REVIEW: Santi and Naz at the Vaults

Set in a small village in pre-partition India, Santi and Naz explores the friendship between two young women between 1945-1949. The short play, written by Guleraana Mir and Afshan D’souza-Lodhi, covers the growing impacts that the end of the British rule has on their lives. 

Santi (Rose-Marie Christian) dreams of being a writer and enjoys spending her days play fighting, dancing and laughing under a tree by the lake with her best friend, Naz (Ashna Rabheru). They laugh at men and practise English while slowly becoming increasingly aware of the seriousness of the political and religious shifts happening around them. Although seemingly unperturbed by Naz’s father setting her up with an unappealing older man, Santi’s frustrations begin to cause friction in their friendship. Soon before marriage, the abuse becomes apparent and the pair come together to get justice. Both performers excellently capture the essence of the energetic, aspirational women from start to finish, with evidence of the maturing and deeper understanding of the world around them as the play goes on. 

REVIEW: Rags The Musical at Park Theatre

Set in the Spring of 1910, Rags is often described as the ‘sequel’ to Fiddler on the Roof. Written in the 1980s by Joseph Stein, and recently revised by David Thompson, Rags tells the tale of Rebecca Hershkowitz (Carolyn Maitland), her son David and new friend Bella (Martha Kirby), arriving in New York City from Eastern Europe by boat. Rebecca is taken in by a kind family and manages to sustain herself in a world of poverty and discrimination. As first-generation immigrants, they must fight to secure a steady life amongst anti-Semitic discrimination. Directed by Bronagh Lagan, the musical is set to a score by Charles Strouse and Stephen Schwartz. Despite the dark themes of Rags, overall it is uplifting, incredibly funny and heart-warming too. After a successful run at The Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester, Rags is taking over Park200 for four weeks. 

The show is compelling from start to finish and has an exceptionally strong cast. From ensemble to lead, the talent on stage is truly brilliant. Actress Carolyn Maitland deserves credit for her extraordinary performance as Rebecca, who seemingly lacks empathy at times, but shows immense motherly selfishness to create a better life for her son. The friendships and romantic relationships in the musical are refreshing and surprisingly not too cliché. Strouse and Schwartz’s music is stunning; how they have combined Eastern European sounds with American Ragtime, Jazz and Street music into one score is incomparable. The riffs are catchy, although borderline repetitive. They have brought in violinists, an accordion and clarinet player to be the ‘traditional’ Klezner band onstage, this livened up the scenes and incorporated the ensemble into the action nicely. 

REVIEW: The Snowman at the Peacock Theatre

The classic tale of the Snowman is playing at the Peacock from November to January to bring joy to children and families galore. One morning, a little boy (George Nearn Stuart) wakes up and is delighted to find it is snowing. He builds a snowman who comes to life and becomes his best friend. They traipse through the house and cause chaos, try on clothes, play with toys then fly away to the North Pole. They meet Father Christmas, the Snow Princess and snowmen from all over the world who dance and party with them, until Jack Frost comes to spoil the fun. Once he has been defeated, they fly home for Christmas morning. He wakes up and thinks it is all a dream- his friend has melted- but finds a gift from Santa in his pocket. It is magical, funny and thoughtful.

Ruari Murchison’s set is stunning; you are taken aback as you enter the auditorium and Tim Mitchell’s lighting gives the illusion it is snowing heavily. The semi-circular staging is framed with large, snow-covered trees and large set pieces to build up the boy’s home. There are many scene changes as the Snowman explores the house and flies to the North Pole, the transitions were far too long to black out for and could have been made slicker. At times they were long enough for the audience to wonder if the interval had begun. The costumes are standout- from the fluffy snowmen to the woodland creatures, these have all been beautifully created and are one of the best elements of the show.

REVIEW: Acosta Danza’s Evolution at Sadler’s Wells

Carlos Acosta, ex-Royal Ballet dancer and newly appointment Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet has brought his Cuban Dance company, Acosta Danza’s Evolution to London. A four-part performance, Artistic Director Acosta aims to boast about Cuban talent and has pulled in a range of choreographers to create a sharp, unique performance. 

Raúl Reinoso’s Satori features bare chested dancers tangled into one large piece of purple material; which is at one point strung from the ceiling. He combines contemporary, dramatic moves with the classical element of the striking dancer Zeleidy Crespo en pointe. Satori relies heavily on lighting and sound to build the theatrical atmosphere as discovery of ‘truth and spirituality’. Paysage, Soudain, La Nuit by Pontus Lidberg combines Cuban music with African roots, blended to produce a light, summery dance. The programme is a mixed bill of mostly contemporary dance-it makes you nostalgic of the summer seasons as it is followed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s duet Faun. This is a master-piece, the dancers intertwine with each other like primeval creatures. Their animalistic, agile qualities against a forest background has the ability to stun an audience with their world-class performance.

REVIEW: Rambert at Sadler’s Wells

Celebrating the centenary of late Choreographer Merce Cunningham’s birth, Rambert have created an Event to showcase his contributions to the contemporary dance world. With live installations on each level of Sadler’s Wells, from the moment you walk through the doors you are greeted with Cunningham’s extraordinary works from previous pieces ‘Changing Steps’ and the Rambert Event itself. Radiohead’s Philip Selway has been commissioned to score the event and has collaborated with multi-instrumentalist Adem Ilham and musician Quinta to create what is described as a ‘modular electro-acoustic score’. It is perform live throughout the performance by Philip Selway, Quinta and Adrian Utley, blessing us with a range of textured vocal soundscapes, classical and electronic sound.

The hanging backdrops and costumes based off Gerhard Richter Cage’s paintings Cage (1)-(6) inspired by composer John Cage, Cunningham’s life partner- emphasise the strong connections between the performance and his life’s work. Rambert Event is a stunning piece of live art; it feels like a painting is brought to life. Every performer danced beautifully and commemorated Cunningham’s familiar isolated, angular movements with grace. The entire production is mesmerising; their interactions to each other fascinating and pleasing to the eye. Rambert’s diverse group of dancers tribute Cunningham’s significant work magnificently. Moments when the music ends and the dancers continue performing with nothing to hide behind really emphasise their abilities; truly astonishing. 

REVIEW: A Prayer for Wings at the King’s Head Theatre

Inside the small theatre within the King’s Head pub, we enter the house (within a disused church) of Rita (Alis Wyn Davies) and her Mam, Mrs. Kelly (Llinos Daniel). Written and directed by Sean Mathias in 1985, we see 20 year-old Welsh girl Rita care for her mother, who is quickly deteriorating from multiple sclerosis. After years of caring, Rita feels trapped in this life, resents her mother and craves a world where she meets a man to sweep her off her feet and take her far away to America. The play is repetitive to emphasise the same day-to-day of: waking up, Mrs. Kelly calling out for help, making tea and toast, taking her to the ‘lav’ then going out to let the ‘dirty boys’ (Luke Rhodri) touch her for money while her mother naps. 

REVIEW: Natalia Osipova Pure Dance at Sadler’s Wells

Returning to Sadler’s Wells after a year of international touring, Royal Ballet Principal dancer, Natalia Osipova, handpicked 7 dances from a range of choreographers to showcase for worldwide audiences. Featuring solos and duets from Osipova, American Ballet Theatre’s David Hallberg, Jason Kittelberger and Jonathan Goddard, Pure Dance explores different ways to use the body in classical and contemporary dance celebrating human connection in various forms. 

Pure Dance opens with Antony Tudor’s The Leaves are Fading, partnered by American Ballet Theatre’s David Hallberg. This pas de deux is angelic and leans into the musicality to create a classical representation of drifting into the Winter seasons. Osipova and Hallberg dance beautifully together but it is not the strongest of opening dances.

The second piece, Left Behind by Kittelberger, shows off Osipova’s versatility into contemporary dance. Emotional and symbolic, the heavy door separates the two dancers. Kittelberger’s fluid movements are mesmerising and full of discomfort- crawling onto his head and shoulders- to show the effects of someone’s impact on you and the realisation coming to the surface when they’re gone. 

REVIEW: Gaslight at The Playground Theatre

Patrick Hamilton’s Gaslight, first presented in Richmond in 1938, is set in the house of a Victorian couple, Jack and Bella Manningham (Jordan Wallace, Jemima Murphy). Gaslight was the first artistic representation of psychological and domestic abuse, with the name being used to describe the behaviour to this day. As Director Imy Wyatt Corner notes, the play is scarily accurate of the emotional abuse seen in Love Island and even Strictly Come Dancing.

Mrs Cunningham desperately wants to please her unimpressed husband but has been having forgetful moments and is being driven to believe she is going insane; pictures on the wall and important paperwork have gone missing and been found hidden away in her possession. Narcissistic Mr Cunningham mysteriously leaves the house each night, crazing his wife as she hears footsteps upstairs. Despite the maids- loyal Elizabeth (Rebecca Ashley) and flirtatious Nancy (Grace Howard)- potentially knowing of the horrors going on in the house, this chilling situation is only intervened when a man, known as Rough (Joe Mcardle), arrives at the house one day to unveil secrets and save Mrs Cunningham from her own mind. 

REVIEW: Solaris at the Lyric Hammersmith

Solaris, adapted from Stanislaw Lem’s novel, to the stage by David Greig has previously been made into a film in 1972 then again in 2002. Kris (Polly Frame) arrives from earth to investigate abnormal activity on the space station orbiting Solaris. With the aim to bring Snow (Fode Simbo), Sartorious (Jade Ogugua) and Gibarian (Hugo Weaving) home in 10 days, she arrives to find one of the scientists is dead and other strange visitors have appeared on board, including an ex-lover of Kris’, Ray (Keegan Joyce). Solaris explores a combination of scientific theory about the consciousness of the planet, as well as touching on escapism and morphed reality. The ocean-covered Solaris brings their dreams to life in a way which is unclear if it is doing this sadistically or through kindness.

It is an expertly scripted psychological thriller full of mystery and certainly makes you question whether human explorations are beneficial for development, or will we end of destroying everything in our existence? The play is cinematic but does work well on stage, at times the acting is unconvincing and too dramatic for the theme- but each performer brings a new perspective to the table. Solaris has the potential to become a dark, heavy show but Joyce’s ‘Ray’- despite horrifying at times- with Matthew Lutton’s direction added a dose of childish humour and fun to the narrative. 

REVIEW: Crowd by Gisèle Vienne at Dance Umbrella, Sadler’s Wells

Sadler’s Wells has partnered with Dance Umbrella to bring the 19-day festival to London for its 41styear. Exploring shifting perceptions, human connections and cultural expectations, the festival brings choreographers from around the world to debut their art. Gisèle Vienne is Franco-Austrian artist, choreographer and director. Her piece, Crowd, made its world premiere on 8th November 2017 in Strasbourg and opens the festival at Sadler’s Wells this year. 

Vienne’s work captures stillness within motion and creates moving pictures onstage. She describes Crowdas a ‘collective euphoria of a committed party crowd’, set to a techno-trance soundtrack. It is 90 minutes long with no interval and takes you on an isolated journey following the intense interactions between dancers. We experience fighting, intimacy and a loss of control through slow-motion liquid movement that is scarily realistic at times.

REVIEW: Red Palace at the Vaults

Red Palace, concept of Laura Drake Chambers, is an immersive theatrical experience underground in the Waterloo Vaults. For a VIP experience, you can start the evening with a mouth-watering 4 course meal curated by Annie McKenzie and expertly designed cocktails. The banquet, held on the Mezzanine level of the Palace, is an excellent atmosphere and a great way to throw yourself into the show. The food is not themed or linked to the show in any way -apart from a toffee apple dessert- which makes it appear more as a money-making scheme rather than to deepen your involvement with the performance.

Revolving around famous fairytales, Red Palace loosely connects main characters to this morbid, secretive story. Characters begin to twist and twirl around the tables to introduce themselves and spill secrets to the guests. We are then introduced to the foul-mouthed Prince of the palace -a vibrant drag-king- who has invited guests to celebrate his 1000thday of reign. This day is also when the prophecy of his death will become true; a ‘woman’s sickness’ and ‘red cloak’ will avenge him and end his power. After an eery dance by women draped in red and a captivating silks performance, we are then welcomed to explore the many facets of the mysterious palace. 

REVIEW: Big at the Dominion Theatre

Based on the 1988 film with Tom Hanks, 12-year-old Josh Baskin (Jamie O’Connor) decides to makes a wish to be ‘big’ on an old Zoltar machine after being humiliated at the carnival. The next morning, he wakes up a fully-grown man (Jay McGuiness) much to the horror of his mother (Wendi Peters) who thinks she’s being robbed. Josh, with the help of his best friend Billy (Jobe Hart), moves to New York and is given a top job in a toy shop by (mildly creepy) business tycoon McMilan (Matthew Kelly). There he meets the serious Marketing Manager, Susan Lawrence (Kimberley Walsh), who swiftly falls for him- unaware of his real age, of course.

Overall, the production is bright, exciting and bursting with youthful energy. However, there are many flaws that cannot be dismissed. The problem with musical adaptations of films is there is little room for originality and any kind of individual flare. The biggest let down of the show was the music by David Shire and lyrics by Richard Maltby. With 27 musical numbers, you would hope that at least one of them would be slightly memorable- this was not the case. The opening song made no impact; it was not catchy or clever and this set the scene for several hours of songs that could have been cut. It all becomes quite monotonous in the first act and made me question whether it would have been better as a play. Even the cast seemed deflated when singing several of them.

REVIEW: A Doll’s House at the Lyric Hammersmith

This production of A Doll’s House is an adaptation from Henrik Ibsen’s book, first performed in 1879 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Tanika Gupta’s version remains in the same year yet set in Calcutta. The leading lady, originally named Nora, is now a young Bengali woman, Niru (Anjana Vasan), married to an older Englishman, Tom (Elliot Cowan) who ‘worships and exoticises her’ (Gupta, 2019). A Doll’s House explores the relationship between Niru and Tom during the colonialism of India by the English. This determines the power dynamics between the couple and their friend, Dr Rank (Colin Tierney) in a bizarre way. Her husband is creepy and subtly controlling- quite disturbing to watch onstage. Meanwhile Niru battles the anxiety of her secret debts to Kaushik Das (Assad Zaman). 

REVIEW: Falsettos at The Other Palace

Falsettos premiered on Broadway in 1992 and has since had several well-received Broadway revivals. This is the first time the show has been professionally performed in London. James Lapine’s book began originally as two one-act musicals representing gay liberation: March of the Falsettosand Falsettoland. The combined show tells the tale of a Jewish family in New York in the 1970s; parents Marvin (Daniel Boys), Trina (Laura Pitt-Pulford) and son Jason (George Kennedy) as well as Marvin’s lover, Whizzer (Oliver Savile), whom he has left his wife to be with.

Falsettos is a fully-scored, Sondheim-influenced, sitcom musical that is all about love, jealousy, insecurity and- in Jason’s case- growing up. In the first act, Trina falls in love with Marvin’s psychiatrist and various other family drama occurs. Unfortunately, as there are so many songs (with no relief) in the show, it can tend to merge into one long song as each individual one is less memorable. Pitt-Pulford’s ‘I’m Breaking Down’ was a standout for me in the first part. The second act takes a serious turn as the AIDs crisis of the 1980s hits and Whizzer falls ill. Emotion begins to pour out, the songs become slower and it is truly heart-breaking to watch his deterioration and the way it affects the whole family (as well as the ‘lesbian couple from next door’, who are brilliant).

REVIEW: Heartbeat of Home at the Piccadilly Theatre

Heartbeat of Home is from the Producers and Director of Riverdance. After a sold out run at the London Palladium, the show has transferred to the Piccadilly Theatre for a limited 5 week run. The show is a collection of traditional Irish dancing, Latin and Afro-Cuban music and live music performers. With a large cast of 37, including the onstage band and vocalist, it is a fun, upbeat, visual performance that is very enjoyable.

John Mcolgan’s concept is the introduction to different cultures, merging together through dance. There is little in the way of a storyline, with only 2 voice overs to describe the onstage narrative but it is mostly interpreted through dance and song. Heartbeat of Home remains light-hearted with no deeper meaning. Brian Byrne’s composition is exciting and diverse, the show is incredibly cheesy and the music supports this. I particularly enjoyed how much personality the band had and how they were also a major part of the production, as well as how smoothly vocalist, Lauren Azania, fit into the performances. The projections on the large screen behind the performers were what makes Heartbeat of Home stand out. David Torpey’s projection design was magnificent and took us from sunsets over the sea, to New York and Cuba. For the most part, these were incredibly realistic and completely immersive- the top of the Empire State building being a particular stand out moment. However, to add to the corniness, the very large moons in the night sky did not do the slow dances any favours for drawing out emotions.

REVIEW: The Son at The Duke of York’s Theatre

French playwright Florian Zeller’s family drama The Sontransfers onto the West End from The Kiln, London. Translated into English by Christopher Hampton, The Son the final part of Zeller’s trilogy: The Fatherand The Mother. Each dark play demonstrates a tale surrounding mental illness affecting the family, but Zeller claims this is “the only play I’ve ever written in which I knew what I wanted to say from the start, perhaps because it was the only one to be so directly connected to my life” (Capelle, 2019).

The Son, Nicolas (Laurie Kynaston), is experiencing deteriorating mental health after he struggles with the divorce of his parents. He is skipping school, lying, disconnecting from society and claims he is ill but does not know what to do. His mother Anne (Amanda Abbington) cannot cope with his vacant personality and aggression any longer so he decides to move in with his father, Pierre (John Light), his new wife Sophia (Amaka Okafor) and their baby Sacha. This ‘fresh start’ has moments of hope, with bonding sessions through bad dance moves, but it is soon clear that he is only getting worse with time. 

REVIEW: National Youth Music Theatre's Anything Goes at the Other Palace

National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) have hit London with their revival of the 1934 musical Anything Goes. Set onboard the S.S American during a voyage from New York to London, this musical ticks all the boxes for great songs, dances, love stories and drama. The performers range in age from 12 (shout out to a brilliant performance from Milo Hallett as Elisha J. Whitney) to 21. Each cast member performed with the utmost professionalism and created an impressive show.

Alex Sutton’s direction drew the strong personalities out of the characters and led them to perfect comedic timing. A little overly-slapstick at times, the overall performance was slick and boasted the abilities of the cast as natural entertainers. Cole Porter’s music and lyrics were brought to life by leading lady, Reno Sweeney (Olivia Hallett) and her killer vocals. Her rendition of Blow, Gabriel, Blow in Act 2 gave me hope I would be seeing her in the West End one day.

REVIEW: The Censor at The Hope Theatre

Female-led production company RoundPeg Theatre have brought back a revival of Anthony Neilson’s ‘The Censor’ 22 years after it was written. The controversial play demonstrates the relationship between female pornographer, Miss Fontaine (Suzy Whitefield), and film censor, Frank (Jonathan McGarrity), as she convinces him to recommend her film so it will be produced and seen by men, women and children worldwide. Fontaine convinces Frank to look deeper into the sexual relations in the film, meanwhile, manipulating him into a physical relationship of their own. The Censor covers many interesting topics on sexuality, empowerment and infidelity, to name a few. It is ‘18’ rated and will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is certainly worth watching. 

REVIEW: The Upsetters, a collection of Short Plays, at the Bunker Theatre

The Upsetters is a short play night written, directed and performed by people of colour (unless otherwise specified in the script). The evening collectively provides an opportunity for unrepresented backgrounds to tell their stories through performance. Every story was told from a different background and communicated tales about cultural differences, discrimination and how to be seen and heard by the community. All five short plays were wonderful, so I will do a short review for each play.

Where do Mangoes Grow

Chantelle Dusette’s piece shows the relationship between a woman’s parents from the Windrush Generation. Clips of Theresa May speaking about the new immigration laws are played to demonstrate how the immigration laws introduced mean these people would be denied NHS treatment, the ability to continue working, or even stay in the UK by not having the correct documentation. Anthony Chisholm was brilliant as the father and Shante Campbell’s direction intertwines the family bond well, introducing the effects it has on both generations. However, the vocal projection could have been improved as it was difficult to hear what was happening. More context was needed near the end of the play as it was unclear what was happening, there was a heavy reliance on the recordings to tell the story. More detail was required to see the political impact of this on their family, I was unsure whether her father’s death was a metaphor or if the stress of the new laws had killed him.

REVIEW: Woman in Black at the Fortune Theatre

This week marks the 30th anniversary of Susan Hill’s thriller The Woman in Black on the West End. Adapted for the stage by Stephen Mallatratt, the novel was written in 1983 and has since been made into two films, as well as being a prominent part of schools’ education (it is often the studied material for English GCSE students). This has, as Producer Peter Wilson pointed out at the Gala night on Wednesday ‘lowered the average age of West End audiences… And probably the average ticket price also’. 

The Woman in Black is a gothic horror story; an actor persuades Mr Kipps to tell his ghost story from many years ago. Their recreation tells the tale of how the young Mr Kipps travels to a remote part of England in search of an old woman’s legal documents after her passing. On his arrival, the villagers seem to be keeping a secret from him and he discovers the ghostly tale of a vengeful woman who appears in creepy situations and inexplicably causes the death of children. It is a surprisingly amusing play and has been directed fantastically by Robin Hereford. It is completely admirable that the play has continued for so long without going stale and still has the ability to frighten audiences from all over the world.