VON RIBBENTROP'S WATCH
September 16, 2010
Oxford Playhouse until Saturday, September 18, 2010, then touring
THE premise for this intriguing and blisteringly funny play is unlikely, complicated and utterly contrived. Which makes it all the more delicious that it’s based on a true incident.
Ostensibly, TV veterans Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran – the team behind hits such as Birds of a Feather, Goodnight Sweetheart and The New Statesman – have written a play about the dodgy historical provenance of an old wristwatch.
But the fact that Jewish wine shop owner Gerald Roth turns out to have a timepiece previously owned by senior Nazi Joachim von Ribbentrop generates such a delightful melange of conflicting, dramatic ripples is a tribute to the complexity, care and sheer joy of the writing.
This is a piece about so much more than just a watch. Into the mix are thrown huge questions of Jewish identity, the nature of the modern family and moral dilemmas over extra-marital sex, cultural heritage and money. And all wrapped up in Marks and Gran’s trademark humour, ranging from gentle acerbic wit to big punchline belly-laughs.
The Oxford Playhouse has taken a rare step into producing for this venture. Director Brigid Larmour allows the action to unfold fluidly on a beautiful set from designer Emma Wee, but opts to play the piece for laughs – which is slightly unfortunate as it shrouds the power of the underlying drama.
Some of the performances reflect this tendency too, although Nicholas Woodeson as Gerald holds the centre together firmly. There’s a fine counterpoint from The Bill veteran Andrew Paul as his younger brother David, who plays his anguished role with calm dignity and a natural assurance – which paradoxically heighten the inherent humour.
Although billed as the world premiere of a new comedy, neither description is genuinely the case. The piece first appeared on Radio 4 and has been adapted for the stage, while labelling it an outright comedy does it something of a disservice: it’s more accurately an extremely funny straight play that deals with some really big issues. Like the watch itself, it’s a bright little gem concealing a bigger, darker interior.
LOVE IN SHAKESPEARE
August 31, 2010
Heartbreak Productions, Nottingham Castle
AFTER nearly two decades of touring shows, usually including a Shakespeare play, Heartbreak Productions have taken a sideways step this summer with what could loosely be called a compilation of some of the Bard’s best romantic bits.
But that’s really selling short the play Love in Shakespeare, which is every bit a “real” play and a proper evening’s entertainment in its own right. The fact that Will lends a helping hand with some of the scenes is simply an added bonus.
Writer Phil Hemming has created a witty, charming piece of theatre that borrows some pertinent moments from a variety of Shakespearean texts – A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Winter’s Tale and Othello among them. These he weaves into a contemporary tale of a pub’s “Anything Goes” fun night in a fashion that is both clever and, at times, highly amusing.
The central plot tells of a stranger, Christopher, who wanders into the Shakespeare Arms in the middle of this fundraiser for a new pool table, and proceeds to spread some theatrical fairydust from his mysterious briefcase. Thus elderly couple Stan and Margaret are bewilderingly transformed into Romeo and Juliet, while landlady Kerry finds herself doing a turn as French Queen Katherine from Henry V.
Along the way, Christopher gradually reveals his own tangled love life and sparks controversy among the locals with his magical manipulations. Oh, and for good measure there’s a sublime version of I Heard It Through the Grapevine… rendered in mime.
The five-strong cast are necessarily energetic, adaptable and sassy, with Paul Billing beautifully grumpy as landlord Vince and Emma Burn showing enormous versatility in a host of supporting roles. Director Maddy Kerr keeps the whole rollicking souffle moving swiftly along, and the cool of our non-existent summer evening is never allowed to suck the warmth out of the night’s entertainment.
THE SECRET GARDEN
August 3, 2010
Heartbreak Productions, Kenilworth Castle, then touring until August 29, 2010
THE quintessential English summer’s evening: a picnic on the grass, a delightful open-air production, light showers in the interval…
The timing of the weather’s intervention could not have been more perfect. The darkening rainclouds glowered over act one of this charming performance of the Edwardian children’s classic, and night swooped in with the swifts over act two, but the only actual precipitation came in the 15-minute intermission, allowing the audience to rug up and shelter in true Brit style without disrupting the action.
All of which helped to heighten the camaraderie and shared enjoyment of this beautifully presented show, adapted in two hours by David Kerby Kendall for Heartbreak, who have become masters of this kind of thing over nearly two decades.
The Secret Garden is one of three Heartbreak shows touring this summer around venues as varied as castle ruins – such as Kenilworth – and school grounds.
With its hugely inventive set (Hilary Statts) and a cast of five having a ball playing dozens of characters with as many costume changes, accents and physical attributes as you can shake a stick at, the show faithfully retains the innocence of childhood and the wonder at the natural world that have helped to make the source material so loved by generations of young readers.
Director Marie McCarthy keeps the pace moving throughout the rather episodic unfolding of the tale, in which spoilt brat Mary Lennox is orphaned and shipped off to her uncle’s vast mansion, where her discovery of the titular garden leads to a change of heart and a new vision of life.
Sally Brooks is suitably vile and sweet as Mary, while her colleagues Joe Herzfeld, Abigail Gallagher, James Edwards and Andrew Cullum are tireless in their transformations and characterisations, with every theatrical trick in the book thrown in for added value and plenty of laughs. Even the audience get involved with hilarious results, some helping with sound effects, some adding lighting, some even participating in the on-stage action.
It’s all done with complete charm and joy and adds up to… well, the quintessential English summer’s evening. And who cares about a light shower anyway?
September 16, 2010
Oxford Playhouse until Saturday, September 18, 2010, then touring
THE premise for this intriguing and blisteringly funny play is unlikely, complicated and utterly contrived. Which makes it all the more delicious that it’s based on a true incident.
Ostensibly, TV veterans Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran – the team behind hits such as Birds of a Feather, Goodnight Sweetheart and The New Statesman – have written a play about the dodgy historical provenance of an old wristwatch.
But the fact that Jewish wine shop owner Gerald Roth turns out to have a timepiece previously owned by senior Nazi Joachim von Ribbentrop generates such a delightful melange of conflicting, dramatic ripples is a tribute to the complexity, care and sheer joy of the writing.
This is a piece about so much more than just a watch. Into the mix are thrown huge questions of Jewish identity, the nature of the modern family and moral dilemmas over extra-marital sex, cultural heritage and money. And all wrapped up in Marks and Gran’s trademark humour, ranging from gentle acerbic wit to big punchline belly-laughs.
The Oxford Playhouse has taken a rare step into producing for this venture. Director Brigid Larmour allows the action to unfold fluidly on a beautiful set from designer Emma Wee, but opts to play the piece for laughs – which is slightly unfortunate as it shrouds the power of the underlying drama.
Some of the performances reflect this tendency too, although Nicholas Woodeson as Gerald holds the centre together firmly. There’s a fine counterpoint from The Bill veteran Andrew Paul as his younger brother David, who plays his anguished role with calm dignity and a natural assurance – which paradoxically heighten the inherent humour.
Although billed as the world premiere of a new comedy, neither description is genuinely the case. The piece first appeared on Radio 4 and has been adapted for the stage, while labelling it an outright comedy does it something of a disservice: it’s more accurately an extremely funny straight play that deals with some really big issues. Like the watch itself, it’s a bright little gem concealing a bigger, darker interior.
LOVE IN SHAKESPEARE
August 31, 2010
Heartbreak Productions, Nottingham Castle
AFTER nearly two decades of touring shows, usually including a Shakespeare play, Heartbreak Productions have taken a sideways step this summer with what could loosely be called a compilation of some of the Bard’s best romantic bits.
But that’s really selling short the play Love in Shakespeare, which is every bit a “real” play and a proper evening’s entertainment in its own right. The fact that Will lends a helping hand with some of the scenes is simply an added bonus.
Writer Phil Hemming has created a witty, charming piece of theatre that borrows some pertinent moments from a variety of Shakespearean texts – A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Winter’s Tale and Othello among them. These he weaves into a contemporary tale of a pub’s “Anything Goes” fun night in a fashion that is both clever and, at times, highly amusing.
The central plot tells of a stranger, Christopher, who wanders into the Shakespeare Arms in the middle of this fundraiser for a new pool table, and proceeds to spread some theatrical fairydust from his mysterious briefcase. Thus elderly couple Stan and Margaret are bewilderingly transformed into Romeo and Juliet, while landlady Kerry finds herself doing a turn as French Queen Katherine from Henry V.
Along the way, Christopher gradually reveals his own tangled love life and sparks controversy among the locals with his magical manipulations. Oh, and for good measure there’s a sublime version of I Heard It Through the Grapevine… rendered in mime.
The five-strong cast are necessarily energetic, adaptable and sassy, with Paul Billing beautifully grumpy as landlord Vince and Emma Burn showing enormous versatility in a host of supporting roles. Director Maddy Kerr keeps the whole rollicking souffle moving swiftly along, and the cool of our non-existent summer evening is never allowed to suck the warmth out of the night’s entertainment.
THE SECRET GARDEN
August 3, 2010
Heartbreak Productions, Kenilworth Castle, then touring until August 29, 2010
THE quintessential English summer’s evening: a picnic on the grass, a delightful open-air production, light showers in the interval…
The timing of the weather’s intervention could not have been more perfect. The darkening rainclouds glowered over act one of this charming performance of the Edwardian children’s classic, and night swooped in with the swifts over act two, but the only actual precipitation came in the 15-minute intermission, allowing the audience to rug up and shelter in true Brit style without disrupting the action.
All of which helped to heighten the camaraderie and shared enjoyment of this beautifully presented show, adapted in two hours by David Kerby Kendall for Heartbreak, who have become masters of this kind of thing over nearly two decades.
The Secret Garden is one of three Heartbreak shows touring this summer around venues as varied as castle ruins – such as Kenilworth – and school grounds.
With its hugely inventive set (Hilary Statts) and a cast of five having a ball playing dozens of characters with as many costume changes, accents and physical attributes as you can shake a stick at, the show faithfully retains the innocence of childhood and the wonder at the natural world that have helped to make the source material so loved by generations of young readers.
Director Marie McCarthy keeps the pace moving throughout the rather episodic unfolding of the tale, in which spoilt brat Mary Lennox is orphaned and shipped off to her uncle’s vast mansion, where her discovery of the titular garden leads to a change of heart and a new vision of life.
Sally Brooks is suitably vile and sweet as Mary, while her colleagues Joe Herzfeld, Abigail Gallagher, James Edwards and Andrew Cullum are tireless in their transformations and characterisations, with every theatrical trick in the book thrown in for added value and plenty of laughs. Even the audience get involved with hilarious results, some helping with sound effects, some adding lighting, some even participating in the on-stage action.
It’s all done with complete charm and joy and adds up to… well, the quintessential English summer’s evening. And who cares about a light shower anyway?
