Pablo Fernandez Baz Archives - thespyinthestalls.com

United Queendom

Kensington Palace

Reviewed – 2nd March 2020

★★★★★

“a fabulous and thoroughly enjoyable journey”

If you are lucky enough to have a ticket for this sold out show you are in for a treat. If you don’t have a ticket try and get a return.

Kensington Palace is the venue and, when you arrive, you will discover that you have been invited to the birthday party of King George the Second. A feast of delights awaits you! Will you meet the King? Or maybe Queen Caroline? You will definitely see them, and you will also see Henrietta Howard, the Queen’s mistress, and a host of characters from the Georgian court. The Necessary Woman, played by the irrepressible Christina Ngoyi, will escort you to the entrance to the palace. She will probably explain that her job is emptying the many chamber pots that are scattered around. She will be shooed away by Deven Modha, as the Lord Chamberlain, the most important of the King’s staff, as he will no doubt inform you. You’ll pick up a glass of wine, and the revels will begin. At the bottom of a grand staircase you will suddenly by surrounded by a flurry of skirts and wigs as courtiers appear and mingle with the crowd. You will be taught how to bow or curtsy, and maybe hear some hints of scandal. Senesino, the renowned court musician and composer will play virtuoso violin and, later, you will hear his beautiful counter tenor as he sings an aria that echoes and floats down the King’s staircase. James Hastings plays him with such sublime talent, and such wonderful theatricality, that you won’t want the music, to stop. Some of you will be given a golden envelope and ushered away to visit the King’s inner apartments. I don’t know what will happen to the rest of you, as there are two ‘tracks’ to the show and two different experiences. One thing is certain; you will have a fabulous time, whichever way you go.

We were treated to some hilarious court mischief, exposed to factions supporting the King or the Queen, and invited to a salon, where the women of the court hosted such great thinkers as Isaac Newton to talk. Deborah Tracey’s vibrant Salonnieres and the fusty old fashioned Duke of Newcastle, brilliantly played by Richard Holt, disagreed about whether the earth is round of flat. On the way round the palace we come across the Countess of Hertford, a supporter of the Queen, who wears men’s clothing and raps up a storm. Lucy Reynolds clearly has fun playing her, and is a joy. We discovered that Lord Harvey is rather a naughty boy, especially when he is with Miss Vane – Stephan Boyce and Nadia Sohawon really are deliciously scandalous in these roles. And yes, we met the King and Queen and, of course, Henrietta Howard. Lavinia Co-Op is archly camp George II, and Miranda Heath and Yasmin Keita, as the two women central to this story clash and face off like two birds of paradise in a sparkle of jewels and a ruffle of feathers. But is it possible that this ‘Queendom’ could be united? is there, perhaps, another way of doing things? You’ll just have to go and see it to find out. If you can get a ticket.

The costumes are glorious, the wigs and make-up a flamboyant delight. And the music is divine. Susan Kulkarni, Victoria Stride and Patrick Neil Doyle respectively are a dream team of creatives. Nadia Sohawon’s choreography adds to the mix, which manages to be both historically accurate and contemporarily relevant, lit with touch of magic by Pablo Fernandez Baz. And all brought together into a fabulous and thoroughly enjoyable journey through one night in the Georgian court by director Christa Harris. Amid all the uproarious glee we learned a lot too. Unmissable.

Reviewed by Katre

Photography by Gail Harland

United Queendom

Kensington Palace until 30th March

Last ten shows reviewed by Katre:

The Legend Of The Holy Drinker | ★★½ | The Vaults | January 2020

Beige | ★★★★ | The Vaults | February 2020

Gypsy Flame | ★★★ | Network Theatre | February 2020

In My Lungs The Ocean Swells | ★★★★ | The Vaults | February 2020

Killing It | ★★★★ | Network Theatre | February 2020

La Cage Aux Folles | ★★★★ | Park Theatre | February 2020

Life And Death Of A Journalist | ★★★ | The Vaults | February 2020

Spree | ★★★★ | The Vaults | February 2020

The Upstart Crow | ★★★★★ | Gielgud Theatre | February 2020

Time And Tide | ★★★ | Park Theatre | February 2020

Click here to see our most recent reviews

Shackleton and his Stowaway

Park Theatre

Reviewed – 10th January 2020

★★★

“an extremely interesting and watchable play”

After being lucky enough myself to explore north of the Arctic Circle just two months ago, I eagerly arrived at the Park Theatre for a trip to Antarctica.

This play by Andy Dickinson and directed by Simone Coxall tells the story of Ernest Shackleton, who along with his crew, attempts to sail his ship Endurance across the Antarctic. His plans are immediately thrown into chaos as a young stowaway appears on board. Much of the story then focuses on the relationship between Shackleton and the stowaway and how this develops as the voyage progresses and doesn’t exactly go according to plan.

The stage is set (Kajeel Patel) using wooden crates and trucks, along with ropes and sheets to depict various parts of the ship and later, tents and rocks on the pack ice; these are well utilised. A ladder and the gantry are used to strong effect to establish different levels on The Endurance.

Lighting (Pablo Baz) is well designed, there is also clever use of projection (Enrique Muñoz) with snow and other icy shots. I would like to have seen more blizzards rather than gently falling flakes and maybe the occasional map to depict the distance and location that these adventurers explored. Sound (Dominic Brennan) is well thought out with waves, wind, creaking joints and some suitable dramatic music. Again, maybe the wind could have been stronger, howling gales could have added to the bleakness of the locations.

Richard Ede has some great moments as Shackleton. I thought when he first met the stowaway, he took this a little too much in his stride. He was strongest in his monologues. His opening dialogue beautifully set the scene and introduced us to the drive and motivation behind Shackleton’s journey, his long speech as he desperately searched for help over hundreds of miles, was quite inspiring. Elliott Ross as the Welsh stowaway was a nice contrast and he brought a huge amount of youthful energy to all his scenes, until the freezing conditions got the better of him.

Despite there being twenty seven men on board, this is actually a two-hander. The actors had a nice chemistry and a decision had clearly been made to bring out the humour in this script, I think possibly a little too much. There is definitely a place for the lighter side to be explored, but this is beautifully poetic script and the play was at its best when the drama was highlighted.

Act Two focussed on the time after the ship had been crushed by the ice and eventually sunk. I would have loved to have seen the actors dressed with some frost bitten make-up and I could not understand how in one of the most frozen and remote areas of the World, they were not wearing gloves.

This is an inspirational story in many ways and considering the helpless situation that Shackleton found himself in, it was remarkable how he mostly brought his crew home. Stolen Elephant Theatre has produced an extremely interesting and watchable play. I definitely felt like I’d been on a voyage, although I was not entirely convinced that I’d been all the way to the Antarctic.

Hard to believe that this story took place only just over one hundred years ago. Now, due to climate change, some of these unnavigable, remote, frozen areas, that caused Shackleton and his crew such trauma, are disappearing before our very eyes.

Kensington Palace

Reviewed – 2nd March 2020

★★★★★

“a fabulous and thoroughly enjoyable journey”

If you are lucky enough to have a ticket for this sold out show you are in for a treat. If you don’t have a ticket try and get a return.

Reviewed by Katre

Photography by Gail Harland

United Queendom

Kensington Palace until 30th March

Last ten shows reviewed by Katre:

Park Theatre

Reviewed – 10th January 2020

★★★

“an extremely interesting and watchable play”

After being lucky enough myself to explore north of the Arctic Circle just two months ago, I eagerly arrived at the Park Theatre for a trip to Antarctica.

The stage is set (Kajeel Patel) using wooden crates and trucks, along with ropes and sheets to depict various parts of the ship and later, tents and rocks on the pack ice; these are well utilised. A ladder and the gantry are used to strong effect to establish different levels on The Endurance.

Act Two focussed on the time after the ship had been crushed by the ice and eventually sunk. I would have loved to have seen the actors dressed with some frost bitten make-up and I could not understand how in one of the most frozen and remote areas of the World, they were not wearing gloves.

Hard to believe that this story took place only just over one hundred years ago. Now, due to climate change, some of these unnavigable, remote, frozen areas, that caused Shackleton and his crew such trauma, are disappearing before our very eyes.

Reviewed by Chris White

Photography by Elena Molina

Shackleton and his Stowaway

Park Theatre until 1st February

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue: