Tag Archives: Sean Turner

Review of King Tut – A Pyramid Panto – 4 Stars

Tut

King Tut – A Pyramid Panto

King’s Head Theatre

Reviewed – 28th November 2017

★★★★

“wickedly funny, and performed with great gusto”

 

If you are looking for some rather bonkers fun this is for you. The last time I went to a panto it was with small children. It was enjoyable, but earsplitting and really for the kids, so I didn’t think pantomime was my thing. However, King Tut – A Pyramid Panto has really changed my mind. It’s definitely not for the kids (though there are some family friendly shows in the run) and it is absolutely hilarious! It is quite a feat, on press night, to have the whole audience singing silly songs, yelling ‘don’t do it!’ and generally having a jolly good time. With a good range of fart jokes, sly contemporary references and lots of familiar tunes (with very different lyrics!), King Tut delights. It is wickedly funny, and performed with great gusto and musical virtuosity by Charles Court Opera.

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The story is, very, very, loosely, based on Howard Carter’s expedition to discover the tomb of Tutankhamen. Except this Carter goes back in time and meets the young Pharaoh in person. The ensemble singing is pitch perfect and the singers are also excellent and energetic actors.

All pantomimes need a great villain and John Savournin’s Lord Conniving is a treat. He blusters and swaggers, inviting boos and hisses from the willing audience and singing up a storm with his rich, powerful bass-baritone. He has impeccable comic timing and a natural sense of how to get the audience involved. He is also the writer and director of this wonderful romp. Matt J Ward is endearing as a lovestruck and rather hapless Howard Carter and his excruciating awkwardness and ‘particular difficulty’ in getting close to the lovely Evelyn become an ongoing daft and giggle inducing theme. Evelyn is played with unaffected warmth by Francesca Fenech, and she and Ward had us rooting for the successful start of their relationship. If you want to know if they get together you will have to see the show!

King Tut is played with street style and bravado by the exquisite welsh soprano Alys Roberts. She is small enough to play the boy king, with a voice big enough to fill the space with effortless ease. A voice that can soar to the rafters in her higher range and also take on pop and rap silliness without sounding forced. The final cast member is Philip Lee who plays the porter, the camel and the gameshow host. He is a comic chameleon, inhabiting each character with relish. His lovable camel gallops from gleeful to poignant, and he seems to channel the spirit of Bruce Forsyth when he appears to host the gameshow. He also has a gorgeous tenor voice and fantastic physicality. Dave Jennings is on percussion, and his head makes a brief appearance at one point.

With those panto must-haves of a shimmering set (Sean Turner) and slightly OTT costumes (Mia Wallden), King Tut is a great evening out. Why not get some friends together and grab some tickets? You won’t regret it!

 

Reviewed by Katre

Photography by William Knight

 

 

 

KING TUT – A PYRAMID PANTO

is at the King’s Head Theatre until 6th January

 

 

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

 

 

Talk

Talk Radio

Old Red Lion Theatre

Reviewed – 31st August 2017

 

⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

 

“doesn’t hit home enough to be provocative”

 

 

Thirty years since its first performance, Covent Garden Productions brings Talk Radio to the Old Red Lion, a play about free speech and how we misuse it. Fictional shock-jock Barry Champlain invites his listeners to call in and say their piece on any topic they like, from the personal, political to the perils of garbage disposal, for which he in turn lambasts them with caustic wit. On the eve of national syndication, Champlain starts to lose control live on air.

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I want to love this production. There is a lot to like. Matthew Jure’s performance is masterful. His energy and mania as Barry starts to unravel on air is hypnotic. The rest of the cast are equally fantastic, particularly Ceallach Spellman who storms on as the irrepressible Kent. The set design is incredible, the detail is immaculate and the claustrophobia it creates is palpable. Turner’s direction is slick, keeping the show moving at break neck speed. The pace never slows as the constant stream of voices bombard Champlain, trapped in his box. This has all the elements of a great show.

Unfortunately, it lacks heart. While the lack of connection with the callers may be deliberate, the relationships in the room feel equally hollow. They all exist in isolation, which undermines Barry’s contempt for his callers and robs the play of any emotional impact. The most obvious casualty of this is Molly McNerney’s Linda, whose last minute attempt to reach out to Barry feels unfounded. She becomes just another caller for Barry to abuse and what should be poignant falls flat.

There are also a couple of inconsistencies which just feel clumsy – a particular moment sticks out when an unpleasant delivery is made to the station, creating real tension – which then gets completely thrown away when said delivery is left to litter the DJ booth.

There is no question that Eric Bogosian’s script still has relevance today, with free speech being so widely misused across social media. Questions about what it is we choose to say and who it is we choose to listen to feel even more pertinent in the age of Twitter. But while enjoyable, this show doesn’t hit home enough to be provocative.

 

Reviewed for thespyinthestalls.com

Photography by Cameron Harle

 

 

TALK RADIO

is at The Old Red Lion Theatre until 23rd September

 

 

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