On Hitler’s birthday in 1945 Heinrich Himmler, Nazi Party Reichsfuehrer of the Schutzstaffel(SS), met with Norbert Masur, a representative of the World Jewish Congress for nearly three hours at the house of the Swede Felix Kersten, about 30 miles north of Berlin - or did he? And if he did, what did they discuss and what was the result? That is the premise of this new play by Ben Brown. The informative programme tells us that all this was “rather silly lies”, but Brown takes his … [Read more...]
The Homecoming at Theatre Royal Brighton
This touring production of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming is well worth visiting, whether or not you know the play. In the safe directorial hands of Jamie Glover, it re-emerges as one of the playwright’s strongest and at the same time most elusive scripts. Written in 1964 in Worthing, a few miles west of Brighton, it is set in an old house in north London. In this production the ground floor appears vast, the gaunt set using the full space of the stage and appearing to disappear upwards … [Read more...]
The Osmonds, A New Musical at Churchill Theatre, Bromley
This ‘juke box’ musical offers highly polished, undemanding, feel-good entertainment, showcasing, as it does, 35 songs dating from the 1960s to the 2000s in superbly choreographed (Bill Deamer) copies of the originals: the predominantly female audience at Bromley were clearly entranced by the show from the opening number. The Osmonds, A New Musical purports to be the true story of the highly successful American family singing group from the point of view of Jay Osmond, so it may be … [Read more...]
The Rise & Fall of Little Voice at Theatre Royal Brighton
Probably Jim Cartwright’s best play, and first seen thirty years ago, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice still comes across very powerfully, especially in this new production. Mari and daughter 'Little Voice (LV)' live in a seedy terrace house (a superb two-level set of a cutaway dwelling by Sara Perks really enhancing the feeling of self-induced poverty) in an unspecified northern town. Mari is an alcoholic, always shouting and ranting to anyone who might be within earshot, with only one … [Read more...]
Review of Sheila’s Island at Theatre Royal Brighton
Tim Firth’s early play Neville’s Island was written specifically for Alan Ayckbourn’s Theatre-in-the-Round at Scarborough, where I saw the original production in 1992, when it came over fresh and very funny. Set on an island in the English Lake District it was a perfect choice for the venue: four men on a team-building weekend marooned because their middle management leader was unable to follow simple instructions. You can easily see Ayckbourn’s influence: what starts as broad comedy transforms … [Read more...]
The Paradis Files at The Southbank Centre | Review
The Paradis Files is a 70-minute chamber opera commissioned by librettists Nicola Werenowska and Selina Mills as well as composer Errollyn Wallen by Graeae, a disabled-led theatre company including, as the director Jenny Sealey says, “deaf, disabled, neurodivergent and non-disabled actors and creatives all in one room”. Performances “creatively integrate BSL, captioning and audio description”, as was demonstrated last night at the Queen Elizabeth Hall where, as well as having two BSL signers on … [Read more...]
Private Lives at Theatre Royal Brighton | Review
It is many years since I last saw Private Lives and, to my shame, I had forgotten what a beautifully written, expertly crafted, superbly structured and, above all, witty play it is, despite what Noel Coward himself said about it being written in the space of four days whilst he was in Japan recovering from influenza! First staged in 1930 at the newly built Phoenix Theatre in London it was intended as a vehicle for him and Gertrude Lawrence, the premise being that Elyot (Nigel Havers) and … [Read more...]