EAST IS EAST - THEATRE REVIEW

EAST IS EAST AT THE NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE, BIRMINGHAM

Theatre Run: Tuesday 13 - Saturday 17 January 2015
Performance Reviewed: Wednesday 14 January (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

At the risk of going there, it’s something of a charged time to be experiencing a show like East is East, given the recent political and social bubbling over the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris. As every Tom, Dick and armchair Harry attempts to define and dictate what Islam is and Muslims are, the answer, it seems, lies in a show set in a British Muslim household in the early 1970’s, based on a 1990’s film of the same name. It’s startling, and in a strange way quite refreshing, seeing how timeless and cyclical some of the central issues and themes are.

Mercifully, East is East remains confidently self-contained, and whilst granted there are the odd throwaway inferences of a ‘them versus us’ mentality to the wider British population, generally this is a show predominantly centred on a Muslim, Pakistani family dealing with a slew of issues and problems both religious and familial within and of itself. It’s infinitely more focused and compelling as a result, as proud, principled business owner George Khan (Ayub Khan Din, writer of both the play and the film) struggles to accept the changing times, personified in his six spirited, wilful and frequently disobedient children. Regimented, stubborn and fiercely proud, Khan is a skilfully written and masterfully played character - at times an aggressive, blindly ignorant borderline-tyrant, at others a whimsical, charming family man evidently trying to do best by both his family and religion in the way he has been raised and taught to do so. Neither extremity is painted as absolute, and in many ways Khan’s plight is the shows most compelling and touching thread, especially in this production. As he sits transfixed in front of his TV following the ensuing Indian-Pakistan civil war crises, a reporter cites ‘Pakistan will never be the same again’, and the analogy couldn’t be clearer. It’s the Pakistan of Khan’s home, head and heart that are just as much under attack, by the modernity and will of his own children, as any affairs on foreign soils.

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK - THEATRE REVIEW

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK AT THE BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME

Theatre Run: Friday 19 December 2014 - Sunday 1 February 2015
Performance Reviewed: Monday 22 December (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Matt Slack teaches us midway through Jack and the Beanstalk, tongue firmly in-cheek, that the counterpart to ‘Deja Vu’ is ‘Vuja De’, aka ‘I’ve never been here before’. It’s sold as funny, but in many ways it’s a coupling sentiment that encapsulates the entire panto ethos - plenty of the familiar, lashings of tropes, essentials and audience-favourites, all thrown into a suitably barmy melting pot with the new - new faces, and incremental new approaches to the same old handful of fairytale yarns. For some, the balance is not so even, leaning on the pulling power of star wattage, the genuine fondness of the public for panto itself, or a slew of tried-and-true set pieces and old reliables in the gag department. 

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.

CINDERELLA - THEATRE REVIEW

CINDERELLA AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE

Performance Run: Saturday 6 December 2014 - Sunday 18 January 2015
Performance Reviewed: Tuesday 9 December 2014 (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

I will not be resorting to any cheap panto puns to open my review this year…

If you didn’t just mentally (or verbally!) shout ‘Oh yes you will’ then you may not be quite ready for panto season, but ready or not (here I come…), it is upon us, and the perfect remedy for that particular ill would be a timely visit to the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre’s Cinderella. Headlined by the master of innuendo and dry asides, Julian Clary, and featuring the signature glitz and spectacle that QDOS Pantomimes throw at all of their major productions, this festive staple is everything you’d expect and want from your Christmas/New Year pantomime, with all the trimmings and even a couple of very welcome surprises along the way. 

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.

THE BIG REUNION BOY BAND TOUR 2014 - UK TOUR REVIEW

THE BIG REUNION BOY BAND TOUR 2014 AT THE LG ARENA, BIRMINGHAM

Tour Dates: Until Monday 27 October 2014
Performance Reviewed: Tuesday 21 October

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

“Do you all remember ‘Smash Hits’?”

“…How about CD:UK? Top of the Pops?”

If my inner teenage self hadn’t already erupted to the fore at this early stage of The Big Reunion Boyband Tour, these pitch-perfect 90’s callbacks certainly did the trick.

Catapulting off of the surprise success of the ITV2 show of the same name, this years incarnation is a decidedly testosterone-driven event, eschewing the likes of Eternal and Girl Thing (Google the latter) whom were part of the 2014 TV line up in order to focus on what the vast majority of the baying audience were seemingly there to see anyway; the boy bands. And, be it cynical cash grab or audience savvy, some of last years groups, notably so-recently-disbanded-it-couldn’t-really-be-called-a-reunion mega band Blue, have been invited along for the ride once more.

DIRTY DANCING - THEATRE REVIEW

DIRTY DANCING AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE

Theatre Run: Tuesday 23 September - Saturday 11 October 2014
Performance Reviewed: Wednesday 24 September (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

As far as labeling goes, Dirty Dancing is something of a tough cookie (watermelon?) to define. It can’t strictly be classed as a musical - the show’s marketing carefully labelling it ‘The Classic Story On Stage’ - yet certainly offers some of the flavouring and ingredients of one, though when members of the company occasionally take to a microphone to sing it is more often than not contextualised within the show’s own universe.  There is, unsurprisingly, plenty of dance showcased front and centre, though one could even make an argument for that not being it’s principle MO. What we are left with, then, is a makeshift hybrid of sorts, a synergy which lifts and borrows components of different genre’s and approaches and, under the familiar and beloved template of it’s 1987 movie namesake, surprisingly harmonises them into a thoroughly feel-good and irrepressibly vibrant evening of pure entertainment. Yes, it’s formulaic, safe and almost cookie-cutter in it’s approach to narrative (and, it has to be said, comedy) and there’s enough cheddar in there to make France lactose intolerant, but in reality audiences going in to watch Dirty Dancing aren’t likely to be expecting Sondheim.

JANE MCDONALD: THE SINGER OF YOUR SONG - UK TOUR REVIEW

JANE MCDONALD: THE SINGER OF YOUR SONG AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE

Theatre Run: Wednesday 17 September 2014 (One Night Only at Venue)
Performance Reviewed: Wednesday 17 September 2014

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

It seems almost journalism-on-autopilot to preface a review of Jane McDonald’s live show by harking back to BBC reality show The Cruise, the surprise hit which saw the singer achieve celebrity practically overnight, but if there is one thing made abjectly clear throughout Singer of Your Song, her latest UK tour, McDonald is not afraid, dismissive or remotely embarrassed of what has come before. 16 years since Cruise made her a household name, and not only is her career continuing to go from strength-to-strength, opportunity and schedule afforded now by her departure earlier this year from daytime chat show Loose Women, but if her performance at the Wolverhampton Grand was anything to go by, her abilities and prowess as a singer-songwriter are enjoying similar boons.

Named after her recent album release, the first she has recorded in 6 years, Singer of Your Song not only showcases an incredibly versatile and powerful voice, but also bounces along with real vim and whimsy with the same genuine, unassuming natural charisma that won the Nation’s hearts back in ’98. On paper it’s a combination that perhaps strictly speaking shouldn’t gel - a cheeky segment of ad libbing or lamenting the woes of the aging body casts the theatre in a playful, tongue-in-cheek mood as Jane the comedienne takes centre stage, whilst minutes later a barnstorming, tour-de-force rendition of Love Is All can be threatening to raise the roof and take the audience with it. It sounds too incongruous to work, yet McDonald finds the truth in it all, both the grandiose and the giggles, with her irrepressible, everyday charm and authenticity making the whole show work effortlessly. Her healthy dose of self-awareness and more than a soupcon of self-deprecation keeps the audience won over and on-side and the feel-good factor consistently high throughout.

MISS SAIGON - THEATRE REVIEW

MISS SAIGON AT THE PRINCE EDWARD THEATRE, LONDON

Theatre Run: Continuing
Performance Reviewed: Thursday 31 July 2014

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

‘Out with the new and in with the old’ seems to be the current dominant ideology pervading the West End at the moment, as even new productions by the industries’ heaviest hitters flounder whilst revivals and re-imaginings wade in over their corpses to rapturous reception and unprecedented box office (this show supposedly broke London pre-order ticket records). A trifle melodramatic an opening, perhaps, but one that is both true and quite tonally fitting for Cameron Mackintosh’s lavish, celebrated resurrection of the mawkish, histrionic yet spectacular Miss Saigon. Lloyd-Webber and Rice recently brought us the likes of Stephen Ward and From Here To Eternity respectively, and London even dipped its toe into the mass mass market with Harry Hill and Simon Cowell X-Factor pastiche vehicle I Can’t Sing. An ecclectic and diverse musical trifecta, yet all three suffered poor sales and abrupt, early closure, and in their place we have seen West End return announcements for the likes of Cats, Evita and, of course, Saigon. 

WICKED - THEATRE REVIEW

WICKED AT THE BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME

Theatre Run: Wednesday 09 July - Saturday 06 September 2014

Performance Reviewed: Thursday 10 July (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Wicked will cast it's spell upon you... Wicked is wicked-ly good... Spellbinding!

With that obligatory bit of housekeeping out of the way, it's almost difficult to comprehend what to say about musical colossus Wicked that hasn't already been said countless times over. One of the most celebrated and successful musicals of the 21st Century, it is an internationally renowned mega-hit whose adoration (and ticket sales) show no sign of dwindling any time soon. Winnie Holzman's adapted tale that takes a canted look at the witches of Oz (taken from Gregory Maguire's more morbid book of the same name) combined with Stephen Schwartz's already-iconic music has leapt into our collective cultural consciousness and tapped into a generational zeitgeist in a way that most other musicals could only dream of.  And now, as the show takes off on its first ever UK and Ireland tour, the fervour and excitement in Birmingham and the surrounding area for the show's arrival at the city's Hippodrome theatre has been at fever pitch, showing that these witches are as 'popular' as ever and just as adept at defying expectations as they are gravity.

THEATRE INTERVIEW - Nikki Davis-Jones (Wicked)

WICKED INTERVIEWS:

Part One - Nikki Davis-Jones (Elphaba)

Wicked flies on in to the Birmingham Hippodrome next week as part of it's first ever UK and Ireland tour, and we are celebrating the occasion with a pair of interviews with the two of the show's leads.

In this first part, Kyle sits down with actress Nikki-Davis Jones, who plays Elphaba in the show, and discusses how Wicked is proving to be the gift that keeps on giving...

By Kyle Pedley.

Interview Conducted Thursday 24th April 2014.

Nikki Davis-Jones as Elphaba
in Wicked

“I’m clearly not very good in auditions!”

It’s a modest dash of self-deprecation from the lady who has bagged one of musical theatre’s most coveted leading roles, and further indicative of a warm, humble personality that likewise may initially seem at odds with the role she has been drafted in to play. But such humility is not without context and reasoning, with a string of standby and cover roles in shows such as Blood Brothers and Mamma Mia that led to eventual promotions being the career pattern for actress Nikki Davis-Jones thus far.

That was before a certain green-skinned opportunity came flying in on a golden broomstick and looks set to change her career ‘For Good’.

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.

DOLLY PARTON: BLUE SMOKE WORLD TOUR - REVIEW

DOLLY PARTON: BLUE SMOKE WORLD TOUR AT THE LG ARENA, BIRMINGHAM

Tour Dates: Until Wednesday 2 July 2014 (UK dates), 14 July 2014 (International)
Performance Reviewed: Sunday 22 June 2014

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

As the undisputed Queen of Country drew a crisp, powerhouse a capella rendition of ‘Little Sparrow’ to a close at Birmingham’s LG arena this evening in the second act of her Blue Smoke World Tour, it was difficult to fathom what superlatives could be reached for to do this veritable legend of the music industry, and entertainment industry as a whole, justice suffice. The enamored audience had already been treated to an impressively diverse catalogue of hits old and new (including highlights from the titular new album), and many of her prolific, signature numbers were still to come, but it was surely with the reflective, almost mournful ‘Little Sparrow’, it’s stripped back, minimalist staging and Parton’s faultless vocal that the irrepressible charm, charisma and undeniable genius of Miss Parton was at it’s most raw and irrefutable.

DAWN FRENCH: THIRTY MILLION MINUTES - UK TOUR REVIEW

DAWN FRENCH: THIRTY MILLION MINUTES AT THE NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE, BIRMINGHAM

Theatre Run: Wednesday 18 - Friday 20 June 2014
Performance Reviewed: Wednesday 18 June 2014

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Dawn French’s first ever solo tour (yes, really), Thirty Million Minutes, is prefaced with an announcement that this is a show specifically for ‘nice’ people, and anybody critical, cynical or otherwise negative do not belong there. It dovetails off of that same well-meaning, bubbly, inoffensive and down-to-Earth vibe and persona that French has cultivated pretty much faultlessly across her career. It’s the same warmth and cuddly bonhomie that made The Vicar of Dibley such an irrepressibly lovable show, even when some of it’s plotting or narrative work was a trifle humdrum. It’s why French remains such a beloved and well-regarded National treasure - she genuinely registers as a nice person herself, and, just as crucially, a very empathetic and real one.

THIS MAY HURT A BIT - THEATRE REVIEW

THIS MAY HURT A BIT AT ST JAMES THEATRE, VICTORIA

Theatre Run: Wednesday 14 May - Saturday 21 June 2014
Performance Reviewed: Thursday 05 June 2014 (Matinee)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Going into Stella Feehily’s satirical take on the NHS, This May Hurt A Bit, one would be forgiven for expecting an onslaught of left-wing sentimentality or political bulldozing. The shows marketing and poster colourfully depicts a caricatured David Cameron skulking into the labyrinthine ward of a sickly woman like some nightmarish imp and the programme itself begins with an impassioned plea by Jacky Davis of ‘Keep Our NHS Public’ to rally against the devilry and smoke-and-mirrors of the coalition's treatment of the National Health Service.

ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS - THEATRE REVIEW

ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS AT THE BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME

Theatre Run: Monday 26 - Saturday 31 May 2014
Performance Reviewed: Monday 26 May 2014 (Press Night)

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Prefacing a review with a retrospective hardly seems the most succinct of approaches, but in addressing One Man, Two Guvnors, it seems prudent to draw attention to a perspective I offered whilst discussing Michael Frayn’s seminal farce Noises Off last year: 

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.

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.

THE FAAABULOUS CERI DUPREE SHOW - THEATRE REVIEW

THE FAAABULOUS CERI DUPREE SHOW AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE

Theatre Run: Sunday 06 April 2014
Performance Reviewed: Sunday 06 April 2014

Reviewed by Kyle Pedley

Having recently starred as pantomime dame Queen Passionella in their 2013/14 pantomime ‘Sleeping Beauty’, after making a side-splitting, headlining appearance at that shows launch party back in November of last year, the Wolverhampton Grand has been getting a fairly healthy helping of female impersonator extraordinare Ceri Dupree of late (or ‘international gender illusionist’ as he brilliant re-titles himself in a tightly-observed skit on political correctness). This week saw his return to the Grand in the form of his aptly-titled ‘Faaaabulous’ one man, twenty-one woman solo show, littered with a splendid myriad of impersonations and performances ranging all the way from iconic Hollywood divas of old such as Marlene Dietrich and Eartha Kitt, to musical stars such as the likes of Dame Shirley Bassey and the late Amy Winehouse, through to even the likes of supremely shoulder-padded multi-millionairess Hilary Devey of Dragon’s Den fame.