across the history of how the Nether Realm came to be. The characters know full well how things had transpired but of course the audience does not, this is always going to be problematic and I felt Haley's writing didn’t approach this in a satisfying way which left the scenes lacking in realism. In one of the earlier scenes, Detective Morris (Amanda Hale) talks to the creator of this particularly dark realm, Simms (Stanley Townsend) about the Nether Worlds beginnings but he knows exactly what she is talking about, the scene becomes drawn out as they focus on this back and forth discussing that would be the every day to them.
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Stanley Townsend should get mentioned here for a superb performance that takes a lot of guts. This character, who should be loathed, has moments where the audience could feel sorry for him. This would, as it did the night I saw the production, make an audience uncomfortable in a wonderfully terrible way. You could see people shifting in their seats as the young Iris (portrayed courageously by Zoe Brough) was groomed in this fetishist playground and when she herself acts in sexual ways towards nervous client (Ivanno Jeremiah).
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The scenes inside the Nether World are done unapologetically which is perfect, the show needs to be gutsy to really hit home with it’s message and Jeremy Herrin's direction here must be praised for taking a strong standpoint and helping these actors travel through a very dark narrative that must have been difficult to rehearse. These scenes show a Victorian paradise where Simms created world is brought to life on stage, the set design for this is quite beautiful in harsh contrast with the tone of the piece.
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Eventually, without giving too much away, we see that anyone can be anyone in this world including the young girls. To add another layer to this Haley suggests that there is a further step that those in this world will take, after taking advantage of the girls she comments that the natural progression is to kill, and as this is a virtual world this can be done again and again. The idea of giving into primal urges reaches absolutely everyone, the darker side to human beings is shown in vivid reality on stage.
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The piece has it’s areas for improvement, it does feel very sluggish at times and there are moments of contradiction within itself. Also with the plot actually becoming a sweet love story (seems implausible I know but you will have to see it to understand) it removes the power of where it begins. The set too, beautiful as it was, lacked somewhat in it’s execution and was a little rough around the edges.
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This is a great show if you’re up for something to really make you think, but if you’re expecting light hearted entertainment (like the couple next to me who I had noticed were sitting in stunned silence leaning away from each other by the end) you may want to take a walk up the road and see something else. This one is for the hardcore, theatre drama nuts, having said that however, if you are a fan of Charlie Brooker's ‘Black Mirror’ series of stories then this could be for you.
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Review by Shane Goodsir.
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Once

29/3/2015

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Once the Musical has been delighting audiences at the Phoenix Theatre on Charing Cross road for the past two years, but sadly the time has come to say goodbye to this beautiful musical. Winner of 8 Tony’s, 2 Olivier's and a Grammy, Once became a hit in quick time. For it’s UK run Doctor Who’s Arthur Darvill wowed audiences with his portrayal of the moody Irish musician known only as ‘Guy’ and he has been widely considered as the best in the role, making more women swoon than when Zayn hits the high notes with One Direc… Sorry, too soon? But speaking of pop stars, Once finished it’s run with ex Boyzoner Ronan Keating performing to sell out audiences.
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The show takes place in Dublin, Ireland and follows the story of a thirty something busker and his unrequited romance with a young Czech woman. The fact that this is not an out and out love story is quite refreshing, they both have respective partners that we never see and find each other quite by chance forming a firm friendship.
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With a superb selection of characters played by incredibly talented performers who also play the music for the entire show, I’m more than a little jealous! Every character is portrayed with fines and keeps you grounded in a very real world, with wonderful moments of comedy that warms the heart at every turn.
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I had seen the same cast before with ITV’s Superstar semi-finalist David Hunter in the lead role and was impressed with how well he coped with taking on the role after Darvill’s enigmatic performance, bringing something of his own to the part. His leading lady, Jill Winternitz as ‘the Girl’, also took up the mantle extremely well and her performance was simply stunning. Funny and heartfelt, Winternitz takes you on a roller coaster throughout the show with nuances that deserve a lot more acclaim than she has received, as she is an accomplished performer.
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To finish up the run of this stunning musical was Ronan Keating, he certainly looks the part and you would think a moody Irishman character with a smooth singing voice would be perfect… Wouldn't you? Unfortunately Keating is not an actor, now before I get lynched by many screaming fans I will say this was his first time out. Fair enough, I wasn’t expecting his acting to be top notch as it’s a difficult thing to get up on a West End stage first time out of the gate.
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His awkward performance actually gave the character something quite fresh which I enjoyed in places, but for a singer I did expect a little more. I thought his particular song styling would stand him in good stead for this show but it was a little lacking, with other members of cast clearing holding back to help him out. There were points in some of the hit songs such as ‘Gold’, Falling Slowly’ and ‘When Your Mind’s Made Up’ where we completely lost him altogether.
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Once is a warm and uplifting show, a perfect evenings entertainment and bound to make you feel good about life. It was a shame however to finish without the big and surprising performance that Arthur Darvill gave us. My star rating is based on the show itself and not that final performance as I feel it deserves better,, Had I not seen previous casts this would have been a lot lower!
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Hopefully this will be heading out on tour soon with another stellar cast. I am excited to see who follows in it’s footsteps with this kind of wonderful, heartfelt and personal show; who knows maybe shows like this do come around more than ’Once’…
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Review by Shane Goodsir.
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