KUNQU OPERA

Jiangsu's classical company

30.01.09

The most ancient of China's theatre traditions, Kunqu is preserved in performance by many great companies. This group of six actors and five musicians is touring the county as part of the Essex-Jiangsu Festival, giving shows in schools and theatres.

At the Cramphorn, we saw five excerpts from their repertoire. Kunqu is a heady blend of speech, dance, mime and song. Nothing about it is realistic, although some of the comic characters would be recognisable in any culture.

In the first, we saw an encounter between the Rat – a petty thief, played with a wonderfully expressive face by Ji Shoaqing – and a judge disguised as a fortune-teller. Ji also played the wine seller at the Monastery Gate, opposite a martial arts monk energetically embodied by Zhao Yutao in a stylised farce which included some incredible physical feats.

Voices fluting a haunting glissando, faces painted like porcelain, flowing sleeves echoing their fluent gestures, two lovers met and parted in a charming extract from The Peony Pavilion. And there was more virtuoso acting in the final piece, from the Peach Blossom fan, in which General Shi [Ke Jun], powerless to prevent the fall of the Ming Dynasty, plunges in despair into the Yangste.

COSI

Theatre at Baddow

28.01.09

A group of amateurs gather to put on a play. We recognize the obsessive, fussing about moves and props, the quiet one who spectacularly loses it, the over-affectionate middle-aged woman, the ineffectual director and the bipolar luvvie, whose idea it was to stage this ridiculously ambitious Mozart opera.

The difference is that these people are in a mental hospital, and there's a pyromaniac and a junkie in the mix, too.

Australian playwright Louis Nowra has a strong, if hardly original, situation and a group of great characters. But I did get the feeling he didn't always know what to do with them. Perhaps the play reflects their lives – infidelity is always with us. And it's no surprise that their show is a qualified success, watched by the catatonic in the front stalls, the schizos at the back.

Director Lorraine Ely, who also played Cherry, set the piece in the round, which did give immediacy, though some of the less experienced players struggled to be heard. Excellent performances from Roger Saddington as the dreamer and Vince Webb as Henry, with his toy soldiers and right-wing rants. Sheila Talbot worried about reality, illusion and the froth on the coffee, and Graham Harrison made a wonderful Zac, standing up there in his lederhosen and his tattoos, playing the [Wagner] overture on his squeezebox.

All credit to TAB for showing us new work from overseas. Connoisseurs of the “let's put on the show right here in the asylum” genre should note that Marat/Sade comes to CTW in June.

DON'T LOOK NOW

Ian Dickens Productions at the Civic

26.01.09


Daphne Du Maurier's dark little story sits uneasily on the stage. This adaptation, by Nell Leyshon, has seventeen scenes, which means that mood, atmosphere and suspense are regularly broken by Stage Management trucking on beds, bars and altars.

Some of the most successful moments were the lighter ones, with nice character comic relief from John Banks in the restaurant, and a survivor from the old Newpalm days, Gary Taylor as a grizzled, dyspeptic Chief of Police.

Nicola Bryant did a good job with Laura, haunted, fragile and vulnerable. She got little support from Peter Amory as her sceptical husband – his theatrical CV is pretty much limited to this company, and his feelings, if any, rarely crossed the footlights. His Italian sounded good though – note to programme editors: Torcello, not Torchello; note to weird sisters: siamo, not siami.

The other big name was Shirley Ann Field, a strong presence as the sighted sister; her blind twin was an excellent Claire Vousden.

click here for Denise Rigby's Chelmsford Weekly News Review

THE CRUCIBLE

Chelmsford Civic Youth Theatre at the Cramphorn

25.01.09

CCYT brings together youngsters from all over the borough to learn about the skills of stage-craft. This was their first full-length production.

Arthur Miller's classic was a good choice in many ways. It is a great play, which repays repeated study. And it gives worthwhile roles to a large number of actors, of varying degress of expertise. But it treats of adult themes of hysteria and betrayal, and has a heavy 20^th century subtext. And clearly simply mastering the words was a challenge for some of these performers. The set and costumes were simple, but the groupings and stage pictures were often very effective. The pace was generally good, although there was a tendency to rush the words.

The girls who feel the devil's touch were closest to the age of the actors, and there were promising performances as Abigail, and a diminutive but dramatically powerful Mary Warren. The Reverend Hale has some of the best writing, and this too was a performance of some style. The group was fortunate in having an actor of great presence as their John Proctor. Always watchable, he spoke his lines with clarity and passion, and showed a real empathy with his character. His final scene with Elizabeth, his confession and retraction, were great moments.

This is a unique group, and clearly ambitious. I look forward with interest to their next outing.

SLEEPING BEAUTY

Little Waltham Drama Group

24.01.09

This is Little Waltham's 37^th pantomime. Village panto is an endangered species; you mess with the classic ingredients at your peril.

Thankfully, there are still the broker's men – Shout and Bawl the Heralds this year, played by Ken Little and Glyn Jones. Colin the Drummer is still in the pit, the set still features proscenium-side designs, and the UV paint shows no sign of drying up.

So how do they keep the winning formula fresh ? Well, we welcomed two talented youngsters, including Zoe Pearson as a comely Princess Rose, and a virgin Dame – Mike Lee as a beefy Ammonia Goodbody with a cheeky smile and a voice wobbling between profundo and falsetto. Richard Butler had had something of a makeover. His grubby Percy looked like a lascivious gnome, but he still managed to work the audience like the shameless old pro he is.

Gill Haysham was just as watchable as Beatrice, queen to Brian Corrie's playing-card King. And Andy Walker made a lovely Rupert the Retainer, giving us a Crocodile Rock in jump suit and medallion.

And of course there was a chance to sing-along, kick-start the time machine, and grab the sweets: aficionados will need to know that the walkabout tune was Maple Leaf Rag.

The score opened with a nice Pachelbel, but from then on it was mostly Magic of the Musicals – Gigi, Rocky Horror, Chitty, South Pacific, Chicago ...

The lively chorus, singing lustily, were strong in support, from Sweet Sixteen to Don't Stop Me Now. MD was Chrissy Gould, and the panto was directed by Susan Butler.