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NEWS: SCOTTISH OPERA ANNOUNCES 2023/24 SEASON

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Scottish Opera has unveiled its 2023/24 Season, which includes a UK premiere, a Scottish premiere, a Scottish Opera Young Company double bill, and revivals of some of its most beloved productions. The Season promises to be a celebratory showcase of the power and beauty of opera.

Alex Reedijk, Scottish Opera General Director, said: ‘Following the ambition and achievement of our 60th Anniversary Season, we are thrilled to present a 61st Season of exciting premieres and cherished classics – performed across Scotland and continuing the Company’s reputation for high quality opera, artistic flexibility, and innovation.

‘Sir Thomas Allen’s much-loved, whimsical production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville returns this autumn and tours to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness, and Aberdeen. Next is the UK premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Marx in London! directed by Stephen Barlow, a madcap comedy seeking to unearth the human side of the great theorist. To finish the Season, Verdi’s ever-popular La traviata returns in Sir David McVicar’s sumptuous production – adored around the world and now back home in Scotland.

‘Scottish Opera Young Company presents an innovative, immersive double bill of Henry McPherson’s Maud and Kurt Weill’s Down in the Valley. Our partnership with Lammermuir Festival continues with Richard Strauss’ Daphne, which receives its Scottish premiere 85 years after its first performance. The French Collection offers the variety, innovation, and crowd-pleasing creations of France’s great composers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Opera Highlights, Pop-up Opera, and schools projects travel to all corners of the country, continuing our unabated dedication to bringing opera to everyone in Scotland. This Season you can also see productions that began their lives at Scottish Opera around the world, from Cardiff to Vancouver.

‘While times are hard for all right now, we are hugely proud of the standards of work achieved over recent years. We are immensely grateful for the loyal support of everyone who makes our work possible, and we hope that you find much to enjoy and look forward to welcoming you soon.’

Stuart Stratford, Scottish Opera Music Director, added: ‘There is so much to look forward to in this new season. I am particularly delighted to present the Scottish premiere of Daphne, a rarely performed work by Richard Strauss. It shows the composer at the height of his powers, and the orchestration is not just about the sonic power of seventy instruments but the subtle blending of all the different colour palettes. The singing roles are as virtuosic as the orchestral writing.

‘Jonathan Dove is one of Britain’s most successful international composers, and his Marx in London! is a brilliant satirical take on one of history’s most iconic and divisive thinkers, which gives real human understanding to all of the protagonist’s idiosyncrasies. It has a really poignant conclusion, relevant to us all today.

‘We are also thrilled to be reviving The Barber of Seville, this time in English, which promises only to strengthen the riotous hilarity of this comic masterpiece. An incredible, first rate cast features in La traviata, originally directed by Sir David McVicar, whose production of Il trittico blew audiences away earlier this year.’

A truly international line-up of singers appears throughout the season. Making their debuts with the Company are Ross Cumming, Paul Hopwood, Inna Husieva, Claire Barnett-Jones, Jerome Knox, Innocent Masuku, Simone McIntosh, Ji-Min Park and Katy Thomson.

There are welcome return visits from Katherine Aitken, Orla Boylan, Francis Church, Alasdair Elliott, Anthony Gregory, Catriona Hewitson, Thomas D Hopkinson, Heather Ireson, Samuel Dale Johnson, Jessica Leary, Hye-Youn Lee, Monwabisi Lindi, Jamie MacDougall, Andrew McTaggart, William Morgan, Colin Murray, Shengzhi Ren, Lucy Schaufer, Lea Shaw, Paula Sides, David Stout, Roland Wood, and Dingle Yandell. 

 

Season 2023/24 Productions

Opening the season this September is the Scottish premiere of Richard Strauss’ Daphne. It forms part of the Opera in Concert series, curated by Scottish Opera Music Director, Stuart Stratford, who is passionate about introducing audiences to rarely performed works. Emma Jenkins (Opera Highlights 2022/23) directs this concert staging, featuring Hye-Youn Lee, Shengzhi Ren, Claire Barnett-Jones and Dingle Yandell, accompanied by The Orchestra of Scottish Opera. Originally premiered 85 years ago, this wistful one-act opera is loosely based on Greek mythology as told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Euripides’ The Bacchae. Performed first at Theatre Royal Glasgow, Daphne will then go to St Mary’s Parish Church in Haddington, in partnership with Lammermuir Festival, and to the Usher Hall in Edinburgh in December.

Daphne is supported by Friends of Scottish Opera and The Scottish Opera Endowment Trust.

Sir Thomas Allen’s riotous production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, designed by Simon Higlett, opens in October at Theatre Royal Glasgow. First seen in 2007, this is the third time Scottish Opera has presented this delightful comedy, and it tours to Edinburgh, Inverness and Aberdeen. Stuart Stratford conducts Samuel Dale Johnson (Eugene Onegin and Pagliacci 2018) as the titular barber, with Anthony Gregory (Anthropocene 2019) and Simone McIntosh as Count Almaviva and Rosina. Also joining the cast are David Stout (Nixon in China 2020) as Doctor Bartolo, Dingle Yandell (Thérèse 2022) as Don Basilio and Inna Husieva as Berta.

This revival is sung in an English translation by Amanda Holden (Falstaff 2021), and tells the story of barber and fixer, Figaro, who is enlisted by Count Almaviva to woo the beautiful Rosina. However, he first has to deal with Rosina’s guardian Doctor Bartolo who keeps her under lock and key with the intent of marrying her himself.

The Barber of Seville is supported by The Scottish Opera Syndicate.

In February 2024, the UK premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Marx in London! takes place at Theatre Royal Glasgow, before transferring to Edinburgh. The production is directed by Stephen Barlow (who last worked with the Company on Dove’s Flight), with libretto by Charles Hart, and set designs by Yannis Thavoris.

David Parry conducts Roland Wood (Il trittico 2023) as Karl Marx, alongside Paula Sides and William Morgan, last seen together in 2022 in Scottish Opera’s five-star production of Candide. They are joined by Orla Boylan (Breaking the Waves 2020) Lucy Schaufer (The Diary of One Who Disappeared 2020), Alasdair Elliot (The Miserly Knight 2022), Jamie MacDougall (Il trittico 2023) and Paul Hopwood.

Originally written for the 200th Anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth, Marx in London! is set in 1871 over the course of a single summer’s day, and is an examination of the philosopher’s more human side. The spectre of communism might be haunting Europe, but Marx’s demons are far more mundane and closer to home, and his personal life is in chaos. Watched by a spy, chased by debt collectors, harried by his family (legitimate and not), and rescued repeatedly from financial ruin by Friedrich Engels, audiences can expect a madcap production filled with zany humour.

Marx in London! is supported by The Alexander Gibson Circle and Scottish Opera’s New Commissions Circle.

Audiences in Glasgow, Inverness, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh have the chance to experience a revival of Sir David McVicar’s La traviata in May and June 2024. This treasured production, which began life at Scottish Opera in 2008, has frequently been seen at the houses of co-producers Teatro Real Madrid, Gran Teatre del Liceu, and Welsh National Opera.

Stuart Stratford conducts Hye-Youn Lee (Carmen 2023) in the role of courtesan Violetta Valéry who throws herself into a doomed love affair with the idealistic Alfredo, sung by Ji-Min Park. Set in hedonistic Paris during the Belle Époque, the luscious design of this devastating Verdi tragedy is by Tanya McCallin. Reviving Sir David McVicar’s original production is director is Leo Castaldi.

La traviata is supported by Scottish Opera’s ‘Play a Supporting Role’ Appeal.

In March 2024, Stuart Stratford conducts The French Collection. Few cities saw as much innovation and creative output in opera as Paris did during the 19th century. With three major opera houses and composers from France and further abroad vying for a coveted premiere at one (or more) of them, French opera contains a vast variety of musical and dramatic styles as its artists pushed boundaries on stage and in the pit. This concert includes excerpts from some of the era’s grandest and most beloved operas as well as its rarer gems that deserve a second hearing, including works by Georges Bizet, Charles Gounod and Jules Massenet.

The Orchestra of Scottish Opera captures the vivacity and grandeur of this uniquely brilliant musical epoch, accompanying a first rate group of singers to be announced later this year. This night of romance, drama and beautiful music will be performed in Caird Hall, Dundee and Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

The French Collection is supported by Friends of Scottish Opera and The Scottish Opera Endowment Trust.

 

Opera Highlights

Opera Highlights goes on the road again visiting 35 venues around Scotland, in a vibrant new production directed by Laura Attridge (The Miserly Knight and Mavra 2022) with designs by the internationally renowned Ana Inés Jabares-Pita.

The troupe of talented singers performing in this one-of-a-kind show are Katy Thomson, Katherine Aitken, Innocent Masuku and Jerome Knox in the autumn production, which travels to Giffnock, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Strathmiglo, Newtonmore, Lossiemouth, Ardross, Thurso, Lochinver, Arisaig, Seil Island, Tillicoultry, Glasgow, Dumfries, Crawfordjohn, Maybole, and Musselburgh.

In the spring, Scottish Opera’s 2023/24 Emerging, and Associate, Artists Inna Husieva, Lea Shaw, Monwabisi Lindi and Ross Cumming tour to Greenock, Stirling, Ardrishaig, Blairgowrie, Peterhead, Aboyne, Strathpeffer, Tongue, Stornoway, Poolewe, Dornie, Ballachulish, Tobermory, Johnstone, Middleton, Duns, St Andrews and Largs.

Accompanying them on piano are Music Directors Toby Hession (autumn) and James Longford (spring).

Opera Highlights is supported by Friends of Scottish Opera, Forteviot Charitable Trust and Jimmie Cairncross Charitable Trust.

 

Scottish Opera Young Company

This July at Scottish Opera’s Production Studios in Glasgow, Barrfields Theatre in Largs and Stirling’s Albert Halls, four immersive performances of Henry McPherson’s Maud, and Kurt Weill’s Down in the Valley, will be performed by Scottish Opera’s Young Company, directed by Flora Emily Thomson.  Aged 17 to 21, the 11 members of the Company rehearse throughout the year with Artistic Director Chris Gray, who also conducts, to present this thought-provoking double bill, which moves between centuries. The operas are connected by a single Hebridean-inspired set, designed by Finlay McLay.

Maud, by composer, improviser and teacher, Henry McPherson, is a modern retelling of a traditional folk tale. It received its premiere in 2018 at Glasgow’s SWG3 as a winner of Scottish Opera’s Opera Sparks competition.

It is performed alongside composer Kurt Weill’s and librettist Arnold Sundgaard’s magical and menacing folk-inspired opera Down in the Valley, a bittersweet coming-of-age tale showing the light and darkness of one claustrophobic community.

Scottish Opera Young Company offers young singers a unique and practical introduction to the world of opera and the chance to develop their talent through a year-long programme, working with a range of opera professionals. The Company most recently premiered Gareth Williams’ and Johnny McKnight’s acclaimed production of Rubble last summer.

Maud and Down in the Valley are supported by Scottish Opera’s New Commissions Circle, Scottish Opera’s Education Angels, the Leverhulme Trust, Professor Richard Rose and Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust.

 

Pop-up Opera

This summer Scottish Opera’s popular Pop-up Opera tour kicks off on 27 May at the Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival, with 30-minute shows for all the family, including A Little Bit of Die Fledermaus and A Little Bit of Eugene Onegin.

Experience opera on a miniature scale with performances brought to life by a storyteller, singers, instrumentalists, narration and colourful illustrations. Touring to Sanquhar, Moniaive, Linlithgow, Blantyre, Springburn, Stornoway, Dornoch, Strathpeffer, Cruden Bay and Dundee, schoolchildren can also look forward to the tour popping up in primary schools across these locations for free performances of Puffy MacPuffer and the Crabbit Canals, which has narration by Allan Dunn, music and lyrics by Marion Christie and illustrations by Iain Piercy.

An ideal opportunity for anyone new to opera to try a taster of these classics by Strauss II and Tchaikovsky, a series of colourful illustrations help guide audiences through the plot. Cleverly re-scored by Scottish Opera’s former Head of Music, Derek Clark, they are performed by storyteller Allan Dunn alongside singers Jessica Leary and Andrew McTaggart, cellists Andrew Drummond Huggan and Sonia Cromarty, and guitarists Sasha Savaloni and Ian Watt (Ainadamar 2022).

Pop-up Opera is supported by Friends of Scottish Opera and JTH Charitable Trust.

 

Emerging Artists

The Scottish Opera Emerging Artists programme offers young talent a period of full-time work with the Company to help launch their careers. This season they include returning mezzo-soprano Lea Shaw (Il trittico 2023) as Associate Artist, along with Ukrainian soprano Inna Husieva, South African tenor Monwabisi Lindi, and Scottish baritone Ross Cumming. The costume trainee and repetiteur are still to be announced.

Emerging Artist singers perform in a number of this season’s productions and tours, and in recitals at the University of Glasgow and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. They are supported by Scottish Opera’s Emerging Artist Benefactors and Elizabeth Salvesen.

 

Scottish Opera Education and Outreach

In spring and summer 2024, the ever-popular Primary Schools Tour for children in primaries five to seven is the newly created show Vikings! The Quest for the Dragon’s Treasure. Vikings! can be facilitated with an in-person workshop day led by Scottish Opera teaching artists, with full rental of props and costumes, or entirely within the classroom by teachers themselves. In both, teachers receive materials in advance.

How The Dragon Was Made is an interactive performance project for all 27 Confucius Institute classroom hub schools, designed to explore Chinese culture and language through music and visual arts. Senior primary classes use the digital resources to create their own performances that introduce one of China’s most ancient folk tales to the youngest pupils.

This year, Scottish Opera also offers teaching resources for Secondary School pupils. Having worked alongside Largs Academy to develop the materials suitable for young people, The Elixir of Love: Three Ways to Stage an Opera is a free teaching resource for teachers. Pupils will learn about music, drama, and art and design – incorporating elements of history, storytelling, and critical thinking – as they explore Donizetti’s comedy through three interpretations.

Scottish Opera continues to offer its Memory Spinners project for those living with dementia. The free project uses music, storytelling, movement, and visual arts to help Glasgow-based people living with dementia get creative and form new support networks. Throughout each eight-week term, they share memories that are then incorporated into a relaxed performance for friends and family.

Memory Spinners is supported by The RS MacDonald Charitable Trust, Sylvia Aitken Charitable Trust, Bellahouston Bequest Fund, Trades House of Glasgow (Commonwealth Fund), and Scottish Opera’s Education Angels.

The ground-breaking online programme, Breath Cycle, was formed with the Respiratory and Cystic Fibrosis Medicine team at NHS Glasgow. Designed to benefit those living with conditions affecting lung health – particularly Long COVID – free resources introduce participants to vocal exercises and breathing techniques. The response is overwhelmingly positive, with participants citing improvement in breathing, energy levels and mood. To find out more, please visit our website, where you can access a series of short tutorials and exercises, or sign up for weekly online sessions and song writing workshops.

‘The Covid Composer’s Songbook’, a selection of songs written by Breath Cycle participants, has been recorded for anyone to use and enjoy. Visit Scottish Opera’s website to download the full collection.

Supported by The Scottish Government, Cruach Trust, The Murdoch Forrest Charitable Trust, W M Mann Foundation, Souter Charitable Trust and Scottish Opera’s Education Angels

Scottish Opera continues its fruitful partnership with Disney Musicals in Schools. Collaborating with primary schools with no previous engagement with the arts and often facing a range of social and economic challenges, teaching artists guide pupils through rehearsals for special adaptations of Disney musicals and provide training for teachers to build their pupils’ skills and confidence through performance arts, creating a sustainable arts legacy for the future. The Company recently worked with Disney and pupils from St Anthony’s Primary School in Renfrewshire, to present the first official Frozen kids show outside of America. The performance was part of a three-day workshop with over 600 pupils from 11 schools who performed songs from Aladdin, The Jungle Book and The Lion King as well as Frozen. 

Scottish Opera’s Opera in Schools programme is supported by Harbinson Charitable Trust, David & June Gordon Memorial Trust, Hayward Sanderson Trust, Scottish Opera’s Education Angels and JTH Charitable Trust.

Places are available in Scottish Opera’s Community Choir, open to adults of all ages and conducted by Katy Lavinia Cooper, which starts up again in September. The choir sings a mixture of opera, classical, popular, folk and world music, and meets every Wednesday.

The Community Choir is supported by Scottish Opera’s Education Angels.

 

Accessible Performances

Scottish Opera is offering a range of accessible performances, to ensure everyone has the opportunity to enjoy a live opera experience that is inclusive and welcoming. With Access Opera performances and audio-description available this year, the Company aims to make it as easy as possible to attend the opera.

Specially created Access performances of The Barber of Seville and La traviata run alongside the mainstage productions in Glasgow and Edinburgh. With Dementia Friendly values at their core, afternoon Access performances are for those who enjoy a more relaxed opera experience. With a shorter running time (under two hours including an interval) and tickets at just £10, these audio-described performances are open to all, including those who may be living with dementia or Long COVID, more comfortable at a shorter show, struggling to get to evening performances, or would simply benefit from the more relaxed atmosphere.

Those who are visually impaired can also take advantage of audio-described performances of all three main stage productions – The Barber of Seville, Marx in London! and La traviata – where a live commentary is provided by a specialist audio describer during the show, describing the action on stage without compromising the music. As part of the experience, a recorded introduction to the opera is available in advance, as well as a live audio introduction before the start of the performance.

Pre-show talks are also available. These half-hour sessions delve into the detail of each opera, enhancing the audience enjoyment and extending knowledge of the piece.

Further information on the 2023/24 Season can be found at www.scottishopera.org.uk

Tickets go on sale from 1 June.

REVIEW: Movies to Musicals – Theatre Royal, Glasgow

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Director: Ross Gunning

Choreographer: Rebecca Curbelo Valdivia

It’s a brave producer indeed who puts a cast of young performers on the same stage as the very best of the best of the West End. Brave or foolish you might say, but Ross Gunning has gathered the cream of young, triple threat, musical theatre talent in Scotland together and boy do they deliver the goods.

This entire production Movies to Musicals exudes quality from curtain up to curtain down.

The choice of songs is inspired: opening on A Musical from recent Broadway smash, the Shakespeare spoof, Something Rotten (a musical that’s only had one staging in the UK at Birmingham Rep in 2021), it starts on a high and continues to build.

The rousing opening is followed by Queen of the West End, Louise Dearman singing She Used to be Mine from Waitress. Dearman is as good as it gets in musical theatre. There’s no better role model to aspire to. It is an inspiring choice by Gunning, but that’s not all, next up is fellow Wicked alumni Laura Pick who belts out the classic Don’t Rain on my Parade.

This masterclass is followed by the young cast performing a medley from the world-conquering Hamilton. This is a stunning presentation and it is accompanied by incredibly clever choreography from Rebecca Curbelo Valdivia, it is clearly inspired by original choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler, but injects its own originality and freshness. Of note too are the young soloists on Quiet Uptown – just glorious.

Alistair Brammer the third of the night’s guest artists, beautifully performs Why God Why and Last Night of the World with Laura Pick, from one of the musicals he is most synonymous with Miss Saigon.

The quality just keeps on coming: songs from The Prom, A Little Night Music, Jesus Christ Superstar and Wicked (a rare treat to have former Elphaba, Laura Pick and the only actor who has every played the two feature roles in Wicked (Glinda and Elphaba) Louise Dearman, sing an outstanding Defying Gravity to bring the curtain down on Act One.

Act Two gets off to a flying start with a captivating trio of highlights from Wicked which includes the young ensemble and our two leading ladies and Brammer who played Fiyero in Wicked to great acclaim. Again, to choreographer Curbelo Valdivia’s credit, the choreography remains tight, no mean feat with such a large cast. 

We are treated to songs from TV show Smash, The Greatest Showman, Les Mis, Jersey Boys, A Star is Born, an instrumental interlude Gabriel’s Oboe from The Mission and the out-right, hands-down smash of the evening, a medley from arguably Britain’s best new musical of the last decade, Six. To say this reviewer was blown away was an understatement, more like knocked out. The six young women who performed this were as good as any professional cast I’ve seen of this musical and it’s a musical I have seen a lot.

It takes a helluva lot of hutzpah to mix West End and Broadway performers of great acclaim with young, up and coming performers. Producer Ross Gunning has that hutzpah, and it has paid off. This is a class act, Rolls Royce quality from start to end. The only negative thing is that it will be next year before we can enjoy it again. Unmissable.

REVIEW: Home I’m Darling – Theatre Royal, Glasgow

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Laura Wade’s Home I’m Darling opens on a lovingly decorated two-story, 1950s home. A women, who we find out is Judy (Jessica Ransom) is clad in a candy stripe circle skirt, puffed out with petticoats and a frilly pinny. The dialogue delivered is pure RP. It all looks like any of Doris Day’s pastel-hued 1950s domestic comedies, or at least, the perfect presentation of post-war life in the London suburbs. That is, until Judy opens a drawer and pulls out her laptop.

All is not as it seems.

It transpires that three years ago, a once very 21st Century woman Judy, has taken voluntary redundancy and eschewed the trappings of modern life. She throws herself whole-heartedly into becoming the perfect 1950s housewife, right down to the assumption of very traditional gender roles.

But, the signs of strain appear: the redundancy money has run out; husband Johnny (Neil McDermott) has missed a much-need promotion and is wearily bearing the over-attentiveness of his out of touch wife. Judy’s mother Sylvia (Diane Keen) is frustrated with her daughter’s obsession, and reminds her how hard-won women’s rights were and how real life in the 50s was about harsh survival and recovery from the scars of war. Friends Fran (Cassie Bradley) and Marcus (Matthew Douglas) love the vintage vibes, but for them it’s just a harmless hobby, Judy, however, is neck-deep in her 1950s fantasy, spiralling, detaching herself further and further from reality, the bubble she has built is getting closer and closer to exploding.

Wade’s play is an examination of gender roles past versus present, and how all that we wish for through rose-tinted glasses may not be what we need or want.

Ransom’s Judy is as arch as she could be, she swirls around dusting, carpet-sweeping, endlessly baking, cocktail making, shoe-removing and generally being as perfect as she could possibly be. However, it tips too far into utter unbelievability for you to want to understand the psychology, let alone give her any sympathy, even as she unravels it sounds and feels like a sanitised episode of Watch With Mother. There’s no light and shade in the characterisation.

McDermott, as husband Johnny actually garners the most sympathy intentionally or otherwise. He plays along until he can play no more. However, even at moments of crisis, it’s all very polite.

Judy’s mother Sylvia played by TV veteran Diane Keen is the voice of reason in the midst of this madness. Poking holes in her daughter’s “gingham paradise”, utterly bemused why anyone would wilfully return to the grey 1950s, a world of fear and intolerance.

Enjoyable in parts, one can’t help feeling that this could all have been a bit harder-hitting without the extreme stereotypes and with some judicious pruning, both in text and in the time-wasting, choreographed interludes between scene changes. Winner of the 2019 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, the laughs are also surprisingly few and far between. A fine enough effort from all involved but ultimately unsatisfying.

Originally reviewed for The Reviews Hub.

NEWS: Pretty Woman has its Scottish premiere in Glasgow this year

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The musical based on the smash hit film Pretty Woman will make its Scottish Premiere in Glasgow later this year.

Hot on the success of the production’s ongoing run at the Savoy Theatre, London (where it is currently booking until 11 June 2023), the show visits the Hope Street venue for two weeks in November as part of an extensive UK tour.

Pretty Woman: The Musical is Hollywood’s ultimate rom-com, live on stage. Based on the 90s film of the same name, the story is set nce upon a time in the late ’80s when Vivian met Edward and her life changed forever. Prepare to be swept up in their romance in this dazzlingly theatrical take on a love story for the ages – and get to know these iconic characters in a whole new way – in a sensational show guaranteed to lift your spirits and light up your heart. It’s going to be a big night out. Big. Huge.

James Haworth, Theatre Director at Theatre Royal said: “I’m thrilled to welcome Pretty Woman to Glasgow this autumn. It’s been immensely popular in London and its arrival in Glasgow is a testament that we really do have some of the best theatre shows right here on our doorstep.”

Pretty Woman: The Musical features original music and lyrics by Grammy Award winner Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, a book by Garry Marshall and the film’s screenwriter J.F. Lawton, it is directed and choreographed by the two-time Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell.

Featured in the musical is Roy Orbison and Bill Dee’s international smash hit song Oh, Pretty Woman which inspired one of the most beloved romantic comedy films of all time. PRETTY WOMAN the film (produced by Arnon Milchan – New Regency Productions) was an international smash hit when it was released in 1990.

Tickets are on sale from noon on 14th February.

REVIEW: The Book of Mormon – Theatre Royal, Glasgow

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Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s musical satire on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, The Book of Mormon, is finally in Glasgow after a postponement due to a little thing called COVID.

Premiering on Broadway in 2011, winning nine Tony Awards and after running in the West End for nearly a decade, its reputation precedes it, but you’d be wrong to judge without seeing for yourself. On the surface crude, cruel and pushing the envelope, it is certainly not for the easily offended, but dig a little deeper and it is so much more than that.

Two hapless, polar opposite LDS missionaries, the wide-eyed, idealistic Elder Price and the pathological liar Elder Cunningham, are sent on their two-year Mormon mission to a remote Ugandan village. Suffice it to say, the locals aren’t exactly welcoming them with open arms. Added to that there’s the AIDS crisis, famine, poverty and a despotic warlord for good measure. Of course, there are the inevitable ‘journeys’ everyone embarks on to find one’s true self, all done with a tongue planted firmly in the cheek.

It is a musical that heavily relies on shock and surprise, and it would be churlish to give away the funniest scenes. There are laughs on laughs and foot tapping tune after tune, all delivered by a knockout cast. Principal among them are Conner Peirson as Elder Cunningham, who steals every scene he’s in; the beautiful-voiced Aviva Tulley as Nabulungi and Jordan Lee Davies wrestling gloriously with his homosexual urges as Elder McKinley.

It’s clear that the whole thing has been written with affection by Parker and Stone and of course, musical theatre royalty Robert Lopez (Avenue Q, Frozen, Coco) there is no way that it could get away with what it does, if it were purely cruel rather than impressively clever.

It is a giant juggernaut of a show and serves up a slice of unashamed satire that’s much needed in our easily offended world. If you needed any other reason to see it, ask yourself where else will you see Genghis Khan playing guitar with the Devil onstage in Glasgow on a weekday night?

Runs until 26 November 2022 | Originally published at The Reviews Hub

NEWS: GIOVANNA FLETCHER, CLIVE MANTLE AND GEORGE RAINSFORD TO STAR IN WISH YOU WERE DEAD

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Producer Josh Andrews has announced the lead cast for the UK tour of Peter James’ Wish You Were Dead: George Rainsford, will star as James’ famous detective DSI Roy Grace, alongside Giovanna Fletcher who will star as Cleo Morey and Clive Mantle, who will star as Curtis. Leon Stewart will return to the role of DS Glenn Branson.

The show visits Glasgow 28 March – 1 April 2023 at the Theatre Royal

The world stage premiere of Wish You Were Dead follows five successful stage plays and the critically acclaimed smash-hit primetime ITV series ‘Grace’, which are all based on the best-selling novels by the UK’s number one crime author Peter James. This will be the sixth stage adaptation of James’ novels -making it the most successful crime thriller stage franchise since Agatha Christie.

Adapted exclusively for the stage, Wish You Were Dead kicks off a major nationwide UK tour in February 2023 at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley. The production will then travel to a selection of top theatres across the country until late July. Tickets are on sale now from PeterJames.com.

Giovanna Fletcher is a hugely successful author, podcast host and Queen of The Castle after winning I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here in 2020, Giovanna’s theatrical credits include 2:22 A Ghost Story and Ivanov in the West End and she also appears in the feature film The Boat That Rocked.

Clive Mantle’s extensive range of credits across theatre, film and television, include an Olivier Award nominated performance in Of Mice and Men. He is perhaps best known for his TV work in shows such as Casualty, Holby City, Game of Thrones and The Vicar of Dibley and is also an award-winning children’s author.

George Rainsford has for the last nine years, been playing series regular Ethan Hardy in Casualty on BBC One, for which he won the Inside Soap Award Best Drama Star 2017. Other Television credits include Holby City and Call the Midwife and his numerous theatre credits include productions at the National Theatre, RSC and the Old Vic.

George Rainsford said: “I can’t wait to be part of a theatre ensemble again and delve into Peter James’ thrilling criminal underworld. Getting to play Roy Grace, his most renowned detective creation, will be a huge honour. I am excited to meet audiences from all over the UK, and share with them some enthralling, edge-of-your-seat entertainment!”

Clive Mantle said: “I’m looking forward to terrifying… I mean entertaining… audiences up and down the length and breadth of Britain with ‘Wish You Were Dead’. Full of suspense and drama, there will be  many funny moments too during the course of a captivating evening. There’s a clue there for starters. Roll up, roll up, all you amateur sleuths. Can’t wait to see you all.”

Giovanna Fletcher said: “I’m really looking forward to appearing on stage as Cleo in this brand new play, and excited to work with George and Clive – two wonderful actors I’ve heard great things about. As a novelist, I know how important the characters I create are to me, so I’m thrilled Peter James has entrusted me with this wonderful role, in what is another brilliant and gripping story from one of the greatest masters of crime thrillers!”

Writer Peter James said: “I am beyond thrilled with the wonderful star cast that we have assembled for the world stage premiere of Wish You Were Dead. I love the fact that so many people create their own image of my characters but for me, George, Giovanna and Clive are all inspired interpretations of how I see Roy Grace, Cleo and Curtis and I am equally thrilled that Leon is returning to play Branson again. It is going to be very exciting to work with this great group of actors and I can’t wait for them to give audiences around the country, a thrilling, fun and hugely entertaining night at the theatre.”

The stage play of Wish You Were Dead follows DSI Roy Grace and Cleo Morey as they take a much-needed holiday together. They are hoping for a few days away from their dark worlds of murder and the mortuary. But their dream escape turns out to be the holiday from hell, as the past comes back to haunt them.

REVIEW: South Pacific – Theatre Royal, Glasgow

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Unlike other works of the period, Richard Rodgers, Joshua Logan and Oscar Hammerstein II’s 1949 musical South Pacific, has largely stood the test of time. Originally written with the intention of sending a strong progressive message on racism, it also benefits from a re-imagination in this incarnation originally staged at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2021. There are re-orchestrations, the introduction of a prologue, additional music from the 1958 film version and most importantly, a fixing of the racial overtones and elimination of the ethnic stereotypes in the characterisations of Bloody Mary and her daughter Liat.

Set during World War Two on an island in the Pacific, it is essentially two intertwining love stories; Ensign Nelly Forbush (Gina Beck) falls for older plantation owner Emile de Becque (Julian Ovenden) but despite the strength of her feelings, Arkansas native Nellie struggles to accept his mixed-race children. The tandem love story is that of Princeton educated, US Marine Lieutenant Cable (Rob Houchen) and Tonkinese woman Liat (Sera Maehara), and the pressures on their mixed-race relationship.

The set is simplistic, projections on a corrugated back drop with different scenery rolled in and out, and no less effective for it. The lighting too is gorgeous and atmospheric. It all provides a darkness that the subject matter warrants and a suitable back-drop to the talent on stage.

From the first swelling bars of this lush-sounding orchestra to the final notes, this is a work of infinite quality, it simply oozes perfection from every pore, there is not a weak link among this large and hugely talented cast. Gina Beck is suitably perky as nurse Nelly and a rich-voiced Julian Ovenden is perfectly pitched as a more realistic, well-rounded, less caricature Emile. Instead of swanning around in a white linen suit, this Emile looks as if he might actually work on a plantation in the south Pacific. The male chorus are unmatched in the memory of this writer, the sound they create is simple sumptuous, and the female cast give them a good run for their money. The two child actors who portray Emile’s children are again, much more realistic, less stereotyped. The casting overall, couldn’t be better.

That such subject matter, and songs like Carefully Taught, shone a light at racism in America in 1949 is brave indeed, but there’s a discomfort to some of the material to 21st Century ears. Of particular note, is the re-orchestration of the usually saccharine Happy Talk, sung by Bloody Mary (Joanna Ampil). Here it is a pleading tune of desperation at the fate of her daughter and the American serviceman, instead of a silly ditty written (in a now uncomfortable to hear) pidgin English.

Almost every aspect of this production is to be lauded, from its design, its re-imagination, re-orchestrations and ultimately its astounding cast. This is a production not to be missed.

Runs until 8 October 2022 | Image: Johan Persson

Originally published at The Reviews Hub

REVIEW: Educating Rita – Theatre Royal, Glasgow

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There’s an undeniable affection for Willy Russell’s 40-year-old, Pygmalion-like drama Educating Rita, from the great British theatre-going public. Originally commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and staged at what is now the Donmar Warehouse, it saw a much-loved and much-lauded film adaptation in 1983 starring Julie Walters and Michael Caine.

The story of 26-year-old, married, Liverpudlian hairdresser Rita (actually Susan) and her foray into the world of academia on an Open University course, and her tutor Frank, a career academic faded and jaded by university life, seeking solace in drink, this OU tutorship paying nicely for his alcoholic fix. Each feeds from the other: Rita’s world expands as she is exposed to the bohemian lifestyle of the students and Frank is energised by Rita’s lust for life. Each shines a light on the other: some truths are exposed, some assumptions shattered and inevitably, both Rita and Frank undergo changes, not necessarily for the better.

Four decades on (admittedly with a bit of updating from Russell himself for the 21st Century and this 40th anniversary tour) it still feels relevant, maybe depressingly so. Is it really still as hard for working class women, or those living in poverty to better themselves as it was in 1980? The ‘them and us’ world so prevalent then, is frighteningly familiar today.

Jessica Johnson and Stephen Tompkinson reprise their roles from the last national tour. Tompkinson’s natural hang-dog expression is perfectly suited to the world-weary Frank and he has time and time again proved himself to be one of the country’s most adept stage actors. Johnson’s Rita (Susan) is hugely likeable but her accent wavers frequently and her projection is such that it leaves you straining to hear much of her dialogue. That said, it is deservedly a British theatre classic, and still well worth watching.

Image: Robert Day

This post was originally written for The Reviews Hub

 

REVIEW: God of Carnage – Theatre Royal, Glasgow

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As with her almost universally acclaimed 1994 play Art, Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage is another comedy of middle class manners. This time, as it was in Art, the behaviour of the seemingly sophisticated adults involved descends into something akin to a playground fight, all the more ironic, as that’s precisely what’s brought them together in the first place.

Alan and Annette’s 11 year-old son Henry has had two teeth removed, incisors to be precise, by fellow pupil Freddie. The two sets of parents meet in that frustratingly PC way to civilly decide what action should be taken to facilitate the children having “a reckoning” and to teach them about “the art of co-existence”. As the alcohol is increasingly imbibed, the adults’ best intentions go by the wayside and the mud starts to get slung and everyone’s true colours come to the fore.

Reza has a masterful touch at highlighting the foibles of the middle classes and delivering them with a punch, but it needs a strong cast to deliver. As author Veronica (currently writing a book about Darfur) Elizabeth McGovern is seemingly the voice of reason, pushing the apology/reconciliation agenda between the two boys. Household goods salesman husband Michael (Nigel Lindsay) doesn’t quite fit seamlessly into this middle class idyll, a bit rough around the edges his loyalties are tested and exposed as the evening progresses. McGovern takes a little while to hit her stride, but she ramps up the emotion and elicits the laughs as the piece reaches its conclusion. As always, Lindsay delivers an absolute masterclass in comic acting, each word and action perfectly timed, as does Simon Paisley Day as driven lawyer Alan, when not throwing well-timed barbs, he’s barking advice to his clients down his constantly ringing phone, the ever-impressive Samatha Spiro as “wealth manager” Annette, is, as always, on-point.

The dialogue is as expected, razor sharp, Reza knows her audience well, and while this couldn’t be described as cutting edge, it is hugely entertaining, escapist fun, scratching the surface of the well-polished veneer of the middle class. Well worth an evening of your time.

Review originally written for The Reviews Hub

REVIEW: SIX – Theatre Royal, Glasgow

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Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. Survived.

Aragorn, Boleyn, Seymour, Cleves, Howard, Parr.

Six women, six British Queens, reduced to six words in a rhyme.

Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss give sassy 21st Century voices to these six Tudor queens.

Written in ten working days, Six the Musical has been an eye-watering, head-spinning success since its appearance in 2017 at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where it was performed by the Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society. Since then it has had a UK tour, several runs in the West End, been produced Off-Broadway, had a US tour, a run on Norwegian Cruise Lines that will continue to 2022, and will appear on Broadway, Australia, Canada and in Chicago and Minnesota in 2020. It is currently on its second UK-wide tour.

It is a sassy celebration of womanhood as these Queens get to reclaim their own her-story 500 years on. Long defined by who their husband was, it’s now time to tell their own tales.

Inevitable comparisons will be made with theatrical juggernaut Hamilton which also mixes 21st century music with historical subject material. However, Six manages to plough its own original and irresistible furrow. Staged like a mash-up between a stadium concert and a musical, it blends spot-on humour and cleverly delivered history with a refreshing dose of self-awareness. Each Queen gets her chance to stand centre stage and state her case in an X-Factor style competition to see who had it worse at the hands of the infamous Henry. These women are here to kick ass and tell all. This they do in an array of musical genres, a blend of pop, rock ballad, R&B, soul and electro euro-pop (the hysterical Kraut-rock/House mash up Haus of Holbein) and all backed by an all-female band, The Ladies in Waiting.

Each of the six women playing these six queens is thoroughly talented and shine equally, a rare and wonderful thing to see on stage and despite the competitiveness, it’s ultimately a show of sisterhood. This is a girl gang you really want to join.

After the defiant intro number Ex-Wives, Lauren Drew (Catherine of Aragon) starts the ball rolling with the sassy No Way followed by Maddison Bulleyment’s hysterical Anne Boleyn delivering the Lily Allen-ish Don’t Lose Your Head, including the lyrics: “I tried to elope but the Pope said ‘nope'” and “everybody chill, it’s totes God’s will”. Lauren Byrne (Jane Seymour) tugs at the heart-strings in the power ballad Heart of Stone. Shekinah McFarlane (Anna of Cleves) gives us the Rhianna-like Get Down and delivers the laughs with: “I’m the Queen of the castle, get down you dirty rascals” when ‘exiled’ to a life of luxury and independence after her divorce from Henry. Jodie Steele delivers Katherine Howard’s All You Wanna Do, with defiance, the lyrics make you question (in light of the #MeToo movement) has anything really changed for women in the past 500 years? And sheds new perspective on how she has been remembered in history. Athena Collins brings the women’s stories to an end absolutely beautifully with Catherine Parr’s Beyoncé-like torch song I Don’t Need Your Love. Each of these woman has is a power-house vocalist and could tear up any stage. That said, the songs they are asked to deliver are hard not to love and as catchy as hell. The rousing Six and Megasix mash-up brings the house to its feet to get down at the end.

Carrie-Anne Ingrouille’s choreography is sharp, original and modern, and perfectly executed by the cast. Gabriella Slade’s costume design is Ariana Grande does Tudor and it works fabulously, as does Emma Bailey’s simplistic but effective, concert-style set design and Tim Deiling’s rich lighting.

The face-off between the women is definitely a twisted sisterhood, they each fling the other’s sob story back in their faces, but this show of fierce womanhood is utterly irresistible. The dawning realisation by each woman that they only claim their place in history because of the man they married, reduced to: “just one word in a stupid rhyme” is actually heart-breaking. Thankfully they get “five more minutes” to set the record straight and send the audience to the street on an absolute high.

The succinct story telling packs a punch and the compact 75-minute running time is audience friendly. Marlow and Moss prove again that HISTORY + MUSICAL THEATRE = HIT. They have successfully distilled 500 year-old history into a perfect piece of entertainment for the 21st Century. Having seen it several times now, Six remains one of the best things out there and stands up to repeated viewings (something this reviewer is never keen on).

It’s a welcome breath of fresh air in a fog of tired, relentlessly touring, mediocre musicals. Get a ticket while you can, you won’t regret it.

Runs until 10th November 2019 at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow

review originally published at The Reviews Hub

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