COMING HOME: Amelia Atherton, soon to be touring the UK in Waitress the Musical

Pocket Size Theatre and Liza Heinrichs (Captured by Liz) have teamed up again and created our new series 'Coming Home'. In this new piece, we look at the reopening of Theatres in London and around the country and celebrate our industry coming back. We got together some performers who will be some of the first to return to theatres and created this piece to bring some positivity to the theatre industry which has been through one of the toughest years in our lifetime. Whilst it is important to acknowledge the hardships we've all gone through, it's important we pull together as a community and celebrate our beloved industry finally coming back! 

The pandemic has been a terrible time for theatre, no doubt. Not only has work been sparse or completely shut down but the lack of finical help for freelancers working across our industry has been catastrophic. It's not a time to compare people experiences because this is a time we all must pull together and rebuild this amazing thing we once had and to also build it back up with the knowledge and awareness we now have to make this a safer and better industry. A group of people who have been highlighted as a priority to make sure we are looking after is our recent graduates, those who left drama schools in 2020 and now those who are leaving as fresh 2021 graduates. Leaving drama school and entering this crazy industry is tough for anyone but for those who have entered it when the industry has been pretty much derelict, well, I can’t even imagine how intimidating that might feel. 

Someone among these students who have been released into this industry in these uncertain times is Amelia Atherton. Graduating from the Performance Preparation Academy, she finished her training in the middle of this pandemic. Speaking to Amelia about how she feels she’s changed since graduating and living in this strange world right now, she tells us how amazing she thought her experience in drama school was but how she almost lost who she really was; “I think the three years had just really tired me out. I learnt so much but I do feel that I’d almost forgot who I was. This year has helped me remember I’m a whole person with a whole life outside of being an actor.” So whilst this has been a testing year, there are many lessons we as creatives must take away from this. The industry can be very consuming and we mustn’t ever forget our identities as people, we’re not just theatre people, there is so much more to all of us. 

COMING HOME: Joaquin Pedro Valdes, about to open in Heathers at the Theatre Royal Haymarket

Pocket Size Theatre and Liza Heinrichs (Captured by Liz) have teamed up again and created our new series 'Coming Home'. In this new piece, we look at the reopening of Theatres in London and around the country and celebrate our industry coming back. We got together some performers who will be some of the first to return to theatres and created this piece to bring some positivity to the theatre industry which has been through one of the toughest years in our lifetime. Whilst it is important to acknowledge the hardships we've all gone through, it's important we pull together as a community and celebrate our beloved industry finally coming back! 

Theatres were some of the first things to completely shut down when the pandemic hit. After the news of Broadway closing, it wasn’t long before the West End and theatres up and down the country followed suit. Joaquin Pedro Valdes was appearing in the UK and International touring production of The King and I. The show had previously had a hugely successful run in America and had subsequently transferred to the London Palladium with this tour following. However, due to the pandemic, the production was shut down in March 2020. 

Joaquin was appearing in the ensemble of the show and was also covering Lun Tha and the Kralahome. After this amazing show being shut down, Joaquin was actually one of the first people to be employed again in a fully staged theatre production, as he appeared in ‘Fanny and Stella’ at the Garden Theatre in the summer of 2020. This was the first stage show to be fully mounted since the pandemic hit. The theatre continued with this success and opened productions of Pippin, Next Thing You Know and Naked Boys Singing, to name just a few! 

REVIEW: Frostbite, Who Pinched My Muff at the Garden Theatre

A moment of taking things a little less seriously, after a year that has been downright difficult in so many ways we can all agree is needed. Never has the tradition of going to a Christmas pantomime held such gravitas for our sanity and that's for the adults. Frostbite, Who Pinched My Muff is an adults-only pantomime full of all the kitsch, silliness and energy you are craving but with dirty jokes thrown on top.

Proudly claiming the spot for the UK’s first production to open after lockdown during summer, the Garden Theatre is a beacon of light amongst the dimly lit theatre scene. They have slickly created a formula to put on socially distanced live shows in their outdoor heated and covered space that is not only comfortable and entertaining for an audience but that even stands up to the traditionally interactive nature of pantomime. From the moment I entered The Eagle, I was confident I was in good hands.

Frostbite, Who Pinched My Muff is set in a Germanic alpine village of Vaüxhallen where all is happy and well until the Demon Frostbite (Nathan Taylor) embarks on a mission to freeze the hearts of all mankind! In a battle between good and evil, we are introduced to an array of larger than life characters who steal our hearts, and innocence, as they endeavour to save their village. Dame Herda Gerda (Dereck Walker), her son Garbo (Shelley Rivers), Fairy Snowflake (Kingsley Morton), snowman Lumiukko (James Lowrie), the youthful and edgy Gretta (Bessy Ewa) and her wealthy father Bergermeister Kai (Tom Keeling) become our eccentric warriors.

REVIEW: Next Thing You Know at the Garden Theatre

“I want to be the main course”, the central sentiment of a group of friends in their late 20’s finding their way in the hubbub of New York life. This story comes in the form of the musical, “Next thing you know”, at Vauxhall’s Garden Theatre. With book by Ryan Cunningham and music and lyrics by Joshua Salzman the musical first ran to acclaimed success off-broadway in 2011. From the moment you arrive at The Eagle every measure is in place to ensure a safe, socially distanced experience. The theatre itself is outside at the back of the venue although you are well covered and heated with just the odd sound of a speeding motorbike or police siren to remind you that you’re in a garden area.  

The piece explores the lives of four friends in The Big Apple exploring their ambitions and regrets primarily in the setting of a New York dive bar. Endearingly explained before the performance started the audience was told that the director had specifically chosen 4 graduates of 2020 to give a ray of hope to students that have entered the performing world a year of unprecedented difficulty in the theatre world. This was a heartwarming way to start the performance and you sensed the audience were willing the actors to do well from the start.

REVIEW: Naked Boys Singing at The Garden Theatre

You may or may not have heard of Naked Boys Singing, but regardless if you have or not I think you can get a sense of what this show is about! This musical revue originated Off-Broadway and was still running before the closure of theatres. This show has run in London before but it returned at the beginning of this year at the Kings Head Theatre, after a very short run due COVID and a couple of cast changes, the show makes its return to the Garden Theatre. 

After a successful launch with Fanny & Stella and Pippin, Naked Boys Singing is part of their ‘Eagle Late’ season. As I have said in previous reviews, this venue really are going above and beyond to ensure the safety of their customers and to create a safe but still enjoyable and beautiful evening. 

Knowing that the piece itself is over 20 years old and with the obvious nudity in the show, my initial thoughts were that it was going to fall into the boring cliché gay theatre that is more about selling tickets to see naked men than thinking about its duty to the LGBTQ+ community. Unfortunately, this is quite common in this sector however times are changing and with this adaptation of the piece, it's certainly a step in the right direction for a better representation of gay men in theatre. 

 

Don’t get me wrong, the piece itself is slightly dated. Its premiere was in 1999 so naturally there would be some parts that may not be relevant anymore, however, director and choreographer Carole Todd manages to bring it into 2020. With small changes to the book and lyrics to update it and a cast that represents today's gay male, the piece doesn't feel out of place in our current day. There is still a lot of room for the LGBTQ+ community to be truly represented properly in theatre but what the creative team has done with this show is a very good start. 

REVIEW: Pippin at the Garden Theatre

The Garden Theatre was one of the first venues to stage a live theatrical production with Fanny and Stella, with more shows popping up and more announcements being made every day they haven’t stopped and they continue their season with a newly staged version of Stephen Schwartz Pippin. 

I last saw this show at the Southwark Playhouse in the transfer production from the Hope Mill Theatre, being a huge fan of this particular version I was excited to see another interpretation of this interesting piece. 

As I said before in my review of Fanny and Stella, the venue and the staff are doing everything they possibly can to make this a safe and comfortable experience for all of their patrons. All staff have protective masks on and the bar is covered with screens, they’ve sure stepped up their game since my last visit! The bar itself has a really great atmosphere, made even better by people eager and excited to see some live theatre. The staff are all so polite and accommodating and the venue should really be proud of their front of house team. 

When you enter the theatre you are instantly transported to the world of the show, the smell of incense and the sound of 60’s music mixed with news broadcasts immediately sets the scene. Putting the show in the context of the ’60s was an interesting and brave choice, I’m not sure it was completely justified within the production but it certainly made sense most of the time. I may have felt like some choices in this production may not have completely worked but they sure committed to every single one of them and for that I commend them. 

REVIEW: Fanny and Stella at The Garden Theatre at The Eagle

This is my first trip to the theatre since everything shut down in March and what a pleasant experience it was. My first time visiting the Eagle in Vauxhall and I was greeted with politeness and exceptional hospitality by the staff. They are doing everything they can to create a space that is safe but still enjoyable and comfortable for all. The show itself is socially distanced both in the audience and onstage, with a few subtle jokes in the piece addressing it! But to tell you the truth, you wouldn’t even notice. Which is a huge credit to the creators. 

The setting is the beer garden of the pub and whilst this may seem a little weird, its dressed like the best outdoor fringe venue you’ll ever experience. As far as I’m aware, an outdoor venue like this has never been done and this is a prime example of how to do to it well and I hope this opens doors for the future as to what we could possibly see in times to come on the fringe scene. 

Fanny and Stella tells the story of Ernest Boulton and Frederick William Park, they were two young men who, in 1871, were put on trial in London for dressing as women. A new piece by Glenn Chandler and Charles Miller, brought to the stage by Peter Bull for LAMBCO productions and directed by Steven Dexter, this classic Victorian-Vaudeville style musical is truly wonderful and Dexter has done a brilliant job at transforming this pub beer garden into a pretty fringe theatre. With musical staging by Nick Winston, his work is almost like the sprinkles on top of the cake. It adds flair and campness that this piece thrives on.