Max Pappenheim Archives - Page 12 of 17

Napoli, Brooklyn

Park Theatre

Reviewed – 17th June 2019

★★★★

“There is violence, despair and a moment of unrealised revelation, and Blair handles it all with a deft understanding”

This story of an Italian American family in nineteen sixties Brooklyn shines a light on the experiences of first and second generation immigrants, and the struggles faced by the women in particular. It is loosely based on writer Meghan Kennedy’s mother’s adolescence and the life of her big Italian Catholic family. Kennedy wants to honour the voices of girls from families like this who, both in the past and currently, have to fight to be heard. Six of the eight actors on stage are female, putting women’s experiences at the centre of the action.

The Muscolino family live in a Brooklyn tenement, and their story is told through a series of almost cinematic scenes that unveil the lives of the family members. The mother, Luda, brilliantly played by Madeleine Worrall, cooks and cares for her husband Nic and three daughters. But her family are not happy, and she is unable to cry. She can’t even talk to God anymore, as her husband has beaten up their daughter Vita, so she talks to an onion instead. Vita, vividly brought to life by Georgia May Foote, does not regret protecting her younger sister Francesca from their father’s rage, which was triggered by her cutting her hair short, and, although she has no wish to be in the convent she’s been sent to, she can appreciate the peace and calm there; a real contrast to her home life. Tina, the eldest, feels guilty that she didn’t stand up to their father and protect her sister. She is caught in a dead end job, denied schooling to help provide for her family, and Mona Goodwin does a lovely job of portraying her low self esteem and doubts. They are all caught in their own narratives, and those narratives are really all about love.

Francesca is in love with her friend Connie, and they are planning to run away to France. They dance to ‘Bee Bop A Lula.’ pretend to smoke cigarettes and look forward to a life where they can be their true selves. Hannah Bristow’s Francesca is feisty, funny, brave and full of the optimism of youth. Laurie Ogden plays Connie with tenderness and gentle determination, as the girls plan their escape.

Connie’s father is Albert, the local butcher and he is in love with Luda, she clearly likes him too, but she is faithful to her husband, even though he is greatly changed from the man she fell in love with. The two men are complete opposites; Stephen Hogan gives Albert a wistful gentleness that beautifully contrasts with Robert Cavanah’s frighteningly violent Nic. Cavanah’s performance has more than a touch of Marlon Brando about it, and the times when we see the man he used to be are unexpectedly touching.

The final character is Celia, played by Gloria Onitiri, a black woman who works with Tina at the factory. She is a happily married woman who loves reading and Onitiri plays her with spirit. The two women become friends, and when Tina asks Celia ‘how does it feel to be loved’ it brought a tear to my eye.

When a dreadful and completely unexpected tragedy strikes the whole area all their lives are turned upside down.

Napoli, Brooklyn is wonderfully directed by Lisa Blair. There are some standout moments, such as the mesmerisingly tender scene when Francesca and Connie gaze into each other’s eyes and mime undressing. There is violence, despair and a moment of unrealised revelation, and Blair handles it all with a deft understanding. The set, designed by Frankie Bradshaw, is atmospheric and gives a great sense of place and time. Johanna Town and Max Pappenhem created the lighting and sound, adding to the sensory impression of the setting, which was occasionally enhanced by the delicious smell of food.

This is a play that has a firm sense of time and place, but deals with themes that are just as relevant today. Beautifully acted and directed, it is definitely one to see.

Reviewed by Katre

Photography by Marc Brenner

Napoli, Brooklyn

Park Theatre until 13th July

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Peter Pan | ★★★★ | December 2018

Rosenbaum’s Rescue | ★★★★★ | January 2019

The Dame | ★★★★ | January 2019

Gently Down The Stream | ★★★★★ | February 2019

My Dad’s Gap Year | ★★½ | February 2019

The Life I Lead | ★★★ | March 2019

We’re Staying Right Here | ★★★★ | March 2019

Hell Yes I’m Tough Enough | ★★½ | April 2019

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

★★★

“Strindberg still has an incredible amount to say to modern audiences”

Having loved Creditors the previous night, I was very excited to experience Miss Julie – the most famous of August Strindberg’s plays – which is running on alternating nights at the Jermyn Street Theatre. Despite the trademark qualities of the writer being fully present, here they didn’t feel as tightly honed as in Creditors, resulting in a production that felt lost at times.

Originally written in 1888 and adapted by Howard Brenton based on a translation from Agnes Broomé, Miss Julie focuses on the relationship between the upper class titular character (Charlotte Hamblin) and her servant Jean (James Sheldon), as the pair use their status and seductiveness against each other in an ever shifting scuffle for power over one another. The play constructs an engaging commentary on the trappings of the class system at either end of the spectrum, and the ways in which love and sex can exist outside of that system, and it’s a credit to both Brenton and Strindberg that a lot of the arguments presented don’t feel stale, instead capturing a sense of modernity and relevance to the still-prevalent class oppression in our society.

However, other aspects of Miss Julie have not aged so well. The play was first conceived at a time when the likes of Ibsen and Chekhov had made naturalist theatre a new phenomenon, and so the play at times feels like it’s trying a little too hard to be the most naturalistic, at the expense of delivering a focused plot. Extended sequences in which Jean’s fiancée Kristin (Dorothea Myer-Bennett) cooks or waits for the other characters to return are dreary, and a huge detriment to the pace of the narrative. Additionally, after a blistering middle that is dripping with tension and psychological game-playing, the final section feels unsure of how to resolve its plot, and features the characters repeatedly threatening to do something then changing their mind. Consequently, when the actual resolution comes around, it fails to land with any weight as the audience had been conditioned not to trust the solutions the script presented.

These shortcomings are greatly atoned for with the performances, with mature and sensitive direction from Tom Littler. The fierce and flirtatious chemistry between Sheldon and Hamblin is tectonic as she toys with him, and the slow unveiling of his deeply embittered psyche is gripping. Hamblin’s performance later becomes a little over-wrought, as some speeches feel like they’re all being played at maximum distress at all times and as a result lack variety, but it provides an interesting contrast with Myer-Bennett’s grounded portrayal, and by and large the cast show a total mastery over the text, bringing humanity and idiosyncrasy to the forefront at every opportunity.

Miss Julie is in some ways very messy, and yet it was also hugely engrossing, which has made abundantly clear that even if it’s not being said in the most effective way, Strindberg still has an incredible amount to say to modern audiences.

Reviewed by Tom Francis

Photography by Robert Workman

Park Theatre

Reviewed – 17th June 2019

★★★★

“There is violence, despair and a moment of unrealised revelation, and Blair handles it all with a deft understanding”

When a dreadful and completely unexpected tragedy strikes the whole area all their lives are turned upside down.

This is a play that has a firm sense of time and place, but deals with themes that are just as relevant today. Beautifully acted and directed, it is definitely one to see.

Reviewed by Katre

Photography by Marc Brenner

Napoli, Brooklyn

Park Theatre until 13th July

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Jermyn Street Theatre

Reviewed – 30th April 2019

★★★

“Strindberg still has an incredible amount to say to modern audiences”

Miss Julie is in some ways very messy, and yet it was also hugely engrossing, which has made abundantly clear that even if it’s not being said in the most effective way, Strindberg still has an incredible amount to say to modern audiences.

Reviewed by Tom Francis

Photography by Robert Workman

Miss Julie

Jermyn Street Theatre until 1st June

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue: