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

The Wellspring is a truly unique theatre experience, an autobiographical journey through the life of pianist David Owen Norris and his son, playwright, Barney Norris and their relationship as father and son. It is a very personal experience for the two, but it draws the audience into their lives.

The Wellspring is beautiful and heartwarming, even, oddly, when Barney describes being beaten up and kicked in the head in Oxford. This is the pair's life experiences, the highs and the lows, perhaps as his father remarks at one point, more lows described by Barney.

Not that David’s story is bereft of low points, but he offers more joy from his life, sometimes extremely comically. Perhaps the best is his brilliant recalling of the Sydney Piano competition, partly broadcast live on the radio. It is a hugely funny story and allows David to show his immense piano skills for which he’s known, and through this piece, he peppers the show with some wonderfully performed music.

The father and son teamwork extremely well together on stage, playing off one another perfectly. They, and director Jude Christian, have clearly created the show with great care, as little nuances of reactions and understanding show throughout, often as one watches the other, little magical moments appear.

David, perhaps a surprise, is the more sprightly on stage, travelling a great deal throughout the show, busy while telling his tales. Barney is much more considered and less active, often delivering from a fixed point. It is a nice playoff of character and feels that despite being family, they are their own men.

What is a delight from this production is the home videos that are shown throughout, projected to one side of the stage. This, coupled with some clever video design from Megan Lucas, incorporating compasses designating our current place in the world in the tale, is a delightful bonus.

One criticism I would level at the production is the slightly curious decision to not lower the house lights at any point. I understand why these are on for the opening as Barney addresses the audience directly. However, leaving them fully on for the rest of the show was a distraction, and from my position in row J, left the excellent projection washed out a little. It also didn’t allow Jack Weir’s simple but excellent lighting to have quite the same impact.

For those local to the areas featured, particularly Northamptonshire, there are some lovely little references to the town that locals will pick up. It was great to hear a story recalling Woolworths for instance, and personally, the mention of Borough Hill and its radio masts. Masts which my father created replacement parts for as a toolmaker. It is lovely little moments that make this a very personal piece to the audience beyond that of David and Barney themselves.

As the show plans to tour, some of the content may not work in different areas, however, what will, is the charm and love in the show. It is simply staged, but lovingly performed and just feels a delight and a very special, different piece of theatre.

A heartwarming beautifully performed and created production.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Performance reviewed: Thursday 24th March 2022 at the Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton.

The Wellspring runs at Royal & Derngate until Saturday 26th March 2022.

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

The Wellspring is A ROYAL & DERNGATE MADE IN NORTHAMPTON PRODUCTION

Production photos: Robert Day

Review of Here & Now at Milton Keynes Theatre

During the late 90s and early 2000s, the dance-pop group Steps was a mighty presence in the British charts. They accumulated two number-one albums in the UK and 14 consecutive UK top-5 singles, including two number ones. They were juggernauts of lightweight pop. It is perhaps a surprise that it took until 2024 for a musical to be based on their hits. Now, writer Shaun Kitchener brings enough campness to keep Alan Carr and Julian Clary in work for decades. Here & Now , the show everyone was waiting for, is at Milton Keynes Theatre as part of a UK tour. So, the question is: has it been worth the wait? Here & Now is, fundamentally, a ridiculous concept that should not work. Set in a supermarket, yes, a supermarket, our eclectic cast of characters go through the typical dramas of many a musical as love and drama unfold against a backdrop of jukebox music. It should never work, but it does, extremely well in fact. A huge amount of the success here has to go to writer Shaun Kitchene...

Review of Blood Brothers at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

A theatre in the east midlands, a thousand people stand applauding and cheering towards a stage where fourteen people stand. There on the stage, they bow, and bow, an inordinate number of times. They depart after a time and the lights come up over the capacity audience. So did you hear the story of the Blood Brothers show, how people flocked and came to see them play? Did you never hear about how we came to be, standing applauding the brightly lit stage this November day? Come judge for yourselves how this night did come to be. Blood Brothers was a significant show for me back in 2014, being the first musical that I saw live. Hiding up in the upper circle of the Derngate back then, not really sure what to expect, it was it turned out perhaps the perfect show to graduate me from play to musical that I could choose as Willy Russell's gritty and solid story is as confident as a straight play that perhaps any musical is. So strong is the story of the Johnstone's twins, tha...

Review of National Theatre Connections 2017 (16 Shows) at Royal & Derngate (Royal & Underground), Northampton

Alongside the University of Northampton BA Actors Flash Festival, the Connections festival at Royal & Derngate is now my joint favourite week of theatre each year. This is my fourth year at the festival and each time I have tried my very best (and succeeded) in seeing more and more of those on offer (four in 2014, ten in 2015 and twelve last year). This year I cracked sixteen shows, including the most interesting, a chance to see two of the plays by three different groups. I was able to see nine of this year's ten plays (a single nagging one, Musical Differences by Robin French was missing from the R&D line-up), and most I either enjoyed or finally understood their merits or reasons for inclusion. The writing of sixteen reviews is a little bit of an daunting prospect, however, I will do my best to review each of the plays and those I saw more than once, and pick around the comparisons. Extremism by Anders Lustgarten Performed by Bedford College Extremism was perfo...

A Small Mind At The Theatre

Search This Blog