Over the last week or so we seem to have suddenly (and unexpectedly) become Theatre buffs ? from watching an amateur production at The Swan in Worcester to seeing Adele in concert at the Manchester Arena.
Little Women
The first play was an amateur production of Louisa M Alcott’s Little Women. I have fond memories of Meg, Beth, Amy and Jo (not forgetting Marmie) having avidly read the books and cried over them as a little girl. I wasn’t surprised that the audience was predominantly female.
The performance was really good, the odd fluffed line but given they were speaking in an American drawl and all had loads of lines, not surprising. The cast created a warm family atmosphere including the usual squabbles, tears and love. One of the cast hadn’t acted since she was in school and you really wouldn’t have known it. The local theatre critic described it as “very warm and cosy”, and indeed it was. You’ve got to love a happy ending ? (it was only the first book hence the happy ending).
Hero’s Welcome
The second play we saw was the new Alan Ayckbourn play Hero’s Welcome . His newest and his 79th play. (Can you image having the talent to write that many plays!) The themes are pretty much as usual. Male protagonist and downtrodden women. A brilliant cast who delivered accomplished and believable performances, even down to a consistent east European accent. Three couples: at the start each couple has one strong and one weaker partner, by the end of the play the boot’s on the other foot.
He draws out the issues in each relationship and you can follow the development and in the change in attitude of the ‘weaker’ partners. By the end there is a murder, an almost fatal medical condition and a happy ending. I won’t spoil the plot as I’d highly recommend you going to see this.
Mermaid
Mermaid is based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale about a little mermaid who falls in love with a handsome prince and wants to become human so much she is willing to have her tongue cut out. Who thought this was a suitable story for young impressionable children??? I recall loving the story when I was a kid and never gave a thought to how macabre it is, I was just sucked into the whole beauty = love scenario. This is so much more than a case of “the grass is greener on the other side”, it’s about loss of innocence, about being convinced that you want something so much you are willing to sacrifice anything, and then when you have it …. you realise it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. But that doesn’t stop us all for yearning after the unobtainable. Perfect body, perfect face, money, power, love.
The play was cast really well, especially the leading role. In the scenes which were ‘underwater’ the mermaids all undulated their bodies and limbs just as if they were gently bobbing in the swell of the sea. It was very realistic and by the interval I found myself bobbing along to the bar feeling a little seasick ?
Cirque du Soleil
I thought the highlight of the week was going to see Cirque du Soleil performing AmaLuna at The Royal Albert Hall . It was brilliant. The tickets were a Xmas prezzie so I’ve been looking forward to it for a while, and I wasn’t disappointed. The format of the show has changed from the last few I’ve seen. This time it was more of a story with the acts playing their ‘parts’. We had really good seats only a few rows from the front and thoroughly enjoyed being picked on by musicians and clowns.
Adele
My final (and most amazing) treat of the weekend was to go to Manchester to see Adele in her first performance in England. The audience was a mixed bunch, generally more mature with a high proportion of females (what a surprise ?). Our three figure tickets afforded us a view from the side, which was ok when she turned round and as we weren’t too far back from the stage I got some good photos. But most importantly we got to hear her singing live, and flipping heck what a powerful voice, she was amazing.
I need a weekend off to recover now ?