The Welsh National Opera's Boulevard Solitude, seems to bring the classical tale of Orpheus and Eurydice into modern France. It is the oldest story in the book. Boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, girl keeps slipping from boy's grasp and finally boy loses girl completely...
As part of WNO's Fallen Women season, Boulevard Solitude, is a modern opera, performed in English that tells the story of Mannon Lescaut (Sarah Tynan), who falls in love with a student, Armand des Grieux (Jason Bridges).Tragically the two can never be together as Manon's brother Lescaut (Benjamin Bevan) is constantly using his sister as a tool to seduce rich men while he steals from them.
I am never going to be completely comfortable in the audience of an opera but I definitely came close watching this one. It may have been the classicist in me but I found the plot riveting.The way the story reveals the end first and then fills in the gaps was particularly impressive and helped with the general understanding of the plot -for someone who struggles to understand opera. If you have never seen an opera before but would like to, this is definitely a good one to start with.
Cast: Armand des Grieux - Jason Bridges Actors: Justyna Biabwas
Manon Lescaut - Sarah Tynan Katarzyna Holtra
Lescaut- Benjamin Bevan Joanna Jeffries
Monsieur Lilaque - Adrian Thompson Gordon Brandie
Francis - Alistair Moore Michal Ciecka
Young Lilaque - Laurence Cole Nicholas Keegan
Mr Man - Tomaz Wygoda Ashley James Orwin
Click here to find out more about WNO's Fallen Women Seaon
I admit I was a bit torn tonight. Normally when you mention Matthew Bourne and Swan Lake in the same sentence you have responses telling you just how fantastic it was and it is so modern, so beautiful, they all seem to have seen it multiple time. With this is mind I knew I was in for something special but at the same time I have never been a fan of ballet.
While I still stand by that I do have to admit that the show was quite spectacular! The choreography was particularly stunning and for someone who isn't so keen on ballet there were several other genres of dance that managed to seep in and maneuver away from the traditional ballet.
The second act seemed to drag on for a bit to long, in my opinion. The third and fourth acts drew me back in and it wasn't until the final scene that I realised how invested I was.
Chris Trenfield, who played the Swan tonight showed that swans do not always have to be portrayed by delicate ballerinas but instead his swan was more masculine and aggressive and at times seemed more swan-like than would have been expected.
Likewise Andrew Monaghan - who played the tortured prince who desires affection from his mother and from his feathered companion carried the narrative throughout and even when on stage on his own he completely dominated every move he made.
Saranne Curtin - The queen was so glamorous in all her majestic costumes and although he struggled to warm up to her son, she definitely managed to warm up to the audience.
Carrie Johnson - the girlfriend was your typical blonde hair, high heels - Elle Woods - style character. She kept the story light and humorous. That isn't to say that her dancing was any less elegant than the others.
Paul Smethurst who played the Private Secretary kept everything in perfect order such as teaching the girlfriend how to behave appropriately. Also another funny character but also really came through with the dancing.
I seem to be in the minority who says I think once was enough so I would thoroughly encourage everyone to go see it. After all, all those people can't be wrong...
Ensemble: Ashley Shaw, Chatelle Gotobed, Katrina Lyndon, Cordelia Braithwaite, Stephanie Billers, Freya Field, Emma Chadwick, Ivan Delgado Del Rio, Tom Cummings, RObin Gladwin, Otis - Cameron Carr, Graham Kotowich, Tom Broderick, Andy Macleman, Edd Mitton, PJ Hurst, Jack Jones, Glenn Graham, Luke Jackson, Tom Clark & Harry Clark
For anyone who has tickets for the show on the 13th of February you will be in for a special treat just before the curtain goes up. In partnership with Matthew Bourne and Re: Bourne, a charity run by the dance company New Adventures and the Hippodrome's very own Curtain Raiser, will give the opportunity for 16-18 year old students the experience of working with professional dancers and choreographers. Over the last few months students from Stratford-upon-Avon, Walsall College and Birmingham Ormiston Academy have been working with Dominic North - one of Bourne's principle dancers, and Clare Palethorpe - a freelance dance practitioner, on their curtain-raiser. This will be a five minute performance, inspired by Swan Lake - 19 young men will have the joy of dancing on the Hippodrome's main stage to an audience of almost 1,800 people.
Last summer I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the Birmingham Hippodrome's First Night Bloggers. So far it has been such privilege to be able to spend many happy nights at the theatre, glass of wine in one hand and my ticket in the other. What do I have to do in return? Review the shows. Sounds like I win on both ends here!
Our first experience of press life was at the Dance Consortium's Sutra, a dance show that combined contemporary dance and kung fu. With that in mind I entered the auditorium for the first time as a First Night blogger and sat through the most incredibly bizarre performance I'd ever seen. It was absolutely sensational!
Next we were invited along to the Welsh National Opera where I saw Wagner's Dream. This was my first experience of the WNO and I had only ever seen one opera before. It was clearly for quite a niche audience but unfortunately I was not part of that niche. Thinking back to the plot now, it actually left me with a lot to think about and even inspired one of my dissertation ideas.
Over the summer we attended the Youth Arts Summit. The event opened by showcasing some of the talent that resides among Birmingham's youth and was then followed by a debate. Although I felt that the adults dominated most of the discussions, I hope to see some changes come about from what the younger attendees had to say.
My first day back at university had the most perfect start at the Snow White panto press event. It was a sparkling morning where the press had the opportunity to meet the cast and meet the Hippodrome's latest Snow White, Danielle Hope.
Illuminate lit up Birmingham for a wonderful weekend, providing all sorts of thrills for audiences of all kinds. Just knowing that I attended two out of the three days should tell you just how much I enjoyed it.
War Horse galloped into our hearts in October with a series of related events. We had the opportunity to speak to some of the cast of the show as well as the acclaimed writer Michael Morpurgo. We returned to the Hippodrome again later to hear the man himself read extracts from his book as part of Remembrance day. Such a beautiful book and every event that trotted into the Hippodrome did it complete justice.
Finally to top off a fabulous experience - so far - I embarked on the world of panto. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs definitely held up the shimmering reputation of panto at the Hippodrome and was a perfect way to end 2013 at the theatre.
I think it is obvious that I have enjoyed every second of this experience so far and I cannot wait for another fun filled year at the Birmingham Hippodrome in 2014!
I cannot even remember last time I saw a pantomime but I wasn't looking particularly looking forward to being faced with over dramatic acting, ridiculously cheesy scripts and jokes well past their sell by date.
By the end of the show I was on my feet with the rest of the audience, I'm not sure what panto memories I was drawing on but clearly they had all been wrong.
In true style Gok Wan flew onto stage in his panto debut as the magic mirror in a costume so glitzy that he could probably see his own reflection in it. As expected he was a complete natural and had the audience in fits of laughter. His take on the sister act song, Fabulous was well... fabulous! You can catch Gok Wan on channel 4 Monday 30th December at 19:05 for Gok does Panto
The handsome prince John, played by John Partridge was indeed everything you would expect in your panto prince! Dashingly handsome - not afraid to show some muscle and able to belt out some show stopping tunes such as One Direction's 'Live While We're Young' and Bruno Mars' 'Runaway Baby'. Leading lady Danielle Hope played the sweet-natured Snow White. She remained calm and collected despite the chaos that inevitably comes along with pantomime. Her voice is as breathtaking as ever demonstrated through her taken on 'The Voice Within' by Christina Aguilera.
Screen and stage star Stephanie Beacham played the evil queen Sadista. Her evilness was only matched by her glamour making her perfect for the the fairest villain in all the land.
Gary Wilmot got all 'dressed' up for his role as Nora Crumble, the cook at the palace. He proved that even though there isn't normally a dame in Snow White, no pantomime is complete without one.
Matt Slack and Paul Zerdin - along with his puppet pal, Sam -played brothers Oddjob and Muddles and were the stars of the show (for me at least). Although I couldn't quite bring myself to join in, they were absolutely fantastic in getting the audience involved and providing the physical comedy that pantomime is so well known for. I didn't imagine I would find this so funny but I found myself putting my hand over my mouth to stifle the sheer volume of my laughter. Both were quick on their feet and their wit made the audience very forgiving of some clear technical issues and several moments of corpsing. One of the highlights was when Oddjob and Muddles join Nora and the Man in the mirror to dream about what they would do if they weren't working for the queen. The choreography was sensational and the song - completely hysterical.
The seven dwarfs, much like Snow White, didn't seem very central for a show called Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs but despite being 'short' for stage time they delivered a big performance. The chorus was highly energetic and emerged in a variety of overblown glittery costumes.
As expected from any pantomime the set was full of whizzes and bangs and plenty of special effects. The dragon seemed to be a favourite of the younger audiences.
Not being from Birmingham I had only heard via word of mouth just how spectacular pantomime at the Birmingham Hippodrome is every year. Take it from someone who was apprehensive at first. Go buy your ticket now!
Don't forget the relaxed performance on Thursday 30th January. Read More...
This year Birmingham Hippodrome will be taking part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge. This is a more relaxed performance of this year's pantomime, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on Thursday 30th January 2014 - 1pm. The relaxed show invites children with autism and those with learning difficulties or sensory and communication disorders to enter the magical world of pantomime. The aim of this performance is to make the theatre - going experience special for all these children, some whom may be first timers. The loud sounds, bright and strobe lights and pyrotechics will be reduced or removed in order to make the children feel more at ease. All the staff, including the cast will be there to accommodate to the audience and their needs.
Eve Smith (Development Manager):
“Donations made online from 10am on Thursday 5, Friday 6 and Saturday 7 December could be doubled, so we are encouraging everyone to save the date and help us provide a unique theatre experience for disadvantaged children.”
If you would like to donate and support this performance can make a donation by clicking here from 10am on Thursday 5th, Friday 6th & Saturday 7th December.
Click here to donate through the Birmingham Hippodrome Website
Click here to buy tickets for the relaxed performance. Click here to buy tickets for the panto.
Much like Joey the horse, War Horse has been embedded on the heart (and my blog!) of audiences for the last few weeks.
Just shortly before the final performance at the Birmingham Hippodrome, Michael Morpurgo read an abridged version of his renowned book accompanied by musicians, John Tams and Barry Coope.
Since finding out that this event was taking place I checked my e-mail everyday for the availability of tickets. I could never have imagined that it would be an incredibly remarkable event and one that I will probably never forget.
Morpurgo's love for his novel simply shone through his performance. In a discussion after the reading we decided that we adored the way he became each of his characters, whether it was changing his tone or his accent, it was like watching the show all over again.
I took a friend with me who had never seen the play but was a huge fan of MrMorpurgo and his work. She commented on how suited the music was to the narrative. I couldn't agree more. Each chapter of Joey's tale was separated by the marvelous musicians and slotted in perfectly.
Joey and the rest of the cast have now galloped out of the Hippodrome but it has been so much fun being able to explore the text and how it came onto the stage. If you have a chance to see War Horse as the tour continues, make sure you get your tickets fast!
Click here to see where War Horse will be going next.
Michael Morpurgo, acclaimed author of War Horse, will be returning to the hippodrome once again for a special event leading up to Remembrance Sunday this weekend. Only Remembered will take place next Friday, November 8th 2013.
It is no surprise that the show, currently mid run at the Hippodrome, is sold out and you can click here to find out why. Whether or not you have been lucky enough to get tickets, this is an event you won't want to miss.
Morpurgo will be reading extracts from his novel accompanied by musicians, John Tams and Barry Coope, who will be setting the mood with the songs from the production [Click Here to hear my interview with the man himself!].
Only Remembered takes place at the Birmingham Hippodrome on Friday 8th November at 2pm.
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