Review of The Season at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

The Season, is a Christmas show of a different kind, a warm romantic feel, without pandering to the expectations of, a warm romantic show, set at Christmas. This lively, extremely funny, and musically clever show is perhaps everything you need for a bit of November Christmas.

Dougal has come to New York to meet his father for the first time and as he lands at JFK, he is met by his soon to be auntie, Robin, and over two days, they form an unlikely partnership.

This two-hander musical is an absolute cracker of a show, written by Jim Barne and Kit Buchan, it melds an old form of story-telling with very modern concepts. As ever of a show like this, Barne and Buchan have created two perfectly balanced characters, ones that play off one another as total opposites, but the audience knows really that by curtain down, these two with have a thing. Or do we...?

What is particularly sharp about The Season, and already mentioned in my opening preamble, is that this breaks the norms of romantic comedy, almost driving us away at times with the thought that they will end up together. The storyline takes us away often from the idea they are a match in any way, and in perhaps the best of the many clever and intelligent songs in this show, Dougal even sets up Robin with a Tinder date. Very modern, and very smart, and superbly performed by the two actors.

Alex Cardall as Dougal is a hyperactive child in a grown man's body. Childish at all times, climbing on furniture, thrilled by the subway, excited to see the street from Ghostbusters, this is the modern boy who doesn't want to grow up. In this, Cardall is excellent, a jumping jackrabbit of performance that perhaps you might think to get tired of, like Robin occasionally pretends to. However, like Robin, we don't, Cardall makes him a brilliant creation, and no question he has the funniest lines to boot.

Tori Allen-Martin as Robin is the perfect foil for Cardall's Dougal, straight-faced, most of the time, with her character torn with hidden guilt, and as Dougal points out, an almost incessant need to stay sad and not embrace life beyond serving at coffee shop Bump 'N' Grind. Allen-Martin takes us through her journey of discovery of how things can be better when you find the right person to show you how.

Director Tim Jackson brings much life into the show, allowing his actor's freedom to be as big and bold as they desire, and upon Amy Jane Cook's seemingly simple, but quite beautifully conceived one, the whole show has no lapses in drive or energy.

Song's are delightfully performed, and to see a musical in The Royal is a rare delight, and much the better than in a bigger venue. Allen-Martin has the bigger singing range, bringing warmth and emotion to her solo performances in particular. Cardall is more the in character singer, performing every song as you could imagine the character of Dougal doing so. They form a pretty perfect partnership for the entire show and work in the duets exceptionally well, particularly the drum controlled argumentative song, another example of how clever some of the concepts are here.

The Season is an unexpected delight, bringing truly intelligent, but never awkwardly clever writing, to the stage. It is the most perfect theatre for all, and you could happily imagine settling down on a Christmas Day afternoon and watching a film like this (minus the occasional swearing for granny).

You would be wise to start your Christmas a little early and get to the Royal & Derngate to see this show and get your heart nice and toasty for the festive season!

Warm, funny intelligent, this is the perfect theatre for The Season ahead.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Performance reviewed: Wednesday 20th November 2019 at the Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton.

The Season runs at Royal & Derngate until Saturday 30th November 2019.

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

Photos: Pamela Raith

Review of The Rocky Horror Show at Milton Keynes Theatre

Richard O’Brien’s anarchic, surreal, and often incomprehensible musical, The Rocky Horror Show , has captivated audiences for over fifty years now. With this new tour, it feels as fresh and unpredictable as if it had just emerged from O’Brien's vivid imagination yesterday. While another review might seem unnecessary given the countless dressed-up fans who fill every theatre it visits, let’s go ahead and write one anyway. The Rocky Horror Show follows the adventures of Brad and Janet, a newly engaged couple. On a dark and stormy November evening, they run into car trouble and seek refuge at a mysterious castle reminiscent of Frankenstein’s. There, they encounter the eccentric handyman Riff-Raff, the outrageous scientist Dr. Frank N. Furter, and a host of other bizarre characters. What unfolds is a science fiction B-movie narrative that is at times coherent and at other times bewildering — yet somehow, that doesn’t seem to matter. I first saw The Rocky Horror Show in 2019 and exper...

Review of Dial M For Mayhem! at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Middle Ground Theatre has been creating unique and intrepid adventures for the stage since the late eighties, and with Dial M For Mayhem! , they take those experiences and bring to the stage a brand new play within a play now arriving for a week run at Royal & Derngate. Written by Margaret May Hobbs and directed by Michael Lunney, Dial M For Mayhem! has much to admire. Still, sadly, for every good joke, amusing set piece and chaotic moment, there are too many periods of flatness, stilted sequences and, especially during the first act, too many slow scenes which either tread the same old ground or bring nothing new to the proceedings and then fail to flow into the next leaving it often disjointed. The cast does their very best, though, and the characters they bring to the stage are entertaining and perfect for this farcical play, but they lack depth despite the script trying desperately at times to give them one. The attempt to create character also comes at the expense of the farc...

Review of Horrible Histories: Terrible Tudors at Milton Keynes Theatre

It is now a remarkable 32 years since the first Horrible Histories book reached the shelves, and since that first Terry Deary book, suitably for this show, The Terrible Tudors , the children's entertainment franchise has become a historic event of its own. Since 1993, there have been 23 books, several TV series, a game show and a film. During those years, the Horrible Histories franchise has also graced the stage for several past shows, and here, now at Milton Keynes Theatre, comes a joint pairing of Terrible Tudors and Awful Egyptians on alternating performances. The question though, is it a deserving part of the famous franchise? A categoric yes is an answer to this neat, fast-paced show, written by original writer Terry Deary and directed by Neal Foster, who also co-wrote the show. Performed by a cast of three, it entertains and thrills throughout. The level of comedy scares, and, most importantly, education is pitched perfectly, as the series has become famous for. The cast...

A Small Mind At The Theatre

Search This Blog