Posts with the label richmond theatre
Showing posts with label richmond theatre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label richmond theatre. Show all posts
Friday, 13 December 2019
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Pantomime), Richmond Theatre | Review
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Panto)
Richmond Theatre
Reviewed on Thursday 12th December 2019 by Nicola Louise
★★★★
It seems like yesterday I was sent to review my first pantomime, but here we are again a year later. This time its Snow White at Richmond Theatre where the stars are big and -evident from the multitude of advertising and glitzy theatrical splendour- so is the budget!
We all know the story of Show White and how she was ordered to die at the hands of her evil stepmother; and this story is no different even if it does start a little unusually. Prince Harry arrives at the palace where Snow White is due to celebrate her 21st birthday, as childhood sweethearts they’re drawn to each other once again after having been apart for so long.
James Darch is great as the charming Prince Harry, with a pantomime hero look about him. Mia Starbuck is as sweet as Snow White can be, with her flowing black hair and porcelain skin she glows with beauty and shines when she sings. Panto’s by nature are a bit cheesy, especially with the panto prince, however, this isn't the case with Richmond’s production. Both Snow and Harry are not your typical panto hero’s, some may say this won’t do but as a lover of panto’s for many years, I felt this gives it an edge above the others.
Jason Sutton as the dame is as funny as ever, along with John Clegg as played Muddles, the son. The pair are a great double act who bounce off each other with chemistry that sparks on stage.
Some may remember Clegg from Britain’s Got Talent where he wow’d audiences with his talent for impressions and it isn’t hard to see why. Clegg's rendition of ‘You’ve Got a Friend in Me’ where he portrays a range of different characters is something I did not expect, and is an excellent moment in the production.
Each year Richmond has a big name to draw people in to it's festive offering, this year its Jo Brand as the evil Queen Lucretia. As funny as she is, her incredibly dry humour often feel misplaced within the tone of this panto. However, Brand's ‘I don’t care’ attitude brings something new to the show and is certainly entertaining. The director and producers have clearly worked around Brand's lack of singing talent and focused more on her wit, a stellar choice on their part.
Like all Pantos, there's a mish mash of popular music, in this case Ed Sheeran amongst others. Some songs seem out of place and a bit cliché, as if the writers are trying to reach out to the teenagers in the crowd, so to say ‘look, we’re hip as well’.
With a talented bunch of actors and great performances from the 7 men who portrayed the Dwarfs, (this year Richmond opted for tall actors rather than go for actual Dwarfs), this show protrudes enough sweetness and glitter than you can shake a stick at.
Fun for all the family and even the little ones get involved at the end.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is running at Richmond Theatre until Sunday 5th January 2020
photo credit: Craig Sugden
Thursday, 31 October 2019
Billionaire Boy (UK Tour), Richmond Theatre | Review
Billionaire Boy (UK Tour)
Richmond Theatre
Reviewed on Wednesday 30th October 2019 by Olivia Mitchell
★★★★
David Walliams' quirky children's shows (adapted from his best selling books) are quickly becoming regular features in the UK theatre scene and Billionaire Boy certainly shows why. His excellently gleeful stories, filled with important messages are brought to life wonderfully on stage and provide a laugh-out-loud night for adults and kids a like.
Billionaire Boy is about the life of Joe Spud and his dad Len- a man who's made unfathomable amounts of money from inventing a special kind of double sided loo-roll: Bumfresh! Joe transfers to his local comp school and learns about the importance of friendship, money and loyalty.
The cast, made up of many recent graduates, are fantastic at bringing a variety of characters to life with spades of energy and childish delight. Matthew Gordon as Joe is thrilling to watch as he highlights Joe's moral struggles and gives a lovely performance throughout. As his best friend Bob, Davy Bell is earnest and instantly likeable. The pair have a wonderful on stage chemistry and really bounce off one another to create realistic school-time dramas that we can all relate to.... (well other than the part where one of them's a billionaire!)
Amongst the rest of the cast, Jason Furnival brings a realism to the story, especially towards the end; Emma Matthews gives it everything as Mrs Trafe and is certainly a highlight and Aosaf Afzal garners some of the biggest laughs of the night with his witty one liners and great comedic timing. The show is dotted with some very catchy songs by Jak Poore which keep the whole thing buoyant and are extremely well performed. Mared Lewis and Rosie Coles give vocal performances which really shine and Coles brings Sapphire to life excellently... I think we have a future Mrs Wormwood in our midst!
Jacqueline Trousdale's set is extremely well put together, with simple pieces weaving together to create something eye catching throughout. Bumfresh Towers is created by huge piles of loo roll which are twisted and changed to create the school, Raj's shop and other locations. There's also the helicopter scene which had children ahhing and ohhing- a real wow moment. Despite being a production aimed at children, nothing feels cheap or amateurish and Billionaire Boy really seems as if it'll stand the test of time and continue to entertain.
There are a few jokes which run dry a little fast, and it would be nice to see the bad guys get their just desserts but this is a wonderful production which is sure to bring joy to young audiences.
Billionaire Boy runs at Richmond Theatre until November 2nd before continuing its tour
photo credit: Mark Douet
Tuesday, 22 October 2019
Toast (UK Tour), Richmond Theatre | Review
Toast
Richmond Theatre
Reviewed on Monday 21st October 2019 by Glenys Balchin
★★★★
On press night, Toast started a little late and I was tapping my toes waiting for it to being, however, this became inconsequential once I spotted Nigel Slater in the audience. This was certainly an added bonus! I would love to ask him what he thinks about seeing his life being played out on the stage at Richmond Theatre, it must be a very surreal experience.
Anyway, back to the play, I loved the simple stylised approach of the story telling, scenery and the lighting which was very atmospheric. Although, I was not sure at first about the young Nigel being played by a man wearing shorts, but as the play progressed I became convinced that the actor was looking through the eyes of a nine year old boy and it worked for me. The actors were flawless in the systematic approach of changing from scene to scene. The cast were versatile switching from one character to another. I was most impressed that a play with such a big story to tell, with so many underlining themes, was delivered with such a small cast and the action on stage was kept fluid at all times
The mum played by Katy Federman was the star of the show for me, though I don’t know whether it was her acting skills I enjoyed the most or that character that she portrayed. A most loving and nurturing mum protecting her son from the realities of life.
Anyway, back to the play, I loved the simple stylised approach of the story telling, scenery and the lighting which was very atmospheric. Although, I was not sure at first about the young Nigel being played by a man wearing shorts, but as the play progressed I became convinced that the actor was looking through the eyes of a nine year old boy and it worked for me. The actors were flawless in the systematic approach of changing from scene to scene. The cast were versatile switching from one character to another. I was most impressed that a play with such a big story to tell, with so many underlining themes, was delivered with such a small cast and the action on stage was kept fluid at all times
The mum played by Katy Federman was the star of the show for me, though I don’t know whether it was her acting skills I enjoyed the most or that character that she portrayed. A most loving and nurturing mum protecting her son from the realities of life.
Nigel played by Giles Cooper told the story well and showed no difficulty, or hesitation changing from being the narrator, to then playing his character. He drew us into his world and breathed life into the other actor's characters portrayed on stage.
As the story unravelled you were saddened at the loss for Nigel, of both parents, but enlightened that his Mother’s unconditional love drove him on to be the man he became. For me the early life of Nigel evoked a lot of beautiful memories from the cooking with mum in the kitchen , jam tarts, spagbol and the sweets, angel delight, ballroom dancing lessons in the kitchen and the ritual of sitting around the table as a family.
My mum’s cooking, as was Nigel’s, was always made with lots of love, but she too was certainly no Marguerite Patten. I do, however, fondly remember my Mum’s splodge trifle! Watching the play has made me want to read Nigel’s autobiography and taste again all those 60s and 70’s treats again- Angel Delight being one of them! I loved the storyline and the tale it told and it was well executed by the cast and I would definitely recommend others to go and experience Toast.
However, my words alone do not resonate the success of the play as well as Nigel Slater giving a standing ovation, a very high accolade indeed and one that the actors should be proud of.
photo credit: Piers Foley
Thursday, 7 September 2017
Wait Until Dark (UK Tour), Richmond Theatre | Review
Wait Until Dark (UK Tour)
New Victoria Theatre
Reviewed on Wednesday September 6th 2017 by Lucy Jardine
★★
Wait Until Dark, a 1966 thriller by Knott is a play about, well, a rather implausible and confusing plot where criminals try to recover, by kindness then by force, a object that the photographer husband has been persuaded to bring back from Amsterdam. We are never quite sure why he agreed to do this - was he a deliberate drugs runner (although drugs are never mentioned), or simply a gullible stranger? He never quite convinces as to what he does, in his love for Suzy, or indeed why he is away at key moments in the play. So that's the plot.
The set however, convinces more, and makes a nod to the 1960s original, the furniture and decor all instantly place us firmly in that era. The characters vary in their portrayals: there's nothing subtle about the bumbling crooks, the husband's fondness for his wife never seems quite genuine. The real tour de force is Karina Jones who herself was registered blind at the age of 13. Not having known this before the play, I had been utterly convinced by the way she felt her way around the stage, negotiating obstacles (a great many obstacles!) as she did so.
Overall however, by the end of the play you are left feeling that you have just watched a rather dated, over-theatrical production by a rather ho-hum am dram company. See it if you want a chuckle, but otherwise don't bother.
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