It would seem that for the past few months I have been horribly absent from the theatre. This is in part true due to two reasons: 1. I had a holiday in Scotland (Which, ashamedly included the Edinburgh festival for a few days, so no real excuse), and 2. I have had parental visitors from the home country for an extended visit. This means that fewer shows have been attended, and less time has existed to actually blog them. This paired with the fact that for the most part I’ve actually paid for tickets, which means the onus on blogging about it hasn’t been as great.
Funnily enough, there seems to be a decided absence of theatre from my calendar in the next month as well, with the exception of the end of October, which features Nearly Ninety at the Barbican and Blasted by Sarah Kane at Lyric Hammersmith.
So, in the spirit of my attention-deficit mind that usually relies on the 140 character limitations of Twitter, here are my reviews for the shows I’ve seen over the last few months that haven’t appeared on the blog… in 140 (or close to) characters:
Ophelia Must Die by Memory Implosion – The Lion and Unicorn Theatre (Camden Fringe Festival)
A challenging, avant-garde piece that manages to portray four remarkable women through two young, and very talented, male actors.
Hansel und Gretel by Glyendbourne Opera – Glyndebourne Opera House
Average opera that didn’t live up to the experience that is the middle class social ritual that is Glyndebourne. Much better to watch the audience.
Spring Awakening by One Academy Productions – Pleasance Courtyard (Edinburgh Fringe)
Loved the true-to-original staging. Loved the American accents. Loved most of the talent. Didn’t love the set or the rest of the talent.
Princess Cabaret by Tumbleweed Productions – Gilded Balloon Teviot (Edinburgh Fringe)
Fairly unPC look at the Disney Princesses from an Australian troupe of ladies. Mixed talent (some great, some not so) performing an extremely enjoyable show.
Story of a Rabbit by Hoipollpoi – Barbican Centre
Hugh Hughes deserves to be far more well-known than he is. A mix between Daniel Kitson’s witty storytelling and Michel Gondry’s refusal to grow up.
Floating by Hoipolloi – Barbican Centre
Second in the Wonderful World of Hugh Hughes series. Not as great as Rabbit, but that’s really not saying much considering the brilliance of the former.
Les Miserables – Barbican Centre
My first Les Mis experience, which managed to turn me from a ‘this is not enough Sondheim and a little too much Weber’ opinion holder to a Les Mis fan.
Jason Robert Brown – Garrick Theatre
One of the greatest composers alive doing his thing on stage with some amazing musicians and a very talented lady singer. He deserved the double standing ovation he received.
Legally Blonde The Musical – Savoy Theatre
Average production of a rather good show. Sheridan Smith seemed like she was walking through the part, whereas the chorus were giving it their all. Disappointing.
Unfortunately, picking one above the rest proved impossible, and I’ve instead settled on picking two. My hero, Jason Robert Brown, who I’ve waited for about five years (since I first heard his work) to see in the flesh, and Hugh Hughes’ Story of a Rabbit, which opened my eyes to multimedia storytelling and the power of a good yarn.
And I’m spent…
