Theatre Review: The Pajama Game

On Monday I was lucky enough to see The Pajama Game at the Shaftesbury Theatre. I've wanted to see a Chichester Festival Theatre transfer for quite some time and this one didn't disappoint. It tells the story of Babe Williams (Joanna Riding) and Sid Sorokin (Michael Xavier) who are on opposite sites of an industrial dispute at the factory they work in - Babe is vigorously campaigning for a raise while Sid is having to tow the line of boss Hasler (Colin Stinton). Caught between a rock and a hard place, the romance between the two falters but Sid endeavours to rescue it - and the workers' cause.

First of all, the musical numbers are fantastic. Each one, I decided, was my new favourite, until it was superseded by the next. With a little distance, I think my favourites were probably 'I'm Not at All In Love', 'I'll Never Be Jealous Again', 'Once-a-Year Day', 'There Once Was a Man' and 'Hernando's Hideaway' (yes, I'm aware that's half the score!). 'I'm Not at All in Love' is Babe trying to convince her colleagues that she doesn't have a thing for Sid, quite unsuccessfully. The camaraderie in that number is brilliant and it fully establishes Babe's character. 'I'll Never Be Jealous Again' is a duet and dance between foreman Hines (Gary Wilmott) and Mabel (Claire Machin), with her testing his resolve to be more trusting of his girlfriend Gladys (Alexis Owen-Hobbs). Honestly, this pair form a wonderful double-act with many little comedic moments throughout the show, especially when Hines can't quite get his trousers back on (long story).'Once-a-Year Day' is a production number involving the whole cast at the factory picnic and the choreography, as it is throughout the musical, is exquisite. The energy of this cast is outstanding. 'There Once Was a Man' is another energetic song with Babe and Sid expressing their love for each other while 'Hernando's Hideaway' is an ensemble number where Alexis Owen-Hobbs shines as Gladys. There's nothing substandard about the songs I haven't mentioned but this is already turning into an essay!

The cast is superb. Joanna Riding captures Babe perfectly, from the punchy and spiky factory grievance committee spokeswoman down to the heartbroken woman who sings a reprise of 'Hey There'. She irresistibly captures the eye during any scene, even when she's not speaking. Equally, her chemistry with Michael Xavier works very well, especially in 'Small Talk' and 'There Once Was a Man'. Xavier himself portrays the conflicted Sid delicately enough and the rest of the cast all have their shining moments, some of which I've mentioned above. However, for me at least, Joanna Riding stands out from the excellent crowd.

The Pajama Game concludes a limited run on 13th September. I'd highly recommend it as a fun night out at the theatre with some memorable songs. Four days later, I'm still singing 'Hernando's Hideaway'...

Classic Film Review: Curtain Call (1940)

Curtain Call tells the story of a naive playwright, Helen Middleton (Barbara Read), who is offered the chance to have her play put on by producer and director team Geoffrey Crandall (Donald MacBride) and Donald Avery (Alan Mowbray). But little does she realise that Crandall and Avery have picked her play because it was the worst one that has crossed their paths and they need a bad vehicle to force their star actress Charlotte Morley (Helen Vinson) into altering her stance on her new contract. When she thinks it's a wonderful script, though, Crandall tasks Avery to romance Helen in order to get her permission for changes to the script but that might drive Avery to an early grave.

This is a short film and reasonably entertaining, even if the writer in me didn't appreciate the jokes at Helen's expense. At the beginning of the film her writing ambitions are ridiculed by her family and occasional boyfriend Ted (John Archer) but instead of correcting her beliefs about her work they just allow her to go through with her humiliation. On a personal level, this touched me a bit.

However, there are some amusing moments, mostly coming when Avery tries to keep up with a younger woman. Also worth a mention is Smitty (Leona Maricle), Crandall's secretary, who has her fair share of good lines throughout.

All in all, this is an odd little film. I'm not sure any of the leads work well together but there are enough amusing moments to hold attention throughout this one. It spawned a sequel based on Crandall and Avery's attempts to get money out of an old woman (yes, the plots seemed to inspire Mel Brooks). I'll be getting to Footlight Fever (1941) in due course.

Wakefield Drama Festival 2013

This was my third consecutive festival, having attended and reviewed all seven shows in 2011 and 2012. Last year was dominated by a couple of grim and heavy plays while this year was much more about the comedy. It worked on one level but the scheduling was hampered by companies dropping out. I think this impacted the shape of the week, though there were a few excellent productions contained within it.

Sunday - Behind Closed Doors

This play, set in the 1980s, tells the story of Sandra (Emma Legg) and Tarquin (Jonathan Cook) who meet at university and come from very different families. Both of their mothers, though, are victims of domestic violence. The play is therefore a fairly dark one but there are some humorous moments throughout which lighten the mood. Pearl (Jane Walker) and Eddie Heptinstall (Alan Galway) are the more obvious couple of the piece - he's a binman who is handy with his fists when things aren't going his way. Meanwhile, Vernon Pollock (Lester Cooke) is a successful businessman who has exacting standards of perfection which his wife, Harriet (Leisa Cooke), could never live up to. Pearl invents a fantasy man, Thomas (Seb Goss), to cope while Harriet drinks but matters come to a head when the families meet.

The contrasting representations of domestic violence worked well and Alan Galway provided some much-needed light-relief as Eddie, a character we can understand even while he does horrible things. Lester Cooke had a more difficult job with Vernon and I think it showed. On the female side, Jane Walker's accent wasn't quite there but I have nothing but admiration for Leisa Cooke, an understated performance when it needed to be. I'd say that some of the cast were definitely stronger than others. There were some lighting decisions which I didn't agree with and the bottle of 'vodka' that was spilled at the end detracted my attention from the action as I watched it float down the stage. However, overall, this was a compelling piece of theatre, a little heavy to start the week on, perhaps, but well acted and reasonably well put together.

Monday - Playhouse Creatures

Kismet Theatre Company jumped in at very short notice to perform this play that they've done before but in a very different theatre. The transition caused some problems but, considering they'd only had a week to prepare it was an extremely good production. Set during the Restoration, Playhouse Creatures shows a group of actresses through their highs and lows, including the notorious Nell Gwynn (Emma French). There are two other young actresses, Mrs Farley (Dawn Cowan) and Mrs Marshall (Kerry Greenwood), and one stately actress, Mrs Betterton (Jeanne Bain), who has been in the theatre for far longer. Rounding out the cast is Doll Common (Paddy Johnson), stage hand and general cynic.

I think the play suffers from being a little episodic but, that said, there are some wonderful little moments within it. The concept allows the actresses to transform themselves into various stage roles and the Cleopatra is particularly entertaining. It's an excellent period piece, accessible to modern audiences but still with the taint of Restoration London on the dialogue. There were excellent costumes in this and, though I was initially disappointed with the limited set, the three boards they used to distinguish the bits of stage action worked well.

There are a couple of things I particularly enjoyed about this production. Firstly, Emma French was an excellent Nell and she and Paddy Johnson carried the piece. Jeanne Bain's Mrs Betterton had some wonderful scenes, especially her final ones and she was the character I felt for most. However, she also provided the 'clock' method of acting that had people in stitches. Despite Nell Gwynn and Doll Common (and a rather horrible abortion scene), that 'clock' is the thing I'll remember most vividly.

Tuesday - Hobson's Choice

Henry Horatio Hobson (Keith Lowe) owns a boot-shop which is run primarily by his three daughters, the bulk of the shop work being taken on by his eldest, most capable daughter, Maggie (Liz Brooks). When he tells her she's past marrying age she retaliates by taking up with her father's best cobbler, William (John de Tute), taking trade from him and arranging things for her sisters while she's at it. Unfortunately, this leaves Henry isolated but will he back down or remain obstinate?

This was excellent, utterly hilarious with some fantastic performances thrown in. Liz Brooks's deadpan delivery made her a favourite with the audience and the first time we see her - when she's manipulating one of her sisters' suitors into buying a pair of boots when, really, he just came in to see her sister - sets up the rest of the play. Equally, John de Tute's hunched portrayal of the cowardly William is beautiful, enhanced by his transformation at the end of the play. The other actors were very good, yes, but these two stole the show for me. (They took home the 'Best Actress' and 'Best Actor' awards at the end of the week, rather proving my point.)

The set was carefully planned and wonderfully executed, very detailed and appropriate. Overall, this was a beautiful production, appreciated by the audience and obviously enjoyed by the actors themselves.

Wednesday - Side Effects

I had high hopes for this one. Set in a convalescent home, it tells the story of the cantankerous Frank (Ray Taylor), booked in for respite, alongside the Reverend Paul Latimer (Peter Horner). The vicar has been given a new heart and is acting very strangely, particularly around the mysterious Tracey (Esther Dyson). Paul's wife, Sarah (Karen Slater), is alarmed by her husband's behaviour while Frank's wife, June (Sally Davies), is irritated by her husband's enjoyment of the situation.

However, this production didn't do the script justice. Written by the man behind Rising Damp you could almost imagine it needed an overblown central character with more presence than this production offered. I think he needed to be far more despicable, creating more of a surface for other characters to bounce off. This worked to an excellent with June, his wife, who had some of the best lines of the night and delivered them well. However, the laughs were thin on the ground because, for some reason, the piece seemed to lack conflict and pace. It seemed too leisurely when there was far more anger in the writing than was displayed on the stage.

Thursday - Without Fear or Favour

Set in a Yorkshire police station in the 70s, this tells the story of a group of officers and support staff in the run-up to Christmas and the closure of their station. Very much an ensemble piece, this has a large cast which occasionally makes it difficult to keep track of who's who. This became less of a problem and there are some very memorable characters within the piece and some fantastic moments.

It's difficult to summarise the plot of this one so I'll just have to say it's hilariously funny with some poignant moments in it and the twist just after the interval definitely surprised me. Every one of the actors brought something individual to their roles but my favourites were Hayley Harris as WPC Margaret Ward, who managed to keep my attention in scenes that weren't about her due to subtleties of movement, Rob Atkinson as DC Malcolm Skidmore, a thoroughly believable performance, and Gail Rogers in her brief role as dementia sufferer Agnes Parrish.

The detail in the set and the script were excellent and I was glad to be part of an audience that appreciated every line of dialogue and every little look. Definitely one of the highlights of the week.

Friday - The Grocer's Daughter

This one-woman play stars Mary Creasey as Connie, a shopkeeper reminiscing as she packs up her things to leave. I went into this with a few distinct advantages to most people my age - I grew up watching and enjoying repeats of Coronation Street from the 70s on Granada Plus, I've had an obsession with Victoria Wood-type Northern humour since my mid-teens and I've watched a fair amount of old films so I understood more of the references than I might have otherwise. I can imagine without these advantages I would've found the piece a bit incomprehensible.

As it was, I enjoyed it for the most part. Most of the characters Creasey transforms herself into are amusing, though they are difficult to recall individually afterwards. I wasn't really keen on the songs she threw in but they did alter the pace somewhat. One decision I was uncertain about was the melancholy end to the first act - while that particularly story is one that resonated with me, it was an odd way to leave the audience for the interval. All in all, this was a good play; better, I suspect, if you're over a certain age. Full credit to Mary Creasey for what must have been an exhausting show.

Saturday - Death and the Maiden

This is a heavy play and, as such, I'm not sure it was the best work to conclude the week, especially after a schedule packed with comedy. It tells the story of Paulina Salas (Julie Johnston), a woman who was captured and tortured years ago. She now lives, still troubled by her experiences, with her husband Gerardo (Andy Rea). One night a man arrives on their doorstep who she becomes convinced was one of her captors. But is Roberto (Mike Bellenie) innocent or guilty and does it matter?

I struggled with this one. Although I initially liked the set - furniture covered with sheets, high windows at the back and a little veranda area - it became a little cumbersome as time went on and characters were travelling between the living room and the veranda. In addition, the piece felt overblown sometimes and too underplayed at others - I'm not sure they got the balance right. It's a difficult play to convey and I don't think the ambition of the company paid off this time. While there were a few stand-out moments, overall, I found this one difficult to warm to which, in all fairness, may have been a result of the dark subject matter.

Conclusion

I think this year was marked by two phenomenal local productions - Hobson's Choice and Without Fear or Favour - which, between them, took home 11 out of the 12 awards (the only one they missed was the one they couldn't possibly win - third place!). I came out of Hobson's Choice convinced it was the play of the week and, though Without Fear or Favour briefly shook my resolve, I couldn't help but cast my vote for it in the 'Audience Award'. I hope other companies don't think this was a Wakefield whitewash - it just so happened that this year the local companies excelled themselves.

All I can say is that St. Austin's Players and Wakefield Little Theatre thoroughly deserved their accolades this year. In addition, I enjoyed Playhouse Creatures and it was a worthy recipient of the award for third place. It was certainly a year of diverse plays - some worked, some didn't. Everyone involved should feel proud and congratulations to the winners.

The Next Two Weeks

The immediate future looks a bit hectic, as I realised last night staring at the ceiling and cataloguing what I've got to do - and what might get in the way. Things could get quite tricky quite fast.

On the PhD side of things, I need to get my third chapter fully drafted by the end of the month. I have a supervisor meeting on the 30th and by then I want a complete draft so I can make necessary corrections and enhancements over the summer. So I'm looking at perhaps another 6,000 words of analysis. And, really, I have to get that done this week because I'm not going to get much of a chance next week.

Also of importance this week is some secondary reading, which I have to neatly combine with some documentary viewing. I say 'have to' and mean it: our hard disk recorder's close to capacity and my father's going that funny colour which means that if I don't watch some stuff he's going to evict me. I've got a heap of documentaries on there but also some recent drama and too many classic films to count. So it's looking like I'm spending the days this week trying valiantly to create some space on the recorder and the evenings going loopy in my office trying to put words on the page.

Next week, things get a little more complicated. The Wakefield Drama Festival starts on Sunday 26th (preview post here). For seven consecutive nights I'll be at the theatre and, although I'm looking forward to it, I'm dreading the time it will sap. Added to which, I've got the Postgraduate Colloquium all day Tuesday, my supervisor meeting on Thursday and I'm babysitting for a few hours on Friday. The latter two I'm fairly okay with but it's the first that's causing me anxiety.

The organisation of the colloquium has been fairly fun, like trying to keep control of a bike that at first won't let you pedal then doesn't want you to apply the brakes. If I'd stuck to the organising I'd probably have been fine but I'm conscious that I need to give a few papers this year to stick to my goals for 2013. So I've written a paper called 'Edmund Yates: Rumour and the Forgotten Author' which I'm fairly happy with. The only part I'm not happy with is presenting it. My public-speaking fear has kept me awake a few nights recently. There are reasons I'm not cut out for this line of work and I suspect next Tuesday will demonstrate that. If it does, I think a new career plan is in order.

During the drama festival I'm not going to get much PhD work done (which is why this week is so important in that respect). I don't know what I'll do during the two days I'm actually at home that week but it might involve sleeping and, on Monday, plotting to run away.

So what are the variables? Well, apart from my paralysing fear, there's the small matter of my grandmother who has decided that my father doesn't understand her so she needs to talk to me and me alone. That's fine for a few days over the weekend but, given what I've got to do this week, it could soon become a little irritating. I'll try to hold my temper because I really don't want to upset her more but having the same conversations fifteen times a day could drive me round the twist. Also, last week we had five power cuts (including three nights where it was off overnight, leading to some fun times with the dog-that's-scared-of-the-dark). They claim the problem has been fixed but more outages could lead to some epic frustration. As with the grandmother situation, this isn't within my control but it doesn't stop the anxiety. I'm beginning to learn, very little stops the anxiety.

Preview: Wakefield Drama Festival 2013

In under two weeks I'll be attending the Wakefield Drama Festival for the third time. I reviewed my experiences in 2011 and 2012 but this year I thought it would be interesting to look ahead and see what I've got to look forward to. Seven different plays over seven nights (26th May - 1st June) always brings out an eclectic bunch of plays and this year is no different.

On Sunday 26th May Bonkers Theatrical, Kettering perform Behind Closed Doors by Janet Shaw, which explores the engagement of two university students and the domestic violence which permeates both of their families despite their differences. It apparently has 'comedy and tragedy in equal measure'.

On Monday 27th May Gainsborough Theatre Company perform Shakers by John Godber and Jane Thornton. It explores the lives of four waitresses in a cocktail bar which 'is worse than hell'.

On Tuesday 28th May St Austin's Players perform Hobson's Choice by Harold Brighouse. A comedy set in 1915, it tells the story of a widower struggling to control his daughters who work in his shoe shop, a problem that becomes more acute when one of them marries his best cobbler and decide to set up a rival business.

On Wednesday 29th May Trinity Players, Barnsley perform Side Effects by Eric Chappell. This is a comedy with such a description that it's best to just quote it: 'Frank Cook has been booked into a private nursing home, by his wife June, for a week's respite. Whilst there, he encounters the Reverend Paul Latimer who is recovering from a heart transplant and whose odd behaviour is beginning to alarm his wife, Sarah. The young, attractive Tracey might provide the answer. She is convinced that the vicar's new heart belonged to her recently deceased lover Melvin - a fairground 'wall of death' rider!'

On Thursday 30th May Wakefield Little Theatre perform Without Fear or Favour by Reece Andrews. Written by a retired police officer, this play looks at the reality of policing in suburban West Yorkshire in the 1970s.

On Friday 31st May The Yorkshireman Company perform The Grocer's Daughter by Mary Creasey and Jack Land Noble. A 'one woman comedy' set in Grimethorpe, it deals with Connie as she packs away her life before closing the shop for good. 

Finally, on Saturday 1st June Halifax Thespians perform Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman. Containing strong language and adult themes, this is another one where I'll just quote the description: 'A riveting psychological thriller set in a country whose people have just wrestled power from a punishing regime of dictatorship in order to establish a democracy. But, what makes a decent society and who, if anyone, should be held to account for past failures?'

So there you go, that's the week in full. From the descriptions, I'm looking forward to The Grocer's Daughter and Death and the Maiden most but I expect the entire week to be enjoyable as it has been for the last two years.

Tickets for the individual shows are £12. A three night pass costs £30 and a seven night pass costs only £49 which works out at £7 a show. I should say thank you to the theatre for not raising this price, keeping the theatre affordable. I think the festival is a wonderful opportunity for people to see the different types of play that the Theatre Royal Wakefield offers and I wouldn't be going back for the third year in a row if it wasn't both great fun and value for money. Watch for my review at the end of the week!

For more information and to book tickets please visit their website. 

Theatre Review: A Kind of Loving

A Kind of Loving, based on the 1960 novel by Stan Barstow and adapted here by John Godber, tells the story of Vic Brown (Byron Owen) and his troubled relationship with Ingrid Rothwell (Vicky Binns). At first he is infatuated with her but quickly loses interest until Ingrid drops the bombshell that she's pregnant. Vic reluctantly marries her and moves in at her mother's but tragedy soon strikes.

Probably the most vital component of this play is Byron Owen's rapport with the audience. Although the character is downright despicable at times, his direct conversations with the audience keep them almost on his side. A side-effect of Vic's charisma, though, is that the character of Ingrid fades into the background a little. Despite the fact that she is (mostly) in the right, the story is Vic's and the audience certainly identifies with him more. Ingrid comes and goes whilst Vic is onstage much of the time. In addition, the other four members of the cast take on multiple (and sometimes hilarious) roles. When I think of the most memorable scenes it's unfortunate that they include Vic alongside someone else and not Ingrid.

The staging of this works extremely well. The doors around the stage have a dual function: they allow characters to come and go quickly and the plot to jump ahead but they also impose a sense of community on the story. Frequently, there is the sense that Vic's being watched and judged as heads pop out of the doors, portraying with simplicity the tight-knit relationships in a working-class northern town in the late 1950s/1960s. Once in a while there is a dip too far in the lighting (in fairness, that could have just been where I was sitting) but it doesn't hinder the production. In fact, the lighting works very well throughout, a standout moment being the end of the first act where the back of the stage practically glows. The music utilised often certainly compliments the story and helps set the scene - any play that begins with Doris Day singing is definitely for me! Also of note are the brief set changes, comprising of bringing stools, chairs and a sofa on to the stage: these get gradually more amusing as the play goes on with Dicken Ashworth and Christine Cox as Mr and Mrs Brown particularly hilarious offenders.

As I mentioned, four versatile cast members take on thirteen roles between them. A couple of them stand out: Dicken Ashworth as music shop owner Mr Van Huyten has a thick accent but a very distinctive personality that comes across in his lines. His appearances were welcome, although at one point his line was drowned out by the music playing at the time and I was a little disappointed. Also amusing to watch were Jacky Naylor in her brief stint as Ingrid's friend, Dorothy, and Robert Hudson as Percy Walshaw.

There are three scenes which make this play worth seeing on their own and all of them are in the second act. Vic's drunken scene with Percy is nothing short of hilarious and the audience was in stitches as it progressed. Immediately following this was Vic's confrontation with his mother-in-law (Jacky Naylor) then, finally, there was Vic's discussion with his sister (also Jacky Naylor), a poignant conversation which consolidates the themes of the play.

Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable night out. Although the decade has changed, the themes of love, ambition and responsibility are still as important as they ever were.

A Kind of Loving runs at Theatre Royal Wakefield until Saturday 23rd March.

Theatre Review: Birds of a Feather

As soon as I heard about this, I knew I had to see it. An onstage reunion of some of my favourite characters from my childhood played by the original actresses? What was there to think about? Nonetheless, a couple of doubts remained. Would Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph be able to recreate their screen magic of fifteen years ago? I needn't have worried.

Tracey Stubbs (Robson) and Sharon Theodopolopodous (Quirke) haven't heard from old neighbour Dorien (Joseph) since the day after the 1997 election. When they receive a letter asking them to visit her at a retirement home they (well, Sharon) are ecstatic at the thought of Dorien being reduced to a care home but the joke's on them when they find her running the place. They accept her offer of employment and everything goes smoothly until poor Mr Zimmerman is found dead in his bed - having changed his will the week before to benefit Dorien. Suddenly she's in the frame for murder. Running alongside this is the fact that Tracey has lied to her son, Travis (played alternately by Louis Dunford and Charlie Quirke), telling him that his dad's dead instead of simply in prison. That lie could be about to come crashing down around her ears.

The script was hilarious. It was typical Birds of a Feather, updated for the modern day. There were references to David Cameron, Little Mix and Greece, amongst other things, and the characters certainly hadn't changed - only developed a little. Sharon doesn't say no to fiddling her benefits if the opportunity arises and has just been sacked from Lidl. Tracey has developed agoraphobia, the only way Sharon can get her to visit Dorien is by sticking a Lidl plastic bag over her head. As for Dorien... Well, she's still tramping around in high heels and very short dresses, though there's something distinctly odd about her hair these days...

The comedy barely slowed throughout the first act, though one of my favourite parts had to be Tracey and Sharon singing to the elderly folk in the home - 'Three Steps to Heaven' and 'Another One Bites the Dust'. However, after the fast pace of the first act, things did slow down a little in the second with a heart to heart between Tracey and Dorien. That moment was certainly needed, bringing emotion to the piece whilst also remaining true to the characters.

Setting-wise, the stage was perfect. The production started off with the familiar theme tune then the stage altered between depicting Sharon and Tracey's living room and the lounge at Dorien's residential home. There were some nice voice-overs to keep the audience happy while the set changes were taking place which worked brilliantly. The audience was in stitches throughout - occasionally making things a little difficult to hear! - and that's the sign of an excellent production. Hopefully, it can also be taken as a sign by television bosses that old-fashioned sitcoms still have their place in modern Britain. Go on, bring it back!

Wakefield Drama Festival 2011

This may be quite a niche post but I thought I'd blog of my experiences in the last week as I attended the Wakefield Drama Festival 2011 at Theatre Royal Wakefield. The premise of the festival was pretty simple: seven plays in seven nights. Simple yet terrifying I'd imagine - for all involved. At the end of every performance the adjudicator gave his verdict and picked his winners at the end of the week.

Sunday - One Fiona, Two

This was a farce. Don't worry, it was meant to be. That said, I'm not certain I enjoyed it. The story was essentially that of Martyn, a thriller writer who owns a hotel on a Greek island and who has a lot of affairs with women called Fiona and learns something of a lesson. This was only the second production of the play and the writer and director also played a small role in the piece.

There were some excellent performances, but they were mainly from the secondary cast. One woman in particular, Rozi Afferson playing Bunty was magnificent. It's not often you can tell from the very first moment two characters appear on stage together that one has something of an unrequited love for the other one. Equally, there aren't many actresses who can pull off drunkenness with believability and make it downright hilarious. Then there was the recovery from the alcohol during a scene with barely any dialogue. It was pure genius: crisps dropping all over the place, being swept up and replaced on the table; peanuts being doused in Alka-Seltzer then drained; po-pourri being mistaken for Bombay mix. That scene was honestly worth the entry fee alone.

However, I did have some major reservations about the rest of it, some of which were picked up by the adjudicator. The pace wasn't speedy enough for a farce. Momentum slipped away just as it should have been building and this wasn't helped by strange performances from several of the leads. I say 'strange' because I fully believe they were playing the roles as written but it just didn't work well enough for me. The lead actor was miscast, I believe. I know he was supposed to be an unlikeable cad but he missed the moments of humanity which could have made him at least understandable as a character. His comedic value was overdone and a lighter touch would've helped the play as a whole. The base material was decent but it could do with some external input, and maybe some fresh faces in certain roles. As one final criticism (which the adjudicator shared), the set was full of doors and was perfect for a farce. However, the set wobbled more than Crossroads and I don't think that was intentional.

Monday - Blood Brothers

It's worth pointing out this was the play and not the musical. As such, I was a little apprehensive about how the drama would successfully take the place of the songs. I needn't have worried. This was an excellent performance. For anyone unfamiliar with the plot, it can be summed up easily enough: a downtrodden woman gives one of her twins to her infertile employer. The two boys meet and become friends, despite their class differences, though they are torn apart by their differences and their love for the same woman.

I had very few criticisms of the acting in this one. Even the bit parts of the policewoman and the milkman were amusing and well-cast. The two mothers, Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons, were delicately played and understated when necessary. As for the boys, I was very impressed by two grown-up men playing the roles of seven then fourteen year-olds with apparent ease. It was something which could easily have looked ridiculous but the actors drew you into the personalities rather than the striking physical discrepancy between an adult and a boy. Equally, Poppy-Jo Lumley playing Linda managed the transition from child to woman to mother with ease. I can't fault the interpretation of any of the characters.

A couple of things which the adjudicator picked up on (which I agreed with) were the sometimes strained use of the minimal set and the disaster surrounding the gunshot at the end of the play. Firstly, the permanent set consisted of a table, two chairs and a sideboard which weren't constantly used. Occasionally, when characters sat at the table it boxed the action into two tight a corner. Secondly, the sound effect as the gun went off in the last scene was too strong and helped invoke laughter in the audience. That was a terrible occurrence because the scene up until then had been emotionally charged and brilliantly acted. It diluted the effects of the climax a little.

One thing I feel I must pick up on is the adjudicator's statement that the play feels dated. Admittedly, there are sections which jar but, overall, I found the play as relevant today as it was thirty years ago. After all, the themes of recession, class, social mobility, jealousy and anger resonate as deeply in contemporary society. I honestly think that it's a play with an active lesson and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it.

Tuesday - The Bronte Boy

I used this play as one of my excuses to go to the Wakefield Drama Festival this year. It's no secret on this blog that I'm a nineteenth-century nerd but that could've left me massively disappointed with the offering from Encore Theatre. Fortunately, the actual content of the play was extraordinary and the delivery matched it. The play tells the tale of Branwell Bronte, the brother of the famous sisters who never quite reached his potential and died before his siblings. It was written by a local author and the script was phenomenal. It isn't easy to make Victorian dialogue interesting to the modern audience but a combination of a great script and accomplished actors made that criticism obsolete.

There truly wasn't a stand-out performance in this piece: they were all equally outstanding. As Branwell, Warwick St. John delicately made us care about a character who was destroying himself and negatively influencing the lives of those around him. His first scene with Asadour Guzelian as Patrick Bronte was emotionally charged and set the tone for the entire play. Equally, his final scene was haunting as he reads aloud letters that characterise what he sees as his failed existence. The actresses playing the sisters were all fantastic and I wouldn't like to single any of them out above the others.

The problems of the play stemmed from technical, not artistic issues. There were noticeable lighting errors (or just bizarre choices) and the table centre stage was cumbersome at times, alienating characters and limiting where the action could take place. Several scenes were pushed to the far of the stage as they alternated with action taking place in the centre. A combination of lighting problems, sound effect issues and a straight-on angle caused problems for some in the audience. However, none of the technical problems ruined the overall effect of the play for me. It was powerful and it was haunting. An exceptional night of the festival.

Wednesday - The Moonbather

This was a Last of the Summer Wine script, written by the wonderful Roy Clarke. As such, it was impeccable and couldn't really fail. The audience went with a set idea of what they were going to get and I'm pretty sure they got it. I was in hysterics throughout and began choking during the last scene because I'd been laughing so much.

The trickiest part of this play was presenting characters people knew vividly without impersonating the famous actors. I think it also expected you to go with knowledge of the series. If you'd taken a foreign friend or someone who'd been living in a bunker for the last forty years they might not have enjoyed it as much as someone familiar with the programme. There were titters of recognition as each character appeared on stage and a certain knowledge of what was to come. That said, the actors did a tremendous job of portraying their characters. Paul Haley was Compo, no question. Nora Batty was there with her curlers and Cleggy was as stuttering as anxious as I'd expect him to be. If I have one criticism of the cast it would be that it was a little too large, but that stems from the adaptation and a desire to please the audience more than anything else. One scene wonders Wally, Sid and Marina could certainly have been eliminated but the sense of community and fond feeling they inspired was possibly worth their inclusion.

The set was the most detailed of the week and yet so apt. Most of the action takes place in Cleggy's living room which is furnished just as you'd expect Normal Clegg to furnish his living room. It was intricate and detailed. A black curtain came down in front of the house for scenes involving other characters and this was very neatly done. The set complimented the action and gave it a sense of the 'real', even as the play itself descended into pure farce. It didn't pretend to be more than it was: it was a funny night out that certainly gave the audience an enjoyable time.

Thursday - Warrant for a Deed of Blood

This was the one I was looking forward to the most. In fact, this was the entire reason I decided to go to the festival in the first place. The story was based on the true story of Constance Kent, the Road murderer. This investigation was covered in-depth in Kate Summerscale's fantastic book, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher. I went into this anticipating a lot, because the source material was sensational and I didn't see how they could go wrong. But, on several levels, they did.

The logical place to start, so I thought, was with the murder itself. Instead they introduced the puzzles leading up to the murder beforehand, with the discovery of the body actually happening between acts one and two. This disappointed me on several levels: firstly, I think far too much time was sent documenting what could easily have been shown in flashbacks (as happened for a fair part of act two anyway); secondly, I felt cheated that we as an audience had been denied the discovery of the body, mainly because, despite the tension at the end of act one, there was no confirmation a crime would occur. If you didn't have knowledge of the case beforehand you might've struggled with the sudden leap from irritating child to dead one. Equally, if you had knowledge of the case you may have found yourself frustrated with the presentation - both structurally speaking and in terms of the cast.

I was most impressed by the acting of older members of the cast. Sue Murray as Sarah Cox was phenomenal. I almost forgave the fact that there were some entirely inappropriate songs in the piece because she was the one singing them. Equally, the actors playing Dr Stapleton, Samuel Kent and Elizabeth Gough approached their parts in the right manner. However, the children, Constance and William, were either miswritten or misinterpreted by the actors. They seemed to act a lot younger than they actually were and the hereditary madness, a vital component of the story, was expressed in chaotic and frantic scenes. Anyone who has read anything relating to Constance Kent will know that she was seen at the time as being reserved and thoughtful with bouts of anger. This misinterpretation, on whatever level it occurred, presented me with the major fault of the play: the names could easily have been changed and it made an entirely new piece because the majority of what was seen was conjecture from the time and sensationalism. The case itself was sensational and didn't need the enhancement of the rumours. A couple of other things I would add are, firstly, that there was a musician on stage who did add to the mood very effectively at times. However, he got in the way. He was clearly visible from the left side of the theatre, meaning that some of the monologues were diluted by the fact this musician was grinning over at the side. Finally, the use of a puppet and a woman controlling it to represent Saville seemed an odd way of demonstrating his tittle-tattling. While it was well done for what it was, I don't think it was necessary to the piece.

Friday - Men of the World

I was quite dubious about this, mainly due to the small cast and the idea that the three actors would be impersonating characters from a coach holiday. I thought it would be difficult to follow and seem rather contrived. Well, it wasn't difficult to follow at all, the sparse garments adorned by every separate character were differentiation enough. Perhaps it did seem contrived, but it was supposed to. The audience could suspend their disbelief because the characters themselves felt so real - even when it was a bloke with a beard wearing a headscarf. The writing was perfect and the three actors pulling off multiple parts were phenomenal.

There were too many little characters to go through them all. However, the three bus drivers framing and telling the story were Larry, Stick and Frank (female). Larry was due to retire after the journey they proceed to tell us about but he didn't. What the rest of the play explains is why he couldn't, and it captures the relationships between the drivers perfectly. There's a moment towards the end of act two when the tension that has been brewing between Larry and Stick throughout boils over into a shouting match that was perfectly pitched. I fully believed the anger between the two men because it had been fantastically foreshadowed. Then again, it was a John Godber script so I'm not surprised at the quality of the writing. Out of all the plays this week, this was the one that I could have stayed watching for hours more. I felt extremely comfortable with the characters, as though I'd been mates with them for years.

The set was sparse, with all character equipment being kept in three boxes behind the drivers' seats. They didn't distract and meant the actors didn't constantly disappear off-stage to change character. The lighting was used successfully to segregate the action but the music was the exceptional part of the staging for me. It was used to fill interludes as one character became another and it always tried to fit perfectly with what was going on. We got excerpts from The King and I and Sister Act along with standards such as 'Show Me The Way To Go Home' and a little Chopin. All in all, the music added to the play, rather than distracted from it. A thoroughly enjoyable evening to take your mind from any troubles.

Saturday - Glorious

This told the true tale of Florence Foster Jenkins, the worst opera singer in the world. Knowing the script was written by the fabulous Peter Quilter (of End of the Rainbow fame) made me sure I was in for a fantastic evening. Quilter has an extremely delicate way of mixing the comic with the poignant and that shone through in this remarkable performance.

The set was used effectively, a nice apartment setting for the opening scene which set the tone for the whole piece. The adjudicator commented at the end that there were more stage-hands helping with the changes than actors. It all worked, though, especially given that while the changes were taking place a newscast giving a flavour of the period blared over the speakers. I also couldn't fault the acting tonight. They got laughs when necessary but there was always a sense of the pain underneath, especially in the case of pianist, Cosme McMoon played by Steve Williams, whose grimaces deserved their own award. The company was actually from Bristol, the furthest afield by far of any companies this week. It was certainly worth them making the journey. That was a play I'm never going to forget and one I wouldn't hesitate seeing again if the opportunity arose.

Conclusion

This week was certainly one heck of an experience for me. It was intense, informative and, for the most part, highly enjoyable. I'd like to thank the staff at the theatre for being so helpful and accommodating all week and for putting on some excellent food after each performance for the week-long pass holders. I'd also like to thank the woman who gave me a lift home on Friday night (and I'm afraid whose name I never caught) and give a wave to @YorkshireLawMan who I ended up sat next to on Friday. It was bizarre sitting down and having someone ask if I'm Lucy, having been tweeting at each other for several months.

My personal choice for play of the week would've been The Bronte Boy. It was fresh, written by a local writer and was suitably haunting. In the end, Glorious took both the audience award and the first prize from the adjudicator. I believe Men of the World took second while The Moonbather took third but I'll correct myself if I'm wrong. It has been a very long week! But I did enjoy it and I know that they smashed the box office record for attendance during the festival in this, it's eleventh year. I'm hoping next year they can rival that and I hope I'll be there to watch.

Remember To Support The Arts

Life is difficult for everyone at the moment. Thanks to government cuts (whether you believe them justified or not), most ordinary people are struggling in one way or another. I'd imagine - although I don't know for certain - that people creating "unnecessary" luxuries of life will be suffering more than most. I heard it during some of the radio debates on the arts funding cuts: who needs art really, what does it accomplish?

Well, just to digress for a moment. Books (if you're willing to buy used) are one of the cheapest forms of entertainment going. They're also an excellent way to learn and, come on, who doesn't like the feel of a book in their hands? Feel free to roll your eyes at my enthusiasm. After all, you can watch television and search for information on the Internet, can't you? Yes, of course you can. But reading a novel and getting lost in it is an unrivalled experience. Equally, I like good old fashioned library looks for learning from - I believe in them more. However, small publishers were particularly battered by the Arts Council this year. One of my favourite publishers of short stories and poetry, Salt Publishing, were unsuccessful in their bid, although they have luckily received a reprieve in the form of some ADVANCE funding. However, other small presses haven't been so lucky. ARC Publications lost their funding in a move which is both demoralising and potentially debilitating for them. Flambard Press are ceasing operation in 2012.

All this is bad news for writers. Small presses are notoriously helpful towards younger writers. Most of them have made it a mission to encourage new talent. If we lose those organisations then new writers are going to struggle more than they already do. Personally, I don't want my book market to be dominated by Katie Price's thirtieth autobiography and the latest copycat book involving a wizard or a brooding vampire. I like exciting fiction and moving towards a system where small presses are increasingly frozen out is not to my tastes at all.

On a more local level, my closest theatre in Wakefield lost their funding. It seemed particularly baffling as they've just entered into a lucrative partnership and are celebrating their twenty fifth birthday this year. One theory bandied around my household is that good old-fashioned theatre just isn't trendy any more. Case in point: the new Barbara Hepworth Gallery down the road received a bump to their grant, some of which could easily have been passed onto the theatre instead. Our theatre's beautiful and I really don't want to lose it.

You can debate about the rights and wrongs of the Arts Council cuts in the grand scheme of things as much as you want. However, it doesn't change the facts. Did you know that 49% of funding has gone to London groups? This is only down by 1% on the 2010 figures. Personally, I find that ludicrous. Similarly, all the groups that The Telegraph labelled as the big winners were from London. The losers? Sheffield Museums, Derby Theatre and Exeter Northcott Theatre. Yes, there were some losers in London but, looking at it, not the majority. I realise that taking a slice out of all funding wasn't the right way to go about it. It did have to be assessed on a case by case basis. I'm just concerned about the North/South divide and the impact on small companies already struggling with the recession. Could the biggest organisations not have taken a small cut to keep these afloat?

So what can we do to help? Well, support the suffering groups. On the day the cuts were announced I bought a book from Salt Publishing to show solidarity (a short story collection I'm looking forward to reading). They've been using the Twitter hashtag #JustOneBook and it applies to all small presses, even those who haven't had their funding wiped out. These small presses are the lifeblood of fiction. Pay full price, buy directly through their websites. Don't give third parties like Amazon any more of the pie than they've already got.

Support your local museums, gallery and theatres. Due to my sudden interest in Wakefield Theatre Royal I stumbled across the Wakefield Drama Festival 2011, being held there at the end of May and into early June. Seven plays in seven nights! Several of which can be legitimately linked to my PhD (one is about Branwell Bronte and another is about the Road murder of 1860). I've bought a week pass for £45 and I'm definitely looking forward to it. The thing is, your local groups don't just need support, they deserve it as well. Most of them do exceptional work which won't be missed until it's gone. By then it'll be too late.

Support the arts!