Tag Archives: Craig Mather

Pieces of String – 4 Stars

Pieces

Pieces of String

Mercury Theatre Colchester

Reviewed – 27th April 2018

★★★★

“Joel Harper-Jackson in particular stood out with a tangibly human performance full of intensity and heart”

 

If I had gone into Pieces Of String knowing that its earliest inspiration to writer Gus Gowland came from seeing stories of being gay on the WWII frontlines, I would have expected an entirely different animal to the rounded, sentimental and sharply funny original musical that I watched last night. Although yes, that original concept is certainly apparent.

This show came together via embryonic shorter pieces by Gowland alongside musical development theatre company Perfect Pitch. It isn’t easy to come up with a pithy summary that gives justice to all the elements blended here but you can count on themes of love, family, taboo and grief, held together with some deeply sardonic laughs and a couple of stunning vocal performances to boot. The action takes place on the day of a funeral with various memories and trinket boxes coming to life to tell the story of the deceased while his family try, and fail, to get along nicely as they pack up his life for the last time.

Cue then some neatly spliced flashbacks and surprise appearances around the ragged family dynamic of surviving daughter Jane, played by a suitably taught Carol Starks. She could have been a piece of string herself, tightly wound and ready to snap at any point as the somewhat harshly written mother of two, juggling her discomfort of accepting her gay adult son and closing down the life of her father whom we discover was not a particularly warm aspect of her own childhood. The part of Jane is something of a harpy, an easily dislikable target played exceptionally by Starks, but I can’t help but wonder how much more she would have made of it had it been written slightly less two dimensionally.

Casting has been well allocated, and you will find an unsurprising history of theatre credits for all members who do the production and themselves proud and would be equally well placed in larger scale and more established shows. Joel Harper-Jackson in particular stood out with a tangibly human performance full of intensity and heart as the soldier Tom.

The songs weave into the action fairly fluidly though this is definitely a piece of musical theatre in the traditional sense rather than a play with songs. Act one’s Standing In The Shadows can be called nothing less than an absolute belter of a show tune, which would be possibly worthy to a Les Miserables comparison.

The set (Fin Redshaw) is quite gloriously nostalgic and I would challenge anyone not to look fondly on the retro furniture and decor that give a classic and shabby backdrop at the same time, mirroring the past and present in the action, the chintzy facade of propriety and the decay beneath it. Clever lighting (Ben Cracknell) provides the required battlefield feel for the trenches scenes simply but very effectively and deserves mention. I must also heap praise on movement director Ellen Kane as the choreography in Pieces of String is outstanding. The frequent and fluid physical movements of the cast flow gracefully to allow the gentle jumps between past and present to become truly elegant. Really beautifully done.

The performance I attended received a standing ovation which is understandable both due to the great work of cast and production team alike and also perhaps due to addressing the currently socially relevant themes of equality and toxic masculinity without ever being preachy or overtly judgmental on societal attitudes of then or now.

I can’t quite give it five stars, due to a few niggles I found with the characters of Jane and oh so typically gobby teenager Gemma, commendably played by Ella Dunlop but it felt written only to serve the purpose of having bit of youth and sarcasm to round out the cast. I also can’t quite reconcile myself to the timeline of the family in question. Pernickety souls such as myself may struggle to make it work without an additional generation in there somewhere but that’s a very small detail that I will shut up about promptly.

It was a pleasure to see Gus Gowland on stage at the end of the show, he seems to justly proud of his baby here, having taken on the creation of book (basically the script), lyrics and music like a true pro, despite being in the early stages of what I hope will be a substantial career in the arts. We need voices like his.

In parting, I have to say that for regional theatre Pieces of String is almost perfect, and I would thoroughly recommend catching it if you can.

 

Reviewed by Jenna Barton

Photography by Robert Workman

 

Mercury Theatre

Pieces of String

Mercury Theatre Colchester until 5th May

 

Related
Featuring Craig Mather
The Wind in the Willows | ★★★★★ | London Palladium | June 2017
The Barricade Boys | ★★★★★ | The Other Palace | December 2017

 

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Review of The Barricade Boys – Christmas Cabaret – 5 Stars

Barricade

The Barricade Boys – Christmas Cabaret

The Other Palace

Reviewed – 7th December 2017

★★★★★

“well-structured variety of songs, brilliant performances, plenty of laughter and moments of impacting emotion”

 

This is indeed a luxurious evening of festive favourites (and more) at The Other Palace. Complete with a glittering tree, log fire and cosy lighting, the golden, glowing atmosphere makes one feel as if The Barricade Boys are performing their Christmas Cabaret in one’s own sitting room. Four remarkable voices (Scott Garnham, Simon Schofield, Kieran Brown and Craig Mather) blend together and complement each other, singing a selection of Christmas tunes as well as a choice of pop, rock and show songs. The intimate setting of The Studio allows informal interaction with the audience between numbers, but the professional attention to detail is never lost and they sing with flair, accuracy and emotion.

The vocal balance, the intonation in complex harmonies and the slick presentation are of such a high standard that the easiness is deceptive, even in the organised chaos of their special version of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’. Precision can be unforgiving in small venues but The Barricade Boys sing with impeccable ensemble. With the appearance of a different guest artist every evening (last night being the talented Michael Xavier) they journey from the energy of ‘Johnny Be Good’ to the foot-tapping of ‘Let It Snow’, through to ‘I Dreamed A Dream’.

There are many beautiful and clever arrangements by Musical Supervisor, James Doughty, balancing the singing lines and allowing each to shine. Noam Galperin – Musical Director – sits discreetly at the piano, accompanying the whole evening in a marathon of a programme. The members of the group are linked by their involvement in Les Miserables which, presumably, is where their name came from; the Barricade Boys were a fictional group of revolutionary students who appear in the story. All four actors have prolific careers on stage, television and film, and the years of experience is manifest in their relaxed, yet composed, demeanor and their versatility. This Christmas show was a wonderful addition, by established actors, to The Other Palace’s Development Programme, set up to discover, explore and create the musical theatre genre.

It is an evening of thorough enjoyment for the audience and seemingly also for the group, with the slight risk of occasional ‘in’ moments. However, ‘Bring Him Home’ cast a magical spell over the audience and it is hard not to join in the ‘Party Medley’, which puts it all into perspective. This is a Christmas Cabaret of well-structured variety of songs, brilliant performances, plenty of laughter and moments of impacting emotion – an intoxicating way to get into the Christmas spirit.

 

Reviewed by Joanna Hetherington 

 

The Barricade Boys – Christmas Cabaret

is at The Other Palace until 23rd December

 

 

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