Matilda

Most people are familiar with Roald Dahl's famous book about a little girl who proves that sometimes children understand right and wrong better than adults. The loveable bookworm hit the West End in 2011 after a great run in Stratford Upon Avon. 

Tim Minchin is the genius mind behind the music in this wonderful musical. Every song is very memorable and you'll find yourself bursting into many of these fantastic songs for months after you see the show. Indeed the whole cast from the youngest to the oldest, should make Mr Minchin proud as they perform each song with the justice it deserves. 

Every catchy song should come with some spectacular choreography and this show is no different. The salsa sensation, Loud is one of the absolute highlights for dancing in this show. Mrs Wormwood (Kay Murphy) and her dance partner,  Rudolpho (Jason Winter) perform a salsa routine that will have you on the edge of your seat. Another song worth a mention for it's unbelievably impressive choreography is, School Song - without giving too much away, the way in which they incorporate the props into this dance is just beyond words (and I'm aware that as a journalist, I should always have the 'words').

There are many tricks and surprises throughout the show in order to keep some of the book/film's most iconic scenes, Bruce (Arthur Yamaguchi) demolishes the chocolate cake before your very eyes, Amanda (Havana Garcia) is flung by her pigtails by the evil Miss Trunchbull (Will Kenning) and Matilda (Matilda Shapland) knocks over the newt infested water onto her horrible headmistress. 

In a modern re-telling of this classic story, everything is as it should be. The Wormwoods are still a hilarious family, Miss Trunchbull is still rather frightening and Matilda is still lovable. 

The cast are all incredible but a special mention for all the children who completely steal the show. 

Matilda is booking until May 2015 so hurry on down to the Cambridge Theatre! 

The Hillls Are Alive With The Sound of Music

The 2nd of March marked the 50th anniversary of one of the most iconic films ever made. I doubt that there are very few people in this world, if any, who would not be able to sing along to My Favorite Things or Do Re Mi. 

Mountain Maria sing The Sound of Music on

To mark the anniversary of The Sound of Music, I've decided to review one of the most memorable trips I have done so far. A couple of years ago, a friend and I stopped over in Salzburg, Austria during our Inter-railing Europe trip. We knew that without any doubt we would not leave Salzburg without doing The Sound of Music tour. 

The Von Trapp House

After some research we finally settled on Panorama Tours due to the many positive reviews on various touristy websites. For 40 euros you are taken on an approximately four hour coach journey around the places where the cast filmed on location. If you are as big as fans of the film as we are, then expect to geek out to overboard levels. 

Sixteen going on Seventeen

Annoyingly, we didn't get our coach driver's name but what I do remember is how charismatic he was and how he kept the whole coach in hysterics from start to end. As well as providing us with exciting facts about the film and the locations they used, there was a bit of a coach sing-a-long with the soundtrack playing in the background. 

You see the kids playing in these trees

 The tour takes you past the nun's Abbey and the iconic mountain from the start of the film. You'll go through Leopoldskron Palace, the famous garden where the children fall out of the boat and to Hellbrunn Palace where the Gazebo from Sixteen going on Seventeen is located. 

Where Maria and Captain Von Trapp get married

 On the way to Mondsee, where the wedding scene was filmed, you will pass through St Gilgen - Salzburg's Lake District. I purposefully didn't put an photos up of it as none justify just how incredibly stunning it was. Indeed, take as many photos as you can at this photo stop but be prepared to struggle through persuading your friends that your beautiful photos do not even begin to touch on what it is like to see it with your own eyes. 

Maria and the kids dance through during Do Re Mi

 After entering the Chapel, we explored the little town on our own. This is the perfect opportunity to pick up all your film souvenirs as they are in every gift shop there. When the tour was over, we went back to Mirabell Gardens - where Do Re Mi was filmed and wandered around pointing at features we vaguely remembered from the film.

SO DO!

Salzburg is like the open set for the film and although you can see some of these places without the tour, I would completely recommend getting the full Panorama Tours experience. 

The Theatre Cafe

A theatre lovers heaven. The whole experience reminded me of the time I saw The Book of Mormon. I was concerned that maybe I had built it up too much in my head and the actual reality would disappoint. However, much like The Book of Mormon, all my expectations were exceeded and I am sure this was just my first visit of many more...

To read the rest of my review check out my new blog Thyme to cook. 

Critical thinking

I have now dipped my toe in the theatre critic pool for long enough to have a nice feel of how it works. Over the last five years my experiences have varied but each time I go I am always learning new dos and don'ts of being a theatre crtic.  So as someone still at the beginning of their career path, I thought I might share what I've learnt so far for anyone else who might be considering becoming a theatre critic. 

Firstly, you have to be willing to give every genre of theatre a try. This might seem like an obvious point but if you're like me, you know that you are more likely to be drawn in by one type of performance (I can't resist a good flashy musical). I have actually seen a lot of fantastic shows that I might have dismissed other wise and I gave a chance to genres I didn't think I'd like and was surprised by just how much I enjoyed it. 

Secondly, there is no right way of writing a review. The hardest experience I have had is writing my own blog -I don't have a style guide. The important thing is to be honest and just write well - which if you're looking into a career like this, you probably are a decent writer. I developed my own style over time. I saw which of my reviews had the most views and I had feedback from friends and family the whole time. I also would read other reviews by well established critics and took note of the most common things that they look at in a show. 

On the note of writing style, there is however a right and wrong way of writing something. You should be completely honest and you are definitely entitled to your own opinion but don't forget you are writing about human beings. If you don't like a show then say so but say what you thought wasn't so great rather than just saying you didn't like it. Your readers might find that something you didn't like is something that they particularly like. I have said in past reviews when I thought an actor was a bit weak in their performance but be tactful. Don't say "They had less appeal than week old fish" It's not funny, it's not clever and it's just plain rude. 

Thirdly, going to the theatre is expensive so get your name out there by applying to companies such as, A younger theatre and make use of any contacts you can to help you go see more shows. The more you're out there posting and mingling with other critics, the more noticeable you will become and who knows where that might lead? 

Step right up and meet The Scottsboro Boys (ending Feb 21st 2015)

The latest in the Kander and Ebb's line of work, Scottsboro Boys tackles tough themes of racism and justice in a true story that lead to the American Civil Rights Movement. For such a dark story, the cast and creative team create an remarkable, enjoyable and even humorous production. 

The show begins on March 25th 1931 when nine black boys are traveling across the Southern Railway Line from Alabama to Memphis. After the police get a whiff of a fight between some white boys and some black boys, the train is stopped and the police come to investigate. They find two white girls who are traveling the train without tickets. To stop themselves from getting into trouble, the girls accuse the nine boys of rape... 

A very interesting look into the American justice system in a segregated America, this show is presented as minstrels performing the story of the Scottsboro Boys. Each actor skillfully takes on more than one character. The actors all possess the incredible talent of playing the morose prisoners and quickly switching to the comic relief characters. 

Some very memorable songs throughout the show but the cast never let the atmosphere get too low. The choreography is simply awe- inspiring. A tap routine lead by the youngest Scottsboro Boy, aged 12, is simply sensational. The choreography perfectly matches the feeling on stage from the more sorrowful scenes, the nightmare scenes to the moments of hope and joy. 

A very impressive set only made up of chairs moved into different position makes an interesting choice and the creativity and plausibility behind it all is very impressive. Of course, the use of shadow puppets are amazingly choreographed into the show and proved to be both artistic and comic. 

This could be perhaps the best time to bring a show like this to the West End and I highly would recommend sending it on a UK tour. While audience members now may sit and watch the horrible injustice caused to these innocent young men, it offers an interesting critique on events that still occur now in the 21st century. It was a beautifully memorable performance and I cannot recommend it enough!  

Get tickets here! 

(Tip: We got under 25 day tickets for £10)

Bat Boy - The Musical

Your typical Frankenstein/ Edward Scissorhands story. Creature enters civilisation, civilians are afraid and intolerant and lose no time in forming a violent mob.

Bat Boy is based on a story published in American tabloid The Weekly World News, on June 23rd 1992. The story told its readers of a 'half boy - half bat' found in a cave and printed each fabrication as fact. This issue became their second best selling issue.

From the same producer as In The Heights and written by Key the Farley and Brian Flemming, Bat Boy takes place in the fictional Hope Falls, West Virginia. Three siblings find Bat Boy in a cave and after he attacks their site, the boys capture bat boy where he is brought to Meredith Parker, who says she'll care for him.

Perhaps this is not the best staging for a performance like this as it all feels a bit crowded and often too busy. The use of a screen helps slightly but could sometimes be distracting from the action on stage. 

Rob Compton plays a very believable Bat Boy, he effortlessly evolves from the wild half-beast to the more civilised, and for some bizarre reason British, Edgar - as his adoptive mother names him. Edgar becomes the most loveable character in the show.

Lauren Ward plays the warm and loving Meridith Parker. Ward has a stunning singing voice and sings every song completely flawlessly. Georgina Hagen plays Shelley Parker, a teenager who grows quite affectionate toward her adoptive brother. Hagen easily captures the typical teenage mood swings and has a fantastic voice to match her fantastic performance.

The rest of the cast impressively play more than one character to give a sense of the Hope Falls community.

At times the music drowned out the actors completely making it impossible to hear the lyrics and at other times the clarity of the microphones seemed a little off.

Despite the general message of the show, I left the show unsatisfied as I did not think the correct justice had been achieved.

Once... is enough

The first thing you need to know about Once is that this is not a show you want to be late for. From the moment the auditorium opens up, audience members are welcome to climb up onto the stage and head straight to the stage bar where you can purchase drinks in a souvenir Once cup.  Around fifteen minutes before the show begins there is a pre-show where audience members can enjoy their drinks in the company of some folk-music played by the cast on stage.

Once tells the story of an unlikely relationship between two strangers . Dublin born, Guy, who is currently being played by Boyzone's Ronan Keating and Czech young mother, Girl, played by Jill Winternitz, meet when she hears him sing and becomes intrigued by his music. 

The show that brought out the award winning song 'Falling Slowly' is quite different to other West End musicals and it could be debated that this should actually be considered as a play with music instead. The songs are much more understated and there are no big extravagant dance routines but the show seems to have its own charm. 

If you prefer folk music over your standard musical theatre music then you will love this show. The style of music does become a bit monotonous as all the songs are very similar in style. This is only broken by the banker's (currently played by Jaime Cameron) hilarious song 'Abandoned in Bandon' that the audience laughs and cheers for every night. 

The changes in language are quite brilliantly displayed in a somewhat subverted use of subtitles. The actors, who perform the whole show in English are cleverly able to show the difference of when they speak in their native tongue and when they speak English just through their intonation. 

The actors are totally responsible for scene transitions and do a brilliant job of fitting impressive choreography to show movements in scenes throughout the show, without the use of blackouts to help. Unfortunately the dance choreography often looked wooden and uncomfortable especially during songs such as 'Pada Pada' and 'Gold'. 

Of course it is a great skill to be able to dance, sing and play and instrument simultaneously and the cast most definitely deserve credit for being so skilled. At times they looked like the struggled to dance and play their instruments at the same time. 

The cast is made up of a fantastic group of actors but Billy who owns a small music shop, played by, Tim Prottey- Jones is really one to look out for with his fantastic comic timing and some of the shows best lines. Also Miria Parvin is an absolute joy to watch throughout the show. She has the rather small role of Ex-girlfriend but nevertheless often caught my attention throughout the performance.

The first act of the show is quite a sweet and funny story with some bizarre incidents and a relationship that develops unrealistically fast. The second act essentially loses all sense of humor and becomes suddenly quite serious and a tad tedious to watch. It is a pleasant show but once is most definitely enough*.

The show is playing at the phoenix theatre until March 21st 

*I'd like to just say that I based my review on my first impression on the show after seeing it for the first time.