It was somewhere in my third year of University, that I realised I was wired differently to my fellow performing arts students. Where my colleagues were, quite appropriately, eager to step into the limelight at any given opportunity, I was quietly formulating a critical voice. The truth about most actors is, they don’t really enjoy going to the theatre all that much and when they do, they usually sit there thinking how they would play it better. Most of my course-mates went to their fellow’s plays out of obligation, the secret agreement being that the favour would be returned when the other was in something. But I always tried to see everything, happily going on my own and airing opinions in those nascent days of social media. I’m a geek that obsesses over the minutiae, theatre can be expensive but to me it’s life affirming and necessary. In summary, I like to exercise my brain and engage with stuff.
This is to say the year of our Lord 2020 sucked. Of course it sucked for everyone and despite being prone to dramatics I do not wish to suggest my plight was all that debilitating and detract from real tragedy but nevertheless…2020 was a bereft time for this West End Wendy. When the first UK lockdown began in March we had no real conception of how long it would last, most venues postponed matters or issued tokens for cancellations. Smaller venues begged patrons not to request refunds and larger ambitious tours dropped off the calendar altogether. One such casualty was a UK tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies, a show I’d enjoyed during the original 2010 London run and was eager to see Simon Phillips’ new staging; as of writing this hasn’t been rescheduled.
By the summer it became clear this pandemic business wasn’t going anywhere and venues started to get creative. As some restrictions eased, a few socially-distanced performances started cropping up. Mr Cope (also of this parish) and I booked for Hope Mill’s Rent in Manchester and Sunset Boulevard: In Concert at Curve Theatre in Leicester…surely our thrilling return to live theatre! Except as the UK COVID numbers began to rise, it became clear that we were headed for another lockdown in winter. Seeing these shows in-person became a naive dream but both venues offered an excellent pre-recorded version available online which offered some tonic.
For better or worse, during this time Andrew Lloyds Bank had
become the unofficial spokesperson for the movement to reopen theatres. The
main sticking point being that the government was allowing other activities to
take place (i.e. going to restaurants, sporting events) so why not theatre?
After all, when was the last time you saw someone getting lairy at a theatre,
with the possible exception of Saturday night at Thriller Live? Unfortunately
Lloyd Webber was the imperfect vessel for this cause, mainly because one can’t
discern between altruistic intention and self-interest, also he’s more than
prone to hyperbole. This year he warned the government “You'll have to arrest us
to stop us reopening theatres”, such histrionics don’t particularly endear
theatre-land to the general public. Anyone familiar with Lord Lloyd Webber’s
history knows that he enjoys a good dramatic threat; famously marching to the
orchestra pit, declaring “I withdraw my score!” and storming out of the theatre
during a disastrous tech rehearsal for Phantom. The beginning of 2021 found him
trying to launch his new show Cinderella at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, there
were plenty of other shows with a similarly frustrating outlook but of course
ALW’s voice was the loudest. Rob and I had tickets for Cinders in July but had
our trip to the ball postponed, hopefully you’ll be able to read our verdict
very soon.
As the government roadmap was laid out in early 2021, West End shows started to go back on sale for the summer. This was a perilous endeavour for us Northerners though, creating many moving parts that could go wrong. Uncertainty over the exact date shows would open, exorbitant rail fares and a hotel booking. In all honesty it was a bit of a risk booking anything at this early stage but we’d been starved for a year now. Dr Theatre settled on the aforementioned ‘Cinderella’ and the “new” production of ‘Phantom of The Opera’. So was July 2021 our triumphant return to theatre? It was but with neither of those shows! Ultimately we landed last minute on ‘The Prince of Egypt’, a first choice for neither of us but it turned out to be a Biblical epic and continuing the theme of ancient Egypt, the encore engagement of the 2019 production of ‘Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’, heart-warming fun with the enthusiastic Alexandra Burke as The Narrator. I had such a good time I put up with my glasses steaming up above my face covering.
· ‘Rent’ Hope Mill, Manchester. Jonathan Larson's masterwork was given a new vitality. I'll always be impressed by what can be achieved in the relatively compact space at the former factory.
· ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ The Lowry, Manchester. This testament to being true to yourself is joyous, camp fun with brilliantly drawn characters.
· ‘The Mountaintop’ Royal Exchange, Manchester. Having seen Katori Hall’s work writing the book for ‘Tina’, it was thrilling to catch a new staging of one of her most lauded plays. Martin Luther King has a soul-searching and surprising conversation with a hotel maid the night before he dies. The themes of passing the baton and continuing the civil rights fight are extremely resonant today.
· ‘What’s New Pussycat’ Birmingham Repertory. A groovy 60s-set musical, that boasts a clever book and a cast with boundless energy. Jukebox musicals are usually my kryptonite but I loved this. Deserving of a West End transfer.
· ‘Tell Me On A Sunday’ The Lowry, Manchester. Don Black and ALW’s one woman song cycle is given a dusting off with Jodie Prenger in the lead. Some beautiful, enduring melodies underpin this story of a single woman, finding love in New York in the late seventies.
· ‘Bedknobs and Broomsticks’ Palace, Manchester. The Disney classic is given a quality stage adaptation. Big-budget, decent orchestra and oodles of heart. The fantastical elements are realised ingeniously. It could easily become a family friendly staple for year's to come.
· ‘Harpy’ Buxton Pavilion Arts. A one woman show starring living legend Su Pollard, written for her by Philip Meeks, about an eccentric hoarder with a dark secret. Su was truly compelling, playing against type and going to some really interesting dramatic places. A marvel in her seventies!
And mercifully, there’s more to come. There is still no thrill like being in a theatre and the lights going down. Theatre can provide a fun break from our mundane lives or challenge us, encouraging us to question the world around us. Now obviously at Doctor Theatre we have quite a rich theatrical diet but if you’ve yet to return, I’d recommend seeing something before the year is out. The smell of the grease paint is life affirming and as the last year has proved, we’re worse off without it.
Editorial by Phillip Beamon
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