These Theatre Thoughts

  We’re all a bit Tracy Turnblad. We can all be a bit awkward, a bit uncomfortable with ourselves… we can all be dreamers. And perhaps that’s why the musical Hairspray appeals to so many people. It could be the fantastically fun characters, of course. It might be the catchy music. It might be the message that Hairspray sends out – that everyone should just dance together, and enjoy their lives, regardless of skin colour or background or beliefs. It could be any or all of these things. Hairspray is a magical experience to watch and be involved in, and the current touring production on at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford takes the essence of that, and ensures that it is not forgotten. You will walk away humming the memorable tunes, and you’ll be itching to try out the moves as you walk away from the theatre. Our accidental heroine is a wonder to behold. Tracy Turnblad is played with gusto by Rebecca Mendoza who bops and hops around the stage with a joy that is infectious, and if you’r...

Who doesn’t love a whodunnit? There is something innately exciting about the vicarious thrill of watching a (well acted) murder take place, and then trying to piece together the clues before the actors finally let their audience in on the secret. And that’s why murder mysteries have such an enduring appeal – that’s why the ‘queen of crime’, Agatha Christie, is still so popular over 40 years after her death. A Murder Is Announced always has been one of Christie’s more popular mysteries, featuring the doughty and irrepressible Miss Marple as the amateur sleuth who knits together the various strands of the story to present a whole that (most) people won’t have been expecting. Clues are there, but they are subtle, and even when you do spot one, understanding its place in the story is another matter altogether. An Agatha Christie play is something completely different to a television programme, where clues can be inserted into specific shots, pointing the audience in the right direction...