Theatre Review – Love Never Dies (Adelphi Theatre, 8th January 2011)

It has been a few months since I saw Love Never Dies for the first time, and in the time since, it has closed for 4 days and been rewritten. Thus, going to see the show last week, I was in fact going to see Love Never Dies “Version 2.”

Love Never Dies (now perhaps famously) continues the story of the most successful musical in the world: The Phantom of the Opera. The action takes place ten years after the original ended when The Phantom has moved to Coney Island and set up “Phantasma” perhaps the first ‘theme park’ and Christine (now married to Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny and with a son, Gustave) is booked to open Oscar Hammerstein’s brand new opera house in New-York City. Of course, The Phantom finds out and tries to win Christine back from Raoul, finding out some secrets along the way about Gustave and ultimately giving her a choice: She either sings for him at Phantasma or he will take her son.

Joseph Millson as Raoul & Sierra Boggess as Christine

                                              

The tension is high and the drama intense throughout and the characters are played so effortlessly by the leading cast, who have such a solid relationship that you never once feel nervous or anxious that they get something right. Ramin Karimloo shines as The Phantom, his strong, lyrical voice carrying through the theatre and directly into the hearts of his audience. Other leads Joseph Millson as Raoul and Celia Graham (on for Sierra Boggess as Christine) also gave phenomenal performances, with Millson delivering such fine acting as well as beautiful singing in ‘Why Does She Love Me?’ And Graham’s performance of the title song being the highlight of the performance (deservedly getting the largest mid-act ovation I have ever encountered.)

The supporting cast hold their own too, with Liz Robertson (not working with the most melodic music to be fair) creating the jealousy-filled adviser to The Phantom and the manager of Phantasma, Madame Giry and Jessica Kirton (on for Summer Strallen) as her daughter Meg, previous long-time friend of Christine at the Paris Opera and headline act at Phantasma.

The changes to the show have further tightened the action, making the narrative flow better, and making the story a lot easier to follow. There is now more background (the opening now shows the Paris Opera house burning down) and indeed the story is now more believable  - rather than being lured to New York City by mysterious Mr. Y (The Phantom in disguise) it is now plausible that Christine might go and open Oscar Hammerstein’s opera. Another welcome addition is more music and themes from The Phantom of the Opera. We now hear the (famous) chord progression heard at the end of the original at places during Love Never Dies, and one song that has been reborn with new lyrics in Love Never Dies is ‘Stranger than You Dreamt It’. The first time we see The Phantom in Love Never Dies, he is also kissing the ring which Christine returned to him the night she left him for Raoul ten years previously.

Ramin Karimloo as The Phantom

Whilst some songs are removed, what made Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s score the best of the last decade in West-End theatre still remains – The opening song is now The Phantom’s ballad ‘Til I Hear You Sing’ (which was well-received, as always by the audience) and the show continues to produce well-received songs from lush romantic string-filled duets (Look With Your Heart, Once Upon Another Time) to burlesque-inspired show numbers (Bathing Beauty) and the typical Andrew Lloyd Webber aria Love Never Dies (which, incidentally is a far better fit in this show than in previous show The Beautiful Game.)

Bob Crowley’s set and costume designs, Paule Constable’s lighting designs and Mick Potter’s sound design remain largely unchanged from my last visit – and with good reason too – they were perfect.

Moderations to the book and Jack O’Brien’s original direction by Bill Kenwright were welcome – making the show less static and although Bill Deamer’s revisions of Jerry Mitchell’s choreography were not actually necessary, they did not take away from the production.

The best changes, however, lie in Charles Hart’s revision of the lyrics. We know from his beautiful words from The Phantom of the Opera that Charles Hart really is a master of the romantic lyric, and so, he has revised some Glenn Slater’s awkward lyrics and has written some original ones of his own. One addition not necessary, however, was the addition of lyrics and choreography in The Coney Island Waltz – this being another part that was perfect to begin with.

All things considered, Love Never Dies is still the best original musical in the West-End and with some of the long-runners looking tired now; it might be the best bet for any London theatregoer. The changes have improved the already amazing show to now make it phenomenal.

5*

Theatre Review – ‘Oliver!’ (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane 5th January 2011)

If you are one of the fortunate ones who have seen “Cameron-Mackintosh’s-new-production-of-Rupert-Goold’s-recreation-of-Sam-Mendes’-direction-of-Lionel-Bart’s-theatrical-masterpiece-‘Oliver!’”, consider yourself (pun intended) lucky. And breathe.

It seems a bit pointless reviewing this production considering it has closed now, but I thought it would be worth it in any event. This recreation of the 1994 Cameron Mackintosh production at The London Palladium opened almost two years ago with Rowan Atkinson in the much-coveted role of Fagin, and Jodie Prenger (who had won the role in TV talent search competition I’d Do Anything) as Nancy, and now stars Griff Rhys Jones as Fagin and Kerry Ellis as Nancy.

                                  The Company of 'Oliver!' in "Who Will Buy?"

We follow the story of Victorian orphan Oliver Twist, who is sold from the workhouse, escapes from the funeral directors he is employed at and ends up living with Fagin and his gang of boys in London, until one day, in a twist of fate, picking the pocket of an old man turns out to be a life-changing experience.

Lionel Bart’s score shines through in this production, with orchestrations by William David Brohn and we remember why we fell in love with it in the first place, with all the favourites featuring beefed-up, cinematic orchestrations which completely immerse the Drury Lane in the Dickensian London  we see onstage. The score of ‘Oliver!’ is like pink custard – completely typical, filled with gimmicks yet a guilty pleasure for any listener.

Anthony Ward’s set and costume design are without par in the West-End at the moment, the incredible use of the Drury Lane’s football pitch-sized stage and fly towers apparent in huge production numbers like “Consider Yourself” and “Who Will Buy?” The costumes are perfect Victorian down to the last detail without being overly melodramatic and reminiscent of pantomime, which is a common occurrence of many musicals set in this time period.

Rupert Goold’s direction and Matthew Bourne’s choreography fit perfectly with Ward’s designs to create a visually stunning show that conveys every detail which one can presume Dickens intended. The unique thing about Bourne’s choreography and the thing that works well in ‘Oliver!’ is that he doesn’t choreograph a huge dance sequence where the whole cast is doing the same thing. Every cast member has something different to do, in character, which makes up a huge picture of simply spectacular choreography

                                The Company of 'Oliver!' in "Consider Yourself"

Griff Rhys Jones’ interpretation of Fagin was both fun and deeply serious – a heavily black comedic role which Jones played to perfection. He ranged from playing with the audience (making topical jokes about the price of tickets and the Irish banking system) to the scary villain that Fagin actually is which concludes in the chilling final picture of Fagin’s silhouette disappearing into the London sunset. However, in future, Jones may take advantage of the good idea of maintaining character as one makes entrances and exits.

Masterful also is Kerry Ellis’ performance as Nancy, ranging from the camp “Oom-Pah-Pah” to the ultimate Torch Song “As Long He Needs Me.” Long before “I Dreamed a Dream” and “Memory”, “As Long As He Needs Me” is the original power ballad about love, love for the man who constantly abuses her in Nancy’s case. And Ellis simply delivers the greatest interpretation of this song in the history of the role, her magnificent voice soaring and effortlessly filling the theatre.

In this case, the man who constantly abuses Nancy, Bill Sikes is played by ‘Oliver!’ veteran Stephen Hartley who originally played the role in the London Palladium production alongside Robert Lindsay as Fagin. Hartley has the perfect physique for Bill Sikes including a perfect voice you couldn’t put-on.

This production is a perfect, flawless revival of this classic musical, though one feels that perhaps the production far outweighs the material. ‘Oliver!’ is a fantastic musical; though its highest merits are the book and the production. The music can at times be too typical, and the lyrics are, though cleverly rhymed (see rhyming ‘uppity’ with ‘cup o’ tea’), are merely passable at times. The material does have good points though, with As Long as he Needs Me being the main one with the perfect matching of beautiful melody and haunting lyric.

                                               Rowan Atkinson as Fagin

Whatever problems the show itself may have, they go largely unnoticed in Cameron Mackintosh’s production which is certainly a production for the ages.

4*

Theatre Review – Hamlet (Oliver Theatre @ the Royal National Theatre – 9th December 2010)

Hamlet represented my first professional Shakespeare production. And what a production to be the first! Rory Kinnear in Shakespeare’s most famous role at the Royal National Theatre! Excitement, as you can imagine, was high. Especially considering that the fact that I was seeing it on the same night that it was being beamed into 14 countries globally as part of the new “NT live!” scheme by the National Theatre, which sees some of its most popular productions being shown in cinemas worldwide.

The Oliver Theatre at the National was the perfect venue for this production, having a traditional theatrical feel (which just seems right for Shakespeare) mixed with a contemporary, experimental vibe, which, of course, was the essence of this production.

Directed by National Theatre artistic director Nicholas Hytner (famed director of Miss Saigon and The History Boys), this production is a modern re-imagining of the play. Set in the modern world (though in a non-specific place) Hamlet is still the prince of Denmark, his father the king still dies and is replaced by his uncle, but this time, there are modern costumes, sets and props, and CCTV cameras constantly spy on the public, following the characters wherever they go.

Hamlet follows the story of the Prince of Denmark who, after his father’s death is convinced that the king was in fact murdered by his uncle who ultimately became king and married Hamlet’s mother. Hamlet becomes infatuated with Ophelia, whose father is convinced that Hamlet is mad. The play follows Hamlet’s journey to avenge his father’s death, and the royal family’s journey to prove Hamlet’s insanity.

Rory Kinnear as Hamlet.

Hytner’s vision and idea is not terribly different to those of other Shakespeare directors who have come before him in the modern world, and some of those productions, indeed, worked better. Hytner has a great eye for movement. He has a great ear for music in dialogue, and he has a great knowledge and understanding of characters. But his relationship with his designer was the downfall of this production. Only a small downfall though it was, it meant that the audience couldn’t fully connect with the play – Hytner seemed to be stuck in two worlds. Part of him seemed to want to be modern and different, but it didn’t feel as if he quite escaped his traditionalist other half, who wanted to do things properly. Vicki Mortimer’s cumbersome, clunking design didn’t help either – a set that should have moved fluidly and freely with the title character turned out to be at worst an obstruction, at best, functional. It created a restricted view (which is hard to believe in a theatre like the Olivier) and just seemed to want to do so much more to aid the performers. The best thing I could say about the set is that it did manage to create a black-and-white image where everything looked the same. This could be interpreted as how Hamlet sees the world after his father’s death, how everyone is equally against him. How the world and its people are all the same, all as bad as each other.

Rory Kinnear’s interpretation of Hamlet was masterful, and more importantly memorable. It’s easy to take a performer in this role for granted when so many great actors have played the role over the years, but Kinnear’s interpretation is definitely fresh and unique. Kinnear wrings the play of its humour, adds much physical acting and farcical elements and immediately juxtaposes it with the serious thinking of a man filled with inner turmoil. Kinnear’s Hamlet is a personal character. There are elements that any person could relate to. Consequently, you feel yourself more drawn in to the character, you laugh with him, you cry with him, and you feel involved in his relationships with Ophelia and his mother amongst others. His immediate switch from funny to serious in one scene shows great natural comic time, Kinnear plays a rather camp-insane Hamlet – this works for his mental state, it blends well with the serious side of the character.

Two other cast highlights were Giles Terera as Horatio and Clare Higgins as Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother.

Terera and Kinnear played wonderfully off each other. The perfect level of angst and tension built up between them, you felt for both characters and understood the almost brotherly-love between the characters. They are there for each other from the start to the end – almost the only constant in each other’s lives.

From the start, we felt absolutely no compassion towards Gertrude whatsoever. A woman who marries her husband’s brother right after he dies? Not attractive. We are on Hamlet’s side, we want him to hate her, and she deserves it. Clare Higgins’ played this character well in that way. She created the stuck up cow that Gertrude appears to be, but she really showed off her real acting skills in her emotional tension-filled scenes with her son, being powerful yet showing a vulnerable side, a side that Hamlet knew how to get to. Higgins gave a strong, balanced performance, though it did seem apparent that she was battling a cold. Her voice frequently became hoarse, and therefore some of her lines were lost.

The supporting cast were also all strong; Patrick Malahide as Claudius, Alex Lanipekun as Laertes and David Calder as the Gravedigger to name but a few.

The only cast member that was slightly under-whelming was Ruth Negga’s Ophelia. A character that we’re supposed to see and sympathise with, understand her and her motives, the reasons for her insanity. But this wasn’t exactly clear in Negga’s interpretation. We didn’t really understand the reasons for some of Ophelia’s movement, insanity and reactions to other characters. She played the mad side of Ophelia very well, but her progression and dramatic arc throughout the play was not clear – the audience didn’t see Ophelia’s transition from one state to another as the play progressed.

Rory Kinnear as Hamlet and Ruth Negga as Ophelia.

The score of Hamlet, by Alex Baranowski is distinctly different to what we’re used to hearing in a theatre. With a more cinematic sound, Baranowski’s music is not limited to scene change, it represents characters in their entrance, and it underscores – even when sometimes we don’t notice it – to add spookiness to the piece. It works well in the theatrical scenes to accompany Hamlet’s play, and worked particularly well when characters were in motion. Baranowski’s tension filled score kept the audience on the edge of their seats and was well suited to Hamlet, both the character and the play.

The National Theatre is a fantastic venue, and it was great to see Hamlet whilst it was being broadcast through NT Live. However, there were sound issues with the production, mostly to do with the microphone balance of the actors. Under normal circumstances of course, this problem may not have existed, but at this particular performance, some actors appeared to have microphones, some didn’t. This was a huge mistake as the overall sound of the production was not balanced. Some actors seemed to have issues with projection (many of them sounded ill), some didn’t. However, the advisable thing would have been to have given everyone microphones or given no-one microphones. However, admittedly, these problems may have been unique to this performance due to the fact that it was being broadcast live.

Nicholas Hytner’s Hamlet is a fantastic production, superbly acted and alive with energy.

4*

Theatre Review - The Sound of Music (Bristol Hippodrome, 29th November 2010)

Since it opened on Broadway in 1959, The Sound of Music has become arguably the most famous musical in the world. Through the iconic 1965 film adaptation with Julie Andrews, many successful revivals on Broadway and in the West-End (including the 1981 revival with Petula Clark) and the recent TV search to find the next Maria, The Sound of Music has permanently been part of Western popular culture for the last half-century. It was this search for Maria that found the star of this new production, which opened at the London Palladium in 2006, Connie Fisher. Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s new production has been, since last year, on tour, with Ms. Fisher still in the part.

Connie Fisher & The Children

Great things were expected of this production and this star and I saw it when it was over a year into its multi-million pound tour of the biggest venues of the UK. Multi-million pound? It must be said that this production looked anything but from the start. From the opening image of Connie Fisher on a polystyrene-looking mountain, I wasn’t exactly hooked. I was, instead, sat there thinking that I’d bought an over-priced ticket to a school production.

Soon though, everything changed. We were introduced to a fabulous motion sequence during I Have Confidence which showed Maria’s journey from the abbey to the fabulous, imposing Von Trapp mansion. Other set highlights included the Swastika-filled concert hall.

The other let-down of the initial scene was Connie Fisher’s singing. Shocking, I know, considering Fisher has been hailed as the second coming of Julie Andrews. But that was exactly the problem. Why the producers felt the need to so faithfully re-create Andrews’ iconic look for Fisher is quite beyond me.  However, Fisher was so drowned out in the title song that the audience had no choice but to look at the set.

Like the set though, Fisher’s singing suddenly improved as the show went on, resulting in fantastic renditions of songs such as The Lonely Goatherd and My Favourite Things. Her fellow leading artists were also highlights, including fabulous portrayals of Captain Von Trapp, The Mother Abbess and Elsa Schraeder by Michael Praed, Marilyn Hill Smith and Jacinta Mulcahy respectively. My personal cast highlight though was Martin Callaghan as Max Detweiller. Callaghan created such a fully-formed character out of a part that has merely drifted by as a cameo in previous productions which such humour and confidence that he totally ‘stole the show’ from his counterparts.

Connie Fisher in The Sound of Music

The supporting cast were also surprisingly good. All 7 children were strong musically and dramatically and the chorus of nuns created a beautiful sound that carried through the theatre very powerfully.

The entire cast were supported well by the orchestra who played the remarkable new orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennett. Thankfully, the producers opted to include the love duet from the movie (Something Good) and not the stage show (An Ordinary Couple) although I must complain about how rushed some of the songs seemed. This song in particular with its marching bass line seemed to rush by like a locomotive.

It’s hard to review the core aspects of an age-old classic show like The Sound of Music without offending people. If one were to review it like a new musical, one would say (well, I certainly would say) that the music and lyrics are incredibly strong yet the book sometimes leaves something to be desired. Most people are familiar with the film, and the screenplay of the film has always been infinitely better than Lindsay & Crouse’s book for the stage show. A book that makes me feel embarrassed for the writers but also the actors who have to interpret it.

However, these aspects of the show, for me, were far outweighed by the brilliant performances and the endless appeal of The Sound of Music, a show that will live on.

4*

Theatre Review – Love Never Dies (Adelphi Theatre, London 27th October 2010)

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I went to see Love Never Dies at the Adelphi Theatre. Was it going to be good or bad? How about the performances? Lloyd-Webber’s music? Of course, you could wonder like this about many new musicals, but this seems to specifically apply to Love Never Dies. So much hype has surrounded this show since it was first announced at Her Majesty’s Theatre (home to The Phantom of the Opera) just over a year ago that many people have said this show is marvellous, many (including hate group Love Should Die) have said that this show is the worst thing to hit the West-End in years and it will be and deserves to be a flop.

So, I went in with an open mind. The first thing that entered my mind was that the Adelphi is one of the ugliest theatres I have ever been in. I ignored this and hoped the show wouldn’t be the same. My worries were not easily silenced though – the show opens with a prologue of dialogue. The scripting and staging of this scene happens to be some of the worst I’ve ever seen. Discomforting? You bet. Any sense of discomfort disappeared, however, as the first bars of The Coney Island Waltz were heard. This beautiful waltz then replays the story of Phantasma, and Mr. Y (the new name of The Phantom) and Christine. This scene is achieved by some of the most incredible digital animations I have ever seen. At this point, we are immediately introduced to an extremely energetic chorus of singers and dancers who perform with dedication and focus to help construct the huge theatrical picture that is Love Never Dies.

In addition to the fantastic ensemble, Love Never Dies has some of the finest leading artists I have ever seen. Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess have a unique chemistry onstage. This chemistry clearly figured as one of the main reasons for their being cast together. This and the fact that they are arguably the best singers currently in the West-End. They are both young, attractive and great performers. The supporting cast (including Summer Strallen as Meg Giry, Joseph Millson as Raoul and Liz Robertson as Mme. Giry) were equally as strong. They created believable, charismatic characters and worked well together, establishing the Company of Love Never Dies as one that blends well together.

Summer Strallen and the "Ooh-La-La Girls"

As mentioned before, any doubts about Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s score were soon removed after the first bars were played (by the glorious orchestra). As the show went on, the sounds coming out of the orchestra pit turned out to be the lush melodies we have come to expect from the composer. Along with great arias (‘Til I Hear You Sing, Why Does She Love Me?) there are fantastic duets (Devil Take the Hindmost, Look with your Heart) and ensemble pieces (Bathing Beauty). The title song, performed by Sierra Boggess is simply one of the greatest things I have ever seen on stage, a scene I felt privileged to watch.

The score and the performances are the two strongest points of the show. As with most shows (if not all) there are weak points. One part of the show, which did not live up to the rest were the lyrics. Glenn Slater has been quite a trustworthy lyric-writer in the past (see Sister Act). But with rhymes such as “father/bother” and cringe-worthy lyrics like “Love gives you pleasure and love brings you pain” and “Love never dies, once it is in you.” It is apparent his penchant is not for sweeping, romantic lyrics on a par to Lloyd-Webber’s music.

Another weak part of the show was much of Jack O’Brien’s direction. A lot of it felt as if it belonged in a bad amateur production, and much of the direction felt wasted on the brilliant performers O’Brien had the use of. On this note however, Jerry Mitchell’s choreography was very effective, and brilliantly complimented the scenery and music in a way that the direction did not manage.

Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess as 'The Phantom' and 'Christine'

Paule Constable’s lighting design brilliantly lit Bob Crowley’s beautiful set and costumes (which included a hot air balloon and a giant gorilla) which did manage to detract the attention away from the disappointing lyrics, direction and book.

The joy of seeing this show was knowing that parts of it were brilliant, and the parts that weren’t were the parts that could be easily fixed. And that is exactly what has happened. In the time it has taken me to write this review, the show has temporarily closed, been re-worked and re-opened. I look forward to seeing the second version of Love Never Dies, one of the best musicals I’ve ever seen, and the finest theatrical score of the last decade.

4*

Stephen Sondheim (A discussion) – Cheltenham Town Hall (October 13th 2010)

It is very hard for me to write this. You see, just a few hours ago, I spoke to Stephen Sondheim. One of the most influential Broadway composers of all time, and generally considered to be amongst the great American composers of the last Century and one of the best composer/lyricists in theatre history (having such works as West Side Story [lyrics], Gypsy [lyrics], Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street [music & lyrics] and A Little Night Music [music & lyrics] under his belt) . And tonight, he was in Cheltenham. He was giving an interview for the Cheltenham Literary festival.

The event was mainly to publicise his book Finishing The Hat which is a collection of all of his lyrics (cut songs and kept songs) for all of his shows from West Side Story (his professional debut in 1957) to Merrily We Roll Along (his last show with Hal Prince in 1981 until Bounce in 2003).

He goes through in great detail, annotating, showing alternate lyrics and even shows photocopies of original scoring and writing. The book also contains Sondheim’s view of the many people he has associated himself with and worked with throughout his life, from Jerome Robbins to Oscar Hammerstein II.



Mr. Stephen Joshua Sondheim



The start of the interview was marked by the interviewer (who I can’t remember the name of) pointing out that in the book, Sondheim expresses his displeasure for the English lyricists Noel Coward and W.S. Gilbert. OK, so it is apparent that Sondheim is a very critical man. But not critical of the people you understand, he is critical of their lyrics, just like he is critical of his own lyrics. He states that he finds nothing about Gilbert’s lyrics funny and in comparison to Cole Porter, Noel Coward is somewhat more crass and vulgar in his satirical outlook on the upper classes.

Another lyricist who Sondheim is critical of is Oscar Hammerstein II, whose lyrics are said by Sondheim to be ‘too sunshiney’ and his characters to be ‘not actual characters, just a set of characteristics’ – by this he appears to be implying that Hammerstein’s shows are normally made of stock characters who play off one another. This criticism is not completely unfounded though; Sondheim says that is was Hammerstein himself who taught him to be critical. Sondheim was partially raised by Hammerstein, and he refers to the legendary lyricist as his ‘mentor’ and ‘surrogate father’. Sondheim had a hard upbringing with his mother and would it not for Oscar Hammerstein, probably would have drifted into the same low life his mother had led.

As mentioned before, Sondheim is also critical of his own lyrics. He mentions the difficult in writing to fit a specific accent or dialect and also talks of having to re-write some of his lyrics for different audiences. The show containing what Sondheim calls his most ‘embarrassing’ lyrics is probably his most famous. In 1957, Sondheim wrote the lyrics for Leonard Bernstein’s music in West Side Story. And he openly detests many of the ‘overly romantic’ lyrics to this show and things that were completely out of character such as most of Maria’s lyrics in I Feel Pretty. Sondheim personally refers to this stage of his career as his ‘My Fair lady period’.

Sondheim went on to talk about other parts of his career including more on lyrics, how he fits his music together with the lyrics (he writes lyrics first and the tune applies itself to the conversational style of his lyrics) and people who have interpreted his work (he holds a particular affection for Glynis Johns [who played Desiree Armfeldt in the Original Broadway Production of A Little Night Music].)

He then took questions from the audience, which in the most part were quite average (what’s your favourite show of yours) and one particularly embarrassing one, as one man in the audience proceeded to talk about his favourite Sondheim song One from A Chorus Line…only to be interrupted by the man himself to be told that he neither wrote that song or that show.

When the interview had concluded (after a brief discussion about modern musical theatre and how Mr. Sondheim doesn’t agree that contemporary rock and rap music should have a place in the theatre) it was announced that Mr. Sondheim would be doing a signing of his book.

Stephen Sondheim: Finishing the Hat

So all rushed to quickly buy the book (which was a handsome £30) and get it signed by the man himself. Personal photos weren’t allowed, but a friend of mine managed to take a photo of me talking to Mr. Sondheim. And he was very nice, wishing me good luck for my career. He could only sign for half an hour due to arthritis (he was challenged with rhyming that) but many people came away happy with their new book.

It was a truly unique evening for people to meet the man they admire and have a definite divine experience.



My friend and I meeting Mr. Sondheim



Theatre Review – Enron (Theatre Royal, Bath 6th October 2010)

Not one for choosing an easy subject matter, Lucy Prebble’s play Enron, based on the story of the company of the same name, deals with tough relations in the corporate world, Fraud, and Wall Street Crashes.

The play was very successful on the West-End (having a healthy run at the Noel Coward Theatre), but a modest failure on Broadway. Now, the play reaches the end of its current incarnation as the UK tour of the West-End production draws to a close in Bath.

The Theatre Royal in Bath was a perfect venue for this play – the play itself is not exactly intimate, but the intricacies of its staging and action can be best observed in a smaller, more intimate playhouse.

As mentioned before, Enron deals with the history of the energy company of the same name; from the company’s position in the 1990’s as just another Texan oil and gas dealer to having one of the largest interest in stocks and shares in history. We follow four lead characters: Claudia Rowe, who is a lifelong devotee and employee of Enron and who wants to succeed Kenneth Lay as chairman/CEO of the company, Jeffrey Skilling who ultimately wins the post and Andy Fastow who becomes CFO of the company. And we follow the way they work together as they transform Enron into one of the most successful companies of the late 1990’s (albeit through the illegal methods masterminded by Fastow).

The performances were masterful, and we saw each actor create a very honest representation of their characters. Portraying a factual person is always a hard job for an actor, but this is made even harder when that person is still alive. Yet, each of the four leads had a very real grasp of their characters and had clearly explored the incident, and particularly how this affected their characters.

However, for me, there were two standout performances. These were Sara Stewart as Claudia, who created a well-rounded character who starts off as the corporate bitch, and then faces leaving the company, but then realises that she left before the company meltdown. Corey Johnson executed Skilling brilliantly. He didn’t just play the role, he really was the man. He had clearly explored whether he thought his character was innocent or guilty, and although his character’s actions lead us to believe he’s guilty, the amazing final monologue shows another side to the character, and Johnson did this with great conviction. Suddenly the audience didn’t know what to think, and we were left to draw out own conclusion about Skilling.

The Company of Enron

The ensemble was made up of many talented actors, all playing multiple roles, and all bursting with energy, commitment, and a clear understanding of the context of the play. This isn’t an easy play to perform as any member of the cast either, because, while it is classed as a play, it has several pieces of music sung by the cast, in a musical-like fashion.

Enron has one of the best scores I’ve heard in modern theatre. Adam Cork’s score is not a conventional theatre score – it is perfection. It suits the mood of the scenes it supports and captures the essence of the play. Anthony Ward has also designed one of the most effective sets seen in a play in recent years – every single piece useful, and every single area of the stage used perfectly. He strikes the right balance between the uncomfortable enclosed feeling of the business world and the exciting enclosed feeling of Wall Street. The set involves the audience – we felt on edge when the characters did, and we also felt slightly claustrophobic.

Rupert Goold looked over no details in his brilliant production – everything about this show is slick, efortless and is simply…perfect.

Ok, so from the point of view of an average audience member, sometimes we get confused between the reality of the narrative and the abstract representational side of the piece. However, that is simply Prebble’s style, and in some ways and in the view of some people, it is just perfect.

But one thing cannot be doubted: As a production, Enron is the most innovative and electrifying West-End play of the last ten years.

4*