Tag Archives: Hannah Chissick

Treason

Treason the Musical

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Alexandra Palace

TREASON THE MUSICAL at Alexandra Palace Theatre

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Treason the Musical

“The show is visually stunning, Jason Taylor’s lighting taking centre stage in the vast auditorium while Philip Witcomb’s looming, slatted set opens and closes to successively release and confine the protagonists”

Just as the fireworks are beginning to die down across London, the new musical β€œTreason” blasts into town on a wave of publicity that casts its fire glow across the rooftops of N22. The light is thrown on a handful of the conspirators who planned to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament on 5th November 1505. It is a day that everybody β€œremember remembers” even if the detail is buried in the archives. β€œTreason the Musical” presents us with some of the background which, like the real events, gets a bit lost behind the celebration of the occasion.

We all know Guido β€˜Guy’ Fawkes who was hanged for his part in the failed gunpowder plot (no – he wasn’t burned on a bonfire), but – be honest now – who can name the others? It was, perhaps, Robert Catesby (impressively played here by Connor Jones) who masterminded the scheme, spurred on after King James the First backtracked on his promise of greater religious tolerance towards the English Catholics. A reluctant recruit was Thomas Percy, and it is the relationship between Thomas and his wife Martha that dominates much of the story. Guy Fawkes is given the role of narrator, distancing himself from the action while filling us in with the details. It is a neat device, successfully pulled off by the writers Charli Eglinton and Kieran Lynn; but the credit surely goes to Gabriel Akamo who commands the space as Guy Fawkes. With booming voice and charisma, he laments his fame, decrying his status as scapegoat, all the while commenting and directing. It is Akamo who opens and closes the show, instructing us to β€œremember me”. We would like to see more of his presence in between and sometimes long for him to step down into the throng.

Leading the ensemble are Sam Ferriday and Nicole Raquel Dennis as the newlyweds Thomas and Martha Percy. Ferriday and Dennis form a dynamic duo. No sooner are they married than are wrenched apart as Thomas goes off to β€œfix things” for the Catholic cause. Jones’ formidable Catesby has recruited him into the gang, along with Robin and Timothy Wintour (Alfie Richards and Lewis Edgar) and Jack Wright (Kyle Cox). All are exceptional singers, with breath-taking harmonic skill in the rousing ensemble numbers, and a controlled, emotive power in their solo numbers and duos. Of which there are plenty. Ferriday and Dennis again shine when they come together in song. Another one to watch for is Emilie Louise Israel – as the peripheral, though striking character, Anne Vaux – whose voice and personality cuts through the chorus to grab our attention.

“This show lights the blue touch paper but again the real explosion eludes us”

On the other side of the fence is Joe McFadden’s King James. Arrogant but a bit dim, McFadden initially plays him for laughs. He is not the villain, as his descent into paranoia manifests itself in the second act, but manipulated by Oscar Conlon-Morrey’s more reprehensible, yet comedic, Robert Cecil who historically uncovered the gunpowder plot (though in this production it is somewhat unclear how or when the whistle was blown and by whom). All the principal players are buoyed by the ensemble, giving justice to Ricky Allan’s anthemic score.

The show is visually stunning, Jason Taylor’s lighting taking centre stage in the vast auditorium while Philip Witcomb’s looming, slatted set opens and closes to successively release and confine the protagonists. There is often an ecclesiastical feel, which does pour over into the narrative, resulting in the show feeling a bit like a sermon in places. The emotions run high, but we often feel it comes from the pulpit rather than from the heart. The overall austere approach is a touch at odds with the attempted quirkiness, and at times the echoes of β€˜Les MisΓ©rables’ clash with those of β€˜Hamilton’.

In 1605 the gunpowder plot failed in its mission. This show lights the blue touch paper but again the real explosion eludes us. There are definite sparks, though, within the plot and between the characters that reach us and make us fizzle momentarily. They say not to return to a firework that doesn’t go off. β€œTreason the Musical” invites us to ignore that safety rule and we are tempted to give it another go to see if it can find its true light.


TREASON THE MUSICAL at Alexandra Palace Theatre

Reviewed on 9th November 2023

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Danny Kaan

 

 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Bugsy Malone | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | December 2022

Treason the Musical

Treason the Musical

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Little Wars

Little Wars

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Online

Little Wars

Little Wars

Online via www.littlewars.co.uk

Reviewed – 2nd November 2020

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“The formidable characters displayed are certainly matched by the starry cast”

 

The dinner party has always offered food for thought for playwrights and, over the years, many fine examples have been dished up in our theatres. Neil Simon’s β€˜The Dinner Party’ (obviously), Moira Buffini’s β€˜Dinner’, David Eldridge’s β€˜Festen’, Mike Leigh’s β€˜Abigail’s Party’ and, of course, Alan Ayckbourn whose β€˜Absurd Person Singular’ and β€˜The Norman Conquests’ stand out. There is no place like the dinner table for drama, grudges, arguments, feuds and even a little crazy affection to surface.

Steven Carl McCasland has taken this formula and garnished it with a generous blend of fact and fiction. And plenty of friction. β€œLittle Wars” brings together some of the most extraordinary and noted women in modern literature. Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas are the hosts entertaining none other than Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker and Agatha Christie. They are in France, tensions are high, the booze is flowing, and war is coming. Together they drink, and face a demon or two. Everyone has a confession and a secret and as the evening wears on their hard exteriors wear down.

The play is split into two halves. Initially the bickering and sharp-witted banter dominates and the personalities clash with subtle, though bitchy, humour. The presence of the only non-writer guest shifts the conversation into an impassioned discussion of the plight of Jews in the looming shadow of World War II. There is a real depth to the dialogue which also draws in the German, Jewish housemaid whose backstory certainly throws gas on the fire.

The formidable characters displayed are certainly matched by the starry cast. Linda Bassett dominates as Gertrude Stein with a swaggering petulance that eventually cracks to reveal a softer centre. Catherine Russell gives a richness to her lover, Alice Toklas; teasing her out from under the shadow of the presiding Stein. Juliet Stevenson bursts in with prickly invective which you both delight in and are repulsed by. Stevenson’s masterful performance renders the unattractive appealing and her eventual moral sea change quite moving. Debbie Chazen’s gin-soaked Dorothy Parker is forever teetering on the edge while, in contrast, Sophie Thompson’s Agatha Christie rounds everyone together with her outside eye, like one of Christie’s own detectives, probing and trying to understand. But the unsung heroines of the piece are the two characters who exist on the edges of this literary β€˜salon’. Natasha Karp’s Bernadette, the housemaid, has the most harrowing story to tell. And it is fundamentally her story we are being told. Hers, and the plight of countless other Jews during the Nazi invasion of France. Crucial to the story too is Sarah Solemani’s Muriel Gardiner who is not afraid to challenge the women’s self-belief and prejudices, and who is just as fearless in the face of the Occupation.

The themes addressed in β€œLittle Wars” are compelling. It possibly helps to have some background knowledge of the real-life personalities portrayed, but McCasland’s skill, meticulous research and flamboyant imagination leave you enthralled throughout. Almost. By necessity this production is a rehearsed reading and the limitations of Zoom, despite Hannah Chissick’s dynamic direction, are sometimes all too noticeable. The lack of reaction and interaction inherent in the format emphasises the need and the longing for theatre to return to its true home.

 

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by John Brannoch

 

Little Wars

Online via www.littlewars.co.uk until 8th November

 

Recently reviewed by Jonathan:
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A Hero Of Our Time | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | Stone Nest | September 2020
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The Great Gatsby | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | Immersive LDN | October 2020
The Last Five Years | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | Southwark Playhouse | October 2020
The Off Key | β˜…β˜…β˜… | White Bear Theatre | October 2020
What a Carve Up! | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | Online | October 2020

 

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