My 2018 Awards: Part 2 - Sherlock Holmes

Plays:
5) 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' - Stonyhurst College, Hurst Green.
4) 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' - St. Michaels and All Saints Church, Chiswick
3) 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' - Lincoln Castle
2) 'Sherlock Holmes: The Last Curtain' - Rose Theatre, Kingston
1) 'The Sign of Four' - New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth

(Honourable Mention: 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' - Undershaw, Hindhead; 'Sherlock Holmes: The Panto' - Barns Green Village Hall, Horsham)

(Dishonourable Mention: 'A Study in Nova Alba' - Cornerhouse, Surbiton)


Films:

[After three years away from cinemas, they have been two portrayals of Holmes in the past year. Although neither was a critical success, one stood head and shoulders over the other for me]

2: Holmes and Watson  (dir: Etan Coen)      [Not as bad as all the stuff I had read prior to going to see it suggested. It was OK - just not very funny]

1: 'Sherlock Gnomes'   (dir: John Stevenson)    ['Gnomeo and Juliet' sequel, with multiple nods to the original stories and 'Sherlock', including a large number of visual gags that only I seemed to get in the screening I went to. Even Johnny Depp was surprisingly restrained as Sherlock, and I was pleased to see Dan Starkey's name in the closing titles]

'Elementary' Episodes:
5) 'The Adventure of the Ersatz Sobekneferu' (6.10)
4) 'Uncanny Valley of the Dolls' (6.16)
3) 'The Visions of Norman P. Horowitz' (6.18)
2)  'Pushing Buttons' (6.3)
1) 'Whatever Remains, However Improbable'  (6.21)

[No 'Sherlock' this year, so only what could have been the final season of 'Elementary', but it has been renewed for one more season, and the ending of the last episode sets up an interesting finale season].

'Sherlockian Sojourns':
5) Dorsington
4) Portsmouth/Worthing
3) Undershaw
2) Ingleton/Stonyhurst
1) Conan Doyle's Edinburgh 

My 2018 Awards: Part 1 - Theatre

Musicals:
5) 'Ruthless' - Arts Theatre, London
4) 'School of Rock' - Gillian Lynne Theatre, London
3) 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie' - Apollo Theatre, London
2) 'Eugenius' - The Other Palace, Victoria
1) 'Six' - Rose Theatre, Kingston

(Honourable Mentions: 'Bananaman: The Musical' - Southwark Playhouse; 'The Three Little Pigs' - Kenneth More Theatre, Ilford; 'Heathers: The Musical' - Theatre Royal, Haymarket; 'Strictly Ballroom: The Musical' - Piccadilly Theatre, London; 'Fanactical: TheSci-Fi Convention Musical' - The Playhouse Theatre W10; 'Caroline, Or Change' - Playhouse Theatre, London)

(Dishonourable Mention: 'Wasted' - Southwark Playhouse)

Comedy:
3) 'Jess Robinson: Here Come The Girls' - Leicester Square Theatre
2) 'Flo & Joan: The Kindness of Stranglers' - Soho Theatre
1) 'Raymond and Mr Timpkins Revue: Ham' - Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh.

(Honourable Mentions: 'Lost Voice Guy: Inspiration Porn' - Gilded Balloon Debating Hall, Edinburgh; 'An Evening With Barry Cryer' - Cinema Museum, Kennington)

Classic Comedy Recreations:
3) 'Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em' - Richmond Theatre
2) 'The Goon Show' - Richmond Theatre
1) 'Dad's Army Radio Hour' - Richmond Theatre

Magic
3) 'Pete Firman' - The Cornerhouse, Surbiton
2) 'Champions of Magic' - Richmond Theatre
1) 'Colin Cloud: (Psycho)Logical' - Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh

(Honourable Mentions: 'At Home With the Magic Circle' - The Magic Circle, London; 'Ben Hanlin: 50' - Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh; 'Griffin & Jones: Trickorish Allsorts' – Liquid Room Warehouse, Edinburgh; 'John Lenahan: Up Close' – The Free Sisters, Edinburgh)

(Dishonourable Mention: 'Adam Patel: Real Magic Live' - Leicester Square Theatre)

Plays:
3) 'Vulcan 7' - Richmond Theatre
2) 'An Honourable Man' - White Bear Theatre, Kennington
1) 'Uncle Vanya' - Hampstead Theatre

(Honourable Mentions: 'Nightfall' - Bridge Theatre, London; 'Mindgame' - Ambassadors Theatre, London; 'And This Is My Friend, Mr Laurel' - Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh)

Pantomimes:
5) 'Improvised Panto!' - Paradise in the Vault, Edinburgh
4) 'Sherlock Holmes: The Panto' - Barns Green Village Hall, Horsham
3) 'Jack and the Beanstalk' - Wimbledon Theatre
2) 'Buttons: A Cinderella Story' - King's Head Theatre, Islington
1) 'Aladdin' - Wimbledon Theatre

Sherlockian Sojourns # 16: Portsmouth & Southsea / Worthing

Portsmouth was where the invalided Watson reached England on the troopship, Orontes, travelling from there to London, in the first Sherlock Holmes novel, 'A Study in Scarlet'. However, it has a more important canonical connection, as it was in the Southsea area of the city in 1882 that Conan Doyle opened a practice of ophthalmology. His lack of clientele left him plenty of time to read, write and he began to publish short stories, but without great success. However, in 1887, at his Southsea address, he wrote about the consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes for the first time, in the aforementioned 'A Study in Scarlet'. Therefore, in a year that had seen me watch a production of ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ a few hundred yards from the study where it was written, and another Sherlockian play in the grounds of Conan Doyle’s alma mater, Stonyhurst College, the announcement of two Sherlockian plays in the Portsmouth area meant that I wished to add plays performed in the town where Holmes was created to my tally. Unfortunately, one of the plays (being performed by the same company as the Undershaw ‘Hound’) was postponed due to production problems, which led to a slight change in my plans.

Portsmouth also has another Sherlockian claim to fame. One of the world’s leading Sherlockian scholars and collectors, Richard Lancelyn Green (1953-2004), generously bequeathed his vast collection of over 60,000 items, including books, photographs, documents and objects (including boxing gloves and waistcoats), to Portsmouth City Council. The Collection is held at Portsmouth Central Library and is viewable by appointment, which I had done on a previous visit.

Catching an early train to London Waterloo, I then caught a train to Portsmouth and Southsea Station, spending the time listening to 'Sherlock Holmes: The Master of Blackstone Grange'. Having an hour before the performance, I took the opportunity to make a detour to the nearby Arundel Street, where two back-to-back benches have been erected to commemorate Conan Doyle’s connection to the city. The benches, designed by Pete Codling, are facsimiles of the first page of the manuscript of ‘A Study in Scarlet’ , and an 1889 letter sent by Conan Doyle to Portsmouth Library. Typically, people were sitting on the letter-side of the bench, but I managed to get photos of the 'Study' side, before undertaking the slow task of photographing an inscription on the pavement around the bench (in 22 stages), which was a longer version of the quote that gives this blog its name, having to kick away Autumn leaves. Further down the street were benches commemorating some of Portsmouth's other famous cultural icons, namely Isambard Kingdom Brunel and his father Sir Marc Brunel (who feature in the sixth Doctor audio, 'Iron Bright'), the painter W.L. Wyllie, Victorian authors George Meredith and Sir Walter Beasant, and Charles Dickens.

 

 

 

 

Retracing my steps, I made my way to the New Theatre Royal, and a 10.30am performance of ‘The Sign of Four’, the second Holmes novel, also written in Portsmouth. Due to the time, the performance was mainly attended by two school groups, and I was upgraded from my balcony seats to the middle Stalls. (I had picked the early matinee in an attempt to attend the other play’s evening performance). I purchased both a programme and a copy of the playscript and took my seat.

The performance concluded (click here for a review), and I was soon making my way down to the Portsmouth City Museum, which features two Sherlockian exhibitions. The first was ‘A Study in Sherlock: Uncovering the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection’, which I had visited before, and which showcases the largest collection pertaining to Doyle and his creation Sherlock Holmes in the world (using items from the Richard Lancelyn Green bequest). The gallery also explored Conan Doyle’s early life as a doctor in Portsmouth, his sporting activity and later interest in spiritualism as well as Sherlock Holmes as depicted in film, theatre, advertising and elsewhere.It also includes a Sherlock Holmes mystery and narration by Stephen Fry, patron of the collection.

 

The second was ‘You don't know Sherlock Holmes… yet’, which further explored the connection between the city of Portsmouth and Conan Doyle. Again showcasing a range of material from the Lancelyn Green Bequest, the exhibition traced the development of Conan Doyle's career as a writer, from his arrival in Southsea to the writing of the first two Sherlock Holmes novels, and included the original manuscript of 'The Creeping Man', and 'the great Agra Treasure' which had played such an important part in my earlier theatrical experience. There was also the opportunity to test my detective skills through a range of interactive displays based on canonical stories. The gallery ended with photos of actor who have played Holmes being projected onto a wall, including many that I had met, such as Nicholas Rowe, Tom Baker, Anthony Higgins and Peter Capaldi, as well as the forthcoming Will Ferrell (Having see the trailer, I'm not holding out much hope).

 

 

Having bought a two fridge magnets in the gift shop, my next stop was to the former site of Bush Villas, Conan Doyle’s practice, where he wrote ‘A Study in Scarlet’. The manuscript was rejected by several publishers before Ward, Lock & Co. bought it for the paltry sum of £25 (Conan Doyle never making any more money from it). They published it in their Beeton's Christmas Annual in November 1887 and it was totally unnoticed at the time. Plaques on the current building, Bush House, indicate the site’s literary significance.

Next it was back to the Station, via Arundel Street to take photos of the other side of the bench, to catch a train to nearby Worthing, which does not appear in the Canon. However, it was here in 1926 that Conan Doyle opened the newly built Spiritualist Church. Having already seen the other two English Spiritualist Churches opened by Conan Doyle (in Camden & Kingston), I wished to complete the set. Finding the Church with limited problems, I took photos of the church and plaque commemorating the event.

 

 

 

Prior to catching my train home, I made my way to a nearby Fish and Chip shop, eating my meal on the seafront, looking out to sea. Returning to Worthing Station, I made my way back home via Clapham Junction.

THEATRE REVIEW: Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of Four - New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth

THEATRE REVIEW: Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of Four

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Adapted by Nick Lane
Directed by Nick Lane.  




An adaptation of the second Holmes novel, this was the first stage adaptation that I had seen (the third novel - 'Hound' - being the usual choice. I've seen at least 16 stage versions, and have another to come before Christmas) and I decided to see it in Portsmouth where the novel was written. The novel concerns Mary Morstan (the future Mrs. Watson) arriving at 221b Baker Street to request help with the mystery of her missing father, Holmes takes the case and together with the ever-reliable companion Dr. Watson enters a murky world of deception and trickery, unravelling a complex plot involving murder, corruption and stolen jewels.

I was originally intending to see another Sherlockian production also in Portsmouth that evening (which had been postponed), so I booked for the morning matinee (10.30am), which was mainly intended for school parties as 'The Sign of Four' appears on the AQA GCSE syllabus. I was upgraded from my balcony seat to the middle Stalls, and entered the auditorium behind two school groups, having bought both a programme and a copy of the playscript.

The production featured six actors playing a total of twenty-one characters (with all save Holmes playing more than one part), and all actors also played at least one instrument to provide the supporting musical score   (Mary Morstan playing the trombone is an image that will stay with me !). All actors also remained on stage throughout, moving to chairs behind a number of arches when not in a scene. Holmes was played by Luke Barton, who played him as the young man of the novel and in a manner that seemed vaguely familiar, but which I could not place until one of the schoolchildren a few rows in front compared him to Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor. There was also strong support from Joseph Derrington as Watson, Stephanie Rutherford as Mary (and all the other women), Christopher Glover, Ru Hamilton (his effete Thaddeus Sholto being a highlight) and Zach Lee. The adaption was good, but the dramatised explanation for the villain's actions went on a little too long for my liking, and they amended my favourite line from the novel from 'Holmes, a child has done this terrible thing' to 'A child did it ?'  I was also slightly put out that Scotland Yarder, Athnelney-Jones, was not Welsh as his name would seem to suggest.  

Worth catching if it comes to a theatre near you.   (Click here for tour dates)

Rating:    (4/5)

'British' Musicals: ‘Fanatical’ (2018)

'British' Musicals: ‘Fanatical’ (2018)

Lyrics & Music by Matt Board
Book by Reina Hardy

History

‘Fanatical: A Sci-Fi Convention Musical’ is a musical with music and lyrics by the British composer, Matt Board  (who was also co-writer of the critically acclaimed 'Austentacious' and wrote 'Friends: The Opera' for Comedy Central) and a book by American playwright, Reina Hardy. The idea of a musical set at a science-fiction convention ticked all the right boxes for them: a world in love with story, and a world full of people who will unshamedly burst into song. However, developing a show on two sides of an ocean was not easy, but via four transatlantic workshops, a fringe festival show in Chicago, and a college production at Mountview, the first London production opened on 8th November 2018 at the Playground Theatre in West London.

Story

In a distant Galaxy - the ragtag misfit crew of cargo ship Angel 8 are under the command of fearless pilot Iris Aucht.

Meanwhile...at a conference centre, somewhere in England – a ragtag misfit collection of 1,000 fans gather from all across the UK for Eight Con One, the first ever official convention of the cult TV show Angel 8.

Angel 8 started as a comic created by reclusive British Sci-fi author Scott Furnish. Its first TV outing ended on a shocking cliff-hanger. With eager anticipation at the promise of a second series, these enthusiastic devotees have come together to celebrate their beloved series and to meet Scott face-to-face and hear his keynote speech.

In A Nutshell

No power in the universe can keep a story from its fans.

Production

I caught the second preview performance on 9th November 2018, finding that despite the theatre being on Latimer Road, it is a full ten minute walk from Latimer Road tube station, due to having to walk three sides of a square. The audience mainly seemed to be made up of friends and family of the performers, and the person next to me (possibly the director) was taking copious notes to feedback to the cast. The cast was led by Sophie Powles (who played Holly Barton in 'Emmerdale') as the cosplaying Andra, and Suanne Braun as convention-runner Trix (utilising her sci-fi experience having appeared as Hathor in three episodes of 'Stargate: SG1', as Cpt. Dorothy McCutcheon in 'Red Dwarf XI: Twentica', and Dotty-Ky in 'Starhyke'), with Stephen Frost (best known from the iconic 'Carling Black Label' adverts) as series creator, Scott Furnish.

The witty songs were excellent, as were the performances, particularly Powles (and Eddy Payne as young geek, Baxter), and I loved the geeky in-jokes. The set was sparse but the production was all the better for it, with all the cast throwing themselves into it fully.

Definitely recommended  (particularly if the terms cosplay, LARP, slashfic and flame wars mean something to you).

'Fanatical: A Sci-Fi Convention Musical' runs at the Playground Theatre, Latimer Road W10 until 9th December 2018.

Favourite Song

No contest –the second half's 'Any Moment Now', whose name conceals its content. I also loved 'Me Slash You' and 'Look What I Made' from the first half.

Did I Buy The Cast Recording ?

No, there wasn't one available.

Links

Production Website
Soundcloud: Fanatical

British Musicals: ‘Six’ (2017)

British Musicals: ‘Six’ (2017)

Book, Lyrics & Music by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss

History

‘Six’ is a musical by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, who met in the Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society (CUMTS). The society weary of annually haemorrhaging money at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival on the rights of real musicals by real writers, decided to write their own based on the idea of ‘the six wives of Henry VIII, but like a pop group’. The show opened on the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe to rave reviews, then a short tour, where at the ADC Theatre in Cambridge, it was seen by composer, George Stiles (co-writer of many of my favourite British Musicals, including ‘Betty Blue Eyes’, ‘The Wind in the Willows’, ‘Honk’ and ‘Soho Cinders’) who became one of the show’s producers, helping them stave off suggestions including adding Henry to the mix, adding more songs to make 90 minutes rather than 75 minutes, and even adding a complete second half. Stiles commented ‘It doesn’t want to expand. It’s for the Netflix generation’. With supporters on board, the show undertook a handful of sold-out workshop performances at the Arts Theatre in London over Christmas 2017, then an opening week at the Norwich Playhouse, a further (sold out) run at the Edinburgh Fringe, before returning to the Arts Theatre for a short run, then going on tour from November to December 2018, taking in Kingston, Southampton, Salford, and Glasgow. It is then scheduled to return to the Arts Theatre for a five month run in the New Year.

Story

Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. 

All this time
They’ve been just one word in a stupid rhyme
So they picked up a pen and a microphone
History’s about to get overthrown. 

From Tudor Queens to Pop Princesses, the six wives of Henry VIII take to the mic to tell their tales, remixing five hundred years of ‘her-storical’ heartbreak into a 75-minute celebration of celebration of sisterly sass-itude and 21st century girl power. These Queens may have green sleeves but their lipstick is rebellious red.

In A Nutshell

‘Divorced, Beheaded, LIVE !!!’ – The Ultimate Queen concert.

Production

I caught the first night of the tour, from the front row of the Rose Theatre, Kingston, which was packed. The lights went down and the all female cast and band entered. Following a wonderful opening number which started as ‘Greensleeves’, then morphed into a riff on ‘Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived’, the plot began – a competition between the wives as to who had the worst time, leading to six very different solo songs, with backing from the other five. Each wife had their own Queenspiration – Catherine of Aragon (Beyonce & Shakira), Anne Boleyn (Lily Allen & Avril Lavigne), Jane Seymour (Adele & Sia), Anna of Cleeves (Nicki Minaj & Rihanna), Katherine Howard (Ariana Grande & Britney Spears), and Catherine Parr (Alicia Keys & Emeli Sande) – meaning a good variety of pop styles, all with a live band. The ending with the wives all singing together about how they are more than just a rhyme was also amazing.

The cast – Jarneia Richard-Noel (Catherine I), Millie O’Connell (Anne), Natalie Paris (Jane), Alexia McIntosh (Anna), Aimie Atkinson (Katherine) and Maiya Quansah-Breed (Catherine II) - were all amazing, as were their costumes which were one-part fishnetted pop-star, one-part Tudor Queen. The songs were all very witty, and when it was announced at the end that an album was now available, there was a surge for the merchandise stand.

Given the similar idea, historical figures as a band, I found myself comparing it to ‘Wasted’ that I had seen a month before. However, ‘Six’ clearly emerged as the winner, thanks partly to its brevity – 10 songs compared to 27 – but also to the standard of the songs and staging, meaning that it at no point dragged, as ‘Wasted’ had in parts.

Highly, highly recommended. Book for the West End run next year as soon as you can.

Six runs at the Rose Theatre, Kingston until 4th November 2018. It then tours to NST Southampton (13/11/18-17/11/18), The Lowry Salford Quays (04/12/18-16/12/18), and the SEC Glasgow (20/12/18-30/12/18), before re-opening at the Arts Theatre London on 16th January 2019, with performances until 5th May 2019.

Favourite Song

No contest – the Lily Allenesque ‘Don’t Lose UR Head’, sung by Anne Boleyn.

Did I Buy The Cast Recording ?

Yes, on download as soon as I got home.

Links

Production Website: https://www.sixthemusical.com/

You Tube: 'Six' - The Trailer

'Six' Playlists

THEATRE REVIEW: ‘Vulcan 7’ (Richmond Theatre)

THEATRE REVIEW: ‘Vulcan 7’ 

(Richmond Theatre)

Gary Savage (Adrian Edmondson) and Hugh Delavois (Nigel Planer) were students at RADA together. Now in their sixties, they meet in an Icelandic wasteland, on the set of a fantasy movie. Hugh has had a plodding career but has landed the role of Vulcan’s butler - a small but regular role - and he's making his seventh film for the franchise. Gary is a one-time Hollywood A-lister who has fallen on lean times, and is playing a guest monster with four hours in make-up, a generic character name, and one word in the script.

Sparks fly inside the trailer as old wounds are opened. Leela (Lois Chimimba), a runner, attempts to keep the peace between them, but outside the trailer things are not going to plan either: the director’s gone AWOL, the catering truck’s on the wrong side of a ravine, and the volcanic activity is growing more and more lively by the minute…

Starring and scripted by ‘Young Ones’ (now ‘Old Ones’), Edmondson & Planer, this play was right up my street, and seemingly drew on Edmondson’s experiences on ‘The Last Jedi’ (which also provided the inspiration for a very funny call-sheet prepared by him in the programme). I saw it on its opening night at Richmond having been touring for a few weeks, and in the row in front of me were Jennifer Saunders and Ben Elton. The action was all in Delavois’ trailer, which was on hydraulics to indicate the volcanic activity. Very funny dialogue between the two of them, with Planer as the ‘straight man’ to the anarchic Edmondson, who got all the best jokes and physical comedy. As the third member of the cast, Chimimba (soon to be seen in Series 11 of ‘Doctor Who’), found herself having to keep order between the arguing thespians, as the comedy slowly became a tragedy. Highly recommended !

‘Vulcan 7’ is at the Richmond Theatre until 27^th October 2018, then tours to the Malvern Festival Theatre (29^th October-3^rd November 2018) and the King’s Theatre Edinburgh (5^th-10^th November 2018).

Links: Interview with Ade Edmondson (Radio 2, 16/09/2018)

British Musicals: ‘Wasted’ (2018)

British Musicals: ‘Wasted’ (2018)

Book and Lyrics by Carl Miller

Music by Christopher Ash

History

‘Wasted’ is a musical by Carl Miller (The National Theatre’s ‘Emil & The Detectives’) and Christopher Ash (founder member of ‘Showstopper! - The Improvised Musical'). Seen through the lens of a rock documentary, the show is an access-all-areas account of the struggles, heartbreaks and triumphs of the three Brontë sisters, Charlotte, Emily & Anne, and their brother Branwell.

Following ‘work in progress’ performances at the West Yorkshire Playhouse and Park Theatre London in 2016, the world premiere of the completed show was at the Southwark Playhouse on 6th September 2018, in a production co-produced by Big Finish supremo, Jason Haigh-Ellery. Leading the cast as Charlotte was Natasha Barnes, best known for covering for the indisposed Sheridan Smith in ‘Funny Girl’ in the West End a couple of years ago. Joining her were Siobhan Athwal as Emily, Molly Lynch as Anne, and Matthew Jacobs Morgan as Branwell.

Story

Brought up in a remote poverty-stricken town in Yorkshire, without money or opportunity, the Brontës fight ill-health, unrequited love and family feuds to write some of the most celebrated works of literature, including ‘Jane Eyre’ and ‘Wuthering Heights’. The lives behind the pages expose a struggling, squabbling, ferociously driven, drug-fuelled crash and burn trajectory from obscurity to celebrity, and ultimately their untimely deaths. The musical strives to explain how these ingenious women were left wondering whether their lives had been wasted.

In A Nutshell

The Brontës. They rock !

Production

Back at the Southwark Playhouse, having had to move performances due to accidentally booking for the captioned performance the day before which would have involved large proportions of the audience having to be staring at their phones throughout the show, I had a reasonably central seat. The tone for the evening was set by a parental advisory publicity postcard that I picked up at the box office. The show started with all four cast members entering in period costume and plugging their hand-held microphones into ports in the middle of the stage. This set the tone, as all items of set were related to concerts, with all documents being music manuscript paper and flight cases acting as writing desks. After an opening number that was slightly too Rock-y for me, there was a good run of songs that I enjoyed, which were slightly less loud, and so easier to hear the very clever words.

All four threw themselves into their roles – Athwal as the ‘Goth’ Emily (with more than a hint of Kate Bush), Barnes as the pragmatic Charlotte, Lynch as the initially virginal Anne, and Jacobs Morgan as the deluded Branwell who got the best jokes. 27 songs (including reprises) was a little too many, and I would have preferred a little more dialogue between scenes due to the high standard of the few instances that we did get. Certainly worth seeing for a new insight into the Brontës.

Wasted runs at the Southwark Playhouse from 6th September 2018 to 6th October 2018.

Favourite Song

I intend to cheat here and pick one for each Brontë. ‘Infinite Eternity’ for Charlotte, ‘My Soulmate’ for Emily, ‘No-One to Marry for Miles’ for Anne, and ‘I Am Gonna Be…” for Branwell.

Did I Buy The Cast Recording ?

No, there wasn't one available.

 

 

Links

Production Website: https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/show/wasted/

British Musicals: ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ (2017)

British Musicals: ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ (2017)

Book and Lyrics by Tom McRae

Music by Dan Gillespie Sells

Inspired by the 2011 BBC Three documentary, ‘Jamie: Drag Queen at 16’.

History

‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ is a musical by Tom McRae ('Doctor Who' & 'Threesome') & Dan Gillespie Sells ('The Feeling’), inspired by the 2011 BBC Three documentary ‘Jamie: Drag Queen at 16’, about Jamie Campbell, a sixteen year old Durham pupil who wanted to wear a dress to his end-of-school prom. Channel hopping, theatre director, Jonathan Butterell came across the documentary and immediately knew that he had to put Jamie's story on stage as a musical. He approached an old friend, Daniel Evans – Artistic Director of the Sheffield Crucible – who liked the idea, but pointed out that he needed collaborators.

Meanwhile, on a visit to see 'Kiss Me Kate' in Chichester, West End star, Michael Ball, got chatting with two aspiring musical theatre writers, Dan Gillespie Sells and Tom McRae. Discussing with them, he found they had no story, and advised them to work with Jonathan Butterell to come up with one. Michael rang Butterell and managed to matchmake a director with a story needing writers with writers who needed a story. Having met they pitched their plans to Evans and were commissioned.

Renaming the character, Jamie New, and relocating the action to Sheffield, the musical premiered at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield on 13th February 2017, following previews from 8 February, it finished its short run on 25th February, directed by Butterell.

However, at the final matinee performance was impresario, Nica Burns, and impressed by what she saw, on 21st June it was announced that the musical would transfer to the West End at her Apollo Theatre from 6th November 2017 to 21st April 2018, with most of the Crucible Theatre cast returning. On 11th January 2018, the show announced a booking extension to 6th October 2018, and on 30th May 2018, the show announced a booking extension to 6th April 2019. The production was also broadcast live in cinemas across the UK on 5th July 2018

Plot

Jamie is out and proud, and about to finish school. His careers teacher proposes he work as a fork-lift truck driver, but Jamie wants to be a drag queen. As part of this, he decides to attend his school prom in a dress. With the support of his single parent mother, her friend Ray, his friend Pritti, and a mentor Hugo (and Hugo’s alter-ego Loco Chanelle), Jamie attempts to overcome prejudice, beat the bullies and step out of the darkness, into the spotlight. But can he overcome the doubts caused by his father calling him “disgusting” when he caught him wearing a dress ?

In A Nutshell

Sixteen: the edge of possibility. Time to make your dreams come true and be fabulous.

Production

My seat was literally in the back row of the Grand Circle, but I still had a fantastic view. The staging was excellent, but it is the performances that really stood out. All the reviews praise John McCrea as Jamie, but I feel as much credit should also go to Rebecca McKinnis as his mother, Margaret, and Lucie Shorthouse as Pritti. I was also pleased to see two more recent cast replacements meant that two actors whose work I enjoy were now in the production, Shobna Gulati (‘Dinnerladies’ & ‘Coronation Street’) as Ray, Margaret’s best friend, and Lee Ross (‘Press Gang’, ‘The Catherine Tate Show’ and Doctor Who episode ‘The Curse of the Black Spot’) as Hugo and the ‘fabulous’ Loco Chanelle. The story was both funny and affecting, and the musical numbers were great. And there was a Supertram joke, which only I seemed to get in my section of the theatre !

Highly recommended.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie runs at the Apollo Theatre, London until at least 6th April 2019.

Favourite Song

It has to be ‘He’s My Boy’, sung by Jamie’s mother, closely followed by ‘It Means Beautiful’ sung by his BFF (and fellow ‘weirdo’) Pritti, and ‘The Legend of Loco Chanelle (And The Blood Red Dress)’ sung by Hugo.

Did I Buy The Cast Recording ?

Selected songs downloaded at home.

Links

Production Website: http://www.everybodystalkingaboutjamie.co.uk/

YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQIJanfTE-THPMaq30NQG7RQgGpg7wQ0r

Sherlockian Sojourns #15: Edinburgh

Arthur Conan Doyle was born on 22nd May 1859, at 11 Picardy Place, Edinburgh, Scotland, the second of seven children. However, possibly due to his not becoming famous until leaving the city, his Edinburgh connection is not one that is highlighted in the city, with JK Rowling and her creation Harry Potter, seemingly being trumpeted in every corner. Even the city's Writers Museum, celebrates only Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson. Having gone up to Edinburgh for the Fringe, I decided to visit a number of Doylean sites. The second of my three days in Edinburgh was deemed 'Conan Doyle Day'.

This began with my undertaking 'The Real Sherlock Holmes Walking Tour'. This is run by Toby Virgo, and tells the story not only of Conan Doyle but of Dr. Joseph Bell ('the Real Sherlock Holmes'). The tour started on the Royal Mile, where we were given an overview of Edinburgh's history, before walking a short distance to the University of Edinburgh Medical School, where Conan Doyle was a student from 1876. 

 

It was here that he met two men who influenced the choice of his future novel heroes.The first was Professor Rutherford, whose Assyrian beard, booming voice and broad chest, inspired Professor George Edward Challenger. It was also where he met Dr. Joseph Bell, Professor of Surgery, whose amazing deductions on his patients and their diseases germinated the idea of a detective using the same methods.After a quick stop for a group selfie, we moved on to the next stop.

23 George Square represented Doyle's penultimate Edinburgh address, moved to in 1877. It was separated into three residences, the basement and the upper floor having other occupants. To distinguish them from the main apartments these were deemed 23A & 23B, possibly inspiring 221B. The rent was paid by a Doyle family friend, Dr. Bryan Charles Waller, who had a joint consulting room and study in the house, which Doyle could use in his absence, but had to vacate when Waller had business there, much as Watson had to in the early days of his friendship with Holmes. After another selfie, we moved on to our final stop.

 The final stop was the Old Infirmary, where Dr. Bell ran regular surgeries with Conan Doyle as his clerk. It was here that Conan Doyle first observed Bell's deductive abilities that later inspired Holmes. Dr. Bell observed the way a person moved.  The walk of a sailor varied vastly from that of a solider.  If he identified a person as a sailor he would look for  any tattoos that might assist him in knowing where their travels had taken them.   He trained himself to listen for small differences in his patient’s accents to help him identify where they were from.  Bell studied the hands of his patients because calluses or other marks could help him determine their occupation.  (Click here for a more detailed example, beginning 'But the most notable of the characters whom I met...')

 

 

Thanking Toby, I left and caught a bus to York Place, which opens into Picardy Place, due to roadworks taking place, the birthplace was inaccessible and also the statue of Sherlock Holmes that usually stands outside has been removed. However, the Conan Doyle Public House remains opposite the site  (but even this was briefly renamed at the start of the year).

Just around the corner was St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Cathedral where Conan Doyle was baptised.

It was time for a Fringe show so I made my way back to central Edinburgh, passing 'The Waverley Hotel' where in October 1900, Conan Doyle stayed when he ran for election in Edinburgh as an MP, in favour of retaining Ireland within the United Kingdom.

Having enjoyed a sketch-show and eaten my lunch, I made my way to the Pleasance Courtyard for an hour of comic songs from Flo & Joan.  Returning to 23 George Square, I began a tour of Conan Doyle's Edinburgh homes, making for 'The Meadows', a public park since the 1700s. Skirting the side of the park, my second stop was 15 Lonsdale Terrace. This was Conan Doyle's final Edinburgh address, which he moved to in 1881.

 

However, it is a nearby road, Lauriston Gardens that has a canonical connection, being moved to 'just off the Brixton Road' in London for the first crime scene (3 Lauriston Gardens) that we see Holmes and Watson investigate, in the novel 'A Study in Scarlet'. 

Returning to The Meadows, I cut across where after a short walk, I reached 2 Argyle Park Terrace. The Doyle family moved here in 1875. This property previously had a bow window, as Watson claims 221b did in 'The Beryl Coronet', when he stood in it to watch the troubled approach of Alexander Holder. This would have been improbable for Baker Street at that time.

However at this point, things went a bit wrong. The heavens opened and it was necessary for me to cut short my tour with several stops left. 

The next morning, having breakfasted, I caught a bus to Goods' Corner, and moving down Nether Liberton Lane, I reached The Conan Doyle Medical Centre.

I then returned to the main road and spent around half-an-hour desperately trying to find my next location, until I finally found it was only 2 minutes walk further on from the Medical Centre. In the mid to late 1860s, Doyle was sent to live at Liberton Bank House seemingly to protect him from the negative influences of his alcoholic father and, no doubt, to facilitate his attendance at the nearby Newington Academy. At Liberton Bank he was in the care of Mary Burton, a trailblazing educational and social reformer, the first woman Governor of Heriot-Watt College and a leading advocate of women's suffrage.

In 2009, a sycamore tree outside the property, which had been felled because of rotten roots, was used by Edinburgh-based luthier Steve Burnett, to make a violin, named 'The Sherlock Violin'. In 2010 it was donated to the University of Edinburgh's Musical Instrument Collection. The Collection is displayed at St. Cecilia's Hall five minutes from my accommodation, but when I visited later in the day, the violin was not on display.

Catching the bus back, I alighted at Newington Road, and made my way down to 3 Sciennes Place, where Doyle rejoined his parents on leaving Liberton Bank House, living there until 1875.

Retracing my steps, I walked along Newington Road, until I reached Surgeons Hall Museum, which exhibits a letter from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle crediting Dr Joseph Bell, as the main inspiration for the character of Sherlock Holmes.

It was time for some shows, but having a long break in the middle of the day, I made my way back to the area around Lauriston Gardens. First stop was The Moriarty Bar, Lothian Road , which when I last visited it a few years ago, had a Reichenbach Falls mural in the main bar to commemorate its villainous namesake. Unfortunately, this seemed to have been painted over.

On my way back into the City Centre, I popped into a bookshop on Lauriston Place, where I managed to obtain a copy of 'The Strand Magazine' - August 1895 (Vol 10, Issue 8), which included the Conan Doyle story, 'How the Brigadier Took the Field Against the Marshal Millefleurs'. I also passed The Lauriston Building, a hospital where Dr. Joseph Bell worked.

This ended my tour of Conan Doyle-related buildings. A few more Fringe shows, and the next morning, it was time to make my way home.