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The Life I Never Led?

I wrote this several months back but failed to publish it. It's still relevant so I publish it unedited:


So I am but a few short months shy of my 33rd birthday and as I look back and contemplate and the life I never led I am forced to confront the unalterable truth that in my years upon this rock I have achieved nothing. Whilst others around my plough on with successful careers, family lives and other assortments that constitute the milieu of life the only thing I can say I have done is survive. Survive the trivial issues which have plagued my existence. But that isn't enough is it? Not for me and certainly not for anyone else who would know me. I have nothing to show for my worth.

I am a nihilist, a fatalist and, though I try, I think one cannot, ultimately change one's nature. I am the way I am and it is only in accepting that fact that is it possible to look at things with any objectivity. After all if one deludes himself with a false impression then any possible outcome or solution would be nullified when any attempt at implementation was acted upon.

One thing I am, and for some times have been, aware of is that I have no desired purpose. My guess is that many people know what it is they wish to accomplish in their life but this is not so with myself. There is no career that has really called to me at the cost of all else, although I am very aware that the creative arts are were I am most strongly drawn. Once upon a time I would have said I wished to be an actor but many moons ago I realised that this was not the case; I found I disagreed with most decisions made by directors, that I would always play too much and not take the job seriously enough, that only following the completion of a run would I be able to offer the performance what it needed. Yet I still very much enjoy singing and some years ago, perhaps naturally, found I had a natural aptitude for directing but, alas, life interferes in any pursuit of these.

Christopher Isherwood wrote 'I am a camera', perhaps his most famous quote, but I am a blank page waiting to be writ upon. Until then I serve no purpose in life.

I wonder if I search for something other than the things I lament. In many ways I have always felt ill at ease with the world at large, out of place with the people around me and greatly dissatisfied with the world, how it works and what it has to offer. Perhaps I still grieve for the things I have lost so many years ago and part of me will forever remain incomplete and will continue aching for something to replace them.

I wonder. As always.

Heaven On Their Minds - Stephen Tate

Another (quick) video I created since I've had some requests to upload more of the Original London Cast album.
Stephen Tate performs as 'Judas'.

'Taboo', Brixton Club House, 11/12/12

'Taboo' is an affectionate reflection on the New Romantic club scene and the people who frequented it. The fictional plotline women around the real life figures, replete with an outstanding score by Boy George and Kevan Frost, was a big success first time around. Now, all the original creatives have re-assembled and reworked the show, rejigging the plot-line, the score and even the design.
Now a sight-specific production, taking place in an actual club, this new update works even better than the original (which I thought would be almost impossible). The New York adaptation has all but been forgotten (and with good reason) aside from a few musical numbers which were created for the NY run and which are seamlessly integrated here. The original 'raw' aspect is restored to the play much to its benefit, unlike the sleek, polished, Broadway production.
The reworked script clarifies the plot even more and changes 'Billy's' journey slightly making his story arc more transparent and believable. Likewise the other characters this change impacts.

The cast are exceptional and, led by original cast member Paul Baker, reprising his role as 'Phillip Salon' sing and act mere inches away from the audience. Such bravery, especially given the attire and roles they perform is acting at its best. Alistair Brammer as 'Billy' is everything required of the role and strikingly handsome to boot. A leading man, indeed, and one to watch! Matthew Rowland as 'Boy George' is something, also, although memories of Euan Morton in the role are quite pervasive.
Sam Buttery as 'Leigh Bowery' lends a beautiful voice and honest soul to the performance. And he makes some brave choices in his portrayal.
The club setting, and the close proximity of the audience to the cast, is part of what makes this production work so well. Here one is all but part of the show.

The three piece band, plus sound design is first rate and perform O'Dowd's score to perfection.
My only gripe is that one or two numbers written for the Broadway staging that aren't included here could have been with little adaptation required. I also miss 'Church of the Poisoned Mind' from the original staging. But these are very minor quibbles in a show that has reworked itself to near perfection.

Catch this show while you can. Prepare to be transported to a world where everything's 'taboo'. Prepare to be moved, also!

'Hansel & Gretel', GAMTA, 20/12/12

Advertised as a 'dark and devilish new musical' this reworking of the fairy story is an enjoyable affair even though it doesn't quite live up to the 'dark' or 'devilish' part. The closest it gets is in the character of the witch who, rather than eat little children, turn them into mindless drones continually accessing knowledge via wi-phones.

There is a surprising array of talent on display in this production, from the youngest cast member to the eldest. Since there is not a complete cast list with character names attached in the programme is it difficult to pick any ensemble individuals out, although there were more than a few. As part of the 'adult' cast I'll state here and now that the 'baker' was rather flavoursome!
Chris Roberts (another handsome chap) led well as the eponymous characters' father 'John Clay', his strong voice and physical presence suited for the role, whilst his gentle nature was brought out subtly. 'Lisa Wilson' as 'Fable' clearly enjoyed her role as potential pure evil, yet we also see something more underneath. She has a pretty, pure voice and I can't say that any one performer was really weak.
Stephen Allen and Millie Innes as 'Hansel' and 'Gretel' worked wonderfully together with Innes especially confident and strong, as befits the role as written. Likewise Alex Fulton (I believe) performed well as their best friend 'Ilsa'.

The simple set and lighting designs by john Holding were more than effective, especially the latter, although at times some of the changes were a bit heavy handed and not as gentle or as subtle as they could have been.
The libretto could have been trimmed down a little, with act one being a trifle too long. It does seems at times as though author and director Shaaron Graham tries to hard to put a point across but her twist on the whole information age with the children permanently attached (literally) to their phones is a neat one. There are some plot holes errors such as when we learn that the village of 'Storyville' has closed itself off from the outside world yet we hear references to things such as Disney, likewise we are told early on that the children are taught about what happened to 'Fable', a child who wished to know too much and was thus seen as different to the rest of the village and therefore banished. We subsequently learn in an act two song about her history that the townsfolk decided never to speak of the event ever again. Did they change their minds?
Ah well, such things can be overlooked, I guess. After all this modern morality play still has something to say despite its somewhat hurried and sentimental ending where all is forgiven, naturally. But it wouldn't be a fairy story without a happy ending, right?

 

As for the musical numbers written by Stuart Bird (additional lyrics by Graham) there are quite a few catchy numbers sung with verve by the company and several ballads, many of which are quite tender. The lyrics may not be always the most original but they suit the piece and there are only one or two superfluous numbers such as 'The Argument' (its latter half however, 'My children' is not). Personally I always find it a shame when a live band or orchestra is not used but in such a small venue I can understand the use of pre-recorded material, although I'm sure the music could be orchestrated for a small four or five piece band which could be installed in a corner somewhere. I also think that the orchestration, at times, was a bit heavy, although, for the most part, it all worked quite well.

Lisa Mathieson' choreography was sprightly and varied and the direction by Graham, for the most part, was lively, if not always original, and there were only a few moments where we were faced with an empty stage. Indeed when the stage was full it was full.

Were this to be produced in the future I would certainly rework the script somewhat, tightening it and excising the excess, likewise the unnecessary musical numbers. I also would have liked this production to have been darker as it certainly had the potential to be so. As it was the production was enjoyable, catchy and actually had a little social message behind it.

'Sweeney Todd', Adelphi Theatre, London, 29/8/12

This one is very late but I am, at last, getting it down (indeed there are a few other reviews I have yet to put down).
This production was, to put it simply, perfect. From the cast, through to the lighting and sound design, the set and the orchestra, every thing coalesced to create one of the most thrilling, engaging and sublime pieces of theatre I have ever experienced.

This was no mere rehashing or retreading of past productions but a fresh take that approached the work with a more realistic edge than the original melodramatic approach: Even before the first note of the Overture the cast milled about onstage going about the daily drudgery of their lives in the dirty east end of London, efficiently setting up the environment before the show had started proper - these were hard times and people were suffering.

It is difficult to single out any one cast member but it is quite appropriate to say that Imelda Staunton as 'Mrs. Lovett' and Michael Ball as the title character were revelations. Staunton, especially, clearly played the role in a way not seen before - here was a person truly as vile and warped as Todd himself.
Lucy May Barker's voice was glorious as 'Lucy' and hers was no dumb blonde of a role. Likewise James McConville's 'Toby' was no mere idiot, rather he was played as a naive boy with learning difficulties. I found his 'Not While I'm Around' truly heartbreaking.

The set was ingenious, industrious and, at times played subtle homage to the original Hal Prince staging. The lighting perfectly complimented this with atmospheric use of light and shade.
The sound design was divine with voices layered in a way I've never heard before - with some voices more 'present' than others at times, the sense was one of aural depth, the likes of which complimented Sondheim's perfect score tremendously.

I only wish the run had been extended and that the production had been filmed. It truly was perfect in every way and I lament the fact that the cast recording was only a highlights album (and one full of strange choices - 'Pirelli's' numbers are excluded as is 'Green Finch and Linnet Bird').
I shall treasure the memory, however.

'The Phantom Of The Opera', Her Majesty's Theatre, London, 13/12/2012

I last saw the 'Brilliant Original' in 2006 where, whilst it still worked as an enjoyable piece of theatre, it was beginning to suffer from fatigue. Many cast members at the time had been with the show for several years and, to my eye, were simply 'going through the motions' which is a big no no!
This could not be further from the truth of this current company headed by Marcus Lovett who imbue the show with so much fresh energy and verve that it truly felt as though the show had only recently opened.

For the first time in all of the times I've seen the show in London I sat in the stalls which allowed me to see every line on each person's face. (I was also surprised at how small the stall section was). From the stalls the whole Chandelier sequence was much more exciting and involving.

The show still runs like a well oiled machine, hell even more so since last I saw it. The lighting and sound are still second to none whilst the visual effects still have the wow factor.

The entire cast was top notch with the ensemble in fine form and voice.
Lara Martins as 'Carlotta' was perfectly vile and diva-ish and in fine(is that word appropriate here?) voice as the schemings soprano hell-bent on keeping her status. Jeremy Secomb is perhaps the most realistic 'Piangi' I've seen. His pairing with Martins works, he has a lovely voice, but is also built like a strapping operatic tenor rather than the clownish versions of 'Piangi' I've seen before.
Barry James and Gareth Snook as the 'Managers' (who they also played in the 25th anniversary concert) were humorous and fresh - not simply sticking to how they played the roles previously.

Alternate 'christine' Anna O'Byrne, who features as 'Christine' in the DVD of the Melbourne production of 'Love Never Dies' was revelatory. Her vocals at times echoed those of Sierra Boggess but were distinctly her own. Her portrayal of the fear, confusion and inner turmoil at the struggle she endures whilst trying to fight for her freedom from both the shadow of her father and 'The Phantom' was tremendous, and she played the arc story arc perfectly; going from naive girl to confident woman via the ordeal in the graveyard where she truly begins to regain control of herself. During 'The Point Of No Return' that control is assured so that when, in the final lair scene, she is faced with the choice of 'The Phantom' or her true love 'Raoul' it is believable why she chooses the former. It is also worth noting that Hers is one of the few portrayals that makes me believe that she utterly wants to be with Raoul whilst feeling pity (and really little else) for 'The Phantom'. This is partly due to Simon Thomas who plays Raoul. He is no overly confident cad but rather someone who cares much for his former childhood playmate. Thomas is dashing in the role and brings the helps balance out the love triangle perfectly.

As 'The Phantom' Marcus Lovett is a wonder. His voice of hard thunder, lightning and soft silk and candlelight is not typical Phantom fare yet echoes the voice described in the original novel. In fact, much of his portrayal echoes the novel. He doesn't merely echo anyone else who has filled the shoes of 'Erik' but plays Leroux's 'Phantom'. Here is a 'Phantom' who, at times, one thought was capable of utterly destroying that which he loved most - namely the Opera House and 'Christine'. Yet he also showed the tender side that only 'Christine' was able to produce', showing us the adolescence that never was; where a normal man would learn social skills, 'Erik' clearly has not and has thus remained much a spoiled, temperamental child. The final lair scene is one of the most thrilling I've seen, filled with danger, passion and clarity. Lovett's demoniacally passionate 'Phantom' dragging his obsession around left 'Erik' quite possibly dying of the heart attack that claims him in the novel. Lovett's presence, power and inherent awesomeness as 'Erik' is sublime and I may have a new favourite 'Phantom'. He slowly stalks at one point and then rushes about maniacally the next. His 'Phantom' is truly full of the unexpected.
I dearly hope I can see him in the role again before the end of his run.

I urge you to go NOW to Her Majesty's to catch this amazing performance in this amazing show. Believe me when I say words can't really describe how wondrous Lovett is.

'The Phantom Of The Opera', Edinburgh Playhouse, 29/9/12

As 'The Phantom Of The Opera' John Owen-Jones not only commands the Opera Garnier but the Playhouse as well. His astounding performance being the cherry on top of a beautiful cake of a production.
Is it a perfect production? Sadly not, but it is close to being so:

The musical direction was excellent aside from 'All I Ask Of You' which was conducted at too fast a tempo for my liking. The conductor, Anthony Gabriele, was a joy to watch and truly brought out wonderful sounds from the reduced orchestra which did, at times, sound a bit thin, especially in the more operatic moments and the obvious addition/substitution of synthesisers was at times obvious, although, surprisingly, 'The Music Of The Night' was the most sublime I've ever heard it played live. Mick Potter's sound design complimented the orchestra and was used cleverly to enhance them in regards to volume and quality.

Maria Bjornsons' costumes were as glorious as ever although some of the newer, additions are conspicuous. Paul Brown's wonderful set was truly outstanding with use of a multi-purpose central design essaying further details of the backstage areas of the Opera House. To my mind much of the design echoed locations as featured in the original novel; the 'Maquerade' here takes place, not on the Grand Staircase as per the original production, but rather in a circular, mirrored room, akin to the Rotunda featured in the novel for the same scene. True, this lessened the entrance of 'The Phantom' (especially since his reveal and 'The Phantom Theme' came at different times) and the cast did, at times, look a bit sparse, but it still works well. Likewise the backstage areas are more obvious and detailed than in Bjornson's original designs, which preferred to hint at them, and some of the detailing here, plus the goings-on in the background helped create the sense of a functioning Opera House. The Lair of 'The Phantom' also looks more real and human (as per the novel) and we even see a rail of his dress shirts. In fact his lair looks quite a pitiful place which only adds to the sense of isolation the character must feel day-to-day whilst subconsciously feeding the same feeling to the audience. When confronted by the crowd in this place at the end of the show it is perhaps more embarrassing for this enigmatic figure.This is the kind of detail and variation from the original (stunning) Bjornson design I wish they had applied to the 2004 Motion Picture where expansion was essential.
Some set changes were a bit cumbersome, however, which meant that some scene changes and musical cues didn't quite gel. Likewise to facilitate some of the changes portions of the book were changed with often pointless additional lines of dialogue to fill the time required.
On the plus side a nice touch to certain scene changes was their implementation by men dressed as backstage crew of the period. Such small details please me. Paule Constable's Lighting complimented the design well, creating variations of light and shade adding to the depth of the production.

Laurence Connor's direction had some wonderful touches, such as the use of projected shadows (by Nina Dunn), but at other times a little puzzling: I understand it was the intention to make 'The Phantom' more man than mystery and to that end we actually see him at times amongst other people but, at the same time, he still has to hold much mystery and power and Connor negated some of this especially in the Perros scene where his confrontation with 'Raoul' is an almost muted affair: In this scene, 'Raoul' is also made quite ineffectual, given the fact that they are only a matter of meters away from each other. Since 'Raoul', only in the scene before, had stated that 'The Phantom' must be killed, he makes no effort whatsoever to take advantage of a moment to do so. Of course, were he to do so the story would be over but it's the director's responsibility to stage the scene in an appropriate manner. Here we had a glaring error of judgement.
The staging of 'All I Ask Of You' also irritated me. Here are a young couple declaring their love for each other, but instead of letting the song and the emotions work their magic, Connor has 'Raoul' and 'Christine' constantly dodging each other and wandering about the stage, almost as if Connor has no confidence in the simplest of stagings.
He does stage other scenes, however, quite wonderfully: 'The Music Of The Night' is a successful and subtle variation of Hal Prince's staging (it is very difficult to get away totally from aspects of Prince's staging as much of it is entwined with the music and lyrics), 'Don Juan Triumphant' and 'The Point Of No Return' (especially 'The Phantom's' impersonation of 'Piangi') is passionate and well directed, as is the final Lair scene and other little touches of Connor's are elegant and effective: It is his use of Brown's set that perhaps showcases the most original aspects of his direction.

Katie Hall as 'Christine' has to be one of the best in the role, looking every inch the young girl with a beautiful voice and assured acting talent.
Simon Bailey also looks and acts the part, handsome and charming and together they come across as the closest approximations to the characters of the original Leroux novel I've yet seen. It's just a shame their big duet, 'All I Ask Of You', was directed in such a clumsy way. But it's also a pleasure to see that Connor's direction of 'Raoul' is not so obviously directed as to be an indication of the travesty the character becomes in 'Love Never Dies'. 'Raoul' in the 25th anniversary concert, as staged by Connor, was nothing more than a selfish, angry, spoilt aristocrat who I found it preposterous to believe 'Christine' would give any attention whatsoever to.
'Carlotta' and 'Piangi' (Angela M Caesar and Vincent Pirillo) were not so successful with the former's voice being inconsistent in strength whilst they, together with the 'Managers' of Andy Hockley and Simon Green, were directed in such a way that some of the comedy inherent in their parts was flattened so that they became dull and tiresome at points.
Though the remainder of the ensemble looked a little sparse at times every member performed excellently.
'The Phantom' himself was performed by John Owen-Jones who imbued the character with beauty, mystery, power, presence, viciousness and pity in such a well crafted and acted performance that to hear him sing with such a sublime voice, which was at times as soft as a feather and at others as hard as stone, one could utterly believe how he could project terror and fascination, not to mention wonderment and enthralment, into others. Owen-Jones' was a perfect, well rounded performance that can only have been equalled by Michael Crawford's initial creation. He certainly surpassed in every way the performance that was given by Ramin Karimloo in the 25th anniversary concert which makes me wonder why he wasn't chosen for that concert in the first place (he was playing the role in London at the time and makes an appearance in the finale along with several other 'Phantoms').
In any case John Owen-Jones is even able to overcome any flawed direction (e.g. Perros) and constantly delivered above and beyond the call of duty.

The tour now continues on with a new 'Phantom', Earl Carpenter, and, if some of the more negative aspects of my review were dealt with (e.g. timing of musical cues/entrances, simplifying staging etc.) I would say that the production was as near powerful as the original as is possible. As it stands I would still say it is a superb production with an outstanding design, good direction (overall), overall top-notch cast, a wonderful orchestra and is more than well worth a visit. 
Even if the chandelier fails to actually crash (we do still get a bit of destruction, though).
It certainly stands amongst the best things I've seen tour, and wouldn't look out of place in the West End with a few minor tweaks.

Update 23/10/12:
When I saw the show the only programme available was the souvenir brochure which had an additional cast list (no pics or bios) slipped in. I have since learned that a separate programme was available, as per usual, complete with biographies and such but that the theatre (who produces these) sold out by the final two shows featuring John Owen-Jones. This is the second time I've been to an Ambassador Theatre where they have produced insufficient programmes to cover a run and think that this is an unacceptable thing to happen. It is a disservice to those onstage that people are unable to appreciate who they are and what they've done previously, not to mention those whose hard graft backstage is not featured at all in the simple credit page slipped in with the brochure (and in some cases I was aware that this page wasn't always slipped in by theatre staff!).