New Years Eve

OK, you got me! This year I may have managed to redesign my blog and in the process focus the aim of it a little better but it resulted in the least posts I have done in three years of blogging. I can make up all kinds of excuses for this but mostly it has been a question of time. In the latter part of the year I tentatively joined the gym, which I have rather enjoyed and have extended my membership to the New Year. Swimming continues to be an important part of my routine but I feel the benefit of working out at the gym.

My reviews have been in fits and starts, one week with simply one play and the following consisting of four opening nights and I still enjoy the excitement of seeing young performers, designers and technicians pushing forward with their careers. We are coming to the close of the 2011 Off West End Awards and the votes are in from the panel for the final. That will be an eye opener I am sure!

Sean has been extremely busy over the past few months and I have been a support where I can. We spent a very different kind of Christmas together this year, tinged with sadness but together we are facing 2012 with optimism. Keep an eye out for films he has worked on including Jack The Giant Killer, Snow White and the Huntsman, Dark Shadows and Anna Karenina.

This may be the last post of the year but it is the first posted on my new iPad, hopefully it will mean that I will be able to post more often as it is much more convenient to carry around.

Tonight we are off to Surbiton to visit Kim & Lewis and see the New Year in there. may I take this opportunity to wish all my friends and readers a Happy New Year.

Crazy For You

Last night was one of those unusual evenings when somebody was taking me to the theatre, in this instance to see the Regents Park Open Air transfer of Crazy For You into the Novello. I must say it was a particularly odd experience visiting a show that I knew to be - for want of a better phrase - old-school musical theatre, when I knew nothing of the plot or songs.

I have a deep-seated liking of musicals, as my readers will know and Crazy For You is a wonder of ridiculous plotting, silly situations and punchy one-liners. The music and lyrics are George and Ira and the book is Ken Ludwig - which might go someway as to explaining the strong affinity to the recently closed Lend Me A Tenor, also by Ludwig.

As much fun as I found the show it did creek awfully loudly in places and what may have been great fun to watch on a balmy evening in Regent's Park, now seems decidedly doughy in places. The costumes seem a little workaday, the set - evidently a wonder of creativity on the Regent's Park stage - behind a pros arch seems simply uninspired. The group choreography is great fun in places but individual dancing lacks joi-de-vivre.

Whilst I may have enjoyed myself a little, Crazy For You is simply a filler; a shoo-in for the awkward, uninspiring Betty Blue Eyes, which shuttered early despite the critics and West End Wendys lavishing it with superlative reviews. Personally, I would much rather have seen the meatier Ragtime get a transfer but I suppose, this was a 'safer bet' with the right size set.

Awe Inspiring Beauty

Keeping Up

Trying to catch up with highlights from over the last couple of months. Anyway, here's a montage of images that should speak volumes....but probably don't.

Theatre Family

Trying to catch up with things a little bit, I couldn't help but pause and take note of the wide theatre family that was around me a couple of weeks ago at Noel & Gertie. The show itself was fun and threw up the second performance I have seen from Helena Blackman - the first being in Saturday Night at Jermyn Street. It was also the second time I had seen Ben Stock on stage - the first, bizarrely in G & I at the New End, where he was playing second fiddle to Anita Harris Gertrude Lawrence.

However for me, one of the real pleasures of this press night was the wonderful Kevin Wilson guest list of fun and talented people. Our hosts were the gorgeous producer Mr Tarento and the director Thom Southerland. Naturally Howard Hudson, the lighting designer was there and there would be little to see on the Fringe without his machinations. My guest for the evening was Ross Leadbeater, the young Welsh musical director whilst musical director Michael Bradley arrived too, direct from a brief visit home to Ireland.

With this being the 'same team who brought you Parade', there was a selection of Parade people there including the very talented Laura Pitt-Pulford and Terry Doe, the latter I was rather keen to meet as I had also seen his remarkable performance in Roar of The Greasepaint at the Finborough. Making a fashionably late entrance was the incomparable Christopher Cleggosaurus, producer of the recent Betwixt! at the Trafalgar Studios whilst Phil Matthews was snatching pictures for Fourth Wall Magazine and looking gorgeous as ever. Scott Matthewman, Chad Armstrong, Aline Waites, Penny Horner and Sarah Lark......

As Noel Coward once said, 'I've been to a wonderful party!'

Feeling Blue

BlueBirds is one of those musicals where you go into the theatre humming the tunes. Not quite karaoke theatre as such but author Julian Woolford dresses episodic backstage dramas with WWII popular songs. Woolford knows his audience and with a little more attention to detail, this would be a very marketable show. The young cast give it their all in what is very much a departure for Above The Stag.

Before Parade Passes By

To my mind, the sign of a good play is how long it remains in my head. The same applies to musicals except I should be hearing the songs in my head for a while too. As an example, La Ronde at the Rosemary Branch this year still has musical phrases that knock about in my head, more so say than Cleveland Street or 1888. With Parade, currently running at the Southwark Playhouse this isn’t quite the case. I am no particular fan of Jason Robert Brown but his work on Parade is excellent and remarkably satisfying after the ridiculously pretentious Five Years Later. Ultimately however it is the story that has stayed with me more than the music but this production by Thom Southerland is well worth a visit.

135

Firstly the FOX Seminar was great fun and another good opportunity to catch up with make-up people such as Jos, Corinne, Tanya and Sharon as well as the FOX team. I invited Paul along as a guest as I thought he would find the demos and new contacts very useful. Indeed he did and has already got an interview to teach at West Thames College. The event took place in the Macmillan Studio of the Royal Opera House in the evening I met Sean and we both travelled to Streatham for dinner at Rory & Marina’s. It was good to catch up with them and it gave me an opportunity to see the ‘painting’ in place.

Pause For Breath

Another huge pause in my blog has appeared but this is simply because of scheduling. Since I last wrote I had to miss Nine, regrettably but have been to see Parade, Blue Surge, BlueBirds, South Pacific, attended the 135^th Anniversary seminar of Charles H Fox Ltd. and celebrated my 46^th Birthday with a visit to Gloucester. Nine was part of the Camden Fringe Festival and the play took place in rep at the Lion & Unicorn. I had intended to go but on the only day I had available, I was asked to review Parade. Still I do hope to get along to the L & U in Kentish Town again soon.

Chapel Street II

So well received was Chapel Street, that it had its run extended and got itself reviewed.

Chapel Street

A night out on the town for an Essex boy and girl. This wonderful two-hander from Luke Barnes is definitely worth watching. Barnes, a Liverpudlian, has not only perfectly captured the zeitgeist but also the very natural rhythms and language of a couple of disillusioned young people. The acting is quite sublime but ultimately it is the script that hypnotises, crackling with energy and dripping with humour. Chapel Street is on at the Old Red Lion in Islington and I urge you buy a ticket now. This really is a cut above the rest - and it's Barnes first play.

Fighting For The Crown

Last night I travelled via the Overground Line to Kentish Town, to see The Giant Olive Theatre at the Lion & Unicorn. Hidden in a leafy wide street, the pub is an absolute delight offering a selection of standard gastro-pub fair and some nice wines. The theatre itself is a decent size with comfortable loose seating for about 60 people, I would guess. From a production POV as with most theatres of this sort, there is only one entrance to the stage.



I was planning on seeing Beauty Is Prison-Time, written and performed by Zoe Mavroudi but I was also invited to attend the opening night of the play beforehand - I'll Show You Mine. Both plays were of a particularly high calibre and Mavroudi is well worthy of her nomination for Best Actress.



Next week I am back at the venue seeing Nine - not the musical, I hasten to add - but another one-woman show, which has also been nominated for an Offie.

Needless To Say....

I now ache like buggery in places I never thought I had thanks to the gym work-out. Swimming today had all the joy and frivolity of climbing rope. Still here is my design for this years Halloween costume and I need a body to match. Here's hoping.

The Star & The Fan

Wednesday saw my first visit to the gym unsupervised, a round up of Autumn highlights in the West End for What’s On Somerset Magazine and finally The Fan and The Star and The Star and The Fan, a new play by Jan Harris staring Jenny Logan as fading singing legend Ezzlie and Janice Day as Fran, the not so pliable fan of the title. TF&TS&TS&TF has a lot going for it, although certainly not the daft title. The plot is pretty predictable but sadly most of the best bits have been left out. There are a wealth of ideas here, gagging to be thrashed out on stage with a larger cast and more time. I understand the commercial advantages of a two-hander, the writing wasn’t anywhere near as accomplished as it should have been to pull the idea off.

Logan as Ezzlie (with two ‘zees’) is rather fun, relishing the opportunity to play the imperious lush to the hilt. Day’s performance as Fran is a little more hit and miss and frightfully difficult to pitch, undoubtedly due to the thinness of the script. Andrew Ward performed his minor role as if he was the Stage Manager.

TF&TS&TS&TF (that’s GOT to change!) as presented here is less like a first draft and more like a collection of interesting ideas. Whether it is developed is anyone’s guess.

Soho Unplugged

In a week dominated by riots firstly in the capital and then reverberating throughout the country it seemed vaguely suitable that I was in a theatre when it all kicked off. I had been invited to review David Hoyle: Unplugged as part of the opening season at the new and dare I say wonderfully appointed Soho Downstairs. A cabaret venue to rival the Pizza Express and the Leicester Square in all but affability – some of the staff there do appear to need the stick removing from their behinds! As if to add to the tension that had gradually risen through the day, Soho had a power cut. Not an uncommon occurrence but one that added to the uncertainty of the encroaching evening.



Riots and Soho aside, I was rather looking forward to Hoyle’s performance as I had heard much of his exploits and whilst I had not seen him live, I did watch with wonder at his early Channel Four broadcasts. As I mention in my review, Hoyle seemed remarkably tame compared to my memory of him. He also looked particularly dapper, swathed in scarlet, sequins with the trademark barnet tamed into rigid jet atop his carefully made-up face. I was expecting chaos but was served an almost gentle evenings entertainment complete with the third rendition of You Made Me Love You that I have heard in a month – (Liza and Rufus) – and in my opinion, the best. Bereft of his Divine David persona, Hoyle is reminiscent of an amiable, veteran Northern comic, made all the better as we are never quite sure if the demons might escape at any moment.



On an unconnected note I felt an overwhelming desire to paint him and then I realised Otto Dix had got there first. Hoyle’s image stayed with me all the way home as I caught up with the tweets of other Londoners either in the thick of the riots or completely oblivious to them, praising the latest production of Crazy For You at the Open Air Regent’s Park.

Warming

I am warming to the new look of my blog. Hopefully I shall be able to start posting soon!

New Design

Rather than change all the settings I decided to go for a different look. It's getting there....

Bear With.....

I am currently in the process of changing certain accounts and it is here that I shall probably close this blog. Many thanks to my readers over the last few years. This in not the end.... x

Giant Lemons in Greece

Dr Marina Murphy as Saint Marina of Antioch

Before I left I delivered my painting to Marina. Here is the finished article, 500mm x 750mm, mixed media on canvas. Detail below.

Ayios Nikolaos

A mile down the cost from Stoupa is the little fishing village of Ayios Nikolaos and Sean suggested we walk there on the Wednesday. The scenery was lovely and I was really glad I took my camera. I never really thought of Greece as being a mountainous country but I was soon proved wrong.

Greece Is The Word

Ok, so 2010 wasn’t exactly holiday light what with trips to Sydney, Besancon, Somerset and Cornwall. It’s also true that I have only just come back from NYC but in all fairness, I did work for part of that break. The important thing about this holiday was that I was going away with Sean for the first time – properly. I mean, longer than a weekend and just the two of us. A little bit scary, a lot exciting.

Sean had been to Stoupa before a few times and he chose this particular villa both for its views and its ease. It had its own pool – small but perfectly formed – three bedrooms, a pretty garden and a delightful cocktail terrace, which Sean and I made great use of.

The week was spent sunbathing, swimming and eating either simple breakfasts next to the pool or lunches and dinners in one of the many tavernas in the village. The food was good, if a little predictable and the wine was particularly to our tastes. The natives were very friendly and the area is pretty unspoiled by tourism, although there were moments when Sean and I felt as if we were on a Saga holiday.

All in all, it was a beautiful week to relax and spend some quality time with Sean away from work of any kind. I even took some paper and pencils with me and on a couple of afternoons did some drawing – scribbles, really just trying to free myself up a little before my next project.

Sean and I had a fabulous time but I managed to wrench something in my shoulder whilst doing some, ummm….excercises. I have no idea how or why but I managed to impinge my scapula (Doctor speak) and have been on pain killers, ever since. I go back in a weeks time for a check-up. To the doctors that is, sadly not Greece.

Sympathetic Characters

There is no subject that can't be adapted successfully for musical theatre. Murder, infidelity, insanity, prostitution have all featured at some point or another in a back catalogue of hit musicals.

It really depends on the writers approach to the material and how an audience is supposed to find empathy with it's characters. Essentially, your leading characters have to be presented sympathetically or the audience will loose interest. To quote Richard Andrews, from his wonderful book Writing A Musical, "Unsympathetic characters in an unattractive situation will only provoke disinterest".

The thing is, we don't go to the theatre to watch the characters on stage laugh, cry, fall in love or battle evil. We go to the theatre because WE want to experience those things for ourselves. Theatre - and indeed film - is a matter of emotional transference and people will want to relate to the hero, understand his problems and make his journey with him.

There is also of course, the zeigeist to take into consideration. Proof in point being Chicago, a musical that premiered in 1975 and it's nihilistic, cynical style had no place in Jimmy Carter's USA. Even after it's successful revival in 1996, the movie version of Chicago in 2002 would not allow Roxie Hart (Rene Zellweger) to commit a cold-blooded murder, they had to show Fred Casely (Dominic West) roughing her up first. This doesn't happen in the original stage production.

Musical theatre certainly doesn't have to be trite or simplistic to succeed but difficult subjects require very careful handling.

Just Off The Tottenham Court Road

Glen Chandler is an amiable and undoubtedly talented gentleman with a BAFTA to prove it. I had been hearing about Cleveland Street for quite some time as his next project, a musical based on the infamous Cleveland Street scandal of Victorian England, where it was discovered that telegram boys were being recruited to work in a male brothel. I must say that the concept of a musical doesn’t particularly spring to mind when thinking of brothels. Let’s face it, Best Little Whorehouse In Texas was hardly a great idea.

Quite rightly, Chandler chooses to examine the scandal at several levels particularly the hypocrisy of Victorian values and due to the important names amongst the clientele, the ensuing cover-up of all involved. There is also emotional engagement as we witness a complex web of relationships flounder at the exposure of this disorderly house.

Devereaux’s score rarely rises above fairly predictable music-hall pastiche – a default style for any new musical set between 1814 and 1914 - but many of Chandler’s lyrics are lost to the elision of an enthusiastic cast. There is very little light and shade present in the music and song-points are washed over or completely ignored.

Fiona Russell’s design is a huge improvement on My Beautiful Launderette but could still do with some tweaking and for some reason all the wigs used in the courtroom seen are worn backwards!? Tim McArthur’s direction is perfunctory and the choreography grates against both the period and the space. Unfortunately little of it is achieved with any level of finesse and the lowest common denominator appears to flourish in every scene. Arses are slapped; crotches grabbed and groped; cocks are flashed with gratuitous reliability but the whole thing is boring rather than bawdy.

Less Than Thrilled

Thrill Me was an intriguing prospect for a musical, detailing the life of Leopold and Loeb, a couple of rich-kids in the 1920’s who had committed the most notorious crime of the 20th Century. There have been many interpretations of the case on film but here, Stephen Dolginoff opens a musical two-hander with Nathan Leopold explaining his motives to a parole board.

I had several problems with this show and I shall endeavour to explain. Firstly the music, whilst being accomplished if not in the least bit memorable, at no point attempted to reference the period. Secondly, the subject matter is overbearingly distasteful. Essentially this is a musical that attempts to put understanding behind a woefully bleak crime, with two teenagers killing a 14 year old for kicks. I could understand a play attempting to examine their motives but somehow the handling didn’t suit the subject matter.

In terms of Offie nominations, it has achieved five including Best Actor for both Jye Frasca and George McGuire who play the pair of killers.

Personally I was intrigued by the voice-over recordings of the parole board, credited as Patricia Quinn, Lady Stephens, Les Dennis and Lee Mead. I have a feeling favours were being pulled in from somewhere but what a strange mix of performers?! What a fascinating play a dramatization - fictional or otherwise - of that recording session would make!

Little Shop of Invention

Whilst official reviews have been relatively thin on the ground at the moment, I have been trying to keep up with the wealth of shows being put forward for Off West End nominations. Certainly one show I was looking forward to seeing was Little Shop Of Horrors taking place at the White Bear in Kennington. Billed as an ‘all-male’ production although this was not actually the case, Paul Taylor-Mills production was a revelation in terms of invention. Both the design and choreography suffered from a lack of budget and imagination but this was a production that really worked in this tiny venue.

Taylor-Mills had previously spent some time working with Cameron Mackintosh and he brought a little inventive spark to this much-loved musical by getting the girl-group trio – Chiffon, Ronette and Crystal to also play Audrey II. Taylor-Mills had pulled together a strong cast, with lots of swings for most of the roles and this girl-group played alternate nights with men in drag.

Whilst Taylor-Mills was frantic that I should see the boys playing the role I could not actually make that night. I was however more than happy to see the girls playing the plant, which certainly adds an extra frisson to the idea of a man-hungry vegetable.

This production of Little Shop of Horrors deserved a much longer life and for a moment it had the opportunity at the Landor, although this has since been quashed. Certainly there were many things to recommend this production particularly an endearing central performance by Ceris Hine as Audrey, subtle undertones of comedy from Paul Christalos as Mr Mushnik and brilliant MD and keyboard work from Huw Evans.

Keeping Up

Loads has been happening lately, not least the Easter and Royal Wedding holidays, which gave Britain a vast swathe of time-off at the end of April. Canny office workers realised that if they got in quickly, they were able to get 11 consecutive days off with only taking 3 days holiday. Personally I wasn’t really into having such a stretch off work, especially as for me, this period is practically bookended with holiday overseas anyway. What with NYC and these public holidays, I think I actually spent more time at work in February last year – when I went to OZ – than I have in April this year.

The blessing about hanging out with Ralph is that he lives in Brooklyn. Historically, the borough is pure Nouveau, with vast brownstone mansions, built to house the new, wealthy middle-classes as the moved away from the crowded city to the developing, spacious borough. It is difficult to put into words the studied opulence of these buildings, many of which retain their single-home status. Oddly, their virtuosity reminds me a great deal of the Crystal Palace, which also gained it’s popularity at about the same time for much the same reasons.
If I won the lottery – I mean a big win, not the £6.40 I have won 3 times this year – then I would buy a home here and move myself (and Sean, natch!) into a five-storey brownstone. He would make hats for vastly rich ladies on the Upper East Side and then come home to me in the evening for a Cosmo and a home cooked meal. Failing that, I will just have to wait for Ralph & Tyron to buy one and we will move in. Honestly, they are so big, they probably wouldn't even notice I was there!

That Face

Just need to apply tattoo and halo.

Blast From The Past

It came as a surprise to see this picture appear on Facebook today. It was a publicity shot taken for a production of West Side Story, which was being performed by the Gloucester Operatic & Dramatic Society Youth Group in - the latter end of the last Century - eeek, that sounds so old.

There are some very young faces here including Kyle Davies, Andrew Doyle and they guy who posted the picture Clive Montellier, who doesn't seem to have aged at all. Rowena Davies was the director and I was her assistant. Thankfully neither of us are featured here.

Focusing on The Cock

Whilst away from the UK I could not help but watch with interest the events unfolding at the Cock Tavern. I had already been privy to the controversy over the paying of actors and had pretty much assumed that the furore would have died down after I had got home.

It turns out that in fact, the team at the Cock Tavern were performing without an entertainment licence and the small theatre has now closed business indefinitely. Needless to say Adam Spreadbury Maher is still the AD of the King's Head Theatre and will no doubt continue his work there.

As to the National Minimum Wage debate, I say be careful what you wish for, it may come true.

That's all.

Godspell

This is the second time I have seen this musical this year as it celebrates its 40th year. I have made no bones about the fact that I have issues with the show itself and I had high hopes for this production at The Union, which was put together by the same team that created Company & Assassins at the Union previously. Sadly, despite great production values and some genuinely thoughtful and often rousing performances, this musical has again failed to engage me.

Director Michael Strassen has created a piece that ventures to translate the shows message in much broader terms. Strassen's lucid programme notes detail the need for a sense of community in our lives and focus on the death of an innocent within this structure. This is an interesting and appealing approach but as Strassen himself points out, much has changed since this piece was written.

Schools now no longer exact Christian studies as part of the curriculum and so the language of the libretto has become somewhat obsolete. Swathes of the text appear as excerpts from The Bible, making the language vaguely archaic and the further one attempts to make the scenarios accessible - modern colloquialisms and the odd expletive - the less engaging or believable they become. Godspell is very much a reaction to the era in which it was written and unless there is a major re-working of the book, it is unlikely to ever sustain a valid revival.

Notable performances stood out in this particular production such as Sophie Issacs and Jeremy Batt but praise is due particularly for its vocal arrangements by Iain Vince-Gatt.

Baby Jesus Freak & Stage Kiss

Literally no sooner had my plane landed this week than I was heading straight to the Fringe Theatre, or more accurately The Space in Mudchute. Those of you unfamiliar with the venue might find it very much worth a look, although it is situated at a rather inconvenient postcode on the Isle of Dogs. The quickest way to get there is by bus from Canary Wharf.

Baby Jesus Freak by Ian Winterton covers an interesting premise set in motion by the death of an evangelist and the reaction of her two adult sons. The younger son had long since joined his mothers cause whilst the elder appears to have spent a lifetime battling demons of a different sort. Winterton's play raises many questions but thankfully he has woven a human story that plays particularly well on stage.

The performances are good too with particularly astute work from Adam Lowe and Claire Dean who have the oft difficult task of making Christian fundamentalism appear rational in a modern world.

Stage Kiss is a slightly less successful, albeit extremely short play from Andrew Jones. Despite the very few major successes, audiences will rarely be interested in backstage stories. Actors are singularly peculiar creatures anyway and showing their existence off the stage rarely excites and audience.

This said, the tale tells of Amy's return to the stage before committing to marriage with her bullish fiance, Henry. The central dilemma is the emotion behind a stage kiss as opposed to a real one and quite frankly, it's not a particularly engaging argument either way. At only forty minutes however the play still manages to run out of steam.

Danny Wainwright is excellent as the pragmatic Henry and it is always a joy to see Lisa Baird on stage but this is a blunt piece of writing that needs to go back to the drawing board.

Both plays have been cleanly and clearly directed by Matthew Gould. If you get an opportunity, visit The Space. It is a great venue that appears to be desperately seeking an audience.

Real Paul

Not having access to TV in the UK has led to my missing a couple of vital TV series. Ralph and Tyron are serious about their reality TV and naturally as international make-up professionals they go gaga over Ru Paul's Drag Race. I have now seen a few episodes from series three and I have to say it is outrageously addictive. Why in God's name the British drag sorority have not created their version I have no idea. Anyway, online there is a Dragulator where you can get a drag make-over and this is what Ralph did with mine. I am, naturally, Real Paul - givin' it real, girlfriend, stateside!

IMATS Report

Lipstick Testing - Done

Chill-axing

It is now my second 'day off' in NYC and today I woke up at 11.50am. Needless to say there have been some very fun evenings out here that have been nore about relaxing than about activity. Yesterday, as a thank you to Ralph and Tyron for putting me up, I bought them a set of martini glasses. They certainly seemed happy with them and naturally we tried them out straight away.

About to head off for brunch now on Fifth. Need a coffee so much!!!

BTW...

Rufus Hound, Sally Philips and Michael Urie at the opening night of Celebrity Autobigraphy. Did I mention Rufus Hound…..phroawr! God, I have some weird photo-opps in my back catalogue!

Brooklyn Bound

It’s a bit mad when you think about it but Ralph and I have known each other for 10 years. Yesterday I – quite literally – followed him across the Atlantic to spend some time with him and his partner, Tyron. Ralph is now doing really well as a make-up artist, which is immensely satisfying for me as I have seen him grow professionally. His new agent will ensure that he travels to London regularly and finally all his hard work is paying off.

The journey was eventful only by it’s total lack of event arriving ahead of schedule by nearly 50 minutes. I nearly asked the pilot to go around the block again until Boardwalk Empire had finished. Anyway, the route through customs was very swift and a cab too me swiftly to Dean Street and then Ralph whisked me even more swiftly to a sushi bar. Here I met AA Nominated Actress Taraji P Henson, a friend of Tyron’s and an absolute blast. She was hysterical and the evening ended with my first viewing of Ru Paul’s Drag Race (WTF? Why isn’t the UK doing this?) until I was finally beaten by the lag. I made my apologies although I had been awake 24 hours.

Evidently it takes a lot to fool my body clock and freakishly I was up at 6.00am New York Time. I was in my favorite local diner by 7.00am. Carb Heaven.

Feeling Blue

Sitting in the Blue Elephant bar always gives me a strong sense of theatre on the London Fringe that I don't often get in other venues. On one hand they are very unlucky to appear so distant from public transport links. On the other hand they are right in the middle of the Camberwell /walworth community - for the 14 years I lived in bubbling suburb of Streatham nothing like this existed and indeed still doesn't.

They are also not governed by the caprices of a brewery so the people hanging about there are actually there to see or appear in theatre rather than a bunch of post-work trendies, popping in for a quick one.

The staff are always friendly and Jasmine Cullingford, the theatres AD is always welcoming. Tonight I am seeing a production of Macbeth by Ricky Dukes at the Lazarus Theatre Company. We have previous, admittedly but this place always fills me with hope. I really wish it well.

More Nominations

OK so no prizes for guessing I didn't pop home to visit my Mother this weekend but I did get sent a few nominations to take into consideration for the Offies. A Cavalier For Milady has already been nominated, and my review of that production should be live online tomorrow. I have also been sent notice to attend Iolanthe at Wiltons and The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) at the Old Red Lion. I shall attempt both upon my return from NYC and until then, I have Betty Blue Eyes tomorrow with Sean and Macbeth at The Blue Elephant on Tuesday. After that I need to pack. Eek!

Oh wow!

It can now! Fab. Blogs on a train.

Teaser!

This Tool Is Very Clever...

...I just wish I could post images too!

Resolutionary

Whilst I am on the subject of New Year Resolutions, I just thought I would go over mine for this year and see how I am getting on.

1. Loose weight - yawn! - maintining would be more apt.
2. Concentrate on Stomach and Butt exercises - nope.
3. Swim in all the pools belonging to GLL Swim London - nothing new there.
4. Aim to lift myself from the pool without using the steps - oooo, I do that all the time now. It's easier when I have been swimming on my back for some reason.
5. Help with a charity - nope.
6. Do the lottery on a weekly basis - kerching!
7. Drink more water - hurrah! At last.
8. Find more time to paint - still looking.
9. Become a better blogger/social networker - ummmmmm...... 3 months.
10. Find time for creative writing - no chance.

Still a way to go but I remain determined.

Lottery

As it is Friday night it is time to do the lottery again. I made it one of my new years resolutions this year and I have to say that since I began playing, I have probably won enough to take part. The other morning I decided to log in online, something I tried about 3 years ago and to my surprise I had won £8! That would have been two packets of fags 3 years ago! Needless to say, I re-invested. See you next week in Rio!

OMG IMATS NYC

Next week I am off to the inaugural International Make-up Artist Trade Show in New York. In a bizarre twist of irony worthy of a chorus from Alanis Morisette, my dear friend Ralph will be in London for some of this time. There are several things I want to try to do whilst I am in NYC. Central Park is three of them. Walking across Brooklyn Bridge is another. Breakfasts are pretty much the rest.

Whilst I am at IMATS I am moderating a discussion with Broadway Make-up Artists Angela L. Johnson, Jimmy Cortes, Christina Grant, Tiffany Hicks and Vinnie Schicchi on the Sunday at 11.45am.

I have also heard a rumour that elusive British make-up artist, Tyra will be visiting New York at this time. Hopefully I will be able to track her down and speak to her about her Fall season.

Bed And Sofa

The much loved and much lauded Finborough Theatre appeared to have taken a sidestep here with a baffling musical based on an early Russian silent movie. There is little to add to my review for The Stage. Did I miss some irony that might have made it all make sense? At least the Wine Cafe is in perfect working order downstairs and afforded me a chance to play catch-up on here.

On a side note, Penelope Keith's appearance did remind me of an old Offie nomination that got dumped within the formative months of the awards. There was a nomination originally scheduled for Best Off-The-Wall Moment. I was aching to include the time I saw Debbie McGee toking on a 6 foot doobie in Frank's Closet but unfortunately that was in 2009. Keith's inclusion here would be a serious contender.

Notes on The Offies

I guess the most important change to the last year’s agenda were the Off West End Awards, or as they were rather catchily dubbed – The Offies. On the whole, they were a huge success for all concerned and I was immensely proud to have been an important part of the process. Judging for the 2011 Offie’s was already underway on the day of the event, and this year my visits to theatre has increased to an even greater extent if you can imagine that possible. From today, I shall try to offer some sort of more detailed dialogue for the nominees to follow.

So far, I have visited a few of the new venues (for me, anyway) including The Rose Bankside, which proved to be an uncomfortable, baffling experience that sinks site specific productions to new depths. The production of Edward II wasn’t bad at all, it simply wasn’t served well by the venue. I also visited the New Red Lion, a venue with a great deal of promise but scant transport connections, where I saw the delightful Kissing Sid James. The Print Room in Notting Hill offered the fantastic Snake In The Grass, exquisitely designed and offering a version of Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte set in Hampshire. Accolade launched another show-stopping season at the Finborough, where I am currently typing this up-date, before reviewing Bed & Sofa. Other highlights included Amphibians at The Bridewell, which focused on the emotional trauma for young people entering the Olympics; Irish Blood, English Heart at The Union about a dysfunctional family trying to cope with their father’s death and bizarrely The Diary of Anne Frank at the Broadway in Catford.

Clare Burt and Nathan Osgood were the saving graces of Vernon Little God, the success of which I can only put down to the fact that the audience doesn’t venture too far from The Cut for it’s entertainment. At the Tristan Bates I left after the end of Bane, not wishing to see much of the same in Bane 2. Godspell at Ye Olde Rose & Crown did very little for me despite it’s nominations and the welcoming Walthamstow venue still has a long way to go to get it’s Front of House in order. Before I fly next week I will have seen Ricky Duke’s new production of Macbeth at the Blue Elephant in Camberwell. I shall endeavour to keep up with my blogging and review each of the shows I see in turn.

NOTES TO OFFIE NOMINEES If you have been nominated for an Offie, lobby for judges to attend but don’t be disappointed if we can’t attend. We all have ridiculous work schedules but your encouragement and enthusiasm will be noted.

If you have been nominated for Best New Play or Most Promising New Playwright then please back this up by sending us a copy of your play.

If you have been nominated for Best Costume/Make-up/Set Design, back your nomination up with a presentation of images from the production and or design notes.

Perhaps.....

.....just a re-design?

Notes From Earls Court

OK – so I haven’t been blogging for about three months and it has been on my mind terribly. It’s not that I have had no time to do this, it is more about time management and whilst Sean will be the first to tell you about how I tend to plan things, time for filing blog posts escapes me. My first thoughts on how to deal with this was to write shorter posts but often. The problem happened that this job was increasingly taken up by Facebook and then to a greater degree by Twitter. Where possible I try to tweet immediately after each show, in a style borrowed from Mark Shenton although unlike Mark I post mine from my trusty iPhone on the train. Ultimately, the last three months have been a bit of a whirlwind that have included the re-structuring of my day-job; The Stage New Year Party; The Inaugural Off West End Awards and plans for a trip to NYC in April and in May a trip with Sean to Greece. I have been trying to focus my attention on the various options available to me as a blogger, reviewer and judge for the Offies. As my blog was always a rather personal affair it sometimes included candid information on my private life much of which will be of scant interest to theatre people. There again, there are friends of mine who find my life in London eclectic to say the least, with theatre being very much a part of who I am and what I do. In essence I cannot work out whether to start over with a new blog based solely on theatre and leave the weight-loss, mood-swings and bakery to Facebook & Twitter OR, and that’s a big OR, continue to combine the two. My life in London for the past 15 years could and possibly would not have existed without theatre. It is very much a part of who I am and how I live my life so how do I separate the personal from the professional and indeed, should I? Ensconced in the particularly nice Wine Café of the Finborough Theatre it is certainly seems a less demanding dilemma. Over the next week I am travelling to New York to visit my dear friends over there and join in with the inaugural New York Make-up Artists Trade Show. I shall take my lap to with me and begin to think around my dilemma.

Blimey!

On a lovely day like this and everybody seems to be ill! It is rather worrying. I shall be going for an outdoor swim this evening followed by a show at The Pheasantry on the Kings Road.

My Christmas In Ten Pictures

and of course,

Heating

Has anyone else got the heating off? I actually don't mind a colder house but this season has been particularly bad. My flatmate however is never very keen to turn on the heating outside its alotted schedule. I think (hope) its a money issue. Whilst I normally keep quiet about it I have to say that she currently looks more than a little strange. She has a visitor with her and they are both sat around the advent candles, shivering. Huh!!!!! Surely a visitor would merit switching the heating on for at least a little while?!

Resolutions

I like New Year Resolutions. I know a lot of people pooh-pooh the idea but I have always enjoyed the idea of striding out to do something new during a period of miserable weather and long dull evenings. Thankfully giving up smoking is no longer an issue but whilst maintaining my weight for a year, I have let slide a little. A mix of impenetrable weather, the party season and late nights have meant that I have put on a not inconsiderable amount of weight. So here is my list of resolutions for the 2011.

1. Loose weight - yawn!
2. Concentrate on Stomach and Butt exercises - I have an app for that - more later.
3. Swim in all the pools belonging to GLL Swim London - 40 in total.
4. Aim to lift myself from the pool without using the steps - there will be no pics of that!
5. Help with a charity - not sure which yet.
6. Do the lottery on a weekly basis.
7. Drink more water - 3rd year in a row with that one.
8. Find more time to paint - eek!
9. Become a better blogger/social networker - see Scott Matthewman.
10. Find time for creative writing.

Not earth shattering, I know but all of them are achievable and hopefully I will not have given up by the second week in January.

PS

For all the photographs I have taken, the best will appear in my Review of 2010, which according to my track record, should be ready by about March!