That's Entertainment - Barons' Court Theatre

"That's Entertainment most definitely entertains!" by Colin Appleby for remotegoat on 25/10/11 0

This double bill of one act plays, penned by the obviously talented Phil Preece, premiered at the Garrick Theatre in 2009 before embarking on a tour of the UK last year and returns to London for one night only.

The first piece, Mr Bluesky, ably directed by Paul Findlay who co-stars in the second piece himself, examines the life, lifestyle and losses accrued by one Vince Meager an aging rocker long past his prime and still touring playing his big hits from the 60s to his adoring, and shrinking, fan base. Driven by his self belief, and in part his loneliness, he invites a young lady back to his dressing room and it becomes apparent quickly that all is not what it seems as the two discover a past that may, or may not, have more in common than meets the eye.

Vince Meager is played by Steve Dolton and Kirsty, the female guest in the dressing room by Kelly Ward.

As a one act play the piece is entertaining and leaves you asking questions about the motives behind the actions of both characters. I don't wish to detract from the piece but as good as it is, it is very much the support act to what follows.

After a brief interval, the lights go up on That's Entertainment, where we are introduced to a couple of national TV stars at the top of their game. Set backstage at an awards night where the duo have been honoured with a glittering trophy the duo, The Jolee Boys, examine their careers and debated rather heatedly if perhaps they have sold out in order to cash in.

The script, in common with that of Mr Bluesky, reveals that all is not rosy in this particular garden. Joe, played by Paul Findlay, is at great pains to return to what he sees as his comedy roots but his entertainment partner Lee, played by Steven Humpherson, is happy to down champagne and snort line after line of cocaine and ride this gravy train for as long as he can.

The differences provide scope for both Findlay and Humpherson to let rip with their characters as they go from reminiscing about their first steps onto a stage as shepherds in a "navatity" play at school, to realising what is going on and what they each have to do in order to survive.

The play could easily handle being expanded in to a two act drama, or comedy, and works exceptionally well in the confined space of the Barons Court Theatre as the limited space adds to the pressure of both pieces. There is no easy escape for any of the four characters in these two pieces, nor would the audience desire one for them. Or for themselves.

Steven Humpherson perfectly captures the essence of coke addicted, almost alcoholic, light entertainment star and has what can only be described as phenomenal stage presence.

To say that he is perfectly matched by Paul Findlay is an understatement. These two actors have an obvious and easy camaraderie on stage which enables the exceptionally quick fire lines and the sharp retorts to come as if directly from the spleen. Every word and gesture is well aimed, well timed and delivered nigh on perfectly.

Talking of understatement it's not an understatement to say that both Findlay and Humpherson are destined for much greater things if this performance is to be believed. Far from waning I would say their personal stars are very much in the ascendency.

I do not know where this double bill is playing next but I will say hunt it down and see it. That's Entertainment is certainly what I call entertainment.

Last Days of the Commune - White Bear

"Witness a truly revolutionary event" by Colin Appleby for remotegoat on 20/10/11 3

Presented by the suitably named Gunpowder Theatre Company, at the little gem of an oddity that is the White Bear Theatre Pub, is the absolute delight that is this production of Bertolt Brecht's The Days of the Commune.

The play, set in 1871, tracks the rise and fall of the Paris Commune in a semi-documentary style where the main character is the Commune and the streets of Paris themselves rather than any of the 60 or so characters who spend time on the tiny stage exploring the pressures of material hardship, class antagonisms, and the struggle of leading a city of 2 million people when you have no experience of rule and when the ruling classes, and the media, decide that your revolution is nothing other than mob rule.

The stage, as I mentioned, is tiny. And yet the sense of space achieved is phenomenal. As are the cast. Fifteen actors portray 60 odd characters and the play even features a full size cannon.

Having sat with my thoughts for a while about the play I am still unable to find anything more to say other than it's a remarkably strong ensemble brought together under the bold, and obviously talented, directorial wing of Genevieve Girling to make a piece of theatre which well deserves the critical acclaim it's getting in the press and well deserves being seen.

Struggling as I am to pull out a single performance as the truly stand out one of the evening, because the ensemble gathered here is so uniformly strong, I do feel that the vastly experienced Gary Heron brings a touch of vulnerability to his rough stock proletarian Papa Goule that adds a gentle side to what could otherwise be a tough character to warm to.

Worth highlighting amongst the remaining cast are Steve Wickenden who demonstrates a mastery of comic timing and delivers both his lines, and his non-verbal interjections, precisely and perfectly placed never ceasing to hit the mark without veering over into pantomime. And Rupert Ratcliffe, playing Pierre Langevin a member of the elected committee of the Paris Commune, continues to display the stage presence and talent that marked him out as someone to watch in the recent production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the New Diorama and I am looking forward to watching him in Don Carlos at the Blue Elephant.

I am at pains to state that all of the cast rise the the difficult challenges that this play, and this production, set them. And they rise to them triumphantly.

Hang of the Gaol - Brockley Jack

"Cool Prison Drama Beats Luke" by Colin Appleby for remotegoat on 01/10/11 8

I know that I have mentioned in other reviews the perils of being a reviewer and an actor are manifest. Think about the dilemma one faces when reviewing a play featuring a cast you don't like, and a script you find impenetrable. Or even worse one where the actors work their socks off and the script shines with brilliance that the director has managed to remove all trace of.

Now take that peril and factor in the added risk of a cast populated with people I've either worked with in the past or people I've trained with. Mix them up with a venue I adore and a playwright I have a huge admiration for and the risks are increased. So great they are that I usually eschew the job of reviewing shows that are such large potential minefields. However on this occasion I grasped the job in hand by the horns and was rewarded with that warm glow that I get when I see a cast cope with a very wordy and dense script and bring it to life with charm, pace, and wit.

The play is one of Howard Barkers most successful plays and here it is performed in a remodeled Brockley Jack Theatre that is used to great effect to recreate the interior of Middenhurst Gaol. Now reduced to burning embers the ensuing inquiry tasked with establishing the facts behind the fire uncovers layer upon layer of deceit.

As the inquiry, led by the sexually rapacious civil servant Jardine, played brilliantly by Alan Thorpe, squares up to the establishment figures, who have a myriad of agendas that are slowly revealed, the demands made of the cast increase. And they largely meet that task ably.

I do not wish to give away any of the plot twists and turns here but there are delightful scenes and electric performances scattered through this production.

Julian Bird excels as the incumbent Home Secretary and displays almost as perfect a sense of comic timing as Darren Benedict, who brings a brilliance and lightness to his role as one half of a fantastical fire investigation team. Maggie-Anne Lowe, Anne-Marie Hughes and the exceptional Matthew Eaton provide the other cast highlights.

I should add that this wordy, dense, difficult play, showing in this charming, somewhat out of the way theatre was the second play I had seen this day. The other was a still in preview star vehicle in the West End. It was Cool Hand Luke. I may review that debacle but in direct comparison this was far more entertaining and far better acted.

Cool Hand Luke costs £50 a seat in the stalls. The Hang of the Gaol costs £12. Save your pennies and see this. Actually maybe splash out on a meal in the Brockley Jack pub before heading in to the see the play. You'll have a much better evening than you would seeing Cool Hand Luke.

Thick - New Diorama

Thick Outstanding performances from all" by Colin Appleby for remotegoat on 16/09/11 5

This was my first visit to the New Diorama Theatre, which is tucked away in the middle of a development of office buildings just north of Tottenham Court Road and what a delightful introduction to the space Thick turned out to be.

I know that as a review I should not allow the other things I have recently seen to influence my prejudging of a new piece. But, I'm human and I make no apology for coming to Thick with a slightly downbeat heart after the less than perfect production I had seen the previous evening. I own up to sitting in my comfy seat, in the intimate space that is the New Diorama, and being disheartened by the naive set design and the slightly downbeat music played whilst the audience wandered in.

Within moments of this black comedy starting however I perked up no end. Largely due to the stellar performances by the cast of four talented actors, led by Rick Bland (who is anything but) and supported by Gary Fannin, Barbara Barnes and the incredibly talented Genevieve Adam.

The tale is a journey of one man, Rudolph, an idiot savant (Rick Bland), to a funeral and is a complex and deft weave of flashbacks and memories featuring a plentiful supply of non-alcoholic gin, the shoe saleswoman from Hell, a man who lives only for his lawn and a further 9 characters including Pope John Paul II.

Only Bland does not have to play multiple roles but as he never leaves the stage during this 90 minute bravura performance (no interval) to ask more of one actor would be utterly unfair.

All in all this is a surprising, charming, intelligent, witty and at times seriously laugh out loud, emotionally moving piece of theatre which well deserves an audience so go and see it!

I Love You, You're Perfect. Now Change

On Tuesday 13th September I had the pleasure of attending the Press Night of Maple Giant Theatre's production of the multi-award winning, and internationally staged show I Love You You're Perfect* Now Change in order to review it for this website. 

A show that garnered such a huge amount of critical acclaim obviously raises the expectation of what you are going to see, and factoring that with the delight of seeing something at the Bridewell Theatre, and something featuring someone I had the pleasure of training with, all served to perhaps raise my expectations unfairly to the level where they couldn't be anything but not entirely met. 

The show, more a musical review than a traditional show, charts the ups and downs of the world of Romance. It strives to portray the truths and the myths behind relationships and with a handful of deceptively simple sounding melodies interspersed with some accomplished harmonies from the company.

The cast was missing Tonia Szkurhan, due to illness, and her role was shared by other members of the cast. Most notably by the director and actor Amy Cooke-Hodgson who rose to the challenge of stepping in at short notice with a remarkable level of calm and confidence matched seamlessly by her phenomenal vocal skill. 

Out of the remaining ensemble, the stand out performance has to be that of JJ Criss who manages to switch from slimy lawyer type to tender loving father and a variety of other characters with charm and a vocal dexterity that I quite happily covet. Although a musical theatre actor, and lead singer for rock group Stamina, he manages to convey absolute faith and honesty with every word he sings. 

I think I would have preferred the show more if the venue had been more intimate as sometimes the performers seemed a little lost in the large space they occupy here, but it's well worth seeing, for JJ Criss and Amy Cooke-Hodgson especially, and also for Jamie Scott-Smith's brilliant take on geriatric tap dancing (which I'd like to see more of, perhaps in a spin-off show of his own).

Lives and loves of a Reviewer Pt 1

As some of you know I write reviews for Remote Goat... bravely I do so under my own name.

I just thought I would share some of the things I've seen recently so you can see for yourselves it's not all champagne and starlight in the world of the reviewer!

I know it's lazy blogging but I thought it might be interesting to see if any of you have seen the same things and if you agree or disagree. Or just want to comment at all!

So the next few posts will be reviews of shows I've seen... in the order that I have experienced them. Of course I have blogged about some of them previously and you'll be able to figure out which ones I've referred to elsewhere in the blog yourselves I would imagine because you're an intelligent lot!

It isn't just what you do on stage

Yesterday I went to see the work of an up and coming theatre company who are striving to reinvent the Rep Company for the 21st Century. They strive to provide a year long training program built around the experience of putting on three full scale professional productions throughout the year.

After the experience of yesterday I would still say that these are lofty ambitions and deserve support, however this is a business not a fairytale adventure and sometimes businesses need to be tough in order to teach people valuable lessons.

It was apparent from watching the assorted cast of some 17 young people of varied talent get to grips with the reworking of this classic Greek tale of lust, revenge and death, that some of the basics need to be attended to urgently.

There really is scant point in staging a full scale professional production when the cast are in obvious need of speech lessons. There is no point putting on what is ostensibly a college production and calling it professional.

Perhaps equally importantly the actors should all have drummed into them the importance of an online presence. I was trying to write up my review of this particular play this morning when I realised that my task was made much more difficult than usual due to the utter lack of photos and biogs in the literature handed out at the theatre. It could not be too arduous a task to have a couple of pages with just a headshot and the name of the actor next to it could it? I'd think not. But nevermind, I thought, I'll turn to Google and will go through the names listed and call up the relevant Spotlight or Casting Call Pro pages for the actors concerned.

I think my biggest shock wasn't that most of the cast are not listed on either site (as far as I, with the help of Google, could ascertain) but more that the few who were listed had not bothered to update their online resumes in quite a while. In one case that "while" equates to five years. None of the actors listed the current production.

Wearing one of my other hats, this time as Director, I constantly look out for actors who get added to my list of people I would want to work with in the future, or at least see how they develop over the next few years, but none of those on stage made that list yesterday purely because of the lack of ability to identify them.

Even a wall of headshots in the theatre would have helped!

I would hope that young actors, and those just starting out in their careers who may have a few years of Life on their side, would realise that most casting these days is done online initially. And that in order to improve their chances of getting roles, of actually just getting seen, then their online presence is just as essential as their technical knowledge.

Getting my claws in to making plans

I've been thinking what it is about Humankind that makes us put self generated hurdles in the way of our own success.

Something has caused me to think that, although I subscribe to the view that when we're ready for something the Universe will present it to us, sometimes when the Universe thinks we're ready we are all to quick to disagree.

Perhaps it's not the fear that we will fail but the fear that we will be successful that holds us back from trying new things until we're absolutely ready for the trials and tribulations (as well as the joys) that new experiences will bring.

Personally I'm a little guilty of, until recently, ruled out the prospect of even entertaining the idea of going on an extended theatrical tour. I've not actually said as much and I've even gladly thrown myself into the audition process for some high profile tours, but somewhere in the back of my mind has been the creeping, gnawing worry that God knows what I would do if I'd ever been lucky enough to be cast in one of them.

Being the human keeper of two cats I had, I thought, planned for the eventuality of going on tour in so much as I had lined up a variety of friends who had kindly agreed to either take the cats in as house guests or, perhaps with less disruption to themselves and the feline fellows, spend a lot of time at my home and care for the kitties there. In situ. However it's become obvious to me that this was not preparation. This was me creating an obstacle.

My thinking runs thus...

Brilliant tour job comes along:
I ace the audition naturally, and am perfect for the role;
I accept the job;
Then approach the cat keepers of choice and ask if it's all ok that they do indeed look after the furry critters.

That train of action can only have one of two outcomes. They either say Yes. Or No.

Previously I had convinced myself that I would ALWAYS be able to find someone to look after the cats and therefore I would never find myself in a position where their welfare would impact my working as an actor. It really was a wake up call this week when I realised that there are in fact people who are highly skilled in looking after cats when their owners are out of town. They are called catteries.

Now in order for me to square the whole process of putting my beloved boys in to what I at times have called a "Cat Prison" means I have to have a seismic shift in my thinking. About catteries, about what it is to "care" and about my job as an actor.

The only person responsible for my furthering my career is me. I enlist people I trust and value to help me along the way. People who I learn from (either formally like a brilliant singing teacher) or informally such as the person I see when I look in the mirror...

I know that this post is largely about cats, but if you've seen Jasper and Peluche you'd know they're not just "ordinary" cats! Still, the process of making them ready to be put in a cattery if necessary, and of making my brain accept that this is the right decision as it frees me up to do something I love, work, without punishing them as I had first thought, is a long and convoluted one. I have searched using the power of Google and have found a number of local catteries on the outskirts of London. I will go and visit any that take my fancy and I will try to determine their suitability to care for my precious pussycats.

Although I am not planning on putting them in a cattery in the immediate future, and I know that I will shed a tear when I do so for the first time, I have to be ready so that when that offer of a 3 month tour on Broadway materialises (or more realistically a 3 week tour of rural Wales) I am ready and have few obstacles in my path that I have not thought about and resolved.

This business is a business and like all businesses planning is key. The old adage "Fail to plan, plan to fail" comes to mind here. But in this case it's not that I am guilty of failing to plan it is just that my plans were unrealistic and unworkable. Who am I to build my career paths on the need to have others there to give me help when, if, I need it. I am me. I am responsible for me. And mine. And my career. And I won't martyr it on the alter of long held misconceptions or unrealistic expectations of others.


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Of course if people have experience of housing their pets in a London or Home Counties cattery then please feel free to recommend or warn in the comments section!

Tick, tock, tick, tock

Two months, or thereabouts, has past since my last post here. Almost two months, two months that has seen me face some huge personal challenges. Some I shall over come, some shall scar my soul forever.

The biggest scar will be that inflicted on me last week by a seemingly kind soul giving me a comp ticket to go and see the stage adaptation of Cool Hand Luke.

If you want to explore my feelings on that tepid production then read my review of The Hang of the Gaol at Brockley Jack which I was fortunate enough to see an hour after escaping the cold hand of Luke.

Now I know that this has been a short post, mainly because I've got a stinker of a cold, but it was really only designed to get me blogging again... and blog again I shall because I've got opinions World!

I may touch on how the government has "found" money to pay local councils to have weekly bin collections but had to slash that money from the Arts budget as it was "pointless". My thoughts and writing may well segue into how I adore the restorative nature of Nature, and my newly rediscovered joy of meat and two veg. They may. Then again they may well feature the agonies of finding a new singing teacher, balancing my budget, attempting to stay motivated when Life, and builders, throw gargantuan spanners into the works and the joys of helping a casting director find guys capable of playing roles described as "attractive and muscular".