Tag Archives: Beth Duke

THE FROGS

★★ ½

Royal and Derngate Theatre

THE FROGS at the Royal and Derngate Theatre

★★½

“There’s some good and not-so-good slapstick, physical theatre and an all-round quirkiness.”

Spymonkey set out to update Aristophanes’ three-thousand-year-old play – historically, the first staged comedy and use of a comedic double act – and make it relevant to today. They have poignant reasons to do so and these are reflected in a sub-plot that runs parallel to the original. The new version is written by Karl Grose and Spymonkey “with massive apologies to Aristophanes” and is directed by Joyce Henderson.

The stage is set with an array of boxes and crates and paraphernalia. A revolve is set off-centre which is used primarily for comedic effect. A circular mirror is suspended from above, upon which an impressive moon image is occasionally projected (Lucy Bradridge, set & costume designer).

Spymonkey regulars Toby Park and Aitor Basauri are semi-god Dionysus (sporting a fine pair of Cothornos platform sandals – a nice touch) and servant Xanthias who undergo a trip to the Underworld to recover the poet Euripides. To help them on their way, they receive advice from hero Heracles (Jacoba Williams in a fetching muscled body suit with male accoutrements). So far so good, but then our heroes fall into “a scene between the scenes” and find themselves squeezed into a cupboard – the Spymonkey office – and from now on as they continue their interminable journey they slip in and out of their Greek characters and into a character-version of themselves. Jacoba takes on a variety of tentacled, flippered and multi-headed creatures for the heroes to overcome whilst doubling in the here-and-now as an American theatre impresario interested in producing the new show. The whole thing is very meta. But it’s also rather a mess.

Of course, there are laughs a plenty. Aitor is an exceptional clown and, as the Spymonkey dynamic duo establish themselves, he proves himself an able Lou Costello to Toby’s Bud Abbott. But there is too much: the running gag of Aitor’s ass (hee-haw), knowing winks to the audience, asides, adlibs. There’s some good and not-so-good slapstick, physical theatre and an all-round quirkiness. Jacoba tells us that the whole thing is as mad as a box of… well, you know… just as the plot dissolves into a psychedelic acid trip.

Spymonkey themselves mock the length and tedium of Aristophanes’ original monologues and character-Aitor tells us several times that he doesn’t like the ending of the play because it isn’t funny. It’s not a good omen for the second half.

Worthy of mention is the community chorus – the highlight of the show – who techno-tap-dance across the stage in fluorescent yellow cagoules as the frog chorus (Simone Murphy, choreographer). It’s a shame that this happens only the once but then Aristophanes set the precedent for that. Ribbit.


THE FROGS at the Royal and Derngate Theatre

Reviewed on 24th January 2024

by Phillip Money

Photography by Manuel Harlan

 


Previously reviewed at this venue:

2:22 A GHOST STORY | ★★★ | January 2024
THE MIRROR CRACK’D | ★★★ | October 2022
THE TWO POPES | ★★★★ | October 2022
PLAYTIME | ★★★★ | September 2022
THE WELLSPRING | ★★★ | March 2022
BLUE / ORANGE | ★★★★ | November 2021

THE FROGS

THE FROGS

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Infamous

Infamous

★★★★

Jermyn Street Theatre

INFAMOUS at Jermyn Street Theatre

★★★★

Infamous

“There are wonderful moments of humour and wit”

Lady Emma Hamilton was a truly fascinating figure. Reading her Wikipedia page is akin to a modern gossip column – salacious affairs, a secret love child and an obsession with keeping up appearances for the media. Emma is perhaps most well-known for her ‘attitudes’ – alluring tableaux vivants in which she portrayed sculptures and paintings – made her an international superstar and started a fashion for a draped Grecian style of dress.

Directed by Michael Oakley and written by April De Angelis, Infamous delivers a neat summary of it all whilst asking its audience to consider whether a woman can really be famous and respectable.

Using a hand time skip, Infamous presents Emma at two different points in her life: 1798 and 1815. In the former, Emma is played by Rose Quentin and her mother-cum-housekeeper, Mrs Cadogan, played by her real-life mother Caroline Quentin. Here, Emma is vivacious, at the peak of her fame. Married to Sir William Hamilton, she lives in the beautiful Palazzo Sessa overlooking Mount Vesuvius. However, Emma has her sights set on becoming the mistress or indeed wife of the great Lord Horatio Nelson and climb further up the social and political ladder.

Yet, by 1815, Emma (now played by Caroline) is near-destitute living with her daughter by Nelson – Horatia (Rose) – in a barn in Calais. Abandoned by Nelson’s family after his death, the duo has nothing to her name. Emma, consumed by drink, encourages Horatia to pursue the local mayor’s son in hopes that her daughter will repeat her own success in rising to high society. Horatia serves a similar purpose to Saffy from Absolutely Fabulous – the sensible foil to her eccentric mother.

There is great chemistry between the two Quentens. Caroline is expectedly wonderful – demonstrating her incredible range by playing two entirely different characters with such ease. Rose is good too – best as Horatia. Rose’s young Emma is a bit overblown at points – her accent a bit too overblown. The younger Quenten also appears to be a fan of a knowing glance to the audience which at points unfortunately undercuts her performance and our immersion in the play. Riad Richie provides great support despite most of his lines being in French or Italian for his respective roles – Vincenzo and Jacques Fournier – in the two halves.

There are wonderful moments of humour and wit. Caroline excels as mad old Emma and her rendition of the attitudes for a confused Jacques garners the most laughs. The second half has a quicker pace and more interest of the two – we are at first amused by our selfish lead’s fall from grace but then feel tremendous pathos at her death, in no small part to Caroline’s amazing performance.

The set is excellently designed by Fotini Dimou. The painted wall panels of the Italian villa transform seamlessly into the haphazard wooden slats of the French barn in which Emma and Horatia are forced to reside. Christopher Naire provides gentle but effective lighting – the soft but vibrant light of dusk and dawn rendered beautifully.

Lady Emma Hamilton was a woman of pure ambition. Lampooned in the media and gathering equal number enemies and supports wherever she went, it is hard not to admire her dedication to fame, fortune and influence. Infamous shows a bit of everything, never feeling too rushed or too slow, and has a great acting duo at its heart. Well worth a watch.


INFAMOUS at Jermyn Street Theatre

Reviewed on 12th September 2023

by Flora Doble

Photography by Steve Gregson


 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Spiral | ★★ | August 2023
Farm Hall | ★★★★ | March 2023
Love All | ★★★★ | September 2022
Cancelling Socrates | ★★★★ | June 2022
Orlando | ★★★★ | May 2022
Footfalls and Rockaby | ★★★★★ | November 2021
The Tempest | ★★★ | November 2021
This Beautiful Future | ★★★ | August 2021

Infamous

Infamous

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