Review of Housebound & Another Fine Mess at The Playhouse Theatre, Northampton (White Cobra Productions)

The two companion pieces of Another Fine Mess and Housebound from White Cobra Productions provided a diverting and entertaining couple of hours of entertainment at the Playhouse Theatre. The feature piece is Another Fine Mess from Gillian Plowman, however the pre-interval short Housebound from Simon Mawdesley is an equally captivating play, if not quite such a socially conscience one. Both plays star White Cobra founders Richard Jordan and Kate Billingham, with Another Fine Mess also starring Paul Fowler (who also directs Housebound).

Housebound is dark in concept but high in comic pleasure as the very briefly masked Bone (Richard Jordan) takes the posh Fiona (Kate Billingham) captive in her home of fine furniture, splendid carpets and resident wasps. Without doubt Housebound suffers in these early stages of being a little under rehearsed with a little hesitation obvious at times from the performers. I think also there was still some development needed to strengthen the characters. It does however remain entertaining throughout with the clever and witty dialogue.

Another Fine Mess is better prepared and solid in its production though. This is a gem of a little play and offers a neat and totally unexpected twist to what you might expect. Set in the back room of a pub in the eighties (a crucially important time setting), we meet Stephen (Richard Jordan) and Philip (Paul Fowler) as they work on their Laurel & Hardy double act. Working with them is occasional co-performer and Stephen's bit on the side Meg (Kate Billingham).

Much more polished than Housebound, Another Fine Mess is a cleverly crafted one act play full of brilliant human drama. It is a tricky piece to review without giving away the twist and this deserves to be seen without foreknowledge. Suffice to say when it plays out, it brings high emotion to the piece and the audience. Billingham in particular is strong as the character who takes the news with initial aggression and self interest, rather than sympathy.

The Laurel & Hardy pieces are nicely performed, getting the feel just right of a tribute act take on them. There was also some entertaining choreography created by Mary O'Brien bringing the musical pieces to life. A special treat as well was a pre-recorded piece of radio programming by Stuart Linnell. Leading through the interval into the play itself, this was genuinely funny and featured a nice collection of classic tunes from the eighties.

These two shows are not the most successful of those I have seen White Cobra perform, however knowing sad circumstances behind the scenes in preparation, still leaves these as great achievements. The two plays are both highly entertaining and the latter Another Fine Mess is unquestionably the best performed with that very powerful emotional punch. Highly recommended to try to catch them as they tour on route to the Edinburgh Fringe.

★★★½

Performance reviewed: Friday 27th May, 2016 at the Playhouse Theatre, Northampton

Housebound/Another Fine Mess is currently on tour until August. For details visit: http://www.whitecobraproductions.co.uk/

For full details about the Playhouse Theatre visit their website at http://www.theplayhousetheatre.net/

Review of Of Mice And Men at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Other than, randomly, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The War of the Worlds , John Steinbeck's classic Of Mice and Men is perhaps one of the most familiar of stories to me. I have seen it several times before, and while at school, we studied it, and dissected it like the work of Mr Shakespeare, but with Steinbeck, I got out the other side still liking it. This brand new version from Selladoor Productions, which opened in Canterbury last week, brings a by-the-book presentation of the trials of George and his slow, but incredibly strong friend, Lennie, to the stage. Perhaps, this is its first issue blocking a huge success from this production, in that it rarely does anything brave or different. It's clearly been expertly cast visually, with the hulking form of Matthew Wynn as Lennie, and the diminutive (in comparison) Richard Keightley and Kamran Darabi-Ford as George and Curley respectively. Darabi-Ford especially perfect in his tremendously awkward scenes wit...

Review of Northern Ballet - The Great Gatsby at Milton Keynes Theatre

This production of The Great Gatsby performed by Northern Ballet was my fifth encounter at the theatre of a full ballet production and as before, I happily share my review of the show with nearly zero knowledge of-the-art form and more of a casual theatre-goer. You could say that this is a poor direction to come in on a review, but I would say that casual audience are the ones to review this for. Over the years, Northern Ballet has set quite a high benchmark for ballet productions, and any audience member who is worth their salt as a ballet fan would no doubt have tickets for this new touring version of the 2013 version of The Great Gatsby , lovingly created by David Nixon OBE. So much is Nixon part of the very fabric of this show, that he not only provides the choreography and direction but also the initial scenario and costume design (assisted by Julie Anderson). So, discounting those ballet fans already sitting in the audience, what does this offer for the more casual theatre-goer ...

Review of Flash Festival 2016: Red Inquisition by Memoir Theatre at Castle Hill URC

Red Inquisition from Memoir Theatre evolves from a theatre groups creation of a play based on the 1947 Hollywood blacklist and McCarthyism So that I can get it out the way early on and take this review in a more upbeat direction that Red Inquisition deserves, I am going to get a real bugbear done first. There was a huge negative for me from this production and one that I ended up getting negative vibes from. For me there was far too much video and audio footage in this production. Much of it was while excellently researched, surplus to requirements. The were a couple of occasions especially where we saw material repeated on screen that had already been performed. The show did not need this and for me theatre is not about watching a screen in any case, its about seeing performances. This however does need to be taken as a positive as what I am simply saying is that I wanted more acting from the trio of Daniel Hadjivarnava, Ciara Goldsberry and Jaryd Headley as they work excellently ...

A Small Mind At The Theatre

Search This Blog