Arriving in London and Review: Talent @ The Menier Chocolate Factory

Quick update from the land of lurk…

On the 21st of October I boarded a plane and 24 hours later landed at Heathrow Airport. I am currently sitting in my newly rented house in Twickenham, updating my slightly sad looking blog.

I am now yet another Australian in the UK looking for work. However, hopefully this won’t be my status for too long, as I like the sound of ‘Only Australian in the UK earning money’ a little more. So far, my experiences have been great. I have discovered the very green and very beautiful town of Letchworth (where the girl grew up), traipsed around the brilliant and not-so-brilliant tourist destinations London has to offer, found a small cottage in Twickenham to live (with the girl, of course) and have seen one show so far (working also brings the benefit of money).

The show I decided to see was Victoria Wood’s Talent at the Menier Chocolate Factory.

Originally, we were only coming to the UK for a week on a trip to visit the girl’s family. However, because of unforeseen circumstances, we ended up moving there instead. Because of my tight budget, we originally planned to see one show. With all that the West End has to offer, I wanted to see something small and different, preferably something I hadn’t heard of.

First off, Menier Chocolate Factory is not what I expected. Having never seen a West End (or off-West End, as the Chocolate Factory is), I was expecting something… bigger. The Chocolate Factory is akin to Sydney’s Downstairs at the Belvoir. Ok, maybe a little bigger than that, but fairly similar in stage space as well. Therefore, when I entered, I suddenly expected something of a more… amateurish affair. However, upon glancing at the bios in the program, these were all west-end performers, with a number having been leads in a number of BBC productions as well. To boot, Victoria Wood herself was directing the production.

To be frank, I didn’t know what to think.

What resulted was a not altogether unenjoyable evening.

Victoria Wood is something of a national treasure in the UK. Having never heard of her myself, my shocked and appalled other half decided to force upon me many youtube clips of the comedienne. I can’t say that I was unimpressed. Wood has a talent for deadpan and has a uniquely British sense of humour that made BBC comedies in the 70s and 80s so fantastic. However, Wood herself has said that musicals ‘aren’t really my thing’. Which is why Talent isn’t so much a musical, but more a play with a couple of music numbers thrown in.

Talent was written by Wood in the late 70s as a showpiece for both her and Julie Walters. Set on a talent night at Bunter’s nightclub, contestant Julie and her fat virginal friend Maureen wait backstage. Through the night we are introduced to a range of characters from ukulele wielding magicians, to lecherous compares and complicated ex-boyfriends. The play barely manages a plot, but does manage quite a few laughs and some interesting characters, as well as a few decent tunes.

Suzie Toase absolutely steals the show as Maureen (the role originally written for Wood). Her performance is brilliantly understated and her comic timing is nigh on perfect. In contrast, Leanne Rowe did an adequate job of playing ambitious singer, Julie, but just didn’t match up to her costars. Considering her fairly extensive West End stage experience, I found her performance rather flat and I couldn’t really connect with her at all. Unfortunate, considering hers is one of the only characters you are supposed to connect with and feel sympathy for. However, whether this was the performance or the writing I’m still not sure.

All of the men did a great job with small character roles. As an ensemble, they performed extremely well, always leaving me wanting more from their characters. However, the standout male performer was definitely Mark Hadfield. His portrayal of the magician’s assistant and the nightclub’s matronly manager were extremely well played. You can tell that this man is a seasoned comedic actor, as his performance was completely without fault, and his comic timing was something that can only come with years of performing.

Staging of the show was good, but not altogether exciting. You can tell they were working on a limited budget, and they achieved what they needed for what seemed like a show more suited to amateur theatre groups.

Talent was enjoyable, but definitely wasn’t the best thing I could’ve seen. It has a few performances left in its run, so if you are in London and want to see something a little different, then I would recommend it, but don’t expect something that will blow your mind. It will be an enjoyable night, though.

I’m currently writing a post on twitter and theatre (long overdue) and should be finished in the next few days. I shall also start updating for more often, so add @lurkmoophy to your RSS readers and you shall be rewarded.