The Children's Hour ****

Immediately there is an atmosphere of secrets and stories as the curtain comes up and the girls fight over the storybook. This is the central point of the show; lying and how even the smallest fib can have devastating consequences. The set is large and the space is left open and largely dark throughout, giving a feeling of grey emptiness and sparse hopelessness that fits the various developments well.

      

Keira Knightley is remarkably good for someone who is more used to acting on screen than stage. I confess that I was going in with rather low expectations but found myself eating my words. Her accent was spot on and I didn’t notice any slips in either that or her character as a whole. She was confident, which, if the reviews of her previous West End outing are to be believed, is a welcome development. Her character was well formed and she was clearly immersed in her performance (I noticed at one point she very nearly shouted f**k across the stage, which clearly isn’t in the script) and the benefits of this were clear. She was the name that was drawing most of the audience in and she does not disappoint. Her performance is mature and nuanced, passionate and pitiful all at once. Something she can be proud of.

      

Elisabeth Moss provided a more than capable companion, her character being far more difficult to come to terms with and achieved equally well. Trying desperately to stay in control of herself from beginning to end she executes swift mood swings naturally and effectively and her relationship with Knightley is captured perfectly. They have the mannerisms and comfort around each other that friends who have known each other so long would have. Wonderful pairing.

      

There are few stronger foundations for a cast than Ellen Burstyn and even here in this otherwise very adept cast she provides the bedrock for what is an emotional rollercoaster. Her grandmother is both conservatively matronly and aggressively righteous at the same time. It’s easy to understand how someone with such mixed ideals can become caught up in a web as she does.

      

Carol Kane is frustrating throughout. But this is a good thing. Honest. She plays the unbearable aunt that can’t help but tell grand tales and embellish her younger days in the theatre. Her inclusion gives another element to the exploration of lying and is well done. Kane is just what she needs to be and adds another very strong performance to already burgeoning list.

      

Tobias Menzies is powerful. And he needed to be. With such a strong female cast around him he was the figure of male authority and many times in the script all the females turn to him for something or other. Throughout, he is a pillar of strength, standing by the morals of his profession and his kindliness that were evident in his talent. He brings a latent power that the women lack and that is compelling when it comes into play and painful when it is uprooted.

      

Bryony Hannah is the star of the show. Her character development was a cut above even Ellen Burstyn. Playing children can be difficult; they are irrational beyond the insanities of adults and their physicality is completely different. They are never still and neither is Bryony Hannah. Throughout the performance she is utterly unbearable and enough to convince most people never to have children. That is testament to how fully she developed her character. This show is almost a wonderful moment of passing the baton. With such strong performances all round it gives a good reflection of theatre today and Ellen Burstyn must be happy to pass a mantle on to Bryony Hannah. If she doesn’t become a very successful performer something has gone horribly wrong.

      

However, despite all these top class performances the show itself was incredibly difficult to watch. The acting was certainly engaging; a masterclass of how to create believable and human characters, but there was a cripplingly slow pace to the whole thing. Perhaps it is because I am too young to sit through something so intense and agonizingly slow, though I would say I’ve sat through worse. Perhaps it is because the play itself is old, having been written for an entirely different audience in 1933 America. Whatever the reason, and I suspect it’s more of the latter, the whole show was very difficult to take in. You could see the ending and the twists coming from metaphorical miles away and the amount of pauses and silences served more to slow it down to a painfully slow pace for all the wrong reasons.

      

The effect of this began to show on the acting. The moments of passion where people snapped and started shouting seemed very real but distant. Even the faster sections seemed slow. As a result of this chronically slow pace I would not advise people to go and see it unless they are in it for the acting. The show itself is frustrating. I spent the whole time wanting to slap the child and pack her off to a harsh school and the rest of the time wanting to slap her grandmother.

      

This show is full of magnificent acting, bursting at the seams, but is a hard watch due to the nature of the mechanics in script and the pace. I only recommend it to those who are well acquainted with the theatre.

Written by Lillian Hellman; Directed by Ian Rickson; at the Comedy Theatre; Starring Keira Knightley, Elisabeth Moss, Ellen Burstyn, Carol Kane, Tobias Menzies, Bryony Hannah; Runs from 22 Jan 11 - 07 May 11.

http://www.thecomedytheatre.co.uk/

John Ord (22/02/2011)

Love Story **

As with most reviews, I will preface this by saying that I have neither read the highly successful original novel by Erich Segal, nor seen the even more lucrative Hollywood film and was thus going into the show without expectation or bias, as it appeared most of the audience was.

      

The set was laid out in a sparse fashion; the whole stage was painted and covered in white, including the instruments and props for the band at the back. The lone exception was a black grand piano in the centre, forming a focal point that turned out to not be that much of a focal point in the story at all.

      

The show opened with a musical number that was endearing and almost enchanting but the class of the song was eventually undermined by its reprises and before long I was looking forward to the next song. This turned out to be somewhat unfortunate as the vast majority of the songs sounded more or less the same, so floating in a chorus or two from a different song went almost unnoticed. The whole show sounded the same and the way the songs were staged had very little variation indeed. Having said that, there was a very impressive scene where Michael Xavier and Emma Williams sang a very energetic and fast-paced song while cooking themselves some pasta. Credit given where credit is due.

      

The general acting was rather disappointing as well. With the exception of Peter Polycarpou as the ill-fated Jenny’s father, Phil, there was very little genuine characterisation. Polycarpou brought a depth and a realistic comedy to the show, his character being far more human than the rest of them and, as a result, far easier to connect with. The rest of the cast seem to have picked one element of their character and run with it so that they weren’t so much people as two-dimensional representations. Instead of being a fully developed person, Jenny was an intelligent pianist and Oliver was a confident lawyer. It was frustrating because the scope was there in the script to make a lot of the characters and at various points you could see the actors trying to do so but their efforts were one-off moments and not endorsed by sustained development.

      

The whole show used a very simple style, which would have worked it if was done with greater depth. As it was, the effect this intentionally simple approach turned out to be bland at best. There was very little dynamic and all the dynamics that were in place were either predictably the same or had their foundations in the ether. The whiteness of the set worked well with the props that were wheeled on and off, which I liked, but it didn’t help the severe lack of character to the show.

      

My judgement is that the show rested on its laurels too much, like a general leading a Roman Legion into battle against some disorganised locals it relied too heavily on reputation and took far too many losses in what should have been an easy victory. The fact that it is based on an already incredibly successful franchise and has the talents of Michael Ball on board, albeit as the producer, seemed to be enough to draw audiences into the theatre. Once inside and the curtain up the story was left to do all the work. There was no added colour to it, there was no individuality to it; it was very much the story and not much else. The story is a good one, but even a good story can be told badly and this was in danger of turning into that poor grandparent who falls asleep reading their grandchildren bedtime stories.

      

It was a short show, two hours without an interval and I’m not sure why. Admittedly, more of the same would have sent me to sleep myself but giving the cast more room and more time to develop their characters and the subtle nuances of life that were missing would have been time well spent. The fact that everyone who really enjoyed the show were clearly privy to the story beforehand implies that the show is only worth seeing if you’ve read the book, which I think is indicative of a bad adaptation more than anything else. Lack of awareness of the book a show is based on should not have such a detrimental effect on the ability of the show to stand on its own.

      

The show was sad from the beginning and when she eventually dies at the end you find yourself wondering what she was giving up on as there wasn’t much excitement beforehand. Resigned to lamentation throughout, the show just came across as very one-dimensional, jumping through hoops and ticking boxes as opposed to thinking outside of them and developing something new.

      

I’m not saying that there weren’t good things about the show, there were quite a few things that were done very well, but there wasn’t enough to provide balance or nuance to an underdeveloped show.

      

The one poignant line in the whole show that stood out to me, ‘love’s not what you feel it’s what you do’ was seriously downplayed, coming in at the end of one of the series of lamenting and tedious songs, and almost went unnoticed. I think that most of the audience missed it entirely. Perhaps the moral of this particular love story is that you need to do a whole lot more.

Written by Erich Segal; Adapted by Stephen Clark; Music by Howard Goodall; Directed by Rachel Kavanaugh; at the Duchess Theatre; Starring Emma Williams, Michael Xavier, Peter Polcarpou, Richard Cordery, Jan Hartley, Paul Kemble, Gary Milner; Runs from 27 Nov 10 - 26 Feb 11.

http://www.lovestoryonstage.com/

John Ord (18/02/2011)

Vernon God Little *****

Having not read the now famous book by DBC Pierre and not seen the show before, in fact, having managed to stumble through life almost completely unaware of Vernon God Little entirely I had absolutely no idea what this production was going to paint onto the blank canvas I had in my head. What resulted was nothing like any expectations that I had. The production is a credit to everyone involved and is a triumph for the Young Vic theatre.

      

The set itself appeared simple and was kept sparse. The various trapdoors were hidden until they were suddenly revealed and the segregated wings worked very well to aid the rapid movement onstage. The rapid movement was due to the pace of the show and the nature of the set. Everything was on wheels and was wheeled across the stage into and out of position so that there was seldom a time when everything on stage was stationary. Everything was used in multiple ways to wonderful effect. The bar in Mexico turned into a car and each sofa had a stint as a car of some kind, the walls of each place being swiveled to reveal either another room or another place entirely. The lighting was well orchestrated as well, keeping hidden things that would have shown up to the detriment of the show and amplifying the things that were making it wonderful. Congratulations to Designer and Lighting Technicians Ian MacNeil, Paule Constable and Jane Dutton.

      

As fantastic as the props and set were the music was at least ten times more stupefying. Every member of the cast had a burgeoning musical talent that was exposed and celebrated with the fervor of a group of people thoroughly enjoying what they’re doing. Instruments on show included acoustic guitars, electric guitars, a double bass, a harmonica and a banjo! And for the record I’m not counting the versatile vocals in there but they definitely deserve a mention. Each member of the cast had a beautiful voice and each had no reservations about sharing it, the result being a musical cavalcade of delight that rarely stopped, even for the action. A credit to Casting Director Maggie Lunn to find people so talented in every aspect, including dance as well, as she has done.

      

The whole show looked and felt like a storybook world in a teenager’s imagination; an effect that worked very well indeed in treading the line between harsh and comic, hilariously funny and mortifyingly sad. It was a line that every member of the cast walked in every character that they had to bring to the stage, which in itself is a truly remarkable achievement. Each member of the cast not only had a unique musical challenge to compete with, but also had a vastly greater than average number of different characters to perform and each character was brought to life with both unique and life-like characteristics and realistic depth and were each and every one a true credit to the actors.

      

I find it difficult to believe the programme when it says that this was Joseph Drake’s professional debut. He was far too good for that to be the case. The last person to play the title role was Colin Morgan (now of Merlin fame) and his act must have been an interesting one to follow. Drake does so with a truly magical performance, fleeting between the sad and the funny, the desperate and the whimsy without a hint of panic or inexperience. A career to follow here.

      

On the other end of the spectrum we have Peter de Jersey, who has traded his more accustomed RSC stalwart position for something completely different. Cutting all the strings loose he commands the stage as the charismatic Lally, marching on and grabbing attention instantly, drawing us to his performance. Having seen him in numerous RSC productions over the years it was truly astounding to see him giving a performance as fantastic as this in a completely different character.

      

I don’t have enough space to give the credit to each cast member that is due to them but I hope it will suffice if I say that each gave a performance that is worthy of remembrance and praise and nobody let the side down at all. There was a great sense of joy that was visible in the cast that only stems from being both at ease and ridiculously talented.

      

The beauty of the show lies in the unity of it. It manages to hold together the delicate balance of the script to manipulate the audience in remarkable ways. One moment you could be laughing out loud and within a couple of moments you could be fighting back the tears before smiling at a song and dance moments after that. At the end it becomes frustratingly good and I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to laugh or cry and ended up sitting in a form of stunned silence. It’s a credit to the direction of Rufus Norris, a welcome exhibition of talent after the notably flat Country Girl of late. This balance is the holy grail of theatre and is something that this show manages to find and hold aloft, triumphant. Everything is held together beautifully.

      

This production is an absolute wonder and cannot be missed. There’s so much I want to say in praise of it that you really must go to understand why. The season has already been extended so don’t risk missing what is a marvellous show. Go. Now.

Written by DBC Pierre; Adapted by Tanya Ronder; Directed by Rufus Norris; at the Young Vic; Starring Joseph Drake, Peter de Jersey, Luke Brady, Clare Burt, Daniel Cerqueira, Johnnie Fiori, Lily James, Penny Layden, Nathan Osgood, Duncan Wisbey; Runs from 27 Jan 11 - 12 Mar 11.

http://www.youngvic.org/whats-on/vernon-god-little

John Ord (16/02/2011)

The History Boys *****

There is a great deal of positive history behind The History Boys, a justly successful film being the most accessible avenue into the text. This brief production is a roaring success and a great addition to the annals of History Boys fame.

      

The set was simple and effective. A few desks and chairs made up the classroom that was the center for most of the action throughout. The chairs were often moved about in the scene changes as director Christopher Luscombe capitalised on the energy brought to the show by the young cast. The centre of the stage was fitted with a revolving circle, on which the classroom was set. During various scenes the set would rotate in the middle; the boys at their desks turning slowly round. This was a good effect that added a needed dynamic to the simple structure of one class after another.

      

I also enjoyed the scene changes, where music would suddenly burst onto the stage as the set was energetically cleared and moved ready for the next scene. All of the music was chosen carefully and was well suited to the show as well as being very exciting and upbeat (which, incidentally, gave a strong contrast to the emotional final scenes), allowing the ball to continue bouncing higher without ever being dropped. One of the most remarkable things about the show as a whole was the sheer amount of energy involved. Everything was dynamic and active, whether it was the physicality, the script and language, the relationships of even the scene changes. There was always something happening and with a forceful cheekiness behind it that made it very watchable.

The actors were brilliant throughout. Philip Franks brought an aged authority to the character of Hector. Someone who has seen and done a great deal of what’s on offer as a person, he added a natural and passionate excitement to the part. His lessons were chaotic and undeniably fun, the one that stands out being the brothel that has to quickly transform into a hospital in the trenches when the headmaster enters. He was wonderfully cast and his wizened years worked fantastically with the energetic youthfulness of the younger cast.

      

Penelope Beaumont was not to be outdone. The lone woman in a male-dominated show is not an easy part to play but she did so with an exact sense of comic timing that left the audience in stitches regularly. Authoritative and confident on stage her character came across as realistic; perhaps she was drawing on her own experiences as a teacher, perhaps not. She nailed the character to perfection.

      

The contribution of Ben Lambert is not to be underestimated. He doesn’t look at all younger than the boys in the class so his position is more relatable. He comes in trying to make a difference, trying to stamp his authority on the class but finds it harder than he had first thought. Lambert plays this with a suitable air of struggle and confusion at the boys’ unwillingness to co-operate.

      

The group of boys were all wonderfully cast. George Banks as Dakin was very strong in the central role among the boys, walking the line between ability and arrogance carefully and subtly enough to appear human. It was Rob Delaney as Posner who stood out, however. Very well characterised and also incredibly talented he shone throughout. He captured the tormented nature of Posner’s situation well (‘I’m a Jew, I'm small, I’m homosexual and I live in Sheffield. I’m fucked.’) while at the same time bringing out the positive enjoyment in the character. His delight in all forms of performance are clear, especially his singing, and very enjoyable.

      

All the boys worked together really well. All the actors had formed characters that were both relatable and funny, in typical Bennett style. Christopher Keegan’s Timms was relentlessly funny and Peter McGovern’s Rudge was unfalteringly blunt. Everyone seemed to have something that set them apart from everyone else while still managing to keep the foundation of their group together.

      

The whole cast came together very well indeed, making every moment beautifully hilarious. There was nobody that appeared out of place or out of their depth and the group were clearly all very much up for having a laugh with each other. This is one of those things that you can’t really fake and adds a very positive dimension to the show when it’s there. It was there and it was obvious.

      

Any criticism leveled at the show would be born out of a perceived need to criticise and be forced, as nothing stood out as weak or misdirected. It was a unified show in which even the small things were carefully designed to contribute to the whole and did so very well.

      

The show is very cheeky and energetic and the team behind this production captures this very well indeed. It’s flawlessly funny and relentlessly energetic and both of these are wonderful things to sit down and watch. The time flew by and I was gutted at the curtain. I loved this production and urge everyone to find when it tours near you and to go and see it. Theatre at its best on display here.

Written by Alan Bennett; Directed by Christopher Luscombe; at the Rose Theatre, Kingston; Starring Philip Franks, Ben Lambert, Penelope Beaumont, George Banks, Rob Delaney, Christopher Keegan, Peter McGovern; Runs from 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-History-Boys-2011-tour/125717087495051

John Ord (03/02/2011)