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The Night Before Christmas
★★★

Southwark Playhouse

The Night Before Christmas

The Night Before Christmas

Southwark Playhouse

Reviewed – 30th November 2018

★★★

“This not-at-all-family-friendly Christmas tale is wickedly clever, and doesn’t fail to draw laughs”

 

It’s Christmas Eve, and Simon (Michael Salami) is less than thrilled to be called out of bed in the middle of the night. His friend, Gary (Douggie McMeekin), has caught an Elf (Dan Starkey) breaking into his warehouse. Or at least a man dressed like an elf. Elf claims he fell from Santa’s sleigh. Gullible Gary is inclined to believe him. Cynical Simon tells Gary to call the police. Elf begs to be let go, plying them with detailed information about Santa, including the Powdered Christmas Feeling (PCF) he gives to children (great high, no side effects).

Gary and Simon are still deliberating what to do when sex-worker Cherry (Unique Spencer) arrives, demanding the Power Rangers for her son Gary promised her in exchange for sex. Elf says he needs to get back to Santa’s sleigh, but when Cherry checks his arms, she finds track marks. Obviously a junkie. Elf protests, it’s just PFC! He’ll grant each of them one wish if they’ll just let him go…

This not-at-all-family-friendly Christmas tale is wickedly clever, and doesn’t fail to draw laughs. It’s also touching – surprisingly Christmas-spirited – as even the most jaded adults manage to rediscover the Christmas feeling.

Director Alex Sutton’s revival of Anthony Neilson’s play, which premiered in London in 1995, is as sweary and gritty (real cigarettes smoked on stage) as its “in-yer-face” author intended. Unfortunately though, the story has just got started when it’s dragged to a near-standstill by overly-lengthy expositional dialogue. Gary and Simon spend too long questioning Elf and not believing him. Their extended Q&A interrogates the rules of Santa’s operation to an unnecessary extent, and while Elf’s explanation is unique, it’s pure exposition. The performance feels stalled with Simon constantly threatening to call the police, and neither of them making a decision. When Cherry finally arrives on the scene, it’s like being yanked out of the mud. The pace falters again later with the characters’ circular debate over which wishes to choose. When a play has a 65-minute runtime, it’s not good for scenes to feel long.

McMeekin, Salami, and Spencer give high-energy, confident performances with skilled comedic timing. Starkey’s decision to play the elf straightforward – distressed and desperate – forgoes some of the potential comedy in the role. Designer Michael Leopold has made effective use of a sparse set, and delights the audience with some well-timed ‘Christmas magic.’

Considering Soho Theatre’s 2013 revival of The Night Before Christmas was a musical, there’s a question of whether this 2018 revival has anything to add to the original. The script provides an excellent premise, but it feels as though Sutton has missed an opportunity to address its flaws, and contribute a fresh perspective.

The Night Before Christmas is fun, silly, ‘alternative’ Christmas theatre, but this revival doesn’t lift the play above the original’s pitfalls.

 

Reviewed by Addison Waite

Photography by Darren Bell

 


The Night Before Christmas

Southwark Playhouse until 29th December

 

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:
Old Fools | ★★★★★ | March 2018
The Country Wife | ★★★ | April 2018
Confidence | ★★ | May 2018
The Rink | ★★★★ | May 2018
Why is the Sky Blue? | ★★★★★ | May 2018
Wasted | ★★★ | September 2018
The Sweet Science of Bruising | ★★★★ | October 2018
The Trench | ★★★ | October 2018
The Funeral Director | ★★★★★ | November 2018
Seussical The Musical | ★★★★ | November 2018

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

 

Into the Woods – 4 Stars

Woods

Into the Woods

Cockpit Theatre

Reviewed – 25th May 2018

★★★★

“a hugely complex work with multi-layered lessons and warnings”

 

Sondheim and Lapine’s Tony Award winning musical, ‘Into the Woods’, is transported imaginatively to the 21st century by Tim McArthur in a slick and entertaining production. It illustrates the timelessness of fairy tales, the messages they convey and, more importantly, the ones they don’t. ‘Cinderella’, ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, ‘Jack and the Bean Stalk’ and ‘Rapunzel’ are woven together by the plight of a baker and his wife who must undo a spell of infertility cast on them by a wicked witch. In Act One we enjoy the familiar stories as they all wish for their dreams and enter the woods – the big, brutal world – in pursuit of them. Their quests successful and desires fulfilled, they can live happily ever after. Or can they? Act Two unravels these aspirations, the consequences of how they are achieved, followed by disillusionment, responsibility, revenge, loss … and, ultimately, the many realisations of adulthood, including the underlying fascination for what lies in the woods.

The array of contemporary, larger-than-life roles fits effortlessly together. Some, however, find a more rounded definition than others: Jamie O’Donnell steals the show with his beautifully detailed interpretation of Jack, giving him depth and pathos, and his mother (Madeleine MacMahon) draws a wonderful picture of his background with her strong personality. Michele Moran, as the witch, arouses both fear and sympathy and Cinderella (Abigail Carter-Simpson) and Red Riding Hood (Florence Odumosu) depict a more human and questioning side to their personalities from the beginning. As the narrator, Jordan Michael Todd skilfully creates his own charismatic persona, embedding himself surreptitiously into the action while drawing us in as the storyteller.

The ensemble singing is tightly coordinated and well-balanced but the individual voices are less consistent. Both Jo Wickham and Tim McArthur show their professional musical theatre experience and there are many strong newcomers, but a few are, on occasions, overshadowed by the band. Aaron Clingham (Musical Director) and his musicians provide the perfect accompaniment to the performance.

Staged in the round, we are wrapped up in the comings and goings of the play, with wood chippings underfoot. Joana Dias’ set design of assorted ladders gives the feeling of a play for adults, offset by the rudimentary props. The lighting (Vittorio Verta) ably fashions the dappled sunlight and shadows in the woods as well as the fairy-tale special effects.

‘Into the Woods’ is a hugely complex work with multi-layered lessons and warnings. The overriding theme appears as “Be careful what you wish for” but there is also a powerful point made to parents: “Be careful what you say, children may listen”. Mothers and fathers figure prominently, accepting or otherwise the repercussions of their parenting. It broaches the subjects of blame and greed, reinforces the supportive nature of survival and addresses our natural sense of adventure – do we want to live happily ever after or do we want to live life? Tim McArthur’s astute direction brings out these ideas and makes them relevant.

 

Reviewed by Joanna Hetherington 

Photography by David Ovenden

 


Into the Woods

Cockpit Theatre until 24th June

 

Related
Also directed by Tim McArthur
Hot Lips & Cold War | ★★★★★ | London Theatre Workshop | February 2018

 

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