PETER PAN

Malvern Festival Theatre

(UK Productions)

UK Productions makes a welcome return to Malvern this yuletide with their wonderful adaptation of the children’s classic, Peter Pan. I tend to gauge the success of a pantomime on the engagement of the younger members of the audience and based on the response of those attending opening night, the show was an undeniable, huge hit. They were captivated throughout, following the superb storytelling and joining in, with gusto, whenever required.

Director, Scott Ritchie, proves his metal again following his last visit to Malvern Festival Theatre with his equally excellent Cinderella. He has a definite skill in choosing the perfect cast for his shows. Jessica Punch is perfectly boyish as the eponymous character, Pan, clearly revealing in the challenge presented by the fiendish Captain Hook, played with aplomb by Mark Moraghan. Rosie Needham is striking in both looks and attitude as the pesky fairy, Tinker Bell, and Anna Lawrence presents a refreshingly empowered Wendy. Her brothers, John and Michael, are brilliantly played by Rhys Harris Clarke and Oliver Simmons, respectively. CBeebies star, Andrew Agnew, impresses with his pop vocals for his two numbers, Bills and Uptown Funk, and is clearly as at home on stage as he is on television. A rare quality these days. Laura Harrison plays a feisty Tiger Lilly and Hannah-Jane Fox is as delightful as Mrs Darling as she is entertaining as the saucy mermaid, Persil.

The pirate crew, made up of Andrew Rothwell, Jacob Theisinger and Chris Gage, bound around the stage with impressive energy and perform the most amazing tumbling act in the second half, with the help of a surprisingly agile, Smee. Alastair Bull’s choreography is slickly delivered by dancers of the Cecilia Hall Dance Centre, past and present, including Amelia Arnold and Isla Thompson who are currently training in London at Laine Theatre Arts and Millennium College. Lastly, lads from a variety of performing arts groups in Worcestershire do a grand job as the Lost Boys.

Andrew Ryan’s script is as funny as it is topical and moves at quite a pace. The music is inspired from the hilarious pre-show announcement with Smee and Adele to the great selection of songs throughout pretty much makes up the Now That’s What I Call Music 2015, with a couple of musical theatre numbers thrown in for good measure. The vocals from everyone are very impressive. In fact, Tinker Bell’s rendition of ‘Fight Song’ is one of the best moments in pantomime ever for me. Credit goes to Musical Director, Dean McDermott who is accompanied on keyboards by the talented Mark Cooper and Nicholas Atkins.

The only thing that lets this awesome production down is the scenery, which has seen much better days and is in desperate need of repair or replacement. The Darling children’s bedroom looks as if it would qualify for DIY SOS. Congratulations have to go to the stage crew and technicians who do the most incredible job and clearly have their work cut out for them during the run.

This is a truly magical pantomime and perfect entertainment for the entire family. Get your tickets quick though as it’s selling out fast!

THE SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH

Malvern Festival Theatre

(Mercury Theatre Colchester, Brian Eastman and Christabel Albery)

Hayden Oakley & Laura Pitt-Pulford

The Smallest Show On Earth, a 1957 British movie starring Peter Sellers and Margaret Rutherford, has been wonderfully adapted for stage by Thom Southerland, Paul Alexander and an incredibly talented creative team and troupe of equally gifted performers. This new musical, with songs by Irving Berlin, is utterly charming and perhaps should be renamed The Sweetest Show On Earth.

The story follows a young scriptwriter and his new wife, struggling to make a success of things in London. They believe their fortunes have taken a turn for the better when they become the unexpected inheritors of a cinema in Sloughborough, only to discover it is on the verge of collapse both architecturally and economically. They decide to nurture The Bijou Kinema back to its former glory with the help of the devoted staff, despite the attempts of their rivals, at The Grand, to ruin them.

Southerland, who also directed the show, has gathered together a superb team of people to make his vision a reality. As well as his costumes, David Woodhead’s set is incredible and so beautifully lit by Howard Hudson’s lighting design. Lee Proud’s choreographer is cheerful, vibrant and brings a fresh dimension to Berlin’s songs with the help of Mark Cumberland’s brilliant orchestrations and Mark Aspinall and his amazing orchestra. Southerland has a real love of creating cinematic atmosphere in his productions and fans of his revival of Mack and Mabel and his more recent Grand Hotel, both at the Southwark Playhouse, will not be disappointed.

The fourteen strong cast are excellent. The stunning Laura Pitt-Pulford is phenomenal and perfectly paired with the adorable Hayden Oakley, as the newly-weds. Both are amazing actors with the most delicious voices and you cannot help but love them both and wish for their 'happily ever after'. Liz Goddard is as lovely as she is funny in the role of the matriarchal Mrs Fazackalee, with Sam O’Rourke giving an endearing performance as her poor, suffering son. Christina Bennington has powerful vocals as the Sloughborough Songbird after replacing the rather theatrically flamboyant solicitor, energetically played by Matthew Crowe.

The only disappointment of the evening was the unbelievably small turnout for this amazing production. It didn’t seem to matter though because the audience loved it and fully showed their appreciation throughout. This musical is nostalgic, romantic, funny, delightful and deserving of much accolade. Go and see The Smallest Show On Earth. It will lift your spirits and warm your soul on a dark, cold night.

5 stars

THE FULL MONTY

Malvern Festival Theatre

(Sheffield Theatres Production)

Oscar winning writer, Simon Beaufoy’s stage adaptation of his 1997 blockbuster British film, The Full Monty, opened to a packed out theatre at Malvern last night. A predominantly female audience buzzed with excitement and anticipation, proving without doubt that sex sells. It always has and probably always will and it is a concept in no way exclusive to the male of the species.

This play is much more than just a bunch of unemployed ex steel workers taking their clothes off to earn money. It is a story about struggle and hardship and the, often unexpected, consequences of enforced change, good and bad. It explores the dichotomy of vulnerability and strength of the human spirit in challenging times. This is Beaufoy’s first venture into playwriting and although it is a terrifically entertaining show, it seems to lack heart. The characters are great and the storyline clear but it is still presented in a screen format, consisting of a multitude of relatively short scenes, which can make it difficult to truly connect and care about each character. In fact, many of the actors get very little opportunity to really establish themselves. This certainly doesn’t seem to effect the audience’s enjoyment of it though.

The large cast is made up of fifteen performers, many of whom appear very little and double up as stage crew for the many scene changes. The plot mostly revolves around Gaz, played by Gary Lucy, who is certainly very pleasing on the eye and has a great energy. Unfortunately, his grasp of a Northern accent isn’t so good and can make it difficult to hear the dialogue at times, particularly at the beginning. This production is also his maiden voyage onto the stage and perhaps placing a novice theatre performer in the lead role of a play by a novice play writer wasn’t the best idea. Having said this, Lucy commits fully to the role and gives his all. Andrew Dunn is superb as Gerald, the gnome loving, white-collar worker who reluctantly becomes the group’s choreographer while hiding his redundancy from his wife. Martin Miller gives a star performance as the overweight stripper with self-esteem issues, Dave, his stagecraft shining through and Rachel Finnegan is very convincing as Mandy. Louis Emerick, Rupert Hill and Bobby Schofield are great as the rest of the troupe and twelve year old, Fraser Kelly, is absolutely fantastic as Gaz’s son, Nathan. Finally, the set, designed by Robert Jones, is phenomenal and works brilliantly to accommodate the action and various settings.

The Full Monty does exactly what it says on the tin. The audience loved it. It’s true to the film, with the same wonderful soundtrack, and doesn’t disappoint those expecting to be titillated. The show is practically sold out for the week run at Malvern Festival Theatre and it was a joy to see a new audience demographic attending live theatre in droves. Long may it continue!

KING CHARLES III

Malvern Festival Theatre

(Sonia Friedman Productions, Stuart Thompson Productions, Tulchin Bartner Productions, Charles Diamond and the Almeida Theatre in association with Birmingham Repertory Theatre and by Arrangement with Lee Dean)

Robert Powell, Ben Righton & Jennifer Bryden

Writer, Mike Bartlett, recently wowed the nation with the most watched drama series this year, Dr Foster. Over 8 million people tuned in to follow the exploits of the woman scorned. Malvern Festival Theatre’s last encounter with this gifted playwright was the stunning Earthquakes in London and this new tour of King Charles III is equally enthralling. Following a successful run in the West End, this visionary work has won several awards, including an Olivier for Best New Play and last month saw it preview on Broadway. The play gives a glimpse of a possible future, just seven years away, in the weeks following the queen’s death and Charles’ long awaited ascension to the throne. It explores the political and social impact of freethinking within the monarchy, freedom of the press and the right to privacy, with the demands and difficulties of familial duty and expectations.

Robert Powell heads the cast as the future King and is impressive in the enormity of the role. It will be unreasonable to highlight any particular performance though as every single member of the sixteen strong cast are superb in the telling of this very plausible story. The play runs for nearly three hours including interval and is a wonderful homage to Shakespeare’s history plays. Written in iambic pentameter, with soliloquies and comedy to relive the tension, it gives the audience an utterly unique experience of exactly what it must have been like to have witnessed the bard’s work at the time of writing. Directors, Rupert Goold and Whitney Mosery, do an impeccable job with the staging of this epic piece and Tom Scutt’s stunning recreation of the Almeida Theatre is inspired and a beautiful canvas for Jon Clark’s atmospheric lighting design.

King Charles III is remarkable, groundbreaking theatre. It is the most unusual feeling watching a live performance about such familiar people in a future event that isn’t far off and entirely possible. It’s a truly unique experience and unquestionably one worth experiencing.

5 stars

BAD JEWS

Malvern Festival Theatre

(Theatre Royal Bath Productions, Kenny Wax Limited, Simon Friend)

A bijoux Manhattan apartment, with a view of the Hudson River (from the bathroom), becomes the figurative Coliseum for a gladiatorial dispute between two Jewish cousins over the ownership of a treasured family heirloom. Described as a comedy, this contemporary story by Joshua Harmon frantically explores issues about modern culture, society, religion and family in an incredibly emotive fashion. Passions run so high that the action becomes farcical in an almost Faulty Towers style.

Daphna is fanatically religious and as the only practicing Jew believes, without question, she should have her grandfather’s Chai medallion, which he managed to hold onto during his years in the concentration camps during the Holocaust. Liam, her wealthy cousin and atheist, however, already has possession of the heirloom and intended to give it to his girlfriend, Melody, when he proposed, just as his grandfather did to their grandmother. Liam’s brother, Jonah, does his utmost to not be drawn into the dispute but, unfortunately, with little success.

Ailsa Joy’s character, Daphna is obnoxious, overbearing and immensely dislikeable and we can only hope that she is proving her metal as an awesome performer and nothing like this girl in real life. Equally infuriating and annoying is her cousin Liam, perfectly played by Daniel Boyd, whose rant half way through the show is applause worthy. Jos Slovick is incredibly focused and brings a wonderful stillness and admirable restraint to the part of Jonah and Antonia Kinlay is superb as Melody, the surprising voice of wisdom during in the heat of battle. All of the performances are faultless and the subject matter thought provoking.

For me, this wasn’t a comedy but more a drama, a reflection of life, which has moments of comedy. The subject matter and humour is very American. The playwright presented a style of play typical of many American dramatists, where the focus is on people and emotions more than plot. It is extremely refreshing to have the opportunity to see contemporary writing and I am a huge fan of the modern trend of one act plays. This Theatre Royal Bath production delivers on quality, as always, and gives plenty to think about on the way home. It runs at Malvern Festival Theatre until Saturday.

AVENUE Q

Malvern Festival Theatre

(Sell a Door Theatre Company & Richard Darbourne Ltd)

After success on Broadway and in the West End, the Tony Award winning musical, Avenue Q finally makes it to Malvern! Co-creator of The Book of Mormon, Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx create the most authentically original and relevant musical theatre songs ever. “It Sucks To Be Me”, “Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist”, “If You Were Gay” and “The Internet Is For Porn” gives you a pretty good idea of the show content and even though the majority of characters are puppets, this is certainly not aimed at children.

Avenue Q is so wonderfully refreshing and draws a completely new audience to live theatre. It tells of, college graduate, Princeton who moves into the only affordable area in New York, as he embarks on the onerous task of finding his purpose in life. With the help of his new neighbours, he experiences the trials and tribulations of starting out on his own. Richard Lowe does an excellent job with the aforementioned character and also as the closet homosexual, Rod, who lives with his flatmate, Nicky, in true Bert and Ernie style. Nicky is superbly animated by Stephen Arden who is also responsible for the porn fixated, Trekkie Monster and a Bad Idea Bear and in typical Avenue Q fashion, instead of a right hand man, he assisted by a left armed woman in the form of the ever so talented Jessica Parker. Sarah Harlington creates the perfectly vulnerable yet feisty, Kate Monster, with incredible vocals that gently tug at the heartstrings. The ‘human’ characters are played by Arina II, as the struggling therapist, Christmas Eve, with Richard Morse as her unemployed fiancé, Brian and, for this performance, the part of child star, Gary Coleman, was played by Cleopatra Joseph.

Special mention has to be made of the incredible band, headed by Dean McDermott. The set is very similar to the West End version and works really well. Most enjoyable though are the casts’ fantastic puppetry skills, developed under the watchful eye of puppet coach, Nigel Plaskitt. So much humour is portrayed, and empathy for the characters achieved, through the wonderful execution of these skills.

I recommend that everyone go to see Avenue Q. It is so relevant to our time and a true reflection of human nature and the difficulties we all encounter, often on a daily basis. It is very funny, charming, heartfelt and hopeful. It runs at Malvern Festival Theatre until Saturday.

4 stars 

HAIRSPRAY

Malvern Festival Theatre

(Produced by Mark Goucher and Laurence Myers, Tom O’Connell for QNQ, Just for Laughs Theatricals, Gale King Productions and Curve theatre, Leicester)

The effervescent musical, Hairspray, explodes on stage at Malvern Theatres for the first time this week. Bringing a whole new audience demographic to the venue, this latest incarnation of the show delivers awesome vocals, vibrant choreography and a feel good factor that would soften the hardest of hearts. Set in Baltimore in 1962 at a time of monumental political and social change, it is a giddy tale of one teenagers belief for a brighter future and the lengths she'll go to achieve her dreams.

The first accolade has to go to the ridiculously talented band, headed by Musical Director, Ben Atkinson. The accompaniment is so tight that it’s hard to believe it’s live. Equally slick is, local lad, Drew McOnie’s fresh choreography. The wonderful ensemble immaculately and enthusiastically executes his deliciously smooth moves, somehow defying exhaustion. Paul Kerryson, with the help of Grindrod Associates, cast a superb array of skilled performers who, on the whole, are perfect in their parts.

The creator of Pixar says that for a story to work you have to make the audience care about the characters and this is where this production truly succeeds. Freya Sutton, in the lead role of Tracy Turnblad, is so endearing and authentic in her fight for rights and justice. Add to this her peppy vocals, a smile that beams and her cheeky dance moves and you cannot help but adore her. Ashley Gilmour is charming as her unlikely love interest Link Larkin who goes through an emotional transformation almost as dramatic as Monique Young’s physical one in her role as Tracy’s best friend, Penny Pingleton. It is a big ask for her to match Dex Lee's outstanding performance as Seeweed but they are a perfect pairing. The chiselled Jon Tsouras is ideal as TV star, Corny Collins, as is Lauren Stroud as Tracey's nemesis, Amber Von Tussel. Although possibly miscast in the role of Amber's mother, Claire Sweeney still proves her metal as an accomplished singer. Tony Maudsley and Peter Duncan are absolutely delightful as Tracy's devoted parents, Edna and Wilba, and utterly convincing in the portrayal of their everlasting love for each other. Finally, Brenda Edwards is stunning as Motormouth Maybelle and gives the most incredible, awe inspiring rendition of I Know Where I've Been, culminating in a breathing finish when joined by the rest of the cast. Phenomenal!

Hairspray runs at Malvern until Saturday and then continues on a UK tour. An unquestionable must see production!

5 stars