Radio Times Review

Radio Times

Tour - Salisbury Playhouse, Salisbury

This was a production I was looking forward to this Autumn. With so many jukebox musicals out there, it is nice to hear some old wartime songs for a change in this Noel Gay musical, Radio Times.

The story basically follows a London wartime radio show, Variety Bandwagon, as the cast prepares a special broadcast to America. The new producer, Heathcliffe Bultitude (John Conroy), views the lax character of the show's star, Sammy Shaw (Gary Wilmot), with disdain. It does not even help that Sammy has forgotten to send in the script and security clearance to the Home Office, which could threaten to cancel the show. Despite script cuts and and the loss of the ventriloquist act, the show must go on. Sammy meanwhile must deal with Olive Carter (Vivien Carter), whom he loves, and her relationship with an old friend, Gary Strong (Michael Hobbs).

Gary Wilmot was a charming Sammy Shaw, who cheekily produces puns where ever he goes. One cannot help but enjoy the flood of jokes that come out of his mouth, some of which are older than the pyramids. John Conroy played the shows scrupulous producer, Heathcliffe Bultitude, with a calmness that rivaled Sammy's bravado well. He also does the impersonations quite well, including a moment when he told his son over the telephone the three little pigs story, which was met with a round of applause.

The cast pulls out all the stops when performing a number of familiar wartime songs, including “Run Rabbit Run”, “Hey Little Hen”, and “There’s something about a solider”. The band however was also onstage and when it was in full swing it did become difficult to hear the cast sing. Plaudits though must go to Christian Edwards as the sound technician, Jeeps, who provided the farm yard sound effects for the broadcast, even when they were not needed to the annoyance of Sammy.

Yet, the problem with this musical is that although it emphasised the "Keep calm and carry on" attitude of the cast, which kept it lively, a number of the characters and their stories felt a bit underwritten. Sara Crowe  as Sammy's lover, Olive Carter, was absent when I saw this production but her understudy, Vivien Carter, performed well in the role. However, her character's relationship with Hollywood star Gary Strong, played by Michael Hobbs, was not given enough time to develop. As a consequence both characters felt a bit bland, despite Gary Strong's gravitas as the guest star of the show. 

Elsewhere, once Heathcliffe Bultitude took over the impersonations, the rivalry between him and Sammy did not go anywhere, which was a shame because it was one of the highlights of the musical. Jeeps also had a sub-plot in which he secretly loved cast member, Amy Chapman, played by Vivien Carter's understudy, Sarah Scowen. He only gets one song at the beginning, and his dilemma is forgotten completely until the storyline re-emerges near the end.

Despite this it is quite enjoyable to watch this cast with a “Keep calm and carry on” attitude strive to put on the show with aplomb. Go and see it at a High Bargain.

Our Country's Good Review

Our Country's Good

Tour - The Nuffield Theatre, Southampton

This is a play that I studied at college but I had yet to see a production. I was excited to see this because it is produced by the original director, Max Stafford Clark, and the company, Out of Joint.

The play follows the first convicts to be transported to Australia to set up a penal colony. The Governor, Arthur Philip (John Hollingworth), wants to civilise them by putting on the first play in Australia, The Recruiting Officer. Second Lieutenant Ralph Clark (Dominic Thorburn) is made the director of the production, but he struggles to work with the troublesome convicts, as well as coping with the menacing Major Ross (Claran Owens). During the play the audience learn about the convicts background whilst seeing the effects the play has upon them

Under Max Stafford Clark's direction is a stellar cast. Dominic Thorburn made for a scrupulous Ralph Clark and as the play progressed he and Laura Dos Santos, as the reserved convict Mary Brenham, made for a lovely couple. Joining the play-within-a-play is Robert Sideway (Matthew Needham) who provides the funniest moments during the rehearsal scenes as he acts with grandiose theatrical postures. Helen Bradbury was a haughty Dabby Bryant, and her rivalry with the demented Liz Morden (Kathryn O’Reilly) is impassioned.

I was looking forward to seeing how Max Stafford Clark approaches the sub-plot between Harry Brewer (Ian Redford) and Ducking Smith (Lisa Kerr) this time. Indeed, it was interesting to watch a complex relationship between an insecure old man and a younger woman. Yet the oppressive world the convicts find themselves in appears to be toned down in this production. The first whipping scene takes place off stage, thereby losing some of the full impact of the treatment of the convicts. Also Claran Owens could have been more threatening as Major Ross.

The timber that framed the stage nicely illustrated the beginnings of a civilization. The rest of the set was  simple, apart from the backdrops that were hung from some rigging above. A temporary curtain for example establishes the setting of the play by showing a faint outline of Australia. Otherwise I did feel it was unnecessary to have the cast calling out the titles of each scene, it just seemed out of place and slightly broke up the pace.

However with a strong cast, together with the redemptive story of Our Country's Good, this is a great production that is worth seeing at a low Top Price

The Ladykillers Review

The Ladykillers

Tour - The Mayflower Theatre, Southampton

I wished that I had seen the original production after hearing some great reviews. I was therefore pleased to discover that it was going on tour and coming to the Mayflower Theatre. I could not wait to see it and for the most part I was not dissapointed.

Mrs Louisa Wilberforce (Michele Doctrice) lives in a lopsided house next to a railway.  Professor Marcus (Paul Brown) arrives to rent a room in her house together with a group of musicians. It is revealed however that the Professor and the group are a bunch of criminals. They use Mrs Wilberforce's house as a hideout and plan a heist. However complications arise after the heist when Mrs Wilberforce discovers the stolen money.

It was quite fascinating to watch Mrs Wilberforce being taken in by this gang as they plan their heist whilst making every effort to cover it up each time the little old lady comes into the room. The heist takes place by the end of the first act, after which the play becomes darker as the gang tries to kill of Mrs Wilberforce whilst killing each other in the process. By the end however it did feel as though the tension had reached it's peak too early. Perhaps the The Liverpool Playhouse and Gielgud Theatre, where the original production was staged, are smaller venues because the action did seemed dwarfed by the Mayflower Theatre, even though I was not sitting far away from the stage. By the end all the characters were doing was to walk around and shout threats into the dark. The comedy too was great, though some of the slapstick were overused.

However, the acting is worth seeing for its own sake. Michele Dotrice played an upstanding Mrs Wilberforce and conveyed the lady's despair and weariness as the tension mounts. Also playing a leading role was Paul Brown, as the eccentric but menacing Professor. The rest of the cast brought a range of characters to the production. Chris McCalphy was the dumb muscle-man, One-Round. William Troughton was the handsome yet sleazy Harry Robinson. Shaun Williamson played the brooding and threatening Louis Harvey. Clive Mantle meanwhile was a rather neurotic Major Courtney and there was a hilarious moment when he fantasises dancing with a woman in the form of one of Mrs Wilberforce's dresses.

The set which consisted of the interior of Mrs Wilberforce's house had a character all of its own,. The curtain showed the exterior of the house in what reminded me of a type of film title card. It was also cleverly used to show the heist. Parts of the main set could also move to reveal a rooftop scene. Situated next to a railway line, there is a sense of precariousness about the house. The whole set is lopsided and occasionally a passing train would send everything rattling and moving all over the place. However I was expecting this effect to increase as the tension built, but it did not happen. The structure of the house also reminds one of a birdcage, giving a sense of entrapment. Yet within a large theatre the actors did not project their voices well during the play, which added to the diminished action at the climax.

This was for the most part a funny and tense production. The cast was top-notch and there were a lot of memorable moments. This is worth seeing at a low Top Price.