These Theatre Thoughts

Ever since Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap first asked audiences ‘whodunnit’ back in 1952, it has been a hit. This new touring production at Bromley’s Churchill Theatre is a real treat, allowing those who – whether for the first time or for the twenty-first time – want to experience a murder mystery like no other a little close to home. The set is a familiar one (especially if you have seen the London production as it is, as far as I could tell, identical), as is the setting: an old country house, a mish-mash of strange and highly suspicious people thrown together by chance (or are they?), and the doughty policeman who has to try to stop a murder from being committed. Spoiler (the only one, don’t worry): he does not succeed. credit: Johan Persson Which is good news for the audience since the murder, why it is committed, and who does it, is what this play is all about. Watching my fellow audience members, their faces rapt with concentration, occasional whispers suggesting one character ...

That decrepit, aged, dirty room where the action plays out in Tilted Wig Productions’ The Picture of Dorian Gray… it is something to behold. The set is a masterpiece, forming almost another character – it is another depiction of how a soul can become unloved, ugly, and abhorrent. It plays variously an artist’s studio, a seedy club, a hospital morgue, a Lord’s living room, and Dorian’s own home. And, just like the doomed soul, just like the titular picture, the walls and the furniture show just what can happen when greed, corruption, and – above all – vanity, creep slowly but surely into someone’s life. Those dark, dank, depressing walls are a bad life writ large for all to see. credit: Craig Sugden It is the set that puts the audience on edge from the start, but it’s not what keeps them there, at least, not entirely. Throughout the play, whether you know the story or not, there is an underlying sense of inevitability that all will not end well. With every new person (victim, in many se...

“I’m bubbling with laughter!” This is what my eight year old, who was invited to the first night of the new Horrible Histories shows at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley (along with me, I hasten to add!), said when the first half was over and the interval began. Photo by Mark Douet  At the end she said, “It’s made me really happy!” And so it had. In fact, the show had clearly made everyone in the audience happy, and I found myself grinning from ear to ear after the antics of Dr Dee (Simon Nock), Dross (Lisa Allen), and Drab (Izaak Cainer) who, cleverly, wittily, and not without some rather impressive blood splatters, had told the tale of the terrible Tudors, starting way back at the Battle of Bosworth Field when Henry VII took (literally, apparently) the crown all the way through to Elizabeth I’s rather sad end. Plus, as a rather wonderful bonus, in the second half it’s on with the ‘safety goggles’ (3D glasses) so that the gore and guts can be all that more real. We’re treated to a ...

No matter how many times you might have seen the 1987 classic movie, it never fails to deliver. And if you want to see a show that brings that movie to life on the stage, you can – Dirty Dancing is at the Orchard Theatre in all its glory until 6th October. This production has it all. It begins with a beat of music much like a heartbeat (a ‘gu-gung’, perhaps?), and from that moment on, it just keeps ticking all the boxes. Those tunes we all know and love from the movie, the ones we can sing off by heart from beginning to end, underpin the story of Baby and Johnny, who fall in love during the summer of 1963 at Kellerman’s holiday camp. They come from completely different sides of the track, but a love of dance, and a way of teaching each other the most important lessons in life bring them together. credit: Alastair Muir There are stand-out performances throughout this show. Kira Malou plays Baby Houseman (who no one should put in a corner) with a pure innocence that combines perfectly wi...

The Addams Family – love it. Musicals – yes, yes, yes! Comedy – can never get enough. Put them all together, though? Make a musical comedy out of the creepy, kooky Addams Family? Really? Really. And it works. It works beautifully. credit: Matt Martin From the opening number – unsurprisingly, this contained the famous Addams Family theme tune – the audience were enthralled, clicking their fingers enthusiastically as the orchestra (and Thing) bounded through the music. And then it began, and we were all spellbound. The music is modern and different, dark in tone for the most part (of course – this is the Addams Family, after all), but with a bouncing lightness that sneaks its way in every now and then… it’s impressive. The fact that I’m still humming the songs today tells me that this show is a keeper. The cast were incredible. This really is an all-singing, all-dancing production, but it’s more than that. Comedy is definitely in its nature, and as black as it is, it’s still laugh out lo...

  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...