Garyswordz

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Touring theatrical companies are having a tough time as costs escalate everywhere. This production by the Cahoots theatre Company, has the answer, reduce your company to one.

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Robert Daws brings Wodehouse in Wonderland to  Derby  in a single-hander which tells the extraordinary tale of Wodehouse’s life ,  and his canon of writing, which was amongst  the most prolific  of the 20th century. The script was prepared by William Humble, providing Daws with numerous amusing apercus.

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The play is set at PG Wodehouse’s home in Long Island, New York state, on a single stage set in the late 1950s, for good reason. He was living in exile there.  A vista of a  beautiful garden lies  beyond, with lighting effects  marking time by gradually changing and dimming  from day to night.

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My parents and grandparents generation had a jaundiced opinion of Wodehouse. They saw him as a German collaborator in World War 2.

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In the 1930’s Wodehouse was earning over £100,000 a year from his writing, playing fast and loose with the taxman by dividing his time between England, America and a home in le Touquet France.

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He was living in France in the 1940s when the Nazis occupied the country and he was sent to Berlin for internment. He was persuaded by his captors to make a series of broadcasts on German radio ‘How to be an Internee without previous training’. It became a cause celebre in the British press with divided opinion. He had a penchant for luxury hotels. He was “interned” in the prestigious Hotel Llardon in Berlin at his expense and lived in the Hotel Bristol in Paris when the allied bombing of Berlin became too intense, all paid for from a German bank account holding the proceeds of his book sales. At the outbreak of the Second World War he was earning £40,000 a year from his work. In May 1909 Wodehouse on a visit to New York, sold two short stories to Cosmopolitan and Collier’s for a total of $500. He was a very wealthy man.

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The retrospective consensus was that he had been ill advised rather than treasonous in his broadcasts , but there was support for the nazis amongst the English Upper classes to which Wodehouse, aka  Plum ( a contraction of his first name Pelham), unquestionably belonged. The extent to which the establishment closed ranks behind one of their own is unclear.

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Daws has his work cut out  as a solo performer using   extracts from  novels and  lyrics in musical interludes from the likes of George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Ivor Novello.  Wodehouse also wrote plays and contributed lyrics to 25 musicals including the lyrics for ‘You’re the Top” for the British version of “Anything Goes. At one point, Wodehouse had five shows running simultaneously on Broadway and  referred to his novels as “musical comedies without music”.

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Wodehouse wrote more than 70 novels and 200 short stories, creating numerous iconic  characters.  Jeeves and Wooster, Lord Emsworth , the Empress of Blandings, Mr Mulliner, Ukridge, and Psmith all feature in the show. Daws portrays Wodehouse primarily as a comic poet, but sometimes the relentless flippancy becomes wearing and tedious.

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Dramatic devices to ease the pressure on Daws include  off-stage conversations with his wife, letters to his  step-daughter, interviews with his would-be biographer and conversations with his two  Pekingese dogs.

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It is an evening of  Wodehouse’s world comprising  gentle wit and humour framed within  a helpful biographical context.  It is  quintessentially English, and somewhat archaic,  so much so that I expected Jacob Rees Mogg to appear at any moment. As  a one man show the production succeeds as an homage to one of England’s most prolific authors and plays at Derby until the 15th before continuing on nationwide tour.

*****

Derby Theatre and Artistic Director Sarah Brigham have done it again. A superb award winning   new play which won plaudits and awards in London  has arrived in town!

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This production has  very strong credentials. Having played, pre Covid , in London’s  National Theatre and the West End, Laura Wade’s Olivier Award-winning comedy embarks on its first UK tour produced by Bill Kenwright , who is probably pleased to have his mind taken off Everton football Club at the moment of whom he is a director,  winning the 2019 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. Wade is prolific and talented and it is a privilege to see her work performed at Derby. The tour reunites the show’s original creative team: Theatr Clwyd Artistic Director and Co-Director Designate of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Tamara Harvey directs with co-director Hannah Noone, set and costume design by Anna Fleischle, lighting by Lucy Carter, sound design by Tom Gibbons and choreography by Charlotte Broom.

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The stage set is stunning,  a house  in Welwyn Garden City, on two levels, the ground floor awash with period detail. Jessica Ransom knows how to carry a  1950s swing dress, her every movement and pose on stage stylised and pouted, her waist impossibly trim, her reluctance to sell some surplus dresses is strangely convincing and is  physically  omnipresent on  stage. Both set and costume are the meticulous work of Anna Fleische.

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But it is not long, specifically when she opens a drawer and removes her laptop, that we realise that this is the 21st century, and Judy’s seeming authenticity is not what it seems.

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Hitherto the concept of the 1950’s Stepford wife has been a male, sexually driven one, but here playwright   Laura Wade  turns the idea on its head challenging numerous gender and  feminist stereotypes and having a lot of fun with it as she does so whilst simultaneously our fondness for retro chic on the bonfire of reality.

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Judy’s husband John turns out, to be is  a good cook.  Alex,  ( Shanez Pattni) his  manager, has a genuine self confidence in herself  that Judy can only dream of. Judy’s friend Sylvia (  Diane Keen)  is  seduced by the idea of 50’s glamour but not the reality of it in the same way that she has been seduced by the dancing skills  of her husband Marcus (  Mathew   Douglas)  unaware of his lascivious proclivities.

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Her husband, Johnny delivers  performance  of understated power initially glorying in the benefits of a supine wife hen railing against the reality of it.

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As the first half unfolds so the financial and emotional price of this charade unfolds as she acts out something she is too young to have experienced personally, which is where her Mum , Fran ( Cassie  Bradley) comes in. she didn’t march and burn her bra in the 1960’s to put up with this sort of nonsense and in a powerhouse exchange , then monologue delivers some home truths to her prissy daughter as the cohorts of similarly aged women in the audience silently roared her on.

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Wade creates a fantasy of nostalgia, then cruelly strips it away under Tamara Harvey’s skilful direction. Ransom’s  frenetic brash fragility is memorably exposed as she fears infidelity by her husband, moving from frothy skirts and petticoats to  a buttoned up pink dressing gown as she waits to confront him.

Was  life in the ’50s simpler, less hectic and more satisfying with more time albeit with fewer possessions and disposable cash? Not really concludes Wade.

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“Are you happy?” Johnny asks Judy. “Yes, desperately,” she replies unconvincingly.

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This is  a social comedy whose humour lies in its acerbic observation rather than belly- laughs. Scene changes are memorably executed  by a dancing Marcus and Sylvia to a rock n roll soundtrack

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This  brilliant contemporary production was warmly acknowledged by a well attended first night which runs until  Sat 11^th.

As  a teenager the silky sound of the  Carpenters was just a little too smooth for me even though their songs were ubiquitous. As the years have unfolded, so has my appreciation of Karen and Richard.  Their ethereal vocals and mellifluous melodies have stood the rigorous test of time, leaving numerous classics of the pop era.

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The good news is that the Carpenters have a formidable canon of songs with most older people knowing not only all the songs,  but the words to all the songs too. The bad news is that Karen and Richard, and all around them were perfectionists. Before their first live concert tour in the US they hired the A&M soundstage  in Hollywood and rehearsed daily before they were happy with the live show.  Subsequently they had a knack of hiring the most talented session musicians for live recordings and touring. It is quite a challenge.

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They honed a distinct, soft, musical style, combining Karen’s contralto vocals with Richard’s harmonizing, arranging, and composition skills which spawned   three number-one singles and five number-two singles on the Billboard Hot 100. They  sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

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Carole Gordon has the daunting task of delivering Karen’s lead vocals, the Blue Jeans band provide the accompaniment for a two hour show. All the hits are played,   Bacharach , Beatles  and country music medleys scoop up less familiar nuggets.  Carole is no stranger to the Garrick as a regular lead vocalist with the Forever in Blue Jeans company previously with her late husband , producer and band member Bob Newman. She and Bob had toured with Tammy Wynette. Her Country roots make her  a natural story teller in delivering the songs

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The band are terrific, particularly the multitalented local Burntwod girl, Rachel Cantrill whose dad, Johnny, has also been a regular on the Garrick stage with Lichfield Operatic and Musical Society . Ray Walker dazzles on lead guitar, his previous credits involve work with Don Everly and Roy Orbison. Gordon Goodwin’s work on bass is a delight, he has previously worked with Jeff Skunk Baxter of Steely Dan and Doobie Bros fame whose talents post rock and pop have made him one of the worlds experts on inter- continental ballistic nuclear missiles ( strange but true!). MD  Martyn  Cooper’s keyboards and direction are superb and the presence of   a saxophonist/ flautist testimony to their determination to present a full authentic sound. And what a sound!

Myself and Rachel Cantrill

“Every sha-la-la-la/Every whoa-ooh-whoa/Still shines” for the entire evening it was indeed  “Yesterday Once More” as they rolled through the Carpenters back catalogue combining precision with sensitivity. The opening overture, an instrumental medley, set a punishing early standard of musicianship which they maintained throughout the show

They even tackled “ Calling occupants of interplanetary craft” a song so preposterous in its ambition that Yes or Genesis would have been laughed out of a prog rock recording studio, but here it makes perfect sense and is an unexpected highlight. Carole took the trouble to declare that the show was not a look alike, or sound alike invention, instead it is an homage to the music which she delivers in considerable style with her ensemble. It is a heart-warming, delightful night out which drew a  well- deserved standing ovation from the appreciative full house. Do not miss it.

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Voice of the Heart is touring at a mix of holiday resorts and theatres for the rest of the year, upcoming in Hungerford, Lowestoft, Skegness and Minehead. You could book your holidays around their tour!

https://www.thecarpenterstour.co.uk/tour-dates

Gary Longden

After the purgatory of lockdown it was a joy to rediscover live theatre again.  The start of the year was still hamstrung by postponements and cancellations as Covid disrupted performances, three attempts to see “looking good Dead” starring Eastenders’ Adam Woodyatt were thwarted by cast illness.

For me, the year was dominated by some superb children’s shows.

At Derby Theatre– “The Emperors New Clothes” was a brilliant, seditious reimagining of the story as a parable on Fake News

At Birmingham rep – “Jack and the beanstalk” was the best preschool  show I have ever seen with a single set, a cast of three and talent and imagination to burn.

The modern jukebox musical continues to evolve.

At Birmingham Rep  “the King of Reggae” a musical of the music of Bob Marley with a narrated connecting story opened new possibilities for the genre, part concert/ part history and a fabulous  musical score.

At Wolverhampton Grand “ the  Cher show Musical revue” used three Chers to cover the singers’  career narrating their own section, yet interacting  with others in a case of timeslip. The music was terrific, the story compelling.

Drama shone too.

At the Alexandra Theatre Birmingham, “Fatal attraction” shrugged off the shackles of the film to become  a  strong contemporary   story. Kym Marsh shone in the role Glenn Close  made famous.

At Sutton Coldfield’s amateur Highbury theatre the cast created an intense juggernaut of a production of “The Strange case of Dr jekyll and Mr hyde.” A confined space and fine acting can create theatrical magic as happened here.

2023 now approaches with a full programme, behind the arras and myself will be there to bring them to you.

April 2022

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Like most, my introduction to this story was the eponymous 1980’s film blockbuster. It was not an obvious contender for a stage adaptation. However the original screenplay writer, James Dearden, revisits the original script to remould it both for the stage and contemporary sexual sensibilities, forty years later.

Since it was originally written two movements have gained prominence, #Metoo, and mental health. Neither have impacted here. This is the 1980’s reheated.

There is a current fad for casting twin leads from the same television soap. Last week it was EastEnders stars Adam Woodyatt and Laurie Brent in Looking Good Dead, this week it is Coronation Street stars Kym Marsh as vampy stalker Alex Forrest, originally played by Glenn Close, and Oliver Farnworth who has the considerable shoes of Michael Douglas to fill as Dan and is onstage almost all the time even changing costume there.

The original screenplay was drenched in sexual tension, the stage adaptation takes a more nuanced look at who any of us really are. Its West End stage debut was in 2014, so there has been some time for this adaptation to find its feet.

Farnworth convincingly agonises over the conflict between rational interpersonal relationship decisions, and the irrationality of lust and desire.

Although the artistic junior of the duo he puts in a very strong performance giving Marsh plenty to play off. The narrative arc of the original is pleasingly retained for the most part apart from a neat tweak to the denouement.

Footballers’ Wives actress Susie Amy, is a little irritating as Dan’s wife Beth and reacts to the iconic bunny boiling scene with curious reserve (please note that no pet rabbits were harmed in this production!) although it teeters on the edge of parody, drawing guffaws of laughter rather than gasps of horror.

Paul Englishby’s electronic score is memorable and lush, and very 1980s, reaffirming his place in the vanguard of modern composers, recent credits include Luther for TV and The Inheritance for stage.

Loveday Ingram’s direction leans too heavily on Kym Marsh’s coquettish charms, which are conspicuously on display leaving the supporting cast to have to pedal quite hard to establish their own presence. Ingram allows act one to crawl to a conclusion before act two finds a momentum with a satisfying climax

The metallic stage set by Morgan Large looked cheap and parsimonious, although video screens did facilitate the intelligent use of 21st century mobile phone technology.

For veterans from the audience for the original film, of whom the house overwhelmingly comprised, this was an enjoyable enough revisitation. The production was surprisingly strong and enjoyable, far better than some critics had previously suggested.

There was no mistaking the vigour with which the cast approached this performance ahead of an imminent cast change, with this our last chance to see the energetic Marsh, who leaves the production at the end of this week, 5 March, and will probably relish the opportunity not to have to undress before 8pm every night.

The show then continues its tour around the UK until 22 April, with Amy taking over the lead role of Alex, and Louise Redknapp joining the cast as Amy’s current character, Beth.