Monday 23 February 2015

Assassins





24th January, 2015, matinee

Menier Chocolate Factory

Assassins has been top of my 'to-see Sondheim' list for a while now and this production really does not disappoint. On stepping into the auditorium through the garish clown entrance the atmosphere is all-encompassingly creepy and Jamie Parker's banjo playing sets an eerily melancholy tone.

Rejecting the limitations of classic plot structured musicals, Assassins works as an overview of Western political failings and a sharp criticism of the American Dream through a series of interconnected vignettes. Faultless staging and direction from Jamie Lloyd, choreography by Chris Bailey, and committed performances from the whole ensemble means that the slight issues one might have with the – admittedly scattergun - structure of the piece are silenced. Sympathy, humour, tragedy and horror are all produced simultaneously to dizzying effect, and by the closing reprise of ‘Everybody’s Got The Right’ the tension is overwhelming as the assassins set their sights (and weapons) on the audience.

The purgatorial setting of an abandoned fairground heightens the sense of displacement and loss while also representing the assassins within the realm of the misfit communities of classic American travelling carnivals. Soutra Gilmour’s design and Neil Austin’s lighting captures the razzmatazz of the fair - a canopy of tangled lights and bright flashing ‘hit’ and ‘miss’ signs - which secretes the seedy corruption of both the killers and the systems they wish to annihilate. This concept leads to a thrilling climax as Lee Harvey Oswald takes aim and with an earth-shattering eruption the auditorium is illuminated and a cascade of red confetti smothers the stage representing the blood of the nation and a sense of the death of America itself.

Sondheim's score cleverly adopts and satirises classic American music genres from the wistful harmonies of the barbershop quartet to cheesy 70’s pop ballads to an ingenious piece of self-referential intertextuality in the use of Sondheim and Bernstein’s ‘America’ from West Side Story. My only slight issue concerns the presence of ‘Something Just Broke’ – an additional number incorporated into the 1992 London premier, and remaining controversial within fan communities – I somewhat agree that the presence of the song, focussing on American citizens and their reactions in the aftermath of the assassination of JFK, detracts from the focus of the show – the assassins themselves – and dampens any uneasy feelings of sympathy the audience feels for the disenfranchised group.

The entire cast works together brilliantly, vital in what is a truly ensemble piece. Catherine Tate is well cast as dippy frustrated housewife Sara Jane Moore, making the most of the comedic moments and proving capable in her few songs. Also particularly impressive are Simon Lipkin as the versatile Proprietor, holding the show together impeccably, Aaron Tviet, exuding charisma as John Wilkes Booth, and Jamie Parker in dual roles, skilfully transforming from his country bumpkin take on the Balladeer to the desperate frustration of Lee Harvey Oswald. Mike McShane also has ample opportunity to shine as Samuel Byck, relishing the juiciest monologues of John Weidman’s book.

The Menier has succeeded in staging a near-faultless production of one of Sondheim’s more divisive pieces; the powerful visuals linger, and the critique of American, and by extension Western, politics and culture and the seemingly inevitable disillusionment that many citizens experience ensures that audiences are invited to meditate further on these themes long after the curtain call.


Assassins plays at the Menier Chocolate Factory until 7th March 2015


Sunday 15 February 2015

What's On Stage awards 2015 - the predictions.

Here is the shortlist for 2015's What's On Stage awards, which are being held tonight.

Here are my predictions in bold and underlined based on performance and, of course, fan base. In red is who I'd like to win. Enjoy!

THE SHORTLIST

Best Actor in a Play sponsored by Radisson Blu Edwardian:
• David Tennant, Richard II
• Mark Strong, A View From the Bridge
Richard Armitage, The Crucible
• Tom Bateman, Shakespeare in Love
• Tom Hiddleston, Coriolanus
However, I'm also told not to undermine Hiddleston's fanbase.
Best Actress in a Play:
• Billie Piper, Great Britain
Gillian Anderson, A Streetcar Named Desire
• Helen McCrory, Medea
• Imelda Staunton, Good People
• Lucy Briggs-Owen, Shakespeare in Love
Best Actor in a Musical:
• Alistair Brammer, Miss Saigon
• Jon Jon Briones, Miss Saigon
Killian Donnelly, Memphis the Musical
• Marti Pellow, Evita
Robert Lindsay, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Best Actress in a Musical sponsored by STAR:
• Beverley Knight, Memphis the Musical
Eva Noblezada, Miss Saigon
• Gemma Arterton, Made in Dagenham
• Jenna Russell, Urinetown the Musical
• Madalena Alberto, Evita
'Best Supporting Actor in a Play:
Adrian Schiller, The Crucible
• David Oakes, Shakespeare in Love
• Hadley Fraser, Coriolanus
Mark Gatiss, Coriolanus
• Nathaniel Parker, Wolf Hall & Bring Up the Bodies
Best Supporting Actress in a Play:
• Anna Madeley, The Crucible
• Deborah Findlay, Coriolanus
Nicola Walker, A View From the Bridge
Samantha Colley, The Crucible
Vanessa Kirby, A Streetcar Named Desire
Best Supporting Actor in a Musical:
• Ben Forster, Evita
• George Maguire, Sunny Afternoon
Hugh Maynard, Miss Saigon
• Kwang-Ho Hong, Miss Saigon
• Rolan Bell, Memphis the Musical
Best Supporting Actress in a Musical:
• Claire Machin, Memphis the Musical
• Karis Jack, Urinetown the Musical
Katherine Kingsley, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
• Rachelle Ann Go, Miss Saigon
• Samantha Bond, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Best New Play:
• Great Britain
King Charles III
• The Nether
• Shakespeare in Love
• Wolf Hall
Best New Musical sponsored by Autograph:
• Here Lies Love
• Made in Dagenham
Memphis the Musical
• Sunny Afternoon
• Urinetown the Musical
Best Play Revival:
• Blithe Spirit
• Coriolanus
The Crucible
• Richard II
• A Streetcar Named Desire
Best Musical Revival sponsored by R&H Theatricals Europe:
• Evita
Miss Saigon
• The Pajama Game
• Porgy and Bess
• Sweeney Todd
Best Direction sponsored by Managed Networks:
• Christopher Ashley, Memphis the Musical
• Gregory Doran, Richard II
• Jamie Lloyd, Urinetown the Musical
Laurence Connor, Miss Saigon
Yaël Farber, The Crucible
Best Choreography sponsored by Capezio:
• Ann Yee, Urinetown the Musical
Bob Avian & Geoffrey Garratt, Miss Saigon
• Drew McOnie, In the Heights
Jerry Mitchell, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
• Sergio Trujillo, Memphis the Musical
Best Set Design sponsored by Feast Creative:
• Bunny Christie, Made in Dagenham
• David Gallo, Memphis the Musical
• Nick Ormerod, Shakespeare in Love
• Soutra Gilmour, Urinetown the Musical
Totie Driver & Matt Kinley, Miss Saigon
Best Lighting Design sponsored by White Light:
• Adam Silverman, Urinetown the Musical
• Bruno Poet, Miss Saigon
• Howell Binkley, Memphis the Musical
• Jon Clark, Made in Dagenham
Mark Henderson, Coriolanus
Best Off-West End Production:
Dogfight, Southwark Playhouse
• Forbidden Broadway, Menier Chocolate Factory
• In the Heights, Southwark Playhouse
• Oh, the Humanity and Other Good Intentions, Tabard Theatre
• Sweeney Todd, Twickenham Theatre
Best Regional Production sponsored by Travelzoo:
• Guys and Dolls, Chichester Festival Theatre
Gypsy, Chichester Festival Theatre
• The Kite Runner, Nottingham Playhouse and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse
• Oliver!, Sheffield Crucible
• Water Babies, Curve Leicester
Best Takeover in a Role sponsored by Equity:
• Craige Els, Matilda the Musical
David Hunter, Once
• Jennifer DiNoia, Wicked
Kerry Ellis, Wicked
• Michael Watson, Jersey Boys
Best West End Show sponsored by Tiger Films:
Les Misérables
• Matilda the Musical
• Memphis the Musical
• Miss Saigon
Wicked