★★★★

“a highly entertaining, titillating beast of a show”

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…. Especially now that Panto season has come upon us. That’s right boys and girls, the time for inneundos, “he’s behind you!”, and more glitter than you can shake a bauble at, has come around again. For the 12th year in a row, Charles Court Opera (CCO) are mixing up the Panto festivities with their imaginative retelling of a classic fairytale. Buttons: A Cinderella Story is full of the camp charm you would expect, but flogging saucier double entendres for its ‘adults only’ performances that admittedly don’t always hit the mark. Although some parts fall rather flat, this is overruled by the good … which is really very good. With inventive lyrics to songs and twists to the well-known story, CCO create a refreshing new take on the often stale Panto form.

Cinderella (Eleanor Sanderson-Nash) does not take centre stage in this telling. Gone is the glass slipper. Gone are the evil stepmother and stepsisters. Instead, we follow Buttons (Matthew Kellett), Cinderella’s teddy bear, who wishes he could be a real boy so that he could tell Cinderella how much he loves her. Poof! In a cloud of smoke Buttons’ Fairy Godfather grants him his wish. But, making Cinderella fall in love with him proves a challenging task. She has her heart set on marrying a prince. By luck the smug yet suave Prince Charming (Jennie Jacobs) has ridden into town with his manservant Dandini (Emily Cairns) but there’s an unnerving, darker side to his Royal Highness yet to be discovered. All comes to a head at the Prince’s ball, with romantic dilemmas, shenanigans galore, and a whodunnit mystery.

David Eaton does an excellent job in reworking the lyrics of existing pop songs to much comic effect. The reimagined use of Bohemian Rhapsody is inevitable with the recent release of the film with the same name. The new version of Thriller is a particular highlight, cleverly reinterpreting not just the lyrics but also the iconic dance moves to fit the storyline. Matthew Kellett as Buttons wins the prize for tugging on the audiences heart strings with his rendition of Radiohead’s Creep. Overall, the singing in the show is of an exceptional standard, with harmonies to die for.

Being an adults only performance, with no kids to do all the shouting back and participation, there was some reluctance from the audience to take part (some people almost forcibly dragged onto the stage). However, in spite of this, the audience did warm into spurting the usual comeback lines.

As much as an outrageous retelling was promised, the final product is actually rather tame. There are some surprising twists from the usual Cinderella story, however, it could have been made darker and stranger in other places. Nevertheless, this is still a highly entertaining, titillating beast of a show. It certainly beats some of the typical Panto fare that can be rather nauseating. Raucous festive fun to get you in the Christmas spirit.

Reviewed by Phoebe Cole

Photography by Bill Knight

La Traviata

King’s Head Theatre

Reviewed – 3rd October 2018

★★★★

“artistic lighting creates a snug, clandestine ambience, with resourceful and imaginative scene changes”

Far from 1850s Paris, we enter through the sleazy glow and pulsating bass of the King’s Head Theatre into present day England for a new take on Verdi’s ‘La Traviata’. Stripping the story to its core and adapting four main roles to fit the update, Becca Marriott and Helena Jackson recreate the life of Violetta as a pole-dancer who chances upon Elijah (Alfredo in the original), reluctantly dragged by his father into the club where she works, and finds true love. Although a chunk of Alfredo’s story of male friendship and rivalry has been omitted, this adaptation adheres to the original idea of social reputation by making Elijah’s father anxious for his own political career (rather than unable to marry off his daughter) and he manages to persuade Violetta to leave his son. The ending moves away from the melodramatic tableau of the heroine dying in her lover’s arms, to an angry re-encounter of the couple and, while clinging on to his image, her decision to find her own freedom.

The combination of Amanda Mascarenhas’s red-tinged set and Nic Farman’s artistic lighting creates a snug, clandestine ambience, with resourceful and imaginative scene changes. In contrast to the grandiose, full-scale productions, this one concentrates on the intense relationships between four of the opera’s characters, Panaretos Kyriatzidis’ arrangement of the orchestral score for solo piano working well as an accompaniment. Oliver Brignall’s expressive tenor tones capture the changing moods of Elijah – nervous, enamoured, angry, impassioned. However, the strident power of Becca Marriott’s singing dominates the occasional duets they have. Talented as both librettist and soprano, she interprets Violetta with anguish and desire but could shape the music with more variety of dynamics and articulation. The intricacy of the coloratura in ‘Sempre libera’ is lost and we miss the spiritual quality of her final scene. Michael Georgiou as Sinclair, Elijah’s father, is the only one to compete with Marriott in volume with his strong yet lyrical voice. He adds a light-hearted mood at the beginning and, later, unnerving persuasion with Violetta and Elijah. Flora (Gemma Morsley) commands the stage as she oversees her nightclub but, despite showing her true vocal potential in a couple of instances, she is barely audible in the group passages.

Verdi’s ensemble writing is such an important part of his operas. The threads of the plot weave together and the parts need to be balanced to be able to appreciate the narrative and the music. A readjustment in certain sections would give everyone a chance to be heard. This ‘Traviata’ may not have the uplifting contrast of the big choruses or the intrigue of the sub plots, but its contemporary slant and abundance of wonderful arias make it an enjoyable taster for those unfamiliar with opera.

King’s Head Theatre

Reviewed – 27th November 2018

★★★★

“a highly entertaining, titillating beast of a show”

Being an adults only performance, with no kids to do all the shouting back and participation, there was some reluctance from the audience to take part (some people almost forcibly dragged onto the stage). However, in spite of this, the audience did warm into spurting the usual comeback lines.

Reviewed by Phoebe Cole

Photography by Bill Knight

Buttons: A Cinderella Story

King’s Head Theatre until 5th January

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

La Traviata

King’s Head Theatre

Reviewed – 3rd October 2018

★★★★

“artistic lighting creates a snug, clandestine ambience, with resourceful and imaginative scene changes”

Reviewed by Joanna Hetherington

Photography by Bill Knight

La Traviata

King’s Head Theatre until 27th October

Previously reviewed at this venue;