Orpheus Descending

Orpheus Descending

By Tennesse Williams

Royal Exchange Theatre, 29 October 2012

Imogen Stubbs as Lady Torrance and Luke Norris as Val Xavier in ORPHEUS DESCENDING by Tennessee Williams. Photo – Jonathan Keenan.

What Williams does here is transpose a Greek tragedy to the American Deep South – and, somewhat surprisingly perhaps, it works.

His people and the American vernacular itself – as also in the work of Faulkner, Welty and Purdy – can carry that weight.

Val Xavier (Luke Norris), the stranger in the snakeskin jacket who carries a guitar (no lyre this time) in his hand, is the catalyst for change, the firestarter.  He ignites passion in the hearts of the womenfolk while bringing a stark light to bear on the town’s fault lines.  At the root of everything is race hatred, the despicable colour line, and it is telling that Val has inscribed the names of various bluesmen at the base of his guitar.

As one of the greatest of their number sang: Don’t you hold your head so high, someday Baby you know you got to die. You got to lay down and…

This was an excellent production, except that the Southern accents falter on occasion.  It’s a curious thing that, while with Shakespeare any accent or setting goes more or less, with American plays there is a striving for accuracy and ‘authenticity’.  You should, ideally, be able to forget about accent and simply hear the words, the question is how to achieve this.  Why not simply speak plainly?  That Williams’ play is as universal as any of the Bard’s is plain, at any rate.

Orpheus Descending, a production definitely worth a look-see, is at the Royal Exchange Theatre until 24 November.  Further details can be found here.

And here is Skip James singing Crow Jane.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

By William Shakespeare

Filter

Royal Exchange Theatre, 9 July 2012

Jonathan Broadbent as Oberon. Photo – Jonathan Keenan

There is an immense amount of comedy and fun to be had in this boisterous version of the Bard’s whimsical romance.

We are given a fair portion of stand-up to start, as a tease towards the main event.  The almighty (supposedly so, at any rate) Oberon strides on stage dressed as a bespectacled superhero: Jonathan Broadbent takes this role, and he was born to play the part.  And there’s an all-in scrap, involving even some members of the audience, where sausage rolls serve as slingshots.  Not your average William Shakespeare production, not by a long chalk.

Golden language it remains, however, and the central thrust of the play – all about how love and sexual attraction is a perverse business at the best of times – holds true.  Or, more simply: there’s no accounting for taste.

It would be an interesting exercise, certainly, to compare Oberon here with Wagner’s Wotan.  How do these respective immortals rate?  They are both fallible but Shakespeare’s immortal is more chilled out, more reconciled to his blunderbuss shortcomings.  Perhaps Wotan lacks a sense of humour?

About 18 months ago I saw Filter’s terrific take on Twelfth Night and, before that, their version of Three Sisters.  This production is as inventive and as good.  A Midsummer Night’s Dream is at the Royal Exchange Theatre until 12 August, further details can be found here.

Miss Julie

Miss Julie

By August Strindberg

Royal Exchange Theatre, 16 April 2012

Maxine Peake as Miss Julie in MISS JULIE (Royal Exchange Theatre until 12 May). Photo - Jonathan Keenan.

It is a masterly play and the marvellous Maxine Peake is its equal.

What’s copacetic about it is that nothing happens yet everything changes.  Jean (Joe Armstrong) remains a servant while Miss Julie (Maxine Peake) will likely flit from day to day, just as before.  She doesn’t have the courage to carry out that one resolute act, whatever it may be.

But – and this is what makes the play great - the clockwork machinery that operates these creatures, their motivations and dreams, has been exposed, along with the power relations that constitute their world.  They oppress each other, that is the truth of it: the mistress lords it over the servant, the man over the woman.  There is arrogance, agony and abjection on both sides.

It’s a fine production of an incredibly intense play –  just the one act, the tension building as the whole landscape of this domestic world becomes illuminated – and Maxine Peake’s performance is simply stunning.  It is a naturalistic tragedy indeed.

Miss Julie is at the Royal Exchange Theatre until 12 May, further details can be found here.

Two by Jim Cartwright

Two

By Jim Cartwright

Royal Exchange Theatre, 23 January 2012

Photo - Jonathan Keenan

It’s a double header, and that in two senses.

For a start, Justin Moorhouse and Victoria Elliott play all the parts: they’re the landlord and landlady of a pub, and they take on the roles of various customers an’ all.

Now the first part of the play meanders towards the maudlin, the sentimental, the ‘touching’ and the jokey.  In fact, at one point it was in danger of becoming simply a vehicle for Moorhouse’s brand of comedy.  Not necessarily a bad thing, of course, but that’s not the play.

However, the second part, post-interval as it were, was darker and altogether more serious.  An abusive relationship or two was to be found on the demonstration slab, for one thing.  We also got the nitty-gritty – an excoriating revelation, it’s known as in the trade – as regards this couple who run the pub.

When time is called, it is clear that this has been a vital production of a play with much to say still about men and women, the battle between the sexes, gender-related guerrilla skirmishes, and all that.  You get the picture.

If you’re a glass half-empty kind of chap, you might say, ‘Go easy on the jokes and the calls of “Hey, lads…” ‘  But still: a thumbs up, it has to be.

Two is at the Royal Exchange Theatre until 25 February, further details are here.

Horse + Bamboo’s Red Riding Hood

Red Riding Hood

Horse + Bamboo

Royal Exchange Theatre, 15 December 2011

Children will love this humorous, engaging version of the classic fairy tale.

One of the highlights for me was the life-size puppet of a wolf, which was very realistic, what with fur you could easily imagine yourself stroking.  Besides puppets, there was animation and masks and plenty of comedy.  Red Riding Hood herself was depicted in an expressive, childlike mask.

• Red is the colour of Manchester United, love hearts, fire, the devil, revolution, poppies and Rita Hayworth’s hair.
• Wolves are chthonic creatures incarnate, only visible to human beings (or so an old legend has it) when they have a message to impart.

When the two meet, there’s gonna be a clash…

The two principal characters are actually soulmates after a fashion.  They should get to know each other.  Really, they’d make a lovely couple.  Or have you two, by any chance, already met?

Red Riding Hood created laughter and delight in the sixty or so schoolchildren who saw it with me, so that’s a good job well done.  It is playing at the Royal Exchange Theatre until the end of December, further details here.

Storm in a Teacup

Storm in a Teacup
By Horse + Bamboo Theatre
Royal Exchange Theatre, 12 January 2011

Set largely on the open sea, this is an engaging story about bravery and friendship which children of 4 and older should enjoy.

It is all about a lonely lighthouse keeper who strives to make friends with a visiting sailor.  For when he is sat all alone in his lighthouse, the only soul he has for company is a frisky seagull called Chris.

Jonny Quick and Mark Whitaker had no difficulty in establishing a rapport with the children and the set, models and puppets – designed by Alison Duddle and Bob Frith – were enchanting.  A young lad beside me seemed happy and often excited, laughing especially at the antics of madcap Chris.

Storm in a Teacup is at the Royal Exchange until 15 January: details here.  It then tours throughout the UK until the end of March 2011.  Details here.

Zack by Harold Brighouse

Zack
By Harold Brighouse
Royal Exchange Theatre, 13 December 2010

Justin Moorhouse as Zack. Photo - Jonathan Keenan

When Mrs. Munning’s niece Virginia (Kelly Price) comes to stay with her for a short while, she notices one or two things that Mrs. Munning (Polly Hemingway), for all her Northern wisdom, has overlooked.

For one thing, that Zack (Justin Moorhouse), far from being a hopeless ne’er-do-well, has a talent for getting on with people and making them happy; lubricating the wheels of social intercourse, it is known as in the parlance.  He is nice and it is nice to be nice, as I’m sure you’ll agree.

This is, in fact, a very agreeable, personable and altogether mellifluous production of Harold Brighouse’s fine social comedy.  The whole cast were terrific but I would single out in particular Polly Hemingway, for she delivered Mrs. Munning’s dour jibes towards Zack (‘Your ways would make a cat laugh’ and ‘You’re too soft to live’ are two) with great style.  She made me laugh quite a lot, any roads.

There’s the odd universal truth to be found here (reflect for a moment, if you will, on: ‘You can’t make weak tea strong by adding water’) but, to all intents and purposes, this is an entertaining comedy with a big heart and a large dollop of dry Northern wit.  It is splendid withal and no mistake.

Zack is at the Royal Exchange until 22 January 2011.  Details here.

Charley’s Aunt @ the Royal Exchange Theatre

Charley’s Aunt
By Brandon Thomas
Royal Exchange Theatre, 28 June 2010

Oliver Gomm as Lord Fancourt Babberley. Photo - Jonathan Keenan

Such a play, and in such an uplifting production as this, will be rightly treasured by the granny tranny troupe and their many fans and lovers.

The play moves along at a speedy (one might almost say jildy) pace: romance, intrigue, coincidence and comedy are all to be found here, and relished and enjoyed.

Oliver Gomm, terrific as the eponymous aunt (and some Lord), gave the outstanding performance of the night: a proper rum ‘un and no mistaking it.

If a nice line in priggish, yet sometimes sycophantic and ingratiating, and always ever so slightly hypocritical guardians of young girls is to your fancy, then you’ll also enjoy Malcolm Rennie’s fine turn as Stephen Spettigue, the guardian of one or two beloveds.  He pulls it off to a T.

Not unnaturally, perhaps, the play brought to mind P.G. Wodehouse: it has the same jokey portrayal of venality, stupidity and crass conceit among the upper classes.  But I learnt after that Charley’s Aunt was premiered in 1892, a decade or so before Wodehouse wrote his first novel.  So any influence went towards the creator of Bertie Wooster.

Both Russell Dixon as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest and Oliver Gomm here have, by-the-by, performed a sterling social service.  They have shown us that granny trannies have no need to lurk in the shadows and the supermarket corridors.  No, they should be out and about (on a bus pass, no doubt) and proud.  Today Manchester, tomorrow the world!

Charley’s Aunt is at the  Royal Exchange Theatre until 7 August.  Details here.