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