★★★★

“There is much to enjoy in this camp morality tale about the true cost of being a Diva”

Diva: Live from Hell! is a dark musical comedy directed by Joe McNeice with musical direction by Debbi Clarke. The show follows Demond Charming (Luke Bayer) as he recounts his sordid tale, forced to perform the show for all eternity in hell. Adding to Charming’s discomfort, he plays all the characters and entertains solo on stage, taking his anger out on the band and audience. Bayer is a superb talent, debuting the score with technical prowess and presence, revelling in the delightfully evil character portrayal.

Bayer performs the various characters with consistent distinctions and switches between them with ease, from awkward stage manager Ally Hewitt to relaxed jock Evan Harris. Carrying on their characterisation through their singing voice, sometimes duetting with himself in an impressive display. As more characters are introduced we learn about the events leading to Charming’s damnation. Throughout Desmond is malicious and disparaging about fellow members of the Ronald Reagen high school drama club, revealing a conniving insecure wannabe star. Bayer makes no attempt to redeem Desmond, President of drama Club, with all the trappings of a catty student thespian; complete with pettiness and ego. The dissection of showbiz ambition and the nasty edge of teen drama queens is funny as much as it is biting; Desmond is in the 7th circle of hell for a reason. His story evokes a message of self-acceptance, responsibility and the importance of introspection. We watch Charming’s descent from grace as he embraces the label of Diva.

Surrounded by the infernal band, Desmond performs from a hellish vaudeville-esq stage, complete with red ringleader jacket in the opening number “I’m coming live from Hell”. The songs are catchy, well paced and distinct (Alexander Sage Oyen) with as much dancing (Anna Hale) as a solo performer can provide (yes there is Tap). A bank of lockers set the story in a timeless school somewhere in America (set and costume design by Pip Terry). There are ample references to American musical theatre legends like Patty LuPone and Kevin Klein, with send ups of iconic sequences and coming of age Highschool dramas. Some jokes and references fall into a niche category, but not distractingly so.

The tale is full of sound and fury with touches of seriousness. Nora Brigid Monahan writes a compelling humorous story with a bitchy, melodramatic and effeminate, Desmond who insists his feelings towards his attractive rival are entirely plutonic, going ballistic at the suggestion he has suppressed feelings. The setting of Hell is foreboding and dramatic, with Desmond satirising his life with gleeful lines “Have you read the script? Who are you, Lea Michelle?” and “I like to think I’m making Ronald Reagan proud”. There is much to enjoy in this camp morality tale about the true cost of being a Diva.

ANNIE GET YOUR GUN at the Lavender Theatre

★★★★

“SuRie, as the gun-toting Annie, carries the show – nailing her character with gunslinging accuracy.”

There could potentially be a fair bit to censure in the 1950s American musical, “Annie Get Your Gun”, especially with modern audiences whose awareness of racism, sexism and cultural sensitivities have shifted since the musical was written. And Irving Berlin’s “The Girl That I Marry” would surely get even the laziest feminist pounding her twitter feed in rage at its undisguised misogyny and condescension towards women. And throwaway jokes about swindling Native Americans out of their oil? Come on! But that is a debate I’m not entering into here. Except to say that the creators behind the inaugural season at Lavender Theatre have rightly decided that we have the wit and imagination to know that we are watching something from a different age. We can cope. And Simon Hardwick’s production, surrounded by the purple haze of lavender fields, shoots down any pre-packed misgivings that people may have in a feel-good blaze of escapism and classic entertainment.

It’s hard to come across a more winning opener than “There’s no Business Like Show Business”, which builds from its mellow summer breeze into a gusty and gutsy chorus, framing the story within Buffalo Bill’s Wild West touring show. Elliot Broadfoot’s impressive presence as Buffalo Bill Cody keeps a tight rein on the action, pinpointing the chapters of what is essentially a good old-fashioned love story. Annie Oakley (SuRie) rocks up into a small town in Ohio, and with her extraordinary shooting skills, catches the attention of champion marksman Frank Butler (Charlie McCullagh). The two are instantly smitten, but when Annie’s rising star begins to outshine Frank’s, the trouble starts.

SuRie, as the gun-toting Annie, carries the show – nailing her character with gunslinging accuracy. Gamine, yet sassily aware of her femininity, her charisma hangs over the stage like aromatic gunpowder. SuRie is clearly “Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly”. Equally believable is McCullagh’s Frank Butler. The chemistry between the two cautions us to stand back while sparks fly yet draws us in close to get a true feel for their inescapable magnetism. Drawn into their orbit are a fine cast. Frank’s spurned, scheming assistant, Dolly Tate, is gilded with Chlöe Hart’s comedic flair, while Jay Faisca’s ‘Chief Sitting Bull’ has a self-deprecating gravitas that gives a nod and a wink to the caricature he could be, yet still staying believable.

The open-air setting lends an appropriate festival feel, though more village fete than rodeo. It is as the sun sets that the magic filters through, conjured by and large by Berlin’s iconic songs. The classic foot tappers cannot fail to plant a smile on us, while the more stripped back, softer numbers dig deeper. SuRie’s vocals come into their own during “Moonshine Lullaby”, for example, or “I Got Lost in His Arms”, before rising to the duel of “Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)” with McCullagh – a fabulous moment of affectionate rivalry and harmonic one-upmanship.

Everybody wins. The guy gets the girl, and the girl gets her man (after learning, of course, that “You Can’t Get a Man with a Gun”). The real winners are the audience. It is a little bit out in the sticks, but that shouldn’t stop anyone making the effort to get there. “Let’s Go On With the Show… Everything about it is appealing”. The newly formed Lavender Theatre are on to a winner with this well aimed revival, that hits the mark.

DIVA: LIVE FROM HELL! at the King’s Head Theatre

★★★★

“There is much to enjoy in this camp morality tale about the true cost of being a Diva”

DIVA: LIVE FROM HELL! at the King’s Head Theatre

Reviewed on 6th June 2024

by Jessica Potts

Photography by Danny With a Camera

Previously reviewed at this venue:

DIVA: LIVE FROM HELL!

DIVA: LIVE FROM HELL!

ANNIE GET YOUR GUN at the Lavender Theatre

★★★★

“SuRie, as the gun-toting Annie, carries the show – nailing her character with gunslinging accuracy.”

Reviewed on 21st July 2023

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Harry Elletson

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