Posts with the label Jason Gardiner
Showing posts with label Jason Gardiner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jason Gardiner. Show all posts
Thursday, 29 March 2018
Ruthless, Arts Theatre | Review
Ruthless
The Arts Theatre
Reviewed on Wednesday 28th March by Shaun Dicks
★★★
The Arts Theatre is in the heart of the West End. It has been host to a plethora of eclectic shows - from Ushers to American Idiot to Murder Ballad – the Arts Theatre shows new and edgy work. Currently, it plays host to Ruthless the Musical, a story of an all-American family that becomes fractured because of a school play and Tina, the youngest member of the family, whose desire to get the lead goes too far. Ruthless is full of camp, betrayal, deceit and talent.
The score of the show by Marvin Laird isn’t the type of score we come to expect from a show at the Arts, it is very stylised but also very cliché. The majority of the score has been overdone and over used in a multitude of shows before this, the influences are obvious. However, the book and lyrics by Joel Paley are well thought out and give the cast something to work with. The minimal amount of choreography is crisp and stylised, the direction is simple but mostly well executed. What is lacking in this show is a spark, there is nothing exciting about this show. There is a distinct lack of creativity that stifles it, everything presented here, I’ve seen before.
Despite the shows hindrances, there are some positives. The comedic timing of all was completely spot on, the energy from the entire cast was high for the most part and the twists were well executed. I cannot fault the cast, they all delivered solid performances, with Jason Gardiner as Sylvia St. Croix as a particular stand out. His performance was stylised, well thought out and exceptionally delivered.
Ruthless has its good moments but also its flaws. It has moments of humour and glamour but there is sadly no stand out moments. The show is good for what it is, and its message is very appropriate in the world of Instagram famous, but the material is nothing to rave about. The casting has saved this show, if the cast hadn’t carried the material like they have, this show would be a flop. They did the best with what they were given and sadly what they were given wasn’t good enough.
Ruthless runs at the Arts Theatre until June 23rd.
photo credit: Alistair Muir
Tuesday, 27 March 2018
Ruthless, Arts Theatre | Review
Ruthless
Arts Theatre
Reviewed on Friday 23rd March by Olivia Mitchell
★★
I've never felt as lukewarm about a show as I do this one. Ruthless wasn't bad but it also wasn't good. Overall the cast were strong, the songs were pretty catchy and there were moments of humour but I really can't describe it as anything else but "meh", which is annoying because I really did want to enjoy it.
Ruthless follows a young girl Tina Denmark who wants to be a star and will do anything in her power to achieve it. Her mother is a typical generic housewife who does everything she's meant to do and never anything self-indulgent. Then we have Sylvia St.Croix, the talent scout, agent, ever present 'pusher' who comes out of no where and stays for the duration of the show.
The story is genuinely funny (at points) and although predictable, it is entertaining to see this camp, spoofed, mixed up story play out. But there's just something which doesn't work. Satire is used cleverly, especially with Tina's mum in the opening number and I enjoyed spotting the musical theatre references such as Mame and Sunset Boulevard but there's only so much repetition of jokes one person can take!
As for the cast, they're strong and entertaining. Our Tina Denmark who perfectly portrayed the stagey maniac was Anya Evans. Anya's performance is stellar and she really was born to be on the stage. Her determination mixed with her psychotic side is extremely entertaining to watch and I would gladly go back just to see her again.
Ever the audience favourite, Tracie Bennett is great as theatre critic, Lita Encore. Although the drunken swagger is somewhat cringey, she give a fabulous performance and commands the stage during I Hate Musicals.
The name of the show, Jason Gardiner is good but generic. His camp, audacious Sylvia St. Croix is fun to watch but not shocking in any way. I get that the whole thing is a sort of parody but it would have been great to have a touch more originality with the way he plays the role.
As the mother, Judy Denmark, Kim Maresca is wonderful. Her embodiment of the role is cheesy but not too over the top and her voice wows, especially in act 2. Harriet Thorpe is suitably biting whilst Lara Denning is sharp and witty.
This show isn't a masterpiece but while I wasn't the biggest fan, I know others who will lap it up. There's certainly a market for this over the top, zany, crude show and I can see it doing well but for me it just needs some tweaking to take it from "meh" to something special.
Ruthless runs at the Arts Theatre until June 23rd.
photo credit: Alistair Muir
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