The Brothers Size - TNT
The staging of Tarell Alvin McCraney's three-hander could hardly be more austere — a circle drawn in chalk, subtle changes in lighting, a sprinkle of red dust and a musician tucked away in a corner. Yet its intensity is astonishing as ex-jailbird Oshoosi Size (the younger of two brothers) fails to get to grips with the work ethic of older sibling Ogun, a Louisiana car mechanic. The exploration of brotherhood is sensitively and movingl handled, but there are also moments of delightful humour with the characters speaking not only the dialogue but the stage directions too. Obi Abili and Nyasha Hatendi give superbly tuned performances as the quarrelsome blood relations whose deep, indestructible love for each other is finally expressed, almost too late.Nathaniel Martello-White is impishly destructive as Oshoosi's former cell-mate who became almost as close while they served their sentences. Powerfully directed and with its unique blend of the poetic and the colloquial, this is 90 minutes of thrillingly unmissable theatre.
Young Vic, The Cut, SE1 (020-7922 2922). Until December 12. £18.50-£15.50
Sunday, 25 November 2007
Hairspray - TNT
A feel-good show with not one but two serious messages to impart, this musical adaptation of John Waters' 1988 film arrives hard on the heels of the updated movie version and is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Newcomer Leanne Jones is terrific as Tracy Turnblad, the big-haired and bigger-hearted teen who doesn't conform to the slinky stereotype of her peers on the local Baltimore TV talent show — though she must surely have already shrunk a dress size to execute the moves she's taught by her equally ostracised black friends. Michael Ball is unrecognisable as her ever-hungry laundress mum, and — with its vibrant '60s pastiche songs and sparkling choreography — this is a triumph for Ball's fake sagging boobs and everybody out there who's carrying a few too many extra kilos.
Shaftesbury Theatre, Shaftesbury Ave, WC2 (020- 7379 5399). Until October 25. £60-£20
A feel-good show with not one but two serious messages to impart, this musical adaptation of John Waters' 1988 film arrives hard on the heels of the updated movie version and is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Newcomer Leanne Jones is terrific as Tracy Turnblad, the big-haired and bigger-hearted teen who doesn't conform to the slinky stereotype of her peers on the local Baltimore TV talent show — though she must surely have already shrunk a dress size to execute the moves she's taught by her equally ostracised black friends. Michael Ball is unrecognisable as her ever-hungry laundress mum, and — with its vibrant '60s pastiche songs and sparkling choreography — this is a triumph for Ball's fake sagging boobs and everybody out there who's carrying a few too many extra kilos.
Shaftesbury Theatre, Shaftesbury Ave, WC2 (020- 7379 5399). Until October 25. £60-£20
A Night In November - TNT
TV host and stand-up Patrick Kielty takes to the stage in a revival of Marie Jones' 1994 one-man show about the life- changing experience of a Belfast Protestant at the Northern Ireland v Republic of Ireland World Cupqualifier in 1993. A football stadium may seem an unlikely place for petty-minded dole clerk Kenneth to realise the offensiveness of his bigoted views, but watching his father-in-law's unbridled sectarian vitriol suddenly makes him see his belief system through newly opened eyes. It's a brave undertaking for an acting debut, but Kielty gives an energetic and well-paced performance. Whether impersonating his complacent wife or the once despised Catholic boss who'll never get elected to the golf club, he knows how to work an audience. The story might not convince, but Kielty certainly knows how to tell it.
Trafalgar Studios(1), Whitehall, SW1 (0870-060 6632). Until December 1. £42.50-£30
TV host and stand-up Patrick Kielty takes to the stage in a revival of Marie Jones' 1994 one-man show about the life- changing experience of a Belfast Protestant at the Northern Ireland v Republic of Ireland World Cupqualifier in 1993. A football stadium may seem an unlikely place for petty-minded dole clerk Kenneth to realise the offensiveness of his bigoted views, but watching his father-in-law's unbridled sectarian vitriol suddenly makes him see his belief system through newly opened eyes. It's a brave undertaking for an acting debut, but Kielty gives an energetic and well-paced performance. Whether impersonating his complacent wife or the once despised Catholic boss who'll never get elected to the golf club, he knows how to work an audience. The story might not convince, but Kielty certainly knows how to tell it.
Trafalgar Studios(1), Whitehall, SW1 (0870-060 6632). Until December 1. £42.50-£30
Monday, 19 November 2007
The Giant - TNT
Thanks to the ingenuity of designer William Dudley, the intimate Hampstead theatre gets its own impressive replica of Michelangelo's "David" in Antony Sher's ambitious new play about the creation of one of the most familiar sculptures of all time. Set in Florence at the beginning of the 16th century (and imagined from the perspective of a fictional young quarryman who servesas the model for the statue) this exploration of the relationship between repressed homoerotic urges and creativity successfully conveys the emotional and practical challenges of artistic endeavour. It's got more than its fair share of nudity – but it's also hugely overwritten. If only Sher had been as fastidious in excising the verbiage from his material as Michelangelo was in freeing his magnificent creation from the huge block of Carrara marble, this dramatised Renaissance rivalry between the driven, obsessive young sculptor and the older, resolutely celibate Leonardo Da Vinci could have been so much more persuasive.
Hampstead Eton Avenue, NW3 (020-7722 9301). Until 1st December. Tickets -£10-£22
Louise Kingsley
Thanks to the ingenuity of designer William Dudley, the intimate Hampstead theatre gets its own impressive replica of Michelangelo's "David" in Antony Sher's ambitious new play about the creation of one of the most familiar sculptures of all time. Set in Florence at the beginning of the 16th century (and imagined from the perspective of a fictional young quarryman who servesas the model for the statue) this exploration of the relationship between repressed homoerotic urges and creativity successfully conveys the emotional and practical challenges of artistic endeavour. It's got more than its fair share of nudity – but it's also hugely overwritten. If only Sher had been as fastidious in excising the verbiage from his material as Michelangelo was in freeing his magnificent creation from the huge block of Carrara marble, this dramatised Renaissance rivalry between the driven, obsessive young sculptor and the older, resolutely celibate Leonardo Da Vinci could have been so much more persuasive.
Hampstead Eton Avenue, NW3 (020-7722 9301). Until 1st December. Tickets -£10-£22
Louise Kingsley
Alex - TNT
City slickers might just catch a reflection of themselves in this entertaining depiction of life in the Square Mile, an amusing marriage of projected animation and live performance as cartoon strip character Alex comes to 3-D life. For two decades, this smug, insensitive investment banker has appeared in the daily press – previously in the Independent, and, since 1992, in the Telegraph. In this stage adaptation, his creators have placed him in crisis – his wife wants a baby but he's too preoccupied for a sprog-making shag, one of his client companies is seriously overvalued, and he's far too busy spending time not working to read a crucial report. Floppy-haired and with the suggestion of a paunch beneath his pinstripe suit, Robin Bathurst makes a perfect Alex as he not only interacts with digital projections of his friends and colleagues but provides their voices too. At 75 minutes long, this engaging show knows its limits but still succeeds in exposing some of the least likeable traits of the city financier.
Arts Theatre, Great Newport Street, WC2 (0870-520 4020) Until 8th December. Tickets £27.50 -£12.00
City slickers might just catch a reflection of themselves in this entertaining depiction of life in the Square Mile, an amusing marriage of projected animation and live performance as cartoon strip character Alex comes to 3-D life. For two decades, this smug, insensitive investment banker has appeared in the daily press – previously in the Independent, and, since 1992, in the Telegraph. In this stage adaptation, his creators have placed him in crisis – his wife wants a baby but he's too preoccupied for a sprog-making shag, one of his client companies is seriously overvalued, and he's far too busy spending time not working to read a crucial report. Floppy-haired and with the suggestion of a paunch beneath his pinstripe suit, Robin Bathurst makes a perfect Alex as he not only interacts with digital projections of his friends and colleagues but provides their voices too. At 75 minutes long, this engaging show knows its limits but still succeeds in exposing some of the least likeable traits of the city financier.
Arts Theatre, Great Newport Street, WC2 (0870-520 4020) Until 8th December. Tickets £27.50 -£12.00
War Horse - TNT
Forget traditional Christmas shows — this adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's 1982 novel is an absolute stunner. From the moment young Joey totters uncertainly onto the stage on spindly foal legs, to the closing moments which had me in tears, South African puppet company Handspring ensures their life-size creations are every bit as credible as (and often more sympathetic than) the humans who decide their fate. Following Joey's path from a Devon farm to occupied France during World War I, this simply but powerfully staged story of devotion and devastation tugs at the heartstrings. The production pulls no punches (how could it when so few military horses survived?) and the resulting integration of puppets, people and evocative song is theatre at its magical, unmissable best.
Olivier at the National Theatre, South Bank, SE1 (020-7452 3000). Until February 14. £10-£39.50
Forget traditional Christmas shows — this adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's 1982 novel is an absolute stunner. From the moment young Joey totters uncertainly onto the stage on spindly foal legs, to the closing moments which had me in tears, South African puppet company Handspring ensures their life-size creations are every bit as credible as (and often more sympathetic than) the humans who decide their fate. Following Joey's path from a Devon farm to occupied France during World War I, this simply but powerfully staged story of devotion and devastation tugs at the heartstrings. The production pulls no punches (how could it when so few military horses survived?) and the resulting integration of puppets, people and evocative song is theatre at its magical, unmissable best.
Olivier at the National Theatre, South Bank, SE1 (020-7452 3000). Until February 14. £10-£39.50
Thursday, 15 November 2007
PARADE - This Is London
Donmar Theatre
Louise Kingsley
Donmar Theatre
Does the West End really need
another musical? The answer is a
resounding ‘Yes’ as far as this absorbing
and troubling production is concerned.
You're unlikely to leave the theatre
humming the tunes, but Alfred Uhry
(book) and Jason Robert Brown (music
and lyrics) have dramatised a true story
exposing the deep-seated prejudice
which led to a blatant miscarriage of
justice and the result is completely
engrossing.
Pencil factory superintendent Leo
Frank was an educated, Jewish New
Yorker who married a Southerner and
moved to Atlanta, Georgia. But he
remained an outsider who never felt at
home nor embraced the idiosyncrasies
of the South. So when, in 1913, a 13
year old white female employee, Mary
Phagan, was found dead in the
basement of their workplace, the locals
and the conviction-hungry police swiftly
accepted the slight circumstantial
evidence and the suspect testimony of a
black employee as proof of his guilt.
Rob Ashford's direction of this 1998
Broadway show is pacey and fluent and,
especially in the trial scenes, his
choreography integrates perfectly with
the ambiguities of the unfolding story.
The cast, too, is excellent. In the
pivotal role of the accused Yankee Leo
Frank, Bertie Carvel has just the right
uncomfortable, hand wringing diss-ease
of a man who doesn't fit in and knows it.
Lara Pulver is touching as the loyal wife
who barely waivers in her belief that the
unemotional workaholic she married
couldn't possibly be a murderer, Gary
Milner is sleekly effective as both a
persistent newshound and a senator who
changes his mind, and Shaun Escoffery
is quite simply sensational as the
prosecution's main witness.
another musical? The answer is a
resounding ‘Yes’ as far as this absorbing
and troubling production is concerned.
You're unlikely to leave the theatre
humming the tunes, but Alfred Uhry
(book) and Jason Robert Brown (music
and lyrics) have dramatised a true story
exposing the deep-seated prejudice
which led to a blatant miscarriage of
justice and the result is completely
engrossing.
Pencil factory superintendent Leo
Frank was an educated, Jewish New
Yorker who married a Southerner and
moved to Atlanta, Georgia. But he
remained an outsider who never felt at
home nor embraced the idiosyncrasies
of the South. So when, in 1913, a 13
year old white female employee, Mary
Phagan, was found dead in the
basement of their workplace, the locals
and the conviction-hungry police swiftly
accepted the slight circumstantial
evidence and the suspect testimony of a
black employee as proof of his guilt.
Rob Ashford's direction of this 1998
Broadway show is pacey and fluent and,
especially in the trial scenes, his
choreography integrates perfectly with
the ambiguities of the unfolding story.
The cast, too, is excellent. In the
pivotal role of the accused Yankee Leo
Frank, Bertie Carvel has just the right
uncomfortable, hand wringing diss-ease
of a man who doesn't fit in and knows it.
Lara Pulver is touching as the loyal wife
who barely waivers in her belief that the
unemotional workaholic she married
couldn't possibly be a murderer, Gary
Milner is sleekly effective as both a
persistent newshound and a senator who
changes his mind, and Shaun Escoffery
is quite simply sensational as the
prosecution's main witness.
Louise Kingsley
Sunday, 11 November 2007
Vincent River - TNT
The truth behind the birth and death of thirty-something Vincent is gradually uncovered in this emotionally powerful revival of Philip Ridley's atmospherically-written two-hander. Lynda Bellingham's superficially tough but ultimately vulnerable working-class Anita exchanges information with the uncomfortable teenager who has been trailing her ever since he found her only son lying bleeding and beaten to a violent death in an East End toilet renowned for its homosexual trysts. In return for facts prised from Mark Field's haunted, reluctant Davey she reveals how, when she was younger, she also was the victim of another kind of intolerance. Now her son's fate has exposed her once again to the prejudices of those around her. As the lives of these two scarred human beings briefly overlap, Ridley shows the damaging concealments that oil the wheels of family life, and, in an intense 90 minutes, creates vivid word pictures which conjure the awfulness of what really happened.
Trafalgar Studios (2), Whitehall, SW1 (0870-060 6632). Until November 17. £22.50
The truth behind the birth and death of thirty-something Vincent is gradually uncovered in this emotionally powerful revival of Philip Ridley's atmospherically-written two-hander. Lynda Bellingham's superficially tough but ultimately vulnerable working-class Anita exchanges information with the uncomfortable teenager who has been trailing her ever since he found her only son lying bleeding and beaten to a violent death in an East End toilet renowned for its homosexual trysts. In return for facts prised from Mark Field's haunted, reluctant Davey she reveals how, when she was younger, she also was the victim of another kind of intolerance. Now her son's fate has exposed her once again to the prejudices of those around her. As the lives of these two scarred human beings briefly overlap, Ridley shows the damaging concealments that oil the wheels of family life, and, in an intense 90 minutes, creates vivid word pictures which conjure the awfulness of what really happened.
Trafalgar Studios (2), Whitehall, SW1 (0870-060 6632). Until November 17. £22.50
Cloud Nine - TNT
Written in a collaborative process with Joint Stock Theatre Company almost three decades ago, Caryl Churchill's inventively playful comparison of the role of women and repressed minorities (defined either by race or sexuality)in 19th century British colonial Africa and what was then contemporary London is very much a play of two halves. Her exaggerated, cartoonish portrayal of the Brits abroad is mercilessly unforgiving — they may be in charge of the natives, but they're certainly not in control of their own sexual urges. Cheekily, male actor Bo Poraj is cast as subservient Victorian wife Betty (who pays lipservice to the superiority of her pompous husband while being propositioned by both his rampantly bisexual friend and the household nanny) and Nicola Walker plays her adolescent son (who infuriatingly prefers dolls to guns).In the second act, the characters have only aged 25 years but find themselves in '70s London where anything goes and men are no longer seen as protectors. But liberation has brought its own complexities, and Thea Sharrock's supremely well-acted production highlights the ongoing confusion which still spikes the minefield of sexual politics.
Almeida, Almeida St N1 (020-7359 4404). Until December 8
Written in a collaborative process with Joint Stock Theatre Company almost three decades ago, Caryl Churchill's inventively playful comparison of the role of women and repressed minorities (defined either by race or sexuality)in 19th century British colonial Africa and what was then contemporary London is very much a play of two halves. Her exaggerated, cartoonish portrayal of the Brits abroad is mercilessly unforgiving — they may be in charge of the natives, but they're certainly not in control of their own sexual urges. Cheekily, male actor Bo Poraj is cast as subservient Victorian wife Betty (who pays lipservice to the superiority of her pompous husband while being propositioned by both his rampantly bisexual friend and the household nanny) and Nicola Walker plays her adolescent son (who infuriatingly prefers dolls to guns).In the second act, the characters have only aged 25 years but find themselves in '70s London where anything goes and men are no longer seen as protectors. But liberation has brought its own complexities, and Thea Sharrock's supremely well-acted production highlights the ongoing confusion which still spikes the minefield of sexual politics.
Almeida, Almeida St N1 (020-7359 4404). Until December 8
Swimming With Sharks - TNT
Christian Slater adds another eye-catching performance to his West End credits with an abrasive portrayal of Buddy Ackerman, a misogynist, money-making Hollywood producer of crowd-pleasing schlock horror movies who'll play as dirty as a dung beetle to get the No.2 job at the studio. He'd kill his own mother to get where he wants to go.The fast-paced first act of this stage adaptation of George Huang's 1994 film satirises both the movie makers and the audiences who pay to see what they churn out. But the violent and melodramatic plot twists after the interval don't work, and neither Slater's powerhouse performance nor strong support from Matt Smith (as his gofer, Guy, who eventually shows all the signs of turning into as much of a shit as his megalomaniac boss) can salvage the change in tone.
Vaudeville, Strand WC2 (0870-040 0084). Until January 19. £20-£45
Christian Slater adds another eye-catching performance to his West End credits with an abrasive portrayal of Buddy Ackerman, a misogynist, money-making Hollywood producer of crowd-pleasing schlock horror movies who'll play as dirty as a dung beetle to get the No.2 job at the studio. He'd kill his own mother to get where he wants to go.The fast-paced first act of this stage adaptation of George Huang's 1994 film satirises both the movie makers and the audiences who pay to see what they churn out. But the violent and melodramatic plot twists after the interval don't work, and neither Slater's powerhouse performance nor strong support from Matt Smith (as his gofer, Guy, who eventually shows all the signs of turning into as much of a shit as his megalomaniac boss) can salvage the change in tone.
Vaudeville, Strand WC2 (0870-040 0084). Until January 19. £20-£45
Monday, 5 November 2007
The Country Wife - TNT
David Haig gets hilariously apoplectic as a jealous older husband in Jonathan Kent's sprightly revival of William Wycherley's 1675 restoration romp. He's so worried that his new country bumpkin wife will make a cuckold of him that he keeps her under lock and key to prevent her from experiencing the "sophisticated" ways and louche morals of London town. Meanwhile ( in order to gain unlimited access to frustrated city wives, without arousing the suspicions of their wary spouses) dedicated lothario Hunter (a dashing Toby Stephens) puts it about that his stay in France has rendered him impotent. Played completely for laughs on a garish set, there's little sense of the darkness at the heart of a society in which reputation is everything. But the sexual innuendo which fuels every verbal exchange keeps the comedy buoyant, and the idiosyncratic mix of period and contemporary costume suggests that, when it comes to illicit liaisons, not much has changed over the centuries.
Theatre Royal Haymarket, Haymarket, SW1 (0844-844 2353) Until January 12. Tickets £47.50 - £20
David Haig gets hilariously apoplectic as a jealous older husband in Jonathan Kent's sprightly revival of William Wycherley's 1675 restoration romp. He's so worried that his new country bumpkin wife will make a cuckold of him that he keeps her under lock and key to prevent her from experiencing the "sophisticated" ways and louche morals of London town. Meanwhile ( in order to gain unlimited access to frustrated city wives, without arousing the suspicions of their wary spouses) dedicated lothario Hunter (a dashing Toby Stephens) puts it about that his stay in France has rendered him impotent. Played completely for laughs on a garish set, there's little sense of the darkness at the heart of a society in which reputation is everything. But the sexual innuendo which fuels every verbal exchange keeps the comedy buoyant, and the idiosyncratic mix of period and contemporary costume suggests that, when it comes to illicit liaisons, not much has changed over the centuries.
Theatre Royal Haymarket, Haymarket, SW1 (0844-844 2353) Until January 12. Tickets £47.50 - £20
The Investigation - TNT
Rather than directly exploring the events of the more recent genocide which tore their own country apart, Rwandan theatre company Urwintore has turned its attention to the Nazi holocaust of sixty years ago. This simplerestaging of Peter Weiss's 1965 verbatim documentary drama about the horrors which occurred in Auschwitz is an attempt to make some sort of sense of a world in which equally unimaginable atrocities can occur all over again.Speaking in French (with surtitles projected on screens flanking the virtually bare stage) the seven actors (playing both witnesses and defendants) make potent points about how human beings struggle to survive no matter what – even if, to enable them to do so, they are forced – or choose – to adopt a dubious moral code. The material (extracted from the Frankfurt War trials of the 60's) is, by now, only too familiar. But this 80 minute production still has the capacity to shock as the accused insist that obeying orders was ample justification for the acts of extermination and abuse which, again and again, they committed against their fellow human beings.
Young Vic, The Cut, SE1 (020-7922 2922). Until 10th November. Tickets £24.50 - £21.50, under 26's £9.50
Rather than directly exploring the events of the more recent genocide which tore their own country apart, Rwandan theatre company Urwintore has turned its attention to the Nazi holocaust of sixty years ago. This simplerestaging of Peter Weiss's 1965 verbatim documentary drama about the horrors which occurred in Auschwitz is an attempt to make some sort of sense of a world in which equally unimaginable atrocities can occur all over again.Speaking in French (with surtitles projected on screens flanking the virtually bare stage) the seven actors (playing both witnesses and defendants) make potent points about how human beings struggle to survive no matter what – even if, to enable them to do so, they are forced – or choose – to adopt a dubious moral code. The material (extracted from the Frankfurt War trials of the 60's) is, by now, only too familiar. But this 80 minute production still has the capacity to shock as the accused insist that obeying orders was ample justification for the acts of extermination and abuse which, again and again, they committed against their fellow human beings.
Young Vic, The Cut, SE1 (020-7922 2922). Until 10th November. Tickets £24.50 - £21.50, under 26's £9.50
Sunday, 4 November 2007
Glengarry Glen Ross - TNT
With its edgy streetwise dialogue, David Mamet's short, sharp 1983 drama gives a whole new meaning to the concept of 'men in suits'. These guys may look like businessmen, but they're as hungry as sharks for the next big sale and a place at the top of the board. James Macdonald's excellent revival reveals just how devoid of morals these Chicago real estate salesmen are — and not just when dealing with potential buyers. Even when apparently doing a buddy a favour, they'll turn round and bite behind his back. Matthew Marsh is a cold calculator who loses his cool, Jonathan Pryce's aging Shelly Levene is sweatily desperate as he relives past glories and pleads for a another chance, and Aidan Gillen is perhaps the most ruthless of the lot as he schemes and lies to close the crucial deal that will win him a Cadillac.
Apollo Shaftesbury Ave, W1 (0870-830 0200). Until January 12. £17.50-£45 Louise Kingsley
With its edgy streetwise dialogue, David Mamet's short, sharp 1983 drama gives a whole new meaning to the concept of 'men in suits'. These guys may look like businessmen, but they're as hungry as sharks for the next big sale and a place at the top of the board. James Macdonald's excellent revival reveals just how devoid of morals these Chicago real estate salesmen are — and not just when dealing with potential buyers. Even when apparently doing a buddy a favour, they'll turn round and bite behind his back. Matthew Marsh is a cold calculator who loses his cool, Jonathan Pryce's aging Shelly Levene is sweatily desperate as he relives past glories and pleads for a another chance, and Aidan Gillen is perhaps the most ruthless of the lot as he schemes and lies to close the crucial deal that will win him a Cadillac.
Apollo Shaftesbury Ave, W1 (0870-830 0200). Until January 12. £17.50-£45 Louise Kingsley
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