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Thursday 14 September 2017
Five Guys Named Moe, Marble Arch Theatre | Review
Five Guys Named Moe
Marble Arch Theatre
Reviewed on Wednesday September 13th 2017 by Olivia Mitchell
★★★★
Five Guys Named Moe premiered at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in 1990, ran for over four years, transferred to Broadway and won the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment. Despite this, it's a fairly unknown musical so is an exciting addition to the London scene which is currently made up of a lot of long running classics.
The rise of new and unique theatrical experiences is ever growing, with pop-up theatres and immersive events offering unusual theatrical adventures. Cameron Mackintosh has grabbed this trend by the horns in his new venture with the specially built Marble Arch Theatre. The theatre is simple on the outside but completely brilliant on the inside; as you walk in it's like entering the tardis. You're brought into a large 360 bar complete with a live band above and a wonderful selection of drinks to get your night started in the perfect way.
Written and directed by Clarke Peters, the show charts the story of Nomax, whose girlfriend Lorraine has left him. With no money and booze as his best friend, he meets Big Moe, Four-Eyed Moe, Eat Moe, No Moe and Little Moe as they emerge from his 1930s-style radio to guide and comfort him as they sing the songs of saxophonist and songwriter, Louis Jordan. Personally I found the story pretty pointless. At times it felt that the songs didn't really fit and I didn't feel emotionally attached enough to either Nomax or Lorraine to care whether they got back together or not.
Despite this not so stellar story, the music is spectacular. Each song is playful, catchy, foot-tapping and filled with warmth and affection for one another. The five Moe's are energetic and throw themselves into the fast paced, jazzy pieces and choreography by Andrew Wright with joy and exuberance. The on stage band showcase the rhythm and complexity of the music well and are particularly impressive during their solo moments.
The Moes are Four-Eyed Moe (Ian Carlyle), Little Moe (Idriss Kargbo), Know Moe (Dex Lee), Big Moe (Horace Oliver) and Eat Moe (Emile Ruddock). The Moes are banterous with one another and seem like the kind of guys you'd have an amazing night out with. They are all equal, sharing solos with one another and each having their own personalities which bounce off one another and work together seamlessly in moments of tight harmony. All five men have absolutely outstanding voices as well as sleek, sharp dance moves which are showcased in a smooth and stylish way. Similarly, Edward Baruwa is fantastic as Nomax, his effortless, strong voice soars and he manages to be emotional, funny and contemplative at times.
As previously mentioned, the venue is very cool, however, I don't feel like it's ideal for this show. The round space doesn't really add anything to the story and due to the un-raked seating there are moments missed by the audience. I was sat in the third row of the stalls which sounds fine but with three tall people in front and no varying levels it was very difficult to see and I often found myself craning my neck to try and see through the gaps- something which could've been avoided with even a slight rake between rows. The screens used around the sides of the space are a very nice touch but felt underused. It would be exciting to have them at other points, as long as they don't become gimmicky.
Overall I did enjoy this show though. The story is nothing special but I adored the music and it's certainly a brilliant, toe-tapping show with flawless performances all round and perfect for a fun, light-hearted night out. It you want catchy songs and first-rate singing in a very neat London venue then this is the show for you! So let the good times roll and hop along to the Marble Arch Theatre!
photo credit: Roy Tan
Sunday 18 June 2017
West End Live Lounge: Icons and Legends, Union Theatre | Review
Union Theatre
Reviewed Sunday 11th June 2017 by Olivia Mitchell
★★★★★
When I went to the first West End Live Lounge back in March, I didn't think it could get any better. I was wrong! Every single performance was absolutely outstanding and I was in awe of each and every performer, it was honestly one of the best concerts I've ever seen, full of so much incredible talent and just a wonderful night for a wonderful cause.
I could honestly talk in depth about every single performer because they all deserve a huge amount of praise but I fear that it could be the longest review in the history of reviews so I won't talk about everyone in depth but I will talk quite a lot so you might want to settle down and grab a cuppa!
The concert opened with a lovely performance of the Amy Winehouse classic "Valerie"by Katie Paine, which started the night on an upbeat, joyous note. Leigh Lothian (who created the concert series along with Shaun McCourt) and George Jennings then took us through the history of James Bond with a glorious medley of the hit Bond songs.
I have seen a lot of Sapphire Soul recently, both at the previous Live Lounge and as special guests and the Dreamgirls Unplugged concert and am a massive fan of their unique arrangements and brilliant voices and was very glad that they were a part of this concert. The glamourous girls sung a delightful version of "Over The Rainbow" and closed the show with a joyous Aretha Franklin medley which left everyone on a high. Ashford Campbell sung one of my favourite songs "Human Nature" and made me love it and his voice even more!
Now if Brady Isaacs Pearce doesn't become a West End star, I will personally knock on Cameron Mackintosh's door and demand he puts her in a show. At only 17 years old, her voice is insanely good and her overall stage presence is of someone vastly experienced. Brady sung a mash up of songs by the queen of stage Barbra Streisand and filled her huge shoes perfectly, giving the audience chills.
Cleve September has such a likeable personality which came across when he stepped on stage and explained he had only decided what to perform on the morning of the concert; going out and purchasing a loop pedal and kind of winging his way through. However, if we hadn't known this, we wouldn't have noticed. Cleve's performance of "Feeling Good" was unique and so fun to watch and he certainly seemed like an experienced loop pedlar (??) to me!
The first act flew by with stellar performance after stellar performance. Hannah Ducharme superbly performed "Hallelujah", Alexis Gerred absolutely owned "Come Together" and Sejal Kashwala gave an astonishing performance of "How Comes You Don't Call Me" which had me in awe of her voice. To end the first act, Kelly Agbowu sung the hell out of "The Show Must Go On" and completely blew the roof off the intimate venue which her effortless and faultless performance.
Act two included a few duets where the performers got to have fun signing with one another. Andrew Bateup and Marcus Ayton sung the Stevie Wonder favourite, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered", Matthew Seadon-Young and Leigh Lothian performed "Careless Whisper" and Carolyn Maitland and Lauren Ingram sung a Billie Jean mash up. All three duets were fantastic and it's just a joy to get double the talent per song!
Perhaps my favourite part of the night was when two Whitney Houston classics were performed back to back with Ruth Brown singing "I Will Always Love You" and Emma Lindars singing "I Have Nothing". Both performances were completely awe-inspiring and just breathtaking. The talent of these ladies is just unbelievable and it's crazy that they're not international stars!
Oliver Savile channel his inner Frank Sinatra with "Let's Face The Music" and I'm sure made many of the ladies in the room swoon with his suave performance. Laura Mansell's Celine Dion mash up was so sensational and it was glorious to hear my favourite Celine song "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" performed so well.
Liam Doyle gave an upbeat rendition of "I'm Still Standing" before Natalie Green gave the penultimate performance of the night with Prince's "Purple Rain". I'm a massive fan of Natalie's voice and adored her performance so much, as it seemed did the entire audience.
Although an absolutely fantastic night of entertainment showing off some of the best the West End has to offer, the main reason for the concerts series is to raise money and awareness for charity. This concert was raising money for Mind which supports people suffering from mental health issues, a cause close to so many of our hearts and it's great to see so many people coming together for such a great cause.
If you couldn't tell from that very long review, I completely loved West End Live Lounge and know I will love all the future concerts. If you can get along to the next one then please do because you will definitely enjoy it. What's better that West End stars blessing your ears on a Sunday evening?!
Check out West End Live Lounge on Twitter for details of future concerts: https://twitter.com/WElivelounge17
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