Tag Archives: Katie Tranter

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

★★★★

St Paul’s Church Covent Garden

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

St Paul’s Church Covent Garden

Reviewed – 7th August 2019

★★★★

 

“carries the audience along on a tide of smiles, while keeping enough of the darkness of the original story to balance the madcap hilarity”

 

This production fizzes with life as the cast of six talented actor musicians lead the audience through the streets of Paris, transforming the garden and interior of St Paul’s Church into Notre Dame Cathedral, dangerous slums, the site of gallows, pillories and court rooms, as they weave the tale of Quasimodo and Esmeralda. Be prepared to move from place to place, becoming the Parisian crowd and taking sides as the story unfolds. Don’t worry though, there are plentiful seats at each destination. There is a lot of audience participation, and engagement with the actors, all done with such jovial good humour that even the most timid audience member wouldn’t shy away.

It can’t be easy to write a show based on a book that has already had so many incarnations on film and stage, but Benjamin Polya has written a version of this well known story that is vibrant and alive. He has given the actors well rounded characters to play with, and they rise to the occasion with gusto. When we first meet the cast they introduce themselves as a troupe of players who will be putting on a show. They make their appearance in the bar area of the garden, and shepherd the audience into the first scene, already primed to enjoy the evening, grinning from the intro.

It’s a real ensemble piece, and each actor plays multiple roles. Katie Tranter has a genius for comedy, and an ability to really get the audience on her side. Her rather inept and earnest Pierre is one of the standout performances of the evening; hilarious, sweet and endearing. Ed Bruggemeyer is a powerful Frollo, bringing menace and darkness into the mix with his obsession for Izzy Jones’ charming and mercurial Esmeralda. Darrie Gardner is by turns a rousing ringmaster and a mother still grieving the loss of her baby, twenty years ago, bringing her anguish to balance the fun. Max Alexander-Taylor goes from king to lover to magistrate at the drop of a hat, and Robert Rhodes is an excellent Quasimodo, vulnerable, brave and, at times, heartbreaking. But it is the way that all the actors work and play together that make this such a good show.

Michael Malone’s songs and music mesh with the set and costume design, by Isabella Van Braeckel and Cieranne Kennedy-Bell to create an enticing and fascinating world. The fight scenes, choreographed by fight director Esme Cooper, are exciting, and director Bertie Watkins pulls everything together beautifully, creating a play that carries the audience along on a tide of smiles, while keeping enough of the darkness of the original story to balance the madcap hilarity.

This version of Hunchback is a real treat, full of laughter and drama. A magical summer evening in a garden, a high energy show full of humour and compassion. And there’s even a magical goat.

 

Reviewed by Katre

Photography courtesy Iris Theatre

 


The Hunchback of Notre Dame

St Paul’s Church Covent Garden until 1st September

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
The Tempest | ★★★★ | June 2018
The Three Musketeers | ★★★ | August 2018
Anna Karenina | ★★★ | November 2018
Parenthood | ★★★ | May 2019

 

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com

 

Canary – 3.5 Stars

Canary

Canary

Blue Elephant Theatre

Reviewed – 11 November 2018

★★★½

“an original take on a little-known aspect of wartime women’s intrinsic importance”

 

Amidst the pomp and circumstance of the official ceremonies, Blue Elephant Theatre contributes an unusual, personal and decidedly yellow touch to Armistice Day with Fun in the Oven’s production of ‘Canary’. When, in 1916, the Government set up the Ministry of Munitions following a shortage of shells, they relied on unskilled workers to fill the factories. This meant that women from all walks of life experienced the war in a very different way from holding the fort or weeping and waiting for their loved ones; they worked together in dire and dangerous conditions, forming friendships and bonds with those they would never normally have met. As a tribute to the hundreds of thousands of Canary Girls, Katie Tranter, Robyn Hambrook and Alys North become Agnes, Anne and Betty.

After setting the scene with film footage of cheery enlisting propaganda we meet the three complementary characters. Agnes is the work supervisor, commanding and outwardly confident: officer’s wife, Anne, escapes from her grand house to volunteer at weekends: young Betty, naïve and illiterate, is the star of the factory’s football team. We are taken along the conveyor belt of bomb-making, into the canteen and down into the air-raid shelter, accompanied by effectively dramatic lighting (Scott Ferguson) and interesting, integrated sound (Roma Yagnik). The show is packed with information and insights. Concentrating on the relationships built, we are drawn into their private world of sharing and supporting hopes, fears, sadness and joy. We learn about their lives from tea-break chats and air-raid confinement – the dangers of TNT, the long working hours, the disgracefully low wages. They discover a freedom to talk about men and physical and emotional intimacy, to smoke and drink. And we also see a fundamental change in attitude when their eyes are opened to their own value and place in society.

Andrea Jiménez’s direction is innovative and fun, making creative use of three tea crates as the only props. But the interpretation is patchy. The actors convey the diversity of class and the sense of unity between them and there are some striking moments like the cordite hallucination sequence and Alys North’s ‘man talk’ but it sometimes suffers from a slightly laboured pace. However, even though the show needs some fine tuning to tighten up this lack of slickness, ‘Canary’ is an original take on a little-known aspect of wartime women’s intrinsic importance, and the humorous dialogue, well-choreographed movement and rousing singing make for enjoyable and enlightening entertainment.

 

Reviewed by Joanna Hetherington

Photography by Chris Bishop

 


Canary

Blue Elephant Theatre

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
Sisyphus Distressing | ★★★★ | March 2018
Boxman | ★★★★ | July 2018
Alice: The Lost Chapter | ★★★★★ | October 2018
My Brother’s Drug | ★★★ | October 2018
Bost Uni Plues | ★★★★ | November 2018

 

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com