Obama The Musical - is this real? October 4, 2008
Posted by Andy in : comedy, opinion , add a commentThere’s nothing wrong with a bit of political spoof theatre but why put it on in London when it’s solely concerned with a character from an overseas election show?
Songs in the Obama the musical show, due to receive its premiere at Barons Court Theatre next month, include Obama and Me, which is sung by an obsessive member of his team and includes the lyric: “We are a pair/like chocolate and éclair”.
If the whole story is a spoof then it’s in The Telegraph
Thank goodness we don’t get Fox news.
The Female of the Species Reviewed July 17, 2008
Posted by Linda in : Vaudeville, comedy, female of the species, reviews , add a commentThe Female of the Species, Vaudeville Theatre 15-07-08
The Female of the Species a comedy, opened last night at the Vaudeville Theatre. The play is ‘loosely’ based on an incident in the life of Germaine Greer. The author Joanna Murray-Smith is at pains to deny that the feminist writer at the heart of the play is based on Greer stating that she wouldn’t dare to portray her on stage. Germaine Greer begs to differ, points out that the incident itself was nearer to tragedy than farce, and is suitably outraged.
I’ve read most of Germaine Greer’s books and I’m a great admirer of her work. This made me rather uneasy but we’d been given some complementary tickets (one of the perks of blogging ) and I thought I’d go with an open mind.
There is nothing like a Dame
Dame Eileen Atkins takes the lead as Margot Mason, a famous feminist author. I’m trying here to avoid mentioning Germaine Greer again but it’s very hard. She even looks a tiny bit like her, although at least she’s not wearing one of those classic grey Greer frocks. Her performance is quite wonderful, pure class and very funny. She dominates the stage and the play showing us in turn the vast ego of the woman, her undeniable intellect and her vulnerability. Atkins mixes this with some great comic timing and some lovely, physical comedy. Even in moments when the focus was off her it was hard to drag my eyes away from her expressive face.
I think her real triumph was to take a potentially unsympathetic part and make us see Margot as very human and often actually right in her assessment of people. Atkins’ Margot is witty and smart with a tiny edge of self-doubt. Even though Margot is the focus of everyone’s anger in the play Atkins’ performance steals the show and it is the other characters who end up looking hollow and foolish.
So far so good.
I was not so happy with some of the other performances. I felt that the rest of the cast were patchy. Everyone had good moments but no one shone. Each of the characters in turn gets to have a go at Margot (by now handcuffed to her desk) and tell her just where she, and the rest of the feminist movement have gone wrong. Each tries to tell her she is to blame for the situation they find themselves in.
The two younger women, Anna Maxwell Martin (the self styled ‘homicidal intruder’) and Sophie Thompson (the ‘disappointing’ daughter) both played their parts with gusto but with a rather exaggerated use of physical ticks.
I quite enjoyed Paul Chahidi as the son -in -law. Despite the character being dense, well meaning, full of platitudes but a bit of a cardboard cut out Chahidi managed to make me feel quite sympathetic to him.
Poor Con O’Neill has a strange and amazingly short part to play, coming on only for the last 15 minutes or so as the taxi driver. He’s almost the last to speak and is made to give voice to the argument that it’s these nasty feminists who have messed up a system that’s worked fine since the time of the cave men (no - really!) Unfortunately the biggest laugh he raised the night we saw it was when he slightly corpsed in response to a line from Sophie Thomson.
There’s also a very small cameo role as Margot’s publisher for Sam Kelly right at the very end.
So is it funny?
Well, yes. There are some wonderful one liners and moments of hilarity. It’s not the great intellectual comedy, which it sort of aspires to be but it is funny. It made an interesting and enjoyable evening at the theatre. If I had paid for my ticket I wouldn’t have felt in the least bit cheated. It was a real treat to see a genuine Dame of the theatre in action.
** Find Cheap Tickets for Female of the Species**
The Female of the Species - new comedy play July 15, 2008
Posted by Andy in : Vaudeville, comedy, female of the species , add a comment
** Find Cheap Tickets for Female of the Species**
The Female of the Species
“The Female of the species” is the title of a song from Space which was a big hit in the early nineties and gets rolled out as a soundtrack to TV stories about spiders or women.
It’s also the title of a play by Joanna Murray-Smith which previews this week at the Vaudeville Theatre in London where it is set to run until October 2008. The play is an Australian export in the form of a comedy/farce which explores the roles of motherhood and celebrity feminism.
Dame Eileen Atkins plays the lead role of Margot Mason, a 1970s feminist pioneer having authored “The Cerebral Vagina” and other bestsellers.
The play was initially inspired by an event in April 2000 when Germaine Greer was “held captive in her home by a deluded young student” but that’s just a departure point for a work of fiction and Germaine Greer herself has criticised the play saying in a Sunday Times interview that “Murray-Smith is an insane reactionary who boasts that she has not read a single feminist text. She holds feminism in contempt.”
Also starring Con O’Neill (Blood Brothers) and Anna Maxwell Martin (Midsomer Murders, Doctor Who)
Is more deadly than the male.
Here’s the Space video of the young Liverpudlians performing the classic hit The female of the species
** Find Cheap Tickets for Female of the Species**
Dickens Unplugged - close announced June 18, 2008
Posted by Linda in : Comedy theatre, comedy, dates , add a commentDickens Unplugged will close on 29 June at the Comedy.
A spokesperson for the show said:
“The producers wish to thank the talented cast, creative team and company for all their hard work and dedication to this production. Despite fantastic performances and enthusiastic audiences, the ticket sales have not been sufficient and the producers have had to make the difficult decision to close the show.”
Dickens Unplugged opened May 23rd.
Spamalot - Sanjeev is the new Arthur June 2, 2008
Posted by Linda in : cast changes, comedy, dates, spamalot , add a commentSpamalot cast news - Comedian Sanjeev Bhaskar will be playing King Arthur as of June 23rd. 
Sanjeev, one of the stars of The Kumars at No. 42 and Goodness Gracious Me, takes over from Alan Dale.
Sanjeev is married to co-star, comedienne and writer Myra Sayal. As far as I can find this will be his first West End role. I think he’s a great choice and he will bring his own unique style to the final months of Spamalot.
Spamalot looks set to close on January 3, 2009, but will go on a UK tour in April.
Is “Fat Pig” Funny? We’ll see May 20, 2008
Posted by Andy in : Fat Pig, Trafalgar Studios, comedy , 2commentsFat Pig at Trafalgar Studios
Fat Pig is the title of a new comedy play at Trafalgar Studios by Neil LaBute and starring at least two great TV comedy actors. Robert Webb from hit comedy duo Mitchell and Webb ( Jeremy from “PEEP SHOW” ) plays the male lead against Ella Smith (Phoebe from ITV’s “Sold”) and then you also get Kris Marshall (Nick Harper from My Family) making that two characters from Sold, and Joanna Page from Gavin and Stacey.
So a bit of a comedy supergroup then, but what about the storyline? Well you can get a clue from the title “Fat pig”, which seems designed to raise worries about the nature of the comedy:
“Helen is a bright, funny, sexy young woman who happens to be plus-sized - and then some - so it’s only so long before the jokes start to fly from Tom’s office buddies.
- A funny, searing and ultimately touching love story.”
I just hope the subject is handled as well as promised, we’re going to see a preview tomorrow night. Yay !
So, reviews to come later then.
** Fat Pig tickets from Discount Theatre **
PS. Kris Marshall ( well known from currents BT ads on TV) received head injuries in a serious car accident last month and decided to go ahead with the show anyway which is a sign of great courage and dedication, or something!
Comedy Theatre April 23, 2008
Posted by admin in : Comedy theatre, comedy , add a comment
Comedy Theatre showing two Harold Pinter plays:
Harold Pinter: The Lover
and
Harold Pinter: The Collection
Mamma Mia - the film trailer is here! April 23, 2008
Posted by admin in : Mamma Mia!, Musicals, Prince of Wales, cast changes, comedy, news, offers , add a commentMamma Mia!
Mamma Mia! is one of the most popular shows in the West End at the moment and it is easy to forget just how good it actually is. It premiered in London in April 1999 and is likely to be given a boost by the opening of the new film version in a few weeks. You’d think that might put people off the stage version, but in fact the opposite is usually true. Once people see the film they often decide they want to see the original.
The book was written by Brit Catherine Johnson and music composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of Abba. It’s now the most successful musical on Earth. It has grossed more than $2 billion. There are currently 10 productions worldwide. People take theatre breaks in London, Berlin, and even Las Vegas just to see the different productions! More than 30 million people have seen it. Now even more will see the film.
Mamma Mia! the Movie
The film cost $65-million and stars Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. Like the stage show it tells the story of single mum and taverna owner Donna Sheridan, and her daughter’s search for her father. Streep plays Donna, and Brosnan plays one of Donna’s three old flames, one of whom might be the long lost dad, that show up for Donna’s daughter’s wedding.
The trailer for the Mama Mia film has just been released and here it is:
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Mamma Mia in London
Currently Mamma Mia is playing at the Prince of Wales Theatre on Coventry Street. The theatre’s nearest tube station is Leicester Square or Piccadilly.
Here’s a delicious peep backstage with some of the London cast’s leading ladies:
Ring round the moon - early close March 12, 2008
Posted by admin in : comedy, news, playhouse, ring round the moon , add a comment
Ring Round the Moon currently running at the Playhouse Theatre will close two months early due to poor ticket sales. The last performance will now be on on March 29.
The revival of Jean Anouilh’s 1947 comedy, Ring Round the Moon, opened on February 19, 2008 at the Playhouse Theatre Initially booking until May 24, 2008 the production will now close March 29th.
The story is set around a lavish ball at a chateau. It centres on twin brothers, an heiress who’s engaged to one twin but in love with the other, and a ballet dancer involved in a plot devised by the more devious brother.
Sean Mathias directs a cast that includes Angela Thorne, Belinda Lang, Peter Eyre, John Ramm, Elisabeth Dermot Walsh, Joanna David, Andrew Havill, Fiona Button and JJ Field. Design is by Colin Richmond.
Ring Round the Moon was translated from the French (L’Invitation au Chateau) by Christopher Fry. It received its West End premiere at the Globe Theatre (now the Gielgud) in 1950. The first UK production starred Paul Scofield, Claire Bloom and Margaret Rutherford.
Ring Round The Moon - The Playhouse February 10, 2008
Posted by admin in : comedy, playhouse, ring round the moon , add a commentThe playhouse at Charing Cross is one of the West End theatres that specialises in more serious plays and comedy instead of broadway style musicals, but they are often much shorter runs.
Ring round the Moon is currently booking until 29th March
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