“How does a bastard. Orphan, son of a whore
and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean by
providence, impoverished, in squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?”
We
spend the best part of three hours finding out in Hamilton. A bona fide
phenomenon which has finally landed in London after several years being the
toast of Broadway. It is epic in its storytelling and the use of musical
landscape to convey that story. Essentially the tale of one of America’s
founding fathers Alexander Hamilton and his climb to the top. It is principally
known as a ‘hip-hop’ musical but this would perhaps be a little misleading. Whilst
the score is framed with the hip-hop / rap style, it does encompass many
different musical settings. The tunes and incredible lyrical dexterity of its
composer, Lin-Manuel Miranda, are breath-taking in their ambition. To make a riveting
piece about America’s battle for independence from the English and subsequent
political machinations takes some doing, pulling it off to this level of
artistic excellence is nigh on genius. The company now in residence at the beautifully
refurbished Victoria Palace convey the story with relish. At the performance I
caught the ‘alternate’ Alexander Hamilton was on show. Ash Hunter is perhaps a
little laid back in some key scenes, but we get a sense of his intelligence as
an orator and leader as the war with the English gains momentum. He carries the
weight of the show on his shoulders and is a fine leading man with a good voice.
He is matched by his contemporaries and fellow revolutionaries Aaron Burr
(Giles Terera), John Laurens (Jack Butterworth), Marquis de Lafayette (a scene
stealing Jason Pennycooke) and Hercules Mulligan (Aaron Lee Lambert). Together
they bond in a vision of America free of the English colonial rule. So enter
King George III. Michael Jibson is given a peach of a role, in a remarkably
brief but dazzling turn stops the show as the King informs them “You’ll Be Back”
as he is faced with revolt from the Yanks. This might sound as if it’s a very
emasculated show, but the “laaadies” are a force to be reckoned with too. The wealthy
Schuyler sisters set out to dazzle our combat ready heroes, and star turns are
given by Rachel John as Angelica, Rachelle Ann Go as the future Mrs. Hamilton
and Christine Allado proving seductive in the dual roles of Peggy Schuyler and Hamilton’s
mistress Maria Reynolds. Director Thomas Kail takes a very simple wooden box
set and in tandem with choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler, creates a series of tableaux’s
which move the story forward at each turn. The sheer scope of the score from
the battle of Yorktown to the utter despair at the death of Alexander Hamilton’s son in
the achingly beautiful “It’s Quiet Uptown” are staged in simple but visually striking set pieces. The rap
showdowns that represent the cabinet battles perfectly encapsulate why this
show is attracting so many new theatre goers and young people to the production.
Every generation or so, a piece is presented that moves forward the barriers of
musical theatre showing what is possible. Hamilton is one such show, a pivot in
the history of mainstream theatre. Quite rightly, Lin-Manuel Miranda has been
lauded around the world for his artistry in creating one of the truly epic
evenings of music and drama. A quick word too for the sound design, it would
have been so easy to blast out the orchestra and drown out the complex and
intricate lyrics with the beats of the shows, but the fact I heard every word
from beginning to end shows that Nevin Steinberg understands that that of all
the elements that make up Hamilton, it is perhaps the lyrical content that
defines it.
From
an imported mega-show, to a production from home grown talent which is quickly
establishing itself as a cult. Dan Gillespie Sells and Tom Macrae’s Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. Based
on a BBC documentary Jamie – Drag Queen
At 16, our colourful hero(ine) Jamie New is about to turn 16. He’s gay, but
that’s an open secret, his real desire though is to be a Sheffield drag queen. Given
that there are still countries where people are being killed for even being
suspected of being gay, this on the surface would seem to be less a less than
dramatic premise in such a liberal country which has a history of celebrating
queer culture and eccentrics. However, the joy is in the telling of the story
as Jamie reaches out to a hitherto unattainable world. He does so with the help
of Hugo Battersby via his alter ego Loco Chanelle. Hugo owns a boutique for the
bizarre, where drag queens can stock up on dresses, make up and all manner of
fabulous props. He sets Jamie on the course of finding his inner drag queen. The
score is littered with toe tapping pop, from the opening school room blitz “And
You Don’t Even Know It” to the anthem for the different “Work Of Art”, Gillespie
Sells dazzles with his ability to plant a killer melody in your head. Tom
Macrae meanwhile makes sure that we know life isn’t all froth. Jamie’s Mum
constantly invents supportive communications from his estranged Dad, but when
Jamie does eventually confront his father, the harsh truth emerges. He belongs
to the same school of intolerance as school bully Dean Paxton. Then there is
Jamie’s best friend, Pritti Pasha, a hard studying Muslim who is herself the
subject of racism and ridicule but pushes through in the self knowledge she is
on a path to a better future than most of those who aims their vile barbs at
her. At the epicentre of the production is John McCrea’s performance of Jamie
New. He camps around, dances up a storm, delivers Queeny acidic put downs and struts
like a peacock. McCrea is in every way a star turn, able to convey the
insecurities and hurt as much as the high comedy of his camp nature when the
script demands it. The huge ovation at the end of the show for McCrea says it
all. However, the emotional heart of the show unquestionably belongs to Josie
Walker in her portrayal of his Mum, Margaret New. She knows Jamie’s
shortcomings, but provides unconditional love and support. Her ballads “If I
Met Myself Again” detailing the advice she would give her younger self, and “He’s
My Boy” are delivered with heart wrenching sincerity. Other notable
performances include Phil Nichol as Hugo / Loco, Mina Anwar as Margaret’s mouthy
best friend Ray – perhaps the Dad Jamie never had – and a lovely turn by Lucie
Shorthouse as Pritti, displaying vulnerability with a quiet and admirable determination
in the face of pressures from all sides. It’s fun, has lots to say about being
different and will have you humming the songs all the way home. It has a long
and bright future on stages around the world.
Amid
all the musicals, we find some original drama. Writer Jez Butterworth and
director Sam Mendes are reunited after their success with the latest James Bond
outing SPECTRE, to deliver The Ferryman - a stunning
piece set in the Northern Ireland troubles of 1981. We are taken to the Carney
farmhouse in County Armagh where it is harvest time, cousins are on the way to
join a large clan in residence to help bring in the bounty. It should be a a
carefree time of camaraderie and jigging. But there are darker forces who want
Ireland free of British rule. Quinn Carney’s brother has been missing for a
decade, nobody quite sure what has happened. He keeps being spotted in Ireland
or on the UK mainland by well-meaning onlookers. His fate is at the heart of
the events of this 3 hour epic. A body has been found in bog land partially
preserved in the peat. It is identified as the missing Carney brother. The
reverberations of the find are to have a devastating effect on the Carney clan.
Caitlin is staying with her in-laws with her son Oisin since the disappearance
of her husband, and the strain has showed on their hosts Quinn and his wife Mary.
A priest has been despatched by the loyalist forces of the IRA to issue a
warning to Quinn over any comeback from the discovery of his brother’s body. The
22 strong cast which span all ages (including a babe in arms, one of the few
occasions I have seen a baby on stage) and deliver the joy and the horror of
the dialogue with killer precision. Each of the family have been touched by the
troubles in their own way. When cousin Shane Corcoran dazzles the young Carney’s
with late night stories about being a lookout for the feared Muldoon, you get
sense that the terror is approaching and indeed a violent climax is inevitable.
Owen McDonnell leads the second company at the Gielgud Theatre with a fiery
performance as Quinn, the man who turned his back on the struggle of
independence for family life. Catherine Macormack and Rosalie Craig as dutiful
wife and longing sister-in-law both deliver quality portrayals which tear at
the heart of Quinn’s daily life. Justin Edwards beautifully observed English
farm hand Tom Kettle is a standout, playing a character with learning
difficulties is no easy task and Edwards hits the tone perfectly. Sian Thomas'
bitter Aunty Pat and Stella McCusker as Aunt Maggie Far Away both offer unique
insights into the opposing forces which occupy the farmhouse. With a full
compliment of younger actors, the play makes full use of a chance to see a
viewpoint from another angle. Francis Meeza as Shane Corcoran is cocky and
indiscreet as the oldest cousin, whilst Laurie Kynaston as Oisin offers us a troubled
soul who finally has to accept the bombshell that his father is dead. I could
go on picking out performances from this large cast, save to say every one of
them succeeds in bringing to life brilliantly a member of the extended Carney family.
Declan Conlon’s sinister Muldoon and Charles Dale’s tortured Father Horrigan
complete an array of characters who are all given their own chance to shine by
Jez Butterworth. The subject is deliberately provocative, divisive and
ultimately tragic on all sides. It is a masterpiece of quality drama.
Finally,
from bright new shining stars on Shaftesbury Avenue, to a classic still holding
court at Her Majesty’s Theatre in the Haymarket. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera is now
reckoned to be the most successful single piece entertainment of all time. All
continents have fallen to the power of The Phantom. With the original
production now celebrating its 31st birthday in the West End, how is
it holding up? The entire production is a triumph for the late Maria Bjornson’s
designs in set and costume. I first saw the famous chandelier rise during the
crashing organ sounds of Lloyd Webber’s overture back in 1986 when Michael
Crawford and Sarah Brightman were the toast of London. The opening has lost none
of it’s impact in the intervening years as we are transported back to the Paris
Opera House of 1881. The show has passed into legend with its searing
orchestral love songs, coupled with the discordant threats of the Phantom. As
we descend to the Phantom’s hideout mist swirls the stage, candles rise up and his
gothic lair is resplendent in its dark beauty. The current cast are thankfully
telling the story with the same quality and intense sense of melodrama that the
originals did. Ben Lewis comes to London fresh from a victory as the Phantom in
the hit and miss sequel in Australia (his performance captured for DVD). Whilst
The Phantom in Love Never Dies is in
many ways a bitter and angry man, the version in Phantom is a ruthless
obsessive denied love and affection through a hideous accident of birth. Whilst
we learn to fear him, we also empathise with the Phantom’s pure love for
Christine Daae. Lewis makes the most of the Phantom’s longing and desire, his “Music
of the Night” finding the mesmeric beauty in the Phantom’s personality that so
attracts Christine. Kelly Mathieson gives us a big range both vocally and in
character as Christine who both loves and fears the Phantom equally. Her
paramour Raoul offers perhaps less of a rounded character to play, but Jeremy
Taylor invests him with all the gung-ho stoicism that the Vicomte demands. Jacinta
Mulcahy’s Madame Giry hints at a darker personality which would be explored
more in the later show, but here becomes the conduit between the Phantom and
the hapless souls of the Opera House. Lara Martins and Paul Ettore Tabone as
Carlotta and Piangi find the comic powerhouse to their roles, whilst also
offering sterling vocal contributions. It is clear that Cameron Mackinstosh and
Andrew Lloyd Webber have not let standards slide at Her Majesty’s over the
years despite their massive worldwide success. The Phantom of the Opera can
hold its head up high as pretenders to the throne vie for its crown, as still
one of the genuinely thrilling nights of West End theatre.
