Review - It's a Wonderful Life - People's Theatre

It's a Wonderful Life   

People's Theatre

19th Nov 2024

If I could only watch one Christmas film for the rest of my life, It's a Wonderful Life would be my choice. It is the highlight of my Christmas viewing every year, so it was with some delight and a little trepidation that I took my seat at the People's Theatre for a stage adaptation.  There is always an element of risk when our treasures are entrusted to someone else...Was I about to see George Bailey in all his glory on stage, or was I about to be disappointed by something that did not quite live up to expectation? 

Of course I needn't have worried, our treasures are always in safe hands at the People's Theatre. They took the story of George Bailey and Bedford Falls and lovingly recreated on stage. 

The attention to detail in everything from the set to the costumes, the use of lighting and music, is what sets the People's Theatre productions apart, and this was no exception. From the charming, understated set to the beautifully choreographed scene changes this production was a delight to watch, and perfectly captured the essence of the original film. 

Sam Hinton is utterly believable as George Bailey, supported by Sara Jo Harrison as the calm and practical Mary, while Tony Sehgal is charming  as the quirky Clarence - the guardian angel desperate to earn his wings. 

It would have been easy to simply produce an impression of the original film with impersonations of the iconic characters, but this is not what the People's team do - their production has all the quality and charm of the original, but each cast member makes the characters their own, from George and Clarence right through to Violet and Bert and Ernie. 

There were some first night nerves on show, and an errant prop or two but none of that detracted from the performance, and in fact, as usual, they were dealt with calmly and professionally. And I am sure the nerves will settle as the run progresses. 

It's a Wonderful Life is a wonderful start to the festive season - a heartwarming and beautiful tale, beautifully presented. If this doesn't put you in the Christmas spirit then I fear nothing will - it should be required viewing for everyone!

It plays until Saturday 23rd November and I recommend booking your ticket in advance at www.peoplestheatre.co.uk because you really don't want to miss it!

*photography by Paul Hood

Denise Sparrowhawk

Review - The Rise and Fall of Little Voice - Royalty Theatre

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice 

Royalty Theatre 

29th October, 2024

Written by Jim Cartwright

Directed by Andrew Barella and Aidan Evans

Juggling work and life is proving to be something of a challenge lately, and has meant that I've not been able to see as much theatre as I would have liked this season, however I'm glad I made time this week to get to the Royalty at Sunderland to see their current production. 

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice is described in the programme as a "wonderfully quirky and dark comedy". I like a bit of quirky. And I like a bit of dark comedy. Little Voice is definitely quirky and it is certainly dark. It's one of those strange plays that defies being put in a category - if it was a book, the publisher would struggle to find a nice niche label to shelve it under.  It's a story about people, and relationships, about love and selfishness, and the difference between dreams and ambition. It could so easily have been written as a kitchen sink drama - bleak and unforgiving, but it's saving grace is the humour - dark though it may be. There are two strands to the humour - a crueller, laughing at the characters kind, and a gentler more understanding, recognition kind. 

Mari and Ray are not nice people; they are self-centred, self-involved, ambitious only for their own success, interested only in what they can gain from a situation. And, we laugh at the manifestation of their shallowness, and feel at the end, they get what they deserve. 

Little Voice and Billy are two lost souls in this world, trying to navigate a way through, and at the mercy of the wolves. We recognise their humanity and we smile at their awkwardness and innocence. They have each created an escape from the difficulties of their lives. Billy perhaps more successfully than Little Voice, but in achieving his dream, he is able to help LV find hers. Their developing relationship brings us a sweeter humour. 

Billy, played by Matthew Pegden, is a such a lovable character, and Pegden plays him beautifully, from his first awkward words to his final assertive support for LV.  While Chantelle Taggart captures the two sides of Little Voice perfectly - the shy, reclusive girl, who barely speaks, and the girl who can transform into her favourite singers. It's a tall order to not only sing well, but to also sound like some of the greatest female singers of all time. Chantelle achieves all of this with ease. 

As well as challenging the actors, this play is also a challenge for the set designers - they have created a set on two levels (three if you include Billy's telegraph pole!) to incorporate the kitchen and living room as well as LV's bedroom sanctuary. Light and sound are crucial and the music played and lights dimmed on cue! 

There's a lot to contend with in this play and the team at the Royalty have met the challenges head on. 

It runs until Sat 2nd November, tickets can be purchased in advance at  www.royaltytheatre.co.uk or on the door. 

Denise Sparrowhawk 

Review - Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - People's Theatre

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde 

People's Theatre

22nd October, 2024

Written by David Edgar

Directed by Andy Aiken and Helen Doyle

This month's offering from The People's Theatre is a bit of ghoulish Victorian melodrama - an adaptation by David Edgar of R L Stevenson's Strange Tale of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. And a strange tale it is indeed. 

Dr Edward Henry Jekyll is a scientist with a growing reputation. He is invited to speak at learned symposiums, and holds earnest discussions over dinner with his equally learned friends. He is a benevolent uncle, showering gifts on his niece and nephew and playing boisterous games with them. He is clearly adored by them, and loved by their mother, his sister. He is pious, and abstemious, declining to drink alcohol on a Sunday. We surely could not meet a more wholesome man? And yet, there are hints...his beloved sister sports an eye-patch, and the father he looked up to, left all his possessions to the daughter, not the son. 

So perhaps this playfulness and piety hide something darker? After all, our introduction to the play came as a conversation between one of Jekyll's esteemed friends and his nephew, who has witnessed a perturbing, violent incident outside the house of Dr Jekyll. 

And indeed it does. Jekyll is ambitious, and driven, but he is also secretive and furtive about his work, and in particular about his father's notebooks. And as we discover, there is much more to Dr Jekyll than meets the eye. Ryan Smith brings to life Jekyll's dual characters - two extremes of a personality; the upright, civilised doctor, and the grotesque, violent alter ego, Mr Hyde. Truth be told, I didn't much like either of them. 

Under the direction of Andy Aiken and Helen Doyle, Smith somehow conveys a sense of something unwholesome in Jekyll while presenting a man of respectability and virtue. And of course Mr Hyde is the embodiment of that unwholesomeness - guttural, angry, quick to take - and give - offence. He is the antithesis of the image Jekyll shows to society. Smith's transformation from the one to the other is astonishing to see, and possibly exhausting to sustain through the play! 

Smith is ably supported by a cast whose civility and politeness towards each other is exemplary, and is in stark contrast to the brutish, carnal behaviour of Hyde. Naturally there will be no good end to this tale - the heinous crimes of Mr Hyde will be the downfall of Dr Jekyll, despite his belated attempts to bring the beast under control. It seems that the baseness of his nature is stronger than his morality. It is perhaps telling that the character who understands, and sees Jekyll best is the maid, Annie (Jenny Davison), herself a dual character, at once naive and wise, daughter of an abusive father, she recognizes something within Jekyll but is unable to articulate it convincingly. She is judged and shunned by her supposed betters and yet she, in the end brings him, tragically, to his senses. 

We should perhaps all take note and strive to keep our baser emotions under control, but not so much so as to cause an imbalance in our natures. And don't drink any suspicious looking potions this Halloween!

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde will be confronting each other at the People's Theatre until Saturday 26th October. Tickets are available here www.peoplestheatre.co.uk .

*Image by Paul Hood

Denise Sparrowhawk

Preview - Witness for the Prosecution - Royalty Theatre

Centenary Season Opener at The Royalty 

Witness For the Prosecution by Agatha Christie 

The Royalty Theatre in Sunderland is celebrating one hundred years this year and the team have chosen as their season opener a classic Agatha Christie mystery. 

Leonard Vole stands accused of murdering a rich widow. The stakes are high with shocking witness testimony, impassioned outbursts from the dock and a young man’s fight to escape the hangman’s noose. Generally regarded as one of Christie’s most accomplished plays, this suspenseful thriller keeps audiences guessing until the very end.

“Once more the Christie conjuring trick has come off. Once more we have been led down the garden path. Apart from being a clever puzzle, this is an extremely actable play.” - THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

“The play has all the usual advantages of Counsel in conflict, agonised outbreaks in the dock, and back-answers from the witness-box. To these are added an ingenious appendix; the jury’s verdict is only the beginning of a story that has as many twists as a pigtail.” - THE OBSERVER

Directed by Lee Wilkins and with a cast that includes such Royalty regulars as Tom Kelly, Jamie Lowes, John Appleton and Beth McAneny, it promises to be a cracking start to their Centenary Season. 

Witness for the Prosecution runs from Tuesday 24th to Saturday 28th of September. 

Tickets cost from £8.50 to £10 and can be purchased online from Ticketsource or from the box office on the night. (Please note a small fee applies to online bookings.) Curtain up is at 7.30pm and doors open at 6.30pm giving you plenty of time to grab a drink in the bar before you go in! 

Review - The Railway Children - People's Theatre

The Railway Children 

People's Theatre

16th July 2024

The People's Theatre are ending their season with an adaptation of a much loved children's classic - E Nesbit's The Railway Children. It's one of those beloved books, written for children but actually mostly much loved by adults.

 

It's a gentle tale about a family learning to live with changed circumstance, their once affluent lifestyle turned on it's head when the children's father is sent to prison for spying, and they lose everything. Forced to move from London to the Yorkshire countryside, the children have to learn a new way of life, no servants, scrimping and saving to pay bills, and making their own entertainment. For the children this comes from the railway - they spend hours watching the trains and waving in the hope that they will carry their love to their father, far away in London. 

Mike Kenny's adaptation tells the story through the children's eyes - they address the audience introducing themselves as they begin to unroll their story and we are given the child's eye view of events - not the full picture, because their mother protects them from the world - while all around them we, the audience, see what is really happening. It's a clever layering of the events, giving both the adult point of view and the children's. It's a charming and nostalgic coming of age story. Though it deals with some tough themes -  injustice and politics, social class and poverty - it does so in a very gentle way. It is not the hard hitting coming of age experience most modern teens would recognise. The Waterbury children have the advantage of enlightened parents, and despite their straightened circumstance they are still much better off than the other families in their new home. Thought the themes could be argued to be relevant to today, this is very much a tale from a different era, when society and attitudes were very different.  It is, nevertheless a heartwarming story and is a worthy choice for the season finale. 

The set designers have created a sense of place, with the railway bridge dominating centre stage and various props denoting the different scenes - from the affluent London home with it's fine furniture to the quaint Three Chimneys with its simple kitchen table and stove; a pile of coal and packing cases under the bridge, billowing smoke and steam, recreate the station while off to the right is the Perk's cottage and Mr Perk's "office". 

The sound crew consolidate the scenery with the sounds of the trains, the steam, the whistles and the screech of brakes, and the rumble of a landslide. If you close your eyes you could believe that a train was pulling into the station, or flying by at speed. 

In addition, the costumes are spot on - from the girl's pinafores to Mrs Waterbury's tailored dress, they are stitch perfect. 

This is a pleasing production bringing a well known tale to the stage. Ashton Matthews, Joe Moore and Stephanie Moore capture the characters of the three siblings, with their bickering and their naiviety, while Kay Edmundson shines as the archetypal strong mother, holding her family together against the odds. Tony Childs is perfectly cast as the kindly Old Gentleman. They are all ably supported by the rest of the cast - providing an array of friendly characters to help Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis navigate their way through the many new situations they find themselves in. 

The Railway Children is showing until Sat 20th July. Take a trip back in time and Buy a ticket and take a nostalgic trip back to a gentler time!  Tickets can be booked online at www.peoplestheatre.co.uk 

*photo credit Paul Hood 

Denise Sparrowhawk

Preview - The Railway Children - People's Theatre

 A beloved children’s classic pulls into the People’s Theatre next week!

 

 

All aboard for Mike Kenny’s delightful adaptation of E. Nesbit’s THE RAILWAY CHILDREN, the much-loved story of family, adventure, and trains!

 

When their father suddenly leaves under mysterious circumstances, Bobbie, Peter, Phyllis and their mother must move to a small cottage in rural Yorkshire where life is very different.

 

The children meet new friends, save the day and divert disasters, and along the way discover a world full of imagination, love and resilience.

 

Actors Ashton Matthews, Joe Moore and Stephanie Moore who play the Waterbury children Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis took a trip to Tanfield Railway last month where its heritage steam train proved to be the perfect co-star for some photographs. 

 

THE RAILWAY CHILDREN captures all of the angst and exhilarations of childhood, and promises to be a heartwarming summer treat for all ages.

 

THE RAILWAY CHILDREN runs from Tuesday 16 – Saturday 20 July on the Main Stage.

 

Tickets are available from the People’s Theatre Box Office on 0191 265 5020 (option 2) and online at www.peoplestheatre.co.uk

*Images: Paul Hood

REVIEW - ALL WHITE EVERYTHING BUT ME - LIVE

ALL WHITE EVERYTHING BUT ME

Live Theatre

3rd July, 2024

Watching from the intimately, immersive position of front row cabaret style tables, this production had me gripped from the outset.

Chalk dust hanging in the air over a white minimalistic set, was the perfect backdrop to this tale of not only the journey to the championships but so much more.

This compelling piece written & performed by Kemi-Bo Jacobs was stunning in its delivery. She gave a flawless performance in this one woman show, shifting effortless from one character to the next. With the aid of projection the audience are transported back to the dreams of a little girl who wanted to ‘be remembered’. From South Carolina to Harlem and then on to the lofty heights of Forest Hills & Wimbledon we follow the career of Althea Gibson. From a child who survived by talking with her fists to the  pioneer of sport who became Wimbledon champion n 1957, this is not only a story of greatness, it is a story of pure grit determination & a desire to escape.

Tennis coaches, tournament wins, titles, foreign tours & a lost love are Althea’s life as success beckons BUT there is always this undercurrent of racism. This is 1950’s America where Althea is the underdog, is second class & is allowed to play in prestigious tournaments only if she doesn’t attend the pretty, see & be seen social events that come along with it. Incredulous to believe but sadly true.

Kemi-Bo Jacobs packs fact, pathos & wit into her script & we come out rooting for the lady who was once the fore runner of her time but is often overlooked.

A special mention must be made to Becky Morris for her wonderful direction of this production, which brought it alive.

This was a great production that captivated the audience from start to finish. You don’t need to be a tennis fan to enjoy this. Go see it!

*Photo credit: Matt Jamie

Plays until Sat 6 July.  

Tickets £15 online at

https://www.live.org.uk/whats-on/all-white-everything-me

 or from Box Office on (0191) 2321232. 

Alison Stanley

Review - The Girl On The Train - Royalty Theatre

The Girl On The Train 

Royalty Theatre

18th June, 2024

Based on the book by Paula Hawkins 

Adapted for stage by Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel

Directed by John Appleton 

The Royalty's final production of the season is a psychological thriller which started life as a bestselling novel, and progressed to a blockbuster movie. I have neither read the book, nor seen the film so didn't entirely know what to expect, though I did wonder how they were going to fit a train into the theatre. Spoiler alert: they don't - much to my disappointment the action pretty much all takes place in buildings, not on trains.  

Rachel Watson (Nikki Slack) fantasizes about a couple she sees every day from the train window as she travels to work, creating for them the perfect life she wishes for herself. One day she sees something different, and then the woman disappears, and Rachel finds herself a suspect in the disappearance. This in itself is a bizarre situation, but the plot thickens as the other characters are introduced and connections between them begin to be revealed. 

Megan and Scott Hipwell (Elyse Hood and Jamie Lowes), live in the same apartment block as Rachel's ex-husband. Rachel has been harassing her ex's new wife Anna (Ashley McAneny), turning up at the apartment unannounced and leaving drunken phone messages. She's also suffering from blackouts, and memory lapses. After a visit from DI Gaskill, investigating the disappearance of Megan, Rachel decides to try to solve the mystery herself; she visits Scott pretending to be one of Megan's friends. 

As plots go, this one stretches credibility to breaking point, but if you can suspend your disbelief sufficiently, it does provide an intriguing mystery with as many suspects as there are characters - well, bar one - at no point did I think DI Gaskill (David Farn) had committed the crime. There are plenty of twists and turns in this, and (supposing, like me, you haven't read the book or seen the film) it keeps you guessing most of the way through. Any one of the characters could be guilty - indeed, they are all guilty of something, but not necessarily murder. 

As I said at the beginning there's no train (only the sound of one) but there are several apartments, a therapist's office and a police station, plus an embankment and an underpass. That's a lot of scene changes. The team at the Royalty manage the practicalities of this really well, with a minimal set, creative use of a sofa and some excellent lighting. The scene changes are done quickly and efficiently by the stage hands.

Overall this play felt it was lacking something. It didn't seem to me to merit any of the hype afforded to the book or the film, and I wonder if that was purely down to the challenge of bringing such a complex plot to the stage?  The director and cast work hard to bring it to life, and there are some strong performances, but so many changes of scene between one apartment and the next detract from the suspense, constantly puncturing the tension. The plot for me has too many coincidences to be believable, so I never quite got on board. 

The Girl on the Train runs until Saturday.  It'll keep you guessing, and the final reveal might surprise you. 

And it's better than watching tennis or football...

Denise Sparrowhawk

Review - All My Sons - People's Theatre

All My Sons 

People's Theatre

4th June, 2024

Written by Arthur Miller 

Presented by People's Theatre

Directed by Eileen Davidson

Joe Keller is a successful man. He has built up his manufacturing business since the war, providing a beautiful home for his wife Kate, and a thriving company to leave to his son, Chris. He is popular with his neighbours, and the neighbourhood kids. It all seems ideal but beneath the smiles and success are dark secrets. Their youngest son Larry never returned from the war, lost in action, his plane and body never found. Kate lives in hope that one day he will return like so many other sons and husbands she reads of in the news. Chris their eldest son returned from war and slipped into the expected life at his father's firm, but he is not content. He wants more than a life of appeasing his parents for the loss of his brother. This comfortable post-war success does not sit well with him when so many of his comrades did not come back.  

Into all this he has invited Ann. Ann and he have been corresponding for several years, and Chris has invited her back to her home town to ask her to marry him. Kate will not like this, and they have to find a way to break the news to her.  Ann was Larry's girl, and is the daughter of Joe's former partner, Steve. Steve is currently in prison, convicted of supplying faulty aircraft parts in the war - a crime for which Joe was exonerated.  Ann has not been back to her home town since the trial. 

As the play progresses it becomes clear that there is more to the story than first appears. Though he has worked hard to rebuild his reputation, there are underlying doubts about his involvement. Tension builds as Chris tries to assert his wishes for a different life with Ann, against his mother's assertion that Ann is Larry's girl, and that Larry will be coming home one day, while his father tries to maintain the status quo. 

Then come revelations from Sue Bayliss, the Doctor's wife - a bitter and unhappy woman, and the call from Ann's brother with more hints that things are not what they seem. The Keller's carefully constructed life is about to come crashing down. 

There are so many layers to this play - everyone of the characters is hiding their true selves. They all have secrets. Dreams that are unfulfilled, different lives they could have lived. The life that we see them living on stage is carefully but precariously balanced on a single truth - or untruth - and when that is revealed the balance is lost, with catastrophic results. 

The stage is set as the Keller's back yard, in front of their beautiful house, with the garden swing and Larry's tree - which is felled by a storm at the start of the play - a telling symbol of what is about to befall the Kellers.  the house is almost a character in itself - holding the memory of Larry in his room, and lighting up from to cast shadows of the characters when they are inside - most notably when Ann takes the call from her brother. The lighting gives a sense of the life lived in the house, but the shadows also give an ominous sense of foreboding - again, there is the feeling that not all is right in this world. 

There is a brittleness about the characters in their determination to be seen to be happy, to be living their lives, making choices, and yet you do feel that any one of them might break at any moment. And all it takes is that one truth to surface for the breaking to happen. 

Jonathan Goodman is superb, fronting it out as the all American success story, while Ann Zunder plays a blinder as his apparently emotionally distraught wife - and yet, was she not actually the strength behind the whole family? Her assertion that Larry is not dead is what has kept chaos at bay. She knows the truth of it - a father cannot kill his own son! 

Each actor in this production gives such a convincing portrayal - you feel their frustrations, their joys, their disappointments and their doubts! Each one reveals little by little the cracks and faults in their story - until the final reveal, and all is lost. It was fascinating to watch, as each character revealed themselves, like a slowly pulled thread, and eventually the whole fabric of their lives unravelled.

It's a complicated tragedy - a story of love and loyalty, guilt and innocence, of truth and patriotism, of family, and of the tarnished American Dream. This is the kind of production that reminds me why I love theatre so much. It is compelling. 

All My Sons plays until June 8th. I highly recommend it. 

*images by Paul Hood

Denise Sparrowhawk

  

Review - Cheshire Cats - Little Theatre

Cheshire Cats  

Little Theatre 

3rd June, 2024

Written by Gail Young

Presented by the Progressive Players

Directed by Sarah Balkwill

Cheshire Cats is the story of a group of friends who enter the London Moonwalk to raise money for a Breast Cancer Charity. They each have their reasons for entering the walk, whether it's in memory of a loved one, to support their friends, or to feel supported themselves...their reasons are their own and personal, but they bring together these six very different characters. 

Some of the women are already firm friends, while others are new to the group, and one in particular doesn't quite fit, and is a bit of a surprise - Andrew is "a bloody man" on an all girls outing. 

The women joke with and about each other, they complain and cajole each other into training for, and eventually completing, the moonwalk. Despite their "training" they are not fit, and not fully prepared for a 13 mile power walk,. There are blisters, panic attacks, bladder issues, but there is also encouragement, support and friendship....and blister plasters!  

Sarah Balkwill's staging creates a sense of the occasion, with the London skyline and the background sounds of the crowds and traffic. At times the action spills out into the auditorium, with characters entering from the back and interacting with the audience, which all adds to the atmosphere and keeps the momentum of the play going.

This is a clever and warm treatment of a serious issue. The many characters in the play, from the six friends, to the marshals and the policemen all evoke the sense of fun and camaraderie experienced on the walk. You will laugh along with them but you will also feel their emotion and the pain behind their reason for taking part in the walk. 

The Moonwalk is an actual event which takes place every year in London to raise money for cancer charities. Gail Young wrote the play after walking the walk herself with a group of friends, and encourages productions to help raise money for the Walk the Walk charity - in keeping with this there is a collection at the end of the performance. The cast and crew here deserve to make bucketfuls!

Cheshire cats will be walking the walk at the Little Theatre until June 8th. Please come along and support not just local theatre, but a deserving charity. 

Denise Sparrowhawk