David Woodward Archives - Page 21 of 23

★★½

“In spite of the dogged efforts of the cast, the audience just didn’t get many of the jokes”

Billed as ‘an instant modern classic like ‘The Play that Goes Wrong’’, Jack Milner and Mark Stevenson’s ‘Octopus Soup!’ is a new British farce, developed and premiered by the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, before a national tour which continues to May 4.

Where would theatre be without farce? At its best and in the hands of masters like Ayckbourn or Feydeau its ingredients are brilliant wit, sexual intrigue, and a lot of ‘business’ as comedic stereotypes get utterly confounded by impossible situations. But is the recipe right for this particular bouillabaisse?

‘Octopus Soup!’ has an accomplished and hard-working cast, admirably led by Nick Hancock, who helped to create and then presented ‘Room 101’ for seven years from its inception in 1992. He plays the risk-averse but increasingly desperate insurance man Seymour Norse who is about to make the biggest presentation of his life to the CEO of GIT, a troubled insurance company (an authoritative and satisfying performance by Gillian Bevan, who recently appeared as Theresa May in Channel 4’s ‘The Windsors’).

Before a word of dialogue is spoken, Seymour Norse has lost his trousers. A predictable enough part of the mix, but pretty wasted at the top of the show. The arrival of a blundering burglar (a smart performance by Paul Bradley) stirs up the plot, which then takes a few fishy twists before a fairly predictable ending. Norse’s nervy wife is wittily played by Carolyn Backhouse, a regular at the Chichester Festival Theatre. Eric Richard makes a satisfying appearance as a nasty underworld boss with a taste for seal sanctuaries. Terry the octopus twitches, a bullet is fired. Thanks to a well-known casserole company, which got the biggest laugh of the evening, someone is dead, or are they? So much for the slide presentation and for the plot, which stretches pretty thinly over the evening.

Actors often say that a play that seems lack-lustre one night will shine the next, simply because of the mood of one audience compared to another. I have to report that the audience in Windsor on Monday weren’t hungry for octopus soup. The fault seemed to lie not with the performances, or the set, or even the slightly dodgy sound effects, but with the writing. Many of the jokes relied on fairly improbable malapropisms of the ‘Ethics? – I come from there!’ kind. In spite of the dogged efforts of the cast, the audience just didn’t get many of the jokes, particularly in the limping first act.

The final line sank like a damp soufflé, and the cast seemed only too quick to leave the stage.

Reviewed by David Woodward

Photography by Robert Day

The Trials of Oscar Wilde

Theatre Royal Windsor

Reviewed – 26th March 2019

★★★★

“a polished and worthwhile show that sheds new light on a familiar tale”

European Arts Company’s production of The Trials of Oscar Wilde opened at Windsor Theatre Royal last night before beginning a nationwide tour that takes in some twenty three venues from Taunton to Wolverhampton and runs until June 1st. This is top-notch court-room drama, with a refreshingly simple set design (Tom Paris) which provides an ideal backdrop for a talented ensemble cast of just four.

The company have revived a much-praised production that toured in 2014 after a sell-out run at the Trafalgar Studios. The story of Wilde’s tragic fall after being prosecuted for “gross indecency with other male persons” is familiar enough, after innumerable biographies and films, including a celebrated version starring Stephen Fry which appeared in 1997. Wilde conducted a tempestuous four year affair with Lord Alfred Douglas (‘Bosie’), the son of the Marquess of Queensberry, who as a result accused the celebrated playwright of ‘posing as a somdomite’ (sic).

Wilde attempted to defend himself against this accusation in court, but withdrew his prosecution when details of his affairs with rent boys emerged in court. A public prosecution followed soon after. What distinguishes The Trials from other accounts is that it was co-written by Wilde’s grandson Merlin Holland, using 85,000 words of direct shorthand transcript from the trial, which only came to light in 2000.

What light do Wilde’s very own words shed on this most celebrated of celebrity trials, and how well does this new production tell the tale? In Act One, the libel trial, Wilde unsurprisingly emerges as a boastful, and conceited figure, his evidence peppered with just the kind of bon mots you might expect. But some of his responses are terse too, and by the public prosecution in the second act, repeated slips make his panic plain. John Gorick reprises his role from four years ago. In spite of the posturing and flash waistcoats (splendid costumes by Anett Black), his Wilde is a slightly distant, at times almost glacial figure, trapped in the dazzling lights of a mess of his own making.

Wilde’s own words condemn him and the establishment gleefully brings him down. Much as Wilde admits he loved Douglas, who coined the phrase ‘the love that dare not speak its name’, he proclaims that he is the only person he ever adored. Three other cast members, (Rupert Mason, Benjamin Darlington and Patrick Knox) take turns to play prosecution and defence, rent boy and chamber maid. Rupert Mason is particularly effective as Wilde’s smug accuser in the criminal trial. Benjamin Darlington particularly garners sympathy as Charles Parker, the rent boy who was plainly besotted by his time with Wilde.

Theatre Royal Windsor

Reviewed – 1st April 2019

★★½

“In spite of the dogged efforts of the cast, the audience just didn’t get many of the jokes”

Billed as ‘an instant modern classic like ‘The Play that Goes Wrong’’, Jack Milner and Mark Stevenson’s ‘Octopus Soup!’ is a new British farce, developed and premiered by the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, before a national tour which continues to May 4.

The final line sank like a damp soufflé, and the cast seemed only too quick to leave the stage.

Reviewed by David Woodward

Photography by Robert Day

Octopus Soup!

Theatre Royal Windsor until 6th April then UK Tour continues

Previous shows covered by this reviewer:

Theatre Royal Windsor

Reviewed – 26th March 2019

★★★★

“a polished and worthwhile show that sheds new light on a familiar tale”

Co-written and directed by John O’Connor, this is a polished and worthwhile show that sheds new light on a familiar tale.

Reviewed by David Woodward

Photography by David Bartholomew

The Trials of Oscar Wilde

Theatre Royal Windsor until 30th March then UK Tour continues

Other shows covered by this reviewer: