Posts with the label Nick Winston
Showing posts with label Nick Winston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nick Winston. Show all posts
Friday, 13 September 2019
Fame The Musical, Peacock Theatre | Review
Fame the Musical
Peacock Theatre
Reviewed on Thursday 12th September 2019 by Olivia Mitchell
★★★★
Back in the West End after 12 years, Fame makes a triumphant return with Nick Winston's production. This 30th Anniversary edition has been touring since 2018 but is having a prolonged five-week stop at the Peacock Theatre. Featuring the classic songs such as There She Goes, Fame and Bring on Tomorrow, those who grew up with the musical will be taken back to their youths. However, whilst many original aspects are still part of the show, the stage version is less leg warmers and dancing on cars, and more grit, hard work and struggle.
Despite being set in the 80s, most aspects feel fresh, relevant and grounded in truth. Nick Winston's choreography helps the entire production fizzle and buzz like a well oiled New York subway, and the young cast perform each second with conviction and power.
As Iris, Jorgie Porter gives a great showcase of her sleek dance skills and has a great chemistry with love interest Tyrone (Jamal Crawford) who gives an equally strong dance performance and gains rapturous applause after his uber-octane performance of Dancing on the Sidewalk. In the storyline with his teacher Miss Sherman (Mica Paris) Crawford gives a truthful performance as he struggles to read but doesn't want to appear stupid or weak. The battle of wills between the pair is exciting to watch and really comes to a head with Mica Paris' vocally impeccable rendition of These Are My Children.
As the quirky actress Serena, Molly McGuire is warm and instantly likeable. Her relationship with Nick (Keith Jack), a tv actor, wanting to break into the more serious world of acting, is sweet and the pair compliment each other well. With Jacques Levy and Steve Margoshes' music and lyrics, there are some lovely moments, especially Lets Play a Love Scene.
The ensemble are tight from start to finish, performing the sharp choreography extremely well and providing moments of interest away from the main action throughout. Serina Matthews and Tom Mussell particularly catch the eye throughout. This cast is also comprised of various quadruple-threats. The host of amazing actor-musos who are present on stage throughout, really transport us to a performing arts school, and help keep up the frenzied energy of working on your craft. Louisa Beadel is feisty as Lambchops and gives a brief but beautiful vocal performance in the closing number; Alexander Zane is light relief and a wonderful energy on stage. Simon Anthony is outstanding in his instrumental, vocal, acting and dance skills. Giving a very heartfelt and highly energetic performance, he is a stand out performer and works wonderfully with his love interest, Carmen.
As Carmen, it's Stephanie Rojas who is really the crown jewel of this production. Opening with a fiery, sassy performance, her decline and struggle is incredibly moving to watch. Rojas' sublime vocals, gritty acting and sharp movement really should put her Name in Lights across the West End. In a show which sometimes lacks character development, Rojas makes Carmen a truly 3D character and gives the performance all audience members will remember.
Prema Mehta's subtle but atmospheric lighting does a fantastic jobs of quite literally highlighting the crucial moments and moods of the piece. Perhaps most striking is the contrast between Carmen's opening number and closing number. In There She Goes/Fame there is a vibrancy which bathes the stage, whilst In LA is stark and simplistic. Morgan Large's set of yearbook photos, lockers and desks keeps the school vibes alive and allows most of the focus to be on the performers.
For a no gimmick show about the tenacity needed to succeed, Fame is a wonderful way to spend an evening and will certainly leave you dancing along the road (or wishing you had the skill to dance along the road)!
Fame runs at the Peacock Theatre until 19th October 2019 before continuing its tour.
photo credit: Alessia Chinazzo
Tuesday, 11 June 2019
Annie (UK Tour), New Victoria Theatre | Review
Annie (UK Tour)
New Victoria Theatre
Reviewed on Monday 10th June 2019 by Olivia Mitchell
★★★
Annie is an absolute cult classic show, from it's various film incarnations and tours around the world, there's something wonderful about the story of a young orphan who overcomes adversity and finds the love she's always desired.
Nikolai Foster's current UK touring production of the show features a wonderful set, some thrilling choreography and a whole lot of foot stamping energy from both the children and the adults. Colin Richmond's set is reminiscent of Matilda, with fragments (in this case puzzle pieces) framing the stage and creating a backdrop which leaves a lot to the imagination but also seems to flow and transition. Richmond's costumes are perfect for the setting but also manage to put a refreshing spin on the styes which have become synonymous with the show such as Annie's red coat and Lily St Regis' flowing dress.
Nick Winston once again provides the goods with his sharp choreography that incorporates a number of dance styles and never waivers. Particularly impressive are the tap numbers and rousing NYC sequences. The cast are precise and clean as they bring Winston's vision to life in an entertaining and stylistic way.
The young cast do a great job of bringing the various personalities of the orphans to life, with stand outs at this performance including Chancé Quaye, Aliya Bashir and Francesca Robinson. Leading the way as Annie herself, Freya Yates gives a good, assured performance and is sure to grow and develop into a wonderful musical theatre performer.
Among the adult cast it's Carolyn Maitland who stands out as the caring Grace, who takes Annie under her wing and becomes the perfect mother figure. Maitland's voice is superb and she really does radiate warmth. Richard Meek is entertaining as the bad boy schmoozer Rooster, who cons his way through life but remains annoyingly charming. Alongside the talented Jenny Gayner as Lily, the pair give fiery performances, especially in the kick-line inducing Easy Street. Craig Revel Horwood is a clear audience favourite and does give a rounded performance. Whilst there are moments which lack in energy, others fizzle and excite. Overall there are times when the audience could have benefitted from Horwood having stronger diction within his strong New York accent but he does, mostly, do the iconic role justice.
Although the sun might not be coming out in Surrey tomorrow, there's no doubt that this show will bring light and joy to many children. The beaming faces and exclamations of "I want to see it again" prove how magical theatre can be; and whilst this show is not everyone's cup of tea, it certainly has the heart to inspire.
Wednesday, 25 July 2018
Fame The Musical (UK Tour) | Press Launch
1980 musical theatre favourite, Fame opens in a new reincarnation which Keith Jack (Nick) says "feels like the iconic film and series which made Fame great" tomorrow (26th July) at the Manchester Palace Theatre, before continuing it's tour. Featuring memorable songs such as Think of Meryl Streep, There She Goes, I Want To Make Magic and of course the title song Fame, the musical tells the real-life version of breaking into the performing arts and confronts many of the struggles young adults face, "we're not here to sugar coat it" says Mica Paris.
I was lucky enough to see the amazing cast in their penultimate day of rehearsals as they gave us a sneak peek into the show and whet out appetites for what's sure to be an energetic, thrilling show.
Choreographer and director, Nick Winston introduced the show and set us up to hear and see a few numbers. First up a full-out rendition of There She Goes performed by Stephanie Rojas (Carmen) and the cast. From the first moment they began, the energy was infectious and it's genuinely thrilling to see such talent on stage, Rojas is feisty as the Latina who dreams of being famous and I already anticipate her performance as being outstanding. Also notable is the fact that there are a number of actor musicians featured throughout which add to the real life feel and really transports us to a vivacious theatre school. Jorgie Porter exclaimed how excited she is to be performing in her first musical and how "it's constant all the time", Keith added that Nick's aim with the show is to make it fast paced and to feel like New York in terms of being ever moving and full of verve.
Keith Jack gave a truthful rendition of I Want To Make Magic whilst Molly McGuire was hilarious as and lovable as Serena, it will be lovely to see their relationship play out on stage. When asked about the show Keith told us that it's so special because "the cast and director and the entire team have made this electric, buzzy show" and hopes audiences will "be able to relate to a certain character and latch onto to something in the story."
Jamal Kane Crawford's performance of Dancing on the Sidewalk tired me out just watching! Full of energy he completely commanded the space. Alongside Mica Paris the pair create a realistic, but heightened portrayal of a student and teacher who are at odds. Paris' performance of These Are My Children left us all in awe at her effortless vocals. A lovely thing is how supportive the cast are of one another, all cheering each other on and embodying the family feel of being in school together, something which I think will definitely translate to the whole production. When chatting to Mica, Keith and Jorgie after the performance, this was even more evident and they all echoed that the team feel and talent of everyone is what makes the show so special for them.
The title song of Fame features the iconic lyric "remember by name". When asked what they would like to be remembered for I was met with semi-silence as it's a pretty deep question but each person had a lovely, heartfelt answer. Jorgie would love to be remembered for "making a fun situation out of anything", Mica would like to be remembered for "showing anyone that no matter what people tell you, you can be what you want to be and you should do what you feel". Finally, Keith told us a lovely story about his grandad who consistently made people happy and how it inspired him to do workshops for people to try and make them happy; so he would like to be remembered for "bringing light to people... although I'll probably be remembered for being Scottish!"
Keith rounded off with: "I think people will come to the show and get what they expect, plus even more" so if you want all the energy, excitement, romance and pure storytelling from Fame, plus even more then book your tickets for the 2018 UK tour.
Post by Editor, Olivia Mitchell
photo credit: Tristram Kenton
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