Posts with the label theatre royal haymarket
Showing posts with label theatre royal haymarket. Show all posts
Showing posts with label theatre royal haymarket. Show all posts
Friday 14 September 2018
Heathers, Theatre Royal Haymarket | Review
Heathers
Theatre Royal Haymarket
Reviewed on Monday 10th September 2018 by Olivia Mitchell
★★★★
Every so often a show comes around which receives an exceptional amount of hype and has the West End buzzing. Heathers is currently that show and the good news is that it truly lives up to it. Based on the 1989 film starring Winona Ryder, this musical adaptation is full of energy and humour as it balances the line between political correctness and incorrectness. We find ourselves drawn towards the darkness but also cringing at the atrocities that go on.
Laurence O'Keefe had huge success with his adaptation of Legally Blonde and has applied his winning formula once again to bring this show to life with a camp, sassy and at times melancholic score. The plot follows Veronica Sawyer, a girl who is 'different' to the others at her school and longs for unity between all cliques and social standings. However, in order to make it through High School, she befriends the rulers of the school, the "lipstick gustapo" made up of three girls named Heather. Our protagonist then meets a brooding new boy, Jason J.D Dean who turns out to be a kill happy psychopath. From there on there are deaths, parties, funerals and a whole lot of destruction.
When the movie came out in 1989 it became an instant hit and then received a cultish following when it opened off-Broadway in 2014. The show's transition to the West End has been no different as teens and young adults flood to the theatre with scrunchies in hair and pleated skirts on to see this wildly fun but disturbing musical brought to life.
The entire cast bring this show to life with vivacious passion and immense talent. Leading the gang, Carrie Hope Fletcher is a powerhouse as she battles between what's right and wrong and what she wants to do to boost her social standing/love life. Carrie steps on stage to well deserved cheers and blows the roof of with her entire performance, especially her new song 'I Say No' which gives her a backbone and the rough 'Dead Girl Walking Reprise'. Veronica's moments of strength are certainly where Carrie shines but she is also humourous and likeable as she swoons over JD.
Under Andy Fickman's direction, Jamie Muscato plays the mysteriously murderous JD with an intensity that you can't help but be drawn to. Whilst it's not wise to partner up with a murderer, we all love a bad boy and the combination of JD's smooth talking and Jamie's perfectly rough voice make us feel for him a little bit, even though he becomes a monster before our eyes. Muscato's frenetic energy in 'Meant To Be Yours' is certainly a theatrical highlight of the year.
The three Heathers waltz around the stage as one but have quirky personality traits which are owned and embodied by each. As leader of the pack, Heather Chandler who "floats above it all", Jodie Steele is brilliant. Her permanent scowl, sharp movements, sublime vocals and stellar comedic timing make her perfect for the role. Sophie Isaacs brings an innocence to Heather McNamara which is interesting to play out. Whilst she is part of the mean girl group, it's clear from the outset that she is merely following the pack and wishes to break away. Isaacs' rendition of Lifeboat is a pin-drop silence moment which stands out in the show. As the final Heather, Duke, T'Shan Williams is feisty and aggressive, with her solo Never Shut Up Again earning her laughs and cheers from the audience.
Stand outs of the cast also include Jenny O'Leary who gives a moving performance of Kindergarten Boyfriend, Rebecca Lock who brings the entire theatre to life with her fiery, belt-tastic Shine a Light and Christopher Chung and Dominic Andersen who are humour embodied as the jocks who combine to create Kram. Ensemble members Lauren Drew and Olivia Moore also catch the eye throughout.
Gary Lloyd's choreography is especially effective with the Heathers, namely during the iconic Candy Store which sees them sashaying round the stage but in true Heathers style, being in complete control the entire time and never stepping out of sync with one another.
Mention must go to Ben Cracknell's lighting, which like the music, intensifies every emotion on stage. Particularly effective are the varying tones of light between the characters. The Heathers are of course lit in their iconic colours (brought to life vibrantly through David Shields' costumes) but whats most striking are the moments when Veronica is lit in warm spotlights whilst JD is basked in stark, almost grey tones. This highlights the contrast between the true evil and the kind-of-forced-into-evil in a clever way.
Most of the subject matter of this show is uncomfortable but sadly ever present: bullying, suicide, murder, depression. Heathers does a good job of satirising the sensationalism of them and shines a light (pun intended) on the fact that unity and kindness are always the way forward.
Whilst this isn't a light hearted show in content, the songs are crazily catchy, the talent level is ridiculously high and it's just a really good night out. For Big Fun, get down to the Theatre Royal Haymarket!
Heathers runs at the Theatre Royal Haymarket until 24th November
photo credit: Pamela Raith
Friday 3 August 2018
Broken Wings, Theatre Royal Haymarket | Review
Broken Wings
Theatre Royal Haymarket
Reviewed on Thursday 2nd August 2018 by Olivia Mitchell
★★★
Broken Wings, the new musical based on Kahlil Gibran's bestselling poetic novel has taken over the Theatre Royal Haymarket for a limited run. It provides a swooping romance, combines Middle Eastern melodies with musical theatre influences and showcases some of the finest voices in the West End.
After a stunning orchestral prologue, the audience are thrown into the life of writer, Kahlil Gibran and his fated romance with kind hearted and beautiful Selma Karamy. The story is touching, if fairly cliched. We know from the start that the couple aren't going to have a happy ending but we still feel the emotion as they are consistently dragged apart from one another as Selma, a woman with very few rights, is destined to marry the bishop's nephew.
Personally, Joe Davison's orchestration is the star of the show. The beautifully flowing, virtuosic music evokes feelings of hot summer nights and all-encompassing romance and brings the emotion to life.
Unfortunately, I didn't feel that the lyrics had the same effect; over-dramatic phrases and simile's used on mass feel cheesy and somewhat simplistic. Instead of highlighting something which may not have been clear to the audience, they simply highlight the clear thoughts and emotions so didn't add to the intensity of the story. Of course, they are based on the original poetry the transition has not been fully successful.
The cast performing the songs however are outstanding both acting wise and vocally. As our narrator and older Khalil, Nadim Naaman is suitably brooding, whilst his younger counterpart, Rob Houchen shows a stunning transition from childish glee and positivity to a heartbroken man. Nikita Johal is vulnerable but strong as Selma and provides some moments of vocal brilliance, especially in act 2. Another stand out is Soophia Foroughi as Mother; Soophia brings a rich, emotion filled vocal to the show and leads the rousing closing number with skill and power. Nadeem Crowe also gives a humourous and memorable performance as Khalil's best friend, Karim Bawwab.
There's definitely an audience for Broken Wings and I certainly believe that after some lyrical changes it could have a much longer life in the West End. For stellar performances and outstanding orchestrations, get yourself along to the Theatre Royal Haymarket... if you can get a ticket!
photo credit: Marc Brenner
Broken Wings, the new musical based on Kahlil Gibran's bestselling poetic novel has taken over the Theatre Royal Haymarket for a limited run. It provides a swooping romance, combines Middle Eastern melodies with musical theatre influences and showcases some of the finest voices in the West End.
After a stunning orchestral prologue, the audience are thrown into the life of writer, Kahlil Gibran and his fated romance with kind hearted and beautiful Selma Karamy. The story is touching, if fairly cliched. We know from the start that the couple aren't going to have a happy ending but we still feel the emotion as they are consistently dragged apart from one another as Selma, a woman with very few rights, is destined to marry the bishop's nephew.
Personally, Joe Davison's orchestration is the star of the show. The beautifully flowing, virtuosic music evokes feelings of hot summer nights and all-encompassing romance and brings the emotion to life.
Unfortunately, I didn't feel that the lyrics had the same effect; over-dramatic phrases and simile's used on mass feel cheesy and somewhat simplistic. Instead of highlighting something which may not have been clear to the audience, they simply highlight the clear thoughts and emotions so didn't add to the intensity of the story. Of course, they are based on the original poetry the transition has not been fully successful.
The cast performing the songs however are outstanding both acting wise and vocally. As our narrator and older Khalil, Nadim Naaman is suitably brooding, whilst his younger counterpart, Rob Houchen shows a stunning transition from childish glee and positivity to a heartbroken man. Nikita Johal is vulnerable but strong as Selma and provides some moments of vocal brilliance, especially in act 2. Another stand out is Soophia Foroughi as Mother; Soophia brings a rich, emotion filled vocal to the show and leads the rousing closing number with skill and power. Nadeem Crowe also gives a humourous and memorable performance as Khalil's best friend, Karim Bawwab.
There's definitely an audience for Broken Wings and I certainly believe that after some lyrical changes it could have a much longer life in the West End. For stellar performances and outstanding orchestrations, get yourself along to the Theatre Royal Haymarket... if you can get a ticket!
photo credit: Marc Brenner
Thursday 7 July 2016
Breakfast at Tiffany's, Theatre Royal Haymarket | Review
Lets start out by saying that Breakfast at Tiffany's at the Theatre Royal is not the same as the 1961 film starring Audrey Hepburn.
Unlike the film, this play sticks very closely to the novel by Truman Capote, therefore, the production, adapted by award winning Richard Greenberg is set in the 1940's as opposed to the 60's, automatically creating a different feel to the film we've grown to love.
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