Julian Clary

Review by: Paul Towers, 28 October 2016

Julian Clary – The Joy of Mincing

Curve 28 October 2015

“revels in every glorious opportunity to shock.”

Back in the 80’s I used to run a famous pub in South London called The Goldsmith Tavern, the starting place for many famous comedians including Vic Reeves, Rory Bremner and the inimitable Julian Clary, then known as The Joan Collins Fan Club, much to the Dame’s displeasure. Reverting to his real name Clary has garnered a reputation unique to him.

For his 30^th anniversary of clambering onto a stage to entertain a room full of punters, Clary is in the middle of a nationwide tour bringing joy and outrage to us ordinary folk.

As he narrates tit bits from his illustrious career we are treated to rather more detail of his unexpurgated life than perhaps some would want. His drug taking is an especially unedifying period of his younger life but is told in all its gory detail as a lesson to the unworldly.

As is to be expected Clary shies well away from a double entendre when a single one is available and revels in every glorious opportunity to shock while shamelessly namedropping everyone from Paul O’Grady right up to Dame Joan Collins.

Julian Clary’s The Joy of Mincing is out on tour throughout the autumn. Full details at http://julianclary.co.uk/

The Importance of Being Earnest

Review by: Paul Towers, 11 October 2016

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

A Curve and Birmingham Rep co-production

Curve 6 – 29 October

“beautifully rhythmic prose”

Watching an Oscar Wilde play you are guaranteed an evening of sparkling wit and including, in the case of Earnest, virtually every notable quote Wilde is remembered for.

However, in this revival Curve’s Director Nikolai Foster and designer Isla Shaw have ramped up the sparkle to an almost parodical level whereby the set almost outshines the dialogue. The stage is lined, side to side, top to bottom with mirrored panes meaning there is nowhere to hide from the razor sharp epithets and aphorisms of Wildean wit. It also illustrates perfectly the inherent narcissism, decadence and vanity of the world of Earnest and his companions. While the manners and furniture are Victorian the costumes are an interesting melange of period and modern sensibilities which sits perfectly with the set.

This comedy of manners relies heavily on every phrase being enunciated, projected and audible to every member of the audience and this cast made sure every line was heard clearly.

There is something beautifully rhythmic about the prose which means that all the laughs seem to be written into the text and the actors rarely have to pause and wait for the audience to stop laughing.

While Edward Franklin’s fey, dissolute Algy and Fela Lufadeju’s John Worthing are the central characters of the story it was Cathy Tyson’s Lady Bracknell we were all holding our breath waiting for. Would she do an Edith Evans or a David Suchet when it came to THAT line? Well I am pleased to say that Ms Tyson copied no-one and made the handbag line her very own with a fabulous sense of outraged conservatism. As the leading (young) ladies of the piece Martha Washington and Sharan Phull as Gwendolen and Cecily are a joy to watch as they vacillate between outrage at being deceived and their desire to marry their beaus. Angela Clerkin’s prissy Miss Prism throws herself around in faux outrage as her past deceits find her out. Each of the characters are explicitly drawn and none are wasted. Even Darren Bennett’s Merriman’s largely silent butler gets unwritten laughs from a raised eyebrow or a sigh. While Dominic Gately’s Dr Chasuble channels his inner camp to bring the pastor to life.

Scene changes were beautifully choreographed utilising the many doors set within the mirrors and the interval, much like a television commercial break, merely paused the action while the audience caught its breath.

This is a production not to be missed and deserves to tour forever

The Importance of Being Earnest runs at Curve until 29 October.

Full details available at Curve website
First published in Western Gazette

The Pajama Game

Review by: Paul Towers, 24/8/2015

The Pajama Game by George Abbot & Richard Bissell

The IDOLS

The Little Theatre 10 – 15^th October

“an undemanding evening of musical theatre”

The Pajama Game (and yes, that spelling is right) is not a taxing story. If I tell you that the film starred Doris Day you can guess the level of  saccharine and hearts and roses.

The story revolves around a labour dispute whereby the workers in a pajama manufacturing factory are up in arms because the management won’t give them a 7½c payrise in line with other companies. To complicate things the Grievance Committee head and the new Supervisor fall in love.

While the story might be quite slight the songs are mostly very taxing to perform. There are several standards amongst the soundtrack, namely Hey There, Once A Year Day and Hernando’s Hideaway. But most of the rest, and there are a full 21 numbers aside from the overture and ent’act, are very demanding to sing.

The IDOLS (Leicester’s Infirmary Dramatic Operatic and Literary Society) have long had a reputation for producing classic standard musicals for the last 60 years as a means of fund raising for various medical causes. So it is no surprise that they have chosen to resurrect this 1950’s musical.

The entire cast are incredibly talented and have been working all year for this, their annual offering at The Little Theatre. Jodie Blowfield and Vaughan Ashcroft as Babe and Sid have both the singing voices and stage presence to lead the company while Martin Bell as Hines and Debbie Neath as Mabel have great comic routines together. Jordan Handford as Prez is superbly, creepily pervy.

Unfortunately this great cast was let down by persistent sound issues with microphones not coming on in time and feedback . On top of this the orchestra, which I assume is all amateur and led by experienced Musical Director Tony Rifugiato (who should know better), had a very duff trombone player on the brass section who missed many notes and those he did hit were invariably flat!

Hopefully these problems can be ironed out as the week progresses.

But all in all this is an undemanding evening of musical theatre that comes to us straight from the 50’s and thus won’t offend your maiden aunt and won’t tax your intellect.

First published on Western Gazette

Yes Prime Minister

Review by: Paul Towers, 04 October 2016

Yes, Prime Minister by Antony Jay & Jonathan Lynn

Leicester Drama Society production

Little Theatre 3 – 8 October 2016

“theatre heaven.”

Oh joy! This is a seriously funny piece of political satire that, even though it was written in 2011, still resonates today and continues to puncture the pomposity and obsequiousness of parliament and the civil service with very few updates. In fact some references have accidentally become hilariously appropriate.

Right from the moment the metaphorical curtain rises the snappy one liners tumble forth and the laughs never stop.

The story is all about a weekend at Chequers where the PM is entertaining the Kumranistan ambassador with a view to signing a major oil deal which will save the EU from bankruptcy. As the weekend progresses PM Jim Hacker ties himself up in every tighter knots, some of his own making but many of Sir Humphrey’s.

As Hacker gets progressively more frustrated and bogged down Sir Humphrey steps in to try and diffuse the situation with his impenetrable business-speak obscurations designed to confuse but not clarify.

Yet another beautiful set design by Alec Davis of an old country study, oak panelled with bookcases and French windows allows for the obligatory farcical entrances and exits while a large screen on the back wall is used to good effect for news footage and the credits.

A very strong cast is led by David Lovell as Jim Hacker, Charles Moss as Sir Humphrey and Joff Brown as Bernard Wooley. Moss, in particular, garnered several personal, well deserved rounds of applause for getting his tongue round several of Sir Humphrey’s ambiguous, incomprehensible and positively obfuscated soliloquies.

For those of us that remember the 80’s when this was on TV this is theatre heaven; a sharp script with very familiar characters perfectly preformed to a very appreciative audience. What more can you ask for an evening’s theatre?

Yes, Prime Minister is on at Little Theatre until Saturday 8 October

Full details at www.thelittletheatre.net/

First published on Western Gazette

The Shawshank Redemption

Review by: Paul Towers, 03 October 2016

The Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King, Owen Neill & Dave Johns

A Bill Kenwright Production

Curve, 3^rd – 8^th October 2016

“a powerful production.”

First off, I have to admit I have never seen the film that this play is based on so I have gone into this with no preconceptions and a completely open mind. All I knew was that it was set in a prison.

The curtain rises to three naked men standing with only a small package of their personal effects to cover their vulnerability. These are new prisoners, fresh meat for the predatory older lags. The set is a suitably industrial looking combination of steel girders and iron plates serving as the various prison interiors. This is Shawshank, an American penitentiary in the late 1960’s, a violent, dog-eat-dog environment into which is thrust Andy Dufresne, wrongly convicted of  the murder of his wife and her boyfriend.

This is not a play for the easily offended as the first 20 minutes include no end of profanity, violence and male rape. Add into this mix the inherently corrupt prison officers and it is easy to see how the entire community verges on the precipice of turning feral at any moment.

The three main roles are Andy Dufresne, played by Paul Nicholls, Warden Stammas, played by Jack Ellis and Ellis ‘Red’ Redding, played by Ben Onwukwe. These are the characters who tell the story and should be strongly cast for the pivotal roles they play. As this production is without the benefit of personal amplification it is incredibly important that the actors can project and enunciate so that even the gallery can hear them.

In this case it was abundantly obvious that Messrs Ellis and Onwukwe were trained stage actors. Paul Nicholls is not. In many instances his mumbling, probably a habit picked up from his days as a TV actor, meant much of his dialogue was missed by anyone not in the front two rows. Fortunately much of his character’s role is to be the calm at the centre of the storm as the drama unfolds around him.

However, that aside, this is a powerful production of a damning indictment of the American prison system at the time.

While this sounds as though it is unremittingly downbeat there are plenty of little laughs inserted to lift the mood, as is to be expected when you realise the adaptors, Owen Neill and Dave Johns are both stand up comedians.

The Shawshank Redemption runs at Curve until Sat 8th October and then continues on tour until the end of the year
First published on Western Gazette

Upstairs at The Western

 This week I met up with Sally Jack of Upstairs at The Western and asked her about the news that she, Gary and Verity are handing over the reins of the pub theatre to new blood.

What were your aims in the beginning when you started the theatre? We wanted to create a professional performance space that was accessible to a diverse community, and with shows that followed our mission of programming brave, inspiring and engaging performances.  We also wanted it create a space where the local community could feel it was their theatre, and an extension of the wonderful atmosphere created downstairs in The Western.

Have you achieved all you wanted with Upstairs at The Western? Yes and no; we never thought we'd be where we are now when we first programmed the pilot season back in March 2013, with a makeshift stage built on empty beer barrels. It has taken many, many hours of many people's time - freely given - to get the venue to where it is now, along with invaluable support from Steamin' Billy Brewery Company Ltd, Leicester City Council and Westcotes Community First. We've built up a loyal and knowledgeable audience through a team of dedicated volunteers. There is still a lot that can be done though, and a new team can bring fresh eyes and ideas to the space.

What are you most proud of? Which productions? Difficult question as there have been so many wonderful shows! In terms of really satisfying moments,  seeing the comedy workshoppers overcome their fears and create and perform stand up routines to a paying audience has been great. Welcoming performers like Dave Bartram, Geoffrey Holland and Cathy Tyson to the venue has been thrilling and brilliant fun. Overall though, my own satisfaction comes from sitting up at the back of the theatre, watching a show, the lights coming up once the performance has ended and hearing the audience talk about what they've just experienced. A shared experience. 

What do you hope for the future of the theatre? We hope that people will continue to come and be entertained, whatever direction that takes, that it will continue to grow and firmly embed itself into the fabric of Leicester's West End.

Is Steaming Billy committed to supporting the theatre in the future? They have been a great support so far and are keen for the venue to continue; it is such a unique and valuable asset to the pub and the area.

Why have you decided to move on? We, that is Gary, Verity and myself, feel we have gone as far as we can with the venue. Lives change and it is such a big commitment to maintain the standards we have set ourselves. Much as it feels like a big wrench at the moment, we hope to see the venue thrive and flourish with a new team, whoever they may be. This is a great opportunity to develop the space - whether that is continuing to programme theatre, comedy, spoken word and music which all work so well, or to focus on a new direction - but this will be something for the new team to embrace and develop. 

What sort of people are you looking to take over the reins?  Of course, we hope someone with a love of performance and the arts will come forward, but if anyone is interested in finding out more about the theatre and what's involved, come along to the public meeting at the venue on Tuesday 11 October at 7.30pm.

First published in Western Gazette

and Pub Theatre Blog

Pajama Men

Review by: Paul Towers, 22 September 2016

2 Man 3 Muskateers by Pajama Men

Soho Theatre production

Curve 22 & 23 Sptember

“2 men, 1 musician and a whole load of mayhem.”

A bare stage with a pianist tinkling on his ivories as we walk in is no indication of the bizarre world we are about to stumble into. What we get is 2 men, 1 musician and a whole load of mayhem. This is the result of Shenoah Allen and Mark Chavez’s weird and wonderful imaginations being let loose (and I mean loose) on Alexandra Dumas’ iconic story of The Three Muskateers.

As these two American legends of improv have proved in countless comedy festivals around the world, there is no limit to what they think (and do) get away with when it comes to bending traditional narrative round corners, curve balls and any kind of logic.

As a result we spend an hilarious hour trying to unscramble the tale of three French renegades while mixed up with centaurs, cardinals and who knows what other characters they have made up purely to add a laugh to the script.

Add into this is their razor sharp ad libs and asides, both to the audience and themselves. Several times we could see as they tried to corpse each other and failing miserably, so professional are this pair of  veteran performers.

While the actors are acting away at the front of Curve’s Studio space their musician is having his own fun with all sorts of weird and wonderful instruments.

Altogether this is a fun evening of surreal silliness that leaves you with a very nice smile on your face.

Pajama Men is on at Curve again on Friday 23^rd September and then on tour. Details on www.pajama-men.com

First published on Western Gazette