Posts with the label Alexia Khadime
Showing posts with label Alexia Khadime. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alexia Khadime. Show all posts
Friday 31 August 2018
There is Nothing Like a Dame, Cadogan Hall | Review
There is Nothing Like a Dame (Concert)
Cadogan Hall
Reviewed on Thursday 30th August 2018 by Olivia Mitchell
★★★★
Combine four of the most talented female performers to have ever graced the West End stages and a celebration of 100 years of Women in musical theatre and you have a stellar debut show from Lambert Jackson.
West End superstars Rachel Tucker, Louise Dearman, Ria Jones and Alexia Khadime joined forces to showcase some of the most iconic female roles of the last 100 years and highlight the positive changes that are happening for women in the industry. Every song seemed to top the last and it was a truly uplifting night at Cadogan Hall.
The concert opened with all four ladies floating onto the stage accompanied by rapturous applause to perform Anything Goes which set the benchmark for the night extremely high and began our journey through a number of beautiful solo's, duets, trios and quartets.
The ladies gave all round stellar performances, with highlights including a great medley of Rodgers and Hammerstein songs; Rachel Tucker sung a hilariously drawly version of I Can't Say No, Alexia Khadime a playful I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Outa My Hair, Ria Jones a graceful Shall We Dance and Louise Dearman a pin-drop perfect, You'll Never Walk Alone.
Since seeing Louise Dearman in her solo concert earlier this year, I have been continually surprised by her versatility as a performer and she once again showcased her ability to transform both her vocals and mannerisms to fit any style. Louise is truly a musical theatre chameleon; her performance of I Dreamed a Dream was certainly a stand out.
Other highlights included Ria Jones' With One Look from Sunset Boulevard which brought the audience to their feet, Alexia Khadime's heartfelt, Home from The Wiz and a lovely rendition of In His Eyes from Jekyll and Hyde from Rachel Tucker and Louise Dearman. Mention must also go to the wonderful duet from the three former Elphaba's, Louise Dearman, Alexia Khadime and Rachel Tucker who put a fresh spin on The Wizard and I.
The audience were also treated to a peek at the future of the West End with a great and powerful performance of Don't Rain on my Parade from Daisy Greenwood who won a competition to perform at the concert. Aged only 17, she commanded the stage and is sure to be seen again among the great performers.
It must also be pointed out how fantastic all four ladies looked, donning two glamourous gowns each and embodying the superstar vibes. Also joyous to watch, was the way all the women supported one another and watched each other as if in awe. Women supporting women is just as important now than it's ever been and it's wonderful to see women who could so easily see each other as competition, admire each other and celebrate talent.
If the next 100 years of musical theatre is filled with performances like the ones this night provided then it will be truly wonderful!
Photo credit: Danny Kaan
Tuesday 29 May 2018
A Little Princess, Southbank Centre | Review
A Little Princess
Southbank Centre
Reviewed on Monday 28th May 2018 by Olivia Mitchell
★★★
After the recent success in the UK of Big Fish and The Addams Family, Andrew Lippa's lesser-known show A Little Princess was brought to the west end for it's UK Premiere at the Southbank Centre. Telling the story of Sara Crewe, a girl sent from Africa to a boarding school in London where she meets mean girls and a strict headmistress, this is a sweet story, with melodically beautiful songs and a heartwarming moral.
As Miss Minchin, the headmistress who's a melange of Miss Trunchbull, Mrs Lovett, Mdme. Thenadier and others, Amanda Abbington was good. In her musical theatre debut she did well to convey the tiredness of the character but lacked menace. Vocally she was a little lacking and tended to speak-sing but still gave a pretty solid performance and I look forward to seeing her tackle future theatrical roles.
Danny Mac was dashing as ever as Captain Crewe, with wonderful vocals alongside a sweet connection with the children of the cast. The pacing of the show itself is funny and means that all the characters are a little under-developed. We got to see a lot of Captain Crewe at the start but as the show went on (especially in Act 2) everything felt rushed. With some rewrites this could be a lovely show and it would be great to see Danny having a bit more time to shine. Mention must go to his stellar performance in the pattersong-esque, Timbuktu.
Equally deserving of more time to shine was the stunning Rebecca Trehearn who always manages to steal her scenes. As Miss Amelia, the ditsy sister of Miss Minchin, Rebecca gave a wonderfully humourous performance and shone in her solo, Once Upon a Time.
Alexia Khadime and Adam J Bernard as Aljana and Pasko gave vocally stunning performances despite being a little overpowered by the orchestra at times.
This was the first production which had actual children playing the children and it was them who stole the show. All the young cast did a great job of owning their roles, with Jasmine Nituan giving a heartfelt, funny performance as Sara's best friend and maid, Becky.
Jasmine Sakyiama is truly a star in the making. Her performance as Sara Crewe was 100 miles a minute from the start with her vocals and emotive facial expressions never failing. Of all the children, Jasmine also had the strongest diction which made her stand out even further. Keep an eye on this girl because she's going to go far!
Nic Farman's lighting added a mystical, magical vibe to the story which was lovely and took the show from a simple concert to an emotive production.
Despite enjoying this production, it does need some edits. I'm no one to say what these edits should be, but Act 2 felt extremely rushed and there were a number of moments that felt unnecessary/over-extended. However, the cast were great and I hope this isn't the last we see of this sweet show in the UK.
Sunday 9 July 2017
Wig Out: Rehearsed Reading, National Theatre | Review
Wig Out: Rehearsed Reading
Lyttleton Theatre, National Theatre
Reviewed on Friday July 7th 2017 by Jessica Harris-King
★★★★
As part of National Theatre's Queer Theatre month, a rehearsed reading of Tarrell Alvin-MCcraney's, Wig Out was performed in the Lyttleton Theatre. Having attended on the strength of being a huge fan of Tarrell's oscar-winning film Moonlight, I was unaware of what to expect and ultimately more than pleasantly surprised. The play centres around the house ball culture mostly based in the US, and takes place over the course of 24 hours. We follow the journey of the House of Light *snaps* as they get ready for a ball thrown by their rivals, House of Diabolique.
The residents of the House of Light include the colourful characters of 'mother' Rey-Rey (Tarrell Alvin-McCraney), 'father' Lucian (Ukweli Roach) daughters, Venus, gay drag queen (Craig Stein), Ms Nina/Wilson (Kadiff Kirwan), a gay person who presents as feminine and identifies as gender non-conforming, Deity (Kobna Holbrook-Smith) a gay man, who is Venus' love interest and DJ to the House of Light and the three fates (Alexia Khadime, Abiona Omonua and Cat Simmons), a trio of women who often act as narrators for the show, telling the story through humour and singing throughout.
The opening line of the show, as said by Venus "By the time this play makes its way to you, most of the language will have been antiquated" sets the tone of the piece as time (or lack of it) is very much a theme in the piece. It’s presented obviously to us through the fact that the house only has until midnight to prepare for the ball, but also more subtly later in the show, as Rey-Rey’s struggle as an aging member of her house is clearly seen to be getting to her.
The theme of gender is also presented to us when we, along with Nina, meet Eric (Tunji Kasim) a gay man who although likes Nina, is uncomfortable with her presenting as feminine, resulting in her going as ‘Wilson’ during their time together. Kirwan’s performance is truly one of the highlights of the show and his on-stage presence is mesmerising, he brings both equal parts humour and vulnerability to the role, making Ms. Nina one of the stand-out characters of the show.
Venus comes a close second, especially during the second act when she and Deity do a hilarious lip-sync to a Beyonce and Jay-Z song. Craig Stein and Kobna Holbrook-Smith have great chemistry and in this scene it really shows. Throughout the piece, there a various modern pop culture references, reminding us of the fact that the culture being portrayed on stage and the issues, are happening right now in the present day. Jonjo O’Neill and Tom Rhys-Harries also perform expertly as, House of Light rivals, Serena and Loki, their performances in the second act being particularly entertaining.
Overall this performance was a treat to watch and one can only imagine how incredible it would have been, seeing it in all its glory.
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