Comedy of Errors at Theatre at the Mill

Last night was the Opening Night of Theatre at the Mill's Comedy of Errors: the Musical.

After an absolute disaster of a day where our car broke down, the fridge blew up and our heating wouldn't work properly, I needed cheering up.  Comedy of Errors had a lot to live up to!

Billed as a musical theatre version of Shakespeare set in 1920's Belfast, the production is a difficult sell.  The cast were clearly nervous for the opening number but settled quickly into their parts.  Not being a play I have read and not knowing what to expect I found the beginning confusing.  I couldn't quite understand what was going on and who each character was meant to be. However it didn't take long to realise that the who's, what's and when's were mostly irrelevant.  This musical adaptation was first and foremost meant to be fun.

And fun it was.  Richard Clements and Paul Boyd are excellent as the brothers separated at birth, their relationships with their servants a high point. Paul Boyd's Belfast Anthony is perhaps the most passionate of the brothers, continuously kicking his servant and getting a fair few kisses from his mistress.  Richard's Dublin Anthony is by contrast a less violent man, pleasantly surprised by the lovely Belfast people who like to give him money and pearls.  The two Drews are strongly played by Drew Dillon and David Marken, talented young actors who ensure that the confusion and slapstick comedy continue throughout.  The curly clown wigs chosen for the Drew characters however, did remind me of Art Garfunkel or Gene Wilder.  Not a good look.

Sara Lyle's wronged wife Adrianna and her single sister Lucy played by Orla Gormley are engaging in their roles.  Reflecting the brothers' conflicting characters, the sisters are polar opposites to one another.  Adrianna seems to enjoy a bit of passionate S&M, whereas Lucy's demure character is much more restrained, but played with a Gormley twinkle in the eye. Chris Robinson and Orla Mullan had perhaps the most frantic parts to play, portraying with style various roles such as the jeweller, a policeman, the father, the mother, an exorcist, a nun, a businesswoman, a mistress and the cook.

As always, I found the music overpowered the vocals making it difficult to hear the words of the songs.  In this instance it may not have been so much an issue of volume, but more to do with balance and clarity through the sound system.  It should be said however, that I often have an issue with the music simply being too loud in theatre productions.  The songs are fun and catchy and are well handled by this cast.

The story was set aside to use comical interludes such as a Stomp-like door-knocking musical episode, a stylised slow motion fight scene, musicians calling out hellos to the characters, an off-stage run though the audience and a pun-tastic comic monologue from Drew Dillon which accented his excellent comic timing.  These set pieces were interesting individual moments but were not there to assist the development of the story but more to allow time for quick changes.  I thought these mostly worked well but they reminded me of the comic interludes used in panto to allow for the big scene change to happen behind the curtain.

I felt that the play tried too hard to fit in too many styles and this was detrimental to it's focus. Panto meets Shakespeare meets musical theatre meets slapstick meets farce all set in 1920's Belfast meant that the play felt confused in it's direction. The continuous large gestures and unnecessary movements of the characters undermined the storytelling and merely created one dimensional stock characters which force this production more into the world of pantomime than musical theatre.

Despite this, Comedy of Errors: The Musical is a fast paced and frenetic show, with is a very hard working cast whose hi-jinks and even higher kicks had my eyes watering.  Full of slapstick fun and witty naughtiness, this shows runs until 2nd March. You can BOOK HERE.                        

Comedy of Errors, The Musical

I've visited Theatre at the Mill on a few occasions, but despite my best intentions have never made it out to the Newtownabbey venue to see a show.  I've decided my first show will be Comedy of Errors for various reasons.

• The story sounds brilliant.  It's a Shakespeare play I didn't study in school and I don't know it at all, but the witty description and excellent production shots caught my attention.  The cheeky grins and surprised expressions on the actors faces really highlight the farcical elements of the play.
• It's a brand new musical version! I'm thinking Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet... 
• It's set in Belfast in the 1920's.  Well if ever there was a way to get me to go to something, it would be to include some local history. A quick look at the Comedy of Errors microsite reveals set images of the 140 year old Jaffe fountain, currently situated outside Victoria Square. 
• Setting the musical in the roaring twenties means fabulous costumes.  The costume drawings are really stunning and I can't wait to see them for real.
• Live 1920's Music.  (Note to self: remember not to dance in public)
• The cast!  Some of the best actors/ singers working in NI today all on one stage.  Richard Clements, Drew Dillon, Paul Boyd (the other one...), Chris Robinson, Orla Gormley, Sarah Lyle, David Marken and Orla Mullen. Seriously have you heard these guys sing?  Click here to hear Drew Dillon and click here to listen to Richard Clements. *may induce tears

The show runs from 19th February - 2nd March.  Click here to find out more on Theatre at the Mill's website.

Pvt. Wars at the Baby Grand

Last night I went to see PVT. Wars at the Grand Opera House.  Produced by up and coming new theatre company Pintsized Productions, directed by Terry Keeley and written by James McLure, the play stars 3 of NI's best young actors - Martin McCann, Chris Robinson and Gerard McCabe.  

The 3 characters Silvio, Natwick and Gately are Vietnam veterans, scarred by their experiences both physically and mentally.  They are all voluntary admitted psychiatric patients in a veteran's hospital and while the war is barely mentioned, the experiences the men went through ensures the ghost of war is always present.

McLure is a talented playwright.  His use of comedy is measured, well placed and timed to perfection. One particular scene where Silvio tries to teach Gatley how to pick up a girl has the audience in stitches.  Despite the laughter though, our knowledge of Silvio's extreme injury ensures that there is an undercurrent of despair to this scene that only serves to highlight the characters' pain. McLure reinforces the point numerous times in the play that the men could leave anytime, but the outside world terrifies them. There doesn't seem to be a way out for them.  Even when it appears Silvio might leave, a letter comes which destroys his chances of getting away.  The hopelessness portrayed in this scene is particularly vivid.

The characters are well developed, but stereotypical.  Natwick is a privileged posh, cultured man, Silvio is a macho swaggering Italian-American and Gately an innocent country boy.  The three men however have the war and their mental problems in common.  Natwick is neurotic, suicidal but not brave enough to kill himself, Gately spends the whole play obsessively trying to fix a radio and Silvio shows clear psychotic tendencies and a fixation on flashing women. It is clear as we head to the end of the play that actually the only thing keeping these three men grounded is their uneasy friendship, despite their obvious differences. 
    
This show is a credit to the abilities of all three actors.  The hilarity of the pranks, the sex jokes and the comic misunderstandings is always underpinned by sadness and despair.  We may laugh but we never forget that these are three fragile damaged souls. 

Gerard McCabe's innocent Gately is the anchor of the play. Without him you feel the other characters could not be friends however uneasy that friendship might be.  He both begins and ends the play and his reflection on the sunrise in the last scene just adds to the anguish of the veterans' situation.  

Chris Robinson plays Natwick's depression to perfection.  He is terrified to stay in the world but equally terrified to leave it through suicide. One scene where Natwick attempts to make Silvio like him is particularly good and highlights the actors' impeccable comic timing. 

Martin McCann, who has not been on a theatre stage for 6 years, encapsulated Silvio's character precisely. Of all the characters, Silvio is the most dangerous. It can't be easy to play a psychotic character and still make the audience want to take you home and protect you!            

The play was written not long after the Vietnam war and the public were aware of the difficulties veterans' had returning to society.  Today we still have young men and women returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan.  We still hear stories of veterans being made homeless, of high suicide rates and not enough help being available.  The stigma attached to living with a mental illness does not help and still exists today.  It's clear that the central messages of McLure's play are still relevant.  

PVT. Wars continues at the Grand Opera House until Saturday 20th October. Please go along and support this young company.  Click here to book.