Superbly funny Oddsocks production of Wind in The Willows

There are times as a reviewer that you see a production that is so alive with invention, humour and surprise that you are very conscious about spoilers. So I hope that I am not giving too much away when I say – expect the unexpected and expect to laugh your socks off at Oddsocks wonderfully inventive touring production of Kenneth Grahame's beloved story of riverbank folk Wind in the Willows. This fantastically funny version is adapted for the stage for Oddsocks by Andy Barrow and produced by Elli Mackenzie. Lucy Ward has been commissioned to provide the original music played live by the five performers.

 

 

Elli MacKenzie, Joseph Maudsley, Andrew McGillan, Dom Gee-Burch, and Rosamund Hine make up the small but beautifully versatile ensemble. They work so well together there often seems to be many more actors inhabiting the stage than there actually are. The delight they seem to share in performing the Oddsocks comedic style with each other and the audience is infectious. Wind in the Willows played by this daft and talented ensemble makes 'being silly' into an art form. Even their van parked outside the theatre bears the logo 'driven by laughter'.

 

All of the actors play different roles as the well loved characters, Elli MacKenzie as the easy going but shy Mole (loved the squeaks of terror in the Wild Wood), Joseph Maudsley delights as a very charming Ratty as well as playing four other parts including the funniest gaoler ever! Andrew McGillan is perfect as Toad, bright green wig, bandy legged and enthusiastically bound for trouble wherever he hops. McGillan's scenes where he steals the car are comedy classics. Dom Gee-Burch brings a gravitas to the play as the sensible Badger and even gently berates an audience member for getting up to go to the loo! Gee-Burch is also wonderfully believable as a horse pulling the caravan. Finally Rosamund Hind has a series of seven quick change roles and even pops up as the little seen Otter character. This is a production where all the players work extremely hard in keeping up the momentum and daftness but seem so laid back about it you relax with them.

Back projections help move each act to a new vista and I am not going to tell you how they row across the stage in a boat called Baby, drive a car down a country lane and crash it and bring a full size steam train into the tiny Guildhall Theatre on Derby's Market Square. If you want to grin all the way home and revel in Oddsocks inventive madness. Get along to the Guildhall this week (until 31^st January) but don't go via the Wild Wood! Aaaargh!

Wind in The Willows is touring until February 21st. Next stop The Gaiety Theatre Ayr (Feb 14th) 01292 288235 and then Alnwick Playhouse Northumberland 17th February - 21st February. 01665 510785. Catch it while you can!!!!

Production photos by Hope Ward – Brown.

Oddsocks Facebook Page

#windywillows

Derby Theatre promo video. Inspirational!

Just take five minutes and watch this inspirational video for Derby Theatre. This is a modern forward thinking regional theatre that really engages with the community and promotes theatre and learning like no other.

I am so proud to come from a city that has such a wonderful inclusive theatre at its heart and to have been given opportunities to celebrate its successes through my reviews and interviews and chances to be able to observe professional rehearsals.

Phil Lowe

Derby Theatre - In Good Company - DEparture Lounge

From Thursday I7th to Sunday 20th July Derby Theatre with 'In Good Company' presented DEparture Lounge, an opportunity to sample new and exciting theatre writing and enjoy a host of fantastic fringe performances and enjoy the thought provoking moments of Site Specific Sunday. In this blog post I am not claiming to cover all that was on offer but to speak and think about the things I had the chance to get involved in.

At the DEparture Lounge launch on Thursday evening 17th July at Derby Theatre I gathered with like minded folk and listened as Sarah Brigham outlined the exciting programme ahead. Downstairs in the Studio the Story Scavengers inspired and amused the audience with a presentation of  a loose script based on what had been listened to and observed fresh in Derby's City Centre that very day. They created theatrical stories out of ordinary stories overheard throughout the everyday world of a busy Midlands city. Some of it was quite poetic, other aspects fleeting but revealing. This was directed by Gareth Morgan Literary Associate at CAST Doncaster. Most of the content was humorous, similar to the next presentation 'All The Little Lights' but this had a much darker tone. Commissioners: Fifth Word.

At 7pm the studio was presented with a rehearsed reading of a play by Jane Upton and Fifth Word Theatre. To quote the brochure 'Joanne's had to grow up fast. Lisa's escaping her past and Amy's being bullied. At the local chip shop an unlikely friendship is formed. But where will it lead?

All The Little Lights has been developed as a creative response to recent high profile cases of child sexual exploitation and thorough research carried out at Safe and Sound in Derby.'

From a male perspective I found the short play very moving in my consideration of these young women's exploitation in the dangerous seedy world of porn and nubile/child sex. None of these actions can be excused but what I did find interesting was the complicit nature of the older girls manipulating the youngster Amy and her even younger (spoken of) sister into the ring of depravity through the male  owner of the chip shop. One might naively assume that it is purely the male predator that is to blame yet he is backed up by the actions of previous victims presumably for their own gain coupled with the fright of being revealed and a brutal violence towards themselves. All the Little Lights was intelligent theatre writing with a true depth of circumstance and expression.

The cast was Nadia Clifford as Joanne; Sarah Hoare as Lisa; Abigail Hood as Amy. Each actor has a seasoned pedigree in drama and in some cases hard hitting drama.

Directors: Angharad Jones and Laura Ford.

Dramaturge: Kate Chapman

Sound Design: Adam McCready.

Fifth Word was set up by Angharad |Jones and Laura Ford in 2008 and they exist to spark debate about serous contemporary issues. They produce provocative new plays made in the East Midlands that tour across the country. They specialise in thought provoking and timely scenarios that tell stories in a bold and uncompromising way that speaks to a range of traditional theatre goers and the next generation audience. They work with upcoming and established playwrights from the region through developing new commissions, scratch nights and full productions.

Amongst other productions they have recently worked with local writer Amanda Whittington on Amateur Girl. To condense the Guardian's critique they gave it five stars and said: "Observations of the dehumanising influence of the sex industry do not come much sharper.."

A separate Blog Post about Site Specific Sunday is a work in progress. Available here in the next few days.

The Eagle Awards at Derby Theatre

Caroline Barth of Derby Theatre sent me a very nice email today reflecting on my small input to last night's amateur theatre celebration  - The Eagle Awards at Derby Theatre.

"Dear Phil,

Thank you so much for your wonderful contribution to the Eagle Awards.  You were warm, funny and helped the evening go with a swing!    Everyone was really pleased with the whole evening and we are so grateful that you gave us your time voluntarily."

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the event and was very proud to offer my services as a presenter for the Malcolm Sircom Award for best production of a Pantomime.

 

The nominees were:

 

The Watson Players for The Sleeping Beauty 

 

Kaleidoscope Players for Beauty and the Beast

 

The Enfield Players for Trouble in Pantoland

 

Mickleover Players for Robinson Crusoe and the Pirates

 

The judges thought that the winning production was; a fantastic interpretation of the traditional tale, brought to life with energy, humour and style. Excellent staging, costumes and sets, great Performances and a pace that never let up and made for a resounding success. Those involved in this production have every right to be very proud.

 

The WINNER was The Watson Players for The Sleeping Beauty.

All the winners in all categories of The Eagle Awards.

 

As I sat in the audience watching all the other awards and speeches I started to think about what I was going to say outside of the script and came up with a few short stories that went right back to the very beginnings of my own amateur attempts at theatre. The very first attempt was being cast as one of the three kings aged nine in the Roe Farm School nativity. I didn't  turn up on the night of junior school nativity as one of the three kings (I had no idea I had to!) and found myself being forgiven enough the next year to be the centre of a three boy Puff The Magic Dragon with my face stuck against the sweaty bottom of a boy with chronic wind so foul that I almost threw up every night! Even this didn't put me off and after some Derby Gang Show experiences I found myself completely hooked and joined The Littleover Players and then Derby Theatre in the Round with a few forays into Derby Shakespeare and a few musical societies before going to university to study performance art in the late 1980s.

 

I also told the audience about how my family in Chaddesden circa 1960s never went to the theatre but were 'entertained' on Saturday night by a trip to the Dog Track on Friar Lane and on Monday night the live entertainment came in the form of wrestling bouts at the Queen Street Baths venue. One Christmas I was given an encyclopaedia with a several vibrant colour plates and one of these was an artists' impression of a side view across a stage where a production of Peter Pan was in full flow. The theatricality of this sparked a profound interest in this thing called theatre which I began to follow with a passion at the tender age of eleven and have continued to do so ever since.

 

Warwick Davis at Derby Theatre. See How They Run review.

'Hits the stage running!'

Currently on tour across the UK Warwick Davis's talented group of actors (The Reduced Height Theatre Company) hits the Derby Theatre stage running with their fantastically silly farce – See How They Run by Philip King.

Originally written and played in the 1940s this production stays true to the period style with its costumes created by Top Drawer Costume Service and set designed and adapted by Barney George who recently created and designed the set for Derby Theatre's theatrical triumph – The Odyssey.



Of course, as well as the popularity of the farce that has been performed around the world since its conception the main draw for this show is the versatile and talented actor Warwick Davis, known mainly for his roles in film and television and now on stage live. The audience laps up every moment he appears as Reverend Toop and he is very funny throughout, especially so when skittering through the vicarage in his undies. When broad comedy is done this well it seems almost effortless but I know from talking to Warwick that an awful lot of hard work has gone into making the production the soar away success it is. The wonderful cast seem to be having as much fun as the audience.


The delight of this production is that plot wise it allows the remainder of the cast to shine whilst Toop is temporarily locked away in a cupboard with a drunk Miss Skillon (beautifully played by Francesca Papagno). Davis wanted the production to show off the talents of his actors and it does so in spades.

There are lots of memorable performances including Rachel Denning as Penelope Toop the former actress and flirtatious wife of Rev Toop. Her scenes with Phil Holden as Lance Corporal Clive Winton are comedy heaven as are her caustic comments about the interfering Miss Skillon.

The comic hit of the show has to be Francesca Mills as Ida the Maid. Every time she appears and disappears and quickly re-appears again through some entrance or other her stage presence shines out and her Ida must be rated as one of the funniest performances I have ever seen on stage. If should a thing were possible I think that there must have been a collective grin from the audience at each of her comical arrivals. Her timing is spot on and her expressive and 'farcical' body language is hilarious.

With a cast of nine the Reduced Height Theatre Company set the stage on fire with their energy. Davis has compiled a cast of experienced actors such as the marvellous Jon Key as the frightfully flustered Bishop of Lax and Raymond Griffiths as the German intruder. Alongside these theatre stalwarts he has Jamie John as a slightly camp Rev Arthur Humphrey and multi-talented Peter Bonner as the blustering Sergeant Towers. The play is directed with gusto by Eric Potts.

One of the signs of a super show is that you are still giggling the day after seeing it. I think I will be giggling for weeks. Here's to the entire cast of the Reduced Height Theatre Company and to their next success. Run to the box office and get your tickets now before it sells out. Run!!!

Runs at Derby Theatre from 7^th April until 12^th April.

Derby Theatre. Gecko's new work Institute. A MUST see!

Review for Institute by Gecko Theatre at Derby Theatre.

Institute is Gecko's sixth creation in ten years. The company creates each new show by building on their established working methodology of physical exploration through movement and dance and wonderfully inventive theatrical invention.

Using many different people as source material for Institution Gecko spent a year developing the work around the notion and practice of 'care' and Amit Lahav (creator) invited a group of inspirational artists, support workers, patients and carers to explore care in a fresh new way in order to create this masterpiece of modern dance theatre.


Exploring themes of emotional fracture and disconnection and human reliance the four male performers are electric in their dance work. The piece may start as a funny romantic dinner for a man and an imaginary woman but Institute soon shifts the amusement swiftly to one side as the man's mental landscape slowly starts to disintegrate. He is joined by a stressed work colleague in the foreboding nightmare office of towering old filing cabinets and ghostly architectural models. From the cabinets appear cleverly constructed set pieces and the drawers open up to release a haunting Pandora's box of light and sounds from the past. The whole piece takes invention further than one would imagine possible through exaggerated theatrical dance and particularly through the part featuring connecting rods attached to the dancers. There is humour scattered throughout and, conversely there are startlingly animal-like distorted grunts of despair and agony from a contorted patient in a white bed gown that alarm and unnerve. Gecko's already brilliant reputation for extraordinary theatre has sky rocketed into the heavens in this astounding new work.

Men morph into women; bodily progression turns to regression and twists back upon itself in a flailing of limbs; emotions are presented as desperately raw and in turn, surprisingly gentle. European languages feature throughout as part of a complex sound-scape.A restaurant set is cleverly shifted around the stage as part of the macabre and often terrifying movement. Institute is ninety minutes of total dance/theatre and utterly engaging and thrillingly performed by the amazing performers, Chris Evans, Amit Lahav, Ryen Perkins Gangnes and François Testory. The energy of the piece is astonishing and the guys still manage four curtain calls after the performance.

Full credit must also go to the brilliant technical collaborators, Rhys Jarman and Amit Lahav for the set design, Chris Swan and Amit Lahav for the atmospheric lighting design, Nathan Johnson for the Sound design and Dave Price for the original music.

Currently playing at Derby Theatre until 5^th April.

www.geckotheatre.com

http://derbytheatre.co.uk/institute

Derby Theatre - an exciting new season.

Derby Theatre is delighted to announce its May – July 2014 Season.

From John Godber masterpieces to stage adaptations of iconic British cinema classics; top quality, award-winning touring productions to new, exciting and inventive youth and community theatre shows; original studio productions to a wealth of insightful workshops and from fabulous family theatre to the return of DEparture Lounge, next season offers a wonderful array of shows and events to tempt and tantalise the theatrical taste buds!

A Taste of Honey, on from Tue 29 April until Sat 10 May, is a Derby Theatre and Hull Truck Theatre co-production and is a stage adaptation of Shelagh Delaney’s 1958 hit. This touching tale of a young girl’s journey into adulthood stars Rebecca Ryan (Shameless and Waterloo Road) and is directed by Mark Babych, who directed Cooking with Elvis for Derby Theatre in May 2013.

Derby Theatre welcomes a host of top-class touring companies this summer including: Northern Broadsides with the deeply moving drama poised at the tipping point of war, An August Bank Holiday Lark, on from Tue 20 until Sat 24 May; the highly acclaimed, award-winning Headlong return again this season with Wedekind’s definite play about youth- caused riots, Spring Awakening, on from Wed 28 until Sat 31 May; London Classic Theatre make another welcome return to the theatre with the 50th Anniversary production of Joe Orton’s Entertaining Mr Sloane from Tue 10 until Sat 14 June and Northern Stage, as part of the first ever UK of Joseph Heller’s classic novel, with a stage adaptation of  Catch 22, on from Tue 17 until Sat 21 June.   

From Fri 27 June until Sat 12 July, Derby Theatre, in association with Paul Tyrer and Jamie Clark for The Booking Office, will present John Godber’s comical, bittersweet masterpiece, April in Paris, which was Olivier-nominated for Comedy of the Year when it premiered. Directed by Godber himself, this classic two-hander will feature two star names (to be announced soon) and guarantees to make you belly laugh and your heart melt.

Over the summer period, from Thu 24 until Sat 26 July, our Youth Theatre will present a stunning double-bill of plays each evening which are unified by the themes of freedom and sacrifice: The Willow Pattern, a classic tale of innocent, yet forbidden love, and The Chrysalids directed by Sarah Brigham, a powerful story set in the post-nuclear world, a place divided into ‘perfect’ humans and mutants.  

Derby People’s Theatre, which involves members of the public and community working alongside theatre professionals to produce a full-scale production, will present Pulse from Wed 30 July until Sat 2 August, a new play commissioned by Derby Theatre from local writer Sally Siner. Pulsating with life, death and other funny turns, Pulse takes a look at a day in the life of the fictional Derby Orb Hospital and is about, and for, a community to which we all belong. 

DEparture Lounge, a summer festival of fantastic fringe performances, returns again this year and promises to be a theatrical adventure like no other. Prepare to buckle up for an exciting ride from Thu 17 until Sat 20 July for this stunning showcase of theatre from some of the exciting companies and artists from across the UK before they depart for the heady lights of Edinburgh and beyond.

Studio shows next season offer a wide and varied selection of theatre including: Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company with a newly commissioned piece by local playwright, Andy Barrett, The Second Minute; Caroline Horton, who presented the fantastic Penelope RETOLD at Derby Theatre recently, will present, along with China Plate, her award- winning You’re Not Like The Other Girls Chrissy, a tender, comic portrayal of one woman’s experience of love and war; Johnny and The Baptists, an evening in the company of some of the UK’s hottest musical comedians; the edgy and moving one-man show which explores one of football’s biggest taboos, Away From Home; Derby Jazz, Corey Mwamba, Dave Kane and Joshua Blackmore with Sunday afternoons of Jazz music; the sell-out smash hit of the Edinburgh Festival 2013, Hidden; highly acclaimed Graeae with Signs of a Diva, which will include BSL signed songs, captioned text and audio description; Amanda Whittington’s poignant drama set in a mother and baby home in 1964, Be My Baby; award- winning comedy duo Heffernan & Fitch with their quirky sketch show-come-cabaret night Roll It In Sequins and Birmingham Repertory Theatre with Circles, a play which boldly explores violence on a generation of young women.      

Family shows include: Theatre Hullabaloo and Theatre Iolo with Luna, a starry night theatrical adventure suitable for  2 – 5 year olds, which sees Luna, the only moon in the sky, befriending a boy and together they go on an adventure of light and dark to help him overcome his fear of the night-time and A Transport and Unicorn production, 1001 Nights, a collection of some of the greatest folk tales ever told, perfect for ages 6+, brought to life in a fantastical and imagined world of kings, viziers and jinns.    

Other shows in the season include: award-winning Mike Bartlett’s 13, which will be presented by Second Year Theatre Arts students and the return of the ever-popular, locally-based Oddsocks with a double bill of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night.  

For children and young people, opportunities include: new Youth Theatre for 8-10 year olds; new Young Technicians for 11-19 year olds; Theatre Thinkers for 11-19 year olds; Easter three-day residency and Derby Theatre Summer School.   

For artists and participants, opportunities include: Writing Young People’s Theatre Masterclass with award-winning playwright, Mike Kenny; CPD on Directing with Artistic Director, Sarah Brigham; audition techniques, costume club and technical advice and training.  

Looking ahead to next season - also announcing…

Derby Theatre is also delighted to officially announce two productions for the autumn.
Antigone, a Pilot Theatre, Derby Theatre and Theatre Royal Stratford East Production, is a new adaptation of Sophocles’ play adapted by acclaimed playwright, Roy Williams. In the main house from Fri 19 September until Sat 4 October, Antigone will be placed in a contemporary setting to bring this timeless tale bang up to date and will be the perfect follow-on for our audiences from our recent production of The Odyssey, as another Greek classic adapted for a modern audience.

A Christmas Carol will be Derby Theatre’s big festive production for 2014/15. Neil Duffield’s vibrant adaptation of Charles Dickens’ treasured novel will contain all the sparkle, magic and ghostly goings-on of this much-loved Christmas story. On from Fri 5 December 2014 until Sun 4 January 2015, A Christmas Carol is a heart-warming, traditional must- see production for the whole family.

Bookings now being taken. 

Sarah Brigham (Artistic Director, Derby Theatre) said:  

“I'm delighted to be welcoming our audiences to another thrilling season at Derby Theatre.  We officially announce two exciting and very different co-productions.  A modern classic in A Taste of Honey directed by Mark Babych (who previously directed the hugely popular Cooking with Elvis for us last year) and the ever popular April in Paris with The Booking Office and John Godber.  With these two great, popular productions, alongside a quality touring programme from such companies as Northern Broadsides and Headlong, a Youth Theatre double bill and a Derby People’s Theatre production plus a wealth of other productions and opportunities to participate, I hope you’ll agree that there are many ways you can experience and be involved with the work we produce, present and programme at Derby Theatre, whether it be as an audience member, participant or both.” 

“I'm also delighted to formally announce and introduce two shows in our autumn season, new writing in the form of a new adaptation of Antigone by Roy Williams produced with Theatre Royal Stratford East and Pilot Theatre and our big Christmas production which I'll direct, A Christmas Carol which will have all the festive magic you would expect coupled with a heart-warming tale.”  
“We look forward to seeing you at Derby Theatre over the coming months”  

Season ticket More great theatre for less with the Derby Theatre Season Ticket. Book 3 shows and get 10% off. Book 4 shows or more and get 20% off. General ticket prices: £10.50 - £25.50, concession, group and school rates available. For more information, full season details and to book tickets simply call the Box Office on 01332 593939 or visit www.derbytheatre.co.uk  

Review of Penelope RETOLD at Derby Theatre

 

This fascinating one woman show is a dramatic exploration of Odysseus' wife Penelope and her life experiences are brought up to date just as in the main house production of The Odyssey. Penelope (Caroline Horton) is left all alone with her young son Telemachus while Odysseus reluctantly goes off to fight in the Trojan wars and returns nineteen years later a practical stranger. The multi-layered piece delves too into modern day experiences of forced separation for military wives. The performance is very much in the moment, compelling and often raises and highlights feelings and issues of hope and frustration through dramatic abstraction.

It is done with great expertise, humour and passion by performer and dramaturg Caroline Horton who returns to Derby Theatre in May 2013 with her Olivier Award nominated show 'You're Not Like The Other Girls Chrissy' set during World War Two.

Penelope Retold is superbly directed by Lucy Doherty with the set designed by Tim Heywood and finds Penelope hidden in a bed hugging and smelling her missing husband's great coat and watching rapid looping repeats of a cheesy film about a dog returning unexpectedly home to huge fuss and love. The whole show is wed to this unkempt bed – a place of comfort and of security and sexual memories and conversely of deep unbridled anger towards her missing husband. In the Odyssey Penelope questions the newly returned Odysseus about the bed that has been fashioned from an olive tree with its roots still in the ground. Horton roots her play and uses the bed surface to flit enigmatically between loving memories of marrying the handsome soldier Odysseus at the tender age of fifteen to sudden desperately frightened flight or fight syndromes. Penelope is not a wholly sympathetic character though despite her outward charm. She can be cruel. Within the story telling we hear tales of her cruelly punishing Odysseus' beloved dog, Argos, by locking it out of the house for whining at his departure and making it live nineteen years on a dung heap until it suddenly dies on seeing his master return.

The work also explores, with some humour coupled with sensitivity, the life of military wives and their support systems and meetings. The audience are fully involved throughout and are spoken to as various ladies at the meeting and at one point an audience member is addressed as though he is the estranged husband. Also there is a very funny weather report based on the shipping report and speaks of Greek gods and stormy seas. This becomes a paradox however as the shipping report broadcast in the British Isles is generally seen as a comforting medium but not in this version.

The temperature of the sea and tides, swimming and drowning are constant metaphors and states within this gripping piece which ends with Penelope dramatically tearing apart the bed and her exposing her tortured soul through an explosive barrage of poetic wordplay before drowning herself in the sea. Penelope RETOLD takes us on a journey deeper into Penelope, the caged and isolated woman, and beyond the end of the main house stage play and importantly, gives a powerful voice to the character of Penelope that was denied by Homer.

This is a gripping and unique piece of theatre and a must see. Five stars!

Booking www.derbytheatre.co.uk

Box Office: 01332 593939

Phil Lowe

The Odyssey trailer at Derby Theatre. Thinking of booking? Watch this and get excited!

This short video is a promotion from Derby Theatre of Mike Kenny's fantastic and fantastical adaptation of Homer's classic, The Odyssey open for booking until 1st March. As Homer once said, and I quote:

"We are quick to flare up we races of men on the earth.
There is a time for many words and there is also a time for sleep."

I beg you not to sleep too long on your decision to go and see this amazing show that is winning audiences and critical plaudits across the Midlands and beyond. Book through this LINK. There is no joy in 'flaring up' when the show is over!

Read my review and other Odyssey blogposts on this blog.

Tomorrow I am reviewing the companion piece to The Odyssey - Penelope Retold at Derby Theatre. I look forward to offering the insights of the playwright and performer Caroline Horton on Penelope's life and traumas.

Phil Lowe

The Odyssey at Derby Theatre. Nobody should miss this. It's totally un-mythable!

The Odyssey at Derby Theatre. Nobody should miss this. It's totally un-mythable!

This modern production of Homer's classic tale of a soldier king returning home from war, especially adapted by playwright Mike Kenny for the Derby Theatre stage is a triumph of story-telling, theatre and of mythology mixed with the grim realities of war and their aftermath.

From the moment a giant wave crashes on to the stage leaving Odysseus for dead on a beach and the Olympian gods decide to weave a story around the hero, the play begins a rich tapestry of torturous adventures. We encounter mythical monsters and seductive sirens that haunt brave Odysseus and kill off his men one by one. It is in turns, funny, exciting, clever and wickedly inventive but the inner thread that drives the story forward is the soldiers' tale. The true eternal story is one of the struggle of soldiers returning home from war, battle weary, inhabited by the terrible things they have seen and have been compelled to do in battle and how that impacts on their lives as a person back in the civilian world and on others they love. Some of them don't return. So it was in Homer's time and so it is still as relevant today, only today we have a name for it – post traumatic stress syndrome.

 
 

Wole Sawyerr imbues his complex character Odysseus with a great depth of feeling moving from a leader of men, the brave war hero full of his own grandness and calling himself a slayer of cities. Gradually as the play unfolds we see him become mentally broken by his experiences. As in all Greek tales there is a catharsis and the man finds a way of re-connecting through humility and attempts to rejoin his wife Penelope on his island of Ithaca after twenty years of absence. Sawyerr commands the stage throughout and garners great sympathy in an emotionally and physically challenging role. This is not selfish acting but selfless creativity that allows the whole ensemble of eight actors to support and tell the tale through and around him to great effect.

There are some extremely funny moments throughout however, especially around the brilliantly conceived scene in the Cyclops cave, all dark, damp and dangerous echoes and thunderous effects. Christopher Price as Polythemus the Cyclops must be the comic hit of the show as he struts around on stilts greedily eating up Odysseus' men. He is at once menacing and very funny and even tender towards his hilarious flock of rams. It is a scene which manages to combine real danger and some very funny touches as Odysseus tells the wounded Cyclops that his name is – Nobody. And Nobody did it!

 

The wonderful set design by Barney George allows for a large creative space to be utilised and to be endlessly creative upon through the actors own rehearsal Odyssey (terrifically sensitive direction by Sarah Brigham) and the inspired new writing of Mike Kenny. As well as the live music, a violin played by actor, composer and sound designer Ivan Stott and drumming, the piece has elements of often haunting song sung by the ensemble and a palate of superb lighting by Tim Skelly.

 

As an ensemble of eight the company work terrifically as a team and clearly enjoy the very active story telling with men and women morphing seamlessly from human to monster, from siren to animal. They sing and carouse, they fight and succumb to the whims of fate, of exhaustion by war and the fickle gods determinations. Each actor plays a variety of parts in a show of two decidedly different halves. The story of Odysseus' attempts to return home after ten years away fighting the Trojan wars and the mythology of the Odyssey forms the first half. The second half is how, on arriving back on his island, yet another ten years further on, the troubled and broken soldier king attempts to win back his wife Penelope and son Telemachus and destroy the evil suitors led by the brutal and constantly besieging Eurymachus (Christopher Price).

 

 

 

In this production acting versatility is the name of the game. Emma Beattie comes into her own as she portrays the hardened and determined wife Penelope struggling to control the ungracious suitors with her son Telemachus, (Rich Dolphin). Dolphin's portrayal is played with a finely acted, and very believable inner frustration building into manhood as he joins forces with his father.

Ella Vale particularly impresses as the beguiling enchantress Circe who, with a twist of her hand, turns men into pigs! Vale also portrays the devious plotting palace maid Melantho, and is especially chilling in her final scene under the control of Telemachus – her face is pure terror. Anna Westlake is deeply moving in her seductive singing as the siren and as the old woman Eurekleia who recognises Odysseus and grieves piteously for the slain suitors.

Ivan Stott is the most versatile of all, giving each role a distinct inner and outer life of its own often with great subtlety when he is one of the suitors rejected by Penelope and equally in his portrayal as the kind old Eumaeus. keeper of pigs and loyal to Odysseus' memory. His superb musical score brings a whole new depth to the play.

 

It is good to see that the Derby Theatre are pro-actively engaging local talent such as Adam Horvath, an ex Derby Shakespeare actor now professionally engaged in this totally un-mythable production of The Odyssey through the Brian Weaver Fellowship.

Production photos copyright Robert Day.

Penelope Retold at Derby Theatre

Penelope RETOLD, performing in Derby Theatre Studio from February 20 until March 1st, is the perfect accompaniment piece to The Odyssey, as it looks at the story from the perspective of Odysseus’ wife, Penelope. The RETOLD programme is a series of brand new one-woman plays commissioned by Derby Theatre, from some of the most exciting female voices in contemporary theatre today. Penelope RETOLD will be created by theatre maker and performer, Caroline Horton.

To read more about Caroline Horton – theatre maker and performer - http://carolinehorton.net

Booking at https://www.derbytheatre.co.uk/penelope-retold

A thrilling glimpse in the tech rehearsal for The Odyssey at Derby Theatre

Once again I found myself connected to Derby Theatre's stunning production of Mike Kenny's adaptation of Homer's classic story - The Odyssey. This time my visit was to the theatre itself.


Technical rehearsals are as the words imply - mainly for the technical crew - and are necessary to create the full production. In such rehearsals the development of setting up the scenes are very exacting and need a great deal of attention from each person involved - including the director (Sarah Brigham) and the stage manager and all connected with the audio/visual sides and much more besides. To an outsider they can seem a drawn out affair but each element needs to be very organised and secure to ensure a safe and competent production if not a superior one. The director's role is to envisage and accomplish a unified vision of the play collected from the original script and a working hands on creative process with the actors and creative team and in some cases (like The Odyssey) with the writer/playwright working through drafts of the play's evolution to the finished product.

On my arrival I was very impressed with the multifunctional set with a huge and manoeuvrable circular dais. All is military and camouflage with webbing hanging from the rigging framing the picture. Sails were raised and fell and a Greek style door appeared to offer a scene change.  The costumes worn by the actors in the opening scenes are also army style.

The hardest part of writing this is not to reveal the amazing scene which will have the audience jumping out of their seats at the very start of the play. Whilst I was present a lot of work was put into making sure that this worked perfectly and the sight lines were spot on and no actors could be seen.

I was starting to get used to this world of 'cans', markers and pre-sets and set ups and exclamations of "heads up - lines coming in on auditorium left and auditorium right." All the time I was there there was a continuous quiet industry of plotting lighting and sound effects and requisite levels and a relaxed authority from Sarah Brigham the director.

 

 

Just before the break I got to see the scene where the Gods start to play out Odysseus's story and this calls for some pyrotechnics. There was a run through of the practicalities of live flame on the stage and the extinguishing of it with sand as part of the action.

Before the rehearsal began I got the chance to chat with Wole who plays Odysseus and Emma who plays various parts including Penelope his wife. My interview with Wole and Emma earlier in the rehearsal process can be read HERE. Plus I enjoyed a fun chat with Christopher Price who I had previously seen playing the role of Peter in the touring production of Dennis Potter's play Blue Remembered Hills. Christopher impressed me as the cruel and bullying Peter last June and is the mythical Cyclops and a variety of other ensemble roles in Derby Theatre production of  The Odyssey. All the cast seemed a dedicated, theatrically established and very friendly, versatile group of actors.

My photos aren't the best in this  blogpost due to low light conditions and the limitations of my camera's lens that doesn't have the capacity to open up the iris to let in more light but I hope they give a flavour of what looks to be a wonderful production and I for one cannot wait until press night on the 17th of Feb! It will be spectacular and surprisingly emotional in the second half as Odysseus struggles to return to his homeland in mind and body and he has the final and most difficult challenge of his 'journey' in defeating the evil suitors who are determined to take away his wife and his hard won kingdom.

For an insight into the rehearsals of The Odyssey at Derby Theatre check out my previous blogpost
at this LINK.

Want to hear what the actors themselves think about the production and their roles? Well you can through AUDIO BOO. Click and enjoy!

The Odyssey starts 14th Feb until 1st March 2014 and looks to be long remembered classic for Derby Theatre.

An exciting Odyssey at Derby Theatre - in rehearsal.

Booking at www.derbytheatre.co.uk

Opens Friday 14th February until Saturday 1st March.

Rehearsal images and video by Derby Theatre.

The talented cast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Odyssey - Mike Kenny's major adaptation for Derby Theatre.

Homer’s  classical story,The Odyssey in a new version by Mike Kenny directed by Sarah Brigham will be playing at Derby Theatre Fri 14th February – Sat 1st March 2014. This promises to be an epic new version of the classic tale and Derby Theatre’s big production for Spring 2014 and its third home produced production with the excellent Cooking With Elvis and Kes as previous critical and theatrical successes.   

To mark 2014’s First World War centenary, The Odyssey, one of literature’s oldest stories, will explore and highlight the consequences of war through a brilliant and moving new adaptation brought vividly to life to life by an exceptional cast of performers through live music and emotive storytelling.

The Trojan War is over and it’s time for Odysseus to return home. The fighting may have ceased but storms still rage on the high seas. Our hero is forced to run the monumental gauntlet thrown down between him and the long- awaited reunion with his family. But getting home is only half the battle, as twenty years have passed and everything has changed in his absence. 
The show has been adapted by one of England’s leading writers and Olivier Award-winning playwrights, Mike Kenny (who has numerous production and adaptation credits to his name including The Railway Children for York Theatre Royal in association with The National Railway Museum).  

The cast includes: Wole Sawyerr in the central role of Odysseus (Henry VI Parts 1 & 2, Shakespeare’s Globe directed by Dominic Dromgoole); Emma Beattie as Odysseus’ wife, Penelope (The Last of the Haussmans, Iphigenia in Tauris and Elektra, National Theatre); Christopher Price (the Riddler in Batman Live, International Tour; Hansel and Gretel, Kneehigh; Oh What a Lovely War, Northern Stage); local actress Anna Westlake (who most recently appeared in Oddsocks’ production of Comedy of Errors) and Ivan Stott (Musical Director on Derby Theatre’s production of Kes and Musical Director and performer in Derby Theatre’s Christmas show in the studio, Pinocchio). The cast also includes Ella Vale and Rich Dolphin.   

Artistic director, Sarah Brigham said: “Mike’s modern adaptation of this classic story, about a soldier who returns home from war and who has to piece his life back together, has a modern day feel, resonance and relevance through its language and themes. It is a timeless piece which the brilliant ensemble of actors will deliver with a powerful and emotional punch against a soaring, live musical score.”   

Alongside the main show runs a connected piece called, Penelope RETOLD,  with performances from Wednesday 19th February until Saturday 1st March and it is billed as the perfect accompaniment and companion piece to The Odyssey, as it looks at the story from the perspective of Odysseus’ wife, Penelope.

The RETOLD programme is a series of brand new one-woman plays commissioned by Derby Theatre, from some of the most exciting female voices in contemporary theatre today. Penelope RETOLD will be created by theatre maker and performer, Caroline Horton, described in relation to her production of Mess as “a major, major talent”, Time Out.   

Tickets for The Odyssey: £10 - £25.50, concessions £10 - £23.50. Group and school rates available. 16-25 year olds: £5 per ticket on Friday evenings (proof of ID required). 
Tickets for Penelope RETOLD: £9, concessions £6. Or see it for £5 if you book for The Odyssey.

For more information and to book tickets call the Box Office on 01332 59 39 39 or online at www.derbytheatre.co.uk 

An insight on my year as a theatre reviewer and writer.

Well, this time last year I would never have known what 2013 was about to grant me. With my 'proper' job I went on a course in mid Wales to learn about beef and lamb slaughtering and meat packaging and I got to appear on a national television advert for Tesco as the Tesco butcher in their Love Every Mouthful campaign.

More importantly to me I found an opportunity to work on a new aspect of my writing and from it I began to further develop my second blog about my involvement with the world of professional theatre. This came about through a chance finding of a review website called www.thepublicreviews.com. They were asking for new reviewers and so, as per their remit, I sent in a copy of a review I had done for Piaf at Curve theatre in Leicester which was accepted with some critical suggestions for style improvement and a particular way of writing. I also received an online booklet that gave all reviewers guidance and rules about the way a review should be submitted. The way it works is that every Sunday a listing is sent by email and you send in a 'bid' by email if you want to critique a particular show. If successful you get a notification saying that two tickets will be at the box office to pick up. There is no choice in the night you go and often it can be a press night so there is a chance to mingle and have a chat with the theatre staff with a glass of wine. There is a time pressure to have the review in on time. It is sent by email and must be with Public Reviews by 12pm the next day or you may be taken off their books. Considering I don't get home from the shows until about 11pm I still have to write the review and am often up until 1am until I am satisfied with the result. I do some research prior to going to the show which is important and helps with the writing. Incidentally, there is no wage to do this – it is done out of love for the theatre and writing. The tickets are comps.

I still review plays independently and now I have got my name and good reputation known over the year I get invites from Nottingham Live and Derby Theatre to review a variety of shows. I also use Twitter and Facebook to promote my blog post reviews and those that appear on the Public Review site.

Over the last ten months (I started in March 2013) I have reviewed over thirty shows mostly in Derby. I began at The Guildhall with Hardgraft Theatre's 'I Love Derby' and Reform Theatre Company's 'Me and Me Dad' and UK Touring Theatre's new translation of Strindberg's 'Miss Julie'.

For Derby Theatre I have reviewed their home grown productions and touring productions including Balletboyz -the talent, The Opinion Makers, Cooking with Elvis, September in the Rain, Go Back for Murder, Kes, Blue Remembered Hills, The Seagull, The Pitmen Painters and Horrible Christmas. For Derby Live I went to their amazing arts festival (Derby Festé ) and witnessed the stunning outdoor event – As The World Tipped.

For Nottingham Playhouse I have reviewed, The Ashes, The Kite Runner, Richard III and Jack and the Beanstalk and I went also to a free event about the writing process of a future production by Amanda Whittington called My Judy Garland Life. There have been very few chances to review at Nottingham's Theatre Royal but Nottingham Live did ask me review Nottingham Operatic Society's Oklahoma!

Recently I returned to Curve in Leicester to review the musical Chicago and even attended Martin Berry's 'A Christmas Carol' at Lakeside before going to work one Friday morning and then working until nine that evening! When I got home at 10pm I wrote their review and put it online. Phew!

There have been talks and shows that I have attended and decided not to do a review. This isn't because I didn't like them but usually to give myself a rest from 'having' to review everything and work full time and write my food blog as well!

I tend not to review at The Lace Market Theatre because I have so many friends there and it is difficult to offer an impartial view on a production when you know practically everyone involved. I do write articles for their monthly magazine -The Boards however and like to promote ex members who have gone on from an amateur status to study drama and theatre design with an aim of working professionally in the arts.

If I were to choose – the best play I have seen over the last ten months I would unreservedly say it was Cooking With Elvis at Derby Theatre.

The old Derby Playhouse (same building) gave me my grounding and enthusiasm for theatre going and acting during the 1970s and 1980s and this led to me joining and performing with Derby Theatre in The Round and Derby Shakespeare Company and eventually coming to Nottingham in the late 1980s to take my degree in the performing arts. I then spent many a happy year performing with The Lace Market Theatre and others and dipped into the world of television through Central Television productions and some film work.

So, thank you fate for steering me on this exciting course of writing about the theatre that I love. Who knows what 2014 will bring!

Do check out my theatre reviews on this blog!

Review: September in the Rain at Derby Theatre. (on tour)

It is a great sign of comedy when the performers get laughs before they have even spoken a word and so it is at the very start of Godber's play about a pair of married pensioners looking back to the 1950s and reflecting on a succession of holidays at the same B&B year after year in Blackpool. As the actors John Thomson playing husband Jack and Claire Sweeney as his wife Liz shuffle across the stage set of a sea front at Blackpool the Derby Theatre audience are already giggling away.

The laughter grows and grows through the play as Thomson and Sweeney become their characters younger selves and chat with the audience about how they feel about the happy experiences and marital frustrations they go through at Mavis's B&B on Woodfield Road in Blackpool and en route to their holiday destination. Both Sweeney and Thomson are very adept at mimicry and throughout the play they temporarily become other comic personae like the landlady Mavis, a bad tempered haulage trucker and most hilarious of all – the sewer man. Thomson's telling of the story of the people gathered around a sewer drain to watch a large piece of excrement float by is classic comedy and comic timing. Both performances are very strong and likeable.

John Godbers characters, Jack and Liz are based on his parents and he says that he assumed that they went back to the same place every year for 50 years because they were attracted to the West End shows that played there, the appearance of variety acts and TV stars in end of pier shows, the beautiful sands, the famous tower and ballroom and the circus. Apparently not – they went to Blackpool after going to Scarborough in the first year of their marriage and his father discovered that the east coast air gave him asthma, something that Blackpool didn't seem to do. As Godber says “The randomness of life continually leaves me agog!”

The terrific writing and the playing of the characters has a real human warmth which the Derby audience fully appreciated as Liz and Jack were constantly bickering with each other and teasing one another as couples often do. Sweeney with her underplayed Liverpool accent and Thomson with his no-nonsense Yorkshire accent and mannerisms create characters that are like chalk and cheese and for all their faults and stubbornness you can't fail to love them. Their relationship is very believable and each character have their flaws so soon the comedy becomes a drama as the heavens open and they part company whilst rowing. You genuinely wanted to rush back after the interval to discover what happens next. There is a third character in this theatre piece and that is the character of Blackpool depicted here with a wonderfully realistic set complete with sand on the steps, strings of gaudy lights and the famous Blackpool tower in the misty background. You almost expected a seagull to fly across the stage.

The near to capacity audience lapped up every emotional minute whether they were laughing at Jack trying to erect the deckchairs (superb comic timing by Thomson) or sympathising with Liz as Jack storms off after a particularly vicious and unexpected argument and I suspect that many of them left the theatre with a cathartic and nostalgic feeling of a shared experience and an umbrella up and ready for the – all too real - October rain.

Originally posted on The Public Review website.

Review: Go Back For Murder. Derby Theatre.

Playing at Derby Theatre this week the - Agatha Christie Theatre Company - presents a brand new production of Christie's classic murder mystery, Go Back For Murder.(touring)

The plot revolves around Carla Le Marchant (Sophie Ward) who has returned from Canada to investigate the death of her imprisoned mother, Caroline. The death has taken place in prison, twenty years after Caroline's conviction of killing her husband and Carla's father - Amyas Crate (Gary Mavers). Carla's late mother, Caroline, has left her daughter an intriguing legacy - a letter professing her innocence. This we learn by voice over in the very first minutes of the play.

This is a fast paced 'whodunnit' that will delight fans of murder mystery stage adaptations and Agatha Christie and given the interval chat about who the murderer could be the audience clearly revelled in the plot and action on stage.

The plot unfolds, illuminates and deceives and the play begins with a determined Carla Le Marchant anxiously trying to uncover the truth behind her father’s murder by poisoning with the help of Justin Fogg (Ben Nealon) who is the son of her mother’s original defence lawyer. Christie controversially left Hercule Poirot  out of this one.

In the first act events take place at several locations in London, the arrangement of which is very well done by quickly executed scene changes and dramatic lighting. Gradually, we attain insights into the individual characters that were at the scene of the murder some twenty years previously at Alderbury House. The acting throughout was good and some deliberately hammy. Lysette Anthony was deliciously over the top as the older Lady Elsa Greer.

With the help of Justin, Carla manages to entice all the suspects back to the house where we witness a reconstruction of events that took place leading up to the 1948 murder in the second act. Stories unfold, twists and turns in the tale are abundant and there are more red herrings than in a kipper factory.

The staging design is simple and the lighting effects work especially well and gave a clarity to the plot that could have got confusing initially. The 1960s jazzy soundtrack helps create an atmosphere of time.

Could the murder have been committed by either of the brothers Philip and Meredith Blake (Robert Duncan and Antony Edridge) who had both been secretly in love with Caroline? Or maybe it was the dead man’s feisty opportunist mistress Lady Elsa Greer (Lysette Anthony) Of course no Agatha Christie play would be complete without an old fashioned governess, in this case a tea drinking Miss Williams admirably played by (Liza Goddard) and adding a little high spirited youth to the cast as the elder daughter of Caroline we have Angela Warren (Georgia Neville) in her professional debut. Each of these likely suspects, try to convince of their innocence with their own plausible version of events on the fateful day.

'Go Back For Murder' directed by Joe Harmston, is Agatha Christie at her best, a delicious play from her late years, well performed by a top notch cast and - as you'd expect - keeps us guessing until the very end. All could be guilty of the murder, but only one of 'em did it!

Derby Theatre recieves Lottery funding to enhance experience for deaf and hard of hearing patrons

Press release.

Derby Theatre receives funding to  enhance performances for deaf  and hard of hearing patrons
Derby Theatre is delighted to have received funding from both the national Big Lottery fund and locally-based Derbyshire Community Foundation to  improve deaf access at the venue.  
The joint funding, in the region of £10,000, has funded the installation of a brand new  digital system in the theatre, top quality headsets and induction loop aerials. The new equipment will enable and enhance a visit to the theatre for deaf and hard of hearing patrons, ensuring Derby Theatre is even more accessible to a wider audience. 
The brand new digital system and equipment will replace, and improve on, the existing infrared facility for patrons when seeing performances at Derby Theatre. The new Digital RF headsets are of the highest quality and offer crystal clear sound from every seat in the auditorium. For audience members with their own earphones, they can simply plug them into a discreet body pack where sound is then amplified through the new digital system. Patrons who prefer to use the T switch on their own hearing aid, there are induction loop aerials also available, which are worn loosely and comfortably around the neck.  The assisted listening sets work on digital RF frequencies, the same clear, sharp sound as a digital radio, so no longer will interference be received when another audience member walks in front those wearing them or those using the service turn away from the stage 
Debra Chantrill (Customer Services Manager, Derby Theatre) said:  “We are thrilled to have acquired these sought after grants from both organisations and I would like to say a big thank you on behalf of the theatre and our audience members. I know it will make a huge difference to many, especially those who may re-discover their enjoyment of theatre, simply through being able to hear the performance more clearly again through the equipment we have been able to acquire. Our aim is always to make theatregoing as accessible to, and as enjoyable for, as many people as possible and we are confident that the new system and equipment will do just that, for existing and potential new visitors to the theatre who may require this service.”   
As part of the application process, Derby Theatre consulted with a number of people involved in locally-based CamTAD, an organisation who campaign for tackling acquired deafness, to ask for their support, advice and feedback on the proposed application. CamTAD members said that a new system, which would help people with hearing difficulties to hear performances more clearly, would enable them to regain their confidence in visiting the theatre again. Speaking of non-reliable hearing systems in general, one lady said that she felt a part of her life was missing, by not being able to enjoy theatre as much as she would like to and that she hoped we were successful in our bid so that she could see performances secure in the knowledge that she will be able to comprehend the action once more.    
Headsets, body packs and loop aerials can be acquired from Box Office free of charge on arrival at the theatre and, in most cases, do not need to be booked in advance.  
For anyone wishing to test the new equipment, before doing so on a performance night/day, please call Debra Chantrill on 01332 593946 who will be more than happy to arrange this with you. Or simply call into Box Office and ask for Debra. 

As the world tipped - a fantastic opener the the Derby Festé

I have chosen this short video from the Facebook page of Wired Aerial Theatre to give a flavour of this truly fantastic outdoor bungee assisted performance art extravaganza. I saw it  performed in Derby last night as the opening act in Derby's amazing Live Arts festival that continues over the weekend. A capacity audience stood aghast as the actor/dancers reacted through stunning movement on the 12mm square stage tipping from a level position to an upright position. You need a real head for heights to perform in this one! Stunning concept, application, visuals and movement to a dramatic and moving soundtrack.

'The piece is about how governments fail to come to grips with climate change and the world slides, literally towards catastrophe. Conceived as a real life disaster movie in the sky, this production delivers one breath-taking image after another.'  Festé  brochure.

The festival continues over this weekend with music on the Music Stage in the Old Market Square with artists such as Hudson Super Fix, Jamie Joseph Band, Riptide and Alex Blood & The Diggers. At various venues throughout the city visitors will be delighted and entertained by Bread and Butter Theatre, Upswing Theatre - Red Shoes (circus), the hilarious and talented Maison Foo - Tea Tent, street performers Reckless Invention - Turbo and Dai and Wrong Size - The Dragons (inspired by the Gaudi sculptures of Barcelona). The 2 Men - wardens will be let loose on the streets of Derby amusing people by enforcing ridiculous laws around the city such as breathing too loudly or wearing a loud shirt in a built up area!

Derby Independent Theatre Network will be presenting their A Very British Exhibition around the historic Derby areas such as St Peter's Quarter and the beautiful Cathedral Quarter.

On Saturday evening there will be a Bollywood Party with Charity Shop DJ and Surtal Arts all kicked off by Flame Oz - high energy entertainment with a choreographed fire dance.

                                                       Still from White Wings (Holland)

And that's not all! The festival also includes C12- Trolleys - a stunning dance piece involving supermarket trolleys, Dutch theatre company - Close Act - are performing their fantastical White Wings show with amazing costumed characters seeming to float over the heads of the shoppers! A packed weekend at Derby  Festé which certainly deserves to be supported.