Skip to main content

Review of UoN Fringe 2019: I Believe by OVM at The Platform Club, Northampton

It is sadly true that even back in the '90s when I was about the right age to do so, I wasn't one for busting the moves on the dance floor. Therefore when I received the advance email for this show that we were requested to wear black, bring I.D. and come to paaaartey at The Platform, I welcomed it with a lot of trepidation. However, I need not have worried too much as I left most of the moving to the other students in the audience and my esteemed blogging colleague Mr Chrisparkle, who attempted some moves of his own and looked far more the part.

I Believe from OVM - Our Voices Matter is performed by Na-Keisha Glenn in two main roles, and ably assisted by a number of other actors including Rosemarie Sheach mixing on the deck as the brilliantly introduced "token white girl". It tells the story of an innocent wannabee singer from Leicester and her pursuit to make it big from a meeting with R. Kelly, who inexplicably, is coming to Northampton.

It doesn't take much to realise where events will spiral at the mention of R. Kelly, and although they do eventually get there, in emotionally charged scenes, the buildup and atmosphere itself it as much part of the show as well. We are greeted and vetted for our right to enter by the no-nonsense nightclub manager (Glenn), and given complimentary drinks (this is a Lambrini rave) before being suggested to make them moves on the dance floor. This is all crisp and atmosphere building material, but we know something is going to happen, and that happens with the arrival of our girl from Leicester.

Glenn is great as Lisa, innocent and with a desperation to get what she wants, maybe more likely, needs. She has a great voice as she reveals what she will sing to Kelly, unsurprisingly I Believe I Can Fly, and she gets the chance, and we all know now the path that will take.

There are some truly uncomfortable scenes in this, where we are not sure whether we are meant to or should intervene. Of course, we shouldn't, it's a play, a "reconstruction", but perhaps that lack of intervention does tell on the fact that someone, earlier, should have done something.

 I Believe is powerful stuff, made better by being an "event" rather than what might have been just a relatively dry account as a play. This is what the Fringe is all about and fast becoming, the best plays are the ones that think outside the box more, and this one does, and as a result, is one of the best so far.

Performance viewed: Wednesday 1st May 2019

The Fringe Festival 2019 runs until Sunday 5th May 2019 at The Platform Club Northampton, and one show at Hazelrigg House.

Details here: Fringe Festival 2019
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The Rambert Dance Company is the oldest such company in Britain having first performed in 1926. However, despite this, this was my first encounter with the group in my ten years of theatre-going. Coupled with this, it was also my first encounter with Peaky Blinders , having never seen the show, and only knowing a few vague things about it. My companion for the evening however was very familiar with the show, allowing some background behind the show. It turns out though,  Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby needs a little more than a good bit of knowledge of the show, as despite this production having incredible style, there struggles to be a cohesive structure to the show and the storytelling. Much more than other dance shows as well. The first act does a whistle-stop tour of the first five seasons and while it is a feast on the eye, and on the ear, it gets extremely confusing at times. The second act is freestyle and drifts away from the stories tol...
Read more

Review of Dear England at Milton Keynes Theatre

James Graham’s award-winning play Dear England has been around a while now, and indeed, when it was first staged in 2023, some events depicted here hadn’t even happened. Therefore, the pen, likely keyboard, of Graham has been busy adding what amounts to a further epilogue, and it now amounts to the complete package of Gareth Southgate’s tenure as the poisoned chalice that is England football manager. For those who may have missed it, Dear England tells the story of Southgate’s journey from his inception into the manager role in 2016 to his eventual departure and knighthood in the New Year’s Honours of 2025. However, this play, while centred on the beautiful game, is more than about kicking a ball and managing and coaching it. Writer Graham mines from the source material a piece that very much explores what it is to be English and, with Southgate’s approach to coaching, what makes the brain tick. To that effect, enter psychologist Pippa Grange, and the journey for Southgate to become ...
Read more

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

When Shrek the Musical rolls into town, it arrives in seven great big lorries, and this actually says a little as to where the strength of this production, now well into its UK tour, lies. This show looks spectacular in every way, it might be the best looking and the biggest tour show you will have ever seen. However, at times, this spectacle feels a little superficial, as you feel more thought could have been put into the original writing. Shrek the Musical mostly follows the story of the original 2001 computer-animated film, which sees ogre Shrek's swamp overrun by fairytale folk, which results in him confronting the evil Lord Farquaad, which then results in him going to rescue Princess Fiona, as you do. What feels missing though in this musical (book by David Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanine Tesori), compared with the film, is the clever balance for children and adults alike. This nearly always feels targeted more at adults, there is a lack of humour that feels just r...
Read more