Closer to Heaven

 

Closer to Heaven, Arts Theatre, 2001

Cast: Frances Barber, Paul Broughton, David Burt, Jo Cavanagh, Akiya Henry, Paul Keating, David Langham, C. Jay Ranger, Mark John Richardson, Stacey Roca, Richard Roe, Louis Spence, Mark Stanway, Amanda Valentine, Tom Walker, Marcos White.

Music & lyrics: Pet Shop Boys

Book: Jonathan Harvey

Director: Gemma Bodinetz

Set & Costume Design: Es Devlin

My favourite band made a musical - imagine how excited I was! They wrote this after hating Les Miserable (me too!) and hoped they might modernise musical theatre. They didn't but it modernised itself thanks to a lot of young people writing about things that were important to them. I've seen it revived twice and still listen to the cast recording. Es Devlin got really big after this and designed a show for Kanye West. Jonathan Harvey's bio in the programme mentions in the forthcoming projects a film of Marian Keyes book Rachel's Holiday and a film starring Graham Norton, neither of which ever happened. Unusually for a Pet Shop Boys project there's no interview with them in the programme but it's a keeper anyway.

The Dresser

 

The Dresser, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2004

Cast: Nicholas Lyndhurst, Annabel Leventon, Julian Glover, Liza SAdovy, Anna Lauren, Col Farrell, Paul Andsell

Writer: Ronald Harwood

Director: Peter Hall

I imagine Nicholas is supposed to be rolling his eyes in exasperation but it also looks like he's pulling a camp face which is not the same as acting. When I saw Julian Clary and Matthew Kelly do this recently I thought it was the first time I'd seen it on stage but apparently not. Shockingly this is the second this directed by Peter Hall that I have no recollection of seeing, which is not really a compliment to one of our greatest directors.

Miss Saigon

Miss Saigon, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2005

Cast: Jon Jon Briones, Jennifer Hubilla, Miriam Valmores-Marasigan, Steven Houghton, Kerry Ellis, Hugh Maynard, Sebastian Tan, Ravy Soc Alfonso, Nathan Amzi, Makakilo Ancheta, Analin Bantug, Victor Bisa, Miguel C Braganza II, Edward Briones, Yu-Tin Chen, Glen Conner, Natalie Everett, Chris Gardner, Theresa de Guzman, Matthew J Henry, Nathan Hunter, Eaton James, Christian Rey Marbella, Meynaard Marcellano, Amira Matthews, Kanako Nakano, Lynden O'Neill, Angelo Paragoss, Ariel Reonal, Jon Robyns, Jacqui Sanchez, Shie Shoji, Kieran Snell, Jiwon Sohn, Jean-Pierre van der Spuy, Ian Venida, Crystal Yu

Book, lyrics, music: Alain Boubil, Claude-Michel Schonberg, Richard Maltby Jnr

Directors: Laurence Connor, Mitchell Lemsky

Oh how I hated this! I know that it's not shit - shit stuff doesn't go to Broadway then around the world and accumulate millions of fans in the process but I still hated it and would have left in the interval if the friends I was with hadn't wanted to stay. It failed to live up to the hype. There are no memorable songs. "But there's a helicopter!" Yes - to distract you from the lack of memorable songs.

I feel slightly vindicated because there's currently a play on in London called untitled f*ck m*ss s**gon play described as "A freewheeling and clever response to the racist and sexist stereotypes captured in Miss Saigon and beyond." I wonder if Cameron Mackintosh is going?

Beautiful Thing

Beautiful Thing, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds & Donmar Warehouse, 1994

Cast: Mark Letheren, Sophie Stanton, Richard Bonneville, Amelda Brown, Shaun Dingwall. (Richard Bonneville would later change his first name to Hugh.)

Writer: Jonathan Harvey

Director: Hettie Macdonald

I was lucky enough to see this twice on tour. The ending with the boys dancing to Mama Cass under a mirrorball made me cry for days after I first saw it. The second time would have been my first visit to the Donmar Warehouse where the most expensive seats were £15 (they were £9.50 in Bury St Edmunds). I've seen it twice more since and it's one of those plays I'd definitely want to see whenever it's revived. 

These are definitely keepers which forces me to think about how I'm going to store the things I'm keeping. Well eventually there will be spare plastic boxes and hopefully one of those will be enough but for now I'm using a plastic basket I couldn't resist buying but have no realistic use for at the moment:

The Play What I Wrote

The Play What I Wrote, Cambridge Arts Theatre, 2003

Cast: Joseph Alessi, Ben Keaton, Toby Sedgwick

Writers: Hamish McColl, Sean Foley, Eddie Braden

Director: Michael Gyngell

My first thought when I saw this was to wonder if it was the show where each night a different celebrity played a part, but there's no suggestion of that in the programme so I assume I'm confusing it with something else. It's about Morecombe & Wise who I grew up watching, because in the seventies there was no choice: you watched TV as a family, and you watched whatever was popular. It hasn't left me with any feelings about them one way or another - I know people love them, Victoria Wood, for instance, who played the mother of one of them in a TV drama, but I'm ambivalent.

Legally Blonde

 

Legally Blonde, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2012

Cast: Faye Brooks, Iwan Lewis, Les Dennis, Niki Evans, Ray Quinn, Charlotte Harwood, Hannah Grover, Sinead Long, Sophie Isaacs, Micha Richardson, Lewis Griffiths, Katie-Marie Hicks, Zak Nemorin, Jon Reynolds, Lori Barker, Gemma Baird, Graham Lappin, Michael Vinsen, Rhona McGregor, Chris Milford, Nia Jermin, Andy Rees, Niamh Bracken, Michael Steedon, Barnaby Thompson, Andrew Gordon-Watkins, Amy Ross, Hannah Woolley.

Music and Lyrics: Laurence O'Keefe & Nell Benjamin

Book: Heather Hach

Director: Jerry Mitchell

I'm now not sure I've ever seen the film this is based on and will make an effort to watch it next time it's on TV. I remember this being fun and it ought to be when the first song is called Omigod you guys. Huge cast.

The Madness of George III

The Madness of George III, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2011

Cast: David Haig, Clive Francis, Beatie Edney, Charlotte Asprey, William Belchambers, Richard Hansell, Ed Cooper Clarke, Orlando James, Christopher Keegan, Beruce Khan, Gary Mackay, Haseeb Malik, Simon Markey, Chris McCalphy, Peter McGovern, Patrick Moy, Gary Oliver, Peter Pacey, Nicolas Rowe, Ryan Saunders, Madhav Sharma, John Webb, Thomas Wheatley, Karren Winchester, 

Writer: Alan Bennett

Director: Christopher Luscombe

Alan Bennett is going to pop up a lot here. I do have a liking for theatre that tells historic stories - it's a far more interesting way for me to learn the facts than to read about it, and if bits of it maybe aren't quite true I'm not sure I mind. This resonates even more now I've been to Kew and seen visited the palace a lot of the story actually happened in.

Festen

Festen, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2006

Cast: Christian Coulson, Lucianne McEvoy, Laurence Mitchell, Will Barton, Miranda Foster, Belinda Sinclair, Rupert Frazer, Camilla Arfwedson, David Beames, Walter Hall, Robert Goodale, Neal Barry, Mark Theodore

Writer: David Eldridge based on the Dogme film

Director: Rufus Norris (currently director of the National Theatre until 2025)

I'm not sure I can be trusted to book stuff for myself. What on earth was I thinking going to see this? Yes, it might have been a hit at the Almeida but it's based on a film made to the Dogme set of rules about authenticity which if you read them now are about as little fun as it's possible to have on a film set. I'm guessing it was a family drama and I suspect it would have been torturous. I really should stick to musicals.

The Woman in Black

The Woman in Black, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2005

Cast: Timothy Watsno, Robert Demeger

Adapted by Stephen Mallatratt from the book by Susan Hill

Director: Robin Herford

Well this answer the question that arises every time this comes around on tour: have I see it already? I definitely remember the film because there was a scene with a train which made the whole audience jump but for this I seem to remember a beach which doesn't feel right. Are beaches scary? Perhaps I need to see it again to find out.