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The Curious Incident At HMT – Duncan Harley Reviews

Aberdeen City, Featured, Opinion No Responses »

Aug 112017

Duncan Harley reviews The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – at HM Theatre, Aberdeen.

The last time I reviewed Curious I was over the moon.
A complete blast from beginning to end, the production enthralled, captivated and amazed.
Intense doesn’t even begin to describe the audience experience.

It’s more of an immersive introduction to the reality of not being able eat the yellow portions of a Battenberg cake – the pink squares are OK – and finding that the toilet is out of bounds because a complete stranger has used it.

Based on the book of the same name, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time highlights some of the issues faced by those who come into contact with those who differ markedly from the norm and of course many of the issues faced by those who are by nature quite different.

The book’s author Mark Haddon comments that:

“Curious is not really about Christopher at all, it’s about us.”

He may have a point.

Christopher, played by Scott Reid, exhibits what can really only be described as mind-blowingly challenging behavioural traits. He cannot bear to be touched, he becomes unbearably swamped by external stimuli, he cannot use a stranger’s toilet, he cannot tell a lie and takes everything completely literally – the list goes on and inevitably ticks all of the diagnostic boxes.

The play presents as a reading of Christopher’s own written thoughts, read aloud in segments mainly by his mentor and school-teacher Siobhan, played beautifully by Lucianne McEvoy. The unfolding story takes place within a high-tech multi-media cuboid-set representing a gateway into Christopher’s consciousness. The drama literally takes place in Christopher’s head.

When Wellington, the next-door neighbour’s dog, is found impaled; fifteen-year-old Christopher Boone, a brilliant mathematician with some pretty complex personal issues, turns sleuth.
Emulating his hero Sherlock Holmes, he must solve the mystery of who killed Mrs Shears’ pet and absolve himself of complicity.

After a long and often painful journey, including the realisation that Holmes was in fact a fictional detective, he solves the crime and is absolved. However, in the course of the exhaustive investigation he discovers skeletons galore in the family cupboard.

At times funny, often terrifyingly intense and always challenging, Curious is a superb production and Scott Reid’s performance as Christopher is both electrifying in its intensity and engaging in its complexity.

There are lighter moments. Animal lovers will drool over the cute Andrex Puppy.

They may even take a fancy to Toby, Christopher’s pet rat.

David Michaels and Emma Beattie excel as the long suffering and often desperate parents, kindly neighbours peek into his life and at one point a cheerily upbeat railway policeman takes time out to help him on his quest but it has to be said that this is essentially a stage show all about Christopher.

The technical aspects of the production are worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster and have to be experienced to be believed. Aboyne born video designer Finn Ross has worked on everything from Festival Fringe through to Broadway and his expertise in combining live and pre-recorded imagery takes this live performance into exciting new realms. Lighting, sound and set design are likewise superb.

Ultimately this play examines the nature of abnormality and the challenge of defining limitations. Having solved the gruesome dog murder and dismissed lingering doubts regarding his mathematical ability Christopher asks teacher Siobhan “Does this mean I can do anything?”
She does not reply.

Somehow, Aspergers will never quite seem the same ever again …

Directed by Marianne Elliott, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time plays at HMT Aberdeen until Saturday 12th August.

Words © Duncan Harley and images courtesy of Aberdeen Performing Arts.

Myrtle Throgmorton Stuffed And Mounted

Aberdeenshire, Featured No Responses »

Jul 212017

With thanks to Kieran Booth.

Following her hit 2015 show, Miss Myrtle Throgmorton OBE (pending) is returning to the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe with a brand new production.
The critics, in 2015, stayed away but the audience came in droves and through word of mouth, a brief stint with the Really Terrible Orchestra and some energetic flyering, the show was sold out most nights – and everyone had a hoot! [“Very, very funny” – STV]

So the game old trout, ancient heckler and exuberant enthusiast for all things Scottish, is back, Stuffed and Mounted, mad-rabbiting on about the delights of a long life – giddy aunts, Burns, beards, Creamola Foam, Zimmer Zumba and much more.

Myrtle is created by former BBC Comedy producer Jennie Campbell / Chalmers, and has been developed over many years although Jennie admits that the original bag-for-life is now, worryingly, more ‘ego’ than ‘alter’. Since her Fringe debut, Miss Throgmorton has been making appearances across the North East of Scotland at charity gigs, Burns Suppers and two sell-out runs at the Haddo Arts Festival.

Myrtle’s accumulated years are off-set by the youthful vigour of baritone, Colin Brockie and pianist, Richard Bailey who join her for the three-week run at the Fringe. The production could also be unique on the 2017 Festival as the cast and crew all come from rural Aberdeenshire: Colin from Ellon, Richard from Udny, and Jennie, Kieran and Mary from Barthol Chapel.

Myrtle is still chairman of the Surrey Association for Lonely, Misplaced Or Non-Domiciled Scots [ALEX] but has been rusticated from her sheltered housing scheme [a minor misunderstanding over a game of sardines with her friend Midriff Bulge] and now lives as the permanent resident in a once–grand hotel.

The audience will be her ‘fellow diners’ and much conversation and banter will ensue as she shares her opinion on pretty much everything [advanced age is so liberating], punctuated by live and original music from Richard, some ‘proper’ singing from Colin and a little nifty hip work from Myrtle herself.

Once again, every show will end with a surprise guest joining Myrtle for cheery chat over the coffee and mints. The audience is completely unaware who the guest will be – indeed Myrtle herself may not be entirely up to speed until just before the off.

2015 guests included Rory Bremner, Arnold Brown, Lieven Schiere and Alan Cumming.

It could be a TV celebrity, an acclaimed author, the face of a familiar radio voice, a rising star, an unknown character with a story to tell, someone with a great, undiscovered show or the joker from the café on the corner… A truly potluck surprise, in the spirit of the Fringe, and every one a guaranteed delight!

After a brief career as a London lawyer, and a briefer one cleaning houses, Jennie Campbell joined BBC Radio Comedy as a producer of such programmes as Week Ending, The News Quiz and The Edinburgh Festival Compilations, scouting the Fringe in the 80s for hungry new young talent.
On moving to Scotland, she switched from satirical news to the real thing and has been variously a radio presenter [Newsweek Scotland], news and current affairs producer, director of theatre, opera and musicals, drama teacher, arts organizer, serial committee member and session clerk.

With Myrtle Throgmorton, Jennie makes a long overdue return to her comedy roots.

Venue: Mint Studio | Greenside @ Infirmary St. [Venue 236]
Dates: 4th – 26th August [not Sundays]
Time: 18.25 [55 mins]

Tickets: £10/£9/£5

Box Office: edfringe.com / 0131 618 0758
Website: www.myrtleproductions.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/myrtlethrog
Twitter: www.twitter.com/myrtlethrog (@myrtlethrog)

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Chess – The Musical @ HMT: Duncan Harley reviews

Aberdeen City, Featured, Opinion No Responses »

Jun 302017

Duncan Harley reviews ‘Chess – The Musical’ at His Majesty’s Theatre.

Chess plays at HMT Aberdeen until Saturday 1 July 2017.

Chess – The Musical comes to the HMT stage this week courtesy of Aberdeen Opera Company Productions in collaboration with Scott School of Dancing and despite the slightly clunky original storyline and often clichéd characterisation this production of the pop-opera easily transcends the limitations of the scrip and delivers a powerful and entertaining take on the politics of the Cold War era.

It’s Friday night and the lights are low. Everybody’s playing the game but nobody’s rules are the same.

In fact, “Nobody’s on nobody’s side” and those long daggers are drawn for all to see. For those who missed out on the Cold War, welcome to the dark world of international chess seventies style.

A musical game of stealth, dark deals and exploitation takes the theatre audience on a wild trip through the murky and mysterious world of international pre-internet gaming. As the USSR and the USA battle it out in icy Merano and steamy Bangkok, Indian Attacks and Paris Gambits are to the fore as the grandmasters battle it out.

Essentially a love story, Chess features a love triangle subjected to some pretty cynical manipulation by the forces of politics and commerce.

Scott Jamieson’s brilliantly dysfunctional grandmaster, the aptly named Frederick Trumper, loses both his title and his lady to Gavin McKay’s dignified Anatoly Sergievsky. As the minders look on and the manipulators take charge, Florence Vassy, played by Rachael Watson, switches sides and seizes the starring role with powerful numbers such as ‘Heaven Help My Heart’ and, in duet with Amanda Massie’s Svetlana, ‘I Know Him So Well’.

The Chess-set is utilitarian verging on the Brutalist, the music ranges from rock to light opera and the choreography is, to say the least, fast-paced and razor-sharp. The tournament scenes are simply spell-binding and stage-lighting is simple but stunning!

Fresh from the 2016 hit production of Sunshine in Leith, the AOC theatre group has once again delivered a triumphant piece of entertainment. A must see.

Directed by Judith Stephen and based on an idea by Tim Rice with music by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, Chess plays at HMT Aberdeen until Saturday 1 July 2017

Words © Duncan Harley. Images © Rhea McKenzie Photography

The Wedding Singer @ HMT – Duncan Harley Reviews

Aberdeen City, Featured, Opinion No Responses »

Jun 232017

Duncan Harley reviews The Wedding Singer at His Majesty’s Theatre Aberdeen.

Once you get to grips with the schmaltzy ‘girls just wanna get married’ portrayal of the eighties which haunts this musical from the very start, The Wedding Singer is actually a whole load of fun.

Despite a story-line thin enough to gladden the heart of a coronary bypass surgeon and sufficient cheesy humour to keep McDonalds going in triple cheeseburger’s for a month, the entertainment value more than makes up for this sugar-sweet take on the Reagan decade.

Based on the hit 1998 film of the same name, the musical tells the tale of wedding singer and emcee Robbie Hart.

Robbie and his band ‘Simply Wed’ – yes you read that correctly – play the New Jersey wedding circuit making a precarious living on the back of those who have popped the question. Jilted and depressed he abandons the wedding gigs and comes of age on the bar mitzvah circuit. Predictably he gets the girl and equally predictably he gets invited to sing at his own wedding.

Starring Jon Robyns as the multi-talented Robbie Hart and X Factor/singer songwriter Cassie Compton as love interest Julia Sullivan, it would be difficult to imagine this production going far wrong really. Well known for roles including secretly-gay Rod in Avenue Q and Sir Galahad in Spamalot Jon’s performance literally shines.

Add in a mix of stars including Ray Quinn, as Glen Gulia, and Barbara Rafferty in the role of Rosie the rapping-granny and The Wedding Singer is off like the clappers. A clutch of iconic dance-numbers including Saturday Night in the City and All About the Green plus some pretty dang impressive lighting and audio complete the line-up.

Alongside the main characters, the cast list includes a motley crew of ‘fake’ characters including Ronnie Reagan, Billy Idol, Tina Turner and Cyndi Lauper. Additionally, and I could be wrong, amongst the line-up in the bar scene I swear I spotted a suitably inebriated Charles Bukowski

As a feel-good, Aspartame sweetened heart-warming trip into the past, The Wedding Singer works really well although the story-line does pose awkward questions for those who were actually around at the time.

Will Hart get the girl? And does Julia really want to be Mrs Gulia? For a definitive answer or two you will just have to join the audience. Oh! And watch out for those brick-size cell-phones and, of course, that singing cake!

Lighting Designer Ben Cracknell/Sound Designer Ben Harrison.
The Wedding Singer plays at HMT Aberdeen until Saturday 24 June
Tickets from Aberdeen Performing Arts Tel: 01224- 641122
Words © Duncan Harley and Images © APA

Wonderland At HMT – Duncan Harley Reviews

Aberdeen City, Opinion No Responses »

May 192017

Duncan Harley reviews Wonderland at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen.

A hard-working cast make this Musical an entertaining and at times a truly magical experience.

When Lewis Carroll ran an early draft of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland past fellow fantasy writer George MacDonald of Huntly, neither man could have had the remotest idea that the tale would still have currency some 150 years on.
The original story-line has seemingly never been out of print and literally hundreds of adaptations have emerged from a myriad of genres over the years.

Film, stage and parody head the long list; with comic book, opera and even Xbox 360 take-ons not far behind.

Herein lies a huge problem. Inevitably, reinterpretations trading on the back of this classic tale of literary nonsense will invite comparison with Carroll’s original.

If the Cheshire Cat fails to grin cheesily enough or if there are too few tarts at the tea party then heads will invariably roll.

Happily, theatre audiences are not as fickle as literary critics and if the stand-up-ovation enjoyed by the cast of Wonderland at HMT last Tuesday is anything to go by, then this latest anthropomorphic adaptation has ticked many of the boxes.

With Britain’s Got Talent Finalist Rachael Wooding as Alice and Coronation Street’s Wendi Peters playing the Queen of Hearts this musical is off to a stomping start. Add in Dave Willetts of Phantom fame as White Rabbit and Natalie McQueen as the Mad Hatter and things can only get better.

And get better they do. From shaky beginnings, down to the script and not to the cast, Wonderland soon gets into its stride.

Alice, in this adaptation, is a divorced single mum who after five years of separation clings to the past and, despite admirable encouragement from teen-daughter Ellie, is experiencing what can only be termed an extreme bad-hair-day.

Aside from losing her beau, she has lost her job and some scumbag has pinched her car. Ellie (Naomi Morris) and love-interest Jack (Stephen Webb) are at pains to comfort the stressed-out Alice but to no avail.

Predictably, a white rabbit appears and they all head downwards in a council high-rise lift to meet with the entire Lewis Carroll cast including a talking mirror. After typical Alice type adventures, the heroine is bundled through the looking-glass and her life takes a turn.

The musical numbers here are great, the dialogue is perhaps not so. At points I almost expected a harassed Compere to rush on stage to ask the audience if there was a scriptwriter in the house.

Music and movement is where this production is at. With around twenty numbers packed into two hours there is plenty for all including pounding rock, laid back jazz and heart-warming duets.

A hard-working cast make this Musical an entertaining and at times a truly magical experience. By the final curtain one could almost imagine an appreciative Dickens clapping softly from the Gods.

Directed by Lotte Wakeham and adapted from the works of Lewis Carroll, Wonderland plays at HMT Aberdeen until Saturday 20th May.

Tickets from Aberdeen Performing Arts Tel: 01224- 641122

– Words © Duncan Harley and Images © APA

The Woman In Black At HMT – Duncan Harley Reviews

Aberdeen City, Featured, Opinion No Responses »

Feb 172017

Duncan Harley reviews The Woman in Black – at His Majesty’s Theatre Aberdeen

If you enjoy being scared of things which go thump in the night, then this play-within-a-play is a must see.

Essentially a two man show, The Woman in Black gets off to what appears to be a slow start. As an elderly Arthur Kipps hums and haws hilariously over his acting ability, the theatre audience may wonder if the bigging-up of the production as a celebration of nerve shredding horror is, perhaps, simply a publicist’s whim.

However, and with a nerve shattering bang, the tone soon changes from that of gentle hilarity to one of spine-tingling terror and, thanks to some splendid pre-recorded screams and a ton or two of dry-ice, theatre-goers are soon transported along Nine Lives Causeway to Eel Marsh House, home of the late Mrs Drablow.

The set is simple and quite bare and the tale is set “in this theatre about one hundred years ago”.

Retired solicitor Arthur Kipps has engaged The Actor in the hope of shedding the phantoms of his past. He seeks closure and is intent on presenting his disturbing story to a theatre audience in the form of what must be considered a blatant act of exorcism.

Early on David Acton, as the elderly Kipps, assures both audience and The Actor, played ably by Matthew Spencer, “Forgive me, I’m not an actor.” However this is patently not the case.

Both performers are master storytellers, and the audience quickly becomes engaged. As the tension builds, there are moments of terror interspersed with some very wry humour indeed.

For example, just as things begin to look pretty damn serious for The Actor, who by this time is playing a much younger Mr Kipps, on trots Spider the invisible dog. This is not at all as absurd as it may sound, since the audience have by this time become accustomed to suspension of disbelief: minimalist multi-purpose props have by this point become quite acceptable and they have, after all, just seen an imaginary pony.

Alongside some unmistakable shades of a much darker than normal Miss Havisham, Bram Stoker’s Dracula inspiration Sir Henry Irving gets a brief but well noted mention or three. The play is, after all a Gothic Horror feast.

This is an entertaining piece of theatre and there are many startling moments. While the play might not be for everyone, the slick timing and understated dialogue may well challenge the preconceptions of those not normally drawn to the genre.

There is of course a strange twist at the end of the tale, how could there not be after all? As to the nature of this curveball, my lips are, naturally, completely sealed.

Directed by Robin Herford and adapted from Susan Hill’s novel by Stephen Mallatratt, The Woman in Black plays at HMT Aberdeen until Saturday February 18th.

Tickets from Aberdeen Performing Arts Tel: 01224- 641122

Words © Duncan Harley and Images © APA

A Calm Panto At HMT – Duncan Harley Reviews

Aberdeen City, Featured, Opinion 1 Response »

Jan 132017

By Duncan Harley.

Pantomime by its very nature is a lively medium. The plot typically presents as a well known folk tale and a typical production will involve the use of loud special effects and fast-paced slapstick comedy.
Gender-crossing actors encourage audience participation and theatregoers are expected to sing along and shout out traditional responses such as “Its behind you!” and “Oh yes it is!” Thunderclaps and strobes are de rigueur and folk in the front stalls often risk a good soaking.

Aberdeen HMT’s offering this Christmas was no exception.

Written by Alan McHugh and starring Elaine C. Smith and Jordan Young, Dick McWhittington was billed as a Scottish pantomime adventure without equal, and few who saw the production during the five-week run could have been disappointed.

As thunderclaps rocked the theatre and lightning flashed, the comedy routines ran amok with below the belt humour. Songs, gags and a hilariously contrived slapstick sea shanty involving an electric eel enhanced the experience, while a villainous King Rat strutted his stuff.

Last Friday’s matinee was slightly different however.

Dubbed a Calm performance, it retained most of the original dialogue and followed the original Alan McHugh plot. If it hadn’t been for the fact that I had attended a regular evening performance of this tale of Doric domination a week or so before, I might not have noticed any difference. The songs and gags were in place. The gender-crossing actors were all there and King Rat was just as villainous as he had been the first time round.

Relaxed performances are specifically designed to encourage people with an autistic spectrum condition, learning disability or sensory and communication disorders into theatres; and to offer those who otherwise may feel excluded the opportunity to experience live theatre in a safe environment. They provide a less formal, more supportive atmosphere in order to reduce anxiety levels.

Sound engineer Chantal Urquhart explains:

“The sound during the performance is built up gradually so as to gently accustom the audience to the sound levels. There are no strobe effects and no loud thunderclaps.”

The differences however do not end there. Being a matinee, the more risqué double-entendres were absent anyway; but in addition the folk in the front stalls were spared a soaking, and for much of the performance an appreciative audience both sang along and, mainly, quietly commented on the action.

In short, the calm performance set the scene for an immersive audience experience.

The concept of an autism-friendly theatre environment is not entirely new, and Aberdeen Performing Arts is no stranger to the concept. Performances catering specifically for the requirements of theatre goers with disabilities, additional support needs and on the autistic spectrum are thankfully on the increase.

APA Chief Executive Jane Spiers recently commented:

“It’s fantastic that by making small but important adjustments we can break down barriers, open up the experience of live theatre and make it as welcoming as possible. We already offer audio-described, captioned and signed performances and this is part of our wider commitment to broadening access to our work and our venues.”

With perhaps 700,000 members of the UK population on the autistic spectrum, the calm performance initiative represents a positive cultural shift in attitude towards inclusion of an audience group sometimes marginalised by the performing arts.

A visual storyboard relating to the calm performance of Dick McWhittington can be viewed on the APA website.

Words © Duncan Harley and Images © APA

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Dick McWhittington At HMT – Duncan Harley Reviews

Aberdeen City, Featured, Opinion No Responses »

Dec 162016

Duncan Harley reviews Dick McWhittington at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen.

Scotland’s very own Elaine C. Smith took to the Aberdeen pantomime stage for the eighth year in succession this month. Appearing as lead in Dick McWhittington alongside seasoned fellow pantomime favourites Jordan Young and Alan McHugh, Elaine’s portrayal of Fairy Fit Like proved yet again that the hoary old one liner ‘Thespian: Where’s my career? Audience: It’s behind you!’ doesn’t really cut the mustard nowadays.

Written by Alan McHugh, the plot follows loosely the classic pantomime tale of poor boy makes good through heroic deeds, becomes fabulously rich, gets the girl of his desires and takes up office as Lord Mayor.

The twists in the plot, and there are lots of them, involve some funny business with a broken trombone plus lashings of both above- and below-the-belt innuendo-laden humour. There’s a risqué assertion that Maggie Lynne’s ‘Ailish’ is really fond of Dick, and there was also a nicely timed ad-lib by Fairy Fit Like, following a technical fault with the sound, to the effect that:

“Somebody’s got to come up here and fiddle about with me!”

Little is left to the imagination.

As the risqué jokes piled on and the comedy routines ran amuck, one found oneself transported back to that innocence of childhood where even Dick Emery’s brassy Mandy’s catchphrase of ‘Ooh, you are awful’, seemed benignly devoid of double entendre. That’s the magic of pantomime: keep the grown-ups happy and the youngsters wondering, and you won’t go far wrong.

Mind you, the spectre of Jordan Young’s ‘Ba Heid Boabby’ being molested by an electric eel will haunt me forever, and Elaine’s portrayal of a club wielding golf king in the form of Donald Chump left no holds unbarred! Indeed, I detected an enthusiastic cheer when Sultan Vinegar decreed “Off with his head”.

The villain of the piece, John Jack’s ‘King Rat’, naturally gets his just deserts and, without giving too much away, following an innuendo-laden proposal, Dick and Ailish finally tie the knot.

There are musical numbers galore, including a splendid rendering of The Northern Lights of Old Aberdeen, and of course, as we have come to expect from this annual show, some very fine special effects indeed.

The sets are sumptuous, the puns are outrageous and at points, and for all the right reasons, there wasn’t a dry eye in the audience.

Plus, in the true spirit of traditional Christmas pantomime entertainment, the show programme includes detailed instructions enabling younger members of the audience to cut out and assemble their very own Tommy the Cat.

What more could anyone want …

Directed by Nick Winston, ‘Dick McWhittington’ performs at HMT Aberdeen until Sunday January 8th 2017.

Tickets from Aberdeen Performing Arts Tel: 01224- 641122

PS: Why did Dick McWhittington have a beard?
Because nine out of ten owners find that their cats prefer whiskers.

Rent, The Musical At HMT – Duncan Harley Reviews.

Aberdeen City, Featured, Opinion No Responses »

Nov 172016

Duncan Harley reviews ‘Rent, the Musical’ at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen.

It is Christmas Eve 1896. A painter, a philosopher, a musician and a writer are planning a bender.
The writer needs a bit more time to work on his play, and as his pals set off for the pub, he receives a visit from a neighbour Mimi, a poor seamstress, who chaps on his door in search of a light for her candle.

Mimi and the writer fall madly in love then they too head off to the pub.

Eventually it all goes pear shaped. Mimi contracts tuberculosis and dies of exposure. The writer is left bereft. Well, that at least was Puccini’s La Boheme operatic take on the cruel realities of inner-city poverty in Bohemian Paris.

Substitute Bohemian 1990s New York for 1890s Paris. In Rent the Musical, writer Jonathan Larson takes La Boheme, turns the opera on its head and gives the tale a garishly glorious modern twist.

The poverty and the ill health are still around, but instead of the scourge of tuberculosis, Larson has substituted the scourge of HIV. Instead of a lack of fuel for the fire we have a bad-ass landlord, in the shape of Javar La’Trail Parker’s Benjamin Coffin the Third, who cuts off the power on a whim. And in lieu of Mimi the Parisian tuberculous seamstress, we have a 20th century Mimi nicely portrayed, by Philippa Stefani, as an HIV-stricken East Village sex worker stroke exotic dancer overburdened by a major smack habit.

Puccini’s poverty-stricken painter is portrayed as an independent Jewish-American wannabe filmmaker by the name of Mark Cohen who, Super-8 in hand, is single-handedly tasked with recording for posterity the tribulations of the East Village community.

On first night at HMT the role of Mark fell to understudy Joshua Dever, since lead Billy Cullum had a chest infection.

A veteran of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Grease and Jesus Christ Superstar, Joshua’s performance was seamless and came with the welcome bonus of a clearly enunciated commentary on what at times can be a convoluted and maybe even over-complicated tale.

There are rock arias galore, multiple phone messages from friends and even a little bit of tango. But perhaps the star turn was Layton Williams as the controversially clad Angel Schunard, a high-heeled power-dressed drag queen and committed partner to gay philosophy professor and sometime anarchist Tom Collins.

Caring, giving and kind, but with a penchant for murdering canines for cash, she/he, or is it he/she, executed an absolutely astonishing gravity-defying triple entendre somersault plus twist whilst clad in pink fluffy five inch heels!

Fast-paced, rock-solid, mega-loud and at points furiously intensive, Rent the Musical presents a heady mix of anti-establishment sentiment combined with perhaps an overload of doom-laden prophesy. The spectre of HIV and AIDS perches Damoclean over the entire production, and multisexuality is the order of the day.

Songs include the classics ‘Seasons of Love’, ‘Goodbye Love’, ‘Over the Moon’ and ‘Light My Candle’. In all there are around thirty musical numbers in this revival.

Both the established Rent Heads amongst us and the newbies to the genre will be in rock heaven throughout this entire performance. And of course, Angel gets to heaven and Mimi’s tiny hand is frozen.

Directed by Bruce Guthrie. Lighting design Rick Fisher. Rent the Musical plays at HMT Aberdeen until Saturday 19th November

Tickets from Aberdeen Performing Arts Tel: 01224- 641122

Sunny Afternoon, The Musical At HMT: Duncan Harley Reviews

Aberdeen City, Featured, Opinion No Responses »

Nov 102016

Duncan Harley reviews ‘Sunny Afternoon, the Musical’ at HMT Aberdeen.

Garmon Rhys (Pete Quaife) Ryan O’Donnell (Ray Davies) Andrew Gallo (Mick Avory) Mark Newnham (Dave Davies)

Picture in your mind’s eye a musical about a 1960s band who, in their day, released around 28 albums, were ranked 65th on Rolling Stone magazine’s ‘100 Greatest Artists of All Time’ list and occasionally, just occasionally, swung from chandeliers.
The Kinks popped pills, used girls and fell out with America. If it wasn’t broke they took an axe to it. If it was broke they swung the axe again just to make sure.

Hotel rooms, promoters and, on occasion, fans bore the brunt of the angst of the tempestuous four.

And then, just to let off steam, they turned inwards and beat the hell out of each other both on – and offstage. Fuelled by a heady concoction of wild music and wild parties, they seesawed repeatedly from giddy success to rock-bottom oblivion and then back up again.

Headed by brothers Ray and Dave Davies, The Kinks did eventually make the Hollywood Bowl, but only after a very rocky ride.

Sunny Afternoon the Musical tracks the band’s career through a finely balanced combination of tribute numbers and snapshots of the band’s progress from the blandness of the Muswell Hill club scene through to the electrifying days on the international music circuit.

On opening night at His Majesty’s Aberdeen, word came that Ryan O’Donnell was unwell and that James Hudson would be playing the part of Ray Davies. He played it well and few in the audience would have even been aware of the substitution.

It was clear from the very start that this is no mere tribute show. Yes, there are musical numbers and yes there are stage strutting scenes, but there are also acres and acres of good solid bio to link the songs with the background stories which inspired them.

As the songs emerge, a tale of sibling rivalry and misunderstanding unfolds. The madly challenged Dave, sensibly dressed in a bright chintzy frock, swung from a chandelier while elder brother and leader of the band Ray tries to keep it together with wife Rasa. ‘A Dedicated Follower of Fashion’ led to the Pepsi cola’d ‘Lola’, and with Dave starting to resemble Ava Gardner on a massive bender, there were brotherly fights and band fallouts galore.

There are minor niggles. That drum solo in act two might be completely superfluous; and the colourfully Union-Jacked 1966 England World Cup Winners’ parade might not go too down too well in front of some Scottish audiences.

The transatlantic duet involving Rasa and Ray was particularly poignant, but it has to be said that although everyone on stage sparkled, Mark Newnham’s portrayal of Dave Davies sparkled most brightly.

His portrayal of the Mick Avory-hating guitarist left little to the imagination. Despite bad behaviour verging at times on the offensive, and a sometimes questionable dress sense, he emerged as a well-cast musical villain.

There’s humour galore. Harold McMillan takes it on the chin and long-dead Who drummer Keith Moon is revered as an eccentric Roller-owning rocker with a penchant for swimming pools.

Virtually all of the classic Kinks hits including ‘You Really Got Me’ and of course ‘Sunny Afternoon’ are up for grabs, and by the finale folk were rocking in the aisles to ‘Waterloo Sunset’ and ‘Lola’.
By the end of the night there was hardly a grey hair in the house.

Directed by Edward Hall with Barney Ashworth as Musical Director, Sunny Afternoon plays at HMT Aberdeen until Saturday 12th November

Tickets from Aberdeen Performing Arts Tel: 01224- 641122

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