I have seen a few plays in recent times but I have been too lazy unmotivated to write about them. So I will do a big round up of them all, starting with the most recent one.
Minority Report: The first time I heard of this play was on the theatre’s website and was intrigued by the blurb: a world in which people are detained for crimes before they occur? The creator of the system herself about to fall victim to the system she created? Fun! It was only later that I found that it was based on a novel and there is even a 2002 film of the same name starring Tom Cruise.
None of my friends were interested; what is this Sci-fi nonsense? Still, I persisted. I booked the ticket only to later get an email saying the show for that day has been cancelled and would I like a refund or a ticket to a different showing? Still I persisted. I chose to get a ticket for the last day and waited patiently. The day finally came and I headed to the venue. Oh sorry we have had a full system failure for the past 12 hours so the show will start late and will be modified. Still, I persisted. The show got underway and was almost immediately action packed. We have to take a short break due to the aforementioned technical issues but we are working hard to be right back. I was starting to wonder if i should have just taken the refund. There was a break early on due to technical issues, and they had to restart the scene- still I persisted. Still I persisted-not like I had a choice- and I am glad I did. It was so good! The acting and overall performances were excellent, but the visuals, effects and props really elevated the show into the stratosphere. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment.
Kipps: New half of a six pence: Unlike the minority report, I booked this on a whim, on the day of the show. Unlike Minority report, I did not really enjoy this. Largely because I was sleepy as heck- I probably should not have gone on a weeknight after work. It was also so gaddam long! Three hours! It must be the longest play I have ever seen. To make things worse I spent the first half (which was as long as the whole of The Minority Report) seated behind a large headed man who blocked my view of the stage. Lord knows I was so tired and just waiting for it to be over. There were quite a few free seats so I moved to the very first row and that was much better for my view but not my tiredness. The credits finally came and just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, they started singing and dancing again. Just get it over with por favour!
The play follows Arthur Kipps; a young orphan who moves away to become an apprentice in a shop. He dreams of a better life and has a crush on a lady; who is out of his social class. His luck changes dramatically when he is left a fortune and becomes a gentleman. But his life is quickly turned upside down and he realises that money is not everything and everything he really wanted he already had.
I felt the performances and script were a bit amateurish (could be the sleep talking); but they did try their best. Things moved quite quickly. They could maybe have done a better job of showing the time progression- seven years went by and I only knew when a character said it. I will say that the audience appeared to love the play and the songs- this made me think that the show and the songs must be popular. So don’t take my experience as fact, there was laughter and joy from the audience. Despite my sleepiness I did manage to have a favourite performance- Pick Out a Simple Tune-was really good. Honestly the cast was good and they gave a high energy performance for three hours.
Faith Healer: Oh this was a weird play. I kept waiting for the action and it was maybe 20 minutes in when I realised there was no action. The play starts out with the main character-Frank Hardy- speaking about this and that in a monologue that I soon realised was the show itself. Frank Hardy is the Faith Healer who travels from place to place offering miracles and cures. He might be a charlatan but it appears he does in fact have a real gift which sometimes manifests itself, but not in the moment that matters the most.
There are only three characters that show on stage-one at a time- and the play unfolds through their extensive monologues. There are four monologues, the show opens and closes with the faith healer, then one by his wife, and another by his stage manager. The audience pieces together the story through these monologues which are riddled with inconsistencies- either due to fractured memories or deceit. To quote Her Majesty “Recollections may vary“. It actually became a little joke to see how each character’s story contradicted the other.
Once I resigned to the fact that I was just going to watch people soliloquise the whole time; I actually enjoyed it. There still managed to be decent acting and oh dear what a task it must be to memorise all of that. The plot was also interesting though the delivery was unusual. I looked up the play during the interval to make sense of it and get much needed context. Apparently it was voted one of the 40 best plays of all time. It was good.
Everybody’s talking about Jamie: I have never seen Billy Elliot but I feel this play is based on it, or at least shares similar themes. Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is set in Sheffield UK, and follows 16 year old Jamie who wants to be a drag queen. In writing this post, I learned that the play is based on a true story and there is a real life Jamie!
Jamie is struggling not only with his identity and bullies, but also with an absent father who despite his absence manages to let it be known that he is not at all thrilled at the idea of his son in drag. Though there were relentless bullies and prejudice to defeat, there was also a lot of support from his mother and friends which was really heartwarming.
The play was good and I enjoyed every moment of it. Tickets were only £13 which was a steal. Great play at cheap prices equals happy happy happy. The acting and performances were really good.
This is why it is best to write post as soon as possible because now I am trying hard to remember things. I think I may have been emotional at some parts-It was a while ago now and my memory is hazy but I remember thinking that some of the things were inappropriate for a 16 year old boy. I also felt bamboozled by the hair. In the posters and promotional materials the Jamie character has long blond curly hair (a wig I presume) but in the show there was no such thing. He just kept his normal hair. Though now that I think of it, it may have been a different actor on the poster and maybe that’s his own hair.
One of Jamie’s best friends is a muslim who wears a hijab. I found it unrealistic that a muslim girl who wears a hijab would comfortably have a boy in her room in her family house. Though I guess she snuck him in? I don’t remember. All in All, it was worth my time.
‘Til next time!
Gobbledygook 