'Blithe Spirit' Gielgud Theatre ****

I must advocate that I have an immense admiration for the legendary Noel Coward’s 1941 play ‘Blithe Spirit’ as I played Dr Bradman in an A-level production of this over two years ago. ‘Blithe Spirit’ is based around the idea of the paranormal, when séances actually becomes reality as the ghost of man's first wife is brought back to life somewhat. The play is set in rural Kent, where we have introduced to slightly pretentious writer Charles Condomine, who is researching original ideas based on supernatural experiences, decides to hold a gathering of friends and his second wife, the incredibly vulgar Ruth to analyse what goes on. Of course the main attraction for this revival is the return of internationally regarded actress, Dame Angela Lansbury as the quirky Medium, Madame Arcati and at 88 years old she exceptionally conveys this character with such precision. We become fixated by her persona on the exact stage that launched her own mother's career. Within the first act, I have found the narrative to be a little bit dull and rather dissatisfying, however once Lansbury enters the set for the first time the entire audience applauded and the play finally releases its charismatic charm. We make it our decision whether we believe that the séance is realistic or a falsity. On the other hand, when it does have a successful outcome, we become engrossed and enthralled by the circumstances that are set to follow. I must admit that the dialogue is incredibly upper-class England and it does still engage contemporary audiences and tourists alike, which makes it and incredible production indeed. The performances by the rather small company are outstanding. Charles Edwards is excellent as the writer looking investigating the world of the unseen, Charles Condomine. Janie Dee plays Charles' second wife, Ruth with an intense surge of brilliance, Jemima Rooper is captivating as the ghost of Charles first wife, Elvira. Simon Jones and Serena Evans provide exceptional performances as the Condomine’s guests, Dr and Mrs Bradman. Even for such a minor role I thought Patsy Ferran is comedy gold as the parlour maid, Edith. The productions' director, Michael Blakemore has done a phenomenal job in maintaining Coward’s extremely detailed stage directions as well as making his own creative decisions and constructing the Kentish landscape to a good standard of finish. Simon Higlett's design is sublime as he has been able to capture a traditional upper class Kent home with such precision and ease. I was definitely immersed with the whole experience especially in Lansbury's presence and the whole production is worth a visit to the Gielgud Theatre. 

'The A-Z of Mrs P' Southwark Playhouse ***

There has been an array of intriguing moments within the history of London maps. First of all we have to think about Harry Beck's illustrious Tube Map, that helped many of its commuters and tourists find their way around the fella the world’s first underground railway. The A-Z has been an icon of Britain too. Even though we value this as a chunky paperback, it enables you to find anywhere in London without getting confused. The A-Z map was founded by the slightly eccentric Phyllis Pearshall, the portrait artist who decided to create it after getting lost on her journey to a dinner party. Phyllis's life has been full of disasters. The marriage between her mother and father was often fraught. Her dad, who was a Hungarian immigrant who created a cartographic business and her mum who's Irish finally paid the price for her alcoholism and passed away in a lunatic asylum. She abandoned her husband, Vladimir Nabokov in Venice and worst of all during 1945 she was a passenger in a vile plane crash that left her somewhat paralysed for the foreseeable future. Their lyrics and composition by Gwyneth Herbert and Diana Samuels, who acted as co-writers definitely penned a lot of interesting and somewhat mesmerising material for the audience. Paradoxically, there are the occasional flaws with such an emerging musical such as this with the overwhelming repetition of songs. Obvious and unnecessary reprises I might add. I found the design for ‘The A-Z of Mrs P’ to be exceptional and particularly luxurious through the conceptual realisation of suspended objects such as; suitcases, chairs, postcards, street signs etc. Klara Zieglerova has done herself justice here. The performance by Isy Suittie as the slightly troubled Mrs P is outstanding and the opening number “Best Foot Forward” I thought it was somewhat charming and peaceful. Unfortunately the writers’ seem to focus to the shows energy onto Mrs P's parents, even though they were wonderfully conveyed by Frances Ruffelle and Michael Matus but this possess a challenge and a hindrance as there’s far too much going on to fully engage with, and to understand a characters journey and circumstances. On the other hand, the musical numbers still ensure that the production still engage with an audience and as I've never been to the Southwark Playhouse before it has made me want to go and see even more emerging work here. I was welcomed by the press officer for this venue which inevitably made it a pleasant experience. I would like to congratulate everyone involved here and good luck with its progression.

'The Weir' Wyndhams Theatre ****

According to my sources I've heard that Josie Rourke's revival of the highly successful Donmar Warehouse production ‘The Weir’ seems to have not hit its sparkle in this West End transfer. However as this is my first attendance of this play I found the entire experience to be vastly intriguing. The casting alone is a brilliant choice as they seem to appear to be right for the roles in which they are playing. It feels that the Irish are taking over the West End Theatre world with the musical theatre productions ‘The Commitments’ and ‘Once’ entertaining audiences at the Palace and Phoenix Theatres and now ‘The Weir’ at the Wyndhams Theatre seems right on cue for St Patrick's Day. There seems to have been a gratifying atmosphere within the performance as we, the voyuers, have been allowed to sneak into a conversation between four ageing man and a single woman in a traditional Irish bar. It becomes clear that there is a mystery and horror story around this community that expresses three themes; silence, regret and grief. The narrative throughout this evenings events seemed to take its time to fully engage with. I found the monologue sections were quite rushed and not genuine whatsoever. Brian Cox’s portrayal of the garage owner, Jack felt uncomprehensive as the accent he tried to convince us with bounces between the Irish flow and some of the English, RP exudes through this. The show seems to have been incredibly successful in being able to adapt from an intimate space is a vast one. I thought that the play remains very haunting and gothic. There seems to have been a mixture of styles here through naturalism to the supernatural, but it definitely works. The entire original Donmar cast have returned to their roles and for me they do a grand job. Peter McDonald's shy natured bartender Brendan is very well charaterised. Ardol O'Hanlon's reserved odd job man, Jim is outstanding and incredibly amusing throughout. Dervla Kirwan is wonderful as the very pretty newcomer to the area, Valerie. I can't really fault their performances as the vocal and movement delivery is quite captivating, apart from Cox. The work of its writer, Conor McPherson seems to still encapsulate and audience and it feels that the Donmar Warehouse does produce a good standard of theatre making. If you want to be entertained and haunted at the same time then this is the one for you.

'The Full Monty' Noel Coward Theatre ***

The majority of us have seen the immensely appealing and in grossing 1997 film’ The Full Monty’ and this recent stage adaptation is just as entertaining as the film version. When I was at the show the main source of audience demographic with females and the occasional gay man, I count myself in with that. The surprising thing that no woman thought it would be appropriate enough to throw their underwear on to the Noel Coward stage but I'm sure that he himself would find it is agreeable to fling his pants on to the proscenium arch. Even though the comedy value was nothing more than exceptional the dialogue does possess a vast proportion of innuendo and some scenes have a lot of emotional moment that do pull onto your heartstrings. The stage play was originally seen by audiences in Sheffield last year and for me it is even more gripping than the 1990s film. The film's screenwriter Simon Beaufoy has written and adapted it for the stage and what is particularly eye-catching is that it is largely set in the abandoned steelworks factory where the characters had earned their wages. It's a definite similarity to the smash hit musical ‘Billy Elliot: The Musical’ with the disastrous actions within manual labour in Thatcherite’s nineteen eighties and this is highly apparent when the play begins with a speech that's become world renowned and expressing “the Lady's not for turning.”  Some of you may not have agreed with her politics but we must praise her for becoming Britain's first female Prime Minister. The narrative and dialogue are very similar to the film where we see unemployed steelworkers seeking a chance to become the North's own version of the Chippendales and the central protagonist, Gaz’ battle in losing access to his young son if he simply cannot successfully agree with the maintenance payments. His friends join him as it's a new sense of opportunity for them to earn desperate money to survive. Kenny Doughty plays Gaz with a sense of tenacity and ease and the scene between him and Jack Hollington as the son are a tear-jerking moment. Robert Morlidge is hilarious as they quite obese Dave and former ‘Coronation Street’ actor Craig Gazey performs the goofy and slightly obtuse Lomper to a brilliant standard of characterisation. The collaboration of Daniel Evans the director and Robert Jones's design is nothing more than marvellous and phenomenal and free encapsulates the struggles of life especially unemployment. A very good production indeed.