The Book of Mormon

 

Review by: Paul Towers, 21/1/2022

The Book of Mormon by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez & Matt Stone

A Sonia Freidman production

At Prince of Wales Theatre, London

 “ripe language and a camp chorus line”

 There has been lots of press about this show saying it is rude and disrespectful so I was looking forward to a raucous afternoon of theatre.

If you like South Park then you will definitely love Book of Mormon. Written by the same team this is a spectacular, musical tongue in cheek sending up of all organised religions, but especially Mormons.

The basic story is of a group of newly trained initiates being sent out into the wide world to convert the great unwashed to their version of religious belief. We follow two, Elders Cunnigham and Price, to Uganda. They assume it will be easy to convert the locals but the locals turn out to be far more intelligent than to simply accept what they are told.

As expected the language is ripe. In fact the only thing they missed was a C-bomb, but then we have all heard far too much about Covid lately!

There are, of course, wall to wall songs. What I didn’t expect was the outrageous choreography. At times it was so camp and homoerotic that I thought I was watching a trailer for gay Mormon porn!

I have long wanted to see this show and had originally booked to see it in 2020. Of course Covid threw a spanner in the works so I rebooked, twice. On that subject it has to be said that Delfont Mackintosh made the procedure very easy. Unlike some suppliers. It was also very reassuring that we had to show our vaccine passports before we could get in.

 

https://www.princeofwalestheatre.co.uk/
http://ptheatre.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Waitress tour

 

Review by: Paul Towers, 24/1/22

Waitress by Jessie Nelson with music & lyrics by Sara Bareilles

A Crossroads Live production directed by Diane Paulus

At Curve: 24 – 29 January 2022

 “laugh out loud moments blended with heartbreaking emotions”

 I first saw this show in London in 2019 and loved the skilful way that laugh out loud moments were blended with heartbreaking emotions. This touring production has lost none of the rollercoaster passions of the original.

Jenna (Aimee Fisher) is a waitress in a roadside diner somewhere in America’s deep south. She endures a life with her abusive husband, Earl (Tamlyn Henderson) but comes into her own when baking the most extraordinary pies for the diner. Compared to her awful home life her work is bolstered by her two best friends, Becky (Sandra Marvin) and Dawn (Evelyn Hoskins), Finding she is pregnant, unwittingly, by her husband Jenna embarks on an affair with her timid gynaecologist, Dr Pomatter (Matt Willis).

Aimee Fisher, normally understudying Chelsea Halfpenny, more than seizes the role of Jenna, giving her all in fine voice.

Matt Willis as the Doctor shows a great sense of comic timing. Being a member of pop group Busted it’s a given that he has a good singing voice.

Newcomer George Crawford as Ogie, Dawn’s stalker/boyfriend/husband (eventually) has the stand out comedy song and displays a fine acrobatic capability.

Evelyn Hoskins’ Dawn is comedically innocent and perfectly paired with Crawford.

Sandra Marvin’s Becky has some of the best funny lines in the show and makes good use of her great attitude.

All in all this is a great production of a great show. Perhaps not entirely suitable for a young audience featuring as it does domestic violence and adult language. But an almost full auditorium gave it a well deserved standing ovation at the curtain.

Waitress is at Curve until Saturday 29 January and then continues touring.

 

Curve https://www.curveonline.co.uk/
http://ptheatre.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Rocky Horror Show

 Review by: Paul Towers, 10/1/22

Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show

Directed by Christopher Luscombe

Produced by Trafalgar Theatre Productions and Hill Street productions

At Curve: 10 – 15 January 2022

 “the original party night in a theatre”

 I first saw The Rocky Horror Show way back in 1973 when Tim Curry and Richard O’Brien were still in the cast. Back then it had found a home in the Kings Road Theatre, an old cinema appropriately enough.

In the intervening almost 50 years productions have circled the globe continuously, Every few years the show is tweaked to bring it up-to-date. But the basic story has always stayed the same. Why mess with cult perfection?

As the Narrator (Philip Franks) intones:

It seemed a fairly ordinary night when Brad Majors and his fiancée 

Janet Weiss, two young, ordinary, healthy kids, left Denton that 

late November evening, to visit a Dr. Everett Scott, ex-tutor, and

now friend to both of them.  It's true there were dark storm 

clouds, heavy, black, and pendulous, towards which they were 

driving.  It's true, also, that the spare tire they were carrying 

was badly in need of some air, but, uh, they being normal kids and, 

on a night out... well, they were not going to let a storm 

spoil the events of their evening, were they?...  On a night out... 

it was a night out they were going to remember... for a very long 

time.

As lightening flashes and thunder crashes the extraordinary night unfolds. Stumbling across an eerie castle in the middle of nowhere the young couple are dragged (pun intended) into a horror show of epic proportions.

A very talented cast sing and dance up a storm (another intended pun) while the Narrator attempts to push the story along, all the while batting back the encouraged catcalls from the audience. Philip Franks obviously has a battery of ad libs at his fingertips and relishes every one of them. Kristian Lavercombe’s Riff Raff is lascivious and menacing as the butler of the house but it is Stephen Webb as Frank N Furter who owns the stage as he struts, pouts, grinds and stomps across the set. As the innocent (for now) young couple who stumble across this den of iniquity, Ore Oduba (Brad) and Haley Flaherty (Janet) show fine comic timing and great singing voices.  Ben Westhead as muscle-bound hunk Rocky gives great naivety as his first day out of the lab progresses.

This iteration of the cult classic retains all the elements that have made it so popular but the soundtrack has been brought bang up to date and the choreography is slick and energetic.

Rocky Horror Show is the original party night in a theatre. Virgins should be warned there are some naughty bits so leave your snowflakes at home.

Rocky Horror Show runs til Saturday 15 January before continuing on its 2022 national tour

 

Curve https://www.curveonline.co.uk/
http://ptheatre.blogspot.co.uk/