These Theatre Thoughts

  Abigail’s Party is an iconic piece of not just theatre, but history. Everyone who has seen the television play starring Alison Steadman as Beverly will remember it; it – and Beverly herself – are hard to forget. So what was this production going to be like? Was it going to stay true to the play and the characters we all love (or at least have a grudging liking for), or was it going to be something entirely different? The good news – at least, it was for me – is that this production is as close to the original as it could get. The characters, the set, the awkwardness, the realness… they’re all there, and it is a joy to experience it ‘in the flesh’. The set is the first thing we see, and it is fantastic (as Beverly herself would say). All browns and oranges, a shag pile rug over wooden flooring (no fitted carpets here, although the neighbours have them), a spider plant, and of course the cocktail cabinet that dominates the room, pulling us in. It’s inevitable that anyone who enters...

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...