Matilda the Musical (December 10th, 2015)

Matilda the Musical

So I’ve got about four half-finished Matilda reviews in my drafts folder. It’s been difficult to write them lately as I’ve been sitting in the back of the Upper Circle, and therefore miss the details of the show and performances, making it far more difficult to write. So I finally got to sit back in the Stalls (front row, even), and have enough thoughts about the show to write a complete review again! Yay! I’m going to do this by performer; I won’t write about everyone, just those that stood out to me (whether for good or bad reasons).

Seat/Venue Review: I sat in A7 in the Stalls. I love the Stalls at the Cambridge Theatre; great view, lots of legroom, lots of bathrooms – absolutely no complaints. 

Evie Hone (Matilda)

After a marathon of seeing Lizzie Wells and Lara McDonnell, I final saw someone new! I was really excited to see Evie as I’d seen a few glimpses of her at Oxford St Christmas Lights, and liked her a lot. So it was really thrilling to see her name on the cast board when I walked into the theatre.

Evie was a nice Matilda. She was absolutely adorable and innocent looking, with a very high-pitched voice. She was a good dancer who was sharp and didn’t look awkward, and she had minimal stumbles over her lines (only two fumbles that I counted) and she spoke very clearly (I had no trouble understanding her), though she did spend a lot of time fiddling with her costumes. My main problem with her was that she was quite unresponsive in her acting, especially when opposite any of the adult performers. When Mr Wormwood was ripping up Matilda’s book, Evie didn’t even look like she was paying attention. Her face was totally blank; she didn’t look upset, or angry, or sad, or anything… nothing. Matilda can be quite stoic, but that doesn’t equal emotionless. In My House, Evie said the lines very blankly and bluntly, and didn’t really appear to be showing sympathy or empathy for Miss Honey, which is a characteristic I really think Matilda needs to show. Evie’s acting was great when she was on her own though, and when she was working opposite other kids (her and Lavender’s interaction during the Thripp Throw was amazing).

One of my favourite moments of Evie was her hugging Miss Honey; she nearly sprinted at her, and it was really cute and emotional. It felt like Matilda was so desperate for love that she abandoned her usually stoic exterior and showed a lot of love and feeling towards Miss Honey. I really liked this detail. I also liked how she did the choreography in Quiet a little bit differently than the other girls; it seemed as if her Matilda was really considering her words and actions, and her arms ‘burst’ out when it felt right emotionally, rather than when the choreography called for it.

Miria Parvin (Miss Honey)

I can’t say enough good things about Miria’s portrayal of Miss Honey. It’s sensitive, intuitive, detailed, thoughtful… I could go on for a while. She's very motherly towards Matilda - with all the kids, actually. She gets down on the kids' levels to speak to them, and is very kind and understanding towards all of them. But you can also sense that she's trying to hide the hurt and vulnerability in front of the kids. When Trunchbull is screaming at her in front of the children, she stays very resolute and stony-faced, which makes her complete breakdown in front of Matilda really heartbreaking. Some of the details I love about Miria are at the end of My House, when the Escapologist/Her Father places his hand on her arm, her voice cracks, almost as if she can feel his presence. It's a beautiful and effective moment. I also really love her completely over the top dance at the end of Bruce (it's hysterical but also shocking - which probably makes it more funny). The final detail I wanted to mention is during the scene where Matilda is writing on the chalkboard; before she starts to write "Run", Miss Honey nods and says "Run" first; it's like Matilda got the idea to say that from Miss Honey. It's cute seeing how Miss Honey is really hopeful for a second that it really is her father, but when she sees that it's Matilda; she doesn't get angry or upset. It's sort of a quiet acceptance and a wave of affection for this girl who's trying to help her in the only way she can. I loved Miria's performance and all the emotion and intricacies it contained. I'll happily see her Miss Honey a dozen more times. 

Oliver Brooks (u/s Trunchbull)

I honestly don’t see a lot of difference between him and Craige Els; aside from a few little nuances and details, Oliver’s Trunchbull is a carbon copy of Craige’s. Voices sound the same, mannerisms are the same. Oliver does a good job, but there’s nothing original or innovative about his performance; I’ve seen it all before. One thing at this show that was funny was he dropped the ribbon at the end of The Hammer. The music ended, Oliver stopped, picked the ribbon up with as much contempt as he could muster, and then said “Now get out!”; I thought this could’ve gone so badly, but he handled it exactly how Trunchbull would’ve. It was a nice touch.

Rebecca Thornhill (Mrs Wormwood)

Have to admit, I’m not her biggest fan. She doesn’t really play with the character enough; it’s a very ‘safe’ approach. Mrs Wormwood is such an exuberant, lively character, and Rebecca made her very lackluster, and far too catty for my taste. I also didn’t find her dancing very strong; she’s not very flexible (her drop split is entirely cheated; she doesn’t do a split at all, and she really depends on her partner to get her legs where they need to be. She also doesn’t express very much when she’s dancing, which is when Mrs Wormwood should be at her most alive. I didn’t like her Rudolpho (John Brannoch); he isn’t flexible either (Rudolpho’s main characteristics are part-Italian and ‘supple’, aka flexible… so Rudolpho needs to be flexible!) and I just don’t find anything interesting about watching him, because he’s not an extraordinary dancer, nor did he really have fun with the character. Both he and Rebecca are mean and catty rather than humorous. In this case I guess they’re a good partnership – they’re both equally bland to watch.

Michael Begley (Mr Wormwood)

Well, I’m a bit annoyed because he called me a smelly little bookworm…. That wasn’t very nice. ( ;) ) But otherwise, he was really good. Very stern, serious Mr Wormwood, with an unintentionally humorous streak. But he wasn’t necessarily mean to Matilda – he just ignored her and had his occasional bouts of anger that were directed at her. He actually reminded me a lot of my dad, which is maybe why I felt a bit of sympathy towards his character. Anyway, it made his little interaction with Matilda at the end of the show more believable and heartwarming. I liked how he ripped up Matilda’s book; he was really over-exaggerating the struggles of figuring out how to rip it to the point that I was having hysterics in the front row. It was the same with the hat and the green hair. He had these great comical moments that cooled down the intensity of the scenes and provided much-needed comic relief. Anyway, loved him, love his Mr Wormwood, don’t love being called a ‘S-Worm’.

Ensemble

Alice (Lia Moxom) and Amanda (Caoimhe Judd) were amazing. Really expressive and interesting; they didn’t just scrunch their faces up the entire show, they actually showed a variet of different emotions from fear, to enthusiasm/excitement, to triumph – great range from these two, who also seemed to have strong singing voices and sharp, accurate dancing. Amanda was so cute during the throw; really great acting from her, and her lines were clear and well-spoken. Hortensia (Tilly Cook) was the exact opposite; I could barely hear her during her individual lines, and her dancing looked sloppy and lacked character. She wasn’t doing much acting-wise either. Olly Dobson played both the Doctor and Michael Wormwood. I loved his acting; he brought a great personality and enthusiasm to the doctor (coupled with a strong singing voice), and he was so funny as Michael.

The Royal Ballet: The Nutcracker (December 11th, 2015)

The Royal Ballet's

The Nutcracker

Dec. 11th, 2015

This spectacularly sparkly performance of the Nutcracker is a yearly tradition at the Royal Ballet. A Christmas essential across Europe and North America, the Nutcracker comes in hundreds of versions (with different choreography, stories, and characters) all set to the same score.  It’s easy to think you ‘know’ the Nutcracker after seeing it a number of times; I’ve seen NBoC’s Nutcracker at least four times. But the Royal Ballet’s was so different, and it’s opened my eyes to how one score and basic story can be interpreted so many different ways.

Alexander Campbell and Francesca Hayward (ROH.org)

In the Royal Ballet’s version of the Nutcracker, choreographed by Peter Wright, Drosselmeyer's (Gary Avis) nephew, Hans-Peter (Alexander Campbell), has been bewitched to become a Nutcracker, and must defeat the mouse king to regain his human form. With Clara's (Francesca Hayward) help, the Mouse King is defeated, and Drosselmeyer and Hans-Peter take Clara on a adventure through a magical land full of different characters and dances. 

As I said, Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker is very different from the one I’m used to. In most cases, this is a good thing. But where I think NBoC’s Nutcracker is superior is the story. Royal Ballet’s follows the loosest possible storyline it can in the first act, and abandons it entirely in act two. The coherent ‘action’ ends about halfway through the first act, and the rest of the ballet seems like an excuse to have lots of little dances; it was basically just using the music. I had to reread the plot summary a few times to wrap my head around what was supposed to be happening. I think it’s very necessary for ballets to clearly communicate a story (especially a ballet with a large audience of children), so in this aspect, RB’s Nutcracker fell short. I think I can fairly say that in general, NBoC has more emotional performances and more ably develops coherent storylines, while Royal Ballet has superior dancers, more finesse, more variety in performers, and are clearly better rehearsed.

However, in most other areas, I really enjoyed the Royal Ballet’s performance of The Nutcracker. As soon as I saw how glittery and ‘big’ the first scene was, I knew I would love it (as we all know, I love everything grand and detailed!). The sets were so large and detailed; I was sitting quite far off to the side so I did miss a lot set-wise (especially the Christmas tree! Pout), but what I did see was incredible. They really created an environment in which the story could unfold; there was no question of where things were happening, and the contrast between the warmth of the Act 1 sets versus the iciness of the Act 2 sets helped to communicate the change from Clara's  reality to her dream.

Francesca Hayward (ROH.org)

The costumes were exquisite. From the simple beauty of Clara’s nightgown, so the incredible detail on the Sugar Plum Fairy’s tutu and wig, every costume looked newly made (the costume department at the ROH should be commended for their excellent work). Even all of the group costumes for minor background characters were so detailed and individualized. I can’t comment on them enough. Favourite costumes of mine included Clara’s nightdress (it was so flowy – I need to know what fabric that was because I want to make something with it), the Rose Fairy’s glittery (!!) pink (!!!!) tutu, the Snowflakes’ costumes, and the Angel costumes. I also loved that every costume was a head-to-toe look. Nothing was just a tutu with a hairpiece. Wigs, makeup, shoes – everything came together to create a complete look that embodied and accentuated every single character in the show.

All the dancers performed beautifully. I always commend the Royal Ballet on how well-rehearsed their dancers are. Of course there are the odd mistake, but nothing is ever sloppy, and any mistakes are quickly rectified (and no one fell – every time I see Nutcracker, someone – usually a main character – falls). I was particularly impressed by the caliber of the student dancers; the children were charming and synchronized, and the older students performed so well you would think they were members of the corps. One of my favourite large group numbers was Snowflakes; I loved all of the intricacies and nuances of the choreography. The choreography itself was nothing especially revolutionary, but it was nice enough. I thought all of the divertissements - though too short - accurately communicated the 'feel' of the music. I did dislike the Sugar Plum's main variation; she did these odd little jumps (they're like pas de chats, but smaller, with what looked like a baby ronde de jambe - I'm sure it has a name, but I'm still new to ballet, so forgive my lack of knowledge) that looked awkward, and there was nothing 'fairylike' about the piece. The PDD was gorgeously done though; very grand, very attention-grabbing and exciting. 

Olivia Cowley (ROH.org)

A few outstanding performances were those of Clara (Francesca Hayward) and the Nutcracker (Alexander Campbell), that of the Rose Fairy (Yasmine Naghdi), and that of Lead Arabian (Olivia Cowley). Francesca Hayward is quickly becoming one of my favourite dancers. She is an absolute delight to watch, and Clara was a perfect role for her. She was sweet and innocent (blending in perfectly with the children onstage), absolutely solid technique-wise, and created a character that was believable and loveable. Alexander Campbell was charming and charismatic, and you could see why Clara would like him (I mean, other than the fact that he’s adorable). I didn’t really get much of his character, but I think that was a story issue rather than a problem with his performance. Yasmine Naghdi was beautiful and ethereal; she had a little stumble at one point towards the end of her performance (not in her main variation, but in a little aside later on in the ballet), but otherwise was sharp and tidy, hitting all the accents of the music, and giving an all-around charming and engaging performance. Olivia Cowley, a favourite dancer of mine, was sultry and charismatic as Lead Arabian. I’ve always found that music quite tricky to interpret, but Olivia does so with her usual elegance, finesse, and musicality. Not to mention she’s made out of elastic bands; the flexibility and strength Olivia showcased in this too-short piece would rival that of some of the top Rhythmic Gymnastics (Evgenia Kanaeva totally comes to mind). The Nutcracker was full of great performances, but these were the main ones that stood out to me. I did also have a soft spot for Drosselmeyer and his tendency to throw glitter everywhere though.

Lauren Cuthbertson (the Guardian)

One thing that surprised me was how unenthusiastic dancers Lauren Cuthbertson and Federico Bonelli (The Sugar Plum Fairy and the Prince) appeared to be. Now, in all fairness, there had been a last minute cast change (Matthew Golding was originally scheduled to dance the Prince). Lauren was, as always, exquisitely elegant, and absolute technical perfection, but I felt she was lacking in the emotional department. Her smile seemed forced, and she didn’t really bring anything to the character. It was Lauren dancing, not a character. She and Federico didn’t look comfortable together; he seemed to be struggling to maintain his grip on her during lifts. On his own, Federico is a nice dancer, but like Lauren, he wasn’t really dancing a character. He was just doing a performance. I do love watching them dance, but something just seemed off about their performance that night. There was nothing memorable about either of them.

I had a wonderful time at The Nutcracker. Even if the story isn’t the greatest, Nutcracker’s a great, not-too long night out (it ends at 945, perfect for kids!), full of entertaining performances, beautiful costumes, and grand sets.