The thing about watching a streamed production in the comfort of one’s own home is that one could, should it come to it, turn the volume down if the powerhouse vocals get a bit much. And they do get a bit much on occasion in BKLYN the Musical, or at least in this version of it. Shot as it was in what appears to be different rooms of the same building, the actors, wonderful as they are, are singing away at full tilt (as many of the musical numbers demand) in what comes across as an unnecessary … [Read more...]
Celebrating Sondheim – Chichester Festival Theatre | Review
The problem, if I can call it that, with a concert of this nature is that there are inevitably going to be songs in a show called ‘Celebrating Sondheim’ that people love that aren’t there. Despite, for instance, the Chichester Festival Theatre’s 2014 production of Gypsy, there was nothing from that show. Fans of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum may feel a little left out, as well as those who like Assassins and Passion. A modified version of the ‘Invocation and Instructions to the … [Read more...]
Sara Crowe and Ian Hallard in Adventurous | Review
Richard (Ian Hallard) meets Ros (Sara Crowe) through an online dating service called Made in Heaven. I have no experience with such services, but I assume one or both of them swiped left or right (whichever means ‘yes please’ instead of ‘no thanks’). As the first of their meetings takes place in April 2020, there were the usual problems that some people unfamiliar with video conferencing had with being on mute and finding out what various functions do. Rather a lot of detail on both characters … [Read more...]
The Picture of Dorian Gray – Barn Theatre | Review
“The coronavirus has been such a disaster for theatres up and down the country,” Lady Narborough (Joanna Lumley) tells The Interviewer (Stephen Fry) in this adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, possibly one of the most contrived lines in an online production over the past year, and yet it is undeniably true. The level of collaboration the Barn Theatre in Cirencester has done with other venues is impressive - the production team alone also includes people from the Lawrence … [Read more...]
Treason the Musical at Cadogan Hall | Review
Of course, it could be a little longer. It could even be significantly longer if it wanted. Antonia Fraser’s book, The Gunpowder Plot: Terror and Faith in 1605, runs to 448 pages, for instance, so it’s not as if context and details of what went on and the reasons for it all are lacking. At fifty minutes, however, it’s a marvel that Treason The Musical retains a steady pace, although it does that Jersey Boys style thing of blurting out much of the narrative in the form of direct addresses to the … [Read more...]