Musical theatre is there to entertain the theatrically non-discerning members of the public and give work to people that can sing, dance and make jazz hands, isn’t it? Obviously, the answer is a resounding No! It is true that some regular theatregoers look down on musicals as low brow but, in fact, they are missing out on so much. Think about shows like La Cage Aux Folles, Wicked or Fiddler on the Roof. Each one of these has an amazing story to tell and raises awareness of issues in a subtle way and each one is a successful musical production. So yes, it is possible to combine the frothiness of musical theatre with an important story or message. Just such a show has recently opened at the Stockwell Playhouse with the arrival of LAMBCO productions Boys in the Buff.
The show starts with our wonderful hostess, the lovely Diana Diamonte (Natalie Harman) welcoming the audience to the evening and explaining what will happen. This isn’t a show with a start-middle-end story but is a musical revue themed around our bodies and how we feel about them. And then Diana introduces to her boys – Dan (William Frazer), Max (Adam O’Shea), Phil (Julian Quijano) and Richard (Shaun Riddick). All four are young handsome and just ‘dreamy’ to look at. In fact, at first glance, you can’t help but wonder what these four young Adonises can tell someone like me – old and currently working as a stand in for the Michelin Man – about body image. But, of course, everyone – no matter how beautiful an observer may think they are – has a tale to tell about their body and what they would like to change. The story itself is around building up Phil’s courage so that he can go ‘Full Monty’ in the final scene.
Over the course of the show, Diana and her boys perform some really impressive songs that really highlight the issues that people face. A couple that really come to mind are the extremely emotional ‘Only a Joke’ which, with its memories of being in school wearing NHS specs, had me shedding a silent tear. Then there is the celebratory song ‘Big Hearted Mama’ which, by rights, should become the next great anthem.
Chris Burgess, responsible for words and music, has penned a really entertaining show with some great songs, which when put together with Director/Choreographer Sam Rayner’s dance moves, really bring a tone and look of various other musicals – definite tracings of Cabaret, Wicked, and many others in the mix. Never preaching, the songs get their message across wonderfully and it’s really worth listening intently to the words as well as watching the lovely delivery by the cast who somehow manage to perform West End style flamboyant choreography, on a quite small stage without hitting anything or falling off the edge. Be aware, there is some audience participation involved and my advice – having gone through it – is throw yourself into it and enjoy the experience. Like Gypsy Rose Lee, I now know how to be seductive with only one item of clothing.
Boys in the Buff is a really camp, fun night out which sends its message out loud and proud in an exciting and highly entertaining way. The cast are wonderfully energetic and engaged throughout. In fact, it’s true to say everyone looked as if they were having a thoroughly good time up there from the start. Did I have a favourite among the cast? Well, William Frazer caught my eye. His Dan flirted with the audience and had a cheeky twinkle in his eye throughout. But the reality is that this was a lovely cast of good singers and dancers who showed great courage in literally giving their all to the performance. The show is suitable for everyone, as we all have a body and all have something wrong with it. I was surprised at the amount of conversation the show generated. In fact, my companion and I spent the majority of the interval talking about things we disliked about our bodies, sleeve gastrectomy, and plastic surgery. Any show that can keep the audience fully entertained and cause quite intense discussions at the same time is a powerful one. Boys in the Buff is such a show and is strongly recommended by this reviewer.
Dawid Minnar Janine Ulfane – Photograher credit Alixandra Fazzina. “Survival of the fittest” is a phrase that originated from Darwinian evolutionary theory as a way of describing the mechanism of natural selection. Which means that even in the most inhospitable of placers, life will find a way – even if at times, you may look and think what’s the point? For example, in South Africa, the aloe plant is considered one of the country’s most powerful, beautiful and celebratory symbols. It survives out in the wild when everything else is dried. At the end of everything, the aloe is still there. And it is this survival that is at the heart of Athol Fugard’s A Lesson From Aloes which has returned to the UK and is currently in residence at the Finborough Theatre. Set in South Africa in 1963, where apartheid is at its height and the citizens are living in a paranoid police state. The play revolves around a middle-aged left-leaning couple – Afrikaner Piet Bezuidenhout (Dawid Minnaa...
Since 1912, the Blackburn Musical Theatre Company has been entertaining the theatre going folks of this Lancashire town with their annual musical production. In that time, they have covered the vast array of musical theatre from their first production - Sunday - through to their latest - Hello Dolly - which I caught at the Blackburn Empire Theatre. Dolly Gallagher Levi (Sue Chadwick) is a woman that likes to meddle, or as she puts it, arrange things. Whatever you need doing, Dolly is the person for the job. And right now, she is the talk of turn of the century New York, having brought together Mr Horace Vandergelder (Kris Wlodarczyk), the well-known half-a-millionaire and Mrs Irene Molloy (Laura Mitchell) a widowed millener. Their engagement and subsequent marriage seems pretty much sewn up though neither is marrying for love. Horace, as he tells his Chief Clerk, Cornelius Hackl (Ryan Coe), and Assistant, Barnaby Tucker (Fletcher Illingworth), is looking fo...
Since July 2014, I've seen and reviewed 588 shows altogether. 2017 was a fairly quiet year with a total of 132 shows visited by yours truly. So, in the best traditions of end of the year ideas, here is my list of the top 10 shows that I've seen this year. Please remember, this is my list not anybody else's and if you don't agree with the pick, well, what can I say? 1. Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Bridewell Theatre This story of friendship and hope took two drag queens and a trans woman from Sydney to Alice Springs, in a big pink bus. Along the way, the met new friends and face rampant homophobia. SEDOS brought every element of the show together beautifully, and to a standard that you would expect to see in the West End. Sold out virtually as soon as it was announced, this was the ‘must see production of the year. 2. La Cage aux Folles, New Wimbledon Theatre This is was a touring production of a show that demonstrates the importance of family a...
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