"Oliver!" Lands in Birmingham

Cameron Mackintosh's production of "Oliver!" has brought Charles Dickens' London to 21st Century Birmingham leaving last night's audiences asking for more.

With such a strong cast it's hard to figure out who leads the show: Neil Morrissey had the perfect comedic appeal as Fagin making audiences love such a slimy character, Ian Fletcher's Bill Sykes was evil yet enchanting whilst Samantha Barks played a gutsy Nancy that can belt out a tune or two, establishing herself as a true musical theatre leading lady. Max Griesbach and Harry Polden were the press night's Artful Dodger and title character, holding their own on stage and having audiences roaring at the end of their solo performances. The supporting cast and ensemble all deserve a special mention for excellent performances as well, comedic duo Suzie Chard and Jack Edwards were hilarious as Widow Corney and Mr Bumble and the ensemble brought to life the East End of London with uplifting musical numbers.

Totie Driver and Adrian Vaux's design for the show in outstanding, using an array of staircases, bridges and stunning backgrounds to bring to life Bloomsbury London, Fagin's den and a whole host of other locations where the musical takes place - the set alone is worth a ticket. The staging of this classic musical is genius too - one moment I was gaping at the sheer beauty of the stage being filled with dancing milkmaids and rose sellers in the number "Who Will Buy?" while the next moment I was gaping with anticipation watching blood thirsty Londoners running through to streets looking to kill Bill Sykes.

All the classic songs are there, "Food Glorious Food", "Consider Yourself", "Where is Love?" and "As Long As He Needs Me", all performed with commitment, energy and full emotion by the cast and the beautiful orchestra. Matthew Bourne's choreography is a joy to watch. It's hard to pick out many faults with this classic production. Everyone involved was dedicated and helped to craft one of the best pieces of theatre I've seen in a long time. I even found myself welling up as Oliver finds his happy ending (and believe me, I didn't even cry at "Ghost"... Everyone cries at "Ghost"!)

One small annoyance with this production: was it really necessary to throw in a Bob the Builder reference to get a few cheap laughs for Neil Morrissey?

First Night at the Opera

Having never been to the opera before I wasn't too sure what to expect last night at Welsh National Opera's production of "La Traviata". I've always liked the idea of "going to the opera" but have always been a bit anxious as to whether I could sit through two and half hours of singing in another language. However, last night's show was a really enjoyable experience and I'm glad to say I could sit through the two and half hours of singing in another language!

Before the show itself I did a bit of research (a quick Wikipedia of the story of the opera, what language it was in, who it was by etc) so I wasn't going into the totally unknown. I'd recommend other First Nighters to do this too, it means you won't be getting lost midway through the show. Also, the idea of everyone in the audience turning up in tuxedoes' and ball gowns put a bit of a shake in my boots, but it seemed to be a "dress as you want" dress code making the atmosphere less threatening and more relaxed.

Ok, so the production itself. La Traviata is a great "first opera", it's not too long and has two intervals (which broke the show up perfectly so I didn't get too agitated). This production was visually beautiful. The raked stage is lit sweetly and decorated with quaint French furniture and large dramatic drapes, at one point I found myself caught up in the wonder of the design rather than the drama taking place. A large orchestra plays hand in hand with a large ensemble to create a nice sound that doesn't make your ears wants to explode but is easy to listen to. The plot is somewhat easy to follow (if not a little bit dragged out) and resembles somewhat of a modern day soap episode, although I would recommend reading up on it beforehand.

The whole "foreign language barrier" is easy to get past with large sub-titles being played overhead. At first I couldn't figure out if I should watch the action or read the translations but I found I forgot about that in the end and started to naturally flip between the two. An interesting point to make is that the translations are played at the top of the proscenium arch and people sitting underneath the Circle couldn't see it.

WNO's production of La Traviata was visually and orally classic and beautiful and was a good introduction to the world of opera. I found myself caught up the character's lives and stories and gawping at how effortlessly they appear to sing. Forget what preconceptions you might have and give it a chance, you'd be pleasantly surprised... Just make sure you've done your research and have a seat where you can see the subtitles!

What's happened to this blog...

So I started this little blog a year or so ago just to see what happened and (by some crazy chance) it seems to be going well. I started blogging about my random experiences and thoughts and from there ended up writing for the Birmingham Hippodrome as one of their First Night Bloggers. After that I was approached by the people at I Am Birmingham (big cheer for my hometown) who have asked me to join the team reviewing and attending various events, shows and performances in Birmingham. And then I was approached by M. Magazine to do some writing for them, so it seems to have gone rather well. (I'm sure my GCSE English teacher would be rather proud of me...)

Anyway, lots of links below where you can see my ramblings. Enjoy.

My blog: This blog...
Birmingham Hippodrome First Night: Birmingham Hippodrome First Night
I Am Birmimgham: I Am Birmingham
I Am Birmingham Blog: I Am Birmingham Blog
M. Magazine: M. Magazine

Cinderella - The Greatest Pantomime of Them All!

Billed as "the greatest pantomime of them all" the Birmingham Hippodrome's 2011 pantomime "Cinderella" doesn't lie!

I've been a regular panto-goer at the Hippodrome for  ten years now and have seen many Cinder's go to the ball, Jack's climb beanstalks and Aladdin's find magical lamps. But this year QDOS (the UK's biggest pantomime producing company) have managed to top themselves again.

Brian Conley returns to the Hippodrome making this his 5th pantomime at the venue - a record for the theatre - and manages to bring lots of laughter for all audience members.  Panto leading lady Kathryn Rooney also returns to the Hippodrome to play the title role proving she not only has the beauty of a princess but also the voice of an angel. Lynda Bellingham makes her panto debut as the Fairy Godmother making you wonder why she hasn't made an appearance before - dare I say she was the most glamorous Fairy I've ever seen?

David Robbins and Martin Ramsdin are possibly the wickedest Ugly Stepsisters I've ever seen (and with names referencing to this years X Factor they are utterly hilarious!) Dan Burton and Matthew Goodgame make an admirable duo as Dandini and Prince Charming. Basil Brush even makes his role of the Baron his own and grasps the character like any true actor would!

Having seen well over 15 pantomimes by QDOS it's easy for gags to get recycled and routines to get boring but this years production brings something fresh to the Christmas tradition... New effects mean Cinderella and Buttons both go to the Ball via a route over the heads of the audience and we see a traditional panto horse get transformed into a real life Shetland pony. There's plenty of gags and audience participation to get even the hardest pf Scrooges chuckling along. But the highlight for me was definitely watching Buttons (Brian Conley) battle it out with Prince Charming whilst singing a love duet with Cinderella... Even poor Cinders gets caught up in her hassle.

With magical songs, slapstick routines and costumes to dazzle (over 300 of them I believe) the Birmingham Hippodrome is the place to be this Christmas for festive entertainment for the whole family... Oh yes it is!

Slava's Snow Show is a Must See!

From the minute I walked into the auditorium covered in snow I felt that I wasn’t in for an evening of “usual” theatre, and let me tell you: I was not disappointed. Usually I find rather easy write a review; I can talk about what cast member I liked the most, my favourite song, what didn’t work too well in my opinion and so on. However, with this show I just don’t know where to begin! One sentence best sums up this performance: Slava’s Snow Show is amazing! It is literally a visual feast of delightfulness.

A company of clowns enchant audiences as they cover them in a blizzard, wrap them up in a giant spider web, throw massive inflatable balls out and cover them in water. There’s not much story behind the entirely mimed show but it seems to bring out the inner child within you, who wouldn’t feel like a child when you’ve got half a dozen clowns throwing water at you?

I’m not going to lie, at first I was a bit sceptic. Did I really want to sit through a show of clowns miming? I found out I did! The show moves so fast with so much fun there’s not a moment for you to get bored.

Since seeing the show I’ve had a dozen people ask me if it’s “scary”... (The whole “I’m scared of clowns situation”) and it isn’t! Is it weird that I actually felt sorry for the clowns? The characters make you fall in love with them, not fearful of them.

I don’t want to write too much as it will give everything away, but seriously, there’s no wonder this show won a Tony. Get a ticket!

Visit Birmingham Hippodrome for ticket and show details.