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The brown word: Death on the Throne @gatehouselondon

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We’re warned at the start of the show with an upbeat number that this is not the usual sort of musical. And it turns out to be just that. But with boundless enthusiasm and energy from its two leads, who deploy a range of voices and breathtaking energy to create a series of voices for puppet characters, a bedtime story becomes a silly oddball tale about four souls stuck in purgatory. With puppets. And various toilet humour references. It’s currently playing at Upstairs At The Gatehouse . The piece starts as a bedtime story. Daddy (Mark Underwood) is about to read a bedtime story for Louise (Sarah Louise Hughes). But her stomach felt funny, and soon, she went to the bathroom. Then, for reasons that seem to only make sense in the confines of the show, they start telling the story of four people who died in unfortunate circumstances in the bathroom. Depicted as puppets, they’re stuck in purgatory as St Peter doesn’t have enough space for each of them in the afterlife. And so begins a puppe...

New legs to an old ride: Carousel @Arcolatheatre

Carousel, the second musical from Rodgers and Hammerstein is given a new lease of life in this energetic and sexy production currently playing at the Arcola Theatre.

Updating to 1930s against the backdrop of the Great Depression gives this production a chance to be a bit rougher, a bit more dangerous and a lot sexier.

But the decision to sing without amplification and paring the production back to its bare essentials gives a chance for the characters to be understood better. It also helps minimise some of the sentimentality now attached to many of the songs from the piece.
You'll Never Walk Alone, which tends to evoke various responses nowadays given its association with football teams and annoying mothers day commercials, is now a sombre barely accompanied piece that in the context of the violence of the piece is given a fresh perspective. There are so many songs from this show which have become musical standards, but presented here without amplification but with a wonderful small orchestra they seem so fresh and emotional.

The story focusses around mill worker Julie Jordan (Gemma Sutton) who falls for the masculine charms of Billy Bigelow (Tim Rogers), the man who works for the carnival. A chain of events that then unfold suggests their destiny is predetermined by the hand of fate. Meanwhile Julie's friend Carrie Pipperidge (Vicki Lee Taylor) dreams of a life with local ambitious fisherman Mr Snow (Joel Montague).

This production has cut some of the sequences and trimmed it a little but its amazing how thrilling the show is to watch in the intimate space of the Arcola. There is so much going on with ingenious choreography and resourceful use of props and pieces that you cannot help but be totally engrossed in this tragi-comic story.

An exciting new production from Morphic Graffiti which continues through to 19 July.

First impressions at interval with @Johnnyfoxlondon, whose excitement seeing his favourite show was infectious (if not his singing along during it) follow...  

listen to ‘First impressions at interval boo: Carousel @arcolatheatre with @johnnyfoxlondon’ on Audioboo

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