Dear Evan Hansen

 

Review by Paul Towers, 2/10/24

Dear Evan Hansen by Steven Levenson, music & lyrics by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul

Directed by Adam Penford

Produced by ATG productions

At Curve til Saturday 5th October 2024

Dear Evan Hansen is a musical best aimed at neurotic, self-obsessed socially awkward teenagers looking to validate their misery. And their poor parents.

A whole generation is growing up thinking that their entire world exists only online and this is the show for them. For anyone over 25 it is a depressingly accurate window into their world and we should all despair for the future.

Evan Hansen (Ryan Kopel channelling Emo Phillips, for the older reader) is the above neurotic, socially awkward teenager living with a single mother. The object of his fantasises  is Zoe (Lauren Conroy), who lives with her druggie brother, Connor (Killian Thomas Lefevre) and their parents Larry and Cynthia (Richard Hurst and Helen Anker). When Connor kills himself Evan pretends to have been his best friend.

All this misery takes place in the first half. It gets worse.

The staging is fairly simplistic with sliding semi opaque sheets that slide across and various bits of furniture going on and off. The cast work hard, Kopel’s vocals are good and the ensemble fill the stage. A live band of nine beef up the sound and some inventive video projections from Ravi Deepres move the story along.

Dear Evan Hansen is continuing to tour next year and is at Curve until Saturday 5^th October

#DEHUKTOUR

https://www.evanontour.com/

Pics: Marc Brenner

www.curveonline.co.uk

https://ptheatre.blogspot.com/ 

Relative Values

 

Review by Paul Towers, 30/9/24

Relative Values by Noel Coward

Directed by John Bale

Produced by Leicester Drama Society (LDS)

At The Little Theatre til Saturday 5th October 2024

Noel Coward’s first drawing room comedy after the war is a satire of snobbery.

Set just after World War 2 in Marshwood House, Kent, Relative Values is about the drama that ensues when Nigel, Earl of Marshwood (Tom Young) announces that he is engaged, yet again, to a Hollywood star, Miranda Frayle (Nikki Favell). In the natural order of things this will mean that Felicity, Countess of Marshwood (Jane Durant channelling a marvellous cross between Sybil Fawlty and the Dowager Countess of Grantham) will move out to a cottage in the grounds along with her long-time maid Moxie (Alex Elliot). Moxie is determined that when the Master marries Miranda she will be forced to move away, much to the consternation of Her Ladyship. Further cats are put amongst the pigeons when Miranda’s ex-boyfriend Don Lucas (Keir Watson) turns up to try and woo her back.

Central to so much of the narrative are butler Crestwell (Steve Elliot) and the maid Alice (Olivia Phillips giving an almost Mrs Overall).

On the sidelines is Felicity’s nephew, Peter (a quite camp Allan Smith) along with neighbours Sir John Hayling (Andrew Webster) and Cynthia Hayling (Mary Delahunty)

Director John Bale has directed this classy comedy from The Master with aplomb. The set by Phil Newman is suitably opulent.

Relative Values runs at The Little Theatre until Saturday 5th October

Pics – Dave Morris Photography

https://thelittletheatre.co.uk/

https://ptheatre.blogspot.com/