Opera Sunderland - The Soldier's Return - Review

The Soldier's Return 

Opera Sunderland - Online
8th Nov 2020

Cast 

The Man - Ian Priestley

The Woman - Katherine Aitken

Voice 1 - Austin Gunn

Voice 2 Andri Bjorn Robertsson 

Written by Marcos Fernandez-Barrero  and Jacob Polley

Commissioned by Opera Sunderland in 2018 to mark both the centenaries of the end of World War 1 and the world premiere of Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale, The Soldier's Return was originally meant to be an opera performed before an audience, in a small venue to create a sense of intimacy. Unfortunately a worldwide pandemic interfered with that plan and the production was reimagined as a film, with a socially distanced cast. Not the easiest way to create intimacy, one would think...

However production succeeds in all of it's aims, I think. Only two cast members appear on stage, with two other characters appearing as projections on the backdrop. The orchestra has been pre-recorded individually in a recording studio and the choir, all recorded their parts individually on phones or tablets and sent them in to the chorus master (Simon Davis-Fidler) to be woven into the soundtrack. The rehearsals were all carried out over Zoom. It's an astonishing achievement. 

The premise of the opera is that of the eponymous soldier who returns from war to find everything is changed and he no longer feels that he fits in. Because the lyrics come from real soldiers, they are the words of fathers, husbands, sons, brothers, and the female character is a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister. Neither character is given a name. He is The Man, she is The Woman; two other characters who appear on the screen are similarly identity free, other than being military figures. 

The setting is a living room - a safe space, one would think. However as the story progresses the space becomes less and less home-like, as The Man's mental state is revealed, he is unable to let go and his military experiences continue to infringe on home life. On a screen at the back a series of images from different war zones and conflicts appear and the two characters speak, echoing the words of The Man. 

The score is a multi-layered sound - combining sounds that echo gunshots and explosions, marching boots and the whine of a radio tuning in and out. It is at once melodic and discordant and perfectly embodies the mental conflicts within the characters. 

The overall effect is somewhat disjointed, confusing, and yet there are recurring motifs throughout such as the radio as a means of communication and connection, the repetition of phrases - both in the words and the music, which all combine to create a thread that gradually draws together towards the calm, quiet of the final scene. "You are home". 

The Soldier's Return premiered online at 11.02 on November 8th 2020. It is available to view until 30th November at www.operasunderland.co.uk/operas-events/the-soldiers-return It is a telling and honest exploration of the effects of military duties on both the men who serve, and those who wait for them to return. 

It is free to watch, but donations in support of Opera Sunderland's work are welcome. 

Image Credit: Mark Savage 

Denise Sparrowhawk 

Blackadder Goes Forth - Review - People's Theatre

Blackadder Goes Forth

The People’s Theatre
30th October 31, 2018


Richard Curtis and Ben Elton’s classic sitcom comes to The People’s Theatre in all its glory. All the wit and dry humour is here and delivered with great comic timing. It’s been put together very much like the series, in four chunks of unrelated stories. The script seems almost untouched from the original series, though there are a one or two changes and additions, such as borrowing Bob from another Blackadder series.
The sound is great with the Blackadder score used throughout. In the intro we are given a warning by the Baron about switching off our phones which is hilariously delivered. It’s great they are commemorating the end of the First World War with this performance.

The premise, in case you didn’t know, is that Blackadder and his faithful band of soldiers are in the trenches waiting to battle the bosh, the mighty Germans and company. Except not very much battling is actually going on, and neither side is making much progress. The sounds are powerful in places really bringing you into the war. I actually jumped at one point.

The cast are well chosen: Captain Blackadder played by Sam Hinton (who was in last year's Season's  Greetings) is very commanding and his wit really hits the mark. George is played by Ben Ostell (seen recently in Heaton!) and he plays the goofy part well. Baldrick, played by Tony Sehgal, is spot on with his mannerisms and looks the spitting image of the original Baldrick. As General Melchett, Steven Robertson - also recently in Heaton! - pulls off a bold impression of Stephen Fry's original characterisation. Captain Darling - the joke that keeps on giving - is played by Oli Pages. Other notable performances are Bob, the Baron and Captain Bosh Bosh Flashheart.

The director Matthew Hope has done a great job with the scripts, placement and general pacing. The sets are beautifully made. The ladders to no man's land were quite haunting. All the costumes were excellent and it all really adds to the feeling of the piece. Three main locations on stage are outside the barracks, inside the barracks and Melchett's office.

This is a great production and really brings Blackadder back to life on stage. Some of the jokes are not exactly pc now, but are very much of their time. I enjoyed this a lot. Watch out for the nice surprise at the end, very touching.

Blackadder goes forth is playing at the people's theatre every night from 7.30pm until and including Saturday the 3rd of November.

Frank Cromartie Murphy

The Desert Queen - Arts Centre Washington - Review

The Desert Queen

Arts Centre Washington
26th July 2018

Hands On NE present this new play by David Farn - The Desert Queen: the Adventurous Life of Northern Hero Gertrude Bell
Directed by Neil Armstrong

Gertrude Bell is a name I have heard, without really knowing much about her beyond a vague awareness that she was a female adventurer. I have to admit I am somewhat ashamed that I did not know more about this amazing woman. Certainly I did not know that she was a local hero, nor the extent of her achievements - not just as a bold adventurer but as a political and social reformer.
David Farn's play is an enlightening, informative and entertaining piece of theatre.
Phillippa Wilson plays Gertrude Bell in what is essentially a monologue punctuated by interjections from the various male characters (and a French stepmother) who have an impact on her life. These characters are played by Brian Lonsdale. Phillippa Wilson creates a character who is bold and forthright, honest and sympathetic, with great compassion and humour. Brian Lonsdale bring equal amounts of humour to the play in the cameo roles he plays. He portrays her companions, her father, brother and stepmother and her lovers - he moves from one character to another with a flourish of head gear, or the straightening of his back, or the flick of a hand...each one presented with humour and each one clearly important to, and beloved of Gertrude Bell.
The audience is addressed throughout so that we feel we are part of the play - Gertrude recounts her life story to us - invites to share in the stories, and this makes it feel very personal. We do feel that we know Gertrude Bell by the end of the play.

There is an enormous amount of information given in this play. David Farn has given us the best history lesson, taught by someone with a love of the subject and we come away with so much knowledge without realising we were learning anything at all.

The Desert Queen is on tour until 6th August in various venues across the region and everyone should see it. Tickets are available online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/hands-on-ne-cic or from the venues.

Denise Sparrowhawk

Tour dates and Venues
27th-28th July - Lit and Phil, Newcastle
30th July Winter Gardens, Sunderland
31st July Little Theatre, Cleadon
2nd Aug Fulwell Community Library
3rd-4th Aug The Exchange, N Shields
5th Aug City Theatre, Durham
6th Aug Customs house, S Shields

Hands On NE are crowdfunding to support the development of the tour. Click the link  to give your support The Desert Queen .

Birdsong - Review - Gala Theatre

Birdsong

Gala Theatre
21st may 2018

Birdsong Productions Ltd in Association with The Original Theatre Compnay
Stage adaptation by Rachel Wagstaff
Directed by Alastair Whatley and Charlotte Peters

In adapting Sebastian Faulks' novel for the stage, Rachel Wagstaff has to condense over 300 pages of a story spanning several years and 3 generations, into a little over two hours of theatre. She has to recreate the intimacy of a love story, alongside the expansive horror of The First Word War. The result is a taut, fast moving, emotionally tense play.

The story of the war - the sappers tunneling towards the German lines - is linear. We watch the sappers and their infantry support living (and dying) day to day, month to month through to the big push and finally the end of the war.
The love story is interspersed throughout this with flashback images of Lieutenant Wraysford's time spent in the town of Amiens before the war - when he fell in love with the young wife of his employer. These flashbacks are a splash of colour in the drab darkness of the trenches and tunnels, but they are far from happy - there are moments of passion and joy, but also the danger and threats in both the personal abusive relationships and the social unrest.

The staging is a magnificent representation of both the trenches and the tunnels, from the ladders leading to barbed wire and broken fences, to the narrow mouth of the dimly lit tunnel, the constant quiet trickle of water in the background, and the sudden flashbang of an explosion, to the gentle chirrup of the birdsong - almost as constant as the water. The men scratch constantly at fleas and lice, so much so that you feel you need to scratch too. Every sense is engaged bar that of smell - yet the set is so convincing that you can almost smell the cordite and the sweat.

The cast carry you along,  their banter ad jokes perfectly evoking the camaraderie of the soldiers, but there are moments too that depict the tenderness of friendship and shared grief between these gruff solders.

There are strong performances from all of the cast members, but Tim Treloar as Jack Firebrace is outstanding. He will move you to tears, as will the beautiful voice of James Findlay whose songs punctuate the play and highlight the brutality of the men's situation.

An incredible show that questions the nature of love, and highlights the futility of war, and the waste of life. It is a sad thought that 100 years later governments are still trying to solve problems and prove their strength by blowing their people to pieces.

Birdsong runs until Saturday 26th May. Buy a ticket, and take a hanky.

Denise Sparrowhawk

Preview - Birdsong - Gala Theatre

Birdsong set to return to Gala to mark centenary 

Based on the world famous, emotionally powerful novel by Sebastian Faulks, this critically acclaimed show returns from Monday 21 May to Saturday 26 May, 7.30pm (+ 2.30pm on Thursday and Saturday) to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. A post-show discussion will also take place on Wednesday 23 May.

“It left me choked up and blinking back the tears at the end”

**** The Daily Telegraph

Set in pre-war France. A young Englishman, Stephen Wraysford, embarks on a passionate and dangerous affair with the beautiful Isabelle Azaire that turns their world upside down.

As the war breaks out over the idyll of his former life, Stephen must lead his men through the carnage of the Battle of the Somme and through the sprawling tunnels that lie deep underground. Faced with the unprecedented horror of the war and with her love forever engraved on his heart, Stephen clings to the memory of Isabelle, as his world explodes around him.

This enthralling version of one of the nation’s most loved novels has been adapted by Rachel Wagstaff, and brought to life by the award-winning Original Theatre Company.

A mesmerising story of love, survival and courage. Set before and during the Great War and performed by a large ensemble company.

“Moving, gripping, dramatically electrifying and outstanding”

**** The Times

Tickets for the show are £25 (£23 concession) £22 for first night, matinees and for Gala Members. You can book by calling the box office on 03000 266 600 or via the website . 

*information provided by Gala Theatre

Blue Remembered Hills - Review - Royalty Theatre

Blue Remembered Hills  

Royalty Theatre

30th October 2017

The Land of Lost Content (A E Houseman)

Into my heart on air that kills  

From yon far country blows: 
What are those blue remembered hills,   
What spires, what farms are those?

 

That is the land of lost content,         
I see it shining plain, 
The happy highways where I went

And cannot come again. 

Blue Remembered Hills was originally written by Dennis Potter as a BBC Play for Today. It is just an hour long, and is the most straightforward of his scripts. It covers just one short afternoon in 1943 in the Forest of Dean where seven children are at play. First we meet Willie (David Robson) and Peter (Lee Stewart) who are playing war games, Willie is a fighter pilot swooping and diving across the stage, arms outstretched like a plane. Peter jumps down from a tree pretending to be a parachutist jumping from a plane. They brag and swagger, as boys do full of bravado, trying to out do each other and end up fighting over an apple as Peter asserts his superiority. He is bigger and stronger and he beats Willie despite Willie's more cunning wit. This is the first sign of a pecking order which will become clear as the play progresses and we meet the rest of the gang. John (Andrew Barella), the main rival to Peter as top dog in the gang, Raymond (Billy Towers) who stutters and is the butt of their jokes, the girls Angela (Abbi Laidler) and Audrey (Nikki Slack)  and finally Donald (Peter Kelly) awkward,  victimised by his mother and his friends, he doesn't quite fit and is at the bottom of the pecking order - lower even than girls.

The play moves along at a gallop as the friends meet up, squabble, fall out, make up and fall out again. They size each other up, takes sides, and swap allegiance for their own self preservation as only children can. Their childish mimicry of, and attempts to understand, adults provides much humour especially in the first act. In act two things take a darker turn, as sirens sound and the search for an escaped POW gets underway. Although there is still much humour there is also the feeling that something sinister is about to happen.

It's an interesting play that covers a lot of ground in a short time. It covers themes of war, prejudice, nationalism, bullying, peer pressure, isolation and abuse. The title is a phrase taken from one line of a poem by A E Houseman, The Land of Lost Content and it harks back to the lost innocence of youth, but also to the idea that the innocence we remember as adults is rose tinted and is in actual fact a misremembered fallacy. By insisting that the children be played by adult actors, Potter illustrates the idea that while claiming to offer protection and guidance adults are pushing them towards an adulthood of  conflict and struggle - symbolised by the childish bickering and the re-enactment of war games and playing "house".  While on the surface the play seems to be nothing more than the story of a childish game gone wrong, it is actually a very complex examination of society.

The cast do a grand job of portraying the children with their exaggeratedly childish behaviour - Lee Stewart, Andrew Barella and David Robson especially create a genuine sense of the rivalry between boys, while Abbi and Nikki succeed in creating two of the cattiest, cruellest and most and partisan girls. Again, reflections of the adult world are clear in these two.    

The set is deceptively simple, enhanced by clever lighting and carefully chosen music and sound, it provides all the ingredients necessary for each scene from the woods to the barn.

If there is a weakness in the play, for me, it is the penultimate scene, which feels rushed and therefore lacks a certain impact, though from the reactions of others in the audience, I may be the only one that feels this. I did however like the poignant reading of the poem in adult voices - pulling the children forward into their future adult selves, looking back on an event that changed them forever. 

An interesting production. A lot of laughter, a lot of emotion, and a lot to think about. 
Blue Remembered Hills plays until Saturday. Tickets are available in advance from the website or on the door from 6.45 each night. 

Denise Sparrowhawk

Dogfight - Assembly Rooms Theatre - Review

Dogfight
Assembly Rooms Theatre
30th August 2017

Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
Presented by Equilibrium Theatre Company
Directed by Anna Besford-Smith


Dogfight begins in 1967 as marine Eddy Birdlace returns from Vietnam. As he rides the bus back to San Francisco he remembers the night four years ago, before he and his fellow marines were shipped out  and we are transported back to that night.  He and his buddies, Bernstein and Boland are out to celebrate their last night before being posted to active duty. They are full of bravado and testosterone, America's Heroes, ready to take on the world, after just 13 weeks of training. The traditional marine celebration is the "Dogfight", each marine puts $50 in the pot to pay for a party and a competition; each one must find an ugly date to bring to the party, the marine with the ugliest date wins the prize money. Things don't quite go to plan - Boland cheats and pays a prostitute to be his date, while Eddie discovers Rose, a shy and awkward waitress singing in a diner. As the evening progresses he comes to regret the Dogfight. He spends his last night with Rose and learns that there is more to people and life than appearances.  Unfortunately once back with his marine buddies he quickly reverts to Jar Head type and forgets Rose. Coming back is not what he expected. Things have changed, soldiers returning from Vietnam are not celebrated, and he is not the American Hero he dreamed of being. And he needs to find Rose after 4 years of silence.

The stage is set very simply with a scaffold bridge, and a set of chairs. These are supplemented with a bed and tables as required which the cast move as required for each scene. The simplicity works well on a small stage in a production that has a number of quickly changing scenes. There is not much room for big dance routines but there are a couple of vignettes  as Rose sings to Eddie, and the Marines marching routine works well to provide the flavour of war. Live music is provided by a six piece band, a little loud to begin with but infinitely better than a recorded backing track.

All the cast performed well but the stars of the show were undoubtedly the two leads - Luke Henderson as Eddie, and Amber Cox as Rose Fenny. Amber's singing voice is beautiful and she does full justice to the musical numbers, and plays a very convincing strong female character. Luke portrays the many sides of Eddie well - as he struggles to come to terms with new emotions and a different view of life to what he has come to expect.

This was the first night and there were some issues with sound particularly in the first act, which is a real shame, but it was pretty much sorted by Act Two with only a couple of mic problems. There were also some first night nerves on show but these were quickly overcome and the young cast performed well, keeping the momentum going and coping with the technical issues. No doubt the problems will be ironed out for the rest of the run.

This is a great premise for a musical - it has passion of all different kinds - resentment, jealousy, fear, anger, lust and love. The story basically covers two days - one in 1963 and one in 1967. Most of the characters are fairly two dimensional but are there as the backdrop to Eddie and Rose, providing the context for their developing relationship and particularly Eddie's character. It explores very personal themes of love, the nature of friendship, honesty, loyalty, and the much wider themes of society's attitudes to war, and women. For what is ostensibly a fairly simple "boy meets girl, boy changes for the better" love story, it packs a lot in.

Dogfight plays until Saturday 2nd Sept. Curtain up is at 7.15pm and tickets are available at just £12.

Denise Sparrowhawk