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Some Reviews

Richard III
Ham & High
*****
"The early Victorian architects had a great appetite for the Gothic and St Stephen's, built in 1869, is no exception. Its impressive interior provides a perfect atmosphere for Shakespeare's wonderful melodrama, written to exalt Queen Elizabeth's grandfather Henry VII and to debunk and destroy the reputation of the "evil" Richard from whom he had purloined the English throne.

Director Ben Horslen and designer John Risebero have performed a miracle of setting for this production. The audience is seated in double rows on either side of the central tiled aisle, which is where the action takes place.

Tony Austin is hardly conventional casting physically, being burly and decidedly non spider-like in appearance, but he makes a villainous, crippled Richard who holds our attention and respect while extracting every ounce of comedy from his wicked manipulations.

He is surrounded by an exceptionally effective company. The vengeful Queen Margaret is powerfully portrayed by Gaynor Bassey. Charlie Palmer is a charming Buckingham who can go along with Richard until the final unspeakable deed, and James Alex Hutchinson rends our hearts as the unfortunate Clarence, doubling this performance with Tyrrel, the murderer of the two little princes.

This is a well edited and inventive production with atmospheric music, effective lighting, exemplary acting and direction. Bless them all for bringing back to life this magnificent old building."

Dr Faustus
BlogCritics Magazine

Much of the production - and particularly the quality of the acting - is high-class…
First, the highlights: Richard Keightley makes a fine, tormented but human Faustus, see-sawing between high hopes and fear, while Matt Robinson is a broken-voiced, nearly shattered, impressive Mephastophilis. The clowning too is often well done: … Charlie Palmer as Robin, the peasant fool who is the mirror of Faustus – he steals one of the doctor’s books and thus manages to summon an irritated Mephastophilis from Constantinople – milks the laughs nicely, and is well backed by his companion in foolish adventure, Rafe (Richard Keynes).

Canaries Sometimes Sing
The Stage

When Geoffrey introduces his socialite wife to his old school friend Ernest, he realises what a perfect match they would make while Ernest’s wife is actually his idea of a dream woman. Lonsdale’s wonderfully conceived comedy of British manners has lost none of its appeal, remaining as fresh and sparkling as it did in 1929.

Brittle repartee to rival Sheridan, Wilde and Coward - with an added touch of humanity indicative of this playwright - ensures the play’s continual revival. This particular production crackles with humour, pace and brilliant comic timing.

Anthony Eden as Geoffrey Lymes bristles with comic indignation at the pretensions of his hideously social-climbing wife Anne, played superbly by Camilla Corbett. Corbett is matched perfectly opposite Charlie Palmer, who echoes the perfect British upper-class twit with eloquence, while Caroline Taylor strides forward to steal many of the scenes as Elma, the actress who speaks her mind.
…
Vivian Munn’s astute direction never allows sentimentality to get in the way of the necessary pace and the company retains clarity throughout, allowing the natural flow of the text to create its own comic timing.

Time Out

‘Canaries Sometimes Sing’ has more than a hint of Noel Coward’s ‘Private Lives’ about it – two couples, each manifestly wrong for each other, trying to pretend otherwise. Frederick Lonsdale’s satirical eye for the pretensions of the upper classes is as keen as Coward’s. But here the farce becomes an allegory for hypocrisy – and the sad truth that, for these people, public opinion is ‘a much stronger bond than love’.

Geoffrey,a playright, is trapped in an unhappy marriage to a literary hostess, emphasised here by the set that turns the wall of their home into a birdcage. Antony Eden’s Geoffrey is the lynch-pin perfomance, his amused sarcasm giving the drawing-room banter the nonchalant touch it needs. Camilla Corbett, as his ever-busy wife Anne, is as indifferent to her husband’s barbs as Basil Fawlty’s wife Sybil, although I’m sure a woman as pretentious as Anne would have slightly better carriage.

The cast take the idea of breathless wit a little too literally, regularly hurtling past punchlines. It’s no coincidence that the second half, where a dramatic stand-off breaks up the patter, gets a lot more laughs. The exception is Charlie Palmer, who moderates the pace as Ernest, Geoffrey’s equally ill-matched schoolchum rendered impotent by his noblesse oblige. Palmer’s permanently perplexed frown reminded me of one of BertieWooster’s goofy chums. But even he is craftier than he looks. Although the third act is the least satisfying, with its clunky, twisting descent towards the climax, Lonsdale cleverly unravels each character so that your sympathies are never left to lie with one person for too long.

Much Ado About Nothing
British Theatre Guide

…the spectacular arraignment of the two criminals is the most memorable scene of the night.