I saw Dinnerladies: Second Helpings on 1st March and reviewed it for The Public Reviews. Find out what I thought here:
http://thepublicreviews.blogspot.com/2011/03/dinnerladies-second-helpings-new.html
Showing posts with label comedy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comedy. Show all posts
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Monday, 7 February 2011
Showstopper! The Improvised Musical part 2
On Sunday 30th January I went back for my second dose of Showstopper! The Improvised Musical, once again recording for their show on Radio 4. Firstly, if you have no idea what Showstopper! is all about then I suggest you read my post "Showstopper! The Improvised Musical part 1" because this could get confusingly random otherwise!!
Knowing what to expect this visit I was able to spend a little more time people watching, and I think my friend and I pretty much summed up the divide in the room - those who have seen Showstopper! before and those who haven't. It does seem that once you've experienced it you're hooked and you want to drag all your friends along to experience it too...and what better review for a show is there than that? I was hearing around me similar conversations to those I was having with the Showstopper! virgin I'd enticed along; people gushing about the show and explaining how it all works. Although, when a girl near me started listing off the five or six different occasions that she'd seen Showstopper! I was very much aware, not only that I'm still a relative newbie, but also how addictive it can be. The great thing is, because it's completely improvised, every single performance is unique so you can go back again and again and it never get stale. Plus, with such a talented group of performers on board a top quality show is guaranteed every time.
Once again, they recorded two shows that evening, the second being a pirate ship on "The Magical Sea of Dreams" which was packed full of all the Showstopper! madness you'd expect. However, the first show was by far my favourite of all the ones I've either been at the recording for or already listened to on Radio 4. It was a superhero musical based in a Mexican slaughter house...in the human resources department!!! I don't think I need to say anymore about that, other than listen to Radio 4 at 6.30pm every Wednesday to hear not just that crazy offering but a whole series of them.
Knowing what to expect this visit I was able to spend a little more time people watching, and I think my friend and I pretty much summed up the divide in the room - those who have seen Showstopper! before and those who haven't. It does seem that once you've experienced it you're hooked and you want to drag all your friends along to experience it too...and what better review for a show is there than that? I was hearing around me similar conversations to those I was having with the Showstopper! virgin I'd enticed along; people gushing about the show and explaining how it all works. Although, when a girl near me started listing off the five or six different occasions that she'd seen Showstopper! I was very much aware, not only that I'm still a relative newbie, but also how addictive it can be. The great thing is, because it's completely improvised, every single performance is unique so you can go back again and again and it never get stale. Plus, with such a talented group of performers on board a top quality show is guaranteed every time.
Once again, they recorded two shows that evening, the second being a pirate ship on "The Magical Sea of Dreams" which was packed full of all the Showstopper! madness you'd expect. However, the first show was by far my favourite of all the ones I've either been at the recording for or already listened to on Radio 4. It was a superhero musical based in a Mexican slaughter house...in the human resources department!!! I don't think I need to say anymore about that, other than listen to Radio 4 at 6.30pm every Wednesday to hear not just that crazy offering but a whole series of them.
Thursday, 27 January 2011
An Ideal Husband
Having been to the launch of Get Into London Theatre (which again is a whole other blog), I thought I'd check out what deals they had to offer. If you haven't already come across it, Get Into London Theatre is a scheme that promises "big shows at small prices" to encourage people to, quite literally, Get Into London Theatre - it does what it says on the tin! They are offering some fantastic deals but it was the £25 tickets to An Ideal Husband (full price over £50) at the Vaudeville Theatre that really caught my eye. So on January 12th off I toddled to the matinee performance.
I'm rather partial to a bit of Oscar Wilde although I don't pretend to be particularly clued up on his work, and this is a play I didn't know a huge amount about before I entered the theatre. It has all the complicated plot twists that you would expect from Wilde, along with the clever speaches and sharp humour. What I like most about his plays are the observations of people and society that are as true now as when they were written, and An Ideal Husband is a brilliant example of this.
The whole cast were superb and played their roles to perfection, with Alexander Hanson and Rachael Stirling as the leads and Samantha Bond as the villain of the piece. Worthy of a special mention was Elliot Cowan as Viscount Goring. His comedy timing was excellent and, as the plot became more and more complicated around him, with the tiniest of looks and facial expressions he had the whole audience laughing. His performance was complemented beautifully by Max Digby, who played his servant. Although he didn't have a huge amount to say, his entrances and exits were timed wonderfully for comedic effect.
Sadly, there were quite a few empty seats in the stalls where I was sat, which is a shame as such a fine production deserves to be playing to packed houses. I certainly wouldn't have been able to afford the full price of the seat I was in and I can't help but think that if the prices were a little lower, even if only for the matinee, then some of those empty seats would be filled. That said, this production is well worth the money so if you'd like to see it you'll find more information here:
http://www.vaudeville-theatre.co.uk/current-show.htm
And if you'd like to take advantage of one of Get Into London Theatre's offers then you only have until February 18th so check out their website now:
http://www.getintolondontheatre.co.uk/
I'm rather partial to a bit of Oscar Wilde although I don't pretend to be particularly clued up on his work, and this is a play I didn't know a huge amount about before I entered the theatre. It has all the complicated plot twists that you would expect from Wilde, along with the clever speaches and sharp humour. What I like most about his plays are the observations of people and society that are as true now as when they were written, and An Ideal Husband is a brilliant example of this.
The whole cast were superb and played their roles to perfection, with Alexander Hanson and Rachael Stirling as the leads and Samantha Bond as the villain of the piece. Worthy of a special mention was Elliot Cowan as Viscount Goring. His comedy timing was excellent and, as the plot became more and more complicated around him, with the tiniest of looks and facial expressions he had the whole audience laughing. His performance was complemented beautifully by Max Digby, who played his servant. Although he didn't have a huge amount to say, his entrances and exits were timed wonderfully for comedic effect.
Sadly, there were quite a few empty seats in the stalls where I was sat, which is a shame as such a fine production deserves to be playing to packed houses. I certainly wouldn't have been able to afford the full price of the seat I was in and I can't help but think that if the prices were a little lower, even if only for the matinee, then some of those empty seats would be filled. That said, this production is well worth the money so if you'd like to see it you'll find more information here:
http://www.vaudeville-theatre.co.uk/current-show.htm
And if you'd like to take advantage of one of Get Into London Theatre's offers then you only have until February 18th so check out their website now:
http://www.getintolondontheatre.co.uk/
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
Showstopper! The Improvised Musical part 1
Welcome to my new blog. For those of you who followed my old one, I'm afraid you will find no potatoes here (sorry!). What you will find are reviews and ramblings on all my theatrical adventures, which are many and varied. It may only be January 18th but I've been to 6 shows/concerts in 2011 already, which I hope to catch up with blogging about over the next few days...or at least before my next trip!!
I want to kick off with my most recent adventure - the recording of two episodes of 'Showstopper! The Improvised Musical' for Radio 4 in the BBC Radio Theatre, Broadcasting House. I apply for free tickets for TV and radio shows all the time, with very little success, so imagine my surprise when I received tickets for three different recording dates of Showstopper. Unfortunately, I couldn't go on the first date I received tickets for (it was the same date as I won tickets to the Australian Classic Rock Show but that's a whole other blog) but on Sunday 16th January I hopped on the coach to London with absolutely no idea what to expect. I'd applied for the tickets on the basis that 'improvised,' 'musical' and 'free' sounded like a combination this onion would enjoy, and I wasn't wrong.
Showstopper is Who's Line is it Anyway? meets musical theatre in a fantastically funny combination. Each episode is half an hour long and creates a brand new improvised musical. The 'writer' asks for suggestions from the audience for a theme and location to set the scene and it is then up to the five actors, supported by two musicians and two backing singers, to improvise the story and songs. The writer has a bell that he can use to pause the action at any time for the audience to make further suggestions, throw his own spanners in the workers, re-cap on the plot for the audience when it's all gone a bit crazy, or just to ask what a 'minty' is!!!!
This is all presented by an incredibly talented group of performers. In each episode appear ten of the following core team: Chris Ash, Ruth Bratt, Julie Clare, Dylan Emery, Pippa Evans, Sean McCann, Adam Meggido, Philip Pellew, Nigel Pilkington, Andrew Pugsley, Oliver Senton, Lucy Trodd, Sarah-Louise Young and Duncan Walsh-Atkins. Not only are they a group of fantastic singers and musicians but their improvisation skills are amazing. In a split second they can describe their deepest feelings using the imagery of jelly, create a 14th centuary national anthem with the performers taking it in turns to sing one word each, or invent a 'minty'!
Having got a taste of a couple of the episodes, I'm sure this is going to be a really funny series and I highly recommend everyone checks it out. The series starts this Wednesday (19th January) on Radio 4 at 6.30pm. I'm not quite sure how far into the series the ones I was at will be broadcast but, without giving too much away, listen out for a murder mystery weekend and the peasants revolt. I'm really looking forward to listening to the whole series now and whether your passion is comedy, musical theatre, or if you just want to know what a 'minty' is then tune in.
The Showstopper team also perform full length improvised musicals and will be at the Ambassadors Theatre throughout February and March, as well as performances in Poole, Selby, Banbury and Brighton. Check out http://www.theambassadorstheatre.co.uk/ and http://www.showstoppermusical.com/ for more info.
I want to kick off with my most recent adventure - the recording of two episodes of 'Showstopper! The Improvised Musical' for Radio 4 in the BBC Radio Theatre, Broadcasting House. I apply for free tickets for TV and radio shows all the time, with very little success, so imagine my surprise when I received tickets for three different recording dates of Showstopper. Unfortunately, I couldn't go on the first date I received tickets for (it was the same date as I won tickets to the Australian Classic Rock Show but that's a whole other blog) but on Sunday 16th January I hopped on the coach to London with absolutely no idea what to expect. I'd applied for the tickets on the basis that 'improvised,' 'musical' and 'free' sounded like a combination this onion would enjoy, and I wasn't wrong.
Showstopper is Who's Line is it Anyway? meets musical theatre in a fantastically funny combination. Each episode is half an hour long and creates a brand new improvised musical. The 'writer' asks for suggestions from the audience for a theme and location to set the scene and it is then up to the five actors, supported by two musicians and two backing singers, to improvise the story and songs. The writer has a bell that he can use to pause the action at any time for the audience to make further suggestions, throw his own spanners in the workers, re-cap on the plot for the audience when it's all gone a bit crazy, or just to ask what a 'minty' is!!!!
This is all presented by an incredibly talented group of performers. In each episode appear ten of the following core team: Chris Ash, Ruth Bratt, Julie Clare, Dylan Emery, Pippa Evans, Sean McCann, Adam Meggido, Philip Pellew, Nigel Pilkington, Andrew Pugsley, Oliver Senton, Lucy Trodd, Sarah-Louise Young and Duncan Walsh-Atkins. Not only are they a group of fantastic singers and musicians but their improvisation skills are amazing. In a split second they can describe their deepest feelings using the imagery of jelly, create a 14th centuary national anthem with the performers taking it in turns to sing one word each, or invent a 'minty'!
Having got a taste of a couple of the episodes, I'm sure this is going to be a really funny series and I highly recommend everyone checks it out. The series starts this Wednesday (19th January) on Radio 4 at 6.30pm. I'm not quite sure how far into the series the ones I was at will be broadcast but, without giving too much away, listen out for a murder mystery weekend and the peasants revolt. I'm really looking forward to listening to the whole series now and whether your passion is comedy, musical theatre, or if you just want to know what a 'minty' is then tune in.
The Showstopper team also perform full length improvised musicals and will be at the Ambassadors Theatre throughout February and March, as well as performances in Poole, Selby, Banbury and Brighton. Check out http://www.theambassadorstheatre.co.uk/ and http://www.showstoppermusical.com/ for more info.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)