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.
'Ta-ra Love' by Chris White is set in Scarborough in the swinging sixties. The plot follows the endearing character of Albert Sylvester, played wonderfully by John Askew, as he desperately tries to get the attention of new girl in town, Annie (Veronica Hare). Aided by a hilarious set of stereotyped locals, John finally gets the girl of his dreams, and White’s show has a feel-good factor that keeps the audience hoping along with Albert that he’ll get the girl.
The stage became a beach shop, with sand over the floor and deck-chairs serving as seating for the audience (an original idea that transformed the Barn into a world far, far removed from the snow and ice outside). The opening scene of an old woman (Edith Kirkwood) counting out pennies into Albert’s hand for an exasperatingly protracted amount of time is repeated throughout the play to hilarious effect, which can be attributed to Kirkwood’s natural sense of comic timing. There are a few visual aspects of the play that are anachronistic to the play’s time setting, however, such as the costumes, which are distinctly contemporary. Similarly, the script is written in modern-day slang, which made me, as an audience member, unable to suspend my disbelief. The question is whether this is White’s intention: to produce a naturalistic play in which the audience could lose themselves in the story, or to create a play that parodies theatrical convention, such as a Shakespearean aside. The play wavered between two styles: an awkward meta-theatricality, and a desire for the audience to sympathise with the characters. For instance, there is a section of the play in which time moves fast and the characters walk on stage and enact scenes as if in fast-forward, while Albert stands still and gazes longingly at Annie. The effect is then marred by the character of John (Lewis Chandler) suddenly saying, “Al? Why is time moving really quickly?” It is a similar case with Albert’s soliloquies directed at the audience, interrupted by John’s hilarious confused facial expressions and his nervous question: “Who are you talking to?” The audience interaction is not fully integrated into the play’s script, which makes it difficult to quite understand what the play is trying to achieve.
This is not to say that the play was incomprehensible or boring: the random bursts of applause, constant laughter and encouraging ‘aaahs’ (usually directed at Chandler’s adorable playing of the underdog) coming from the audience were testament to the great entertainment that the play provided. Excellent performances from the entire cast added to the overall buoyancy and light-hearted comedy of the play. Louis Lunts and Freddy Elletson should be mentioned for their cheeky, charismatic and confident portrayal of the local teenagers, causing havoc with practical jokes involving whoopee cushions and hand buzzers. Lunts has already marked himself out as a talented actor in the Barn, and some of the play’s most hilarious moments involve his fervent sexual innuendo, coupled with enthusiastic miming, (“Have you taken her to the castle? Have you RIDDEN THE DONKEY?!”) The musical interludes in the play, although somewhat random, were beautifully sung in a barbershop quartet style and just added to the optimistic mood of the play. Despite some odd directorial choices, White’s play was an entertaining first part to the evening’s double bill, and I recommend that everyone sees it, simply for an evening of good old-fashioned fun.
Review of the second part to this week's double-bill here
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