I've been spoilt this week …

This week I’ve finally manage to see two shows I’ve always wanted to see.  The Lion King, thanks to a very generous birthday gift from my boyfriend and War Horse (although this was a live streaming in a cinema I’m still counting it). 

I said I wasn’t going to review The Lion King, but I can’t resist a little comment…I had high expectations for the show and wasn’t disappointed.  The whole thing is a spectacle of colour, costume and dance.  It’s a very slick and clever show, as you’d expect from such a long running West End success story.  I was particularly impressed at the way Mufasa’s death was staged.  The best part of the show was the music, and not the big hits everyone knows from the film, but the incidental music.  The harmonies of some of the more tender choral moments were goosebump making! I particularly liked 'One by One’ performed immediately after the interval, the cast wore colourful costume and performed this stunning choral piece, making me forget all about the gin & tonic in my hand.   There are six different African languages in the show, and in the words of the programme “Africa (is) at the heart of the production”, with the music bringing Africa to the West End.

The only thing I want to get off my chest is how badly behaved the audience were.  A constant level of noise was in the theatre, with people talking at normal volume and people eating everywhere!  And, to top it off, people started clapping along during Hakuna Matata – one of my biggest pet hates. Why can’t audiences just watch something, and take it in, without joining in?  Especially when people can’t clap in time and continue when dialogue is taking place over the song.   Maybe that’s the problem with shows that become tourist attractions in their own right?  Most audiences are there to tick it off their to do in London checklist, rather than because they want to see amazing theatre.  Having said that the buzz of excitement as Circle of Life began and all the animals came into the theatre was something I won’t forget!

Last night I headed to the Curzon Cinema in Chelsea to see the National Theatre’s live streaming of War Horse. I’ve wanted to see War Horse for a long time, however looking to go recently the tickets are not cheap.  So when I spotted that it was being streamed to the cinema, for a much more do-able price, I was in buying my tickets immediately.  I’ve seen a Jamie Cullum gig streamed to a cinema before, which was weird at first but then you get used to it.  This was much the same, at first you’re very conscious you’re watching a theatre through a screen, however once the enchanting and heart-wrenching story of War Horse begins I was completely immersed.   The play is truly incredible; it’s amazing how quickly you forget you’re watching a puppet and feel affection for Joey.  I especially liked how they don’t ever hide the fact that the horses are puppets, the costumes of the puppeteers aren’t particularly hiding them although do match the colours of the horse.  With hardly any set, it really is a treat for the power of the imagination, whatever your age.  I was transported to a variety of locations from scenic Devon to the horror of the trenches through simple props and lighting – and of course the power of the story itself taking you to these locations.

The story is powerful and heart wrenching.  Billy raises Joey from a foal and they build a powerful bond, which we see is unbreakable.  Joey is sold to the Army and the two are split, this play tells the story of the two characters individual war experiences and the ending is so emotional I’m welling up just thinking about it.  It is a beautiful story and left my Mum and I in tears.  As if the performance itself wasn’t special enough, at the end Joey himself entered the cinema! Everyone burst into excited applause; it was a privilege to be there and meet Joey.  I think it may be the closest I’ve ever been to a horse! Everyone was commenting on how real he seemed, and as he walked around the cinema amongst a sea of camera phones and people trying to stroke him, he just showed how extraordinary a creation he is. 

NT Live is a great idea, bringing live theatre to cinemas. However I didn’t like the interval feature, it was behind the scenes videos, showing behind the scenes footage and interviews.  This would be great to see at the end of the show, or a few days later. But seeing this in the middle of the show slightly broke the magic that had been cast over the cinema, particularly as the clips showed parts of the play we had not yet even seen!

I’ve had such a great week seeing these two productions, and next week promises to be just as exciting as I return to see IJAD perform at Vault Festival (a post about this will follow soon!)

Blurred Lines at The Shed - National Theatre

I can't believe it's been 2 months since my last blog post! Oops! For those of you who think I've been slacking, I am excited to say I've been writing theatre reviews for Everything Theatre. Seeing more theatre than I've ever seen and loving it (even the slightly less polished shows .. )  Have a look at http://everything-theatre.co.uk - they have a shiny new website too! But tonight I was back at the theatre independently, and still felt compelled to write this review … enjoy. 

Leaving Blurred Lines I felt a range of emotions. But the main one was anger, anger that in 2014 a play such as this has to exist. Has to highlight and powerfully portray issues so many women have to deal with.  Reading the programme I learnt some horrific statistics about women, some that I already knew such as women still earning on average 15% less than men. What I didn't know however was that domestic abuse causes more death and disability amongst women aged between 16 and 44 than cancer or traffic accidents.

The show is made up of various scenarios women face and comments on these by other cast.  The all women cast are outstanding.  Made up of a few familiar faces, they are all strong and admirable women dedicating just over an hour each night to making sure such an important message is heard.  With the overall message seeming to simply be – this is NOT ok.  Discussing her book, The Equality Illusion (which is now on my reading list), Kat Banyard states that "Gender inequality affects women from the moment they wake up to the minute they go to bed" and a lot of us probably don’t even realise it.

Nick Payne has been my favourite playwright ever since 'Constellations' last year, which still gives me chills when I think about it.  And he proves himself yet again with ‘Blurred Lines’ which he co-created with Carrie Cracknell.  The fact that a man can so eloquently and powerfully create a show about feminism just shows that you don't need to be a woman to be a feminist. You just need to believe in equal rights for women. It's as simple as that!

References to the song Blurred Lines pop up throughout this show, and other modern pop stereotypes are explored with the cast highlighting the inappropriate messages that many modern pop songs send out.  Usually without us realising, yes I am guilty of singing along to Blurred Lines when it came on the radio for the millionth time last year, but I felt uncomfortable seeing some younger members of the audience still dance to the song when it played as we left.  A particularly powerful moment for me was when the cast were singing a generic pop/rap song with explicit lyrics.  The typical dancers dance routine turned into scenes of women being attacked and then back to the dance.  It doesn't take much imagination to see this happening in real music videos.  There were some incredibly intense moments regarding domestic abuse and rape.  A particularly powerful moment was when one character is attacked by a man, she then stops the action as though an actress on a film set.  The crew/actors slowly re-do the scene so that she slowly changes outfits into something more revealing, wearing huge heels.  I don't think I need to explain this any further! 

Although there were references to rape and assault which were uncomfortable to watch, other issues covered included women with families in the workplace, highlighting the more “everyday” effects of sexism.   We see a women being confronted by colleagues, one of whom is also a women.  The confrontation starts by commenting on another colleagues discomfort at seeing baby sick on her back and leads to her being torn apart regarding her commitment to the job.  Comments about other colleagues (male) who manage even though they have three kids slowly wear her down until she rightly stands up for herself.  Although having a family would obviously change your life, the complete disrespect for women who choose both which I've heard of is ridiculous.  There are obviously the Dads who play their part, but the statistics prove this is not the norm - 30,000 women are sacked in the UK each year just for being pregnant.  I still remember the day my English teacher told me that she would always take off her wedding ring before a job interview ... I doubt this is something men have to consider.

I still feel slightly in awe of what I've just seen, despite my anger that gender inequality is still so prevalent in everyday life, this play is another step in the right direction at highlighting the issues and showing we're not going to stand for it.