Reviews

As the lights rise to a coughing mother, she reaches for a cigarette and lights up – a roar of laughter from the audience helps to set the scene for a dark comedy, set in a different time. It’s twenty years ago, shortly after the ‘dot com’ bust and Lynette Saxon (Shelley Hampton) has gone from running offices to cleaning them, trying to keep her daughter and herself in their London Docklands apartment.

An ensemble production takes on a whole new meaning when it involves thirteen teenagers from different suburbs and different schools rehearsing after school and in school holidays. It requires a ‘duty of care’ and understanding far beyond that of ordinary directorial responsibilities. And it demands a discerning choice of material, meticulous organisation and thoughtful preparation.

The Gospel According to Paul, written and performed by Jonathan Biggins and directed by Aarne Neeme, is, as the publicity blurb states, ‘Politics as Performance – The Art of Political Satire’ and it is a truly deliciously wickedly funny and often poignant night in the theatre.

The orchestral introduction warned me that what was to follow was not the standard version of Pirates as from my past. This was very true, as this adaption brought much of the content up to the present while still based on the original story line. When it was first produced in America in 1879, America did not recognize international copyright laws and there have been many interpretations over the years. This is another – and a good one. Apprentice Frederic was to leave the pirates, a collection of orphans, but cannot because of his birth on 29th February.