The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, West End ★★★★★

Just like three years ago, when I first saw the National Theatre’s production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, I had a warm fuzzy feeling as I left the Gielgud Theatre last night. It was just as inquisitive, visually stimulating and theatrical as I recall. Back then it was staged at West End’s Apollo Theatre and suffered from its stage ceiling collapsing which meant that the show was absent from the West End for a few months, yet it soon returned, in a new location.

Since 2013, the production has gained international recognition and continues to pull in new audiences. Writer, Simon Stephen adapted Mark Haddon’s acclaimed novel for the stage (now used in the classroom as a children’s textbook), which blew both West End and Broadway away; last year it won five Tony Awards including Best Play and Best Director.

The show itself has so many things to love about it. Firstly, its lead character - the socially awkward 15-year-old with behavioral issues - Christopher Boone is something out of the ordinary and I don’t mean that to highlight his mental disability, in this case Asperger Syndrome, but that it pinpoints the difficulty endured by those who can't interact or engage with others, who detest human touch and physically lash out when stuck in an uncomfortable situation. Often the actor who plays Christopher has a tough challenge, remembering line after line of theorems and algebraic formulas whilst pacing fast up and around the stage (literally!) – it takes real courage and skill to play the role.

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the original Christopher played by Luke Treadaway. He was a wonder to watch and truly encapsulated the attributes of Christopher’s peculiar personality and wild imagination. Sîon Daniel Young is the most current version of Christopher who also provides a memorable performance, bringing the human story much closer to the audience. Both brilliant actors, there is no set way of showcasing the traits of a person with Asperger Syndrome, and I doubt this was their intention, nor the director’s, Marianne Eliott.

The second reason I love this production is that the staging is utilised to the T. It lights up like stars, beams at you in emergency red and has layers of hidden cupboards and doors filled with LEGO models and other surprises. Given the logical and systematic mind of Christopher, the stage is fashioned as a place to see Christopher’s thought process as he identifies who killed Wellington, the neighbour’s pet dog. With dreams of becoming a scientist, and - perhaps - travelling up to space and in it, Christopher’s mathematical ability is explored - it is a mirror of today’s university departments that have a high concentration of mathematicians with Asperger’s; it is associated with their brain's capacity to focus on a problem and cancel everything else out.

Adrian Sutton’s music – a whiff of electronica and moving themes – also sets the tone for a play not solely based on a dog murder mystery. Stephens is known for writing stage works of a macabre and realistic nature, as I've seen in his other work, Wastwater (click here to read the review), and in Christopher's case it’s a slightly abusive, jilted father and a depressed mother who left him as a result of the hardship of raising him. Without giving any spoilers away, it’s a real human story that has its poignant moments that are lifted with some dark humour, smart stagecraft, and ambient lighting.

My third reason for admiring the show is the ensemble, of up to nine cast members. On top of being skillful and energetic, they are a significant force that pushes Christopher through his mathematical adventures and dog investigation. Together they play over thirty characters whilst physically carrying Christopher on their backs, holding him up to the wall and turning him around in mid-air. Overall, it’s a fast-paced, intelligent and entertaining show that will remind audiences' of the chaotic journey commuters have to take on the TFL, and somehow come out alive once they have reached their destination.

To book tickets, please click here for Box Office.co.uk. - It is showing until February 2017.

For more information on the production, please click here http://www.curiousonstage.com

NT Live: Arthur Miller's A View From The Bridge ★★★★

Arthur Miller’s ‘A View From The Bridge’ strikingly visceral script lays bear the brewing tensions of a man’s obsession with his niece. Yet it’s not all about Eddie Carbone, it’s the domino effect his uncontained emotions have on the rest of his family; his wife Beatrice and Sicilian cousin Marco. 

Last year The Young Vic’s production of Miller’s play made a killing at the box office with its impressive stage direction and steadfast cast including Mark Strong, as Eddie Carbone, that it welcomed a sturdy transfer to West End’s Wyndham Theatre.
An NT Live event of the production was shown to hundreds of cinemas across the nation on March 26th, which also went down a storm, zooming into the protagonist’s harbouring instincts and ‘tunnels’ in his eyes, as described by Alfieri, the ubiquitous narrator. 

Miller wrote the play with the theatrical fixtures of a Greek tragedy following the brechtian rulebook where theatre says more the human condition than reality itself. And for this production experimental Belgium director, Ivo Van Hove, executed it right by bringing together Miller’s stage manifesto with an unexpected ending that stings like a slap in the face.

Van Hove’s production instills two blood-boiling hours of accumulative drama, yet there isn’t time for an interval for audiences to recuperate and reflect. Jan Versweyveld’s staging is white and stark, bordered with low fences mirroring the space within a boxing ring. It has the effect of telling the audience this is as far as the emotional violence and physically fighting will go. This is most prominent when Carbone invites Rodolpho (Luke Norris), a friend of his cousin, Marco (Emun Elliott) to a quick lesson on boxing. Soon it erupts into a sparring match and ends with a hard jab in Rodolpho’s stomach. 

Well-known film and television actor, Strong doesn’t mess around with Eddie’s character. Strong builds dramatic momentum with his personification of Eddie’s frustrations that is let loose when he abandons reason and gives up his cousin to the immigration bureau. 

From the outset Eddie is besotted with Catherine (Phoebe Fox.) She jumps and wraps her legs around him as if she was still a 6-year-old child, but that’s unacceptable. She’s grown into a 17-year-old teenager wearing high heels and short skirts, giving him the ‘willies.’ For this it opens up a few questions to the audience. Is he evil? Is he innocent? And, can we pity him? 

Michael Gould plays Eddie’s lawyer and Miller’s storyteller and he absorbs these roles without confusing them. As a lawyer and advisor, Gould shows the attributes of a loyal and good friend, trustworthy and logical to the point that shouting the truth at Eddie doesn't deter him. Nicola Walker plays a tenacious part as Eddie’s battle-axe and sexually neglected wife Beatrice, while Phoebe Fox is full of energy. She bestows a fast-spoken and fiery teenage beauty. 

Norris’ interpretation of Rodolpho is an interesting one. As part of the audience, I wasn’t entirely sure if Eddie’s suspicions were correct of Rodolpho, that he was using Catherine for a green card, yet Norris showcases the polar opposite of Eddie's manlihood. He can cook, dance and sing, and has a better chance with Catherine, which Eddie just cannot stand. And Emun Elliott really comes out of his humble character as Eddie’s blood cousin and shows a darker side in the pinnacle scene in the act of picking up a chair with one hand.

When pressured conversations and verbal confrontations arise, Tom Gibbon’s use of a quasi-Asian instrument, mimicking Kabuki theatre, denotes the sounds of a ticking timer, which aggravates the audience and projects them into the minds and anxieties of its characters. 

There is nothing that says 1955’s Brooklyn on Van Hove’s stage. The script moves fast causing viewers to fidget and scream for an interval, but Van Hove gives everyone the relief with a crescendo blood bath that pours with Faure's Requiem in ‘Libera me’. Some parts may be sordid (I won’t say which), but at least with NT Live you can run to the bathroom, if you, really, have to.

 The Encore screening at Gate Cinema is on the 7th April at 12pm. Check your local cinemas to confirm times. Other cinemas may have different schedules for the encore.

(Photos courtesy of National Theatre Live.)  

Glorious, operatic and unexpected 'blood bath' ending. Masterful! Marvellous acting too! #AViewfromtheBridge @ntlive pic.twitter.com/zZkqboEBHz
— Mary Grace Nguyen (@MaryGNguyen) March 26, 2015

Great evening of non-stop gripping tension & drama. @GateCinema loved it, so they clapped #AViewfromtheBridge #ntlive pic.twitter.com/ovcLK8hkAX
— Mary Grace Nguyen (@MaryGNguyen) March 26, 2015

West End Heroes Charity Gala 2014 ****

West End Heroes took place last night at the, multi-million pound refurnished, Dominion Theatre, for an electrifying evening which celebrated its second year of supporting the charity ‘Help for Heroes’. The charity’s founder, Bryn Parry gave a short speech describing the charity’s aims for servicemen and women who suffer in the line of duty, and how thankful they were for the support they’d receive from those who were involved in creating the evening’s gala event. Last year they successfully raised £88,000 and hope to exceed their target of £100,000 this year.

The event commenced royally with fanfares performed by The Band of the Queen’s Division and a military medley orchestrated by the 50-piece Central Band of the Royal Air Force under the baton of Wing Commander Duncan Stubbs. Tim Marshall directed the evening’s show, Stuart Morley was the musical supervisor whilst Matt Flint choreographed as he had done at last year’s West End Heroes. 

Michael Ball

Michael Ball, double Olivier award winning musical star, and TV and radio presenter, hosted the evening and kept the audience on their toes with a few laughing jokes. He also sung a West End numbers including ‘Do you Hear the People Sing?’ from Les Misérables, where he received a standing ovation.

The Evita set, which is currently being staged at the Dominion Theatre, was taken advantage of and kicked off the first of the many West End songs with ‘Buenos Aires’ sung by Michelle Pentecost and the Evita cast. Lead singer of the UK pop band Wet Wet Wet , Marti Pellow, who is currently acting as Che in the Evita production, also sung Mack and Mabel’s ‘I Won’t Send Roses’. 

Hugh Maynard and the cast of Miss Saigon

The evening also introduced the talented West End Heroes Choir; an assemble of West End's support staff from front of house, box office, stage crew and dressers who vocally supported many of the acts for the night and had their debut performance of ‘We’ll Gather Lilacs in the Spring.’

There were outstanding presentations of some of the best musicals (too many to mention here) by the awe-inspiring Louise Dearman, Britain’s Got Talent winners Collabro, Louise Plowright who sung ‘Some Things You Just Know’ from the forthcoming musical Sleepless in Seattle, WOMAN the Band, James Fox, Flight Lieutenant Matthew Little, Daniel Boys, Lauren Samuels, Hugh Maynard with the cast of Miss Saigon and the mesmerising, Carrie Hope Fletcher.

Royal Marines Corps of Drums

Other great performances included a collaboration with Tiffany Graves, West End Heroes Dancers, the Queen’s Colour Squadron, the Band of the Queens Division and the Royal Marines Corps of Drums of ‘Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better’, which ended with fireworks and, safely handled, gunshots in the air. The Songs for Victory cast also gave the audience eye-opening perspectives of World War II in line with the charity’s military cause by performing ‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy’ and ‘I’ll Be Seeing You.’ 

Yet the best, and most zaniest, performance, which wowed the entire auditorium, following a Mary Poppins medley to celebrate its 50^th year, was when Freddie Huddlestone walked up the side of the stage and stomped upside down as if he were on the roof like Dick Van Dyke in ‘Step in Time’. The agility and tap dancing mania from the Mary Poppins dancers kept the audiences’ adrenaline pumping throughout the night. West End Heroes is a fully loaded, but exciting evening of variety and exhilarating performers blending the West End with UK military bands. It's not only entertaining, but something worth keeping an eye out for if you're a devoted fan of musicals.                           

Freddie Huddlestone and cast of Mary Poppins

Click here to donate to Help for Heroes want to donate to Help for Heroes. 
Text WESTEND to 70900 to donate £5.

What to expect at West End Live

(Saturday 21st June 2014) Having returned home from almost 10 hours of standing in the basking sun at West End Live, I feel that I’ve learnt a lot more about West End musicals today than I had in the last 20 years of going to the theatre. It's often the case that there isn’t enough time nor cash to see all West End shows, but how about a large event where you can explore musicals by seeing – more or less- twenty of the best West End shows performing their most popular numbers, for free? The solution is none other than West End Live.

The man behind West End Live is Councillor Robert Davis aka ‘The Boss’ and Cabinet Member of Westminster City Council. With partnerships from the Society of London Theatre, the Mayor of London and MasterCard, West End Live has managed to become a massive success that has attracted up to 500,000 people from London and abroad. Throughout Saturday, Davis was walking around Trafalgar Square taking selfies with the audience as part of a twitter competition to win £100,000.  

Roberto, Robert Davies and Lisa Vickery

 

In an interview, Davis said:

I wanted to create an event that celebrated the magic of London’s West End – the fantastic retail, nightlife, restaurants, cinemas and of course the West End shows.

This year’s event will be no exception however it celebrates its 10^-year anniversary making it a special occasion. There is an additional Theatre Emporium in Leicester square for those you want more insight into the inner workings of a theatre production as well.

Health Advice & Event Information:

For those who want to attend West End Live tomorrow (Sunday 22^nd June) or West End Live 2015

• This event was advertised as starting at 11am however people began queueing from as early as the 4am but don’t let this discourage you. I arrived at 9am and still managed to get to the front by 2pm as some people decided to leave after their favourite West End show had performed. With this in mind, staff members –actually- let people into the square at 10.30am, so if you want to get to the front (and take nice photos) I would highly advice you to get there early.
• Be sure to bring enough water so that you don’t dehydrate.
• Have some snacks in your bag as you will get hungry.
• Check the weather: West End Live usually takes place in mid-June and is bound to be hot and sunny so dress appropriately.
• Ensure to lotion up with sun cream which has good SPF and keep it with you for all day usage.
• It will be sunny so don’t forget your sunglasses (and possibly a hat.)
• Be mindful of the fact that you won't be able to return to the same spot you were in if you leave the square. Due to the crowd size and demand for West End Live, you may have to accept that you won’t be able to go to the bathroom if you want to see the entire event.
• Be ahead of the game and check www.westendlive.co.uk/ for the schedule

Today’s hosts were from Heart FM radio, which included Lisa Vickery, Jamie Theakston, Lucy Horobin, Jenni Falconer, Roberto and Katy Federman who kept us entertained with selfie photo-taking and West End Live ‘wave’ making. The schedule for Saturday was jammed packed and it was no surprise to hear that some members of the audience had queued up since 4.30am. Now, that is what you call commitment.

 The line up (for Saturday) included:

·      The Commitments

       Once the Musicals

·      Wicked

·      Billy Eliot: The Musical

·      Les Miséables

·      Phantom of the Opera

·      Miss Saigon

·      The Pajama Game

·      Matilda: The Musical

·      Charlie And The Chocolate Factory

·      Dirty Rotten Scoundrels 

·      Jersey Boys

·      Mamma Mia

·      The Bodyguard

·      Forbidden Broadway

·      Thriller Live

·      The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess

·      Let It Be

·      Groove on Down the Road: Zoonation

·      Sylvia Young Theatre

·      Big Dance

·      Kasia Howley

·      The West End Gospel Choir

·      Nathan Amzi and Louise Dearman

·      In the Heights

·      Stomp

And last but not least, the Royal Opera House chorus conducted by

Plácido Domingo

As I have an interest in opera, Plácido Domingo and the Royal Opera House chorus' performance was the main driver for attending West End Live; however there were many West End shows that I had always wanted to see which performed today. 

There were so much talent on the stage with many songs to sing along to and a multitude of numbers to get the crowd dancing.  With such a variety it reminds people why we love the West End. It’s a combination of strong voices, a creative stage, moving music, dance choreographies and a well-thought-out story line, which touches us and - some how - makes us find a way to relate to the show. Enjoy your time at West End Live!

Photos of the performances Unfortunately, not all.

(Click to enlarge)

In the Heights

Plácido Domingo and Royal Opera House Chorus

Kasia Howley

Plácido Domingo and Royal Opera House Chorus

Groove on Down the Road

Louise Dearman & Nathan Amzi

Miss Saigon

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Let It Be

The Bodyguard

Roald Dahl's Matilda: The Musical

Mamma Mia!

Jersey Boys

Porgy and Bess

Forbidden Broadway

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Thriller Live