“a joyous piece of children’s theatre – and is sure to bring a smile to old and new fans alike”
For any family with junior school age children, Liz Pichon’s Tom Gates books have become a familiar and popular addition to our bookshelves. Liz has now written and illustrated fifteen books in the series, and when I mentioned to my ten year old son that Tom Gates was to be ‘Live on Stage’, he was very excited to see how that would work. Director, Neal Foster and Author, Liz Pichon agreed that rather than base the show on one of her many books, they would create a brand new story, and so in a first for the Birmingham Stage Company, they worked together to do just that.
The story starts in the classroom: Tom has got three sad faces on the class achievement chart. If he gets four, he will not be allowed to go on the class outing to the local biscuit factory. At home, his grandparents (the Fossils) have decided to renew their wedding vows, and preparations are in full swing.
Jackie Trousdale’s set is mainly comprised of six drop down screens that have Liz’s very stylised doodles projected onto them. These go up and down as the scenes change with amazing effect. Doors and windows appear and disappear in the blink of an eye, and the rain cloud that follows sister, Delia around constantly is very amusing. My favourite scenes involved Dad (Daniel Harkin), driving Tom and his friends around town in his borrowed hot dog van, all down to a clever projected illustration and some impeccably choreographed acting.
The cast work extremely well together, many playing multiple roles to deliver a fun and cohesive script. Matthew Chase proficiently leads the cast as the titular Tom, his signature hairstyle is lifted straight from Liz’s illustrations and is a nice touch. Justin Davies and Ashley Cousins as school friends, Norman and Marcus, really capture their characters – we all knew similar people at school! Amy Hargreaves shines through as sugary classmate Amy and the emotionally charged big sister, Delia.
Some of the funniest scenes involved Ashley Cousins as Granny and Matthew Gordon as Grandad. Grandad teaching Tom to play the spoons and a wedding arch made of Zimmer frames were among the highlights. Look out for the special wedding carriage, it’s very funny and brilliantly designed.
The whole piece is woven with original music by Liz’s husband, Mark Flannery, with lyrics written by Liz herself. The songs are catchy and witty, and bring more fun to the proceedings. Tom Gates – Live on Stage is a joyous piece of children’s theatre – and is sure to bring a smile to old and new fans alike.
Reviewed by Emma Gradwell
Photography by Mark Douet
Tom Gates
Richmond Theatre until 24th March then UK Tour continues
“perseverance rewards with a wistful poignancy that lingers long after the curtain call”
“84 Charing Cross Road” is a most unlikely success story. It started in the early seventies as a slim volume by a little-known, middle-aged American writer, Helene Hanff. Simply a collection of letters between the impecunious book-lover Hanff, in New York, and the staff of an antiquarian bookshop in London, it became a bestseller. As well as a BBC television series, and the Mel Brooks film starring Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft, it also enjoyed a long run in the West End with James Roose-Evans’s award-winning stage version.
This revival, quite rightly, makes no attempt to dust off the sense of the period and remains faithful to the sensibilities of Roose-Evans’s adaptation of the original material. For some, this might make for rather gentle viewing, but perseverance rewards with a wistful poignancy that lingers long after the curtain call.
The correspondence spans two decades – from Britain’s post-war austerity to the height of the Swinging Sixties – and is full of affection, humour and humanity. It starts in 1949 as a straightforward business correspondence with Frank Doel when Helene Hanff sends a wish list of rare books she’d been unable to acquire in New York. Disarmed by the quirky, outspoken Hanff, the letters from the business-like Doel grow less formal, until he finally addresses her as “Dear Helene”. And for her, he becomes “Frankie”.
Clive Francis, as Frank Doel, captures this quintessential Englishness – and it is a joy to watch the gradual transformation as he sheds his inhibitions and relaxes. His self-conscious and sometimes clumsy attempts at familiarity contrast with Helen’s relaxed candour. The teasing tenderness between the two defines Britain and America’s ‘special relationship’. Designer Norman Coates strengthens this unity with an ingenious set that splits the stage in two, highlighting the contrast between the two worlds.
Stefanie Powers, as the chain smoking, unsuppressed Hanff, has a naturalness and comfort that rules the stage. For various reasons, mainly financial, her attempts to fly over to London are repeatedly thwarted. Powers never quite evokes the genuine frustration at this, whereas Francis wonderfully expresses Doel’s wordless disappointment in a perfectly observed and understated performance. And when we know it’s too late, we suddenly perceive how he has visibly aged and is silently resigned to the moving epilogue that is to follow.
Fine support comes too from an ensemble who join in the correspondence, adding splashes of colour with snippets of their own affairs. That they all sing and play instruments is a device that heightens the emotional punch, especially when they come together for a chorus of ‘Abide With me’. It is a kind of eulogy not just to the friendship, but to an era and a way of life that has passed away.
One can’t help wondering how the relationship would have progressed in today’s age of social media. Helene observes that she “made friends I never met”, an anachronism which takes on a whole new meaning in today’s ‘Facebook’ climate. But we get the impression that these characters would have eschewed the internet, at the risk of being labelled old fashioned. This show runs that risk too, but that is its charm. Rich in fine observation; its soft cadences and its realism are the perfect antidote to the harsh, staccato rhythms of the digital world.
