'The Ladykillers' Vaudeville Theatre ****

The current run of 'The Ladykillers' is a well crafted piece of theatre indeed. Based on the 1955 film of the same name which starred the likes of Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers is set in King's Cross where five criminals decide to come together and pose as musicians decide to conjure a heist. To cover their tracks 'Professor' Marcus decides to rent rooms that are available of an old lady called Mrs Wilberforce and falsy claim that he and the other criminals are performing for a concert and need a place to stay and rehearse. However this is a complete lie as this is going to be the location as to where they plan the robbery. The narrative flows particularly well through both the humour and the emotion of this piece of theatre and I found the performances by the entire company were brilliantly conveyed and the delivery of the comedy were of good quality as well as wonderful to watch. The lead female role Mrs Wilberforce played by Angela Thorne performed the role so eloquently and her expressions and movements were exceptional and lovely to witness. Sometimes I felt the performances by the criminals Harry (Ralf Little), One Round (Chris McCalphy), Major Courtney (Simon Day), Louis (Con O'Niell) and of course their leader Professor Marcus (John Gordon Sinclair) were often too comedic for my liking and I found some of the fight sequences to be too repetitive but the majority of their acting were of a good standard. Sean Foley's direction were superbly thought of as he has been able to create an adaptation of an iconic British comic film to the West End stage. His attention the the comic values were second to none even though some of the actions were slightly repetitive for ones liking e.g. the slapping and the rocking of the set to convey the nearby train line. I thought that the set and costume designer Michael Taylor has done a credible job for this such production as he has be able to design a Victorian house onto the vast Vaudeville stage. I think the costumes were beautifully made and conveyed the 1950's quite well. The lighting was especially outstanding and I think James Farncombe deserves 'a pat on the back' for this. I found my experience at 'The Ladykillers' to be one of such pleasure.

'Strange Interlude' National Theatre, Lyttleton ****

The National Theatre's production of Eugene O' Neill's 1928 play 'Strange Interlude' was both brilliantly performed by all actors and crafted so eloquently by both the creative and  production teams. The narrative is based and focused on Nina Leeds who is played by the ever wonderful Anne-Marie Duff is a really intriguing but slightly troubled woman who at the beginning of the show we see she has been suffering from an illness of some kind for quite a long time but throughout the production we learn that three men are fighting for her love and affection. The three male roles Charles Marsden (Charles Edwards), a long term friend of Nina's who has always loved her, Edmund Darrell (Darren Pettie) a bolshy Biologist who Nina has a affair with when she's married and Sam Evans (Jason Watkins) a highly misunderstood but highly naive man who marries Nina. The roles are performed with care and attention and it was interesting to see how different these men are from one another and I particularly admired the scenes when all three of the them are together and understanding the adoration they have over this one woman.  The productions director Simon Godwin directs this classic story beautifully as he has enabled the original context to be show to a contemporary audience who may have never have heard or read this play before. He has worked with the Lyttleton stage graciously and has encapsulated a vast amounts of locations to fit around a revolve without it feeling overly used. The designer fro 'Strange Interlude' Soutra Gilmour has to be credited with the utmost respect. She has created a work of genius by managing to design a set that depicts the times of 1920's America in outstanding detail.  In addition the costume designs are wonderfully thought of and conveys the characteristics of the characters and the dramaturgy of the whole production.  It seems to me that both the director and the designer have collaborated with one another with such depth and understanding that I find their work flawless and effortless. What a wonderful work of brilliance and a production that has to be commended to all who have seen this. This production has now closed but to all those who have witnessed this wonderful piece of theatre I hope you all had a wonderful time as much as I had. 

'Soul Sister' Churchill Theatre **

What can I say about the current touring production of 'Soul Sister', the musical presentation of the life and times of Tina and Ike Turner? I must convey that this has to be one of the most horrendous productions I have seen this year. The plot is terribly woeful as you are taken on a journey abut singing sensation Tina Turner's life and the dialogue doesn't flow very well due to the awful scenarios created by Pete Brooks and John Miller. The acting is incredibly false and the singing is sung appallingly and the choreography is danced horrifically and this is continued throughout the entire performance. Jenny Fitzpatrick's portrayal of Tina Turner was highly disappointing as she seems to not be fully comfortable with performing the role. In addition to her performance her movements in the choreography sections were poorly presented and leads me to question whether the rehearsal period was taken seriously enough. Chris Tummings' performance of the troublesome and nasty Ike Turner has a lot to be desired as again it seems to be incredibly melodramatic at emotive and fight sequences.  As well as the performances by the whole company were lacklustre from beginning to end. I was very displeased by this. The shows designer Laura Hopkins has no understanding of musical theatre design whatsoever as the entire design is video projection and even this was not used to the best of its ability which is a serious shame. Even some scenes were fully video projected which is very lackadaisical. The shows direction is mediocre throughout as it seems poorly constructed as it seems no time in characterisation development was thought about and even rehearsal time wasn't used wisely at all. I feel that there have been a vast amounts of wasted creative decisions that could have made the production more of an enjoyable experience. But it seems to me that advertisement favours creativity whereas it should be the complete opposite. It feels like another 'Viva Forever!' and this leads to apprehension about musicals featuring current and available material. I tried to enjoy this show but unfortunately not. This is a show you should avoid at all costs.

'Thark' Park Theatre ****

The newest playhouse in London, the Park Theatre has had a brilliant and highly successful opening season. The current production in this exciting new venture for Finsbury Park is 'Thark' an 1920's farce by Ben Travers and it's a lovely play to have watched. The play is set in two quite different locations, the first being a stylish Mayfair flat and the second being Thark, a supposed haunted mansion that even the faint hearted wouldn't even dare to step over the threshold. The narrative is wonderfully clear and I think this is due to Travers' delightful words and Clive Francis' script adaptation. The dialogue is highly amusing and this is because of the lovely performances by the company. I must convey to you that out of the performances I have seen in summer 2013 I have never seen such a cast who have played their roles with such diligence. I particularly liked the scene where Sir Hector Benbow (Clive Francis) and Ronny Gamble (James Dutton) are sleeping in the haunted bedroom at Thark and the acting is highly convincing which leads the story on so pleasantly 'so to speak'. I think that the direction by Eleanor Rhode was magnificent as she has directed a production that captures the essence of the roaring twenties that can appeal to the contemporary audience with such panache. She and her cast seem to have rehearsed this production with such thought and attention that I could not fault the performance and direction whatsoever.  The shows designer Cherry Truluck has crafted a production with such a limited amount of stage space with such success. However I would have preferred to have seen two individual sets for Sir Hector Benbow's flat and Thark but with the such limited budgets in the arts these days, unfortunately, I can understand the difficulties of having two sets but on the whole a good job.  I value the quality of this production and as the run is coming to end very soon I would book now to avoid disappointment.