Theatre Review – Middle Age Fanclub

Theatre Review: ‘A Christmas Carol’ at Leeds Playhouse.

It’s bitterly cold and raining heavily on what it turns out is a chaotic night on the roads into Leeds City Centre. As a result, once we’re finally parked, it’s a mad dash across a couple of busy roads and through the theatre in order to just get sat down as the curtain goes up and the music begins to welcome us to the world of Dickens’ London.

On stage, there’s no rain but ‘snow’ is falling and while nothing is chaotic, there’s certainly an all action start to ‘A Christmas Carol’ with plenty going on in Scrooge’s factory. The song – and those that follow – is unexpected, but makes for not only a welcome surprise but an amazing start to the play.

Deborah MacAndrew’s adaptation of this festive favourite is excellent with the opening song and the neon ‘Scrooge and Marley’ sign the first hints that this will definitely be a move away from what we might call the traditional version of the tale. The show is absolutely joyful and a real feast for the senses that will leave you buzzing with festive cheer, not least because of the addition of some of the biggest, brightest and shall we say, interesting Christmas baubles that you’re ever likely to encounter!

As an English teacher, I know what I was expecting. There are only so many times you can read through the novella before you find that you can ‘hear’ the same voices and ‘see’ the same settings and having never seen ‘A Christmas Carol’ on the stage before I found this version more than a refreshing change. That said, when the Ghost of Christmas Carol didn’t sound like Brian Blessed my mind was temporarily blown! The ghosts though are all superb with Claudia Kariuki bringing a real sense of sparkle to the Ghost of Christmas present, while the presentation of the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come is quite stunning and might even feature in a few Christmas nightmares in the audience.

The play is set in Leeds and revolves around Scrooge and Marley’s factory in where the workforce toil in a permanent state of fear of their boss, Ebeneezer Scrooge. And then, when he’s visited by the ghost of his old business partner Jacob Marley, we’re taken on a familiar journey towards redemption as the three ghosts show Scrooge what he was, what he is and point him in the direction of what he perhaps should be.

The cast are superb throughout, making even scene changes and scenery shifting some kind of almost balletic event and there’s never a dull moment. Obioma Ugoala is a terrifying Jacob Marley – something else I wasn’t expecting – as well as an appropriately jolly and benevolent Fezziwig, throwing huge amounts of energy into both roles. Meanwhile Danny Colligan is perfect as Fred, the very antithesis of his uncle Ebeneezer. And a word too for Rosie Strobel who does an excellent job of scene stealing as a rather raucous Mrs. Dilber!

Reece Dinsdale is excellent as Scrooge, throwing around Bah Humbugs with an extra large helping of disdain. And then, when the ghosts start to exert their influence he’s appropriately vulnerable and shows signs of humanity that we don’t always associate with Scrooge before his redemption. A fitting performance for such a classic character.

Overall, ‘A Christmas Carol’ is nothing short of a triumph. A fast paced, festive production that will make you laugh, sing, clap along at times and maybe even shed a tear. Having not felt particularly festive going in, I came out pretty much full of Christmas cheer, which for me was about a fortnight early! A cracking Christmas production!

I give ‘A Christmas Carol’…

Theatre Review: ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ at the Leeds Playhouse.

Every once in a while you come across something that is so good you don’t really have the words to describe it. This however, is not a great deal of use when writing a review of said thing!

Afterwards, while walking across Leeds having watched ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, it struck me that I didn’t feel that I could accurately describe just what I’d seen and how much I’d enjoyed it. We exchanged superlatives – ‘fantastic’, ‘amazing’ – but the conversation didn’t exactly flow. It seemed we’d been stopped in our tracks. This would only get worse when we walked up the stairs to level 7 of the car park and the knees and thighs overtook the brain in terms of some kind of exhaustion. Still, there was a review to write!

‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ tells the tale of a rape trial in America’s deep south; a local black man is falsely accused of the crime and the story unfolds against the backdrop of horrific prejudice, the Great Depression and a distinct lack of hope or justice.

Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of this American classic, directed by Bartlett Sher, is particularly special. The story itself is, of course, incredibly well known and well loved but there’s something in the way that the tale is presented here that elevates things just that little bit more. While it’s impossible not to be moved by the events unfolding before you, Sorkin’s script allows for frequent lighter moments meaning that the audience is taken on a very emotive journey indeed across the course of the play.

The cast are superb. The narrative is driven mostly by the children – Scout, Jem and their friend Dill – and we’re taken back and forth between the fateful night when Mayella Ewell is attacked and the events before, during and after the trial. Anna Munden as Scout stands out here; a carefree child at times, yet vulnerable and shocked by what the world seems to be throwing her way in a heartbeat. The relationship between her and Jem (Gabriel Scott), juggling the onset of manhood during these troubled times with the fact that he’s just a boy trying to enjoy what feels like yet another endless summer, is a pleasure to watch. A word too for Dylan Malyn who is brilliantly cartoonish, displaying excellent comic timing as well as a genuine sadness and bewilderment, as Dill.

Aaron Shosanyo delivers an emotive shift as the accused Tom Robinson, displaying a calm frustration at his predicament, rather than the anger that would be so understandably justified.

Richard Coyle’s performance as town lawyer Atticus Finch allows no one to steal the show though. He is quite simply outstanding here. Coyle is superbly convincing, portraying Atticus’s struggle to remain calm, kind and understanding among the racial tension and tremendous injustices that have found their way to the quiet Alabama town of Maycomb. This really is a performance to shout from the rooftops about.

The set is used incredibly effectively too with different settings being rolled into place by the cast as we switch both times and places seamlessly. And while it’s quite sparse, there is no doubting the seriousness of the courtroom or the calm, homely feel of the Finch house’s porch.

Aaron Sorkin’s ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ is a must see. A simply outstanding piece of work that will take not only your breath away, but maybe even your ability to string sentences to together too. At least for a short while!

I give ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’…

Review: ‘Through It All Together’ at the Leeds Playhouse.

You’d think a play that tackles the story of a couple dealing with dementia would represent a bit of a tough watch. And in one sense, it does. But Howard and Sue are so devoted to their football club, Leeds United, as well as each other that the story takes us on a rather different and quite joyous journey. You’ll laugh just as much as you might cry.

Starring Reece Dinsdale and Shobna Gulati, the play is equal parts hilarious, heart wrenching and inspiring. So on Saturday afternoon, while I laughed a lot, I found myself fighting back not only a few tears but also the urge to join in with the Leeds United songs. A tricky headspace for this Newcastle United supporter who simply gritted his teeth and hoped that no one would notice that he may well have been the only person in the theatre not singing the Leeds anthem, ‘Marching On Together’!

Written by Chris O’Connor, ‘Through It All Together’ follows Howard, Sue and daughter Hazel as they try to come to terms with Howard’s dementia diagnosis. Set to a backdrop of Marcelo Bielsa’s first two years as Leeds manager, it makes for a powerful, yet touching piece. As a football fan and Leeds resident for nearly thirty years, I understood the references having lived through the dramatic uplift in the whole city while Bielsa was at the helm. And the play captured that feeling brilliantly while also pulling at the heart strings as Howard and Sue struggle to come to terms with the realities of dementia.

There are subplots too. Obviously there’s the drama of Bielsa’s first couple of years but also some of the heartbreak and tension of Covid and lockdown as well as daughter Hazel’s sexuality. But it’s Howard and Sue’s story that takes centre stage. It’s heart breaking to watch Howard’s fear for his future as well as his decline. And he and Sue’s devotion to each other is just beautiful, with Dinsdale and Gulati perfect as the couple. I certainly seemed to manage to get quite a few things in my eye over the course of the play, that’s for sure. But just as a rainy face may not be too far away, there’s always a laugh around the corner too and if it’s not Howard or Sue that make you chuckle, there are always Dean Smith and Everal A Walsh as a couple of Leeds fans and podcasters to help you swallow back the tears.

Football on stage or screen can be notoriously difficult to get right, but O’Connor”s play captures the depth of the love affair that Leeds fans had with Bielsa and his team perfectly. And the cast here are wonderfully on point too, meaning that there is nothing to grumble about for even the most devoted fan. The love for the team is clear, but the subtleties that come with loving your club are there too, meaning that you might well watch laughing knowingly at yourself a bit, as well as the cast.

Both Dinsdale and Gulati are utterly brilliant in their portrayal of Howard and Sue. The couple’s devotion to each other is simply lovely and both actors are a pleasure to watch as they portray the fear and uncertainty that dementia brings. The couple are completely convincing in both their love for each other and their love for Leeds and I couldn’t take my eyes off them…even as they sang those bloody Leeds songs!

‘Through It All Together’ is a powerful, but also absolutely hilarious play. It’s a brilliantly written story that deals with the ups and downs of both areas of its subject matter brilliantly. Described as a love letter to Marcelo Bielsa and football, it’s also a testament to the power of family and our devotion to those that we choose to spend our lives with. A genuine thing of beauty.

I loved every last second of ‘Through It All Together’, even the bits where I was struggling not to blub like a baby!

I give ‘Through It All Together’…

Review: ‘Pride and Prejudice’* (*Sort of) at the Leeds Grand Theatre.

Funny isn’t it? You think you know someone and then all of a sudden they do something that leaves you just completely and utterly taken aback. No matter how many people you meet and how well you know them, every so often there’s one of them that will do or say something that you would never have expected.

Well, the very same thing happened to me on Saturday. Not with a person I knew as such, but with the characters in a much loved piece of literature. Having first read it nearly forty years ago and then every so often since then, I thought I knew as much as was needed about Pride and Prejudice. I’d even read an updated version with added zombies not long ago, so surely nothing was going to come as a shock. Then, along came Pride and Prejudice (Sort of).

I’d been given tickets as a birthday present a few months ago and although I knew that this was a different take on the classic, I hadn’t really looked at how different the take might be, which made it all the more of a treat when the play started.

Pride and Prejudice (Sort of) tells the traditional tale of the Bennet sisters and their somewhat complicated suitors. Just with added pop classics often provided by a karaoke machine. And some swearing. Actually loads of swearing. As well as a great big lump of anarchic humour and a noticeably feminist outlook on that whole looking for love thing. And the best thing is that it works perfectly!

As well as following the young Bennet sisters and their love lives you can look forward to singing along to the likes of Carly Simon’s ‘You’re so Vain’, Candi Staton’s ‘Young Hearts Run Free and even ‘Something Changed’ by Pulp near the end. You’ll no doubt end up laughing like a drain as well, especially at Rhianna McGreevy’s Mrs Bennet who at times felt like equal parts Peggy Mitchell and Catherine Tate’s Nan, delivering unexpected pearls of wisdom such as “Being a fucking smartarse is unladylike” to her daughters!

There are five actors in the all female cast and all are superb, taking on what must have been the exhausting task of playing every character. Every character including the Bennet’s domestic servants who are sometime narrators of this tale, but excluding Mr Bennet who is simply an armchair with a newspaper attached that’s wheeled on and off the stage and mocked mercilessly for its obvious silence on all things matrimonial. The cast are incredibly talented though with all of them taking on some kind of pop classic as well as turning their hand to the odd instrument along the way. They add brilliant comic timing to Isobel McArthur’s pin sharp, clever script and come up with a riot of a performance.

Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort of) is without doubt an absolute triumph and I’d go as far to say that if you don’t enjoy it then it might just be you that’s the problem. The show is just really clever and a shedload of fun. If you get the chance, I’d definitely recommend that you go and see it!

I give Pride and Prejudice (Sort of)…