REVIEW: An Evening of Magic at The Mill at Sonning

The Mill at Sonning has a very full programme of other events around its regular play season with tribute bands, comics and magic attracting audiences on Sunday and Monday nights throughout the year. It clearly works for on a dark January Monday night the car park, restaurant and theatre was packed by 6.30 pm for An Evening of Magic. The three acts and host perform on the main stage in the set of We’ll always have Paris and the round thrust stage is hardly perfect for close up and slight of hand magic with around a third of the audience viewing side on as the artists played mainly to those in the middle of the rows. Of course, if you like an extra clue as to how the trick is done the side on view as they dip their hands in their pockets or pick up a prop helps, and the evening demonstrates that magic is 25% about the trick and 75% about the presentation and banter around it.

Dan Hudson, a local magician, hosts the show and warms the audience well with his natural style and chatty engagement as he fills two empty seats in the front row with two people who booked late and are sat at the side walls. He performs a few tricks with cards and then predicting how an audience member will colour in a picture of a Nike spirts trainer. His comedy banter and style sells the tricks well and get the show off to a good start before he settles in the aisle to watch each act he introduces.

REVIEW: Singin' in the Rain at The Mill at Sonning

The Mill at Sonning and the director Joseph Pitcher are establishing a regular festive treat of a musical theatre over Christmas and the New Year at the Berkshire dinner theatre. Following the success of the wonderful My Fair Lady, and last year's very good Guys and Dolls, they tackle the classic stage show based on the famous 1952 film starring Gene Kelly, Singin' in the Rain. The small thrust stage surrounded on three sides by audience presents a technical challenge to these productions which is solved this year by two large sponsors of the show who funded the film projection content and of course the essential rain system. These two elements define the production and provide the contextual setting for the talented cast to tell the story.

The projection shows the 1927 silent movie from Monumental Pictures called The Royal Rascal with Lina Lamont and Don Lockwood and then newspaper cuttings announce the success of the first talkie, the Jazz Singer which forces the studio to try and add words to there next film and retitle it The Dancing Cavalier. They are effectively produced but for those sat at side of the stage watching the film content on TV's it does feel rather overused and slows the pace of the show.

REVIEW: Towards Zero at The Mill at Sonning

This is a very British experience. The Mill is a small intimate venue, a theatre since 1982 offering dinner theatre (I enjoyed slow braised beef in red wine pie and cheese and biscuits) and on this occasion a play based on a 1944 book by Agatha Christie set in Cornwall and directed by the booming legend, Brian Blessed. They offer consistently good productions and the recent renovations have put a bit more style back into the bars, dining areas and toilets.

The small thrust stage places the audience on three sides of the acting space but they always create good quality sets, this one designed by Dinah England is the elegant drawing room at Gull's Point the home of the elderly frail Lady Tressilian (played by Brian Blessed's wife Hildegard Neil). The set is covered with clock motifs in the wallpaper, the door arch, the wooden floor and an old grandfather clock is set to midnight at the start of the show. The audience is in no doubt that time plays a critical role in the plot and we are approaching the Zero hour.

REVIEW: My Fair Lady at the Mill at Sonning

Lerner and Lowe's wonderful musical set in 1912 London has a joyous score, a fairytale story and a serious message which makes this new production at the small intimate Sonning Mill a delight . The transformation from flower girl , to society lady to Higgin's equal of Eliza Doolittle is beautifully staged and performed by a cast of 12 and 5 musicians and the credit for this must go to Joseph Pitcher who has directed and choreographed the show so brilliantly. 

The small stage is used very effectively with the grey rear wall and arches acting as background to the interior scenes in Higgin's study as well as the external scenes in Covent Garden, Ascot , and his mother's Conservatory . The transformation with a few props between each scene is choreographed as part of the action and moves seamlessly without lessening the pace, while leaving as much space as possible on the small thrust stage for the performers. This is used most effectively in the main chorus numbers with exciting fresh choreography to enhance the showstopping music of "With a little bit of luck", "Ascot Gavotte" and "Get me to the church on time".