Theatre Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time @ Apollo Theatre, 5 Stars (Opening Night)

Niamh Cusack & Luke Treadaway: Photo by Brinkhoff/Mogenburg

After a sell-out run at the National Theatre last year, Simon Stephens’s adaption of Mark Haddon’s bestselling novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time transfers to the Apollo with mammoth flair and force.

After being accused of killing his neighbour’s dog, 15-year-old Christopher Boone decides to record each piece of evidence in an effort to solve the mystery of who killed Wellington. As Christopher struggles with his anxieties and fears in the chaotic world around him, he unravels a mystery much closer to home, and through his singular view of the world, we are taken on a turbulent and inspiring journey through his extraordinary mind.

The role of Christopher is demanding but the portrayal by Luke Treadaway (the original Albert in War Horse, Attack The Block) is stunningly beautifully. There is so much complexity to his character and I was left completely transfixed from beginning to end.

Niamh Cusack, who I last saw at the Old Vic in John Crowley’s production of The Playboy of the Western World, plays the role of Siobhan, Christopher’s teacher, who for most of the first half narrates Christopher points of view while he then acts it out. Cusack’s beautifully warm and tender performance shows great chemistry with Treadaway, which is a true delight to watch.

Holly Aird and Seán Gleeson, who play Christopher’s parents, are fantastic and, although we are never made fully aware of Christopher’s condition, it is moving to watch them try and bond with their son. The scenes with his father are particularly heart wrenching, and Aird’s portrayal of his mother is effortless.

Luke Treadaway and Cast: Photo by Brinkhoff/Mogenburg

Christopher’s passion for numbers and outer space is perfectly captured in Bunny Christie’s simple yet impressive mathematical set design of grid-like graph paper and Paule Constable’s light design adds that perfect finishing touch to create a sense of atmosphere.

Although this production carries a sensitive subject, I was delighted to see some light elements of humour thrown in. The discovery of items, including a chocolate biscuit, found in dad’s bedroom had me giggling.

Stephen’s adaption is a major sensory overload and grips you throughout. Light years beyond anything I have seen before, I highly recommend a visit.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time is booking until August 31^st 2013 and plays at the Apollo Theatre. For more information and tickets visit www.curiousonstage.com

London’s sizzling hot hit The Great Gatsby is back!

On the day it’s announced that Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, will open the 66th Cannes Film Festival  on Wednesday May 15, Ruby in the Dust’s acclaimed  stage production will return for a further London season at Riverside Studios the same week.

On its world premiere in 2012, The Great Gatsby’s sold-out run at the King’s Head Theatre in Islington, led to three Off West Award nominations for Best Musical, Best Costume Designer and Best Lighting Designer and it was named Time Out’s Show of the Week.

Now the critically acclaimed play with music, based on the classic American novel by F Scott Fitzgerald, with actors doubling up as musicians, is returning for a second London season, at Riverside Studios, from Tuesday 21 May,  this time with the addition of new orchestrations, and choreography by award-winning Lee Proud, who is joining the creative team.

Jay Gatsby is the man who has everything. But one thing will always be out of his reach… Beneath the shimmering surface of his life he is hiding a secret: a silent longing that can never be fulfilled. And soon this destructive obsession will force his world to unravel.

Matilda Sturridge will once again play the pivotal central role of Daisy Buchanan, the woman for whom Gatsby would sacrifice everything for. Other cast to be announced.

Produced by Ruby In The Dust, The Great Gatsby, will run in rep from Tuesday 21 May – Saturday 8 June together with the world premiere of their new musical, Hutch, about Leslie ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson, London’s most popular cabaret attraction of the 20s and 30s, whose love affair with both Cole Porter and Edwina, wife of Lord Louis Mountbatten, caused a high society scandal.

The Great Gatsby is adapted by Joe Evans and Linnie Reedman. Original Music and lyrics by Joe Evans. Directed by Linnie Reedman. Designer Christopher Hone. Costumes Belle Mundi. Lighting Designer Seth Rook-Williams. Choreographer Lee Proud. Music Orchestrations Chris Walker.

Tuesday 21 May – Saturday 8 June www.riversidestudios.co.uk

Theatre Review: SIRO-A @ Leicester Square Theatre – 4 Stars (Opening Night)

Japan’s answer to the Blue Man Group, SIRO-A

London’s Leicester Square theatre has become home to a visual feast. Combing imaginative choreography, electrifying special effects and crazy pulsating beats, SIRO-A bring their colorful extravaganza to the West End.

The show begins with some light audience participation, allowing us momentarily into their world. Suddenly the beat takes hold and we magically transported on an exhilarating journey through the weird and wonderful, fusing together clever technology, transfixing movement and perfectly timed comedy to create a mind bending theatre experience for the whole family.

Formed in 2002, SIRO-A features a cast of 6 strong performers comprised of four dancers, one video artist and one electronic musician from Sendai, Japan.  The name SIRO-A, derived from the Japanese word ‘SIRO which means white or colourless, means to belong to no group or impossible to define and without a doubt these performers are hard to define and ridiculously talented.

Often compared to the Blue Man Group, SIRO-A’s one-hour show it is rather intense and action packed but to be honest I think any longer and your senses would be frazzled.

These remarkable performers have dazzled audiences in Tokyo and over 30,000 at the Shanghai Expo and in 2011 won Mervyn Stutter’s “Spirit of the Fringe” award at the Edinburgh Festival.

SIRO-A’s clever collision of electronic music and moves is truly outstanding and at times I was finding it hard to differentiate what was real and what wasn’t.

It is unique, perfectly executed and out right sensational. Don’t miss it!

This production runs at the main house Leicester Square Theatre until April 22^nd 2013. For more information and tickets visit www.siro-a.co.uk or www.leicestersquaretheatre.com

Full casting announced for Peter Nichols Passion Play at Duke Of York’s Theatre

Owen Teale, Samantha Bond, Oliver Cotton, Annabel Scholey, and Sian Thomas join Zoë Wanamaker in Passion Play, directed by David Leveaux. Peter Nichols’ provocative comedy about sex, love and infidelity will open on 7 May at the Duke of York’s Theatre with previews from 1 May.

Zoe Wanamaker (photo: Dan Wooller)

Comfortably married for 25 years, James and Eleanor’s world is turned upside down when her husband begins an affair with their young friend Kate.  As the lies mount up, the marriage is stripped bare, revealing illicit desires and hidden passions.  A potent mix of desire, intimacy and deception, this modern classic and winner of the Evening Standard Award for Best Play makes a much-anticipated return to the West End.

Writer Peter Nichols’ other plays include A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg, The National Health and Privates On Parade, recently revived in the West End by Michael Grandage. His plays have won four Evening Standard Awards, a Society of West End Theatres Award for Best Comedy and two Ivor Novello Best Musical Awards.

David Leveaux reunites with Zoë Wanamaker for Passion Play, whom he directed in her Olivier Award-winning performance in Electra (Donmar Warehouse and Broadway). He has been nominated for five Tony Awards as a director of both plays and musicals. His recent play credits include Arcadia (Duke of York’s and Broadway); Through a Glass Darkly starring Carey Mulligan (Atlantic Theatre, NY); Jumpers (National Theatre and Broadway); and Cyrano de Bergerac starring Kevin Kline (Broadway). Other recent play credits include Simon Gray’s The Late Middle Classes (Donmar Warehouse) starring Helen McCrory and Robert Glenister as well as Harold Pinter’s Betrayal starring Juliette Binoche (Broadway).

Zoë Wanamaker has appeared extensively in film and on television including the Harry Potter films and the award-winning BBC series My Family. Her work on stage includes Much Ado About Nothing, All My Sons with David Suchet and The National Theatre’s The Cherry Orchard. She has won two Olivier Awards for Best Actress; for her performance in Electra at the Donmar Warehouse and her performance in Once in a Lifetime at the National Theatre. Zoë has received four Tony Award nominations for Piaf!, Loot, Electra and, most recently, the Lincoln Centre production of Awake And Sing!

Owen Teale plays James. He can currently be seen on stage in A Time to Reap (Royal Court). Owen won a Tony Award for Best Featured Artist for A Doll’s House (West End/Broadway). Recent theatre credits include The Country (Royal Court), Creditors (Donmar/Brooklyn Academy), The Dance of Death (Lyric, West End/Sydney Festival), Ivanov, Berenice (National). Work at the RSC includes Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Merchant of Venice, King Lear, Julius Caesar as well as Henry IV Part I. On screen his credits include Stella on Sky1, BBC’s Line of Duty, Game of Thrones (HBO) and Kidnap and Ransom (ITV). Films include The Last Legion, King Arthur, Conspiracy and Robin Hood.

Samantha Bond plays Nell, Eleanor’s alter-ego. Her extensive West End stage appearances embrace leading roles in What The Butler Saw and An Ideal Husband (Vaudeville), Michael Frayn’s Donkey’s Years (Comedy), Oscar Wilde’s A Woman of No Importance (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia (Duke of York’s), Macbeth (Albery), Three Tall Women (Wyndhams) and Shelagh Stephenson’s Memory of Water, which Bond subsequently directed on tour. At the National Theatre her starring role opposite Judi Dench in David Hare’s award-winning Amy’s View, led to a Tony Award nomination for Bond when it transferred to Broadway. On television she regularly appears as Aunty Angela in Outnumbered (BBC) and plays Lady Rosamund in Downton Abbey (ITV). Other credits include the ITV drama-comedy Distant Shores, Midsomer Murders (ITV), Inspector Lynley (ITV), Mansfield Park (BBC), Emma (ITV) and Miss Marple (ITV). Bond is perhaps best known for her role as ‘Miss Moneypenny’ in the James Bond films starring Pierce Brosnan. Other film work includes Bunch of Amateurs starring opposite Burt Reynolds.

Oliver Cotton plays Jim, James’ alter-ego. Most recently Cotton has appeared in the BBC’s television series Ripper Street. His extensive theatre credits include An Ideal Husband (Lyric), Benefactors (Vaudeville), The Homecoming (Garrick), Butterfly Kiss (Almeida), Richard II, A Flea in Her Ear and The Philadelphia Story (The Old Vic), The Syndicate (Chichester/tour), Twelfth Night, Henry IV Parts I and II (Shakespeare’s Globe), Captain Oates’ Left Sock and The Local Stigmatic (Royal Court). Other theatre work includes The Royal Hunt of the Sun, Summerfolk, Money, The Crucible, Despatches, The World Turned Upside Down, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (National) as well as Richard III, Edward IV and Henry VI (RSC). On television, Cotton has appeared in Money, Margaret, Hotel Babylon, Judge John Deed and Waking the Dead (BBC) The Commander (ITV), and The Camomile Lawn (Channel 4). His film work includes The Dark Knight Rises, Bone Hunter, Shanghai Knights and The Dancer Upstairs.

Annabel Scholey plays Kate. Her theatre credits include Antigone (National Theatre/Olivier), Lady Anne in Richard III with Kevin Spacey in the title role (Old Vic/BAM/World Tour), The Rivals (Theatre Royal Haymarket/UK Tour), Charley’s Aunt (Royal Exchange Manchester), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Rose Theatre, Kingston), The House of Special Purpose (Chichester Festival Theatre), Wallenstein (Chichester Festival Theatre), Hamlet (Bristol Tobacco Factory), The Taming of the Shrew (Bristol Tobacco Factory), Hobson’s Choice (Chichester Festival Theatre/UK Tour), The Cherry Orchard (Sheffield Crucible), Troilus and Cressida (RSC/Kings Theatre/Edinburgh International Festival) and The Real Thing (Theatre Royal Bath/UK Tour). On television Scholey has appeared in Personal Affairs, Being Human, Jane Eyre, Eastenders and Holby City (BBC) and Poirot: After the Funeral (ITV). Film credits include Light and Meeting Anna.

Sian Thomas plays Agnes. Her theatre work includes Blue Heart Afternoon and The Glass Room (Hampstead Theatre), Richard II (Donmar), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Northern Stage/Sheffield Crucible), Spring Awakening (Lyric Hammersmith/West End), Small Craft Warnings (Arcola), Macbeth and Hamlet (RSC/Albery), The Price (Apollo/Tricycle), Feelgood (Hampstead/Garrick), King Lear (RSC) and Richard III (RSC/Savoy). Credits for the National Theatre include Fram, The Way Of The World, Mountain Giants, Sleep With Me and House And Garden. Sian has been awarded Best Actress on several accounts by What’s On Stage, Martini TMA and the Critics Award for Theatre in Scotland, as well as an Olivier Nomination for Best Comedy Performance in Countrymania. Her television credits include Merlin and Ruby in The Smoke (BBC), Thinspiration (Channel 4) and Lewis (ITV). She has also appeared on screen in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Perfume, Vanity Fair and Prick Up Your Ears.

Passion Play marks the inaugural production in Tali Pelman Productions and the Ambassador Theatre Group’s producing partnership. Tali’s previous productions as in-house Producer at ATG include Olivier Award-winning new play The Mountaintop by Katori Hall (West End and Broadway); The Misanthrope starring Damian Lewis and Keira Knightley (West End); Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig (West End) and Pinter’s The Lover/The Collection (West End).

Passion Play is produced by Tali Pelman Productions for the Ambassador Theatre Group and Old Vic Productions.

 

Mydidae Review @ Trafalgar Studios, 4 stars (press night)

Keir Charles and Phoebe Waller-Bridge in Mydidae: Photo by Simon Annand

Once again the Trafalgar Studios is home to a serious piece of gripping drama which packs an almightily punch. After a successful run at the Soho Theatre and praised by audiences and critics alike,  Jack Thorne’s Mydidae returns to London’s West End.

Set entirely in the confines of a fully functional bathroom over the course of one single day, Mydidae explores the complex relationship of married couple Marian and David from their early morning bathroom routine to a failed attempt at a romantic candle-lit bath in the evening. It is between this we learn of a shattering event, which binds them both and one, which has ultimately damaged their once happy and effortless life.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge who plays Marian is a true up and coming talent. She is natural and beautifully portrays her struggle and troubles. She is trying to make sense of her pain but uses comedy as a way to hide her anguish. Keir Charles brings so much energy to his role as David and his strength as an actor in brutally thrust upon us as the story reaches its climax.  Both actors are superb and I was left feeling completely immersed in their shared tragedy and sadness.

Keir Charles & Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Photo by Richard Lakos

With award-winning plays and TV credits under his belt, Thorne’s script puts this seemingly ordinary couple under the microscope and lays bare the undeniable look at how emotions make us act and react. As the clinical intimacy of their bathroom offers no hiding place the pair are left vulnerable and for one a lifetime of guilt.

Vicky Jones production is raw, explosive and hugely enjoyable to watch. With glowing performances from Waller-Bridge and Charles this is a belter of a show and should not be missed.

Mydidae is playing at the Trafalgar Studios until 30^th March.  Visit the ATG website for more information and tickets.   

Mydidae, contains nudity, some offensive language and sexual references.

Californian Lives By Martin Foreman

How well do you know those who are closest to you? In three powerful and moving monologues, Martin Foreman lays bare the lives of three very different Californians.

Angeles like the back of his hand. Then on one of these side streets he meets the woman of his dreams.

Ben and Joe’s, starring Barry Clarke, is set in a San Fernando Valley bar, where a group of older men spend their days shooting the breeze, watching TV and flirting with the bartender. Life is quiet until a young man enters.

The final monologue is Sunset, starring Carolyn Lyster. As the sun sets in the Cascade Mountains a grandmother remembers her first date, the man she married and their life together.

Robin Holden was nominated for Best Actor at the 2011 Off West End Awards for Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde in The Scandalous Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde at the Union & Tabard theatres. He played the title role in Macbeth, Marc Antony in Julius Caesar and Iago in Othello, all at the Blue Elephant Theatre. He premiered Los Feliz at the Solo Festival 2012. Barry Clarke’s theatre credits include: Alencar in The Maias, Mr Erpingham in The Erpingham Camp, Polonius in Hamlet and Castruchio and Doctor in The Duchess of Malfi, all at the Greenwich Playhouse. He premiered Ben and Joe’s at the Solo Festival 2012. Carolyn Lyster’s theatre credits include West End appearances as Barbara in Run For Your Wife at the Duchess, Mary in Caught In The Net at the Vaudeville, Jane in It Runs In The Family at the Playhouse, Susan in No Sex Please, We’re British at the Strand and Polly in The Bandwagon at the Mermaid.

Writer Martin Foreman is the author of two novels (Weekend and The Butterfly’s Wing), two collections of short stories (A Sense of Loss and First and Fiftieth) and a play (The Benefactor). Born in Scotland, he has spent much of his life living and working and in other countries, including three years in Los Angeles. The monologues in Californian Lives first appeared in longer versions in First and Fiftieth, a collection of first- person narratives that span the globe, genders, ages and sexual orientations. Two of the monologues were first performed at the Solo Festival in Camden in 2012, for which Martin won the New Writing Award.

Director Emma King-Farlow is the founder and Artistic Director of Shadow Road Productions. Her directing credits include a double-bill of Lucille Fletcher’s chillers Sorry, Wrong Number and The Hitch-Hiker, a sell- out production of Guy van der Westhuizen’s new comedy Oswald’s Return, Martin Foreman’s one-man plays Angel and Los Feliz, David Ives’ award-winning comedy Time Flies, C.S. Lewis’ children’s classic The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Jean Anouilh’s powerful retelling of Antigone and the self-penned short film Absolution.

Californian Lives plays at The Kings Head Theatre from April 21st until May 26th.

For more information and tickets visit. www.californianlives.co.uk 

Smash Hit Musical “Jersey Boys” proudly ceebrates its 5th London birthday

The smash hit musical JERSEY BOYS reaches a very special landmark next month, when it will be celebrating its fifth London birthday at the Prince Edward Theatre on Tuesday 26 March, having opened in London in 2008. JERSEY BOYS has now been seen by over 4 million people worldwide and is firmly established as one of the West End’s longest running and most popular shows.

On Tuesday 12 March, Edd Post and David McGranaghan will join the London cast as Bob Gaudio and Nick Massi respectively.  Ryan Molloy will continue as Frankie Valli and Jon Boydon as Tommy DeVito, with Jon Lee playing the role of Frankie Valli at certain performances.  Also in the cast will be Will Barratt, Nicola Brazil, Rebecca Jayne Davies, Ben Evans, Chris Gardner, Lucinda Gill, Mark Halliday, Mark Isherwood, Ben Jennings, Tommie Earl Jenkins, Stuart King, Lucy Martin, Stuart Milligan, Jake Samuels, Michael Watson, Ben Wheeler and Gemma Whitelam.

As part of the celebrations for the show’s fifth birthday, the producers have launched Senior Sundays, whereby senior citizens are now able to see JERSEY BOYS for only £27.50* at Sunday performances.  In addition, the booking period at the Prince Edward Theatre is being extended to 2 March 2014.

JERSEY BOYS is the remarkable true story of Frankie Valli the Four Seasons and their rise to stardom from the wrong side of the tracks. These four boys from New Jersey became one of the most successful bands in pop history, were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and sold 100 million records worldwide, all before they turned 30.  The show is packed with their hits, including ‘Beggin’’, ‘Sherry’, ‘Walk Like A Man’, ‘December, 1963 (Oh What a Night)’, ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’, ‘My Eyes Adored You’, ‘Let’s Hang On (To What We’ve Got)’, ‘Bye Bye Baby’, ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’, ‘Working My Way Back to You’, ‘Fallen Angel’, ‘Rag Doll’ and ‘Who Loves You’.

JERSEY BOYS is the winner of 55 major awards worldwide, including the Olivier Award for Best New Musical.  The show originally opened on Broadway in 2006.  As well as still running on Broadway and in the West End, JERSEY BOYS can be seen in Las Vegas, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, and across the United States on its National Tour, and will open in South Africa in April.

JERSEY BOYS is written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with music by Bob Gaudio and lyrics by Bob Crewe.  The London production is staged by the entire original Broadway creative team, led by director Des McAnuff and choreographer Sergio Trujillo.  JERSEY BOYS has scenic design by Klara Zieglerova, costume design by Jess Goldstein, lighting by Howell Binkley, sound by Steve Canyon Kennedy and projections design by Michael Clark.  The orchestrations are by Steve Orich and the music supervision and vocal arrangements by Ron Melrose.

For tickets and more information visit www.jerseyboyslondon.com