Jodie was just too nice and asked the stunt man if he was ok, rather than continue with the performance. So, the actresses with the most mettle were Rachel and Ashley. Even Jodie commented that she would not want to bump into Ashley in a dark alley way. Perfect credentials for a great, potential Nancy then!

When asked who was the strong actress, John Barrowman said Rachel.

The group song was “Nobody Does It Better” and again, Jessie was very weak in this number, as was Niamh. The young ones are not faring well, although the panel keep calling them the best. (more…)

So it’s been a mini-education in itself to serve as a judge for the first ever “Knight of the Illumination” awards, sponsored by the industry suppliers Clay Paky, and convened in the opera, dance, musical and theatre sections by lighting wizard Rick Fisher and London Variety critic David Benedict.

The winners will be announced at a dinner in June which, if it’s half as enjoyable and instructive as the lunch we had in Orso’s, Covent Garden, on Friday to come to our conclusions, will be a date worth keeping. It’s in my diary, anyway.

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Why else would they ask each Nancy who they thought should go home? The results were interesting though, as each girl cringed as they watched one of the others slate them!

But the Lord then undoes his work later on in the show when he should have really criticised Jessie, but he backed away. Let’s look at the singers and the songs:

Jessie sang “Fighter” and it was awful. Her diction was dodgy, the performance was really shouty and she came across as really cocky. As for her posture, it now resembles an Orang-a-Tang. The panelists all agreed, except Barry and The Lord. There were ridiculous claims made that she could take the role with an Irish accent. John Barrowman looked gob-smacked. I don’t think this is a happy camp, this time around. (more…)

Never mind that the show is infinitely superior to the grandiose RSC production of Trevor Nunn with Ian McKellen in the title role (which, don’t get me wrong, wasn’t as bad as Germaine Greer peevishly proclaimed) but it was the combination of “I don’t care about the Globe” (the most successful theatre in London) and the fascinating new phraseology of boredom that got me.

The thing about this new Lear is the involvement of the audience in the story. They hang on every word and twist. They simply can’t believe the eye-gouging of Gloucester. They suck in their breath. They rub their eyes. Some of them may even eat their own feet.

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What will the Blairs do there? They will probably host community massage conferences with their health and beauty consultant and inveterate Bill Kenwright first-nighter Carole Caplin, whose chum Peter Foster, a convicted conman, helped buy the Blairs two flats in Bristol as part of their property portfolio.

Gielgud loved his house, and its gardens, and the extravagant rococo interiors that the Blairs will probably overlay with flock wallpaper and cheap curtains. It is a symbolic and deadly appropriation of the nation’s culture, and not half as witty as Julian Clary’s purchase of Noel Coward’s Kentish country retreat, Goldenhurst, which I’m sure he treats beautifully.  

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Our two soliloquising Croydon anti-heroes booked a double date at a fringe theatre (exterior shooting suggested the Finborough) where something so terrible was going on that Mitchell exploded, under his breath: “If this were on television nobody would be watching…I can’t believe this costs more than going to a film…” and so on.

Webb’s earlier assurance that it was safe to go as theatre’s moved on …”They use proper actors now; Americans and people off the telly”…suggested the duo were being at least semi-ironic themselves.

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Well, firstly, we were shown footage of the girls acting, strangely, after we had voted. The Nancys worked alongside Barbara Windsor and DVO in the real Queen Victoria pub. Jodie bought life experience and was better than I had expected, Samantha looked like a soap star in waiting and I can see her as a teen vamp in Eastenders. Rachel was excellent, contrasting with Jessie who was awful. DVO agreed and then did a U-turn, talking up the Irish lass!

JUDGES’ FAVES

The group number was Lionel Bart’s “Fings Ain’t What They Used To Be.” DVO singled out (surprise, surprise!) Jessie, John praised Niamh (why?!) and Barry liked Jodie. Andrew said it was unfair to single anyone out, but then mentioned Jessie as the strongest link. I am either watching a different show to many of the judges, I am a miserable critic, or this show is geared around false comments which equal phone votes!

OLIVERS’ FAVE

The Olivers chose Sarah as their Nancy and she sang a group number with them. (more…)

The Nancys have started to look like they want it now and you can also sense that the ’sisters’ aspect of the show is starting to ebb away, as individuals are now stepping forward, away from the rest of the pack.

First up is Jodie with a very male song: “Luck Be a Lady” from the hit show, Guys And Dolls. Her acting is coming along also and Andrew says she is 10% away from being fabulous.” She has bags of personality and gives a turn which is exactly what musical theatre should be. There are some rough cabaret edges but I have seen far more O.T.T performers than her on stage recently. All power to her as she is listening and really learning.

Sarah is certainly acting better but comments that she has never been in the situation evoked by the song “Mr Bojangles!” Well, that’s what acting is for, Sarah! She delivers a good performance but it feels really stage-school and too squeaky clean for me. I am starting to get bored, as she seems to do the same every week now. (more…)

Why are we so hooked on epic structures? Mostly, I think it’s part of theatre’s need to be seen as an “event”. We are bombarded daily with a ceaseless flow of information and entertainment. We also talk of “dropping in” to a movie and often give television half our attention. But theatre confirms its special-ness by making inordinate demands on us. People fought for tickets for the recent Covent Garden Ring cycle. And I’m told the first seats to sell out for the RSC Histories were the eight-pack weekend cycles.

I’ve sat through a lot of day-long shows in my time. It all began with Peter Hall’s The Wars of the Roses back in 1963. Since then, we’ve had numerous comparable events: The Oresteia, The Mysteries, Tom Stoppard’s The Coast of Utopia and the David Hare trilogy at the National; John Barton’s ten-play version of The Greeks at the RSC; Tantalus at the Barbican. And something extraordinary happens on these days. You start talking to complete strangers. You feel an unusual bond with the actors. Daily normality retreats into the background. So hermetic is the world created during these theatrical marathons that I suspect some people discover, or possibly even lose, their life-partners.

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Any good or valuable new work is going to be rubbished by the critics, that’s what the critics are for.

In the eyes of most theatre professionals, a critic disgraces himself in print at least three times a week, and Ben is no exception.That’s how life is, and should be. Turning the question round, though, I’d like to know which playwrights, projects and directors Nightingale has championed against the grain of public and critical opinion in order to make a real difference. Can’t think of any.

At a time when the repertoire is narrowing and new plays receive fairly bland and supportive notices however good or bad they are, it was salutary yesterday morning to attend a play reading of a forgotten French boulevard master, Eugene Scribe, best known if at all now for his opera libretti for Verdi and Donizetti.

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Still, Saturday night’s opening was full of pleasures and I found my eyes filling with tears of joy on at least three occasions, one of them when the orchestra and chorus crept up sensuously on the widow’s song about the unrequited love of a huntsman for a wood spirit, or Vilja.  

This is one of the most glorious melodies ever written and partly explains why Franz Lehar’s operetta went global a century ago, long before Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh started flooding the international market.

My piano teacher always sang Vilja at our annual pupils’ concert, as well as Softly Awakes My Heart from Saint-Saens’ Samson and Delilah, and I used to accompany her, not even knowing what the words were about but unaccountably moved by the music.

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When asked who did well in the group song, DVO said Jodie and Andrew was mightily impressed with Keisha, which explains his temper tantrum later on. The panel were then asked who was NOT Nancy. Barry said Keisha, DVO said Ashley and John said Keisha. This is where I believe the rot had set in, as Andrew is clearly not agreeing with the panel and either expects them to tow the line or is thinking that he is on the wrong show. (more…)

Niamh was first up with her version of “Valerie” and it was awful. Her diction was all over the place and her dance routines were embarassing. You could argue that the song was clearly unsuitable. But, let’s face it…. this young lass is not Nancy. She is a nice performer but she has had better weeks and is now turning in distinctly average performances.

Rachel was next with “I’m With You” and she gave a much better performance. This girl is reliable and certainly has less work to do than the others. Apart from a few tuning problems, she could take the part tomorrow. Week in, week out she pleases the judges and wins over the public. (more…)

I certainly think Trevor Nunn is a genius whose work is wildly uneven and not even predictable these days. He can console himself with the fact that he should have two much better received productions up and running in London before the end of the year, both of them coincidentally based on Ingmar Bergman movies.

The West End transfer of his Coventry production of Scenes from a Marriage starring his wife Imogen Stubbs and Iain Glen, is well in hand; and his Menier Chocolate Factory revival of Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music should be a treat for Christmas.   
 
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Friends and colleagues thronged the reception in Piccadilly — Michael Frayn and Claire Tomalin, Hugh Hudson, Fenella Fielding, Anthony Howard, Gillian Reynolds, Christopher Frayling, John Gross and a multitude of critics both major and minor — and Philip conducted a fascinating one-way two-hour conversation with David Puttnam on the stage. 

The chat was punctuated with a Desert Island Clips of ten key French movies: The Four Feathers, The Servant, Jean-Luc Godard’s Pierrot le Fou, The Quiet Man, High Noon, Singin’ in the Rain, Bad Day at Black Rock, Kind Hearts and Coronets, one of Satyajit Ray’s masterpieces and Mike Leigh’s Vera Drake.

When asked if he had ever wanted to make a film, French replied magnificently: “”I couldn’t make a film as good as one I would want to see,” adding that he’d rather see five films in a week than make one film every five years. 

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Kerry Ellis from the hit show Wicked helped the Nancys get ready to perform in front of the show’s matinee audience. The audience (well, the producers really) pointed out Keisha, Rachel and Jessie. Jodie and Francesca both received mixed comments. Jodie mentioned that this was a “snippet of my dream!” She really should jump ship to X Factor!

Cut to Andrew in zany sunglasses looking like a blue-bottle fly, as the girls sing an awful “Viva Las Vegas” looking like flowery ironing boards in their hideous costumes! ‘The fly’ singles Sarah out as impressive. John says Ashley and Barry likes Jessie and Samantha. DVO agrees and says Samantha. (more…)

The Lord was on “other business” - according to Head-Prefect, Graham Norton. Of course, we all know why he isn’t in the Studio, as he is moonlighting on the show American Idol. Really Cameron Mackintosh should have been there instead. But by having an empty chair and a live link up, instead of the real thing means that you are left thinking that this show does not have the life or death decision at the end that the hype dictates it is!

Anyway, with or without the Phantom, the Nancys were on form and ready to battle on.

First up was the ‘people’s’ Nancy, Jodie from Blackpool. She delivered a really breathy version of Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5.” It was full of life but she looked out of breath to me. I know that there is a big swell of support behind this lass. But to me, she is like a loyal St Bernard but with no teeth. I want to see some bite to her performance. At the minute, she would be great in C Beebies; The Musical, as she is too twee to be Nancy! (more…)

You can see why the BBC television audition show I’d Do Anything is so popular: it plugs straight into the nation’s enthusiasm for musical theatre in a way that musical theatre itself doesn’t, quite.

What do I mean? The people who love I’d Do Anything — despite the bumbling, off-colour remarks of panellist Barry Humphries and the nauseating cuteness of the Oliver boys — are left stone cold by Lord of the Rings and just about make do with Wicked. And they won’t even know about a delightful pocket-size production of The Pajama Game in the Union at Southwark.

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To read the full review, click here.

He probably needed them later on when producer Thelma Holt passed him a bright pink peppermill after the siege of Harfleur. “Why are you giving me this?” exclaimed Nick, “Is it a dildo?” On stage, the peppermill-do was obviously transformed into Fluellen’s leek, which Jonathan Slinger — is he the best Fluellen ever? — crammed down Pistol’s gullet.

We measure out our theatre-going lives on days like these. I met a man from Aberdeen who had come down to London just to be there, really, and incidentally try and buy tickets. He had gone across the road for lunch because the service was so slow in the venue itself. He had already seen Henry V and thought the French were rather sent up. To which I replied, “Jolly good.” 

Nick Allott, Cameron Mackintosh’s right hand man, breezed by in a pink sweater; not another gift from Thelma, surely.

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And I tend to think that more sports and less obesity should be a first priority. Still, the theatre industry is more than ready to help out the government, and the children, and has been for many years. James Campbell, whose stand-up show “Comedy 4 Kids” has been seen all round the world, has a lovely little play on at the Soho Theatre called Cutlery Wars.

These wars — “I am the king of the forks” — are played out by two short-trousered adult actors as boys on the brink of their passport to the secondary school level (”I’m looking forward to having hairy legs”).

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But, onto business. Following the Saturday show, Francesca cried and said: “I don’t know what I am going to do.” Well, try singing in tune, love! Jodie gushed at their comments and did her usual “I’m not worthy” face, which is beginning to wear thin, as the weeks progress. (more…)

But, before we speculate, who is going and who should stay; let’s have a look at the runners and riders from the third live show:

First up was Rachel and the theme was songs from the musicals. She did not have the best choice; “Oh! What A Night“ from The Jersey Boys. But this was an excuse to plug Cam Mack’s new London arrival, more than show off Rachel’s vocal prowess. But she delivered, nonetheless. She has the confidence and the emotional maturity to take this role. But she is being chased more furiously by some of the others this week.

Sarah was next and she sang “Maybe This Time“ from the hit Cabaret. Denise is yet to be convinced, but she totally convinced me. Yes, she needs to be a bit tougher but, she has that vulnerable side to her personality that is required to carry the role. I am sure that in future weeks, Sarah will impress even more, if she is kept in.

Francesca did not have the best song, “The Time Of My Life“ from Dirty Dancing. But she was so off key at times, it hurt my ears. (more…)

[Show as slideshow]

On Thursday night Whatsonstage.com hosted an outing to see Maria Friedman’s critically acclaimed show Maria Friedman: Re-arranged at the Menier Chocolate Factory. After an evening of fantastic entertainment, we were treated to a post-show discussion with Maria and her long-standing musical collaborator Michael Haslam.

The show has received rave reviews (click here for Michael Coveney’s review) and based on last night’s performance it’s clear to see why. Maria was keen to emphasise early in the show that the songlist was not chosen on the basis of theme. Rather, she chose to celebrate the freedom of a concert format by “dipping into as many emotional spaces as possible” during the course of the evening. And she was certainly true to her word. From a poignant rendition of “You Are My Sunshine” to her seminal version of Sondheim’s “Broadway Baby”, she spanned genres and styles, remaining all the while utterly engaging.

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Cob, a dapper little brown nut of a man, was a true life-enhancer and nothing at all like the absentee financier father in Polly’s smash hit first play That Face. The dipsomaniac Martha played by Lindsay Duncan, however, is loosely based on her own mother, who is not in touch. The character’s called Martha as a nod towards Albee’s chaotic heroine in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

Polly nearly falls off her chair when I say that her mother’s second name really is Martha. She didn’t know! The revelation shakes her for about two minutes before she carries on enthusiastically attacking her splendid lunchtime breakfast platter.

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