DAVID CHIVERS AND MARY BLANCHARD

DAVID CHIVERS AND MARY BLANCHARD

lunchtime concert at the Cramphorn Theatre

29.11.2017

One of my resolutions for 2018 will be to go to more lunchtime concerts.

Jumping the gun here, for this very enjoyable selection of twentieth century music for clarinet and piano, part of the Environ Music series curated by Jeffery Wilson.

His Arioso was the encore in this programme, which had two suites by William Blezard at its heart.

The Suite Francaise included a soporific Berceuse, and a playful, punning Partie de Hocquet. Clarinettist David Chivers clearly shared the composer’s sense of humour, evidenced again in the Three Cabaret Pieces, ending with an exuberant Piece of Cake Walk.

Italian composer Alberto Tempestini’s Memories proved a charmingly lyrical piece, after the fashion of movie music, with some virtuoso passages for Mary Blanchard’s piano.

After Essex composer Alan Bullard’s laid-back Blues, the programme ended with the Concertino of Keith Amos, its three movements proudly labelled with English markings – Bright, Expressively, Rhythmically – an impressive piece of accessible chamber music, respecting Amos’s twin trinities: Melody, Harmony, Rhythm, Composer, Performer, Audience.

A manifesto not always followed in the musical circles of the second half of last century, but very much in evidence in this generous serving of lunchtime entertainment.

SOHO CINDERS

SOHO CINDERS

Springers at the Cramphorn Theatre

14.11.17

Soho’s Old Compton Street has a chequered, sleazy history. Nowadays it’s best known for its gay bars, the Admiral Duncan, and the Prince Edward Theatre.

It provides the setting, and the opening number, for this Stiles and Drewe musical, very loosely based on the Cinderella story.

A flat brick wall, with Ian Myers and his band just visible over the top, with the Glam Amour strip club in front, and the Sit and Spin launderette trucked on and off stage centre.

The pre-show sees the street peopled with a “promiscuous pot-pourri”: cops and joggers, tourists and Mormons. There’s a hen-do, too [my second this week].

Justin Clarke’s engaging production, with choreography by Kat McKeon, has many inspired touches: the Spin number, the slomo movement for Gypsies of the Ether, the circling paparazzi vultures, the excellent chorus work in Who’s That Boy.

Some impressive performances, too. Kieran Young is the young man who goes to the [political fundraising] ball, and loses not a slipper but a smartphone – a nicely nuanced approach, and lovely vocal work, in his Glass Slippers solo, for instance.

Catherine Gregory makes the most of Sidesaddle – her rickshaw becomes the Coach – while Gareth Locke relishes the sexist Campaign Manager [a cheer from the audience when he got his just deserts] to James Prince, the personable ex-swimmer who hopes to be elected as London’s next mayor. Ben Miller catches the angst of the ambitious man who’s desperate to play it straight. His fiancée, who suffers more than anyone when it all goes wrong, is Amy Serin; she has a moving duet with Velcro, “fag hag to the West End”, Robbie’s best mate and confidante, beautifully captured by Mae Pettigrew.

Favourites with the crowd, though, as often in the panto, are the Ugly Sisters – Sophie Lines and Becky Watts. Shameless, homophobic, greedy for profit and celebrity, they light up the stage every time they appear, and certainly deserve their Fifteen Minutes big number.

A lectern narration is not the best dramatic device – even when given by Stephen Fry – and often seemed redundant in a fully staged production. The lyrics and the dialogue do not always live up to the music; Hard to Tell a witty exception.

The show was warmly received [at the Soho Theatre, round the corner on Dean Street, and no bigger than the Cramphorn] in 2012, but it has yet to break through into the mainstream. So we should be grateful to Springers for this opportunity to enjoy this edgy alternative fairy tale.

production photograph: Aaron Crowe

MR DARCY LOSES THE PLOT

MR DARCY LOSES THE PLOT

LipService Theatre 

at the Cramphorn Theatre

10.11.2017

for The Reviews Hub

LipService have a dedicated following for their unique brand of literary fun – it’s good to see them bringing their tour of Mr Darcy Loses the Plot to the Cramphorn, their first visit here for some years.

It’s a two-woman band; like all their shows this spiffing spoof is written and performed by Maggie Fox – the loftier of the two, a “fine tall presence” as our Mr Darcy – and Sue Ryding. Like Thrills and Quills, their other show currently on the road, it draws its inspiration from the oeuvre of Jane Austen. But other women writers worm their way into the proceedings – Gaskell, Potter and Du Maurier inter alia – as the character of Darcy flows from the Austen pen. It transpires that he is less than happy with the way his role is developing – the dashing Mr Wickham seems to be getting all the romantic action. In a fit of frustration, seeking a more exciting storyline, he finds himself in Manderley having close encounters with Mrs Danvers (she’s just like Judith Anderson in the movie) and the mousey second Mrs de Winter.

The intimate setting is furnished with screens and ottomans adorned by quilts, contributed by a cottage industry of devoted, creative fans. There’s a multimedia element, too, with the Netherfield ballroom sequence especially effective, and a chance to relive that notorious scene by the lake. The video inserts work brilliantly, with the live action blending almost seamlessly with the version on screen. The “outdoor swimming” is especially surreal, with a Lego Darcy, homespun special effects, and our hero stranded on the beach at Manderley, before being tempted back to the Parsonage for his big scene, The Proposal. The mobile screens effect the transitions between one scene and the next. The two-dimensional Mr Bingham is a cardboard cut-out before his character is fleshed out, and much use is made of puppets and dolls to people the stage. With Wickham’s teenage groupies, for example.

Virtue is continually made of necessity – the modest means and the makeshift effects are celebrated. Jasper the dog, for instance, is much funnier than one could imagine, not to mention Bingley melting into the background, his waistcoat a perfect match for the wallpaper. Irony and in-jokes abound. We occasionally stray into the present day – the first writer we meet is modern, penning this very piece. She has a nice, if irrelevant, riff on cloud storage. Other references, while amusing, seem a little dated: Basil Brush, say, or “Man at V&A”.

But the comedy is endlessly inventive – the chamber pot, mercifully unseen, Bingley and Darcy struggling to have a convincing man-chat, a candlestick telephone ringing in a handbag. Mrs Gaskell, dark satanic mills belching smoke behind her head, uses the wicked Wickham not in North and South but in Mary Barton. Mrs Potter makes him a scarlet-clad foxy gentleman eager to make a meal of the excruciatingly upper-middle-class Jemima Puddleduck.

It’s all very silly, great fun and more than a little bonkers. It probably works best for those fortunate enough to have read all the books in question. But there’s a wonderful chemistry between these two very funny women, and their warm, generous performances leave us all feeling a little more educated, and richly entertained.

THINGS TO COME – CHELMSFORD CITY THEATRES

THINGS TO COME – CHELMSFORD CITY THEATRES

The autumn season at Chelmsford City Theatres launches this week, with a visit from the acclaimed BBC Big Band, celebrating the centenary of Ella Fitzgerald, and a new show from The Jimmy Hendrix Experience, the first in a long line of tribute bands coming to the Civic over the next few months: Burt Bacharach, Billy Fury, David Bowie, Karen Carpenter and The Police among those honoured.

Music lovers can also enjoy a couple of Tales of Offenbach on October 17, and the first of this year's M&G Classical Concert series, with the City of London Sinfonia on October 29.

Dramatic offerings include A Princess Undone, a new play by Richard Stirling on its way to a London run; opening at the Civic on October 5. It deals with an episode in the later life of Princess Margaret, the Queen's younger sister. And on October 26 London Classic Theatre bring their new production of Noel Coward's Private Lives.

In the Cramphorn Studio, White Feather Boxer [21 September], the story of a boxer who was also a Quaker, a one-man Christmas Carol on December 15, in the style of Charles Dickens' own acclaimed performances, and, on November 10, Mr Darcy Loses the Plot, in which Jane Austen's hunkiest hero rewrites his own story …

Our own non-professional companies bring us three very different musicals: All Shook Up from CAODS opening on 26 September, CYGAMS' Our House – the Madness musical – from November 7, and Soho Cinders, Stiles and Drew's edgy twist on the Cinderella story, presented by Springers in the Cramphorn Studio from November 14.

For the younger audience, the Gruffalo is back in the Civic from September 19, as well as Milkshake! Live on October 24.

Not forgetting the panto, already selling very well – this year it's Snow White, opening on November 29 and running till January 7 2018, with a relaxed performance on January 4.

To book tickets for any of these shows, go to www.chelmsford.gov.uk/theatres, or telephone 01245 606505.

13 THE MUSICAL

13 THE MUSICAL

Young Gen at the Cramphorn Theatre

28.04.17

Jason Robert Brown's ground-breaking musical – now almost ten years old – was notable for casting players, and musicians, entirely from talented teenagers.

Now, in the cosy Cramphorn, our own talented youngsters give this rather uninspired show a lively, polished outing, directed by Jimmy Hooper. There's plenty of teenage humour, and all the accents are consistently convincing, too.

It's the story of young Evan who leaves New York for Indiana after his parents split up, and as he prepares for his bar mitzvah, discovers, to no-one's surprise, how awful kids can be to each other, and how hard it is to be thirteen.

He's played by Charlie Toland, very good in his final speech, and convincingly awkward and insecure, though he might have earned more sympathy by using eye contact to connect with the whole audience. Two other “losers” are excellently played by Oliver Gardner as Archie, using his life-limiting illness to manipulate his peers, and Heather Nye as the bookish Patrice – the freak – a very engaging performance, impressively sung.

Villains of the piece are bone-headed jock Brett [Matt Barnes], well supported by a terrific trio of cronies – their numbers some of the best moments of the evening. And the horrendously jealous, controlling Lucy, very effectively characterised by Hope Davis. Victim of her wiles, the wholesome cheerleader Kendra, appealingly played by Phoebe Walsh.

The huge ensemble is inventively used, from the energetic opening number, through the movie theater to the stunning “Brand New You” finale. I liked the gossip number, and the mad moment of Heidi wigs and Busby Berkeley. And I was pleased to see the Rabbis replaced by five geekish cameos for Being A Geek.

The set wisely doesn't try to bring us the gymnasium, the Dairy Queen or the girls' bathroom. Instead there are ingenious revolving panels and two staircases, all plastered with stickers and collages. And, high above the action, Bryan Cass and his musicians, driving the rock and reggae rhythms.

production photograph: Barrie White-Miller

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

Offspringers at the Cramphorn Theatre

14.03.17

Shakespeare 4 Kidz has been sugar-coating the Bard for years, and their shows have become increasingly popular with youth groups like Offspringers.

As recent Dreams go, Sarah Dodsworth's production is agreeably traditional in tone. Pretty fairies, Athenian columns, stylish white trees. Excellent costumes, and some striking stage pictures: the back-lit bubbles, the top-lit quartet with the fairies thronging round their feet. The band – in a bower of their own – accompanies the Disney-ish songs [MD Kate Gowen]. The plot – arranged marriage and all – survives more or less intact, and the Indian Boy [Dominic Bushell] is given a whole production number for his back-story. Some of the “rhymes from yesterday” are preserved too, and the original verse for the scene and the song for Bluebell [Charlotte Golden] and Rose Gowen's pert Puck is one of the best moments.

A huge cast – some of them very small sprites – includes the Tipsy Bacchanals and the [thrice] three Muses, and some very promising performances. Ore Kane is an imposing Duke Theseus, Jack Funnell a mischievous Lysander, with Charlotte Podd his Hermia. The mechanicals, with their “tacky play”, all give splendidly engaging performances – Matt Scott is the wittiest weaver in town, Max Eagle a bossy Quince, with Esther Hemmings a lovely Lion, Abbie Gansbuehler the tinker, Amy Smethurst the tailor and James Birchmore doing some serious breast-imbruing as Thisbe.

Lively movement, impressive ensemble work, and a shared sense of fun for this, the most accessible of Shakepeare's comedies. Very much enjoyed by the first- night audience. But, if the work is to appeal to a public beyond friends and family, every one of these enthusiastic actors needs to remember the importance of concentration and staying in character.

THE VANISHING MAN

THE VANISHING MAN

at the Cramphorn Theatre

19.01.17

“An experiment in magic” is how it's billed. There is magic and mirth, pathos and philosophy in this touring two-hander by Simon Evans and David Aula.
There's a cast of thirty or so, since the punters are pressed into service to impersonate audience members from earlier incarnations of the show, in Swindon, Watford, Brighton and Battersea. It all works rather well; we, the self-deceiving audience, learn about Robert-Houdin's nine modes of magic, about forced decks, the Zorbinger table pass and the Neasden underpass. And of course about the mysterious life and disappearance of Hugo Cedar, the vanishing man of the title. Or should that be S.E. - D.A. ?
Fascinating to watch magic being deconstructed by these two skilful and charismatic performers. There's popular philosophy in there, too, and spiritualism, a back story to tug at the heart-strings, real candles and an electric piano. Not just a magic show, not just a play, certainly not history, but an engaging blend of fact, fable and fabrication.

A word of caution. When The Guardian saw the show last year, they reckoned 80 minutes. It's advertised now as 90, but actually ran over a hundred, without a break. Check the comfort of the seats, guys, before you extend it any further – you don't want people like those two in the front row walking out before your candle-snuffing climax ...

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

European Arts Company at the Cramphorn Theatre, Chelmsford

18.12.16

“Read by Mr Charles Dickens. The Author”. Well, we can only speculate on what those hugely popular readings were like, and how close Mr John O'Connor comes to the original. Personally I have always imagined a bold, melodramatic rendition, but this is largely a question of personal taste.

A single chair, the famous reading desk, put to many and varied uses, and some vaguely Victorian screens are the simple setting; unlike Dickens, director Peter Craze is able to call on sound, and to a lesser extent lighting, to conjure up Scrooge's world.

There have been cuts [Dickens sometimes took three hours to tell the tale] – the school room and Joe's rag-and-bone shop two of the casualties – but the key scenes are all in place: The Cratchits' festive meal and Fezziwig's dance both excellently brought to life.

An enjoyable reminder of the original behind so many adaptations and parodies. And, which would have delighted the Charitable Gentlemen, a performance that emulated the original in its charitable purpose, in this case raising funds for Dr Barnado's.

THE FULL MONTY

Springers at the Cramphorn Theatre

19.11.16

Could have been another Billy Elliott, or Stepping Out. But Broadway got there first, and smelted Sheffield into Buffalo [in the Danish version they're brewery workers from Copenhagen!].

This is Springers' second Full Monty, and it features some of the same members we saw seven years ago.

The Cramphorn stage is simply dressed with tall white screens – the suicide motor the only projection, I think – with piano to the left, restroom to the right, and Ian Myers' band firmly out of sight.

Confident, compelling performances from Peter Spilling and Simon Brett as Jerry and Dave, the odd couple at the centre of the sentimental tale. Joining them as Hot Metal in the pitiless spotlight at Toni Giordano's are Dominic Light's sensitively played mother's boy Malcolm, Jason Norton's amusingly uptight Harold, Julian Harris's mischievous Horse and Bradley Cole's quietly determined Ethan.

Strong support from Sara Mortimer as Harold's materialistic other half, Sophie Lines as Dave's loyal wife, and Helen Arber as Jerry's acid-tongued ex. The seen-it-all piano player – hip flask and Marlboros – is nicely suggested by Natalie Schultz.

Nathan, Jerry's tug-of-love son, is given a relaxed, realistic performance by Mattie Scott.

The score is far from memorable – Let It Go the one exception – but the numbers are engagingly staged [choreography by Kieran Young] – and all unplugged: the a cappella Scrap, the witty Man duet, and the touching You Rule My World.

A sell-out success for Springers, directed, as in 2009, by Andrew Shepherd. So, despite not being “young, pretty or any good” will they bare their tattoos again in 2023 ? Book now …

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AMERICAN SERVICEMEN IN BRITAIN

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AMERICAN SERVICEMEN IN BRITAIN

Fol Espoir at the Cramphorn Theatre

08.11.16

It all started in 1942 with a little booklet. Re-issued by the Bodleian as a historical novelty, and now recycled by Fol Espoir as the unlikeliest comedy hit, directed by John Walton, who shares the writing credits with the performers.
The three clever chaps known as The Real McGuffins are touring round the country, visiting those same village halls that saw GI s and airmen wowing the local girls three-quarters of a century ago.
We walk in to the strains of Geraldo on the gramophone – If I Only Had Wings – before being addressed by Eugene F Schulz of the Mighty Eighth Air Force. 
In role as a roomful of rookies, we're upbraided for running amok, and given answers to our personal queries. Alas, the famous – and surprisingly absorbent – information leaflet has been seconded to latrine duty, so Gene and his Colonel have to improvise, with the reluctant aid of the very British Major Randolph Gibbons.
The special relationship is tested to destruction in a wonderfully hilarious, deliciously surreal series of sketches, skits and lectures – social class, currency, cricket, small talk and stiff upper lip. It's sharp, fast-paced, and painfully accurate.
Dan March is the Colonel, growling and glaring at his men; he's also the twittish Lord Tollemache, blending cricket and baseball in Act Two. Jim Millard plays Schulz, whose days on the Great White Way help him impersonate Isobel [Mrs Gibbons - think Celia Johnson] as well as Randy's formidable Scottish mother. The Major himself, nervous, easily offended, the epitome of an uptight Brit, is Matt Sheahan.
And I haven't mentioned the Nazi Spy School, the trial by tea trolley, and the glorious Morris Dance finale, when we all find ourselves on our feet doing the Dowager's Hey to Glenn Miller and waving our white hankies as we twirl.
But it's not long before the old animosities re-surface, and the curtain falls on a slo-mo punch-up backed by Winnie's words - ” fraternal association … growing friendship … mutual understanding”...

backstage selfie at the Cramphorn

STUNNING THE PUNTERS

STUNNING THE PUNTERS

George Dillon at the Cramphorn Theatre

03.10.16

George Dillon, master of the dramatic monologue, brought his trilogy to the Cramphorn this week.

Robert Sproat's piece gives the show its title: a darts player in a pub on “a rough old estate”, red braces, DMs, Milwall supporter, thinks philosophically back on racist graffiti and the lads who sprayed it. Totally convincing physically, slightly less so vocally and mentally.

The evening opens with a Berkoff piece, Master of Cafe Society. H, an out-of-work actor envies those with jobs, as “hunger calibrates the day with purpose”. Excellent supporting characters, especially his crumpled parents, and a touching insight to the spiritual anguish of an embittered, empty man.

The longest piece last: Dostoevsky's Dream of a Ridiculous Man. Much more ambitious, with lighting, props and sound used to support the testament of a would-be suicide who's seen a world without sin or science, but inadvertently corrupts this other Eden, a paradise lost. The changes of mood, and style, are navigated with consummate skill. I found his impassioned belief in a better world, and his guilt and uncertainty, strangely moving.

This work was first seen in Edinburgh back in 1990, and returned there this year. A real theatrical tour-de-force – 90 minutes without a break – which should be required viewing for anyone who appreciates the actor's art. Tragic, then, that in Chelmsford the performer and the theatre staff outnumbered the punters ...

THE COLLECTOR

THE COLLECTOR

Kathryn Barker Productions / London Classic Theatre

Cramphorn Theatre Chelmsford

20.10.16

Henry Naylor's three-hander looks back to Iraq in 2003. Much has been written since about the abuse of prisoners, the plight of the Iraqi interpreters.

Here, three monologues are interwoven, the actors move around the three simple stools, naked light-bulbs above them recalling the interrogation rooms where much of the imagined action takes place.

The verse prologue takes us to the land of Sinbad and Saddam, an Arabian nightmare; the epilogue deplores man's greatest enemy, his own brutality.

The three actors give intense, horrifyingly believable performances.

Anna Riding is Zoya, a young Iraqi woman whose fiancé, Nasir, whom we never see, is pivotal to the story. They meet through music, “proper music”, Eminem, Ludacris, Dr Dre. He's something of a subversive, but leaps at the chance of translating for the Americans in their prison.

It's run by Kasprowicz, played by William Reay, a veteran of the first incarnation of the piece on the Edinburgh fringe. Foster,”a woman in the war zone”, is an interrogator who believes that a psychological approach - “pride and ego down” - will get the best “intel”. She's played, with a searing honesty, by Olivia Beardsley, making her UK début in this production.

These three actors, story-tellers really, bring the other characters to life too: Valle the sadistic loudmouth grunt, Faisal the war-lord and many more. And their words paint a terrible picture of darkness overcoming enlightenment, of treachery and humiliation. Kasprowicz, brought down by the sexual chemistry between him and Foster, must watch powerlessly as Saddam's notorious gaol sinks back into inhumanity at the hands of the occupying US Army. And his own liberal patriotism is shaken by the traitor he once trusted.

A powerful piece, part history, part tragedy, given a strong production in this LCT tour, directed by Michael Cabot.

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS

Icarus Theatre Collective at the Cramphorn Theatre, Chelmsford

27.09.16

HP Lovecraft's cult classic from the early 30s is a natural for the stage.

It's narrated in the first person by geologist William Dyer, reluctantly reliving the horrors of the past in order to dissuade others from following in his snow-tracks to the white, dead world of the Antarctic.

Other voices are quoted. In this uncomplicated adaptation they emanate from the old-fashioned wireless receiver, part of an evocative soundscape with music by Theo Holloway.

Icarus Theatre's hour-long version trims the text of some of its worst excesses, concentrating on the narrative and the mounting sense of buried horror. There's little to distract from the voice and the visions it conjures up: the shimmering medieval castles and the towering cathedrals of the ice cap, the arcane animals, the sculptures left by the Old Ones [Lovecraft's Elder Things], the giant eyeless penguins.

Dyer is played by Tim Hardy, who adapted the piece with director Max Lewendel. His compelling voice, often subdued and broken with emotion, skilfully draws the audience into the tale.

The show is impressively polished technically, with the timing of the sound and light impeccable. The setting is simple, with a lectern, a chest, a chair, a lantern and the radio, and on the floor, a pentagon of Persian rugs …

We see the terrors only in our mind's eye, but who needs CGI with such a captivating story-teller ?