Night and Daze (Underbelly, Friday 7th August 2015) ****

A drunken night out, but full of humour and engaging. We follow Sheffy on a night out and meet his work colleagues and friends. On the night out Sheffy falls in love. This is an extremely energetic performance from both performers.

Of course, there are lots of shows about a drunken night out on the Fringe (Wasted and Weekend Rockstars to name two others that I saw). Sometimes people acting drunk can become a little tedious, but here I felt that this production was different enough to keep me engaged. Not that I liked the character, but I don’t think we are meant to.

I really enjoyed this mix of performance poetry and physical theatre.

Things I needed to Know.

I know Underbelly from previous visits to the Fringe but I wish I could remind myself that this is a very claustrophobic venue.

Further Information

http://412.productions/nightanddaze/

****

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Takeaway by Jackie Kay. (Space one, Friday 7th August 2015) ***

It took me some time to get into this show. The young cast were extremely enthusiastic and they were clearly enjoying taking part. Onions become a metaphor for several issues (drug taking, immigration, familial love). The story worked on several layers, like an onion, I suppose. The piece was an exploration of young people’s lives, and was well put together.
The company used a mixture of movement and dialogue to tell several stories which came together in the end.
The selling point for me was Jackie Kay’s name in the title, and I’m glad I went to see it, but it hasn’t been one of my favourite shows so far.
Things that I needed to Know

On my ticket it said Space One and the address was 88 High Street. After I walked up and down the High Street several times, I realised that the venue was actually in the Raddison Blu hotel.

***

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Divas (Pleasance Dome, Friday 7th August) ****

This was my first show of the Fringe this year, and I really enjoyed it. Basically, it is about two people falling in love. The protagonists are both very different men, but they both share a passion for the music of Divas. That’s singers like Dusty, Aretha and Diana Ross. The story is told by the two men interspersed with songs sung by women dressed up like a sixties girl group. The women also take on the roles of other characters and sometimes act as the voices of men as well.

What I really enjoyed about this show was that the two men each tell the narrative in a different order, presenting alternative viewpoints and possible conclusions. There’s some good performances from the two leads.

Things I Needed to Know

Many venues have more than one site and stupidly (in my view), call them the same thing. So Pleasance Dome is on the other side of town from Pleasance Courtyard. Be warned that if you turn up at the wrong Pleasance, it’s a 10 to 15-minute dash across town.

****

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The Rolling Stone (Manchester Royal Exchange, Wednesday 22nd April 2015)

I visited the Manchester Royal Exchange to see this production because I wouldn’t be able to catch it in Leeds at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, which is nearer to me.

I’m glad I saw it and it was an extra treat to see Robert Gilbert just out of the RSCs Henry plays playing Sam. Rolling Stone is the story of a young Ugandan man, Dembe (Fiston Barek), who is in love with a Northern Irish teacher, Sam. As this is Uganda, being gay can be dangerous. Chris Urch’s Bruntwood Prize winning play takes the audience through the love in the relationship between Sam and Dembe to the harrowing consequences. It explores the different approaches to sexuality seen through the eyes of the Northern Irish man who wants Dembe to be open about his sexuality, and the fear that there is in a country like Uganda where men are murdered if they are gay.

I liked the way that the actors stayed on stage and watched, including the intimate private moments between Dembe and Sam. This approach reminds the audience that they are also voyeurs. Overall this was an excellent production and superbly acted.

 

(c) Jonathan Keenan
(c) Jonathan Keenan

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Oppenheimer (The Swan Theatre and Vaudeville Theatre, 7th March and 4th April)

 “I am lead lined. I am tungsten”.

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Last time I saw Oppenheimer was the last performance in the Swan Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon. This was on the Swan’s thrust stage and when I left the theatre, the stage was covered in chalk and daffodils. Here was another transfer from Stratford that has moved from a thrust to a proscenium arch stage, and having loved the production, I was curious to see how it would work in a West End theatre.

A piano and a blackboard are juxtaposed on stage, and in many ways these two props symbolise the structure of Tom Morton-Smith’s narrative. The staging moves between a lecture and the social world of the characters. The play starts with a party and later in the play there is a grotesque reflection of this as the cast dance in the lights and night of the atomic bomb.

John Heffernan is a truly amazing actor. He is enchanting, and emotional, while at the same he can use his whole physique to seem menacing. At times, he seems to stoop towers down with an arch of his head, which felt  like Goya’s ‘Saturn Devouring His Son’, and then he can follow that by seeming to be so vulnerable with a slight tilt of his head. He could merge into the background and then come to the front of the stage and seduce the audience. I felt that Heffernan has the ability to look like he is looking me right in the eye, as if speaking directly do me. I am sure all the audience members felt the same.
Of course coming to the very front of the stage works well on a proscenium arch theatre, and the framing makes works well as well. What is lost is a little bit of the intimacy of the Swan Theatre, but I was sat near the front so I felt close to the action.
I couldn’t help thinking about comparisons with Shakespeare. Oppenheimer is a Cleopatra, often changing moods, as well as a ‘leader of men’. I was reminded  of The Winter’s Tale, when Oppenheimer uncomfortably holds his baby daughter, and pushes her away wanting to give her up for adoption. Like Macbeth he becomes more and more solitary and seems to reject his wife. He is a leader in a History play, and like Henry V, he is able to condemn his friends when they won’t drop their politics.
There’s something of the Mad Men as well about this production. I felt myself shocked at watching a pregnant woman smoke and drink, and I shuddered to think people wanted to be at the test site of an atomic bomb. That knowing hindsight puts us as the audience in a strange position. In the performance they actually smoke real cigarettes according to a notice in the theatre.
Heffernan might shine in this production, but it’s a very strong ensemble cast as well. The use of multimedia and plain chalk are a nice combination to support the lecture motif. It was clear that at some point the bomb would come on stage, and there’s that sense of anticipation waiting for it to happen. The staging of the bomb is highly effective.
One of Oppenheimer’s final lines is chilling. He says “I feel like I’ve left a loaded gun in the playground”.
Yes Oppenheimer is human, and when he acknowledges that “I am lead lined. I am tungsten”, I felt he understands that he has transformed from human to Death.
The running time is 3 hours.
PS. Clearly, the RSC must have made sure this was more than a six-week run so it would qualify for an Olivier. Let’s hope this production wins one.
Further Information
I also reviewed Oppenheimer for As Yet Unnamed London Podcast
(c) RSC

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