Catherine Bennett resumes the weekly look at the performing arts world, with the sad end of Jerusalem, the luck of a cabbie, and French revolt. Do you hear the people sing?
Adam Alcock reviews Nigel Kennedy playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons and his own Four Elements at York Opera House.
Catherine Bennett highlights the trends in the performing arts world today.
Jonathan Cridford reviews 'Ghosts', one of the Freshers' plays for this year.
The show consisted of twenty minute extracts from five well-known musicals: Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat, The Merry Widow, Godspell, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Les Misérables. This is, in my opinion, a superb idea; all the best numbers from a series of great shows without any of the ‘filler’ tunes.
This pic ‘n’ mix approach did throw up some interesting contrasts; the transition from the ultra-camp Rocky Horror Picture Show to the French tragedy Les Misérables, for example, was potentially very odd. The whole thing was held together quite nicely, however, by another, original storyline. To the right of the stage a bar had been set up and throughout the show one character from each of the musicals would recount that musical’s particular storyline to a barman (Jim Durdin). The device was a success, not only because it gave the mix of shows a consistency but also as a way of filling in the gaps left by the songs that had been cut.
I think that there were many members of the audience who would have danced along had it not contravened fire regulations
There were many outstanding individual performances during the evening. James Armstrong’s Frank N. Furter was a flamboyant and sinister delight, although I think he might have frightened my little sister a bit. Equally, Matt Ferguson and Chris Charlton gave assured performances as Joseph and Jean Valjean. My favourite performance, however, came from James Gaughan, whose resounding tenor made my hairs stand on end during his performance in Les Misérables as Javert.
As with many musicals, however, the chorus numbers were the ones that I was humming on the way home. ‘Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord’ from Godspell was a particular highlight, with the whole cast dressed as colourful hippies, a nod to the gospel musical’s sixties inception. The ‘Time Warp’ was another superb ensemble performance and I think that there were many members of the audience who would have danced along had it not contravened fire regulations.
Despite its ambitious concept, Kaleidoshow was a joy. The variety was refreshing rather than disjointing and the choice of musicals was excellent. I loved the sense of playfulness in the choreography and costumes and thought that the imagination of the production was only let down by budget constraints. In the words of the show’s assistant director, Chris Charlton: “musicals are fun, and why only do one when five will do”. Exactly.
