Soul of Dublin: The Commitments Musical (Palace Theatre, London)

Saviours of Soul, The Commitments perform at Palace Theatre in London's West End to bring Dublin's hardest working band to London audiences. Ireland and its high unemployment of the 1980s serve as background to a group of young people joined together by their love for soul music as form of escapism to the tristesse of their day to day lives. Based on Roddy Doyle's novel from 1987 and the eponymous movie from 1991, the musical highlights the impact of music as a place of inspiration, happiness and freedom.

In search of the real vibe, a group of characters that could not be more different rehearses their way through a medley of iconic tunes such as I heard it through the Grapevine, (I can't get no) Satisfaction, I want to take you higher, Try a Little Tenderness, Save Me and many more. Under the posthumous tutelage of their idols James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Otis Reading, Marvin Gaye and The Supremes, the band perform their first gigs in church halls and pubs to gain local praise and bring soul to the people. As such the group builds their own bridge out of their dull life situations whilst offering their audiences feel good soul music and strong messages. Be it to counter drugs or advocate love and sex, The Commitments tackle their holy mission with enthusiasm. The process of forming a band and bonding proves hard for the diverse team of youths. Egos clash, hormones soar, stage names offend and the democratic set up of the band ultimately leads to its destruction at the moment of triumph. Does it? As adult lives lead into various directions, the longing and freedom their music offers remains engrained in the band members. Not even the devil's influence in form of Jazz music can destroy the joy pure soul brings.

The cast of this fast paced musical rock show wow their audiences with beautiful vocal performances. The set of female background singers Jessica Cervi, Natalie Hope and Sarah O'Connor are not upstaged, but jump in when male egos are hurt to carry on the gigs with versatile voices and sex appeal. Particularly stunning was the performance of Brian Gilligan as Deco the soul man and bad boy of the group. Supported by a wonderful cast, Gilligan becomes the centre piece of the performance. Jokes and puns of all kind alternate with and are integrated into the musical pieces. Lines of songs become conversation, metaphor and situational comedy. With those ingredients, The Commitments Musical  offers its audiences an entertaining musical rollercoaster through iconic songs turning the Palace Theatre into a rock concert.

A Night at the Ballet with the New York Philharmonic (Barbican, London)

The New York Philharmonic's residency at the Barbican offered wide array of performances for all ages as well as workshops, instrumental masterclasses and puppet-making sessions of their partners production company Giants Are Small. On their final evening, the orchestra and Giants Are Small showcased a firework of early 20th century ballets - a rare treat in concert halls. Claude Debussy's Jeux and Bela Bartok's The Miraculous Mandarin preceded in the first part a visualisation of Igor Stravinsky's Petrushka.

Debussy's ballet originally choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky in 1913 for the Ballet Russe holds a marginal position in dance and was quickly overshadowed a few months after its premier by Le Sacre du Printemps and the theatre scandal it caused. Jeux's sexual innuendos of three tennis players seeks to follow on from Nijinsky's choreographic debut of L'apres-midi d'un Faun and its explicit eroticism of the previous year. Continuing with the theme of eroticism, Bartok's The Miraculous Mandarin originally premiered in Cologne, Germany, in 1926 narrates the story of a prostitute forced to seduce a wealthy man for three thieves to alleviate him of his money. Again, the performance caused scandal through its direct reference to sexual intimacy and violence and was immediately banned. With the 1942 version of La Scala, The Miraculous Mandarin secured its place in the dance repertoire through various choreographic versions, whilst a reduced suite of the score has become part of modern concert programmes. Perhaps, Debussy was correct in stating that 'where ballet is concerned, immorality escapes through the dancers' legs and ends in a pirouette'. The concert version of both ballets was beautifully performed by the New York Philharmonic. In a well-paced performance, the flow of the dance and contours of the scenic arrangements that are hard to achieve in concerts emerged skilfully.

Petrushka in contrast appears innocent to the other ballets of the evening. This performance based on the 1911 score included Giants Are Small who re-created the ballet through puppets and use of live and recorded film. Petrushka's original choreography by Michel Fokine incorporates his choreographic principles and shows the diversity of characters onstage. The story of a magician presenting a puppet show at the Shrovetide fair transcends the border between reality and fantasy. The puppets come to life, and Petrushka pines for the flirty Ballerina, but is eventually slain by his rival the Moor. Giants Are Small translated the ballet into a true puppet show, but did not stop at this. Alan Gilbert, conductor of the New York Philharmonic, is cast in the role of the magician and leads his orchestra with a flying magic wand. All musicians of the orchestra join the performance to have tea from a samovar or blini with caviar at the back of the orchestra, the harpist faints at the entrance of a bear, whereas the trumpeters look at a peepshow. Not enough with this, whilst playing their instruments, the musicians change seats and a juggling violinist joins the puppeteers. Postmodern elements invade such as a hashtag for Orientalism and a post it in the score. Through clever use of two portable cameras and film projection, the performance constantly changes focus and takes flight. An entertaining highly visual take on an iconic ballet that keeps audiences entertained and musicians swapping seats.

Olivier Award winning comedy: The Play that goes Wrong (Duchess Theatre, London)

In an Herculean effort, the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society moved its current play Murder at Haversham Manor to the Duchess Theatre, London. Aspiring actors take the stage in storm in a play that unlike previous performances by the Cornely Drama Society does not require cast adjustments due to numbers. Last summer's hit Cat followed by Christmas production Snow White and the Tall Broad Gentleman have established Cornley Drama Society as the foremost acting society that now takes the West End. The murder play draws on multiple skills of all actors and offers a fast-paced crime story. The surprising ending of the play is not in the slightest discernible in advance and so takes the audiences completely by surprise.

Mischief Theatre's production The Play that goes Wrong is now presented at Duchess Theatre in the London West End. Winner of the 2014 Whatsonstage Best Comedy Award and  Olivier Award Best New Comedy 2015, the show of fictional  Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society and its thespian aspirations is a fast paced and well constructed mix of physical comedy and word plays. The witty plot and constant juxtaposition of word and action or image immediately has the audience laughing tears. Wittily composed, the text and a highly cluttered visual environment seem in dialogue throughout the performance. Physical stunts and running gags surprise one the one hand, but set up expectations on the other hand. As such the play is woven together through a series of accidents and mishaps.

Well timed action and stunts follow dialogues and lead to a climactic second act. No option is left unexplored to its potential pitfalls for actors and at the height of the second part three different Florence Colleymoores vie for the attention of the audience. The set itself disintegrates and falls apart in the final crescendo of resolution. Surrounded by wreckage, the actors engage in a volley of exchanges to round off a successful production.

The Play that goes wrong is a wonderful entertainment and performance for all ages. If in need of laughter, do see this play.

PS: Would any audience member who finds a CD Box set of Duran Duran, please return it to Trevor the technician.

Cats the musical - Feline conquest of London Palladium

Andrew Lloyd Webber's feline cast surrounding Grizabella, Macavity and Rum Tum Tugger draws audiences into their backyard Jellicle ball at the London Palladium. With the original creative team of Lloyd Webber, Trevor Nunn and choreographer Gillian Lynne in charge, Cats the musical returned after 12 years absence to London stages.  Based on T S Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, the performance and its tunes have become classics in the musical world since the world premier in 1981. The cats subsequently conquered the world with translations of the text into numerous languages. Now, the felines caterwaul once again their way into hearts of London audiences with dazzling dance scenes and immaculate songs. And yes, a shoe is flung at them too.

Cats the musical received a slight update that particularly focuses on naughty boy Rum Tum Tugger. In keeping with our early 21st century music styles, the Tugger has become a rapper boy standing out from the rest of the cast in his cartoonesque performance. Antoine Murray-Straughan gives a wonderfully cheeky performance of the Tugger in his West End debut. Purists may object to the change, yet Cats is neither outdated, nor does this rendition of Rum Tum Tugger distract from the feel good factor of the performance. Other iconic characters such as Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer stun through breathtaking feats while other felines dart across stage, climb the sides of the theatre or prowl through the auditorium. The Magical Mr Mistoffelees, of course, requires a particularly surprising entrance. The Magical Cat, garbed in glittering outfit and flashing lights, is lowered from the top of the flying tower onto stage spinning around a rope.

The speed of performance and constant twists in either narrative or location keep the audiences on the ball of yarn. Tap dance alternates with a dog fight, and iconic tunes resound through the theatre.  Best known of these is Memory performed by  Sophia Ragavelas which was sung by the leaving audience. There is no better compliment to the creative team and artists. Seats are still available for the final performances. Cats is a family performance and wonderful Easter treat for everyone.

Dancing Topiaries - Edward Scissorhands' return to UK stages

Matthew Bourne's Edward Scissorhands made its return to UK stages. The performance, originally created in 2005, follows the main plot of Tim Burton's film. With some scenes revised and the ending still offering audiences snowfall in the auditorium, Bourne offers a feel good performance for the entire family. In its setting American setting Bourne offers audiences a 1950s feel of the Rock'n'Roll area with stunning group choreographies. The performance includes wonderful dream-like scenes such as the cheerleader posters coming alive in Edward's dream and a dancing topiary to have audiences hold their breath. At large, this work of Bourne's rather remains with pedestrian movement and gestural scenes.  Especially, Edward's movement material is constraint by his scissor hands. Yet, the constant fiddling with blades and the metallic sound these created in the original film translates well onto stage where the prop similarly resounds over the music to highlight Edward's emotions and agitation. New Adventures again manages to rapture audiences with this treat that has gone on to tour the UK and bring a spell of magic to the country.  

Ready, Aim, Dance!

Janice Ross, Professor at Standford University, explores ballet as tool of political resistance in her new book Leonid Yakobson and Ballet as Resistance in Soviet Russia. Her 20 years of research on Soviet Russian choreographer Leonid Yakobson highlights the problematic dialogues between the Russian regime and artists striving to open up their art forms to new ways of expression. The records on Yakobson are scarce, as his choreographic work has been perceived to undermine the Soviet fundamentals of society, culture and state control. Having been deleted from history, Yakobson’s work is showcased in her talk in relation to aesthetic ideals of Soviet politics. Yakobson’s work only survives in few remaining films of which Michail Baryshnikov’s performance of Vestris exemplifies the choreographer’s approach to unconventional movement in relation to the traditional ballet canon. Baryshinkov’s performance incorporates elements of drama and the use of highly sophisticated facial expressions to outline seven distinct phases of human life. In merging acting and ballet, Yakobson offers the audiences a view of life that whilst true to life challenges Soviet notions of propriety. Similarly, Rodin’s Kiss inspired an erotic duet following the patterns of the statue. During his lifetime, Yakobson’s work only received little attention in relation to preservation and conservation by the Soviet establishment. Ross’ book and series of talks now showcase rarely seen images and views on a choreographic innovator who remained true to his art form and country.  

X Men: Days of Future Past

X Men: Days of Future Past

Extermination faces the X Men team in the post-apocalyptical setting of the newest instalment of the X Men series. The most current film jumps between past and present, where the socio-cultural struggle of humans and mutants reaches a new level. The aspect of reign over the other race is brought to the fore in a film heavily influenced by Terminator. Wolverine struggles to prevent the creation of Sentinel robots that will overthrow mutants and eradicate their kind. Whilst following Wolverine and displaying the unlikely alliance of Professor X and Magneto, Mystique is the centre of the narrative as her genetic code is key to the development of the Sentinels. A fast paced double narrative develops in both times highlighting fears, anxieties and the need to address pertinent undercurrents within a globalised multicultural society. The newest and darkest of the series showcases stunning visual effects and is a definite highlight of the year.

Copyright Astrid Bernkopf, 2014