Die Fledermaus WNO @The Birmingham Hippodrome

Strauss’ operetta is sourced from, amongst other things, a French farce named La Reveillon and it seems the farcical element was not to be lost in WNO’s performance and comic performances were for the most part successful. Comic highlights included Desmond Barrit’s performance as the drunken prison warden in the final act and the character of Alfred ‘A tenor’; the latter being instrumental in the send-ups of the work of Puccini and Verdi which actually resulted in one longing for these opera greats after three acts of dated and slightly crass operetta.
Bringing traditional art forms into the 21st century can be challenging for producers and with this particular production there was a sense that because Operetta is popular across the globe to a certain audience, little needed to be done to adapt such a performance. Which throws up the debate of whether traditional art and performance should be subject to experimentation or not and arguably this depends on the project. However, innovation lacked and if things were not experimented with as such then art and performance would not have progressed to the diverse existence it full fills today. A target audience should not be taken for granted in a sector that has recently suffered significant financial cuts and subsequently needs to be economical in the quality of its contributions to society.
The performers were of the highest standard as were the design elements, without question. The problem lay in the outdated script, unfunny gags and unsuccessful attempts to acknowledge the context of a present audience. If the performance had remained in the vacuum of its intended setting without attempted outreach (the most embarrassing being the reference to the ‘Go Compare’ adverts) then it may have maintained more artistic dignity and avoided the ineffective slapstick humour and pantomime-esque moments.
Die Fledermaus is a comedy and arguably relies on the institutions and practices of its settings to an extent. However the irrelevance of its context suggests that it is pure entertainment and escapism; something that art is expected to provide-but should it provide solely this? Are there not enough mindless films, broadcasts and literature to fulfil this role? Operetta is a light-hearted mode of performance rooted in a conservative past and the experience was neither entertaining nor inspiring.

Hugh Dennis and Steve Punt @ The Town Hall

Punt and Dennis, the comic duo responsible for The Now Show provided an enjoyable evening of topical comedy and satire; miraculously without insulting Birmingham’s people, culture or infamous accent! Making full use of the stage and a few props they addressed market research in British society, the hypocrisy of newspaper headlines and the upcoming Royal wedding amongst other topics.
Hugh Dennis; arguably the more notable member of this comic duo subsequent to television projects and appearances, performed his much loved ‘Raptor’ walk despite Punt’s assertion of; ‘they don’t want that!’ The highlight being Dennis’ Raptor sound effects directed at front row latecomers, much to their surprise!
The show took on a formula almost; Punt talking frankly of the content of a ‘British’ survey or other aspect of British culture, whilst Dennis used his physical comedy skills in humorous impressions and facial expression, no doubt utilising his signature moves. Brian Logan of The Guardian criticises this concept and describes Punt as “Not a strong performer”. However the contrasting comic practices and styles of these two men constitute the effective dynamic of the act, ensuring the popularity of the now show. Arguably an even better show is produced on the live tour with the added advantage of stage spectacle and visual aids to accompany the satirical comment that forms the radio 4 show.

Interview with Mukhtar Dar, Director of Arts at The Drum in Aston

I met Mukhtar Dar, the Director of Arts in the chilled-out atmosphere of the foyer of The Drum, a nationally unique venue that ‘is dedicated to developing and promoting contemporary art and culture of British African, Asian and Caribbean communities’. I ask him what his role demands and how he came to fill it: I manage the arts programming team and my job is to put together the artistic programme, consisting of national and international professional touring products as well as locally created work. My background is in fine art, I’m an artist, after leaving school I went to college and studied various art forms, such as photography and film making. I went on to do a degree in arts communication; I didn’t specialise in any one art form, I chose the form that was best suited to a particular idea as I was interested in all the art forms. After university I made a number of films, worked in various arts organisations and I’ve been in my current post at the Drum for ten years.
In terms of the theatre itself, where do you think its heading and which projects are you especially excited about? We have now finished programming our spring season and we’ve got a very exciting range of events; we’ve got some really exciting music; reggae is one of our fortes, and Birmingham has a rich history of reggae music and the musicians from Birmingham have put Birmingham on the international map. Probably the biggest reggae band is UB40, who you probably know came from Birmingham and we’re proud of that history. We’ve got David Rodigan, a radio DJ who has interviewed some famous reggae artists over the years, performing with Luv Injection, a Birmingham group. You’re probably aware that the Jamaican team are going to be based in Birmingham in 2012 and to celebrate the Jamaican team being here and the links with the Jamaican community, and its contribution nationally, in terms of reggae, we’re going to do a whole season around Jamaica, with events held across the city.
It seems a lot of work that starts here goes on to achieve great things; what would you say is the thing you are most proud of that has recently been of significant success?
The drum is essentially a receiving house; we get things that tour and book them in. However, we’ve realised that some of the stuff we’ve toured is not really meeting the artistic needs of the communities, so we’ve started to produce work ourselves, and started to tour that. Recently, we did a piece called ‘Arrange that Marriage’ which was produced here. We got arts council funding, and it had its premiere at The Drum, and we did exceedingly well in terms of audience numbers. It went on a national tour to arts centres and again, it was very well received.
Arts cuts? Will they affect you significantly?
We’re funded by the arts council and also by the City Council and both have targets for; the targets we have are to do with box office income as well as the audience numbers. We have thousands who come through these doors and the events that people pay for have generated income. So as far as funding is concerned, the targets that we were set for the last few years have been met. We’re a real resource to the city council and to our communities because in the heart of our inner city, it’s crucial that there are arts venues where people can enrich their lives and engage through the arts and break down barriers between different communities. We’ve not been cut significantly; we’ve had a 9% cut from Birmingham City Council and we had prepared ourselves as to how we would absorb those. We’ve had to restructure the organisation to meet those challenges. We’re very confident that we’ll be able to manage that cut and continue to provide the excellent service to our target communities and also to support both Birmingham City council and The Arts Council to meet their priorities. The key strength in what we provide is real diversity; there are people from many different parts of the world here and they have made Birmingham a really exciting place to live. It’s crucial that the arts reflect this and we take pride in the fact that the programme is diverse and meets the needs of those communities; those communities who pay taxes and expect to be catered for.

Small plays about big society@ The old Joint Stock

The Old Joint Stock is certainly a gem of a venue, the most atmospheric element being the high-ceilinged, welcoming, warm pub, dating back to 1884. The bar hosts regular jazz sessions and up the winding stairs you’ll find the ‘theatre’; an intimate room that plays host to performances under an array of genre. As part of ‘Capital’, a festival of new writing, ‘Small Plays about Big Society’ consisted of five short plays in response to Cameron’s call for ‘people power’ and plans for the ‘Big Society’. The first play had a cast of one woman and there was a split second Friends moment when she said: “so you probably think that this will be a normal play and other actors will appear? Well they won’t” however it was an effective performance and the scale of the room helped elevate the message and present the concept of a play within a play. Becky Wright, a Mountview graduate who plays NicHanson in The Archers was one of the more talented cast members and also took on a one-woman performance in ‘The Watched Sea’ which pictured Cameron’s’ big society’ in futuristic, almost dystopian terms and questioned the loss of the individual in the ‘big society’. Social order, the final play of the evening examined the effects of this concept on small communities and used comic characterisation and situation in the form of a committee meeting, illustrating the kind of normality that Cameron could easily have overlooked in his plans. The recent arts cuts were also featured, in the opening performance significantly, as this was used for the reason for the play having a cast of one. This poignant opening play resulted in the question of arts cuts being present throughout, and both stressed and questioned the importance of this art form.

Sweet Charity@ The Crescent

When one is to review an amateur performance, a lower level of expectation is required and a different criteria in terms of assessing the effectiveness and entertainment value of the piece. However, the last two amateur productions of musical theatre I have seen over the last year have been outstanding , Spring awakening at the theatre in question was highly effective as was the impressive production of Jekyll and Hyde at the Solihull arts centre in May, so with the possibility of a great performance from non -professionals, you can imagine my reaction to the under rehearsed, farcical, badly acted production of ‘Sweet Charity’ by The Circle Light Opera Company, (who I hope to God don’t ever attempt an opera, because if they can’t even pull off ‘Sweet Charity’ then the results of a light operetta would be tragic). Budget had clearly been spent on tacky 1960s costumes which were not suited to the majority of the overweight cast and it seemed that the sullen faced dancers had a disproportionate amount of sequinned apparel to complement their basic arm movements. The lead actress was vocally challenged, but well acted and credit must go to the vocals of Zinia Zedham. Overall the acting of the chorus was passable for an amateur production, but the wavering accents of cameo roles was all too much, to go from deep South, to New York to the West Midlands in a mere three sentences was really quite an achievement. Technical hitches (and this production had plenty) and first night nerves are understandable and I’ve been through these myself, however the way one deals with such problems is the most significant thing and mouthing into the orchestra pit and scowling at other cast members because you came into a song too early certainly isn’t the right way to do so. I always go into the theatre with an open mind but this time even as a lover of musical theatre I was incredibly unimpressed. As much fun as it would be to watch your family member in a production, charging up to £12.00 a ticket for a show of this kind is highly inappropriate.

'The Meeting' @ The Drum, Aston.

Malcolm X and Martin Luther King; two highly significant figures in the struggle against segregation and racism during the 20th Century, two figures who on the surface, to many, would appear to be fighting for the same cause. When one studies the differing philosophies, religions and methods of these two leaders it becomes clear just how different they were. ‘The Meeting’ is a short play that dramatizes a meeting between the two men, something that inevitably never happened. This production tackled such an event with powerful exchanges, comic moments and most importantly the communication of the fact that both men were just men, however different in their ideals, fighting for a better life for the black people of America. The play allowed the audience to see the merit of both men’s work and to conclude that without both men and their work the landmarks reached in the 1960s would not have been possible. The performance was followed, much to my surprise by a discussion lead by my head of department! Interesting questions were raised covering institutional racism, the arts and a lack of black role models in the UK today whereupon a range of opinions were presented. One question which seemed to sum up the debate was ‘where is everybody tonight?’ in response to the half filled small theatre. The actor who had played King cut in to argue that the arts were slow to clock on to technology and its power over the organization of people’s lives and their entertainment choices. I would argue that its not always a matter of choice because if the arts were projected into society in an effective way, sensitive to technological advances and more importantly the power of the net, then people would fill the theatres, I for one would choose live performance of any kind over an X Box. Of course the question of where everybody was was being discussed primarily in the context of institutional racism and the preservation and education of black history and culture. As I left, three questions were evident for me: Why wasn’t a play regarding two of the most important figures in 20th Century history being performed at the Rep? Why a play of such cultural importance and interest for so many was restricted to performance during black history month? And finally why is the exhibition of black history and culture restricted primarily to a mere month of the year?

SPRING AWAKENING @ the Crescent Theatre

This daring production is still young in the world of musical theatre, smashing Broadway in 2006 with Glee’s Michelle Lea as the female lead; Wendla and coming to London’s West End two years later for ten week stint. The show tells of the struggle of adolescence amongst a group of teenagers in late 19th Century Germany facing pressure from parents academically and essentially struggling to come to terms with the sexual awakening they are experiencing. It is brought dramatically into the present through its modern day language, rock music, set up of hand held microphones and the rock band on stage, thus providing an effective outlet for the rebellion of these frustrated youths. Birmingham School of Acting’s production reproduced these elements spectacularly resulting in an energetic performance with impressive vocals from the two principal actors and as one would expect of a drama school; good acting throughout the rest of the small cast! The set was extremely innovative in its simplicity and use of stage and audience space, as was the choreography. The gymnastic talents of a few members of the male cast were shown off in a few scenes adding further to the modern twist, performed with a consistent adherence to timing and space, resulting in energy filled scenes that captivated the audience. Overall the production seemed to convey the right emotions and effects, being hilariously funny at times, drastically explicit both physically and emotionally at others, but maintaining a dark tone throughout this tragic yet profoundly moral story.