Thirty million minutes of Dawn French Live at the Kings Theatre Portsmouth.

Dawn stepped on stage in a black tasselled dress with leggings and boots looking young and vigorous. She is 30 million minutes which is something like 57 I think she mentioned. She looked amazing.

 Rather than a stand up comedy act, this was an interesting account of the comedienne’s life from the childhood to menopause, now approaching dementia.  Dawn takes you on a journey through time in which she is the main character. Behind her was a giant screen in which she shared images of herself as a child as well as friends and family. It was easy to relate aspects of her past especially women of a certain age who have similar memories.

Admitting that her desire to be in entertainment, was to do with her need for attention as a child. She dared to dream of becoming a primer ballerina and a bridesmaid. The recount of her being rejected from bridesmaidism was hilarious. As for the ballerina thing, I think it must've become apparent in adulthood that it wasn't meant to be.

(left)Dawn's wedding outfit designed to upstage the bridesmaid.

She tells the story about when the queen mother came to her house when she was very young. How everything had to be clean and tidy. Having to  wear new clothing and how she and her brother should bow or curtsy.  When the queen mother arrived Dawn couldn't understand why she didn't wear a crown and her teeth weren't perfect. That memory scarred her as she thought some imposter was entering her home and no one was stopping it from happening.

It’s hilarious in places but also deep and thought provoking as she shares parts of her life that are quite personal.

For instance, when she lost lots of weight and the tabloids were speculating about calories and gastric bands, I learned that she had cancer of the uterus and had to sleep in a bathtub one night in a hotel because she was bleeding so heavily. She shed seven or eight stone prior to the hysterectomy.

She also spoke of her beloved Father who died tragically when she was only nineteen,  her little girl Billie who was stalked by a  journalist and her marriage to Lenny Henry that had come to an end.

 

Dawn's dad

with Lenny Henry

She touched on her relationships within her family too and she had quite interesting grandparents with some funny stories.

 Her relationship with her body, as you can imagine was comedic yet at the same time very self accepting.  I got the impression Dawn is really ok with herself, comfortable in her own skin. She has arrived at a place in time where she can stick two fingers up at the press.

Funnily enough there was not much reference to her career in all of this. Dawn has given us the real person this time. The daughter, the wife, the mother and her brush with single life.  She is now happily married again with new in laws and children to boot.

This show will appeal to real fans who appreciate that she is a real person as well as a famous comedienne.

Wicked - The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz - Tour

I saw this award winning production a few years ago at the Apollo Theatre London though it originated from Broadway. Now it is touring and I had the pleasure of seeing it at the Mayflower Southampton and it is as spell binding as ever.

A fantastical story spun from “The wizard of Oz”. It tells of events prior to the cyclone that lifted the farm girl Dorothy, from Kansas and knits it seamlessly together. The main characters, Elphaba, played by Ashleigh Gray and Glinda, by Emily Teirney, represent the famous witches from the story.

 Glinda by Emily Teirney

Elphaba by Ashleigh Gray 

As the curtain opens, you are immediately transported to a magical land of colour. This continues throughout with spectacular set changes on par with computer graphics in film.

Detailed costumes are the design of a true artist’s eye namely Susan Hilferty. Lighting designer Kenneth Postner are the finishing touches of the artists brush.  Dynamic visual effects and dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbot are constantly moving like clockwork, creating the look of animation in this magical masterpiece.

Costumes bySusan Hilferty 

Although this is make believe, the credibility of the characters and their emotional situations, could be people you know which makes for a great piece of storytelling. There's the relationship between the two girls and the handsome guy that comes between them, Fiyero played by Samuel Edwards. 

All this and I haven’t even mentioned the music yet. The orchestra sets the mood and the songs are untouchable. The voice of Ashleigh Gray defies reality as it upwardly soars towards octaves beyond belief without strain. Chemistry is created when the powerful vocals of  Emily Teirney join forces with her. 

Fiyero by Samuel Edwards

The show was highly polished and it seems like the all the greatest genius’s in the world came together to create it's magnificence.One for all the family with humour and great acting too.

For more details of the show follow the link below and watch the trailer.

http://www.wickedtour.co.uk

Copacabana

Last week at the Kings Theatre Southsea, Jon Lee ( S club Seven, Jersey boys, Les Miserables)  played Tony Starr in this famous musical written by Barry Manilow and collaborators Bruce Sussman and Jack Feldman. It  hasn't played in the UK for a number of years until this tour. Introducing  the fabulous Jennifer Harding whose voice was almost too powerful for our little Theatre.She's definitely going places. 

The story was of course based on the title song “Copacabana” which we all know a few lines from. “Her name was Lola, She was a show girl, with yellow feathers in her hair” you get the picture. Set in 1948, Lola arrives in Manhattan following her dream of becoming a star. She strolls into the Copacabana night club in the hope of becoming a Copa girl where she meets Tony, the songwriter. That’s where it all begins.

My only criticism would be that the show was too short. The story was a little compressed. Lola and Tony's first kiss happened too soon and  the ending was rather abrupt.  It was a happy ending I'm pleased to say.

The scenery was simple but really effective. They used two staircases to change the locations. Costumes were dazzling and the choreography showed off talented dancers.

The songs included “Dancin Fool” “Who needs to Dream” “welcome to Havana” and of course the signature tune itself. I actually thought that they weren’t going to sing it. We came to the finale and everyone was taking their bows. What a tease!. When they finally sang, most of the audience stood up. Talk about foot tapping we could hardly keep it in.

A really great show.

 copacabanathemusical.co.uk

  

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The original story derived from a comic book.  This teenage foursome became a cartoon phenomenon in the late 80s. Now more than twenty years on they've returned to the screen and they've still got it.  Computer graphics the film industry can produce these days, mean the Turtles are more enhanced yet they haven’t aged one bit. They have more definition and detail in their whole look and their character fits effortlessly into  the modern world. A new generation of youngsters can enjoy them. 

Produced by Michael Bay and Directed by Jonathan Leibesman, this movie sets the scene for several sequels depending on the money it makes.  TMNT toys, t-shirts and lunch box sales will undoubtedly be through the roof as we approach Christmas. 

 The four turtles, Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo were named after Renaissance artists and were a part of a laboratory experiment along with a rat named Splinter. They were rescued and set free to live in the sewer by a little girl. The mutagen compound was already inside them and so they grew to more than six foot and were intelligent. Splinter became a father to them and taught them Japanese martial arts.

 They became vigil antis and their nemesis above ground,  Shredder and the Foot Clan, oddly enough, planned to dominate the world.

Meanwhile the little girl rescuer, April O’Neil played by Megan Fox, grew up. She became a journalist desperate to find a great story and so becomes the first person to discover the Turtles. Her late father had been involved with Eric Sacks, played by William Fichtner during the lab experiments. She seeks him out, ending  up unintentionally leading the enemy to the sewer,  the action begins.

There was plenty of action, humour and pizza in the movie. The characters developed right before our eyes learning about themselves, their own power and unity.
A great movie for adults and kids alike. I suspect  some of us were into the Turtles the first time round.

Michaelangelo

The Turtles were  Raphael (Alan Ritchson),  Michelangelo (Noel Fisher), Leonardo (Peter Ploszek) and the voice of (Johny Knoxville) and Donetello (Jeremy Howard). Splinter was (Danny Woodburn) with the voice of (Tony Shalhoub.)  Also there were many other big names like Woopie Goldberg and Will Arnet.

Leonardo

Enjoy the trailer below

Dracula Untold

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I’m not into Vampires but I was lured by the trailer to see this film which I really did enjoy. Unlike  traditional Dracula films, it was more of an epic fantasy than a horror movie.

The story has been revamped somewhat and we see this dark prince in a new light.

There have been countless adaptations of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel but none quite like Dracula Untold.

As usual, the film industry have taken real historical events and rewritten all the facts. That’s fine as long as the human race doesn’t get wiped out, leaving only a film collection behind. Imagine a new generation of intelligent beings deciphering that.

Set in the 1400s, during the Ottoman Empire, Dracula is Vlad Tepes the Impaler whose real name is Draculea in his own language. Known for his sadistic cruelty against the Ottomans in history, in the film  Vlad is the good guy. As a child, he had been handed to the Turkish army to be trained as a soldier using brutal methods. He escaped these services when he was made prince of Transylvania, a small country belonging to the Turkish Empire. Now the army were demanding once more, a thousand boys to be of service including Vlad’s only son.  So in order to save his people and his family Vlad turned to a ferocious sorcerer for help. He drank blood from a cup and was granted three days of immortal power. There was a catch to this not unlike a Genie’s three wishes or Cinderella’s pumpkin only much darker. Sometimes the world needs a hero but in this case it needed a monster. The plot thickens here because not only is he fighting the enemy but he also has to keep himself  secret from his own people. We all know the rules of vampires such as the aversion to daylight. This makes his job of defeating an army even harder.

The film was quite short and the story as a whole was a little too compressed not allowing all of the characters to unfold. Luke Evans was well cast for his looks and great acting. Dominic Cooper played the Turk leader Mehmed, also very well but there was more to his background as apparently he was like a brother to Vlad in childhood though it was hardly touched on. Sarah Gadon played Mirena Vlad’s young pretty wife. There was room for a little more romance in the film.

The effects were woolly. Dracula used floods of bats which engulfed the army leaving out much of the gory detail which suited me but if you like choreographed battles with severed limbs, blood and guts flying around you may be disappointed. However there was an excellent fight scene between Mehmed and Vlad at the end which was quite horrific.

The ending was left open to a sequel but that would be set in modern times. I’m thinking ‘Highlander’ remember that one?

A Walk among the Tombstones.

It’s not my usual choice of genre but Liam Neeson is always a good reason to watch something out of your comfort zone. Based on a novel by Lawrence Block, adapted for screenplay and directed by Scott Frank. A walk among the Tombstones takes you to a very dark place as crime thrillers go. Liam Neeson plays Matt Scudder a fallen cop.  It opens with a flashback involving a hazy bar and alcohol followed by mindless shooting. The liquor and smoke paints a picture of a hard ass tough guy  for some but all I could see was impairment.

Retired cops often fall into the role of private investigater, at least that’s what I remember from television.  The film itself was set in the 90s  so limited technology by today’s standards, sets the scene for an old style film. Unsavoury characters come together, well the whole damn story was unsavoury. Lots of heavy rain creates the feel of danger lurking in more than one scene. Liam gets caught up investigating a kidnapping and murder for some guy who’s own shady background stops him from going to the police.. It's full of weirdoes and Psychos. You get the impression at first that Matt Scudder is a hardened hero (may be just coz it’s Liam) but unfolding within the story you find vulnerability and by the end you realise he is a bit of a loser trying to establish his own self worth. He attracts a kind of back up crew all with similar issues.

Trust me it isn't a film for the squeamish. I hid behind my hands peeking through barely open fingers at some scenes.

This was an edge of the seat experience with a few turns and twists, nothing too surprising but well knitted together.

There was no room for humour in this tale although some of the characters were potentially comical. I laughed twice much to the annoyance of the silent audience.

A strong plot, corrupt villains and a horrific ending.  If you like a bit of violence, I recommend. 

The Definitive Rat Pack

 I was listening to Frank Sinatra with the Nelson Riddle band as a kid when perhaps I should have been more into Abba. My musician dad had many of his albums and I just kinda got into it. That is how great music lives on. That's not to say I didn't own a few Abba records too. My first experience of the Rat Pack was from a Sinatra compilation called 'A man and his music' released close to his 50th Birthday. These guys were just so swinging cool. They sounded like they were really having fun just joking around then launching into song.

The Definitive Rat Pack sure know how to put a good show together and revive the legendary Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis JR.  

The three guys were original cast members from the West End's 'Rat Pack live from Las Vegas'. They branched off to form their own act which is entirely flexible depending on the audience. I went to see them on Thursday September 18th at the Kings Theatre Southsea. They've spent  many years perfecting their art that they have almost become the Rat Pack.  

To be honest though, in the first half, the music was drowning out the singing a little bit but that got sorted by the second half and didn't spoil the show. 

Stephen Triffitt opened singing Chicago so I recall. He is the Ultimate Frank Sinatra because he has the great voice, remarkable phrasing that the star was so famous for but to top it off,  he looked just like him from where I was sitting. All the mannerisms were there. 

Mark Adams played Dean Martin. He too was very convincing,never out of character. His admiration for the star shows in all his songs, 'That's Amore,''Volare' and 'Ain't that a kick in the head'. I actually thought he looked a little drunk after his break at the bar. That's great acting for you. There were some female backing singers too which gave it added colour. 

Sammy Davis JR was played by George Daniel Long. He was dancing all over the stage when he came in just like Sammy. He sang 'Bye Bye Blackbird and I loved his 'Mr Bo Jangles' he had the right look too. 

The magic really happened when the three of them were on stage together. This was a superb show and I am so grateful that The Definitive Rat Pack, are keeping the music and spirit alive.

All the photos on this blog are from the internet and may be out of date.

http://thedefinitiveratpack.com/

Remember the originals too, for with out them there wouldn't be a show.