Plastic Figurines, presently on tour across the UK, and currently stopped at the New Diorama Theatre is a tour de force two hander one act, illuminating the limits of love—when caring for someone and loving them are positioned firmly at odds from one another.
With the recent news that the Florida and Wisconsin state governments have banned employees of their state level environmental protection agencies from using phrases like “climate change” or “global warming” in any official capacity, “Animals,” now playing at Theatre503, is a particularly prescient and fascinating piece of political theatre.
The key is truthfulness: the men play the female roles as truthfully as they can, in the context of the show, and by doing so, unlock different energies and synergies. Just as audiences roared at Mark Rylance’s Olivia in Twelfth Night, not because he was a man playing a woman, but because his so doing simply provided a different palette of choices, so too, in Regan’s productions, they roar at the antics as the men bring fresh perspective to some of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most loved and enduring characters and situations.
Universality is the key to the success of Fun Home. Fundamentally, it is about family and the undisclosed natures and secrets of those who are our family. Children discovering themselves and their own truths and coming to realise that their parents are human and make mistakes, don’t necessarily tell the whole truth all the time and may, in fact, not be quite who they thought they were. Both Judy Kuhn and Michael Cerveris take a back seat to the real star of the production: Sydney Lucas, who plays Small Alison.
Alexander Hulme is intriguing and charismatic as Jackson and you see a glimpse of what a tortured beauty trapped in another man’s world can suffer. David R Butler is at his best as Patrick in his scenes with Hulme, and together they chart the intimacy of the friendship which turns to lust and then love very well. Both men have good speaking voices and are at ease with the sensual kissing and the full frontal nudity.
Every so often a piece of theatre surpasses expectations and gives a reviewer pause when writing his/her review. At the conclusion of the show, and after writing their review, it was time to settle on the star rating, which is normally marked up to five stars. Star ratings are an arbitrary process in any event, and always reflect the individual reaction to a particular performance. Only on one previous occasion has the reviewer approached me as Managing Editor to ask the question “What if 5 stars just isn’t enough?” On both occasions, the reviewers in question they both explained that they felt the shows were thrillingly performed and perfectly staged. 5 stars just didn’t seem enough. After consultation, an executive decision was made to allow certain extraordinary shows to be awarded BritishTheatre.com’s rarely awarded 6 Star rating. This is a rare accolade and is only awarded to the most exceptional … Read more
Everyone in this company is superb in their part, everyone can really sing, really dance and really deliver the goods in terms of dramatic and comic acting. This is that rare beast: an exquisitely cast musical where the requirements of the parts have more importance in the casting process than potential box office draw or Twitter popularity. It is difficult to believe that there has ever been a better Rose than Staunton creates here.
Some of Mackie’s tunes are pleasant and catchy – the music is easily the superior component in the work. But it is held back, both by poor lyrics and, generally speaking, poor singing. Sellwood needs to take firmer control of the piece, and the dialogue needs to be totally reworked so that people don’t talk in cliches constantly.
