See How They Run - Review

See How They Run was first performed in 1944, the year before World War 2 ended and has become one of the classic British farces.  Director Juliet Forster (Blue/Orange, Angels & Insects) has brought See How They Run to York for a new run; farce is undergoing something of a revival as a genre in the Theatre apparently.  The play is a tale of confusion, mistaken identity, vicars, soldiers, maids and more.  It is also a very cheeky comedy.

We opened with messages emblazoned across the curtain, flickering like those old newsreels you see in movies, setting the wartime scene nicely.  Once those curtains opened, we were in the Vicarage of small town Merton-cum-Middlewick, a massive set of some complexity.  In essence the set is a living room, but as we were to find out later, many doorways leading off it would come into play.

Retired actress and niece of a bishop Mrs Toop (Faye Winter) is now married to the local vicar, living with small town gossips, shocked by her lively personality, who receives a visit from an old actor friend, now a soldier, and decide to go for a night out.  To tell you much more would rob you of some of the highlights of the show but suffice to say, at one point there are four men dressed as vicars, a parish lady in a cupboard, a Bishop (Matthew Rixon) in his pyjamas and a whole lot of shenanigans.

A very game cast, give it their all in a very physical show, running in and out of doors, up and down stairs, changing outfits and pulling unconscious people around the set.  All this while maintaining composure with some very silly dialogue (in a good way).

My wife and I enjoyed ourselves immensely, and the biggest laughs were pulled out by Lucy Phelps as the cheeky maid Ida, and Philip Mansfield as replacement vicar Humphrey.  The whole cast got big laughs and this productions ensemble is excellent, balanced perfectly between the physicality of the slapstick and the clever wordplay of the script.  Precise timing is required to pull off gags like these, both verbally and physically and they nailed it. The commitment from the actors means this play deserves a big audience, I would happily bring anyone from 8-80 to see it, great fun.

Ardal O'Hanlon- Review

Venue: York Barbican, September 22, 2013

Ardal O’Hanlon is better known in mainland UK as the simpleton Dougal in Channel 4’s classic sitcom Father Ted, or as a rubbish superhero in My Hero, although he was a stand up comic long before that in Ireland. 

I have always found O’Hanlon to be a likeable, amusing sort of chap without ever being “must see” on the stand up circuit, so I was intrigued to see a full length show from him.

We started with a support set from Edinburgh Comedy Awards Nominee Aisling Bea. She was nominated for best newcomer at this year’s Edinburgh Festival, and based on this performance, I can see why.

Her material was strong, covering several well worn topics (girls in nightclubs, going home to be disapproved of by parents) in a refreshing way, her stage persona just giving you the impression she is slightly off-kilter without alienating the audience.
Following an interval, O’Hanlon took to the stage, with his usual slightly shambling entry, sheepish look on his face to a huge round of applause.
He proved that there is more to him than just Dougal shenanigans with a meandering set covering his desire at being a footballer when he grew up, all the way to “sex is pretty good isn’t it?”
The crowd seemed to take to him immediately, chuckling along as he described his first chat show appearance and being a father. It seemed occasionally that he was just plucking things at random to talk about, but a general theme of getting old and having to be a grown up kept us running along nicely.
O’Hanlon possesses an easy charm, the youthful face of Dougal winning over even this most cynical of reviewers.
If you want hard hitting political satire, go see someone else. But for gentle, consistent laughs told with a wink and a knowing smile, you could do a lot worse than catch Ardal O’Hanlon on tour.

Andy Parsons- Review

Andy Parsons is best known as “the bald guy from Mock The Week“.  He has been a stand up for a long time; I have memories of his duo Parsons & Naylor doing bad karaoke on Channel 5 in the Nineties.

Parsons has a very unique style of comedy. His voice is distinctive and I always think it feels quite condescending, and that is perhaps unfair to him. 
He clearly has fans, and the show was much fuller than I was expecting. To me Parsons has always been the seat filler on Mock The Week, content to chip in occasionally as his panel mates move onto bigger things (Russell Howard, Frankie Boyle). 
This I’ve Got A Shed tour is based around the principle that Parsons is a normal sort of bloke, who gets frustrated at the stupidity of life. Welcome to the club Andy…
Parsons does his own introduction, setting the scene nicely, introducing himself as “a man too cheap to have a support act” which means two sets from Parsons himself. This is fairly unusual in itself, a lot of comedians take a support on tour with them so only have to do one set. Although as someone who has to come up with new material weekly for TV I imagine he has a lot to choose from.
The first half was the stronger. Much of it was material I could have taken my mum to, and judging by the average age of the audience, she would have fitted in well.
Solid but unspectacular, amusing but not hysterical, Parsons’ best routine was a sequence about how annoying it is calling your bank. Earth shattering stuff.
Unfortunately, while it was all enjoyable enough, it felt more like a string of bits from Mock The Week than a properly put together show – although there were a few nice call-back gags to wrap things up.  Unchallenging but entertaining enough.

51 Shades Of Maggie- Review

 

As a member of the opposite sex to the target audience of EL James’ 50 Shades Of Grey, I was a little apprehensive when it came to reviewing a spoof stage show version.  I haven’t read it, have no interest in doing so, in fact everything I know of it really comes from a comedian friend of mine doing a ‘bit’ featuring Frank Spencer reading it aloud.

Emmerdale star and lads mag darling Adele Silva plays Maggie Muff (I know, not a great start!), a young woman from the East End of London, drinking, smoking and sleeping around, when she meets a man working at the Dole office, who she calls ‘Mr Big’. What follows is their 50 Shades inspired relationship. 

 Adele Silva is a more talented actress than I gave her credit for, this being a one woman show, she conveyed several characters through vocal and physical mannerisms really well, possibly the only reason I stayed till the end (other than writing this review).  The show itself is all over the place, written by a woman, Leesa Harker, who doesn’t seem to know anything about women. Full of mystifying behaviours, ‘Mr Big’ seems to work at the Dole office, yet somehow has a cut glass accent and the money to lavish on Maggie, but who also uses the office resources to quasi-stalk unemployed women.  More disturbing even is the way in which his desires for Maggie take a horrendous turn, yet Maggie seems to shrug off being assaulted, not some kinky sex but actual physical abuse, with no consequences.

The plays major strength is in Silva, her physical performance raises a few chuckles, but she is ill served by a crude, crass script which I was uncomfortable hearing.  I’m not afraid of a little bad language, especially when it is warranted, but this was a barrage of foul mouthed opinions masquerading as feminism.  Maybe it would have been funnier if I had read 50 Shades, but somehow I doubt it.  For me, it is a seriously misjudged play, rescued from being truly awful by Adele Silva’s committed and gutsy performance.  Someone should write her some better material... In the meantime, I will try to cleanse my mind of ever having seen this play by looking at pictures of Ms Silva from years gone by...

 

The Way Way Back

When the summer movie season comes around, it is usually the blockbusters people get excited abvout, this year it was Iron Man 3, Star Trek 2, The Wolverine and a fair few others.  Not in my house.  The second I saw the trailer for ‘The Way Way Back’ I knew it was my kind of film.  I knew I would like it, but I hoped I would love it.

 

Marketed like ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ and written/directed by Oscar winning duo Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, ‘The Way Way Back’ is the kind of film that rarely gets made anymore.  I haven’t see na really good coming of age movie since ‘The Wackness’.  This looked like it could be the next.

Toni Collette (playing her usual archetype) and Steve Carell (nicely against expectations as an arrogant bully) reunite to play mother and her boyfriend to Duncan (Liam James), on a trip to an unspecified coastal resort for the summer.  The kind of place that only exists in American movies, people have a beach house, no one locks their doors and there is no threat from crime of any kind. Into this we meet Duncan, a quiet, angry 14 year old who clearly has no interest in being there.  As AnnaSophia Robb’s girl next door Susanna says ‘It’s like spring break for adults’ as the parent figures disappear to drink and do whatever.  Duncan spends his days avoiding people by cycling around the town, until he discovers Water Wizz, a water park and wanders in.  He is befriended by park manager Owen (Sam Rockwell) and his crew of misfits.  To tell you more would rob you of a touching, sweet set of relationships to discover.

Liam James (young Shawn in Psych) is excellent as Duncan, his gangly frame and sullen facial expressions convey great pathos and make the smiles all the more welcome.  The real fun comes from Sam Rockwell, who is pure charisma, and his minions, including a restrained turn from Bridesmaids’ Maya Rudolph.

To say I enjoyed this film would be unfair, I’m still in a good mood the next morning.  I did love it, even Rob Corddry’s annoying face wasn’t enough to put me off.  I don’t think it would be too much of a stretch to say this is my film of the year so far, and something else is going to have to be exquisite to beat it.  10/10

See the TRAILER here...  http://youtu.be/OwNo1i3jkCo

Spielberg, eat your heart out!

So, a blog about comedy? How about about making a comedy film? Well, maybe we can do both here!

A couple of months ago I told you about my role as producer of a York based musical comedy movie. Remember? No? Oh, well we are now well into the film making process so I thought I would tell you about it.
After our funding campaign gave us a little bit of budget to play with, we invested a big chunk of it in some proper technical equipment, like a clapperboard and microphone. I know, Spielberg eat your heart out!
Transatlantic Smash has now completed a big chunk of filming, done our first scenes out in the real world and gone through a few changes, although nothing too drastic.

Peter Marshall and Spencer Vale discuss the nice light

Peter and DJ Neil Foster prepare for a key scene at BBC Radio York

Our next block of filming is taking place on location, and thanks to the kindness of The Monkbar Hotel, we will be decamping there to film a couple of key scenes in the movie narrative.
Our cast has increased in numbers, and we can now count on actors, comedians, a girl band, and possibly a few special guest stars to come as our cast.
Along the way we have had to rely on a little ingenuity…
We have also had to deal with broken memory cards, missing tripods, and dead batteries, not to mention York’s finest drunks having shouted conversations across the river with Spanish schoolkids. We can always rely on those tourists…
Can they not see we are trying to make something beautiful here? No? OK, how about funny?
I will of course keep you updated as we go along. At the rate we are going, filming on average, one day a month, we will probably finish it in time for the Oscars in 2017!
In all seriousness, we are motoring along, and looking like we might be finished by Christmas. Then time to start gearing up for screenings, possible entries in some festivals, or at the very least everyone we know getting a DVD for Christmas.
To find out more, get involved or just follow our progress, check out our directors blog.

Goodbye my Luther

On Tuesday evening, British TV lost one of its heavyweights.  I will admit to mostly being a viewer of American TV shows, with the odd notable exception, but I am and always will be a sucker for some of the great dramas produced by the BBC and ITV.  Luther is one of these. I would go so far as to say that this BBC production has been my favourite show since Life On Mars (we don’t mention Ashes To Ashes).

When Idris Elba returned to Britain to play DCI John Luther it seemed a slight comedown for an actor who had been the magnificent Stringer Bell in The Wire. Not so.  Elba stepped into the red tie and grey overcoat of Luther, and instantly a classic show was born.  A British cop show that felt like all the great American ones, with a cop going above and beyond to ensure that justice was done, rules were bent, stretched and often broken to get his man.

 When we first met Luther, he was hunting down a child kidnapper, and the first show started with Luther letting, no helping, the bad guy fall off a building.  Here is a man not to mess with.  Along the way he lost pretty much everyone he cared about, all in the pursuit of doing the right thing.  We saw him build a great chemistry/friendship with DS Justin Ripley (the underrated Justin Ellis) and alienate friends, allies, co-workers and pretty much anyone else who got in his way.  At the end of the day, justice was served, and damn the personal cost to himself.

What other show would be brave enough to have our ‘hero’ team up with a confirmed psychopath, Alice Morgan (an utterly beguiling Ruth Wilson) because she is more trustworthy than his fellow cops.  My favourite scenes from the three series of Luther have been the ones with Elba and Wilson, sparkling with chemistry and sexual tension.  Idris Elba as John Luther is an actor entirely right for the role, hunched over, hands in pockets, he inhabited a tortured character and made us care about him, gave him a humanity often lacking in these roles.  Can somebody please give him a good role in Hollywood now please? Or do I have to write one for him?  He can come and be in our film if he wants…

I didn’t want this to be a memorial for a TV show, that would be crazy, but creator Neil Cross and Elba have said they would like to continue the adventures of John Luther in a series of films. Can I buy a ticket now?

York 24/7: The shop manager

We asked writers to keep a diary of their day on July 24 for the York 24/7 project. Running two shops and making a movie means a long day for Steve Shooter

 

12.15am
My 23rd ends on the 24th, after a long night of filming for our movie project. Sleep time!

6.20am

Apparently it is morning. Time to get up for another long day in the new shop. The company I work for has decided to open a retro Fifties-style milkshake bar on Church Street and it opened on Saturday, so haven’t really stopped. Going to be a long day.

8.15am

Jumping out of wife’s car on a packed (as always) Gillygate and walking through town, a favourite playlist in my ears – the soundtrack to How To Make It In America, a long cancelled TV favourite of mine. Never fails to make me feel better!

9am

Open the doors to customers, enjoying a little peace and tranquillity before the delivery arrives. I use the time to make sure all my paperwork is sorted, till has change in, and pretty much set up for the day. Time to update the Twitter and Facebook feeds for both Candy Avenue, my American sweetshop and Stars & Shakes, our new business.

9.15am

I have a little fun making a Vine video of the shop. Anything for a bit of promotion!

10am

Traffic kicks in on Church St as all the delivery vans jostle for position, trying to reverse in and out of Swinegate. Mucho fun.

11am

Had a bit of a run on fruit shakes. I suppose it makes a kind of sense. It is as close to health and detox as we get. The fact we make all our fruit flavoured shakes from actual fruit seems to impress people. None of this syrup flavouring for us, entire bananas, big scoops of strawberries, raspberries and blackberries.

11.10am

My sales assistants, Hannah and Alice are out on Church Street giving away samples. I have to come to the rescue of one of them, moving on a slightly creepy guy.

1pm

Got a bit busy, been out and about sampling, having some chats with locals and tourists alike. Been trying loads of new flavours out, see what people like. I’m a bit of an old lady magnet, they can’t keep away. Must be my charming nature. Or something.

3pm

Finally grabbing some lunch, got pretty busy for a while there, always nice. Turns out launching a new business, very close to your competition, is pretty hard work. Quick roll from Thomas the Baker and I’m back to work.

3.30pm

Got an email through with some cool photos of the shop taken on our opening day, so I stop for five minutes to upload them to the Facebook page. Hannah and Alice are really getting the hang of the way the business works.

4pm

Take our first pre-order. Group of international students are having a party on Friday and they want large selections of shakes in various flavours for their guests to enjoy. Excellent.

6pm

Shop is finally closed, cashed up and clean. Finally getting into a routine with the closedown. Been a very long day. Takes me ages to drag myself to the bus.

6.30pm

Home!

8pm

After a hectic week, seeing plays, movies and gigs, nice to settle down with my wife to catch up on Luther, Dexter and True Blood. Sore feet, but back out to do it all again tomorrow.

11pm

Sleep, glorious sleep. Switch on the fan…

Review: Playboy conjures up chemistry and comedy

Review: Playboy Of The Wide World
Venue: The Friargate Theatre, July 21

Hedgepig Theatre has been at the forefront of the Yorkshire theatre movement over the last year, so I had very high hopes for their production of Playboy Of The Wide World. Did they satisfy those hopes? Well…

Playboy Of The Wide World was originally a very Irish play, set in rural Ireland at the turn of the last century, by JM Synge. Director Andy Curry has wisely chosen to transplant all the relevant details from the original play to rural Yorkshire at an unspecified time, although relatively recently.
As Curry himself puts it, “it seems incongruous for us all to don ‘Oirish’ accents. We’ll stick to what feels right for us.”
On this evidence, it is hard to argue with the logic. Playboy tells the tale of a mysterious stranger who appears in a small backwater village pub late one night, telling a tall tale of being on the run, having killed his own father. To tell too much more would ruin the fun, but needless to say, shenanigans abound when the father turns up, very much alive.
The action begins with barmaid Peggy (Roxanna Klimaszewska) busying herself around a simple yet effective bar set, until she is rudely interrupted by her father and his drunken friends, and then our “hero” Chris.
Jamie McKeller as Chris owns the stage, and indeed the audience as he inhabits one of the most physically demanding characters I have seen at the theatre in a long time. Small wonder he lost nearly a stone during the week of performances!
His chemistry with Peggy was excellent as McKeller and Klimaszewska sparked off a whirlwind romance. Stuart Freestone as Peggy’s intended husband was a wonderful ball of neuroses bringing some great big laughs with another very physical performance.
The rest of the cast were very good, but I have to give special mention to Anna Rose James and Jon Adams as supporting players performing two characters each. Adams is both a burly farmhand and Susan, a local maiden, and James plays a similar maiden yet rocking the biggest fake moustache I have ever seen to double up as farmhand. Well played Julia Smith, costume designer.
That a romantic comedy farce can finish with a cast performance of Phil Collins’ Against All Odds and still make me laugh is testament to the strength of the company and the goodwill built up during a hilarious performance of an old classic play, with a ridiculously committed cast.
I look forward to the next Hedgepig production.

Review: Sitting Room Comedy a hit with Miss Osho

Review: Sitting Room Comedy
Venue: Monkbar Hotel, July 18

I was delighted to find that the air conditioning was on full blast at the Monkbar Hotel for Sitting Room Comedy’s latest event, after another day of heatwave! Sitting Room Comedy is fast becoming a go-to for excellent midweek comedy in York with a very strong line-up for July. 

Compere Fern Brady hit the stage to welcome us in, dropping a few bits of new material in alongside some of her best tried and trusted stuff, warming up a slightly hesitant crowd nicely – although I think she scared a few of the more mature members of the audience.
Gavin Webster is a Newcastle based comedian, who made his debut (according to Wikipedia) on the same show as Ross Noble in the early Nineties. 
He told us right off the bat that he was working on new material for his show Don’t Give Money to Comic Relief, and other opinions.
It seemed to me as though a lot of this new material might not make it to his final Edinburgh show. It wasn’t that the material is not funny, just that he didn’t really connect with this audience, and some of it felt very dated and a bit… blah? 
Surely he isn’t the first person to point out that Bob Geldof has loads of money. Webster is a funny man, but on this occasion it seemed his slightly manic stage persona alienated more than it charmed.
After a much needed break, and a lovely cold drink, Fern took to the stage again to introduce star of Channel 4’s Stand Up For The Week Andi Osho.
Whether it was planned or not, Osho’s opening relaxed a crowd who were still a little dazed by the heat and first half, declaring as she did ‘S*** I’m not ready’ as she took the stage. I have seen Osho on the TV quite a few times and always found her topical material to be charming but never quite connecting with me, not sure why, but on a hot July night I was utterly won over. 
From some relaxed banter with the crowd to some very near the knuckle new material, Osho worked the room brilliantly. It was a genuine treat to see her in such an intimate setting before the inevitable big venue tour and DVD release.
A much more hit than miss night for Sitting Room Comedy and I look forward to the next one.

Review: The Gruffalo’s Child is great fun for all ages

Review: The Gruffalo’s Child
Venue: Grand Opera House, July 9

Many years ago, I remember reading The Gruffalo to one of many young cousins I had the pleasure of babysitting. It features the simple tale of a Gruffalo who is scared of a Big Bad Mouse, in reality a normal mouse who thinks on his feet.

Told in simple rhyming couplets, it is a favourite of many children, and indeed parents, the world over.
This show, a sequel, focuses on the Gruffalo’s Child, and her exploration of the off limits woods near her cave. She seeks out all the creatures her father is not afraid of, en route to meeting the Big, Bad Mouse.
The story is told via a very simple stage setup, three actors and a lot of songs. Some catchy, some less so.
On this hot Tuesday afternoon, I was expecting a lot fewer people than actually came along. In fact, York’s Grand Opera House was rumbling with the noise of several hundred kids and parents of all ages.
As I arrived, tucking myself away at the back, the actress playing the Mouse (Lesley Cook) was up in the Dress Circle chatting to the crowd, interacting nicely with the kids, keeping them occupied.
The introduction of the Gruffalo himself scared several smaller children enough that they left, and I give massive credit to the actors for getting through the show with a general hubbub of small child noise!
The cast were excellent, using the simple set to convey movement, some catchy songs (Stick With Me) and very clever physical performances to tell the story. There were nice lines to keep the grown-ups happy – well, if you like a pun, and I do. My favourite was “Mice Krispies” by the way.
My only criticism really is the section where our heroine meets the Fox. A very talky segment, requiring way too much concentration for a four year old, especially with the sound being a little on the quiet side. I found myself straining to hear occasionally over the din of melting children.
Great fun for all the family, especially the four to eight age range. Just make sure you pick up a bottle of water…

Review: Birds Of A Feather are still a hoot

Review: Birds Of A Feather
Venue: Grand Opera House, Tuesday, June 25

It has been a long time, almost 15 years, since Birds Of A Feather was on TV. I have vague memories of watching it on a Sunday night with my mum, in what would now be classed as a very “safe” night of viewing, along with Keeping Up Appearances and Inspector Morse.

More than 100 episodes, almost ten years… this is a show ingrained in the nation’s consciousness. It centred on Essex girls Sharon (Pauline Quirke) and Tracey (Linda Robson), the wives of incarcerated men, living in Chigwell. Their neighbour, Dorien Green (Lesley Joseph) a wealthy but snobby woman, forever cheating on her husband, is a regular visitor to the sisters’ kitchen.
This stage version of the show is set in the present. The sisters still live together, but Tracey’s 16 year old son, Travis, now lives with them.
From the telly days, I recall Sharon and Tracey sitting in a kitchen, neighbour Dorien running in with whatever trauma the script called for that week. I also still know all the words to the theme tune apparently! For the stage production most of the action takes place in Tracey’s living room. Unlike the cosy setting of the sitcom, this space felt a touch too big for the jokes.
All of the main cast still have their chemistry and the writers play to the actresses’ strengths. Tracey plays the straight role to Sharon’s cheeky chappy character, Dorien pops up to be a little outrageous.
The audience enjoyed it immensely. I found myself smiling all the way through and there were a couple of really good belly laughs.
My only real criticisms are an ill-advised video section in the first half, which was too dark to see properly, while the second half felt a bit stretched out, again showing the sitcom roots. For me, it became a little melodramatic.
Pauline Quirke has some of the best comic timing I have seen in a long time, pulling it back from the brink of going too far.
Fans of the show, or anyone looking for a non-challenging night of funnies, won’t be disappointed. These are characters I would happily check in with every once in a while – the ensemble’s chemistry makes it a fun night out!