JERSEY BOYS - THEATRE REVIEW

JERSEY BOYS AT THE NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE, BIRMINGHAM

Theatre Run: Tuesday 9 December 2014 - Sunday 4 January 2015
Performance Reviewed: Wednesday 10 December 2014 (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

There’s something regrettably formulaic and inevitable about most biographical actor-musician pieces of theatre of late. It’s a format that often leans far too heavily on familiarity with its soundtrack and the spectacle of a Bolan or Lennon being re-imagined and strutting around on stage, and the notable casualty comes in the form of any compelling narrative shape or use of theatre as an artistic medium in it’s own right. Truth may indeed be stranger than fiction, but when so many of these shows race through the ‘true story’ with haphazard abandon, presenting more a career ‘greatest hits live’ than a focused piece of theatrical storytelling, it isn’t hard to end up feeling your evening would have achieved the same effect in the hands of Youtube or Google. The customary ‘talented boy does good, hits the heights of fame, leads to personal/family/suffering wife problems’ second Act trope being rolled out ad infinite usually only underlines how de rigeuer and stale it has all become.

THE FULL MONTY - THEATRE REVIEW

THE FULL MONTY AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE

Theatre Run: Monday 24 - Saturday 29 November 2014
Performance Reviewed: Monday 24 November (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Yes, you do.

Everything.

Well, that obligatory bit of housekeeping should placate the riff raff and nosey parkers, and leaves me with something approaching an intellectual and insightful review to write…. here goes nothing!

In truth, as was the case with Peter Cattaneo and Simon Beaufoy’s wildly successful 1997 Brit film on which this show is based, The Full Monty has a great deal more going for it than just the curiosity of it’s titular (titilating?) USP. Crowds will no doubt flock to the show for much the same reason as it’s in-universe audience mob the likes of the ‘Chippendales’ and likewise, and indeed on stage Monty has the added benefit of being able to do some particularly fitting fourth wall breaking and lay down the post-modern throughout. But behind the hen party hysterics and art-imitating-life cheekiness, the same fundamentally relatable and engaging, not to mention oft hilarious, script and storytelling is what really leaves an impression long after the memory of bum cheeks and beyond have faded.

SHOW BOAT - THEATRE REVIEW

SHOW BOAT AT THE BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME

Theatre Run: Wednesday 02 - Saturday 05 July 2014

Performance Reviewed: Wednesday 02 July (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Birmingham certainly seems to be getting into the 4th July spirit this year, serving up a double dose of all-American Classic Musical goodness as Cape Town Opera’s Show Boat rolls into town for the week at the Hippodrome, following Annie Get Your Gun which kicked off it’s run at the New Alex yesterday evening (and garnered a 3 star review from us). But whereas Annie Get Your Gun seemed to be a strangely muted and subdued affair that didn’t live up to it’s glimmers of potential and pedigree, Show Boat is undoubtedly the real deal; a big, grand, hugely impressive slice of classic musical theatre writ large and executed with scope and grandeur that nevertheless displays extraordinary attention to detail.

ANNIE GET YOUR GUN - THEATRE REVIEW

ANNIE GET YOUR GUN AT THE NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE, BIRMINGHAM

Theatre Run: Tuesday 01 - Saturday 05 July 2014
Performance Reviewed: Tuesday 01 July 2014 (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

The Ambassador Theatre Group have once more dipped into the barrel of great classic musicals this year to lovingly resurrect Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun, based on the original film and stage musical depicting the (fictionalised) life and times of legendary real-life sharpshooter Annie Oakley. It’s from a creed and calibre of musicals that many will still herald as a ‘golden era’ of sorts, that still-adored pocket of the 1950’s and early 60‘s in particular where the likes of Berlin, Rodgers and Hammerstein and co were a major force in Hollywood and Broadway, and were irreversibly shaping and defining the musical genre as a whole.

MILONGA - THEATRE REVIEW

MILONGA AT THE BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME (International Dance Festival Birmingham)

Theatre Run: Friday 23 - Saturday 24 May 2014
Performance Reviewed: Friday 23 May 2014 (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

The International Dance Festival Birmingham 2014 draws it’s main stage performances to a close this year with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Milonga, a suitably showy finale that crackles with the fire, complexity and frisson of Argentine Tango and dance. It leans not on narrative  but rather it’s extraordinarily diverse and inquisitive choreographer’s penchant for really exploring and re-imagining different forms of dance, here creating a real tapestry and canvas of tango that is many things at once, but all beautifully choreographed and masterfully performed.

LORD OF THE FLIES - THEATRE REVIEW

LORD OF THE FLIES AT THE BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME (International Dance Festival Birmingham)

Theatre Run: Wednesday 14 - Saturday 17 May 2014
Performance Reviewed: Thursday 15 May 2014 (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

William Golding’s magnum opus, Lord of the Flies, remains one of the continuing tentpoles of English Literature, and naturally has thus been adapted to stage and screen in almost every possible iteration imaginable. The simplicity of it’s tale - a group of schoolboys find themselves deserted on a remote island and gradually resort to feral, primitive behaviour as they fight to survive - remains as potent as ever, and it’s exploration of the human condition, societal structure and innate feral regression makes it rich for dramatisation and adaptation across a wealth of different mediums and forms. It is exciting, then, to see it given such a biting, inventive and quite boldly visceral re-imagining, courtesy of acclaimed choreographer and dance director Matthew Bourne, as part of this years International Dance Festival Birmingham.

SISTER ACT - THEATRE REVIEW

SISTER ACT (WBOS) AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE

Theatre Run: Tuesday 13 - Saturday 17 May 2014
Performance Reviewed: Tuesday 13 May 2014 (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Amateur theatre and local operatic societies continue to thankfully be plentiful in number and ever evolving in regards to the professionalism, ambition and scope of the productions they put on, something which is plenty evident within the West Midlands. The West Bromwich Operatic Society/WBOS are one such organisation who, with their latest production, Sister Act, further blur the boundaries between professional productions and amateur with an extremely accomplished, technically audacious and supremely enjoyable adaptation of one of musical theatre’s more recent success stories. Following on from a celebrated original stint in London, a subsequent Broadway run and UK national tour, Sister Act is a musical adaptation of the 1992 Whoopi Goldberg comedy movie of the same name. There’s some tweaks to character and plot, most notably (but understandably) dragging the whole thing back 20 years so it nestles comfortably with the disco stylings of the 1970’s, and the score is entirely original as opposed to the collection of jukebox hits from the movie, but otherwise those familiar with the original will have a strong idea of what to expect here.

ROCK OF AGES - THEATRE REVIEW

ROCK OF AGES AT THE BIRMINGHAM NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE

Theatre Run: Monday 12 - Saturday 17 May 2014
Performance Reviewed: Monday 12 May 2014 (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Rock of Ages is a difficult beast to pigeonhole. It doesn’t so much suffer from an identity crisis as an identity overload, jostling with so many characters and subplots that can’t seem to decide if they’re being deliberately parodic or so-satirical-it’s-ultimately-sincere, and a fiercely postmodern approach that bandies around with tone so schizophrenically it sometimes feels more akin to musical theatre whiplash than anything else. The smash hits of the 80’s are in there too, and are plentiful, though some of the arrangements are disappointingly short and the whole ‘Rock’ through-line sometimes feels more of a clumsy afterthought than a titular McGuffin. Fortunately, for all the tonal incongruences and haphazardness of it’s plot, Rock of Ages does at least crucially make good on it’s promise of a fun, infectious and ultimately rather irrepressible evening of solid music and vibrant, high energy (see: super-charged) entertainment.

DANCE 'TIL DAWN - THEATRE REVIEW

DANCE 'TIL DAWN AT THE NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE, BIRMINGHAM

Theatre Run: Monday 21 - Saturday 26 April 2014
Performance Reviewed: Monday 21 April 2014 (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

I loved Midnight Tango - last years dance vehicle for Strictly veterans Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace. It was a fresh, confident and incredibly charismatic outing that allowed its prolific and dynamic leading duo to tell their story almost exclusively through some genuinely stunning dance. This year, Simone and Cacace return for another UK theatre tour with Dance ‘Til Dawn, and the question of how this new production could be distinctive and original enough from its predecessor to warrant a ticket purchase was the prevailing thought upon going in to what could very easily have been Midnight Tango Mk.2.

SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS - THEATRE REVIEW

SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE

Theatre Run: Monday 31 March - Saturday 05 April 2014
Performance Reviewed: Tuesday 01 April 2014 (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Another seminal musical from yesteryear arrives in the Midlands this week as the UK tour of all-American classic Seven Brides for Seven Brothers toe-taps and foot-stomps its way onto the boards of the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre. The original 1954 movie of the same title remains a somewhat unique and characterful outing in no small way due to Michael Kidd’s inspired and unconventional choreography, which remains impressive to this day, and whilst naturally some of its scope and set piecing has had to be truncated and confined to the practicalities of the stage, fortunately the spirit of Kidd’s vibrant work lives on proudly here. With some stunning, fluid dance and highly energised, technically flawless performances across-the-board, this touring production of Seven Brides proves to be a high-spirited, buoyant and vibrant slice of feel-good musical theatre at its most kinetic, inoffensive and irrepressible. 

THE TWO WORLDS OF CHARLIE F - THEATRE REVIEW

THE TWO WORLDS OF CHARLIE F AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE

Theatre Run: Wednesday 26 - Saturday 29 March 2014
Performance Reviewed: Wednesday 26 March 2014 (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

It’s tempting when addressing The Two Worlds of Charlie F to autopilot to the old ‘art versus entertainment’ dichotomy, and labour over issues of the potentially and arguably more altruistic responsibilities of theatre. This is certainly one such show that could fuel fire to any such lofty debate - should we demand more of our theatre-going experiences other than abject escapism? Should there be more impacting and thought-provoking experiences that tear down the fourth wall and address more stark realities, utilising the stage not as an isolated, distanced lacuna of fiction and fantasy but rather an arena to directly address and involve an audience in the exploration and demonstration of actuality and truth?

SOME GIRL I USED TO KNOW - THEATRE REVIEW

SOME GIRL I USED TO KNOW AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE

Theatre Run: Thursday 20 - Saturday 22 February 2014

Performance Reviewed: Saturday 22 February 2014 (Matinee Performance)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

As is par for the course with being a critic of any medium or art form, one sometimes gets lost amongst the de rigueur of assessing, surmising and critiquing, not to mention one’s own personal tastes and preferences, and forgets the beauty and importance of objectivity. On paper, Some Girl I Used To Know is the kind of work of theatre that I would perhaps not immediately gravitate towards or commend - a one-woman show that is unashamedly feminine and female-oriented without being abjectly feminist, and so steeped in tropes and touches from the likes of Shirley Valentine through to Bridget Jones’s Diary that it could hardly be called particularly original or envelope-pushing. 

BLACK COFFEE - THEATRE REVIEW

BLACK COFFEE AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE

Theatre Run: Monday 3 - Saturday 8 February 2014
Performance Reviewed: Monday 3 February 2014 (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Black Coffee serves as a most welcome blending of the familiar with the fresh; the archetypal components of any Agatha Christie murder mystery of this ilk - the isolated country estate, an ensemble of questionable types amongst the well-to-do, more red herrings than you can twizzle a preened moustache at - are all present and accounted for, and yet in being the only stage work of Christie’s to feature her now seminal Belgian super sleuth Hercule Poirot, it feels a somewhat more distinct and special affair. Newcomer to the role yet established veteran of stage and screen Robert Powell channels David Suchet’s oft-imitated yet never bettered work in the role complimented with a charm and presence of his own, finding in both the character and play as a whole just enough bonhomie and bounce to keep the whole proceeding suitably entertaining and amusing without undermining the grizzly business of unravelling a typically obscure yet progressively accessible Christie plot of murder most foul.

A MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET - THEATRE REVIEW

MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET AT THE NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE, BIRMINGHAM

Theatre Run: Thursday 05 - Saturday 07 December

Performance Viewed: Thursday 05 December (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

I’m going to go out on a limb and say the majority of people who pay to go and see a musical version of ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ are likely in the market for something to top up their festive spirit. Either those familiar with the movie version (be it the 1947 or ’94 incarnations) or generally enthused about the time of year to indulge in a bit of added mirth and merriment.

THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW - THEATRE REVIEW

THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE

Theatre Run: Monday 28 October - Saturday 2 November

Performance Viewed: Monday 28 October (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

I had the pleasure of first reviewing this current touring production of The Rocky Horror Show in Birmingham back in January this year, and it was with very welcome open arms (and thrusting hips) that I welcomed it back to the Midlands as the show finds itself at home at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre over Halloween. The show remains fundamentally the same, bar a few incremental changes to some of the set pieces and musical number staging, and Henry Davis’ Rocky is given an injection of youthful naivete blended with a dash of vitriol over predecessor Rhydian’s more mindless interpretation, but essentially all that made the same tour so irrepressibly entertaining, gloriously mischievous and wholly recommendable earlier in the year continues to ring true.

CAROUSEL - THEATRE REVIEW

CAROUSEL AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE

Theatre Run: Tuesday 8 - Saturday 12 October

Performance Reviewed: Saturday 12 October

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Sometimes as a musical theatre enthusiast you can’t beat the feel-good, warm-hearted, nostalgia-scented treat of classic Rodgers and Hammerstein. Innocuous, family-friendly, good old-fashioned entertainment with a genuine pedigree of quality and proven appeal through the ages, nowhere more amongst their back catalogue are these virtues apparent than in Carousel. A re-affirming morality tale of family, friendship and vintage romance, the buoyant love story of Julie Jordan and Billy Bigelow has once again hit the boards this week in thoroughly professional, supremely entertaining form by one of the Midlands’ most reputable and celebrated theatre troupes, the South Staffs Musical Theatre Company. 

EVITA - THEATRE REVIEW

EVITA AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE

Theatre Run: Monday 19 - Saturday 31 August
Performance Reviewed: Tuesday 20 August (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Once again the theatrical juggernaut of Andrew Lloyd Webber comes to the Midlands as his musical biopic of Argentinian First Lady Eva Peron arrives in Wolverhampton in the form of the ever popular Evita. One of Lloyd Webber’s most prolific and celebrated shows and part of his select early trifecta of collaborations with lyricist Tim Rice, this latest UK tour, courtesy of the illustrious Bill Kenwright and company, is a bold, sweeping and ambitious treat that boasts tremendous staging and production design, a wealth of now ubiquitous and beloved musical numbers, and a truly astonishing central performance which all culminate in one of the most opulent, impressive and majestic touring productions of recent memory.

RENT - THEATRE REVIEW

RENT AT THE ARENA THEATRE, WOLVERHAMPTON

Theatre Run: Friday 26 - Saturday 27 July
Performance Reviewed: Saturday 27 July (matinee)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Most major musicals bring their own set of challenges and dilemmas to an amateur adaptation, be it a requirement for expansive sets and staging, period or niche costume and production design or elaborate, demanding choreography, all of which often have to face the constraints and practicality of budget and available talent. Relatively speaking, RENT is a somewhat barer, more raw piece of musical theatre in those particular regards, and one whose expressionist, bohemian slant makes it a more malleable beast for the amateur treatment. However, therein lies the inherent challenge of tackling the show - there are no major set pieces or spectacle to hide behind, it is a story and production that is raw, pure, innately human and relatively uncompromising - and if the cast cannot rise to the occasion the show can be a floundering mess of youthful post-modernism and half-baked theatrical expressionism. It truly is a show that is only as good as those in whose hands it is placed.

CAROUSEL - THEATRE REVIEW

CAROUSEL AT THE NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE, BIRMINGHAM

Theatre Run: Tuesday 16 - Saturday 20 July
Performance Reviewed: Tuesday 16 July (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

BMOS - The Birmingham and Midland Operatic Society - has a long, rich history of over 125 years of staging big, prolific musicals and theatrical projects with a level of ambition, scope and quality usually reserved for professional touring productions. As Centre Stage Magazine deftly put it, they are “professional in all but name” and their latest showcase of ability and talent comes in the form of Rodgers and Hammerstein classic Carousel, which the company are performing at the Birmingham New Alexandra Theatre for this week only.

THEATRE PREVIEW - NOISES OFF

NOISES OFF AT THE NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE, BIRMINGHAM

STARRING NEIL PEARSON AND MAUREEN BEATTIE

FROM MON 24 - SAT 29 JUN 2013

NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE, BIRMINGHAM

Next Monday evening, (A)musings will be entering a world of acclaimed hilarity and farce as Chris Larkin joins David Bark-Jones, Maureen Beattie, Simon Bubb, Danielle Flett, Geoffrey Freshwater, Neil Pearson, Thomasin Rand and Sasha Waddell in the UK tour of Michael Frayn’s multi-award-winning backstage comedy Noises Off, directed by Lindsay Posner. Following its acclaimed run at The Old Vic and then at the Novello Theatre in the West End, Noises Off will arrive at Birmingham’s New Alexandra Theatre for one week from 24-29 June 2013, and as always we'll be there to bring our review of the show on opening night!