Tag Archives: Jonathan Evans

WILD ABOUT YOU

★★★

Theatre Royal Drury Lane

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WILD ABOUT YOU at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane

★★★

“It’s a long journey, but a highly entertaining one courtesy of the wonderful vocal performances”

There are two things that strike you about the world premiere of Chilina Kennedy’s (music and lyrics) and Eric Holmes’s (book) new musical, “Wild About You”. The first is the inescapable fact that this is a stylish production, blowing onto our shores from across the pond with the confidence and swagger to head straight for Drury Lane. Picking up half a dozen of the finest voices in musical theatre, the performances alone claim the right to make the West End its first stop.

The second is the title. With the exception of a fairly throwaway number early on in the first act, it is very hard to work out why the writers opted for “Wild About You”. Admittedly it has undergone a couple of name changes since its progression from an album recording to the stage, but they still don’t seem to have labelled this show correctly. Perhaps when the concept is more finely honed, and trimmed a little, they’ll find it. The musical is a bit of a chimera, its personality split down the middle with each side of interval exposing its own idiosyncrasies and influences.

At the centre of the story is Olivia, beautifully played by Rachel Tucker, who inexplicably wakes up in hospital with gaping holes in her memory. Aided by the duty nurse, Shae (a gorgeously camp and comedic performance from Todrick Hall), she embarks on the task of piecing together a messy past as her memories slowly gather shape. The more she tries to find herself, the more she discovers that that is pretty much what she’s been doing all her life. The flaws in her character echo the flaws in her story, and we therefore find it difficult to empathise with the self-obsession that afflicts her. As her tangled love life ricochets between husband Michael (Eric McCormack), artist Thomas (Oliver Tompsett) and on-off lover Jessica (Tori Allen-Martin), our sympathies diminish with each rebound.

 

 

The second act becomes a different show entirely following a twist that is as inexplainable as Olivia’s initial amnesia. Her memories are re-traced from the others’ perspectives and her son Billy (Jamie Muscato), now eighteen, turns the story on its head. ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ meets ‘A Matter of Life and Death’ meats ‘The Time Traveller’s Wife’ meets ‘A Christmas Carol’ meets ‘Before I Go to Sleep’. A touch too quirky for its own good, the matted storylines are eventually smoothed out into its glossy, if a little sentimental, finale.

It’s a long journey, but a highly entertaining one courtesy of the wonderful vocal performances, backed by musical director Nick Barstow’s ten-piece band. Justin Williams’ sleek and stylised set frames the piece with an intimacy that cleverly belies the vast space; mirrored by Nick Winston’s ‘up-close and personal’ staging. Kennedy’s musical score wears it’s influences openly with its fine balance of belters and ballads. The dynamics are occasionally at odds with the narrative, particularly the impressive opening number into which Tucker pours her heart and soul. Maybe it needs to start smaller, allowing itself to grow naturally. Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a grand opening but similarly we wonder where it can go from here.

The show seems to have skipped a few steps in its evolution. Its success now lies in its shrinking and fine tuning before we can really get wild about it.

 


WILD ABOUT YOU at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Reviewed on 25th March 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Mark Senior

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

HANDEL’S MESSIAH: THE LIVE EXPERIENCE | ★★★ | December 2022

WILD ABOUT YOU

WILD ABOUT YOU

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page

 

MIND MANGLER

★★★★

Apollo Theatre

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MIND MANGLER at the Apollo Theatre

★★★★

“The onstage chemistry is faultless, funny and occasionally emotional, without being mawkish”

A little over a decade ago, three students fresh out of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art decided to make some mischief. So, with dead end day jobs and pens in hand, they made ‘Mischief’; the theatre company that is now celebrating ten years in the West End with their inaugural “The Play That Goes Wrong”. Many offshoots have sprung up in the meantime, adopting the same formula. It won’t be alright on the night – of that you can be sure. And their most recent, “Mind Mangler: Member of the Tragic Circle”, stays true to their trademark.

But despite this element of predictability, there are quite a few surprises in store. Not to mention plenty of laughs. And the more we are drawn into the show, the more our respect grows for the odd couple who somehow manage (only just) to hold it all together on stage. Billed as a ‘two-man solo show’, it follows illusionist, magician and mentalist, The Mind Mangler (Henry Lewis), poking fun but also paying homage to the tradition of the magic show. Aided (or otherwise) by his hapless and hopeless stooge (Jonathan Sayer). Lewis and Sayer wrote the piece, along with fellow Mischief maker Henry Shields. Penn and Teller famously collaborated in the process, and the thinly disguised virtuosity of some of the tricks – even if they are apt to go wrong – certainly shines bright through the tongue-in-cheek delivery.

It takes great charisma to successfully portray a character who has no charisma. Just as it takes great talent to convincingly depict the talentless. This pair have it in spades. Lewis is imposing yet relaxed. Quick witted, he is a master at reading his audience (though evidently not their minds) and reacting with finely honed improvisatory skills. Sayer emerges from the auditorium as a planted audience member, making much of this concept throughout. This is their modus operandi. It is stretched a little thin, but the performances keep the entertainment factor nudging the high end of the scales. Not restrained by the magic circle it revolves in, Lewis and Sayer also look up to – and recall – comedy classics such as Laurel and Hardy. The onstage chemistry is faultless, funny and occasionally emotional, without being mawkish.

We never quite lose sight of the fact, however, that this is a scripted play and not a magic act. And we suspect that Sayer is not the only plant in the audience. But it never matters, as we are always rewarded with a punchline delivered with hilarious precision. The banter is delightful, and the lampooning is spontaneous and refreshing. Although we can see what’s coming, the performers suddenly twist it around, so we suddenly view it from a completely different angle. Lewis professes to be able to taste people’s names, smell their job, hear the thoughts of playing cards. We love to see him fail.

As the evening progresses, things do start to go right. Hannah Sharkey’s staging is slick and as precise as the mechanisms behind some of the illusions. But none of this lessens the comic impact, and we still leave the auditorium beaming from ear to ear. It feels personal, as though we have been part of a select few rather than one in a crowded West End theatre. That is where the true magic lies. You don’t need to be a mind reader to predict its ongoing success. We all love a bit of ‘Mischief’.

 

MIND MANGLER at the Apollo Theatre

Reviewed on 24th March 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Pamela Raith

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE TIME TRAVELLER’S WIFE | ★★★ | November 2023
POTTED PANTO | ★★★★★ | December 2022
CRUISE | ★★★★★ | August 2022
MONDAY NIGHT AT THE APOLLO | ★★★½ | May 2021

MIND MANGLER

MIND MANGLER

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page