One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Dale Wasserman’s adaptation of Ken Kesey’s renowned novel

One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest was first published in 1962, and became a best seller once more when released as a movie in 1975. On both occasions it was applauded for its accurate portrayal of insanity in its many forms, as well as being a great story. Happily the same can be said for this 2011 theatre production.

Most people reading this review will be aware of the basics of the plot – that of the self-proclaimed hell raiser who takes on those battles his vulnerable fellow patients cannot.

His nemesis is the dictatorial, begrudging Nurse Ratched who manipulates her inmates and ensures they will never overcome their weaknesses. Her goal is order, and no kind of chaos can be tolerated. Everyone’s sympathies are with McMurphy, but the inevitable outcome is his defeat by the institution Nurse Ratched represents. Even a character as strong as he unquestionably is, cannot successfully confront the status quo in which the only answer to oddness is to contain it.

Theatro Technis has a large performing space with three walls lined with chairs for a capacity of around 150 spectators. The action takes place in the centre and breaks the usual divide between actor and audience. The peripheral characters do not stop moving and shouting just because the main characters are in dialogue. This has the disadvantage of blocked views. However focusing on the private intrigues of the vegetative inmates is as intrinsic to the story as what the main characters are doing.

The scene is a madhouse, naturally, a theme created and embraced exceptionally well by the cast. And “cast” in this case includes the musicians, who were dressed as patients and who did not come out of character even when playing or during the interval. The music was atmospheric, spooky at times, thanks to the lamenting tones of the singer over the cello, double bass, violin and flute.

Daniel Addis was competent, if sometimes veering toward the over-emotional, as McMurphy. Kate Kenyon was convincing as the one-dimensional Nurse Ratched. Robert Rowe was a wonderfully repressed homosexual, cultured Dale Harding. Christopher Eastwood stuttered his way competently through the highs and lows of the suicidal mummy’s-boy, Billy Bibbit. Gul Y Davis as Cheswick and Marco Aponte as Martini mastered the strained facial expressions of excitable, maniacal and comically enthusiastic lunatics. DK Ugonna may have had the biggest shoes to fill, literally of course, as Chief Bromden. This performance was strong and his voice was powerful enough for him to act as narrator with all sorts of noisy activity going on around him as he did so.

The peripheral characters deserve as much praise as the main players. To have mastered their capacity to create seemingly endless fountains of drool the way they did is something that must be seen to be believed. It was actually quite a surprise to see them all lined up at the end of the performance looking normal, smiling and with full control of their limbs, if a little wet around the collar.

The themes of this story are still relevant. While involuntary lobotomy and electro-therapy form the particular evils in this story, the basic feelings of injustice, powerlessness and the power of the institutions are as relevant today as they were when Ken Kesey worked as a night guard in a mental institution in 1959. This is a powerful story, well adapted, which deserves to be told again. Hopefully Empatheyes Theatre Company will keep doing what they are doing.

Writer – Dale Wasserman (from the book by Ken Kesey); Directors -Tarzan and Imojane; Producers – Alex Rodin and Imogen Lewis; presenter – EmpathEyes Theatre; Crew: Kiki Lawrance, Marie Kearney, Maria Kelesidi, Laura Linck, Rajee Sukumaran.

Cast: DK Ugonna, Daniel Addis, Robert Rowe, Christopher Eastwood, Gul Y Davis, Marco Aponte, Adam Loxley, Matthew Milner, Sam Child, Ozan Gemikonakli, Thiruvarangan Thirunimalan, Kate Kenyon, Kiki Lawrance, Eugene Pooley, Nigel Bernard, Christopher Jenner Cole, Kristina Epenetos.

Music: Max Wilson, Laura Lee Tanner, Ruth Wilson, Luis dos Reis, Sophie McKechnie, Kostantinos Spanos.

Reviewed Friday 11 March 2011 / Theatro Technis, London UK

(c) Leanne O’Loughlin 2011

Witzelsucht and Moria, by GC Morgan

A psychiatric inferno

Witzelsucht and Moria is a one man, 50 minute show that is gloriously surreal in its intent and purpose, ostensibly to illustrate the life and trials of an unappreciated psychiatric genius now in the twilight of his career.

I suspect that GC Morgan is more than slightly in love with words. This show has a lot of them, delivered in a fast and furious lecture style (reminiscent, for those who remember such things, of the late Vivian Stanshall and his creation ‘Sir Henry at Rawlinson End’).

The framework for the script’s delivery is a lecture, given by the hero of the piece, and so not very much happens (well, apart from two bodily ‘incidents’ which I do not propose to describe – one consequent on viola-playing, the other of a kind familiar to anyone who knows the word ‘trepan’) as we are enlightened about this mad, brilliant, psychotic, self-harming, variously drug-reliant individual, whose genius is the victim of bad luck and bad timing.

His schooldays bring him into contact with Pablo the Iberian gardener, whose sexual laments bring him to be shot by a housemaster. His first love, Chantal, disappears over Niagara, but his work in a local restaurant has left him with an enduring love of pressed meats.

Finally, his ultimate case brings him to attempt a kind of ‘Fantastic Voyage’ (donning nasal rings and an underwater mask in order to make his effort) in a last and only partly enduring bid for fame and the realisation of his genius.

It is all very fast and furious, and one is left in awe of the feat of memory which allows the script to be delivered so consistently and without – almost – any pause for reflection. It has some very funny moments and one is left almost gasping for breath by the conclusion. There is also a peculiar feeling of not quite knowing what exactly what you might just have witnessed.

By the way, ‘Witzelsucht’ is a tendency to tell inappropriate jokes, while ‘Moria’ is foolish, or silly euphoria.

Written and performed by GC Morgan. Technical operator – Daniel Lewis

reviewed 25 March 2011

(c) michael spring 2011

Convictions – New plays from prison, in Soho

Synergy Theatre Project works with offenders and ex-offenders

Coming in May

Synergy Theatre Project is presenting its first festival of new plays written in prison and afterwards. The two week season at the Soho Theatre Studio, in Dean Street, includes two full productions and three readings.

Every Coin by Carlon Campbell Robinson (9- 14 May) is directed by Esther Baker. As a serving prisoner, he has observed the changing gang culture and the rise of a recent phenomenon – the Muslim gang within prison.

The Archbishop and the Antichrist by Michael Ashton (16- 21 May) is directed by Lucy Kerbel. Michael previously lived in South Africa and was inspired by the real events surrounding the TRC hearings chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. This powerful play explores the limits of forgiveness.

Three play readings (at 3 pm) include:

The Growhouse by Luke Sawyer: 11 May

Forgive Me Father by J Mason plus shorts by young offenders at HMP Littlehey: 13 May

Heroes of the Soviet Republic by Matthew Williams: 20 May

www.synergytheatreproject.co.uk

An old-fashioned girl

‘Mary Broome’ at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond

Katie McGuinness plays Mary Broome, an Edwardian servant to a middle class household

When middle-class Manchester households had ‘staff’ and young sons, problems like this must have been not too unfamiliar – housemaids becoming pregnant that is. But the initial problem which serves to drive the elder Timbrell (a permanently florid Michael Lumsden) to distraction is only the beginning of a series of issues in which the catalyst is the younger son of the household, Leonard (Jack Farthing).

He starts by proposing to run away – to run away, having stolen his mother’s housekeeping money, without either a blush or nod toward responsibility (or it would seem, a thought for Mary Broome, now pregnant with his child). Leonard is as laid back as it is possible to be, and feels neither guilt nor, it seems, love. Sometimes, something approximating to affection is there, but it is a pale shadow of the real thing. One wonders how the pregnancy ever came about, unless it was by some wayward (possibly beautiful) thought.

Leonard is an artist. He writes (‘sketches, impressions’…). He has insights to which others are not often admitted. He sees, in the characters of his mother and his eventual wife Mary Broome, a certain wildness, a desperate and committed individuality – of the kind that leads all those EM Forster heroines (this play is of the same era as Howards’ End) to commit themselves to danger and their own unrestrained human natures.

Leonard may see, but he cannot act on any other principle than to please himself – moment by moment. He is charming, he is erudite and he bears no grudges, but he is – to his father and brother at least – totally infuriating. Meanwhile Mary (Katie McGuinness), the mother of his child, is awkward, untutored but also youthfully decisive and if not ‘pure’ then certainly loving, aware of a duty to remake the world in her own generation. In the end, Leonard’s insight is as empty as his father’s posturing, as is his whole family’s acceptance of the roles and processes of society in an England where only very tiny deviations from the normal are tolerated.

Leonard may look for deeper significance, but his ability to be insightful comes at a price. He is casually cruel to all around him, even if his sins are those of passivity (inaction rather than intention), their pain goes deep, too deep at last for his wife, who is the moral touchstone of the play.

This is old-fashioned drama, done in drawing rooms and amongst post-Victorian clutter, where upwardly mobile families cling to society’s forms and imitate those of an unknown upper class (one tea caddy for China, one for Indian). The thrust and energy of Manchester society that gave the Industrial Revolution to the British Empire is now a pale imitation of what it was. Changes arrive each day – the end of the horse-drawn cab being just one – but the days of families like the Timbrells (and the Broomes too, if it comes to that) are numbered if they cannot adapt themselves to the new age.

Director Auriol Smith keeps us alive with wry smiles and laughter and while this play may not be ‘one of the great comedies’ as it was once acclaimed to be, it is both eminently watchable and entertaining, and writer Allan Monkhouse has created in Leonard a character who is both infuriating and personally charming, indifferent and alarmingly without a sense of self.

Cast: Charlotte Brimble – Maid; Martha Dancy – Ada Timbrell; Harriet Eastcott – Mrs Pendleton; Jack Farthing – Leonard Timbrell; Bernard Holley – Mr Pendleton;  Kieron Jecchnis – Mr Broome; Emma Johnston – Maid; Moir Leslie – Mrs Broome; Michael Lumsden – Mr Timbrell; Katie McGuinness – Mary Broome; Paul O’Mahony – Edgar Timbrell; Emily Pennant-Rea – Sheila Ray; Eunice Roberts – Mrs Timbrell; Eve Shickle – Mrs Greaves

Writer – Allan Monkhouse; director – Auriol Smith; designer – Sam Dowson; costume – Jude Stedham; lighting – John Harris

(c) michael spring 2011

reviewed Friday, 18th March

72 Names for Fringe Report Award winner

Fringe Report Award Winner launches new album

Tally Koren, a soulful Israeli singer/songwriter, and winner of a Fringe Report Award this year, is to launch her brand new album 72 Names on 27 March 7.30 pm  at the London Jewish Culture Centre (LJCC).

Winner of the London Fringe Best Singer Songwriter Award 2011 and with her debut single championed by Chris Evans and Graham Norton and included in the playlist for BBC Radio 2, Tally Koren is hot property.

Produced by Phil Curren and Yoad Nevo, who has made platinum selling albums for the likes of the Sugababes, Girls Aloud and The Pet Shop Boys, 72 Names blends Tally’s distinctive, resonant vocals with the many distinct sounds and cultures that have influenced Tally throughout her life.

LJCC – Ivy House 94-96 North End Road  NW11 7SX. Tickets (£10/£5 students) 020 8457 5000 or buy online.

Theatre Chat Shows at Waterloo East

Chat about theatre. Sunday nights at Waterloo East

Sunday nights will never be the same again. Waterloo East Theatre presents a new live theatre chat show, each hosted by Sarah Redmond with Dan Jackson on piano. Sarah will grill the stars of stage and screen in front of a live theatre audience. Expect all sorts of fun and games, but no competitive cooking…

Sunday 27 March at 7:30pm – Tiffany Graves is currently playing the Killer Queen in the UK tour of We Will Rock You. She has played Velma Kelly in Chicago (Cambridge Theatre and Adelphi) and Helene in Sweet Charity (Theatre Royal Haymarket and The Menier Chocolate Factory)

Sunday 17 April at 7:30pm – Chris Ellis Stanton is currently playing the role of Kyle in Legally Blonde at the Savoy Theatre. He has played Steve Lomas in Richard O’Brien’s new musical The Stripper (Queens Theatre, Hornchurch and UK Tour), Brad Majors in The Rocky Horror Show (European tour), Bobby Van Husen in The Boyfriend

Tickets: £10

Apply soon for Camden Fringe

Only 3 Weeks Left for Applications!

 

There are just 3 weeks left to get your applications in to Camden Fringe, so if you haven’t already applied it is time to get going.

This year they have changed the way things work – there is still one simple application form to fill out on the Camden Fringe website http://www.camdenfringe.org – but now you need to choose which venue(s) to apply to.

As they have been taking applications since the beginning of January, some venues are already looking quite busy, but they would still like to hear from people interested in these venues particularly

·         Camden People’s Theatre – they especially like devised and physical theatre pieces
·         RADA GBS Studio – New writing and devised theatre is of particular interest
·         The Camden Head – great for stand up, spoken word and small sketch shows
·         Upstairs at the Gatehouse – looking for revivals (and they love a musical!)

They can take shows that are open-air or site specific – if you have an alternative Camden venue in mind to run your show in then they would be very happy to hear from you. Details for Camden Parks and a few studio spaces that can be used for workshops and other events also appear on the Venues page of the website. And if you have something altogether bigger in mind you can still apply to the Shaw Theatre.

Comedy (and a kids’ show) at the Pleasance – Coming Soon

Humphrey Ker: Work in Progress
Tuesday, 15th March
One third of The Penny Dreadfuls, the best-loved sketch troupe at the Edinburgh Fringe, and star of BBC2′s Fast & Loose,

Crash Test Comedy
Wednesday, 16th March
Hosted by Idiots of Ants, this monthly sketch, stand-up, music and character comedy night sees the best acts on the London circuit ‘crash test’ their most recent material.

Delete the Banjax… and Friends
Friday, 18th March
A chance to see an extended set of new material from host act Delete the Banjax every month as well as the best stand-up, character and sketch guest acts on the live circuit.

The Humble Quest for Universal Genius
Saturday, 19th March
This quiz show sees comedian Mark Allen pit top stand-ups against each other in a bid to find a modern-day Universal Genius, someone who excels in every single facet of human understanding.

Itch: A Scratch Event
Sunday, 20th March
Comedians Theatre Company brings us a mixed bag of brand new work. Rehearsed and unrehearsed material, a bunch of talent, and lots of fun!

Storytellers’ Club
Sunday, 20th March
The monthly storytelling club, for people who like their comedy a little more magical

Comedy Reserve Try-Out
Monday, 4th April – Tuesday, 5th April
Come and join us at the Pleasance London as we try and select the cream of the crop of young comedians to take with us to Edinburgh.

The Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
Tuesday, 5th April – Friday, 25th April
Using everyday objects found in the attic, five of the best-beloved stories that have enchanted both children and adults for generations are discovered and brought to life.

Working Title
Friday, 8th April
The new improvisation show from Feature Spot, featuring the stars of BBC2′s hit improv show Fast and Loose

The Hollycopter
Saturday, 9th April
Comedy preview by the Chortle Best Newcomer, Holly Walsh – as seen on 8 out of 10 Cats, Mock the Week, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Dave’s One Night Stand.

Arnab Chanda
Sunday, 10th April
Arnab Chanda’s first solo show, a work in progress pointlessly entitled ‘Dr. Sad Cookiepants and No Spring Chicken’. No jokes. No stories. Just reading out and doing his favorite little weird things

Beat This
Monday, 11th April
A music-based game show from Rob Deering. Each night four different stand-ups and one audience battle and banter it out over the highs and lows of rock and pop

Benny Boot: Set-up, Punchline…Pause for Laughter
Wednesday, 27th April
NBC’s Last Comic Standing (UK Finalist) previews his debut hour show Set-up, Punchline

Shakespeare, Stand-up, Modern Dance, Greek Myths – All coming to the Blue Elephant

Spring and Summer at the Blue Elephant

Comedy, tragedy, dance - this summer at the Blue Elephant in Camberwell

The Blue Elephant theatre in Camberwell has an interesting Spring/Summer season coming up, beginning with Shakespeare’s Macbeth from 22 March to 16 April.

This is Shakespeare’s classic, but with a contemporary edge and delivered by Lazarus Theatre Company, whose director, Ricky Dukes, rarely disappoints.

The dark world of witchcraft and sorcery is followed by the Elephunny season, on 4^th and 11^th May, with stand-ups previewing their Edinburgh offerings, and a double bill of contemporary dance and new writing from 19 – 21 May.

Unmythable (25 – 28 May) is an action packed show featuring the Greek myths as you’ve probably never seen them before – The Odyssey told from a disgruntled foot soldier’s perspective is just one example – presented by Temple Theatre.

And the rich mix of performance continues throughout the summer. www.blueelephanttheatre.co.uk

In Dundee, Manchester

Fringe performers are out there across the UK

In Manchester, award-winning Organised Chaos Productions are staging Peacefully At Home, written by Nicola Schofield, at Taurus Bar, from 6th to 9th April.

In Peacefully At Home an unseen Dad drifts away upstairs, and Bridget and her grown up children gather for their last respects. As long held secrets threaten to be revealed, and new ones vie to be created, tensions crackle below the surface. Dad might be leaving peacefully, but will he be taking peace away with him?

Nicola Schofield won the 2004 Royal Exchange Theatre WRITE 2 Bruntwood Playwright competition with Maybe Tomorrow.

Meanwhile in Dundee, from 28th March to 9 April, Dundee Rep Ensemble presents The Firebird a witty and wise family adventure by children’s playwright Neil Duffield. Directed by James Brining this thrilling production follows young Prince Ivan as he embarks on a magical adventure to a place far from the world he knows.

Designer Colin Richmond (Sweeney Todd) works with Lighting Designer Chris Davey (Peer Gynt), Composer John Harris (Mother Courage) and Puppet Designer Rachael Canning (The Three Musketeers, Traverse) to create a world of sorcery and witchcraft where true love is only a wooden heart away.