Tag Archives: Peter Baker

Streaming Beauty

Streaming Beauty

★★★

Online via Bristol Old Vic

Streaming Beauty

Streaming Beauty

Online via Bristol Old Vic

Reviewed – 19th December 2020

★★★

 

“the laughs and cheers throughout were evidence of a job well done”

 

Streaming Beauty is an online interactive adult panto. Hosted by the marvellously named Annette Curtains (Tom Marshman), it asks its Zoom attendees to complete silly festive tasks to help wake the eponymous heroine from her slumber, brought on by ‘fingering a prick’. The overarching tone is tongue-in-cheek queer naughtiness, and the show is peppered throughout with knowing pop culture references, with Hymen Bowel (Lotte Allan) presenting The Sex Factor, Angelina Unholy fetish icon (Peter Baker) and the Artist Formerly Known as Prince Charming (Edson Burton) all featuring. Here, as in real life panto, much depends on the gusto and spirit of the audience. More than any other theatrical form, panto really is what you make it. If you walk into the theatre, or switch on your Zoom, ready to contribute and to have a good night then you will. It says much about the resilience both of the form and the COVID-beseiged British audience that the panto spirit was firmly in evidence last night. Given that much of the show is in Zoom Gallery View format, the audience is quite literally on show as much as the performers, and the families, couples and singletons who were in attendance rose to the challenge admirably.

That being said, it does take an effort of will to supply atmosphere whilst staring at a laptop, and the sad reality is that it is impossible to be unaware of the limitations of the small screen in this most rambunctious theatrical form. Peter Baker and Tom Marshman adapted the most successfully to these strictures, by having an awareness of them and playing with close-ups and the edges of the frame. This is clearly a new-found skill in the actor’s arsenal, and, inevitably, some performers have been better able to take up the challenge than others.

Stephanie Kempson (director) and her company Sharp Teeth are clearly at the cutting edge of online theatre, and this panto comes hot on the heels of their successful online interactive Sherlock Holmes show, which also put the audience into breakout rooms and provided them with tasks to fulfil. Whilst being a natural fit for an immersive detective drama, this structure did feel like something of an imposition on the panto format, and this reviewer did pine for more panto and less escape room, but it seems that mine was the minority view, and the rest of last night’s audience clearly relished the games aspect of the evening. It was a full house last night, with 90 people logged in, and the laughs and cheers throughout were evidence of a job well done.

 

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

 

 

Bristol Old Vic

Streaming Beauty

Online via Bristol Old Vic

 

Recently reviewed by Rebecca:
Fanny & Stella | ★★★★ | The Garden Theatre | August 2020
Antony & Cleopatra | ★★ | Theatro Technis | September 2020
C-o-n-t-a-c-t | ★★★★ | Monument | September 2020
The Tempest | ★★★ | Turk’s Head | September 2020
Living With the Lights On | ★★★★ | Golden Goose Theatre | October 2020
The 39 Steps | ★★★ | The Maltings | October 2020
Visitors | ★★★½ | Online | October 2020
Eating Myself | ★★★★ | Online | November 2020
Myra Dubois: A Problem Shared | ★★★ | Online | November 2020
Pecs: Christmas Queer | ★★★★ | Pleasance Theatre | December 2020

 

Click here to see our most recent reviews

 

Only Fools And Horses

Only Fools and Horses
★★★★

Theatre Royal Haymarket

Only Fools And Horses

Only Fools and Horses

Theatre Royal Haymarket

Reviewed – 20th February 2019

★★★★

 

“a pukka production that does a lovely jubbly job at maintaining the heart and soul of a classic”

 

The Trotters have come up in the world. They’re now residing in the West End. But you can’t take Peckham out of these geezers. Only Fools and Horses The Musical has been in the pipeline for many years, but now it has finally arrived, brimming with the familiar warmth and humour that made the original sitcom one of the nation’s most-loved tv shows. 

The genius behind the sitcom, John Sullivan had ruminated with the idea of turning his beloved creation into a song and dance show decades ago. He even collaborated with Chas Hodges, of Chas & Dave fame, to noodle around song ideas. Sadly, due to both men’s passing, the gauntlet was passed to the writer’s son, Jim Sullivan, who acquired the help of another tv great, Paul Whitehouse, in finishing where his father had left off.

Unquestionably a tall order to package approximately forty four hours of material into a two hour show, yet Sullivan Jnr and Whitehouse do an excellent job at piecing it all together, picking the most memorable punchlines and visual gags to incorporate. Based around the ‘Dates’ episode where Del Boy first meets his other half, Raquel, through a dating agency, as well as Rodney’s marriage to Cassandra, this stage adaptation sticks to Musical Theatre ‘boy gets girl’ conventions. Iconic scenes are given a nod to, whilst fresh material such as a fantasy sequence that flashes forward from the show’s 1980s setting, to the hipster Peckham of today, is an entertaining addition. The quality of the original writing is not diminished, as Sullivan and Whitehouse have managed to bottle its infinite lovability.

The time and care taken in the script doesn’t always replicate itself in the music, with many songs feeling like the have been idly added as padding. Writing responsibilities were fractured between eleven composers/lyricists, which makes the consistency questionable. The witty, mockney lyrics of ‘Bit of a Sort’, and ‘Where Have All The Cockneys Gone?’ are examples of where the songs really lend themselves in developing the characters, whilst ‘The Girl’, crooned by Raquel (Dianne Pilkington) is reminiscent of Nancy in Lionel Bart’s Oliver! However, the random addition of two pop songs and a couple from Chas & Dave’s cannon of hits, feels as much as a rip off as the dodgy goods out the back of Del Boy’s van.

The cast could quite easily have chosen to impersonate the original stars, yet, for the most case, the decision to embody the essence of the character instead is rightfully selected. However, Peter Baker’s uncanny vocal and physical resemblance to Roger Lloyd Pack’s Trigger is something of a treat. The three generations of the Trotter household are well performed. Tom Bennett is a loveable jack-the-lad Del Boy, channeling his cocky exuberance, and newcomer Ryan Hutton excels as downtrodden Rodney, whilst Paul Whitehouse makes a delightful cameo as grandad. A special mention should be made to Oscar Conlon-Morrey whose virtuosic ability to play many of the small ‘bit’ parts got some of the biggest laughs.

Where the show may be occasionally lacking in the musical department, it makes up for in its barrage of vintage comedy, cleverly bypassing any of the derogatory ‘humour’ of yesteryear. Overall, a pukka production that does a lovely jubbly job at maintaining the heart and soul of a classic.

 

Reviewed by Phoebe Cole

Photography by Johan Persson

 


Only Fools and Horses

Theatre Royal Haymarket until August 17th

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
The Rat Pack – Live From Las Vegas | ★★★½ | January 2018
Broken Wings | ★★★ | August 2018
Heathers | ★★★★ | September 2018
The Band | ★★★★ | December 2018

 

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