Birdland

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28th May 2016

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Beth Atkinson

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There are always risks with taking a full length play with multiple scenes in multiple locations and having to cut it to a degree but Jasper Frost managed to pull it off with Simon Stephens’ play about a rock star at the end of a tour that is coming to a very fast end, both his tour and his career. Whilst the run time was a little longer than desirable, at nearly two hours, and sometimes the blackout and extended scene changes were unnecessary at times, the piece as a whole was a rollercoaster of emotion and action and very well done.

Pete Broughton was outstanding as Paul, the rouge rock star whose career and life was on a downward spiral. Channelling a Tim Minchin-esque look, Pete was onstage for the entire show and clearly well understood the character. He played off the rest of the cast easily, his natural rapport with Toby Grace, who played fellow band mate Johnny, gave the two a stirring friendship that was as destructive as the events that unravelled the same. Toby brought a subtlety to Johnny, his downwards spiral not as evident as Paul’s until the end of the show which was just as painful to see. George Fincher channelled a role from a previous production to bring a chilling performance as Paul’s manager who turns the tables and deals him the reality card at the end of the show, contrasting with the vulnerability of his other role as Paul’s father.

The women of the show shine as equally as the men, all three of them having one core character but also multi-rolling. Donna Leny Hansen excels as Marnie, Johnny’s girlfriend who, while she doesn’t appear onstage much, has a great impact on the story and Donna Leny is gentle in her role whilst having the impact her character does. Annie Tricks handles her multitude of characters well, most terrifying as PC Richer who interrogates Paul after an alleged sexual encounter with a minor, her usually warm demeanour taking on a strongly contrasting attitude. Lara Lawman completed the cast as Jenny, one of Paul’s girlfriends who he persuades to leave Russia and join him on the tour. Lawman gently navigates the dangerous relationship the two characters have and it is encouraging to see such character development in one who appears for only a handful of scenes.

Jasper Frost’s vision for the play was very clear and by having the action confined within a literal box that was taken apart as Paul’s life unravelled was cleverly thought out. While the unravelling could have taken more than half a scene, the theory behind the idea shows an inventive director with clear visions. With simple and effective direction, some epic dance sequences with UV light and a cast that naturally worked well together, it was a treat of a play that had a lot of potential and delivered in every area.

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Avenue Q 

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January 19, 2016

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Lucy Munday

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Exeter University's Shotgun Theatre returned to the Phoenix last night for the opening of their production of Avenue Q last night, and surpassed all my expectations of amateur theatre.

Avenue Q is the coming-of-age story about newly graduated boy Princeton, who is thrown in to the real world and moves to New York to find his purpose in life. He finds a place to live on Avenue Q, the only area he can afford, and meets colourful friends Kate, the girl next door, aspiring comedian Brian, a closeted republican banker called Rod, and Nicky, his slovenly roommate, among others.

Avenue Q was originally created by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics and book by Jeff Whitty. The show prods and pokes those existential questions we all have about life, makes fun of them and proves laughter is the best medicine in what has been dubbed, Sesame Street for adults.

It was a treat to see this hilarious show, directed by Rosie Thomas, executed boldly and professionally by the award-winning Shotgun Theatre.The first thing that struck me was that it was an incredible fluke that they had managed to find such well-matched actors to the puppets they were handling, until I began to understand, that is the secret to good casting and excellent talent.

I was impressed with the puppetry and acting by all on stage, but special mention must be made to Hannah Bloom who played Kate Monster, for her acting and singing voice, Pete Broughton who played Nicky, for characterisation, and Alice Kenny who played Lucy, as an all-round performance. Jasper Frost who played Trekkie Monster - a parody of Cookie Monster, and Ella Nokes who played one of the Bad Idea bears and also Mrs T voiced their characters to great effect and had me in stitches.

The puppets themselves were reassuringly Jim Henson-esque and accents never faltered. At first it was a little strange to see the puppeteers with the puppets, but as the play got in to itself, it added to the intention of the show being by adults for adults and intertwined with the comedy.

A very small critique would be for a couple of the characters to clarify their diction as a couple of times some jokes or song lyrics were stumbled upon or lost. However this is a minor adjustment in an overall brilliantly constructed amateur production and I implore you all, no, I scream it, go while you still can!

The show runs until Thursday 21 January.

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Life's Evil

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25th May 2016

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Becky Smith

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Inspired by Lionel Shriver’s book turned film ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’, Life’s Evil is an American psychological thriller that explores a dysfunctional family relationship which results in a brutal climax. Directors Ben Parsons and Jodie Gough got the audience to enter in near total darkness, making it sinister from the moment we walked into the studio. The only lighting came from a red spotlight focused on Stella, portrayed by Ellen Victoria, who was sat in a bathtub centre stage staring stonily at us. This opening set the atmosphere for the whole play as we see how Stella’s once happy life deteriorated into this depressing moment.

Overall, the relationships between the actors onstage made for a truly believable family dynamic, meaning it was obvious when the cracks began to show and the tension rose. Ellen Victoria was fantastic in her role, enabling the audience to sympathise with her despite her faults as a mother which were emphasised through Pete Broughton’s portrayal of Stella’s husband Franklin, who was a wonderful father figure. The audience saw Brandon age throughout the play and this was truly believable thanks to Olly Holmes’ brilliant portrayal. His emotionless personality jarred with the other characters onstage, especially with Molly Cohen’s innocent portrayal of Brittany, which was wonderful in highlighting Brandon’s lack of humanity. As well as this, a huge well done has to be said to the whole cast on their convincing American accents which remained strong throughout the entire play.

The set design, in my opinion, was brilliant, depicting an intricately designed family home which deteriorated along with the lives of the residents. Beginning with a spilt wine glass the chaos grew, leading on to dismembered teddies before resulting in actual bodies. Along with this the use of lighting was innovative, for instance using flashing blue and red lights during the shooting which added to the tension as Brandon stared each and every audience member down – making us feel like the victims. This was one of my favourite scenes of the play due to the direct audience interaction which emphasised the horrific nature of the shooting. The blackouts which symbolised time passing, paired with the angry foreshadowing phone calls from victims parents was clever, although my only critique would be that perhaps there was one too many blackouts and fading between scenes may have enabled the performance to flow better.

Nevertheless, the performance was truly gripping thanks to the brilliant cast and directors, who all should be thoroughly proud of themselves for creating a wonderful show.

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The Shot Heard 'Round the World

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Sat 13th – Fri 19th August 2016

Richard Birch

This musical’s concept is an odd one, and this reviewer was concerned that it would end up an overbearing weight on the performers. However these fears were soon proven to be unfounded. With both words and music written by a trio of students (Amy Scott, Beth King and Lily Williams), this was an impressive feat; consistently well executed and managing to discuss one of the most dire events of world history in a thoughtful, poignant manner.
It does so by emphasising the human side to the story. Gavrilo (Olly Holmes) is first depicted guilt-stricken in his cell after the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. This then triggers a flashback which forms the vast majority of the play. He goes from school where he fears unpopularity, to a bookish teen and to a naïve young idealist who is sucked into the Young Bosnians terrorist nationalist organisation by the charismatic seducer Milan (Chris Ashcroft). The intellectual backdrop is well described; the Austrian imperialism becoming irksome to the Bosnian natives.
A love interest develops shortly around this point, when he meets the daughter of the Chief of Police for Sarajevo and promptly (unwisely) develops affection for her. The best moment of the play comes from Ana’s (Antonia Forest) songs, beautifully sung; and in addition, her comic timing during the scene where Gavrilo meets her parents.
At this point, his lifelong friend and critic of Gavrilo’s growing obsession with Yugoslav nationalism named Franco (Luca Williams) enlists as a double agent – a police officer pretending to be a Young Bosnian. The acting of the entire play was strong and impassioned, with the exception of Williams whose portrayal suffered from being slightly mannered.
The tension builds as the terrorists plan to assassinate the Archduke. The plan (as those versed in World War One history will know) fails initially – assassins failed to shoot the man, bombs didn’t make their target and the car manages to accidentally avoid some of the others. Nervous and despairing, Gavrilo discovers Franco’s status as a traitor and decides to take matters into his own hands, completing the mission alone.
The ensuing guilt and regret that fills Gavrilo upon starting the war is convincingly portrayed. The musical backing throughout was strong and the new writing deserves kudos for successfully making this rather odd sounding concept work. The play is not flawless, but is an enjoyable watch and a unique piece of musical theatre.

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The Shot Heard 'Round the World

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Sat 13th – Fri 19th August 2016

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Ed Grimble

The catalyst for the greatest tragedy of the 20th century hardly springs out at one as being ripe for adaptation to a stage musical. However, this is the task which Amy Scott, Beth King, and Lily Williams set themselves in writing 'The Shot Heard 'Round the World', an original, Bildungsroman-esque work charting the rise of young Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip. Princip was of course the nationalist who fired the shots that killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie on 28th June 1914.
History has given the trio a thrilling narrative- and this is not squandered. Focusing on the human side to this very geopolitical story, from Princip's solitary, bookish schooldays to his rise up the ranks of the Young Bosnia group, 'The Shot Heard 'Round the World' displays a remarkable maturity and tact regarding its handling of these historical events. Indeed, the playing of a portion of the 'Last Post' took me right back to being stood under the Menin Gate in Ypres. It is a poignant end to this piece of drama.
The acting is, on the whole, of a reasonably high quality. There is an old adage in the world of musicals that no one can maintain the same levels of signing, acting, and dancing- one will always suffer at the expense of the others. This is certainly true here, where notes went astray, or acting felt unconvincing and stilted. Indeed, some of the latter is no fault of the actors; there are some moments of very dubious dialogue. However, the spectacle of the ensemble routines does more than enough to render these flaws mere flies in the ointment.
Particular praise must go to Antonia Forest (playing love interest Ana Obrenovic, who sang impeccably throughout, and to Ed Jobling and Florence Merrett who take the roles of Kristof and Jolena Obrenovic respectively. The dinner table comedy of the scene involving Jobling and Merrett is a welcome relief from the heavy politics of the rest of the musical. Pete Broughton must also be commended for his depiction of Apis, mastermind of the notorious Black Hand terror group. In a very young and fresh faced cast, Broughton brings some desperately needed weather-beaten grit. He is a wonderful anchor point for the rest of the ensemble.
'The Shot Heard 'Round the World' is then, a very competent production that I think adeptly handles events which do not lend themselves to the form of a stage musical. The writers and cast have done a largely commendable job, but unfortunate lapses in execution limit its success.

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