I've decided to re-jig this whole blog malarky around a bit. Seen as the separate "Arts" page hasn't been updated in terms of things reviewed for a while (though hopefully I will feature pieces of that ilk in the not too distant future!) and seen as how I have taken to reviewing things on the main blog post section anyway, I thought I'd alter things. So - I am now getting rid of the individual Arts page, BUT I have now also gained a new category of review piece in this here main section. MY COLUMN will still exist separately, featuring various bits and pieces, and hopefully for some time too + feel free to question, chat or comment on anything at all, on the COMMENTS page or if you prefer, most individual posts have comment facilities. As for the three production pieces below, despite being written several years ago now, the productions were just as real and my comments and opinions, such as they are, are still the same. If you haven't seen them already - enjoy!
NOSFERATU
TR Warszawa and Teatr Narodowy
Inspired by Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”
The Barbican Theatre
Review by Samuel Jackson
Wolfgang Michael as Nosferatu and Sandra Korzeniak as Lucy in Nosferatu at Barbican Theatre. Photo by Alastair Muir. Appeared in The Telegraph 1/11/12
Nosferatu. A chilling revamp of a gothic classic, seeped in chills, tension and vampiric frenzy. No, no and no. Any attempt at this from the start, when met with a detailed but seemingly confusing set was dispelled when the first of the cast opened their mouth. A story spoken in Polish with English subtitles on stage seemed to me, if done well, to be at least an interesting concept to begin, sadly whoever was in charge of that technological branch had either dropped off or dropped out, as had many of the audience. Confusing subtitle display that did not link up to whomever was speaking and actors who lacked conviction or at times diction, even when equipped with microphones, soon sent any Polish/English interest out of the window and made for a bamboozling and tiring narrative to follow.
In terms of the story and characters, the main protagonist, Dracula himself, played by Wolfgang Michael was very much the tired old man the character apparently claimed to be, but he needed almost sheer darkness on stage with some loud and oppressive music to appear mildly threatening, let alone the terrifying vampire of legend. Add to this poorly conceived and unrealistic attempts at charm and sexuality, from the living and the un-dead, and soon I found myself wondering if anything at all interesting would ever occur in the seemingly never-ending 110 minutes.
Briefly I thought the story could be saved, when Abraham Van Helsing suddenly appeared. Yet even this supposedly hardy and able character shrank into ineptitude with his fellows, serving as another cog in the wheel of boredom that Nosferatu was. All this seemed almost to be confirmed by the cast who, when it was all finally over took their bows (for what I feel was an incredibly undeserved four times). They had faces that were extremely lacking in emotion or even the slightest recognition of the audience facing them. Maybe they were trying to embrace their inner vampire, or maybe they too were aware that what they had just given was monotonous, poorly done and mundane
(PRODUCTION SEEN 2012)
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SOME LIKE IT HIP HOP
ZooNation Theatre Company
Written by Kate Price & Felix Harrison
Marlowe Theatre Canterbury
Review by Samuel Jackson
Some Like it Hip Hop Photo by Simon Wells, appeared in The Telegraph 28/10/2011
For many, the theatre is all about the spectacle. And if, like me of late, you have been attending theatre productions that have been very engaging and “watchable” yet have not provided a show-stopping smorgasbord of what many often dub the “wow-factor”, if you’re missing such elements of spectacle, then look no further. The currently touring ZooNation troupe offer a fast paced, fully flowing whirlwind of brilliantly choreographed dance, and wonderfully original music, all wrapped around a somewhat classic love story.
Some Like It Hip Hop boasts a freshly new and modern musical, offering something that has rarely, if at all been seen before – a musical story based upon hip hop music. Unlike some musicals where a story is presented, and regularly punctuated by musical numbers to help it along, this production is very much driven by the music and the dance. The fact that ZooNation is very much a group of choreographers/dancers rather than an actor-based team is rather apparent. Not that this is a bad thing, indeed there are times when the acting abilities of some are allowed to break through the fast-paced musical rhythms of the show and take centre stage. Springing to mind here is the character of The Narrator, by far having the most lines in a variety of personas and accents, his Welsh tones in particular having me in stitches at times. That’s another aspect to mention – this musical is funny. As well as being dramatic and powerful, the story is also punctuated with musical slapstick and light-hearted moments, that feel like they should not work when thrown into such a mix, yet for me they surprisingly do.
Faults? Well I think at times there is so much music and so many dance sequences that the narrative is sometimes lost and rendered implausible. This however I think is surely dwarfed by the overall enthusiasm and massive amounts of energy presented throughout. So, if you’re yearning for that bit of spectacle, in life and in theatre, then I urge you to look into Some Like It Hip Hop, for you will surely leave smiling.
(PRODUCTION SEEN 2012)
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The Unilever Series - These associations
created by Tino Sehgal
Tate Modern
Review by Samuel Jackson
One of the things I like about the whole idea of reviewing theatre and performance, not that I am expert on the matter by any means, is the variety of what one may encounter. In Britain alone the sheer volume of different forms of live media is boggling. At the Tate Modern in London however, I may have met an incomprehensible barrier to that. Unusually there was hardly any promotional material at all to suggest what Tino Sehgal was hoping to achieve and convey; the experience it seemed, must be truly seen to be believed. Well, I saw it, but I’m not quite sure what I believed.
I walked in to the vastly cavernous room of the Turbine Hall, and my only inkling that this was an actual “exhibition” was that there were quite a lot of people about. Yet these were just normal every-day people; there was nothing to differentiate the performers from the public. Apparently past Unilever shows encompassed everything from gigantic metal slides to millions of poppy seeds; this was taking minimalist to the extreme. What followed was what I could only describe as a very confusing mix of intense talking, which to me seemed nearly incomprehensible, jumping and skipping about, very alarming but sweetly melodic singing and cult-esque chanting from those who seemed to be enacting Sehgal’s vision.
At times I felt like I was living a scene from a horror, or perhaps sci-fi film (especially when the repetitive chanting of “Humans!” began) and at others I felt like I was an incredibly prudish Englishman being accosted by a completely inhibited rebel. I expected this to be something reminiscent of Performance Art. Whilst I am struggling to comprehend how These associations may be deemed “art” I can sort of see how performance comes into it. Whether standing awkwardly on the sidelines or actually getting up and joining in, as some seemed to be doing, one could not help to be immersed in the “spectacle” when in that room. Yet equally for me, once out, it was something best forgotten and not something I wanted to repeat in a hurry.
(EXHIBITION SEEN 2012)
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