Garyswordz

*****

This show has been garnering scintillating reviews ever since its Edinburgh Fringe debut , plaudits and subsequent tour, which continues.

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`I had been expecting improvised chaos. Instead  we were treated to a meticulously crafted comedy which was skilfully presented as improvised chaos in the manner which Morecambe and Wise perfected half a century ago.

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The  “Say it again sorry” company only use the Oscar Wilde original play as a very rough hook on which to hang proceedings. When the actor playing Earnest fails to appear an audience member is dragooned to replace him proving the centrepiece for the evening. Jake is apparently a teacher whose monosyllabic answers to prompts suggest that his lessons are very short and whose idea of a good time is to take his girlfriend to Nandos.

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Before long Holly is also prised from the audience, but not before successfully auditioning for her part by reciting the song “I’m a Believer” in a German accent.

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What follows is a carefully concocted alchemy of  pantomime, slapstick, farce and improvisation. Inevitably Director Simon is frequently needed on stage to sort things out. Played by Josh Haberfield whose appearance and laconic delivery is eerily close to that of Jimmy Carr, director Simon invariably makes things worse and is the dramatic pivot around which all else revolves. He has a sidekick, stage hand Josh, whose  ineptitude and doe eyes are eerily close to Manuel in Fawlty Towers. Playing an idiot is no easy task, and Ben Man does so to great comic effect.

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Judith Amsenga has great fun with the part of Lady Bracknell, one of the great  female parts in  British plays . Similarly Trynity Silk excels as Gwendolen becoming increasingly drunk as the story unfolds.

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Physical comedy abounds  as a  a jacket is not hung up on the correct peg and alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks swap places. Trynity Silk’s costuming I lush, her single set design utilitarian, functional and eye catching.

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This is unquestionably one of the most original and funny comic stage shows I have ever seen. The closing standing ovation demonstrated that I was not alone, as those who were lured out of Derby’s penumbral byways on an unseasonably wet  Tuesday night roared, laughed and cheered. “Earnest”  plays again tonight (29^th May”) then continues on nationwide tour appearing at  Mansfield, Bury St Edmunds, Horsham, Stevenage, Lichfield, Aberdeen. Then on to Edinburgh, and I am told London. Don’t miss it

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My introduction to this  story was via the 1992 film, starring Whoopi Goldberg  as  undercover nun Deloris, whose acting, comic and singing abilities defined the story. For this production Landi Oshinowo fills those FM boots.

The musical differs significantly from the film in narrative, script, characterisation, songs and score. Bafflingly,  “ I will follow him” is dropped, which is akin to dropping “Don’t Cry for me Argentina ” from “Evita”.

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On the night, the star of the show is  Alfie Parker as policeman Eddie Southern. His  vocals steal the show, and his comic stage presence lights up the evening. Sue Cleaver’s Mother Superior  is posh and restrained ( light years away from her Coronation St persona Eileen Grimshaw) and an effective foil for the effervescent  Oshinowo but this production is about the ensemble, not the leads, as Parker, and Elliot Gooch as TJ, demonstrated.

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The music is a curious affair. This is not a soul or gospel  show, nor is it  disco or funk, but an idiosyncratic hybrid in which each of those forms are referenced, laden by  in jokes, with Barry White and “funky weekend” amongst them. A live band in the pit, led by Tom Slade,  are punchy and loud with Johnny Mayer’s bass laying down some impressive funky rhythms.

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Numerous cameos entertain and impress from the ensemble. Julie Stark’s Sister Mary Lazarus is whacky, Isabel Canning’s Sister Mary Patrick is a strong comic turn and Eloise Runette Sister Mary Robert  who finds herself as the show evolves delivers a superb second half solo. The boys have their moment as the hoodlums with their singing trio in the second act.

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The stage set, by Morgan  Large is framed by a giant outer stained glass  clock face enabling scene changes to be established with props only, making it both imposing and extremely functional.

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I found the first act a little chaotic, but the second act came alive dramatically and musically, with Director Bill Buckhurst pulling out all the stops for a barnstorming finale which must have quadrupled the costume budget. There is a limit to what you can do with a troop of singing nuns in black habits,  and choreographer Alistair David combines eye catching routines, with sparkly costumes and a Studio 54 vibe  to provide a killer finish  which had a full house on its feet on an unseasonably wet and dank Monday evening opening night. The audience loved it, very much a case of “Sisters are doing it for themselves.”

My own view was that Sue Cleavers semi spoken songs (think Telly Savalas with “if”) were not good enough, and that Oshinowo did not have the commanding presence of a lead.

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Runs until Saturday 18^th may and continues on nationwide tour.

Author Tom Fletcher has declared: “I want kids to feel this is a show that they are a part of, not just coming to watch.” And for the fifty minutes of this performance he was as good as his word. The only question that adults need answering  is,  “Will children aged 2-7 be entertained and engaged by the production?” – the answer is a resounding yes.

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I took along a two and five year old as my expert reviewers : “brilliant” was their verdict. They loved not having to sit down and be quiet kind  and howled at the mischief  which is lovingly transposed  from the book, to the stage and helping  the monsters along the way.

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A pre show front of house routine sets the scene of how things are going to unfold and introduces the audience to the cast.

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The entire auditorium was dancing along to the choreographed routines led by the four energetic performers Aka the storymakers, it was compulsory for parents and grandparents to join in!

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The Little Monster is  the star of the show appearing around the  colourful stage and on backlit screens in pantomime style “it’s behind you” routines

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The story makers try everything to get the monster back in his book, but with no luck, until the children become involved, as  Little Monster is joined by his friends, Dragon, Alien and Unicorn, and all four go on a mischievous journey.

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The show is absolutely faithful to the original book instantly connecting with those children who have already read it and introducing it to those who have not. The 1pm start time was rewarded with an almost full house and ideal for very young children. It continues on nationwide tour: https://www.ents24.com/uk/tour-dates/theres-a-monster-in-your-show

Richard Shelton is Frank Sinatra in this self penned production. He is best known as a TV  actor  who performed in ITV’s Emmerdale playing  Adam Forsythe between 2005 and 2006, before going on to portray Frank Sinatra in Rat Pack Confidential in London’s West End.

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In RAW he takes us to the Purple Room in Palm Springs USA in 1971   to revisit his career with Dean Martin, Carey Grant,  and Sophia Loren in attendance, sadly Ava Gardner was unable to make it. Tonight he has only a keyboard player to accompany him, but on other dates he is joined by a full orchestra. The pared back presentation assists, rather than detracts from, his performance. Sinatra’s talent lay as much in his phrasing as his singing, stripped of peripheral noise we could hear not only every word, but every syllable of every word Of his songs.

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Inevitably the audience is predominantly older, 70+, reflecting his golden era which predates rock and pop. A superstardom fueled by a handful of tv and radio stations providing a media focus of massive intensity and a cinema presence which took him all over the globe.

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Shelton appears solo in an ubiquitous dinner jacket accompanied by a keyboard player only. The format is part concert recital, part “ an audience with”, as Sinatra delivers  chronological anecdotes about his career interspersed with live audience interaction and banter  which is very slick.

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The anecdotes are part entertainment, and part history, the majority of which I was unaware. Both seamlessly stitch together the song running order  capturing the highs and lows of Sinatra’s career. JFK, Bing Crosby, presidential elections, the Mafia Mob and the Civil Rights movement of 1964 are all touched upon.

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Split into two 45 minute halves the song selection is adroitly chosen and sumptuously delivered. Although I am not a devotee, I knew all the songs which were not confined to the big hits –  the lesser known “Summer Wind” was an absolute joy.

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Yes he did close the main set with “My Way”. Live, the debt that   David Bowie’s “Life on Mars” owes the song is strikingly apparent, before the “New York” encore brought down the final curtain. Shelton has put together something special, a show in which he plays Sinatra, acts Sinatra, adopts all of his mannerisms and sings Sinatra  superbly. Continues on nationwide tour including a Dudley date for Wolverhampton born Shelton: https://highfieldproductions.com/richard-shelton/tour-dates/