Theatre
oddsocks : HAMLET the comedy!
Jan 2nd
I have seen and enjoyed many of oddsocks’ comedic shows, my favourite being their 21st century adaptation of Romeo and Juliet and when I discovered that I’d got a ticket to go and see Hamlet get the same.
treatment I couldn’t wait! Hamlet + oddsocks = one of the best shows I will ever see! At least, that’s what I thought… Don’t get me wrong, Hamlet the comedy was a funny show, it
The flyer for the show featuring Yorick, the kings deceased court jester
was a very good show, a BRILLIANT show. But it wasn’t a superb show like it’s preprocessors. But never the less I did enjoy it, it was consistently funny and had a brilliant cast of good actors and I highly suggest you should go and see this show.
The show did get off to a slow start, and it felt very much like a very simple version of Mr Shakespeare’s famous classic, with a projector showing a news report about the king’s death and the royal wedding ect but after a while a few jokes began to creep in, then there was a brilliant faked helicopter landing using a projector and a good bit of throwing themselves about and getting blown on the floor by the none existent wind, but the first half was at best, average. So then we had an interval and I got myself a J20 and a mince pie which where both very good and I would highly suggest them both for any interval you are attending… so now that I’ve reviewed the food I should probably get back to the show. Which I was expecting to be more of the funny jokes and good acting. But it wasn’t, the first part must have been a warm up to get the show rolling because the second part was BRILLIANT! It was everything I was expecting and although it didn’t live up to previous oddsocks productions,
it has to be said that it’s hard for anything to beat their previous works and it is also hard for allot of people to beat this adaptation. Because even through it’s not their best work, Hamlet is a very sad play for the most part and dosn’t have many areas in which to mock and therefore is a very hard play to reproduce in a comedic manor, and yet oddsocks, as always pulled it off!
This is very faithful to the Will’s play and a show I would really advise you to pick up tickets for.
Sea Legs Puppet Theatre: Peter and the Wolf
Dec 20th
Peter and the Wolf was a very enjoyable puppet show… I could easily class it as the best puppet show I have ever seen…
The two puppets of the hunters
The show itself was performed Sea Legs Puppet Theatre. It is set in Russia where the “Storyteller” goes to find a new story…
there he meets Peter’s grandfather who tells him all about the events that happened when his grandson visited his house to play, and they discover that the hungry wolf is hiding in the woods… from there the story continues…
The presentation of the show was very well done and entertaining with simple models to show the “storyteller” travelling from
his home all the way to Russia. It was very simple how it was done, but one of the highlights of the evening that everyone enjoyed. All the performing was done by just the storyteller himself with Sergei Prokofiev’s orchestrated music of the tale providing a good background and variety to all the puppets giving them character and filling them with life. The music was almost film quality in some places as the way it was used sometimes made the whole room happy, scared, laugh with joy or cheer to events happening in the Storyteller’s world…
The puppets were very well detailed and all looked like they had life and soul, great work from the artist who created the puppets and great work by the puppeteer for bringing them to life in such a brilliant and imaginative way…
The story kept true to the original with a lot of audience involvement. This really was a show that people of all ages could come in and enjoy, nothing about it seemed as if it was aimed at the young audience alone, it was entertaining for all ages. I would happily recommend this to anyone looking for enjoyable, high quality family entertainment.
You can also read this review at http://www.shropshirelive.com/2010/10/21/peter-and-the-wolf-reviewed-by-elliott-edwards/ or at http://www.hiveonline.org.uk/index.php?id=832
The Krazy Kat Theatre Company: Little Red Riding Hood
Dec 17th
On the (something) of (something else) 2010, I was given a chance to watch a production of “Little Red Riding Hood” by “The Krazy Kat Theatre Company” that was being shown at The Hive, this is my opinion of the show and it’s presentation…
The show was mainly made for young children but there was still bits that could be enjoyed by most older people. The opening and introduction had a comical, sort of silent movie style that made audience members of all ages smile and laugh. A part of the show that was very prominent was the sign-language that ran through the performance, even at the opening of the show and after the show, the brilliant cast of two used sign-language to speak to the audience. This made it more accessible to more people and the duo used the sign-language for audience participation by having the audience learn words in sign-language and also learning “sign-clapping” at the end.
The story was very well told in a very comic manner. It had a very good presentation with clear acting and a clever use of costumes and props. It was a very enjoyable show and although it’s meant for children in the 3 – 8 year range, I still thought there where aspects that could be humorous for people in an older age range.
http://www.hiveonline.org.uk
Lempen Puppet Theatre: Journey of Turtle
Dec 17th
“Journey of Turtle” was a puppet show put on by “Lempen Puppet Theatre”
This was a tale about how the turtle came to how it is today, through many different events in the early days of the world…
The puppeteer explained to the audience how she came up with the idea for the story, through telling us how she thought of the story, a puppet of herself sat on the top of “turtle hill” read the story to a puppet of a young boy. This worked really well as the puppeteer was presenting the show but it was almost split between herself and the puppet when it came to telling the story, a way of presenting that I feel should be done more often.
The puppets where amazing… everyone of them was very well made with great movements and ligaments to help them to come even more alive than it seemed possible. A great use of lighting also gave a great effect to the story allowing cut outs of the characters to be placed behind the back scenery where a light stood behind so the puppeteer could could move the characters behind the sheet. This showed silhouettes of each of the characters telling the aspects of the story that would be nearly impossible with the puppets themselves.
There was a good mix of comedy in this tale, both through spoken jokes and just plain laughter when characters did silly things that all the audience members knew would never work.
This is a very good production and if your family wants an enjoyable show to see in the summer holidays, this is something I would highly recommend.
You can also read this review at http://www.shropshirelive.com/2010/10/21/journey-of-turtle-reviewed-by-elliott-edwards/ or at http://www.hiveonline.org.uk/index.php?id=833
Unpacked: Jumping Mouse
Dec 17th
On the 27th of October 2010, “Unpacked” brought it’s brilliant puppet show “Jumping Mouse” to The Hive. When I say puppet show, it was really more of a pantomime that involved a few puppets and some simple yet great looking costumes. The show had lots of props such as walking sticks, a tyre, several ladders, but the way these props were used was so clever and creative and actually added to the experience as you watched the entire set change into something completely new.
The story followed a small mouse called 147b (“just a number”) and her trip from 2nd bus through the marshlands and over mountains to discover the source of “the rumbling” in her ears, the rumbling that no other mouse could hear. The characters were hilarious, the use of simple props and the absolutely brilliant acting from the cast made every character come to life, from the Old Bison to the mysterious and dreaded “Spots”.
The age rating was for everyone from the age of five. Personally, I think this would have been even more enjoyable for children around the age of 10, as the presentation was very child friendly but the story was more grown up, talking about finding your own path for life and you can achieve anything, something ten year olds could possibly understand and also completely enjoy.
Overall, the show was enjoyable, VERY enjoyable, and if you have any young kids, I would suggest that if this show is ever performed again you should take your kids to see this show just as an excuse to go in and watch it yourself. This show is 100% worth your money to go and experience it for yourself!
Fair Game Theatre: Cinderella
Dec 17th
I was given the chance to see the Arts Alive event, Cinderella at Farlow and Oreton Village Hall. This show by Fairgame Theatre is a very different take on the classic we have all come to know and love. Our tale is set in the present day, when the Prince and Cinderella (or Ella) are thinking back to how they first met in the 70s. They tell us the story with a brilliant selection of music from the time fitting perfectly into the story. At the start of the show they say that it isn’t a Pantomime or a Musical and is in fact a love story. I personally think it’s all of those things, and more.
The cast is very small, there are three people involved in it altogether. This may sound a bit odd, but it’s really not and adds to the comedic and dramatic factors. There are mainly just two on stage at any one time. A coat or funny glasses (once you’ve got to know the character) instantly change your view of the actor in front of you into either one of the ugly sisters or the constantly brilliantly dressed prince. At the beginning it was a bit confusing thanks to this but only because it was a really unexpected when the Prince changed into Cinderella’s long dead father, but once you get what’s going on everything makes sense.
I must congratulate the cast of the show for their brilliant musical talent as all the music was performed on stage with several different instruments being used by each of the cast. The classic tunes were recreated so well and were chosen and placed in such perfect moments that the show would have a completely different impact on me if they had chosen not to have included these songs in the performances.
The acting also needs to be applauded as some characters were played by several different people during the show but they all managed to keep them recognisable by the tone in their voice, their mannerisms or the way they walked. It all felt very natural and real as well, as they created various atmospheres for the sad scenes and the happy ones. There was a lot of really good talent in this show which made a good evening of live entertainment.
The lay out for this show wasn’t really what you’d expect as they set up their stage along the length of the hall, allowing a much bigger stage which worked wonders for the performance and showed the versatility of the company and the premises. The seating rows were therefore longer so everyone had a good view and there was lots of enjoyable audience participation for young and old alike. Worth your time and money to go and see this show? Yes, yes it is!
This show is also on tour so I would recommend going to www.fairgametheatre.com to see if it’s in a venue near you.