Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - Review

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Theatre Royal, Sydney
Reviewed by Ben Oxley

Credit: dirtyrottenscoundrels.com.au

Tony Sheldon (Lawrence Jamieson), Matt Hetherington (Freddy) and Amy Lehpalmer (Christina Colgate) combine expertly to bring a fast moving musical comedy to the stage. By the response from the opening night audience, it was clear the show is a big hit, thanks to the work of Roger Hodgman. You may have come to the theatre expecting something else, but you go out with a buzz, whirling around the dance floor.

'Great Big Stuff' sets Freddy's aspirational stall out; what he doesn't know is how he will figure in this elegant swindle. 'Love Sneaks In' is the perfect foil for this, expertly contrasting the two cads. In fact, David Yazbeck’s clever score takes you on a journey through cabaret and Broadway styles. You feel like you know these songs.

'Oklahoma?' is more than a passing nod to the more familiar musical. Katrina Retallick as Jolene is a firm favourite, giving home-style glitz to her role. She brings a cast iron brass to the elegant world of Beaumont sur Mer. Her only challenge is how to deal with 'Ruprecht', Freddy's take on Lawrence's special needs sibling.

Anne Wood, as the medicated Muriel, has the experience and timing for "What Was a Woman to Do". Her balcony scenes, with Andre (John Wood) are beautifully crafted and deftly delivered from both of them.

But the songs sell the show, with "The Miracle" in Act I Finale, "The More We Dance" and the final "Dirty Rotten Number" giving the cast and fabulous ensemble much to create lasting impressions.

Choreography by Dana Jolly had the feel of elegant revue, with lovely use of the stage, balustrade and staircase. Michael Hankin created a summery set, allowing the action to rattle on, costume and scene changes taken onstage when needed.

Nicholas Rayment’s lighting is everything, if you agree with Tony Sheldon. It is also key to the final outcome of the scam. Big rap for music director Guy Simpson and his orchestra in keeping the story alive through the twists of this tale. While you might not be able to hum the tunes on first hearing, this is a welcome return to stylish musical comedy of yesteryear, with plenty of today's jokes. Go!

For more information go to www.DirtyRottenScoundrelstheMusical.com

Stomp - Review

Stomp is masking a brief return to Sydney this week. It is playing at the Theatre Royal closing on 15th of September.

This is a high energy show that will have you laughing, clapping and stomping on your way home. Eight performers give the audience a fast and furious show. It is wordless and witty, in fact it was far funnier than I expected. The rhythmical stomping, clapping, banging and shaking will resound deep inside your soul. There are some great routines that must have taken hours and hours of rehearsals and development. A couple of my favourite were the lighter routine where each performer had one then two lighters and rhythmical flicked them on and off. It was similar to watching a string of flickering fairy lights, with sound. My second favourite was the drumming on huge rubber rings. I expect that everyone that goes will have different favourites. I can almost guarantee that if you do see it you will never sweep the floor the same again.

All eight performers were extremely talented and performed almost continuously. The set has a wall and balcony covered in strange items which are all used in the show.  It is set as if in a warehouse and the performers are all warehouse cleaners.

If you want to catch the show you need to be quick, tickets can be booked through Ticket Master.

Some background to Stomp
The fun started back in 1991 at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, with a single drum hanging around Co-Creator/Director Luke Cresswell’s neck. STOMP was an instant hit, becoming the Guardian’s "Critic's Choice" and winning the Daily Express's "Best of the Fringe" award, and went on to play to capacity audiences around the world. In 1994 STOMP received an Olivier Award nomination for “Best Entertainment” and won the award for "Best Choreography in a West End Show". With appearances at the Oscars, the Emmy's, on prime-time US TV shows such as Letterman and Leno, and most recently at the London 2012 Olympics, STOMP has become a household name across the world.

Slava’s Snowshow - Review

Reviewed by Regina Su
Slava’sSnowshow is a magical night of beauty and awe. I didn’t really expect anything and unless you really looked for an underlying subtext, there seemed to be little plot. A series of clowning sketches of slapstick, of children’s humour and of imagination allowed the all-ages audience to relive the wonder and awe of a child. The show is oddly satirical, clever and most importantly, very interactive. Above all else, this show is beauty unlike anything you’re ever seen. The theatrics, lighting, use of set, use of magic, all of these are stunning and awe-inspiring.

The performers from Slava’s Snowshow are part of a clowning troupe from Russia established in the mid 80’s by SlavaPolunin, who have been performing the Snowshowto sell-out audiences internationally since 1997. Being from Russia, the show is very eclectic and esoteric and like Eurovision, still accessible to anyone. Slava’s theatrical clowning company,has toured to comedy festivals internationally and has performed along Cirque du Soleil. Drawing upon comic-relief influences leading back to Medieval traditions, the show incorporates a range of movements, from Theatre of Cruelty, to Theatre of the Absurd and even pantomime, all of which at times pushed the audience into shocked laughter. Their fast-frantic lunacy can be likened to the gags of Charlie Chaplin and the clowns of the circus.

The show is non-linear, helter-skelter and hilarious and this totally confusing randomness is what gives the show its charm; in essence, it allows the audience two hours of imagination where nothing else matters, where the daily grind is left at the door and promptly forgotten. You feel happiness, contentment and you rewarded if you decipher any holistic meaning from the show and even if you don’t, the magnificent spectacle is more than enough. They re-create blizzards, rain, bed-time make-believe and they seem to defy the limitations of the stage and theatre, performing things you thought were impossible. They’re not focused on acrobatics and, they don’t need to. They’re comedians who treat everyone with lip-syncing Italian Operas, then fighting arachnids. As much as I try, I can’t retell this experience. It’s without spoilers and it’s indescribable. Even if you know what’s coming out of the sporadic darkness next, it’s always a surprise, an enjoyable one.

Two words of advice however- don’t leave at intermission as the fun hasn’t stopped in the theatre. Secondly, this show relies on clowning, so don’t attend if you’re clauraphobic.

Driving Miss Daisy - Review

Driving Miss Daisy

Theatre Royal, Sydney

Reviewed by Benjamin Oxley

History. Even my kids had been impressed when they opened their envelopes to find tickets to Driving Miss Daisy. Would they still be rating this as a performance, or just be content with some marvellous screen memories?

The way it was pitched was: "Angela Lansbury sings Mrs Potts in Beauty and the Beast, and James Earl Jones voices Mufasa in The Lion King, and Darth Vader in Star Wars."

Opening night of Driving Miss Daisy was in the presence of greatness. No VIPs, glitterati or A-lister hipster in view. All the action was where it should be: onstage. 

David Esbjornson directed the three-hander with great pace, given it is about aging. The telephone sequences punctuated the bigger scenes - the cemetery, the road trip, the office interviews. Overlap in the scene changes kept us alert, asking much of the trio. 

There are performers, and then there are great performers. Angela Lansbury CBE, in her late 80's, last here in 1959, shows all her considerable character skills in Daisy. Dame Angela? Her irascible, dry wit gives way to anguish as she faces diminished quality of life. And yet it is the humanity of this Jewish Southerner who wins us with her school mistressy sensitivity. 

Central to the piece is the relationship between Daisy and Hoke, her driver, played with lumbering gentility by James Earl Jones. He is the veteran of the stage play, and is onstage for all of the 90 minutes. Gentleman take note: at 82, this is without bathroom breaks!

His famous bass voice touched the theatre's walls once or twice, but his portrayal is all empathy with Daisy. Once we see them together, we know we are witnessing theatre of such care. The squinting driver, reproving servant and Daisy's racial equal showed all facets of a dear friend. 

Boyd Gaines, as the intense son, a touch of Robert in Mother and Son, gives context and levity to the situation. As a performer, he is an acknowledged star, with stage, screen and voice credits. Like Miss Lansbury, he was awarded a Tony for his work in Gypsy. He is from Atlanta, where the play is set. 

In fact, if there is a common theme between them all, it is their success at playing for their colleagues. And it gave the audience good reason to show their appreciation at the curtain call with a standing ovation. So, open a door for someone, help ladies across the road, give old gentlemen a seat on the bus. They deserve our care.