Time for some magic. I want you all to sit back and relax. Now name three people you can think of from World War II – but not anyone related to your family. Think hard about them. OK. I’m going to make a prediction. Everyone you are thinking of have three things in common: One, they are men. Two, they are white and three, they are English/American. Because those were the only people that took part and won the Second World War weren’t they? We all know, that in reality millions from all walks of life were involved in the war. Quite a lot will have fitted the stereotype above, but a significant number didn’t. All have a story to tell and some of these stories are truly amazing and can be discovered in the immersive show Hidden Figures: WW2 at the Colab Factory.
This really is an immersive production which starts well before you arrive at the location. The instructions you receive are comprehensive and highly secret – I’m facing a potential prosecution under the Official Secrets Act for telling you as much as I am. However, once you arrive and get through the various stages to ensure you are not some form of foreign agent and get into the Mess, you then find out who you are going to be for the rest of the evening, Read all of your character’s documentation thoroughly – you will need to know who you are – before you are taken off to enter the shadowy world of the SOE.
Obviously, I can’t tell you too much about what happens from now on but what I can say is that playwright Paul King has put together an extremely well researched and written experience that delves into some amazing real-life stories whilst providing an entertaining evening for the participants. One of the first things I did on getting home was to ‘google’ my character, and their story was fascinating. I would definitely recommend you do the same, There is nothing ordinary about these people and each is truly amazing in their own right.
So, Paul has a list of people with extraordinary tales to tell of their lives and, with Director Zoe Flint, has put together a highly entertaining scenario in which to tell them. Along with a very impressive group of actors and a wonderfully detailed set in which to move. The – for want of a better word ‘participants’ – are guided through some pretty intensive moments as they complete their training and, hopefully, return to the Mess for their final reward.
Thinking about Hidden Figures: WW2 and this was such an easy show to review. My companion on the night, who is not renowned for getting over-excited at shows, said “so that’s 5 stars then?” as soon as we started discussing the experience. I have to agree with him. The production works on every level. It’s like Paul and his team have taken the BBC’s mission statement “inform, educate and entertain” and made their personal mantra when putting Hidden Figures: WW2 together. There isn’t much more that I can say about the show other than to recommend that you get your act together and answer your country’s call at this hour of need by getting a ticket as soon as possible.
Review by Terry Eastham for www.LondonTheatre1.com
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...
Comments
Post a Comment