Tag Archives: Robert Hyman

PINOCCHIO

★★★★

Theatre Royal Stratford East

ReviewsBRETTA GERECKE, Charlotte Louise, Claudimar Neto, Craig Fuller, Dylan Collymore, Festive Favourite, Gareth Fry, Giles Broadbent, Jhanaica Van Mook, Michael Bertenshaw, Nick Barstow, Nicole Louise Lewis, Omar F Okai, Perry Melius, Pinocchio, Recommended Show, Robert Hyman, Rushand Chambers, Sara Farina, Stewart J Charlesworth, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Tok Morakinyo, Travis Wood, Trish Cookethespyinthestalls

PINOCCHIO at the Theatre Royal Stratford East

★★★★

“an eye-popping, feel-good extravaganza”

Theatre Royal Stratford East leads its audience on a magical mystery tour with its vibrant retelling of the Pinocchio story, blessed with neon colours, funky beats – and a fairy to die for.

Sizzling with energy and dressed like an atompunk seaside arcade, this classic tale of the wooden puppet who wants to be a real boy has zip and a dazzling bubblegum aesthetic thanks to set and costume designer Stewart J Charlesworth, who deserves to take the applause alongside the admirable cast.

The story, under the direction of Omar F Okai, draws directly from Italian writer Carlo Collodi’s 1883 classic.

Pinocchio, a mischievous wooden puppet carved by the kind-hearted Geppetto, comes to life. He is impulsive and rebellious, leading him into a series of misadventures. He runs away, skipping school to attend a puppet show. He is soon swindled by the deceitful Sly Fox and Miss Cat, who convince him to gamble away his money.

He joins a group of troublemakers who take him to Playland where he is transformed into a donkey and sold to a circus. After a series of humiliations, Pinocchio is thrown into the sea and swallowed by a shark. Who Pinocchio meets inside the shark finally persuades the puppet to change his ways.

Playland, a chicken farm, a shark’s belly, a workshop, a dark circus – what a confection of opportunities for set design, lighting, choreography and fun.

Everything relies on the winning power and prowess of Pinocchio and Dylan Collymore delivers, with disco moves, soulful tones and a cheeky presence. The music, courtesy of Trish Cooke and Robert Hyman, calls on an eclectic range of global styles and puts everyone through their paces.

The cast is gleeful and charming. Special mention to crowd pleasers Nicole Louise Lewis as Krik Krak (“I say Krik, you say Krak”) and jolly jack of all trades Tok Morakinyo who turns up all over the place in different guises.

Saving the best till last though, cutting through the sugar-rush flim-flam is veteran Michael Bertenshaw as the Blue Rinse Fairy who has sharpened his vaudeville stylings and dry badinage into a formidable comic weapon. With his sardonic eye rolls and wry world weariness, his exasperation might go over the heads of the little ones, but he speaks directly to the grown-ups.

While the exuberant cast sweat buckets in elaborate street-smart dance routines, laconic Bertenshaw merely needs to deadpan to the stalls to have us all in hysterics.

Minor quibbles: the story is picaresque and episodic so it’s easy to lose track of progress; and the evil pair of Fox and Cat could indulge in more obvious crowd-riling villainy – giving everyone more opportunities to boo. Still, the dance numbers landed, the storytelling was upbeat, and everyone left the theatre cheerfully singing a refrain about believing in themselves. Job done.

What an eye-popping, feel-good extravaganza.

PINOCCHIO at the Theatre Royal Stratford East

Reviewed on 30th November 2024

by Giles Broadbent

Photography by Craig Fuller

Previously reviewed at this venue:

WONDER BOY | ★★★★ | October 2024

ABIGAIL’S PARTY | ★★★★ | September 2024

NOW, I SEE | ★★★★ | May 2024

CHEEKY LITTLE BROWN | ★★★½ | April 2024

THE BIG LIFE | ★★★★★ | February 2024

BEAUTIFUL THING | ★★★★★ | September 2023

PINOCCHIO

PINOCCHIO

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Tommy – 4*

ReviewsArnim Freiss, British Sign Language, Mark Smith, Ramps on the Moon, Review, Robert Hyman, The Who, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Tommythespyinthestalls

TOMMY

Theatre Royal Stratford East

Opening Night – 12th June 2017

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“an energetic and sensory delight”

The Who’s Tommy returns to London at the Theatre Royal Stratford East with an energetic production from the New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich in collaboration with Ramps on the Moon. Whilst it has been quite some time since the rock musical, based on the 1969 film Tommy, has graced the British stage and the chance of it appearing aged and irrelevant is high, this production propelled the 60s anthems and its themes into the social climate of 2017.

The story, set in post-war Britain, follows Tommy, the “deaf, dumb and blind kid,” who becomes a “pinball wizard” and goes from being rejected by his peers to becoming their new icon. It is told through an energetic soundtrack led through Robert Hyman’s beautiful musical direction, which doesn’t give the audience time to review some of the absurdities within the play’s story.

It is the perfect musical for challenging the ways in which those with disabilities, in particular disabled artists, are viewed in society. There is frequent comparison between the institutionalisation of disabled people in post-war Britain and the ways in which some of those sentiments prevail in certain places within society today. This, however, is certainly not the focus of the production and is a more about the accessibility of the show itself.

Julian Capolei, William Grint and Matthew Jacobs-Morgan

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE KWASNIAK

The show is championed on its choreography (Mark Smith), beautifully incorporating British Sign Language into the movement and dancing in each scene. The chorus, were incredibly energetic and combined their instrumental skills with their other established theatrical abilities. It was an energetic and sensory delight from the very beginning and whilst the second half was overshadowed by the vitality of the first, the production ended on an absolute high.

Tommy, is truly an inclusively sensual experience which at times, like many rock musicals, felt like more concert rather than a musical. The exceptional lighting design from Arnim Freiss really captured the essence of the post-war setting, switching frequently between a colourful display to represent the growing youth movements of the time, as well as a growing sense of community and love, and a more muted tone for scenes displaying more sombre moments in the performance.

It was clear from the production, and the energy within the theatre, that this was a pure collaborative performance attached to a wider creative community of London-based disabled and non-disabled artists. Ramps on the Moon is a ‘ground-breaking touring project that signals a step change in disability arts provision in the UK’ through collaborating a group of six theatres across the country who are committed to centralise their programmes around Deaf and disabled artists.

Reviewed by Claire Minnitt

Tommy is at the Theatre Royal Stratford East until 17th June

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