Toby Stephens holds his own as Danton

If, like me, you are not a history buff then you might be put off the idea of sitting through a play about the French Revolution but let me put your reservations to rest. Mr Toby Stephens deftly brings to life (in full shouting, spitting form) the complexities of a historical period rife with bloodshed and politics. Son of Dame Maggie Smith and the late Sir Robert Stephens, he undoubtedly has theatre in his DNA, but Stephens’ unique stage presence stands alone. Danton’s Death provides ample scope for his notoriously effortless swagger and with the formidable acoustics of the Olivier Theatre, Stephens’s evident comfort walking the boards is enviable. As the irrepressible Georges Danton, creator of the Revolutionary Tribunal, he storms and rages for the Revolution; a true leader among his comrades seemingly both on and off stage.

Danton’s Death is the sole existing complete play written by Georg Büchner who died tragically of typhus aged only 23. His other, more famous piece is Woyzeck which unfortunately exists only as a fragment but is performed frequently regardless. Rewritten by Howard Brenton, the play documents the political battles waged within the forces of the Revolution as the once allied Maximilien Robespierre and Georges Danton take violently opposed stances on how to pursue the revolution.

Combining a strange elated optimism with the desperation of the political situation, Brenton succinctly captures the realities of 18^th century France as the characters are forced to search their souls for moral answers. Danton and his comrades deliberate the price of standing their ground, weighing up the consequences for themselves as individuals and for the wider good. As such the drama depicts intense personal battles as the characters are forced to test the force of their courage, their faith and their love of life. Will they have the strength to pursue their heroic endeavors to the end? The sub plot brings love to the foreground as each of Danton and his comrades must struggle with separation from their respective wives and lovers. It is the subtle realism of these relationships that brings the issues of loss and bravery into a relevant present.

Throughout the drama, tension builds unrelentingly as court rows rage, oratorical fireworks explode from both sides and the final scene provides an unforgettable climax. Lasting just short of two hours, this play is the perfect length for the working week; a rapid shot of culture and history which confronts the menial pressures of everyday life, forcing a sharp redress of perspective. This play is certainly one for those seeking escapism or a jolt from working monotony, albeit not one for the faint hearted…

Danton’s Death plays at the Olivier Theatre until October 14th.

A claim to be the greatest political tragedy ever written…

The cast of Recipe for a Perfect Wife

What with the current Mad Men-inspired vogue for the 1950s, complete with recessionista vintage, austerity chic and economy cuisine, it’s no surprise that the era and its many idiosyncracies would be considered a delightful theme for a stage setting, in this new show from young theatre company PapaC Productions.

Recipe For a Perfect Wife is fairly delightful; a witty, glossy satire on the trials and tribulations of the mid-century English marriage (English only – in one moment of beef-inspired comedy it becomes clear that patriotic values are no joke). Five women, each of them that bit more perfect than the last, are jostling it out for the dubious nod of being named ‘Britain’s Best Housewife’.

As we progress through the absurdly wonderful rounds, sending the unlucky ones off with a fond ‘cheerio’, the sniping and sneering becomes increasingly barbed. This is politeness with an undercurrent of poison; “I don’t put my face on before my husband gets up in the morning” reveals the glossy blonde. The aghast looks from her fellow contestants say it all.

There’s a touch of Carry On fun about the proceedings, from the advertising interludes sending up the best of fifties marketing to the glorious ‘recipe’ for faultless wifedom.

The cast is generally excellent, not least for maintaining their megawatt ‘happy housewife’ smiles even while delivering the most cringe-making of lines. Matt Houlihan is a particular treat excellent as the leering, lascivious game-show host modelled upon a younger Bruce Forsyth, while Emma West had a hint of Tilda Swinton-esque poise as Joan, the most stiff-upper-lipped of all the housewives.

Particularly affecting are the monologues, delivered by each wife as they are pushed out of the contest. Inevitably, these women look like cookie-cutter model housewives, but there is a touch of the Betty Draper about them as they articulate unspoken ambition, quashed dreams and hidden desires.

What was missing from an otherwise enjoyable show was more of this. We were given just the one glimpse into the back-story of each of our heroines, and while a great taster, it wasn’t enough. As a musical-comedy with its tongue firmly in its cheek, this was never going to address the feminist issues that arose out of the Stepford generation, but some more character development would have been welcome.

Nonetheless, it’s a laugh worth a look. The costumes are as fabulous as you might expect – all swirling polka dots and curve-enhancing shapes and the show offers a host of classic tunes to sing along to. It might not be Shakespeare, but as the wives themselves might put it, it’s a jolly good treat.

Recipe for a Perfect Wife plays at the King’s Head Theatre until September 4th.

The trailer for PapaC Productions’ Recipe For a Perfect Wife

Suchet and Wanamaker star in All My Sons

Rarely has a play been so worthy of a standing ovation. But the revival of Arthur Miller’s 1947 classic, ‘All My Sons’ deserves every bit of praise that is bestowed on it.

David Suchet and Zoe Wanamaker star as the married couple Joe and Kate Keller, whose idyllic suburban lifestyle masks a cacophony of secrets, pain and betrayal.

One son lost in battle; the other, a dreamer, lost in his own ideals. The war is over, but the scars of the conflict remain searing, and they start to fester with the return of girl next door Ann, who has switched her affections from one brother to the next.

Miller’s script, from the caustic observations of the life-weary neighbours, to the dramatic crescendo, would be gripping with any cast. But this one offers some of the finest acting around, and their subtle portrayals of a broken family make for the perfect balance of optimism and nostalgia, denial and regret.

The set is magical, a wooded wonderland with fresh cut grass creating the perfect sense of an Eden under siege from reality. Even the American accents, often so grating from a British cast, cause no unease.

The rupture of the American Dream is always a fabulous subject matter for a playwright to tackle, and along with Tennessee Williams, Miller is its grand storyteller.

It’s not hard to grasp the subtext, the still-resonant sense that strength and dominance are borne only with sacrifice, and the play remains as potent a cautionary tale in the modern world as it was in post-war America.

This is not always an easy play to watch; the occasional light humour belies a tragic tale. But uncomfortable as it may be, All My Sons will still be the best thing you see on stage for a while.

All My Sons plays at the Apollo Theatre until October 2nd. Tickets are available to buy online here.

The trailer for All My Sons

The cast of Le Peep Musical Show

It is not often that the dramatic personae of a show includes a sailor on shore leave, a doubting seminarist, a penitent call girl, and a perky pin-up. And perhaps even rarer to see these colourful characters sing and dance on a stage of just 2m²!

Created specifically for the tiny Theatre Le Bout (a stand-up venue that was once a typical Pigalle peep show and which provided the inspiration for the title), Le Peep Musical Show is a must for expats missing the delights of Broadway and the West End.

Taking as it principal theme the unlikely mix of characters one meets in Pigalle, where the Sacré Coeur sits atop the red light district, swarming with tourists and the nouveau riche residents, the show plays out the tangled relationships between four disparate characters against a soundtrack of show tunes.

A veritable homage to the classic American musical, the show features a wide variety of songs from true classics shows such as Kiss Me Kate and Chicago and more modern productions such as Wicked, Rent and Hairspray. Each number has been skillfully re-written with French lyrics to fit the Peep Musical Show’s farcical and elaborate plot.

A naive sailor on shore leave arrives in Paris and is almost immediately run over by a pretty but reckless young woman who, we later learn, has starred in numerous tampon adverts and is thus a well-known face in the city. The frisky pin-up’s attempts to persuade the gorgeous sailor to see the sights of her bedroom rather than those of the Left Bank result in a brilliant duet to the tune of ‘Come Up to My Place’ from Berstein’s On the Town.  A nod to Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra’s singing sailors in New York for “just one day” and a clin d’oeil to Jean-Paul Gaultier’s iconic marin, this beautifully-pitched number sets the tone for a show that affectionately parodies its sources and draws on the clichés of the Gauls and Uncle Sam alike.

In true Broadway style, certain show-stopping numbers stand out. The pin-up’s declaration of her own fabulousness, sung to the tune of award-winning ‘Popular’ from Wicked, and the call girl’s sultry song and dance routine to a medley from Sweet Charity, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Chicago are absolute treats. Equally, the improbable romantic duet between the red-lipped call girl and understandably confused seminarist to the strains of ‘The Winner Takes it All’ is a triumph.

However, the standing ovation must go to the suggestive yet never vulgar love song between the ever-more-confused seminarist and the less-naïve-by-the-minute sailor that takes place in the toilets of a cabaret theater. Word-play and double entendres abound as the two explore their burgeoning romantic feelings to the melody of ‘Can you Feel the Love Tonight,’ from The Lion King.

Can you Feel the Love Tonight?

Co-written by all the members of the talented and energetic Musical Toys troupe, Peep Musical Show is a brilliant take on the culture clash. The shows’ driving force, Franck Jeuffroy, himself a perfect mix of French sensibility and Broadway style, speaks with clear admiration of the precision and slick professionalism of the “anglophone” musicals which inspired the piece.

A show of two short halves sandwiched around a surprise guest who performs for the four main characters when they spend an evening at a cabaret club, this bright, irreverent and fast-moving show really is ‘all that jazz’.

Le Peep Musical Show runs every Sunday at 6.30pm until June 27th – an updated and elongated version is planned for September.

For more information see the Le Peep Musical Show website.

Tickets cost €16.

Kim Cattrall on stage in Private Lives

So it was with some trepidation that I headed to the Vaudeville Theatre to watch Kim Cattrall in Noel Coward’s play, Private Lives. Cattrall, who so embodies voracious, independent Samantha Jones in Sex and the City, playing someone else. Would I buy it?

Turns out, yes. Not that she wasn’t playing the voracious, independent type in Amanda, a newly remarried divorcee, who unfortunately bumps into her ex husband whilst on their respective honeymoons.

In fact, one imagines Samantha rather approving of Amanda’s antics – fighting, seducing, sniping, and all with a superior smile. Really, Amanda is essentially the precursor to the SATC crew.

But, whilst she could have played the part as Samantha, she didn’t.

It was a subtle performance, full of studied mannerisms like a droll leg kick, a wonderful insouciance and the perfect level of relish as she demolished Elyot’s fluttery young bride. It was a pleasure to watch.

Without giving too much away, from the initial sunset balcony encounter, it speedily becomes clear the former lovers are not quite over each other. There’s just that pesky matter of their recent marriages, not to mention their utter inability to last more than five minutes in the same room without attempting to kill each other.

Coward was a witty writer, and the play is a treasure chest of double entendres, snide throwaways and quickfire dialogue. The physical comedy is perfectly pitched – just the right side of cringe-worthy slapstick, and Matthew Macfayden proves a match for Jones as the stubborn but roguish Elyot.

Perhaps the only complaint was the running time as the second act dragged somewhat, especially given the lack of suspense in the play. From the first line the outcome is obvious – indeed you can probably grasp it from my simple summary – yet too much time seems devoted to setting up the inevitable final act.

That said, if you can grab tickets this week, Private Lives is worth a look. It’s fluffy, easy viewing – rather like watching Samantha and the girls, then.

Private Lives runs at the Vaudeville Theatre in London until May 1st.

The Long Night of Opera and Theatre takes performance to the streets

For those of you who know a thing or two about your Stoppards or Thomas Manns, have memorized the libretto of Carmen or ever prided yourself on your ability to distinguish new wave from indie music, then it is easy to get cocky or otherwise cringe when faced with the smorgasbord of offerings in the likes of New York or London. You have done your time in the never-ending half-tix queues and then finally nirvana comes as you take your front-row seat (or standing room allocated squat space) at Covent Garden or Broadway. Right?

Wrong. Welcome to Berlin; currently giving New York and London some serious cultural Konkurrenz. The second annual ‘Long Night of Opera and Theatre’ in Berlin today starts at 7pm and for those who can withstand it, will finish at 1am. It is based on a simple and successful formula pioneered by Berlin for its ‘Long Night of the Museums’ (now in its 13^th year) – an event aimed at introducing new individuals to the cultural institutions who otherwise found it too costly or intimidating to attend a museum. The concept has risen in popularity dramatically, so much so that it has now spread to over 120 other cities throughout Europe.

The ‘Lange Nacht der Opern und Theater’ as it is known offers visitors the chance to see (where humanly possible) around 200 theatre, opera and dance performances which are mostly snippets of longer musical or theatrical pieces or short plays. 68 different theatres across the city are participating and each time slot is between 30 minutes to one hour long. Each performance, depending on the size of theatre and the type of performance, is either repeated or alternates between several different pieces throughout the night.

One ticket allows visitors access to all 68 theatres, as well as to public transportation. In true German style, efficiency reigns and the shuttle buses operate different ‘routes’ to the participating venues, leaving at 10-15 minute intervals. The bus rides to and from each venue are a large part of the fun – on one ride, you could be sitting next to a Linguistics Professor, on the next, find yourself chatting to a cabbie. The seamless logistics enable visitors to hop from venue to venue, according to their personal predilection and the programme.

It is theatrical tapas – a veritable feast for the eyes and ears. You could first sample some glamour and glitz jamón at the Friedrichstadtpalast while watching the cabaret show ‘Qi’. Or maybe swig down some sangria – ballet moves at the Komische Oper as it presents “Sonett XVIII” from  ‘Shut Up And Dance! Reloaded’, a modern ballet. Or, to top off the night, try some tasty patatas bravas in the form of ‘Buried Child’, the 1979 Pulitzer prize winning play from American Playwright, Sam Shepard being performed jointly by the English Theatre of Berlin and Theater Thikwa (the Theatre for the Disabled).

Public transport is organised to ensure a seamless evening of culture in Berlin

The Lange Nacht as it is affectionately known, has grown since it first started in 2009, where 50 theatres participated and approximately 20,000 visitors out of a city that only has a population of around 3.8 million. This year, numbers are expected in excess of 30, 000.

So, whether you want to get more closely acquainted with German Schlager music, take your young ones to the Puppet Theatre or have a penchant for the avantgarde – there is something for everyone. In a city where culture is so accessible and fun, going along to the Lange Nacht will surely be making our transatlantic cousins incredibly envious.

For more information and to buy tickets, see online here.

The delicious Miss Vicky Butterfly

Surrounded by office blocks in the midst of the City, this former Turkish bath house is a surviving treasure from Victorian East London. Now a historically listed building, it has been subtly renovated to retain the charm of the nineteenth century. The interior design is lavish, featuring marble furniture and mosaic-adorned walls.

Every Thursday night the Bath House hosts Boom Boom Club, a decadent ‘gin-soaked cabaret’ with burlesque, live music and old-fashioned entertainment. Fashionable Londoners don their best vintage attire and crowd around the small stage, waiting in anticipation for the show to begin. A victim of its own success, seats at Boom Boom Club are hard to come by, but revellers seem equally happy perched on the piano with a cocktail or propping up the bar with a glass of wine.

The cabaret is hosted every week by Dusty Limits, the ‘Weimar compère beyond compare’. With his three-octave vocal range, he sings everything from Cole Porter to Portishead, mashed up with plenty of dark humour. Occasionally he ‘forgets’ the correct lyrics but comes up with a seemingly spontaneous replacement. There’s plenty of audience participation, with Dusty usually picking out a male member of the audience to serenade, and he’s not afraid to steal a gulp of wine from an audience member. Burlesque comes in the shape of resident dancer Vicky Butterfly. Her elegant routines involve ballet steps and butterflies flying out from under her clothes.

There’s irreverent burlesque from Kiki Kaboom, who mixes a lot more comedy into her performance and dances to the un-typically Burlesque Spaceman by Babylon Zoo. Old-school entertainment is provided from the likes of Craig ‘The Incredible Hula Boy’ Reid, who performs a slick gymnast routine involving dozens of hula hoops. Crooner Earl Okin, a throwback from the 1940s, serves more music with his spoof love songs. Okin has the nickname Ol’ Horny Mouth due to his astounding ability to recreate a small brass section without any instruments.

After the show chairs are pushed aside as the theatre morphs into a mini nightclub where merrymakers can dance to 50s swing and exotic tunes.

Despite the chaotic atmosphere and apparent lack of rehearsals, The Bath House’s intimate and frivolous atmosphere makes it feel more authentic than other cabaret venues in the East End. It’s a lot cheaper too, but be sure to arrive early as seats are snapped up quickly.

Every Thursday.

Doors 7.30pm – 3am.  Show 8.30pm – 10.30pm

Entry £7. Advance tickets are available from Ticketweb.

www.boomboomclub.co.uk

Family tensions. Image by White with Two Sugars

Sarah-Liisa Wilkinson’s claustrophobic new play, Little Fish, shortlisted for the Old Vic New Voices Award last year, depicts a dislocated young family trying to come to terms with their tragic family history.

Cici (Helen Clapp) and Jamie are twins who appear to live together in the family home in which their mother died some months before. They are joined one stormy night by older sister Claire (Lucy Laing) who they have not seen since she found fame and fortune after having had sex on a Big Brother-type television show.

Demonstrating all the usual traits of a celebrity gone bad, she is drunk and high and her presence disturbs the twins. Particularly as Claire refuses to talk to her sister about the feelings that are fizzing just beneath the surface — even though she has spilled all to various gossip magazines.

With the audience sitting in the round you feel drawn into the lives of the three siblings to an almost unbearable degree. The tension is so palpable that when Jamie (Damian Cooper) throws a fit of rage — throwing sheets of paper, or drawings around, it feels like the paranormal activity it’s meant to portray.

And just like the captivating and dark fairy tales Cici makes up, what is really going on in this many-layered plot is revealed gradually, but all elements of the story begin to piece together.

What you come to realise by the end of the play is that this is fundamentally a play about grief. Grief haunts the sisters, making one turn inwards on herself, finding refuge in her imagination and the family home. While the other turns to the outside world, finding comfort within the confines of an altogether different house.

Fantastic performances from the young cast and a story that captivates you from beginning to end, Little Fish is an intriguing play, simple on the surface but touching on big, thought provoking themes.

Little Fish is playing until March 13th 2010.

http://space.org.uk

A fleeting moment of affection in Honey/Baby

The opening play, Clam lulls the audience into a false sense of security with its fish tank stage decor and opening sounds of gently bubbling water. It traps three couples in a fish bowl, swerving in and out of their relationships and situations. Each man and woman try desperately to connect with each other despite various age old barriers, and the laughter which this complete failure of communication initially provokes quickly fades into shocked and thoughtful silence. Emma West is darkly terrific as the female in these relationships, beautifully pulling off a character who embodies the struggle and desperation of, one feels, generations of the entirety of womankind.

The dark ending of Clam is counteracted by the sketch-show-funny opening of Honey/Baby. A disastrous Middle England marriage is portrayed brilliantly by Chloe Thorpe and Stephen Cheriton, who succeed in giving depth and personality to two perhaps overly familiar caricatures. The determined battle to deny their marital strife serves as a direct contrast to the background relationship of Pavel and Ella, two yuppy urbanites who are no longer pretending that they don’t “want you to be someone else”.

Like Clam, Honey Baby’s initially humorous set up soon descends into shocking script and raw emotion, but unlike Clam, this second work is less grounded in gender politics. Their juxtaposition results in a concrete and deep dissection of human relationships as a whole, a process which is made infinitely harder to stomach by the close quarters at which the theatre places its audience and actors.

The Levy double bill should be considered a triumph for PapaC, making use of a brilliantly talented young cast and a visionary and brave young director, Nadia Papachronopoulou. A gripping and intense production which is thoroughly entertaining, Clam and Honey/Baby are a must see.

Clam and Honey/Baby is playing at the White Bear Theatre in Kennington, until  7^th March.

www.whitebeartheatre.co.uk

Anthony Head in Six Degrees of Separation

So terrified is Ouisa of losing both her status and her credentials as part of Manhattan’s elite intelligentsia that she and her husband Flan (Brit actor Anthony Head, sporting a grating American accent) have few qualms about accepting a complete stranger into their home.

The stranger, who arrives on their doorstep bloodied from an alleged stabbing, claims to be a friend of their children (away at Harvard) and more compellingly, the son of the black cinema impresario Sidney Poitier. With the promise of a part in Cats: The Movie, the Kitteridge’s are absolutely seduced by Paul (Obi Abili) and his vision of art and life, and they are not the only ones.

Inevitably, Paul is not who he says he is, but in the latest adaptation of John Guare’s 1990 play, he repeatedly convinces his victims to fall for his charm and intellect. And so follows a comedy of manners based loosely around the peculiar connections between people and the differences they create.

It’s a great script and an intriguing story; the ambiguity around Paul’s identity gives the play an air of suspense often lacking from fiction. There are some witty observations of the privileged Kitteridge’s indignation about being conned, and Ouisa (Lesley Manville) impressively portrays her descent into identifying with her conman.

Perhaps the best moments are the interactions between rich parents and spoilt child; “I’m getting married, then I’m going to Afghanistan” rages the wayward daughter, practically oozing her need for attention.

It’s in the comedic moments that the play really shines; conversely, the dramatic monologues are drawn out, clichéd and unengaging. When Ouisa espouses the famous theory “that everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people” (which inspired the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon), it should be a pivotal moment. But around me, the audience seemed largely ambivalent.

Not an outstanding play, but enjoyable enough for the cheap ticket deals. And certainly worth it for the celebrity spotting; David Walliams and Alistair Campbell were in the audience the night I went. A real case of Six Degrees of celebrity, then.

Six Degrees of Separation is playing at the Old Vic Theatre until 3rd April 2010.