Review of Flash Festival 2019: Leviticus at The Deco Theatre, Northampton

Concluding my 2019 Flash Festival week saw a journey to The Deco Theatre as Not Aloud Ensemble went it alone to present Leviticus. This tale of four individuals waiting in perhaps the best place to do so, a waiting room, was one of the more stirring and interesting Flash shows of the week. This waiting room though, it didn't take long to work out (even beyond the title clue), was God's waiting room, where these four were waiting for the decision of where they were headed.

Here we had sulky nineties firestarter teen played by Samantha Turner, an ultra glamourous American from the 30s/40s played by Bethany Ray, a quiet and generally boring cleric played by Bethan Medi, and then finally the initially silent, but emotionally charged delivery man played by Thomas van Langenberg. It is a sparky quartet that creates the perfect powderkeg of conflict, as times clash to create issues surrounding gender, equality and ignorance.

Perhaps Ray is the best, purely because she is often the driver of the conflict, so, while that doesn't make her necessarily the best, you feel the power of the performance. As a complete opposite, Turner is the silent troublemaker, more willing to drive everyone insane via her lighter, than verbally. She plays this role brilliantly, carefully calculated to not become a caricature of the Enfield and Burke variety. It's a smart performance.

Medi simmers gently before exploding at relevant moments, totally offended by the situations of what her companions do, but attempting to maintain dignity. This is also key with Langenberg, silent for so long before emotions cannot be hidden any longer.

Leviticus is clever and nicely staged, it has a genuine impact from its drama, and without any doubt, the genuinely clever idea of introducing stories through song is a brilliant concept. A genuinely thoughtful and quality end to what was an exceptional year of Flash.

Performance viewed: Friday 5th April 2019

The Flash Festival 2019 ran until Sunday 7th April 2019 at venues across the town.
Details here: Flash Festival 2019

Review of Shrek the Musical at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

Once upon a time, there was a splendidly green ogre who went by the name of Shrek. For many years, Shrek starred in a captivating and thrilling adventure set upon a theatre stage. This came to pass following a tale told in a Dream(works) in a cinematic spectacle. His tale was told in a truly fun way, with staging sublime, and endless mirth from a nefarious baddie who in many ways came up short. However, around the corner, there was greater evil afoot as our green friend's show was undergoing a transformation for further adventures on stage. What possible way could this evil be stopped? Sadly, for all, it could not and the evil reigned for a full UK tour which journeys most recently to the magical kingdom of the Royal & Derngate after a long adventure across the land. So, dear reader, forgive my fairy tale preamble, and perhaps, from that you might imagine this show isn't up to much and sadly you would be right. Shrek when it toured before to Northampton was a little ligh

Review of Cluedo 2 at Milton Keynes Theatre

Back in 2022, the original Cluedo stage play, based on a 1985 play by Sandy Rustin, itself based on the cult US film Clue , journeyed to Milton Keynes Theatre as part of a UK tour. It was, it has to be said, an average affair, made good by some excellent staging and at times a very fair tribute to the original board game. Now two years later, the success of that tour clearly warranted a return to the franchise and we find Cluedo 2 now on stage at Milton Keynes Theatre. So, is a follow-up warranted, and does it address many of the issues of the original? Let's find out. Unlike the original and with no film source material to create a second play from, legendary TV comedy writers Maurice Gran and Lawrence Mark have taken the helm to provide the script for this production. Sadly, the legendary writers have for the best part plowed through their archives of extremely dated, and tiresome comedy. Much of the script is heavy on the obvious, high on the cringe, and while at times it can

Review of Unexpected Twist at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

This new stage adaptation by Roy Williams of Michael Rosen's Unexpected Twist is a very important piece of theatre. Much like a pantomime's appeal, this special little production could be key to a lifetime of theatre activity for young people who experience it. The production, directed by James Dacre, ticks so many of the boxes to make this interesting for them, talk of mobile phones, streetwise kids at the stories centre, R&B, and beatboxing. It is as down with the kids and as cool as any Royal & Derngate Made in Northampton production I have seen and in arrangement with The Children's Theatre Partnership this is something very special. Not to say that this show is just for kids, as this is as much for grown-ups as well. Rosen's story takes Charles Dickens Oliver Twist , and wait for it, twists a new story from it while linking brilliantly to the trials of life and families in 2023. You see, every modern character in this story sees their world collide with a

A Small Mind At The Theatre

Search This Blog