Review of Curtains at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

Curtains comes with much to live up to, created by the legendary pairing of John Kander and Fred Ebb, no less than Cabaret and Chicago among their work, this was their final show working together before the death of Ebb in 2004. It also forms what on paper looks a brilliant concept, a "musical whodunnit". So, does it fill with intrigue and thrills, or does it end up being more of a whocares?

When Jessica Cranshaw, star of Robbin’ Hood!, a musical set for Broadway, is murdered onstage, detective and not shy of the stage himself, Frank Cioffi, arrives to solve the case. Can he solve it though without getting distracted by the cast and the thrill of the greasepaint?

First and foremost with Curtains is that it looks fabulous. The set from David Woodhead evokes the look of the theatre perfectly, simple and effective. Added to this costumes from Gabriella Slade look sublime as well, making it a visual delight, all creating the era extremely well.

Elsewhere perhaps the strongest part of the show, choreography from Alistair David thrills every number, from the simplicity of the work in What Kind of Man, to the big full-cast ensembles like Thataway, these numbers look brilliant, and perhaps end up being better than some of the numbers deserve at times.

Several performances save the show, the best of these being the best of the written characters like the cutting director Christopher Belling played with a glorious relish by the always more than reliable Samuel Holmes. He has such a presence on stage, I doubt there is any character he could fail to make interesting.

Also, tremendous is Rebecca Lock as the shows co-producer Carmen Bernstein. She creates an exceptional character, getting the total amount out of the often at times rather obvious script. So much in fact in this show is perhaps due to the cast and crew rather than the original material.

Jason Manford once again proves he is a talent in musical theatre, as he is good value in the role on the Lieutenant himself Frank Cioffi. His burgeoning relationship with one of the cast members is likeably played, as is his infectious love of the theatre. A final mention of the cast must go to Carley Stenson as co-writer Georgia Hendricks, who adds class to the show and has a delightfully strong voice for all her songs.

Technically it went reasonably well, although some music was too loud for the singers to project beyond and during Coffee Shop Nights the surprising occurrence of noises off from conversation could be heard. Also, it's best not to mention the shocking blackout lights back up again moment at the end of act one, except to say professionals shouldn't react to an error like some of them did. No names.

Curtains is a curious show, it should be so much better than it is, the sum of what it is looks brilliant on paper, but it just doesn't deliver as you hope. There is no question that any fan of musicals will get something from it due to its curious mix of concepts. Those casual theatre goers though might be best to seek their thrills elsewhere.

Brilliant concept and pedigree still fail to create an unforgettable show.⭐⭐⭐½

Performance reviewed: Tuesday 25th February 2020 at the Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton.
Curtains runs at the Royal & Derngate until Saturday 29th February 2020

For further details about the Royal & Derngate see their website at http://www.royalandderngate.co.uk

Photos: Richard Davenport

Review of Friends - The Musical Parody at Milton Keynes Theatre

The One Where 2026 starts in a world of confusion. And so, 2026 is upon us and for my first trip to the theatre this year, one of my most significant reviewing challenges was to occur. Touring to Milton Keynes Theatre is Friends - The Musical Parody , based, unsurprisingly, on that little American show that ran to a few audience members for ten years. However, I confess that I was not, and have never been in that audience, never having seen a single episode of the show. However, always up for a review challenge and doing my due diligence by having a Friends superfan as my plus one, I headed to Milton Keynes with anticipation. For those unfamiliar with the show, I could say I can’t help; however, a quick review of some of the information you might need (thanks, Google and my plus one). Running for ten years between 1994 and 2004 with 236 episodes (quiz question, you are welcome), the main characters consisted of Phoebe (ditzy, writer of sad songs), Monica (in possession of an unfeasibly...

Review of 2:22 A Ghost Story at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

2:22 A Ghost Story continues an endless rise and run of success on the stage. This play by Danny Robins was first staged as recently as August 2021 at the Noel Coward Theatre and since then the show continued to run in London for two years, moving to four further London theatres, before eventually closing in the city to embark on this tour, which began in September last year. During these runs, the cast has constantly been updated with often populist actors, and some, which are not even associated with acting. As this reaches Royal & Derngate, now even the touring cast has been swept clean and four further performers take on the incredible success of a show. This is the second time I have seen 2:22 A Ghost Story , and it is safe to say that on that first viewing, with the previous tour cast, I was not as blown away by the play as the success seemed to warrant. The aforementioned populist casting seemed to have driven a so-so ghostly tale into success beyond its quality, and with th...

Review of Matthew Bourne's Romeo + Juliet at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

Despite now having seen a few dance shows encompassing many different styles, I had yet to see one developed by Sir Matthew Bourne, a controversial player in his time, but as the relatively recent knighthood suggests, now very much embraced by the establishment. So, does Romeo + Juliet live up to his name, that is the question? So, first, this might normally be where I give you a brief outline of the story, but, for one, most have a general understanding of the love disaster of William Shakespeare's play already, and two, as it turns out from the Bourne production, a huge amount of what you might be familiar with has gone or been dramatically changed anyway. There is shocking complicity in murders, there are different moments of murder and gone are the warring factions of the Montagues and Capulets. Characters themselves feel very different at times also, to such an extent that even knowing the play doesn't always make it clear who is who at times. So, if all that sounds...

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