Theatre review: Priscilla Queen of the Desert

April 23, 2009 by LondonGuide  
Filed under Featured, Theatre

Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Image by Andyrob via Flickr
Priscilla was FUN, FUN, FUN! This was a truly euphoric show.
The first half burst into your existence like a multi-coloured, spangled extravaganza that assaults all your senses. The costumes were so creative and extravagant. The Tina Turner impersonator was just spot on. Lots of laughs and the expected drag/ gay gags, but these work quite well. There is a bit of sentimentality in the second half but just enough. The score was all the memorable tunes of that time with lots of the audience singing and clapping along.
The Bus was the star of the show and the first time a west end audience applauded the arrival of a bus on stage, I think. Must say, Jason Donovan was the weakest link and someone should give him a lesson in walking in heels. The other 2 leads, Tony Sheldon as transsexual Bernadette and Oliver Thornton as Adam/Felicia were sensational.
The evening ended all too soon with an expected standing ovation. Big letdown was that there wasn’t the Mama Mia like show at the end for a bit of a boogie.
Fantastic cast, fantastic show. You can’t help but come out of this show uplifted. Go with a bunch of friends and you will have a great time. (Tip- Cheaper tickets if you buy in a group.)
At the Palace Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue.
Written : Book by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott, based on the 1994 movie.
Directed : Simon Phillips
Cast : Jason Donovan (Tick – Mitzi), Tony Sheldon (Bernadette), Oliver Thornton (Adam – Felicia), Clive Carter (Bob)
Synopsis : Drag queen Mitzi, and friends Felicia and Bernadette make their own personal journeys of discovery as they go across Australia from Sydney to the outback, in a battered old bus named Priscilla , to perform their show – singing their way through disco songs.

Review: On the Waterfront, Theatre Royal Haymarket

February 18, 2009 by LondonGuide  
Filed under Theatre

On The Waterfront

On The Waterfront


I went to see this last week when it first opened. In short, it was really enjoyable.On the Waterfront is an adaptation of the famous legendary movie, made famous by Marlon Brando’s amazing performance.

This stage version is directed and acted by Steven Berkoff. The production was completely different from any other shows I have seen recently. The cast are the most interesting collection of stage actors I have seen on a London stage as they have such characters etched on their faces.

In most of the scenes, the actors are moving in slow motion to the background of great music throughout. The cast play mutliple roles and switch over quite convincingly. My favourite scene is when the cast line up as a bunch of pigeons ina copp. THat is the most ingenious and hilarious scene I have seen in ages.

The acting by the lead is really strong and the whole cast has to be commended for a fantastic performance. A must see.

Booking to 27 April 2009

Theatre Royal Haymarket
Haymarket
London
SW1Y 4HT

Review of Sunset Boulevard at the Comedy Theatre by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s

December 21, 2008 by LondonGuide  
Filed under Theatre

I went to see this in the preview week before the press night and usually it is quite a quiet affair. This was surprisingly busy and the place looked packed with the “home counties” crowd.

It is the story of silent movie star Norma Desmond, played to perfection in a powerful performance by Kathryn Evans, and her infatuation with a young writer called Joe Gillis, played by Ben Goddard. The cast did a very good job making it seem quite believable even though they had to run off to play the flute, bass etc in the middle of a conversation.

This is the first musical I have seen which is done in Orchestration (I think that is what you call it) where there isn’t an orchestra but the whole cast plays at least one instrument as well acting/ singing their part. It looked very chaotic and was really confusing to for the first hour. At times, it made the stage really cluttered and you could easily lose the plot.

The staging I thought was a bit odd as this is not a big theatre and to do it like this made it too busy. I am just a regular punter and know nothing about theatre production so my opinions are from an audience’s point of view. In addition to that, I thought it was all too dark and gothic. Sarah Travis did the arrangement for this and the director is Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood.

I was a bit sceptical before I went as I was not sure how this would translate to the stage but I enjoyed this production of Sunset Boulevard, which was much more entertaining than Treasure Island.

Sunset Boulevard

Comedy Theatre

London

SW1Y 4DN

Until April 18

Box office:
0870 060 6637

Venue website