DEVIL’S ADVOCATE: Music in Theatre

This column was originally published here.

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This month Emma Jane Denly speaks to Tom Penn of Little Bulb Theatre, who are currently in residence at the Battersea Arts Centre. She plays devil‘s advocate with the question of music’s purpose in theatre…

TP: Music is one of the most powerful means of communication we possess. It has the power to overwhelm and to be delicate, to sentimentalise and to be ironic. When used with due care and attention, it has the faculty to transcend immediate thought, and access a deeper, often surprisingly emotional, response. An enormous amount of my time is spent accompanied by music, be it the ‘soundtrack to my life’ that happens to be buzzing around inside my head at the time, or the more tangible mp3 player, squeezing the same old songs into my ears as I board the 345 to Peckham. Why? Because I enjoy my life more when there is music playing. Subsequently I find it difficult, perhaps impossible, to imagine a reason I would have for not including music in my work in theatre.

EJD: Perhaps there’s a case for arguing that music has the power to distract as well as complement, in both your own life and indeed in theatrical productions. Pick the wrong song and the effect can be as small as creating a slightly jarring scene on-stage that doesn’t fit with the rest of the show or as large as being totally alienating for an audience. You wake up and accidentally play one of Enya’s less upbeat tracks through your headphones: rest of the day is then potentially overshadowed by a sense of depressive doom (no offence intended to Enya). Play a rock song in the middle of a show, and all delicacy is sent crashing to the floor. If these effects are intended, then fair enough, but isn’t all music subjective? How can you make an entire audience react in the same way?

TP: I’m not sure that you can, but I certainly don’t see that as a consideration to be taken only with music. I would suggest that any aspect of any theatre show will be viewed subjectively, and therefore it is the theatre-maker’s responsibility to understand and appreciate this, whilst using everything they have at their disposal in order to best serve the moment. When approaching a new piece of work, you come armed with your full toolkit, and you try your best to use those tools wisely. Music is just one of the means we have with which to communicate, and is as valuable to the process as any other. It comes hand in hand with the text, or the movement, or the design – there is no reason one should be separated of given greater significance than the others. If given careful thought and artistically driven, the music will form as vital part of any narrative or atmosphere as any other discipline.

EJD: Do you think then that this kind of music is different to the “conventional” type – and I use this phrase carefully, meaning only music that is not intended for narrative effect – or whether it is the same as something that we can buy or listen to on its own terms? It’s almost as though you are implying that music in theatre is a precise and exact science (the same way perhaps lighting or choreography can be viewed as such), which could make it seem artificial – or failing that then at least oppressed in some way. Do you think that theatre-music is its own art-form – or could it be listened to in the same way as Queen, Fairport Convention or – yes, I’m going there – Enya?

TP: I don’t think that an exact science exists for making music or any kind of theatre. I think there are guidelines available if you want them, but once you get past a certain point, you’re out there on your own. You try something different, something new, in the hope that it will be what you want it to be, and then as long as you learn a little bit each time, you’ll be ready to have another go soon enough. As for whether theatre music is its own art form, I’m not so certain that it can be categorised that neatly. Yes, when used for a specific purpose in a piece of theatre, that music must be precisely what was asked for and needed in that moment, whether newly composed or a well-known classic. But that’s not to say it doesn’t retain individual worth when removed from context. Take Kneehigh‘s ‘Don John’ Soundtrack – I can’t get enough of those tracks still, however many years later. I know the scores and soundtracks to countless films and shows I haven’t seen. I adore the music, and that’s it. Ultimately, in the context of the show or film itself, if that music does not serve the very moment for which it was intended, then it hasn’t fulfilled its purpose, and the final product was probably weaker for it. But there’s nothing to stop me from enjoying it separately – much like I can be satisfied, impressed and even moved by the way natural lighting occurs within a particular environment at any point in my day, music serves a multitude of purposes. Its use in theatre should be treated with the same thought and precision as every other aspect of the production, and when it works, it has the ability to colour and to lift that moment to an altogether new height. The rest of the time, it should just be worth listening to.

EJD: So theatre-music is perhaps just made to fit its definition by the selection process: the artistry lies in the ability of the theatre-maker to select and refine a piece of music for a particular theatrical moment that is utterly appropriate. I’m sure the wave of other companies who take music in theatre very seriously – Kneehigh, RashDash, Third Angel – would be inclined to agree.

Little Bulb Theatre’s Orpheus runs at BAC from 16 April – 11 May, and Tom is performing his solo work at Cambridge Junction’s SAMPLED Festival on Sunday 5 May.

 

DEVIL’S ADVOCATE: Nepotism

This column was originally published here.

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Emma Jane Denly begins a brand new monthly blog Devil’s Advocate, a regular provocation about topical or controversial issues.

This month she plays devil’s advocate with the topic of nepotism, with a theatre professional who wishes to remain anonymous.

EJD: Nepotism has always been one of those issues that theatrical types just don’t want to tackle. The injustice of one person being promoted above other candidates due to a helping hand – particularly when the benefited individual doesn’t appear to be as talented as or even vaguely interested in the job at stake – is a testy subject. If you and I, similarly placed in a competitive and over-subscribed industry, were ever to be offered a break by a friend or relative, we would be morally challenged. Conversely, if this never happens and we declaim “THAT’S NOT FAIR”, our statement could be professionally disadvantageous: the likelihood of offending a prospective employer, in whatever field, is high, as nepotism is so rife.

Is there more than one type of nepotism – the fair type and the unfair type, or are there some cases where being “helped along” is acceptable? Finally, is nepotism in all its manifestations empirically bad? Can we comfortably holler that we are “holier than thou”?

Anon: There’s a murky distinction between nepotism and advocacy that makes this issue very complicated. Nepotism is the advancement of someone related to you, whereas advocacy is, in theory, meritocratic. Fair or unfair nepotism? The employment of anyone in any job who doesn’t merit the position should be seen as unfair. It fundamentally is, IF we want to believe that those who ‘get their foot in the door’ of professional theatre deserve it. However, we don’t seem especially committed to this view of our industry. This is usually because most of the people in the industry, including myself, can point to a time when they were given an opportunity they don’t feel they deserved. All this gives us a wonderful freedom; if we’re all in the gutter together then no one can call ‘holier than thou’.

EJD: So you’re saying we all need to get out of this “gutter” of friendly recommendation and the occasional leg-up… And where does this revolution start? At what point do you say, no, I don’t want that job at, say, the Globe because I only got my foot into the interview room because a friend of mine propped the door open? You’re already having to write under “anonymous” because of what you call the non-meritocratic tendencies of the industry – somewhat playing into the system itself – so I’m inclined to say that you must agree that some parts of it are useful or you’d come out and defy it directly.

In your dream world, then, if there were to be a solution, what sort of procedures would you count as acceptable?

Anon: I’m writing anonymously to preserve the principle of what I’m trying to say. I don’t want my entire argument wiped away when someone says, “ah, but you were given such and such an opportunity”. My career has been aided and advocated by several people. I’d like to say it was all down to my talent (and it is true that I’m not related to those advocates) but I admit the truth is it’s probably 50% luck.

The principle is: it shouldn’t be up to us. We have neither the voice, influence or money to reform the system from where we are. The best we can do is to say that when we get to the top of the ladder we’ll treat those below us better – but of course at that point the catch 22 is already in effect; we’ve reaped the rewards before pointing out our unethical behaviour along the way.

What procedures would I like to see put in place? Cover letter, CV, interview. The Young Vic does this and they have the best training directors – a peculiar correlation? I think not.

EJD: So, institutions like the Young Vic that have the money and the resources to interview and sort the presumably massive quantity of applications for their directors’ scheme are behaving correctly, and you’re saying that anyone with the same facilities available should do the same? OK.

What about employers who can offer similarly wonderful opportunities, exposure or projects who don’t have the time or money? Examples of that kind of altruistic procedure amongst theatre practitioners working at theatres with less funding, or even working out of their living rooms, are few and far between. I don’t believe many unpaid directors would sit through even 60 auditions after posting an open casting call – and we both know that applications would be ten times this – if they knew they could ask one of their friends to take the role. What you are proposing as a solution to nepotism is limited to very few places, and therefore I don’t think your proposed revolution will ever seed itself.

Anon: Again we’re blurring the line between recommendation and nepotism.  If a director has an actor/actress they’ve worked with previously who is perfect for the part, then it’s a simple hiring choice. It’s when someone is given a similar opportunity because their father/mother/uncle/aunt/godfather etc. is involved that the situation becomes unfair. I accept it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish between these, but we must at least try.

Budgetary requirements are so small as to be irrelevant. We are not talking about thousands being spent for these processes to go in place. It’s not an insurmountable task even for small theatres; theatres already doing so include the New Diorama, The Gate and The Finborough.

My point is this: we are holding ourselves to a depressingly low standard. Personal relationships are not always malevolent forces of corruption. Advocacy of talented youngsters can ensure that the right people get the right opportunity at the right time. However, our commitment to fair and honest application procedures as a mandatory requirement is flimsy at best. This is doing the industry damage – it breeds insular artistic vision as well as debasing our belief in our own talent.

EJD: Perhaps it is a case of cornerstone institutions leading by example. I don’t think that this excuses us, however, from any behaviour that could be dubbed nepotistic – and this is defined differently by different people. Therefore you, and I, and anyone else wanting this increased vigilance will have to act accordingly. The phrase “squeaky-clean” comes to mind. In the public forum, I’m sure that there are some who think that the line between nepotism and simply choosing a friend for a task is not as clean-cut as you perceive it.

• What are your thoughts on nepotism? Do you have any thoughts on the definition of the issue, and are there any cases where nepotism is acceptable?

2012: Theatre Round-Up

2012 was a big year for Britain… The Olympics and Paralympics in London, the Jubilee, numerous sporting and cultural events – including The World Shakespeare Festival, the Globe-to-Globe Festival, the biggest ever Edinburgh Fringe Festival and one hell of a lot of plays and musicals…

Who knows what 2013 has in store for us: the recent “speak-out” from Danny Boyle and Nicholas Hytner on the importance of regional theatre implies that this element of England’s theatrical scene is truly under threat. We can only hope that this lobbying will have some effect on Maria Miller, culture secretary. As Boyle says –

Not one of those [artistic directors, including Hytner] has been even approached by this woman […] That is outrageous. This is cultural life of our country. She is the minister of fucking culture. I mean, come on.”

Time will tell, and hopefully the pressure will continue. Big names hit London next year with exciting new fixtures including the Michael Grandage Company’s offerings – I’m particularly excited about the Whishaw/Dench combination later in the year, despite their ridiculous “we’re newbies!” marketing campaign – and the Tony-award winning smash hit The Book of Mormon. The Life of Galileo at the RSC should be good, but who knows what the rest of the year will hold after March when the Arts Council are due to announce their funding. What will the government do with the generation that it has “inspired” in 2012? Leave them hanging? Follow up on promises? Or drop them completely…? The playwright Fin Kennedy has launched a campaign alongside his petition against the Ebacc, in this case for theatre-makers urging them to document the effect of Arts Council cuts on their work – so fingers crossed for a continued group effort (get involved).

But what did happen this year? From this end, I can only report what I have seen – and can only document that for which I haven’t lost the ticket – and although for me 2012 has been my biggest theatrical year in terms of seeing and writing about theatre, there is so much I have missed. Nonetheless, the following is both a log of most of the shows seen, links to reviews and features, and the highlights of 2012.

JANUARY began with my old theatrical home in the West Midlands, catching Caroline Catz in Top Girls at the Warwick Arts Centre, alongside WUDS’s very own A Clockwork Orange – a film noir version that involved copious amounts of facepaint and some psychedelic set perspective. Shakespeare this month was restrictd to Bailey’s Taming of the Shrew at the RSC, a bed-time romp that made an interesting interpretation of the “Kate problem”. The RSC’s Matilda in London was a childhood dream – and swings will never be the same again.

FEBRUARY was less delicate with some slightly less comforting renaissance drama, with Cheek by Jowl’s audacious ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore on tour at the Warwick Arts Centre and the original incarnation of The Changeling at the Young Vic, which to my memory was considerably more disappointing than reviews seem to be saying it is this time around. Mogadishu caused havoc with its Midlands audience, and Whole Hog Theatre Company – who are producing Princess Mononoke with Studio Ghibli’s blessing at the New Diorama in April next year – had their inaugural production, Dangerous Liaisons.

I saw Jerusalem for the second time in MARCH at the Loft theatre in Leamington Spa, in its first amateur production. Without the sterling cast of the Ian Rickson production, some characters didn’t read – an interesting insight into the most recent British “modern classic”. Orla O’Loughlin’s touching For Once at the Warwick Arts Centre spurred me on no end with my own production of Agatha which showed at the Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning in Coventry. Student writing flourished elsewhere with Warwick’s own Vile Bodies also showing at the V&A in London. The month ended with a trip to New York – which included a rather ridiculous War Horse – that was only saved from its huge, loud audience with some astonishing puppetry.

APRIL brought a tonsillectomy and a disappointing Comedy of Errors at the RSC. The Chis Mullins diaries in the form of A Walk on Part at the Soho Theatre were a merciful break from domestic monotony, but I didn’t venture out much otherwise.

More student work in MAY included Joe Boylan’s intimate and classy production of Statements After Arrest Under the Immorality Act at IATL in Coventry, and Lulu Raczka’s Knock was similarly small and claustrophobic in a site specific location. There was student writing in the WAC Studio again with Lovely Rita which couldn’t match Kathyn Hunter’s mesmerizing Kafka’s Monkey in the same space. At the Belgrade theatre in Coventry, there were two raucous and musical productions, Propeller’s The Winter’s Tale and a problematic Avenue Q. I ventured down to London to have my brain broken by Simon Stephen’s Three Kingdoms – doesn’t that man write lots of plays?!

In JUNE Our Fathers in the Warwick Arts Centre studio was a lovely little piece, honest and careful in comparison with The Blake Diptych: Experience which, although image-powerful and full of ideas, ultimately failed to come off. Doran’s Julius Caesar at the RSC nearly caused a domestic rift, as I was totally uninspired – apparently unlike everyone else who saw it. I fell in love with GATZ – my favourite book done superbly – and was underwhelmed by Democracy at the Old Vic. Student-wise, I saw a soaring Kiss of the Spiderwoman and The Pillowman both in the WAC Studio, the latter of which was long-listed for NSDF 2013.

JULY was a quiet one, only seeing The Tempest at the RSC, with a wonderful Jonathan Slinger: I’m looking forward to his Hamlet this year. All the while preparing for a MEGA:

AUGUST. My biggest fringe yet, both reviewing and performing (never again…). I wrote a Picks of the fringe feature if you want the shortened version, but for the more hardcore, here’s the full list:

Blink, The Economist, Vitamin, Request Programme, The Shit, Mephisto Waltz, Swamp Juice, Showstopper! The Improvised Musical, Thread, The Boy With Tape on His Face: More Tape, How a Man Crumbled, A Strange Wild Song, Bane (2), Inheritance Blues, Roma, Medicine Show, What The Heart Remembers, What I Heard About The World, The Most Dangerous Toy, From Harry to Houdini, Piatto Finale, Death Boogie, Strip Search, The Pride, The Blind, Dream Plays (Scenes From A Play I’ll Never Write), Everything Else Happened, Peter Panic, Rambling in an Empty Room, Boris and Sergey’s Vaudevillian Adventure, Duality, Bottleneck, Wrecked, After the Rainfall, (remor) and Swordy-Well.

After which I had to lie in a darkened room.

I moved to London in SEPTEMBER and caught both Morning (having missed it in Edinburgh) and Desire Under the Elms at the Lyric. I was also lucky enough to go to the opening night of Twelfth Night at the Globe theatre, and was inches away from Mark Rylance’s Dalek-like Olivia.

OCTOBER brought a Ding Dong The Wicked that I can’t really remember from the Royal Court, a sorry swap for the Love and Information tickets I was unable to get. I was overjoyed to see a friend of mine in Loserville which had a sorry script but some dazzling young talent.

I started to wind down in NOVEMBER with a spooky but slightly cheesy (which is great if you like that sort of thing) The Bodyguard Musical, and a truly appalling Damned by Despair at the National. I was entertained by Dr Ezra Tallboy’s Travelling Nightmares by Kill the Beast! and I am extremely excited for their London transfer of the Lowry-developed The Boy Who Kicked Pigs in 2013.

DECEMBER was my final 2012 theatrical fling, which began with Seussical! for which I interviewed the charming David Hunter. A Christmas Writer’s Bloc at the Old Red Lion was a good laugh, and I’m looking forward to Fat Git’s Winky when it goes to the Soho theatre next year. Both Ignorance at the Hampstead downstairs and Julius Caesar at the Donmar were trying to be too clever (there’s more to say but no space to say it…) and my final trips to the National this year included a pompous but ultimately lovely The Magistrate, and Alan Bennett’s quite wonderful People, which also brought about  this encounter…

 

I don’t know about you, but I think that’s quite enough for one year! 78 shows seen – it’s a new record. Happy New Year to all – may your next be as bright and theatrical as my previous!

An Interview with David Hunter

Seussical!

Originally published on Broadway Baby

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Now in the final few days of rehearsals, how has Seussical been coming along?

It’s been a really cool process, really, it’s such a fun show and I think that’s true of any process where the aim is to have a good time. It’s been hard work and tiring, as it always is, but the material’s so beautiful it’s hard not to enjoy it. I feel like I’m sweating a lot when I’m onstage, there’s a lot of running around! It’s high energy that you can’t let drop at any point, but as the run goes on we can learn to have more fun with it. It’ll be great to get an audience in now and feel them responding to what works and what doesn’t.

So tell us a little about the show itself…

It’s written by a Tony award-winning group called Flaherty and Ahrns, who have written musicals like Ragtime, A Man of No Importance and Lucky Stiff which I’ve been in. They wrote Seussical with Eric Idle, one of the Monty Python gang, and so it’s fantastic. The plot ties a lot of Dr Seuss stories together, focusing around Horton Hears a Who. It’s mad, really, but it’s such an honest story and really relatable even though it’s about elephants or whatever else. Instead of caring about losing a loved one, the characters care about losing a tiny world on a speck of dust: it’s ridiculous things made important. If you can buy into the world of the play, invest in it; it’s a lovely truthful play. I’m just blown away by how the more you explore it, the more interesting it gets.

Do you think it appeals to all levels, not just children?

Yeah, absolutely – Seuss wrote Yertle the Turtle, which is about Adolf Hitler, and he wrote How the Grinch Stole Christmas about commercialism at Christmas. You look at his stories, and his other work – he was a political cartoonist originally – and he has a lot to say. It would be easy to think Seussical is kids’ stuff, but you’re bringing them along as an excuse rather than a reason. There’s plenty here for everyone.

What kind of character is Horton?

The story follows this elephant and his attempt to protect this tiny world he finds on a speck of dust, full of “Whos”. He’s loyal, warm-hearted and passionate but he grows throughout the show to the point where he’s able to stick his neck out a bit more and he becomes quite steadfast towards the end.

How long have you been rehearsing for?

It’s only been three weeks – I think that’s why it’s felt like a long process in many ways, because we’re in grafting every day, making sure everything gets together in time. So it’s long days. I’d just finished Tommy which also had just three weeks rehearsal, and that was performed on the Monday night, and then I started [Seussical] first thing on the Tuesday morning! It was pretty strange going from a big bullying cousin to a warm-hearted elephant. It was quite a shift… The rest of the cast have been brilliant, phenomenally talented and really dedicated to making a great show. If you have a show where you have someone who doesn’t care as much then it makes it really difficult, but I think I’ve been lucky time and time again working with these incredible people.

How do you compare this with other work that you’ve done on the stage before?

I think the main thing that stands out for me is working on a piece that is so brilliantly written; it’s just all on the page for you. It’s great because sometimes you go into processes where you look at the script and you’re battling with it, but for this one you can read your lines on the first day and know how you’re going to do this. Also if you look at One Man Two Guv’nors [in which Hunter was involved in the West End production], there was an amazing all star cast – I was just watching from the sides an awful lot and doing my little bits. It’s great to be back playing a lead again, because you get to enjoy every scene, instead of watching all the fun things going on, you get to do them. If there’s going to be someone doing a backflip, you want to be that person!

Lots of people know you from the ITV Superstar series, was that a good experience, or has it helped you in any way – or would you rather blot it out from your memory completely?

No, not at all! It was an amazing experience. I went into it quite naively really, because it could have been awful, but that didn’t really cross my mind. We were very well taken care of, and I think it was unlike a lot of other reality TV shows. I remember turning up to see the final forty and there were a good handful of them who I’d seen in big shows, playing the lead in Rock of Ages or We Will Rock You – really established leading men. It was very highly pressured, and the competition was difficult because we all lived together for six weeks before the show started. It was all very speculative and you would drive yourself nuts thinking about every possible outcome. Now the stress is gone I can look back and see that it was just a brilliant adventure where we got to perform in front of millions of people every night, which is all I’ve ever wanted to do.

Did you find that competitive element when you were at LIPA?

Yeah, I guess so, as soon as you said that I remembered conversations from the LIPA bar, when we were getting to the end of our third year and were about to get released into the big wide world of auditions. Conversations like “oh, he won’t do much”, or “hasn’t he got a funny shaped nose” – so much speculation and competition. The weird thing was, as soon as we left drama school and did the showcase and got agents, we realised that we were never really in competition with each other because you we all so different.

Your musical work took off when you were still at Liverpool, was that always the plan or did that come about by accident?

By accident. I went to LIPA on the acting course and I still consider myself an actor before anything else, that’s how I work when I’m given a song or a bit of text. I always come at it from an actor’s point of view and look at it that way, because that’s how I was trained. I got into musicals because I could sing so I kind of combined music and theatre together. I trained and then I went off and I was in a band [Reemer] for a long time, and I got to marry those two things together. Superstar as well was acting and pop-rock added together so that was also a great opportunity. I love acting through song, it’s a great medium.

When you were singing with the band what was it like? Was that a different period of your life or does it all tie in together?

It does tie in together, I joined the band when I was still at LIPA – we were gigging at the weekends. I really felt that the singing was giving me confidence and helping me to stand out from the crowd. My acting training was really helping with the gigs as well; it was another part I was playing. That’s what my mum always used to say, anyway, she used to say, “When you go on stage, you go all funny and you act the rockstar!” It was kind of a four-year job. It was great to come back to acting at the end of it; it’s a much kinder world even if it is tough and competitive. You don’t have to lug your gear about and gig in tiny, dungeon-like venues with dripping walls and sticky floors. As I’ve got a bit older, I’m enjoying this environment a bit more.

Do you think that children are the harshest critics?

Haha, I guess so yes, because if they don’t like it they’ll just talk over it. That’s the thing with kids; they don’t have to be polite about something, if they don’t like something they’ll tell you. Maybe they’re not the harshest critics, but at least the most honest. It’s hard to get such honest feedback – even shows I know haven’t been very good, afterwards people aren’t going to say, “God, that was awful, what were you thinking?” because it would be rude. Whereas kids would have left, given the choice – they’d have walked out, saying, “I’m bored of this, I’m going to go and do something else.”

Do you think that feedback after shows is a contentious issue? With the current BAC dialogue on star ratings and whether they are useful or that theatre should be free of them – do you have an opinion on this?

I don’t see reviews as very helpful at all, really. You’re kind of in a position where nine times out of ten, reviews don’t offer a constructive criticism, they just offer a point of view. The difficulty is that not everyone’s point of view is the same. I understand that reviews and five-star ratings are important because it helps shows to sell tickets, and that’s where stars are useful: when you get a lot of them. I have total faith in this show, but I’m still really scared about reviews, because there have been occasions when critics have been harsh or cutting because they want to make a point, or they want to be that reviewer. There are times when I’ve read reviews where something’s been absolutely slammed, and I’ve thought it was absolutely brilliant. It’s particularly hard when it’s your baby, or it’s your work. Reviews are useful for producers, but I try and avoid them and just do work that I believe in. Reviews aren’t going to change much, they can just make you doubt. And the star rating is a very brief way of saying what you think, I can totally relate to that.

Well, part of me says that reducing something that has been made, something that has been created by a group of people, and has had this much time put into it, and ultimately is a work of art, shouldn’t just be reduced to a number just to sell tickets.

Yeah – and you wouldn’t go to an art gallery and rate a painting out of five, would you, like you say.

It’s coming up to Christmas, so what are you doing?

We’ve got shows the day before Christmas Eve, and then I’m actually getting a plane – I’ve been bumped up! I’ve been working over Christmas for the past three years, and the first time I drove home for Christmas; the second time I got the train; and this time I’m getting a plane, so I think I’m going up in the world! I’m going up to Warrington, where I’m from, to sit with my family and drink lots of cups of tea and have mince pies and look at the river that we live by. Just veg out for two or three days, and then come back and get back into the shows.

You can follow David Hunter on twitter@TheDavidHunter or @Seussical_LDN

London Scratch Nights: A User’s Guide

London Scratch Nights: A User’s Guide

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WHAT ON EARTH IS A SCRATCH NIGHT?! I hear you cry. Well, basically, it’s the nearest theatrical equivalent to being invited to a screening of a new film – before everyone else. In terms of emerging writing, directing and acting talent there is no better – or cheaper, or more enjoyable way – to see what’s out there before everyone gets signed away or sent off to train at drama school…

Scratch nights are, historically, a little rushed, made on a shoestring, often having slightly inebriated audiences in off-the-beaten-track venues. Think pub theatres, Battersea, that sort of thing. They are made with love and care, even if they are made very quickly, and the end product can be a wonderful and enlightening night out, as well as a lot of fun.

Definitively, a scratch night is a one-off performance, often in a fringe venue, where writers, actors and directors put something together very quickly. Some are rapid-response projects, responding to recent news events (think the nabokov producers for this), some are larger scale, run by larger institutions (think Battersea Arts Centre) as ways of sounding out new talent. Many tend to get left off the mainstream radar, which is a shame…

So here are a few London scratch nights that may prove to be of use to the spontaneous and life-loving individual (that’s you, by the way):

• Made From Scratch – these guys are everywhere: theatre503, The Cockpit, Southwark Playhouse, The Lost Theatre and Soho Theatre. They go wherever they can find space – you can find more details here.
• Freshly Scratched at BAC – produced by the BAC Young Producers (a talented young bunch of people), resident companies at this theatre participate in this regular event as well as “outsiders”. See here for more details.
• Writers Bloc – this company are based mostly at the Old Red Lion Theatre Pub in Angel, and have been doing regular scratch nights for a while now – and they hope to put on more in the coming months, so look out on their website.
• Paines Plough also run a few scratch nights with their associates Forward Theatre Project, and have done a few at the excellent central London venue, Soho Theatre (which, incidentally, has a great bar)…

For the others… Well, there’s hundreds for you to try yourself! The key is to look for them online and not in print media, as companies with a low budget can’t afford to get their adverts in the Evening Standard. Have a good Google, take a look at IdeasTap for invitations to upcoming events and stay savvy!

Lone Theatre-Going: Yay or Nay?

Lone Theatre-Going: Yay or Nay?

Now before I start, I must admit one thing: I am not a single lady. That does not mean, however, that I know nothing about anything (please keep reading… it’s interesting, I promise). I have been to the theatre so many times on my own that it has become habitual – or rather, it has certainly become the norm.

I’d like to share a couple of recent encounters that may encourage those who consider themselves lonely theatre-lovers to be brave enough to step out and see the wonderful things that London especially has to offer.

The first took place overseas, in Jersey, where avid readers will know I spent a couple of weeks acting and writing for a piece of new work called “Archipelago“. Amongst the wonderful people I met out there, was one rather inspirational individual – who shall remain nameless – who has had a lifelong habit of always buying two theatre tickets. To every single show they have ever seen. They give the other one away to whoever wants it. You can imagine just how many shows an industry professional has been to, how many people they have brought along. I thought it was an amazing idea – perhaps you could invite a stranger? A work colleague you don’t speak to very much? A relative? A man? A woman? A friend? A foe?! The possibilities are endless… Less lone theatre-going, more lone ticket-buying.

The second took place yesterday. Really. I apologise in advance to the man involved in this anecdote, I don’t know your name (!) so I can’t ask you if this is okay… If you read this, please take this inclusion of your story as a compliment.

I went to see “People“, Alan Bennett’s new play at the National (and although I believe that this show is sold out, I urge you to try and get day tickets if you have time – it is pretty lovely…). I had bought a singular ticket, and took my seat next to a man who, until the interval, I believed was with the elderly couple sitting next to him. Pretty unaware of his presence for the whole of the first half – like I said, the play’s pretty captivating – it wasn’t until we were left alone in the interval that I really realised he was there.

Literally the only people left in our row – everyone else had gone to the bar – we were forced to talk to each other. About theatre, about London, about Alan Bennett. Very brief, interesting enough – a new face to meet. Second half began, second half ended, audience piled out and I went for the mandatory National Bookshop browse. I didn’t realise The Other Lone Theatre-Goer had followed me and was drumming up the courage to ask me out for a drink two seconds later.

I declined. Politely, of course. This isn’t a love story – or at least not in the way that you think. I don’t know his name, we’ll probably never meet again – but had we not been both alone, such an encounter (with whatever outcome) would never have happened…

So fall in love with going alone. People-watch. Eat ice-cream. Watch something amazing, and strike up conversation. Say yes to a drink and be together in your mutual solitariness. Never be lonely…

It really is a yay.

The Bodyguard Musical

The Bodyguard Musical: Glitteringly Indulgent

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*** Please note, the production reviewed was a preview. ***

One of the most recent musicals to come to London, The Bodyguard Musical is a sure fire hit, starting to sell out even in its previews. Attracting every Whitney Houston fan under the sun, the show doesn’t disappoint its audience, generating gasps of horror and wonder and having the whole audience dancing on its feet by the end of the evening.

This is a phenomenon I’ve only experienced once before, at Mamma Mia! where ABBA fans and musical lovers alike sung their way through the production. The Bodyguard Musical goes one step further, in that it appeals not just to Whitney fans, but also engages the audience in its thrilling plot and demonstrates extremely high production values in its clever set.

Lloyd Owen – of Monarch of the Glen and Catherine Cookson fame – gives a classily understated performance as Frank Farmer, and Heather Headley’s vocals soar over the audience’s heads, giving the late Whitney Houston (may she rest in peace) a run for her money.

Comparison with the film is inescapable, but avid fans are kept interested by some interesting adaptions to the original plot-line. There is some clever but slightly jarring use of projection that nods to the origins of the production, but these are eclipsed by the sequences that are rooted in the theatrical. There are several occasions when we become part of the production as audiences at a karaoke, at various gigs and of course at the Academy Awards: we are involved every step of the way.

All in all, it is one of those productions that is going to be in the West End for a very long time – Headley is likely to experience another long-running musical (she was in the original cast of The Lion King as Nala) and the chance of sell-out shows is very high. The show has not been reviewed by the press yet, and so the hype hasn’t quite kicked off – so this is the time to get your tickets! 

If you want to see a musical where a single mother overcomes her demons, sings like a superstar, falls in love with a man who is off-limits and, importantly, includes some of the best songs in recent history, then I urge you to get your tickets to The Bodyguard Musical now. It might not be for everyone – but it comes pretty close to ticking all those boxes.

Other theatre news this week:

– The Evening Standard Awards took place this week, and included awards to Judi Dench, Simon Russell Beale and Nick Payne 

– Cinderella opened at the Lyric Hammersmith – the pantomime for adults and children alike (hot tickets!)