Review of I, Daniel Blake at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Ken Loach's devastating 2016 film I, Daniel Blake sent shockwaves through many areas when it first came out and the worlds of politics and the general community became at odds with its depiction of the benefits system and the world of poverty. The political minds rubbished the theory and tales within it, but others knew well, living on the breadline and weaving and trying to survive the system themselves, that is was very true.

Daniel Blake is an upstanding citizen, a typical worker, who following a heart attack, hopes quite rightly, to be protected by the state in his bad days. This fails to happen as he finds himself unable to provide the points needed to gain benefit for his inability to work, and cannot take Universal Credit as he cannot work unless he continues to apply for jobs he simply cannot take. The system fails him, and fails his new friend Katie and her daughter Daisy, "transported" from London at the whim of the system.

The play has been cleverly and skillfully adapted by Dave Johns, who played the original Daniel Blake, from Paul Laverty's screenplay and it works extremely well. The strength of performance from the company often leaves the audience dumbfounded. Two of the most striking scenes of Daniel's second encounter with the garden centre owner and Katie's shame as she scatters the contents of her bag are as strong as you can simply imagine a moment in a play to be.

David Nellist is amazing as Daniel Blake, portraying the caring, but desperate man with poise and calm considering much he has to deal with. This contrasts beautifully with his moments of rage, making him seem so real. Bryony Corrigan is a revelation also in the role of Katie, far from the catalogue of her work with Mischief Theatre for instance, which audiences might be more familiar with. As she rips open a can of beans, we, in the audience, feel that intense need and desperation.

Jodie Wild offers excellent support in her professional stage debut as Katie's daughter Daisy, a kid, as Daniel himself acknowledges, has a much more mature head on her shoulders than her age. Elsewhere, Janine Leigh and Micky Cochrane offer great support in a series of generally unlikely characters, including the pen-pushing, obedient benefit officers. Completing the cast is Kema Sikazwe who reprises his actual role from the film as Jack the Lad, China, who often provides some delightful moments of humour with his Del Boy like plans for success via some dodgy shoes from "China".

The set from Rhys Jarman is simplicity itself and suits the show to perfection. Basically made up of a series of shelving, easily moveable from scene to scene with little break in the action. What breaks do occur are cleverly interspersed with quotes from mainly political players, all made after the original release of the film itself, and proves sadly that nothing has changed and if anything it has got much worse. The perfect proof of this is the need for food banks; at the time of the film's release in 2016, the area of Newcastle had just one food bank. Now, in 2023, there are seven.

These are the things that strike a cord through the need for I, Daniel Blake to exist still and in this production, stirring performances and impactful writing cut through the audience to make a play that needs to be seen.

A powerful mix of rage, anger and loving humanity.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Performance reviewed: Tuesday 31st October 2023 at the Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton.

I, Daniel Blake is at Royal & Derngate until Saturday 4th November 2023.

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

Production photos: Pamela Raith Photography

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...

A Small Mind At The Theatre

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