Visiting Mr Green -Review- Customs House

Visiting Mr Green
Customs House
27 July 2011

Mr Green is an 86 year Jewish Dry Cleaner who wanders into New York Traffic.
Ross Gardiner is the 29 year old Business Executive that nearly runs him down and is charged with reckless driving.
Ross is sentenced to a period of community service which requires him to visit Mr. Green once a week, to shop for his groceries and to clean his apartment.
At first, Mr. Green resents the intrusion and is hostile toward Ross, but when he learns that the young man is also Jewish he warms to him and a bond is formed...until it emerges that Ross is gay.
What starts as a comedy about two men, who could hardly stand being in the same room together, becomes a gripping, heart-warming drama as they come to understand, respect and finally care for each other.

What strikes me about tonight's play is the careful use of melodramatic-ness..it is all over the place, sometimes in a great way, sometimes to the negative. Hope productions (G. Philip Hope plays Mr Green) brings to the Customs House a great play, that could be a little bit greater, a bit more thought through. The concept is superb, in my introduction it gives you everything you need to know about the play, and what to expect, but I was left thinking it could have been better.
Lets get down to the bones of it G.Philip Hope and Collin Baxter (playing Ross Gardiner) were superb in the play, they were great at delivering everything that it said on the tin (to coin a phrase from Ronseal) from the meeting in the lovely setting of Mr Green's humble abode in New York, that went on to explore the relationship between them that included the knowledge that Gardiner wasn't just Jewish, but homosexually Jewish, to the olde worlde concept of what happened in past, stays in the past ( Gardiner finds out that Mr Green has a daughter,with a multitude of grandchildren.. but he has frozen her out for 30 years, because she dared to marry a non Jewish man) to the superb interaction of stranger meets stranger, friend meets (and makes) friend.
Where the play tonight fell down a little bit for me was the time in between scenes. The lights went down and the sentimental music came on. This was great for the first time, you had time to reflect on what you had just seen, to empathise with the realness of the characters. This short time was needed to refresh the stage and have a quick costume change, but it took away some of the likeness of the study. It was almost like opening a window to let in the light, but instead the day had turned a darker shade of grey. The subsequent times were wasted space and could have been handled better. The audience were enthralled in the comings and goings of Green and Gardiner (a good name from a landscape architect firm me thinks!) but not in the time apart from them.
Baxter and Hope starred in this production pretty much how Jeff Baron wrote it, with compassion and hope for the future, the soul searching that both characters had to do to win over each other was a joy to see, it was really real, something that you could well imagine yourself partaking in. The humour surrounding the age/sex and religion was careful not to shock but enough to engage and make you think.
Great technical work from the Customs House in-team of wizardry on the buttons (Martin Hogg on both sound and light). Stage managed and Assistant produced by Rebecca Hope.

Hope is a big word, Hope Theatrical Productions have brought a great play that conjures up so much belief in our fellow man, that you want to embrace the whole thing and spit it out, tell everybody about it...just go and see it..you will know what I mean.


Plays until Saturday 30th.


Michael Hunter

Piaf - Review- People's Theatre

Time for another guest reviewer...this time Denise! I 'met' Denise through the pages of Twitter, she always seemed to be remarking on things, and gave me quite a few #ff's. When I saw that one day she was going to the same play as me(albeit in a different town), I asked her opinion on it, and it was very honest.. so she is now going to do an honest account of the show that I put her way.

Piaf 

The Peoples Theatre, 

Newcastle

Edith Piaf was a woman whose astonishing talent lifted her from the streets of Paris and placed her into a society in which she was never to feel truly comfortable. In a series of scenes, almost like snapshots, Pam Gems play shows the many conflicting sides to the enigma that was Piaf. From the guttural foul mouthed street girl to the sublime artiste, we are shown a women struggling to deal with life – desperate to be loved, surrounded by people and yet seemingly always lonely.  Each scene is punctuated by the songs which brought her such fame. 

It’s a tall order for any actress to play the part of such an iconic character but Jenny Strawson steps up and does not disappoint. She performs the songs with passion, and it is possible to believe that she is Piaf.  The rest of the cast ably support her performance, creating the array of characters that flowed through Piaf’s world; some there only fleetingly others such as Toine, and Charles- more constant. However, the title of the play is PIAF, and this is undoubtedly a play about one character. Strawson is on stage for almost the whole of the play, sustaining the performance to the end, through the bawdiness, the love, the tragedy and recklessness that was the life of Piaf.

The play runs until the 23^rd whether you are a fan of Piaf or not it is well worth a visit!

Denise Sparrowhawk

McKenzie School of Dance - Review- Customs House

McKenzie School of Dance
Customs House
20 July 2011

In preparations for curtain up on Sunday 24 July at the Customs House, I was invited to take a sneak peak at one of the many rehearsals that will be taking place.
In a deathly quiet Customs House theatre (where the show will be taking part on Sunday), the only sound was the manic tech guy (Marty) playing with his buttons, myself, my plus one and Karen McKenzie chatting quietly about what was going to happen in the next couple of hours. Karen explained that a few of the younger members of the school were unable to attend so early (the rehearsal was at 4pm), but the show must go on...and what a show it was..!!!
Beginning way way back in time..it was the rip roaring 40's that got the show on the road, with the older girls in the troupe (the age range of the dancers in the show is between 2 1/2 and 21 yrs) dressed up in the clothes befitting the era, dancing to Glenn Miller's In The Mood. The sound reverberated around the empty auditorium like a tornado. It was certainly a great start from the girl, with very impressive moves. The next couple of songs and routines were from the same era, we got a good look at the younger children doing their stuff, it really reminded me of a field full of spring lambs, jumping and following their mothers. It was fantastic to see the children learning and enjoying themselves so much.
Changing the tempo and the era, on came Elvis's Jailhouse Rock with the girls dressed to kill in prison garb, feeding of each other with styles and passion. The girls carried onto the next set of songs that included Fade Away, Paint it Black and I'm a Believer. Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit came on next, the girls danced away in a tango style but without the rose clenched between their teeth, a really good memorable routine.
Fun ballet was up next with Puppet On A String, tutus at the ready, again I couldn't fault the style and their interpretation. A bit of tap was then thrown into the mix on The who's My Generation, this lead to the finale song of the half, with Blondie's Heart of Glass seeing the girls come off stage and heading to their well deserved half time rest.
The second half soon got under way, with Celebrate and a very colourful Gold by Spandau Ballet with the girls dancing always with smiles on their faces. The highlight of the night for me was Bobby McFerrin's Dont Worry Be Happy, with a routine that will blow your socks off..happy, sad, all rolled together with dancing love.
The consistency of talent continues all through the half, with notable mentions for the routines of  It's All So Quiet, Livin Da Vida Loca, and a superb Cry Me A River.
Brilliant dancing from Laura Broomfield, Jade Sanderson (who I will be reviewing soon in the amateur acting production of 42nd Street in Newcastle) and Francesca White.
A great afternoon of not only great dancing, smiles and superb song selection, but of honest toil and hard work..This is one show that is not to be missed..it is going to be hard to get tickets for Sunday's show, but if you can make sure you do.



Michael Hunter

Boldon 'School Will Rock You' -Review- Boldon School

'We Will Rock You'

Starset Theatre
Boldon School
19 July 2011

Can you ever imagine a world, a place without music. In 1976 'Rush' the Canadian Rock band created a platinum status album called '2112'. In this era, music and sound have been eradicated. This has been one of my occurring nightmares..I am glad, that if this is the way in 101 years, I wont be around.

Ben Elton and two members of Queen must be Rush fans if you ask me. 'We Will Rock You' the musical tells the story of  Earth(or as it is then 'Planet Mall' controlled by the Globalsoft Corporation) in 300 years time. Mainstream Music is the way. X factor, Pop Idol, and a very old Simon Cowell rule the roost. Kids are clones of each other (GA GA kids), wearing the same clothes and selecting hit after hit of commercialised pap. Music as we know it now is outlawed. No guitars, no drums...Mr Fredrick Mercury would be turning in his grave!
Galileo (brilliantly acted and sung by Richard Delroy) a non conformist to the generation, dreams of all of these songs and words, but isn't able to piece together what they mean. He is captured by Khashoggi (Nina Foggin), head of the Globalsoft police force, who also has in her sights another upstart to deal with in the form of a young Bohemian follower Scaramouche (the superb Zoe Henson). Killer Queen (Victoria Woodward) head of Globalsoft has heard of the prophecy that musical instruments are hidden in the 'place of living rock' and aims to stamp out the dissent.

Emma Hunter (My Daughter), slap bang in the middle of the front row, did me proud, her first performance was brilliant.

A rebellion faction of Bohemians in the underground believe that a dreamer is out there to show them the light. Head of them is Britney Spears (played by the talented Jamie Douglass) assisted by Meat (Beth Duncan). They capture Galileo and Scaramouche and take them back to Heartbreak Hotel, the ruins that they call home. Under cautious scrutiny, the band of anarchists (amongst them Charlotte Church, David Bowie and Madonna) realise that they have their man.
In the following non stop action, hearts and minds together form a very tight bond. Voices and music overturn the corporate officialdom and Killer Queen is defeated. A very special rendition of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is the encore to a great night's entertainment.

In short, this is a remarkable play. The majority of the performers on stage have not acted or sung before. The superb back catalogue of Queen including 'Somebody To Love', 'Who Wants To Live Forever' and of course the title of the show 'We Will Rock You' were sung from the heart and will be remembered for a long time to come. Starset have come along and from scratch have made a top show from people who probably couldn't or wouldn't have done this. Top marks again to Elissa Hudson (Director), John Hudson (Musical Director) and Sophie Craggs (Choreographer) for bringing out the sparkle to Boldon.
Rock rules and will never be quiet..!!

A few tickets for Wednesday night are still available from the school.



Michael Hunter

Our House - Review- Customs House

Our House
Starset Theatre
16 July 2011

 It's Madness being Sixteen for Joe Casey..he is 16 today, in love for the first time – the world is really changing. As a birthday treat Joe takes Sarah, the girl of his dreams, out on their first date. In an effort to impress her with bravado, he breaks into a building site owned by Mr. Pressman, a high-end property developer. The police turn up, at which point Joe’s life splits into two: the Good Joe, who stays to help, and Bad Joe, who flees…

The story -with distinct echo's from the feature film Sliding Doors and the monster stage hit Blood Brothers -takes us on an emotional roller coaster regarding the dark side of Joe: his craving for power, the Casey name in lights and his selfishness in seeking both, to the lighter side of him being in love, good mate and happy family character.
Jamie Douglas playing Joe, had to overcome a few technical hitches with his microphone, but totally shone with his acting and singing prowess. Once the problems were sorted out, you could really see and hear his passion come through. His on (good Joe) and off (bad Joe) girlfriend Sarah played by the lovely Holly Atkinson took her part by the horns and showed the audience how versatile she is at her craft. The Madness lot must have had Jamie and Holly in mind when writing 'It must be love', as the fruition of the show weaved out its heady course. This particular display was superbly produced.
Family life for Joe had never been easy with his Father (played by another fine singer and actor David Jones) sent to prison and dying well before his time, with only his mother Kath (by the great Lily Moore) bringing him up by the scruff of his neck. Some great scenes were introduced to us with both of them shaping the outcome of Joe.
Pressman: the baddie in all of this, needed his empire complete with the development of Casey's birth home, Aaron Hastings straight from playing Dr.Prospero in the Starset production of Return To The Forbidden Planet, played his devious character very well, I can see a megalomaniac being created here..!!
The rest of the 42 strong crowd did very well up on the stage and delighted family and friends in the crowd. They sung their hearts out to the hits 'Our House', 'My Girl', 'Baggy Trousers' and 'Wings Of A Dove' amongst others.
With a fantastic cast and a brilliant soundtrack from the lovable Cockney charmers Madness, Tim Firth's Our House is yet another hit from the local Starset Theatre clan. Director Elissa Hudson ably assisted by Musical Director John Hudson and Choreographer Claire McMahon have pulled out all of the stops to showcase a stage full of bursting talent. I don't think South Tyneside has ever had it so good.

Next from Starset on the road to discovering the West End of London is Boldon School's take on 'We Will Rock You', starting from Tuesday 19th July...tickets are still available.

Michael Hunter

Off The Hook -Review- Westovians

Off The Hook
Westovians
11 July 2011

Two crooks arrive at an hotel bringing an unwilling third party whose escape from prison they organised, in the belief that he had hidden the loot in the hotel before his arrest and imprisonment. Unfortunately, they have chosen the wrong man.
The subsequent searches are hindered by a variety of decidedly odd larger than life characters. This is a truly funny farce, with unexpected exits and entrances through various doors.

The hotel - very nicely decked out- was the mainstay of the acts. The lobby comprises of  the five doors, lounge settee and reception desk. This is where all of the action-and fun action at that-happens.
The bustling, always something happening at some stage farce that is unmistakably British was very well staged and performed. Unfortunately a few little 'first night' prompts had to be endured, but that certainly didn't detract from the humour and the passion of the actors on stage.
Much hilarity was got from the silliness (again a very British thing) of the script. The crooks in question (Mr Big-Fred Baxter played by Andrew Shutt, Charlie Mullins played by the ever present Westovian Mark Lamb and the hapless Harold Spook, played by the superb Craig Richardson) didn't really have much clue of what what was going on, and they didn't get into action until the feisty Polly (Rachael Walsh) came onto the scene. She was after the same thing that the crooks were. The penny didn't drop for her until she remembered seeing Spook on a visit to prison to visit her boyfriend...also called Spook (one of the many farce confusion issues in this play).
To add to the confusion Edna the hotel cleaner (played by Val Dawson) flitted from scene to scene moaning and muttering under her breath, mainly about her sisters'(the very flirty Norah,played by the great Mary Stepinson) husband and hotel manager Major Catchpole (Bill Marsden). Guests Mrs Fletcher-Brewer and her daughter Carol (played by the impressive Ruth Burn and Jessica Ingoe) piled in on the comedy with almost faultless performances that was rich in total theatre.
Allen Howes playing his first role as Pollys' father did a grand job of being up rooted from his comfortable house to the comical hotel miles from other existence.
Great sound and light (Miriam Beber and Ian Johnson) really helped the super direction of Beryl Henderson and production of Amy Harris.
A very satisfying amount of crowd laughter guided the cast onto delivering a great opening night, that will only get better as the nights roll away

Off The Hook, was a brilliant laugh, by a really good cast. I had worked hard during the day, and could have quite easily just slobbed out instead, this turned me around..my sides were aching with all the guffaws..If you want a great play with the added side splitting moments, then Off The Hook is for you.

Runs until July 16th

Michael Hunter

Me and Talking Newspapers.

A few months ago I was asked to stand in for somebody at the local Community Centre, where the Talking Newspapers are recorded.
I had a great time looking around the place-all the wires and production knobs and levers. It was a pleasure to give a half hour of my time.
Please have a listen below at the interview between me and David Cooke.
Unfortunately my daughter decide to call me to find out where I was, so a little bit of interference has been recorded.
I hope you enjoy.

Dying for Fame -Preview- Theatre Productions Ltd

National tour for NE writer's first play

 

Dying for Fame, the first play by NE playwright Steve Burbridge, a regular reviewer for The British Theatre Guide and The Public Reviews, is to go on a national tour next year. It is produced by Theatre Productions Ltd, which currently has Shanghai (Cirque du Ciel), The Shaolin Warriors, The Harlem Gospel Choir, The Naked Truth and Over The Rainbow - The Eva Cassidy Story on tour.

Dying for Fame is described as "a taut psychological thriller, with elements of high camp and comedy, that contains a combustive mix of characters and explores the fascinating cult of celebrity; the fickleness of fame, the contradictions between the fear of being stalked and the desire for notoriety, and using and being used by the media."

No details of cast, dates or venues have yet been announced.

For more details about Theatre Production Ltd please click HERE

Michael Hunter

Movies 'N' Musicals - Review- Customs House

Movies 'N' Musicals.
South Shields Gilbert and Sullivan Society.
Customs House.
30 June 2010

The fantastic SSGaSS have entertained for many a year, with their musical and comic theatre plays. Tonight the annual summer concert rolled into town.
Two acts (Movies & Musicals and Music of the Oscars) were in store for the packed Customs House audience.
A Calamity Jane medley by the chorus hit us from the start of curtain up, with great toe tapping snippets from the hit movie.
Bob Stott (the brilliant all round showman, and SSGaSS member) was compere for the evening and came on stage with his formidable grin of mischievousness. Entertainment is his thing and as the chorus changed costumes for their next spot, Bob certainly showed his talent. Having creased up the crowd with witty jokes, and telling the stories of the up and coming songs, it was on with the show.
Songs before 1960 was the next segment with superb singing voices belting out with pride tunes like My Funny Valentine (Maureen Hope), If I Loved You (Dianne Jackson) on to I'll Never Be Jealous Again (Bob Stott and Sheila O'Neill doing a very funny rendition) and a brilliant Old Man River(by the multi talented Gareth Hunter).
Next up after another blistering interlude from Bob, was 1960-1980, starting off with an all round great display of Sunrise, Sunset by the chorus again, this led us through the era of wonderful music such as Feed The Birds (Maureen again, but with an absolutely jaw dropping performance from Olivia Bowern (this girl is one to watch!)) alongside Cabaret (Natalie Elleithy) and a segment ending Doh, Ray, Me (Group)

Nadia Wearn.

1980-2000 was next on the bill, Tomorrow from 'Annie' was brilliantly performed by the chorus with again an amazing vocal from Olivia on Somewhere That's Green. A show stopping All That Jazz by the chorus ended act 1.

Act 2 was runners up and winners of the annual Oscars ceremony in USA. A James Bond medley, was as refreshingly good as the interval drinks, great voices from the chorus again. The Prayer (Brian Jordan and Charlotte Reay) was delivered with fantastic ability that the crowd were in awe of their stage presence.
The whole of the show was dedicated to the late Nadia Wearn a member of the Society, who died suddenly on June 1st, a very moving tribute from Bob told us of her passion for choreography and how deeply she will be missed. I certainly had a tear in my eye with his speech. Natalie (Nadia's sister) danced in her memory to My Heart Will Go On along with singing from the chorus. Other highlights were Moon River (Brian), Up Where We Belong (Andy Borthwick, Charlotte and the chorus) to the grand finale of Lullaby of Broadway, again by the chorus.
Superb production all round from director Gwyneth Hunter, musical director Andrew Richardson. Choreographer Nadia would have been so so proud of what she would have seen, she would have been on her feet like the rest of us at the end of the show.
Great lighting as always from Ian Johnson, and all put together by producer Allison Smith.
A superb, funny, enlightening and moving performance by all on stage, if you can get to see it, please do! You wont regret it.

Runs until June 2nd.

Michael Hunter