Doctor Faustus (May 26th, 2016)

Doctor Faustus

May 26th, 2016 (matinee)

I'll be honest: this show wasn't on my radar at all. My trip to Doctor Faustus was the result of needing a Thursday matinee, and wanting to see something I hadn't seen. I thought of Doctor Faustus because it's next door to Mrs Henderson Presents, so I'd seen the marquis, and thought, "Eh, the guy from GOT is in it, it can't be that bad." So I bought my ticket at 2am, and that afternoon headed to the theatre with absolutely no expectations or preconceived notions (I didn't even know what the show was about - I ran out of time to wikipedia it). While I don't regret seeing it, I can't say I particularly enjoyed it. I'm keeping this review very brief, but will include my usual seat/venue review and a few comments on the show. I'm not going to attempt to describe the plot of the show; check that out here.

Seat/Venue Review: Doctor Faustus was presented at the Duke of York Theatre in Covent Garden. I sat in the Stalls in seat H4, and it was £65. Great view, appropriately priced. I wouldn't've paid more for premium as the view is no better, just slightly more centred. No issues with the theatre or the staff; the only thing I wasn't too fond of was the very loud music in the lobby - it got you in the mood for the show, certainly, but it was so loud I could barely hear the staff. I appreciate that the ushers allowed people to take photos before the show officially began and during curtain call. I believe that that attitude prevented people taking photos during the show. 

As I mentioned, I wasn't a fan of the show at all. First of all, it was not made accessible to a modern audience. An attempt was made to set it in a more modern (looked to be the 70's or 80's, and they included presidents and other notable contemporary characters) period, and the idea of Faustus becoming a magic-performing celebrity (almost a la Jesus Christ Superstar) was certainly comprehensible, but the dialogue remained difficult to understand and make sense of. By the time I'd thought through one piece of dialogue, I'd missed a significant amount of  the rest of the scene. It made it very hard to keep track of what was happening (hence, I didn't). The script was another problem; I never studied it, but a friend who performed it in school says it's very strange and hard to understand no matter how it's read. Perhaps if there had been less going on on stage, and more attention paid to the dialogue and establishment of a story, it would've been easier to follow the action of the play. I think that's the main pitfall of Doctor Faustus - there was just too much going on in one place, at one time. As The Stage points out, "It never shuts up!"

I really did not appreciate the costuming - or lack thereof, I should say. Nudity in a show like Mrs Henderson is necessary; the story cannot go on without it. In Doctor Faustus, the nudity was entirely gratuitous. There was no rhyme or reason for it; it seemed far to much like, "how many boobs do we have onstage and how much can we show them? Oh, and lets throw in a little male nudity to make it fair." I liked the idea of the costumes, when the characters had them on. Each wore white/grey underclothing or night clothing; since everyone played a number of characters, it created a nice blank slate for each character. I liked the contrast in the costuming between the good angel and the bad angel; the bad was wearing a satiny dress and the good was a simple white tank top and shorts. They very much personified the angel/devil on the shoulder (a la Emperor's New Groove). 

The acting itself was very good; each actor did an excellent job with the material they were given. I particularly enjoyed the actor who personified the seven deadly sins. Kit Harington is actually quite a good actor (and not too hard on the eyes either, which is good considering he spends most of the show in his underwear), and fully committed to the variety of unsavoury things his character had to do. I also enjoyed the actress who place Mephistopheles; she had a great voice, interacted wonderfully with the audience, and was appropriately darkly satirical. 

Although the cast gave their all, I feel like the direction (and the script itself) left a lot to be desired. The show was unnecessarily graphic (the sexual violence was particularly unsavoury), and disgusting for the sake of being shocking. I was left thinking not about the story or the moral message, but how grossed out I was by the sheer amount of fluid these actors were covered in. Even now, weeks later, it makes my stomach turn. Because of that, I would not recommend this to anyone unless they were mega Kit Harington fans with a very strong stomach. 

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (June 5th, 2016)

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

June 5th, 2016 (evening performance)

I was so excited to see this show again, after seeing it for the first time on Broadway nearly two years ago. It's one of my favourite shows, and the soundtrack is constantly playing in my flat (hence having all the lyrics memorised - I also have a pretty awesome "Poison in my Pocket" dance, if I do say so myself). GGLAM also features my favourite character in any musical ever, Sibella. She's blonde, she's vain, she's not particularly nice (unless she wants to be), and she loves pink - essentially myself in a nutshell. So, there was no better way to spend the last few hours of my birthday than watching this fantastic show. I'm going to follow my usual format for this review; seat review, then review each actor individually, and any extra comments at the end. Enjoy!

Seat/Venue Review: I sat in C15 of the Dress Circle, and it was $60 (on a special sale, usually those are premium seats) at the Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto. Excellent value for money, unobstructed view. It was slightly off to one side, but that didn't restrict my view much at all. Lots of leg room, lots of bathrooms - my only complaint was that you have to go all the way to the ground floor for merchandise (because everyone needs a D'Ysquith t-shirt). 

Kristen Beth Williams (Sibella)

Kristen Beth Williams, Adrienne Eller, and Kevin Massey

Absolutely loved her! She was very different from Scarlett Strallen (who was more on the high-pitched, ditzy-blonde side), but I really did like her. She played Sibella as very intelligent and aware, and somewhat on the manipulative side. She very much understood the power she had over Monty, and enjoyed exploiting that power. It was interesting watching her during 'Sibella', where Monty was singing about her faults - she looked a bit like she couldn't believe what he was saying at first, then began to look a bit afraid. I liked this a lot; it's the first time Sibella sees Monty's darker side, as he's usually quite fluffy around her. I guess all in all I really liked the wide range of emotions Kristen portrayed; she made Sibella seem very real, and even if she wasn't necessarily a likeable character, you can still feel sympathy for her (for example, when you can see her going from perky, to angry, to completely defeated during 'Poor Monty') and care what happens to the character. In general, Kristen didn't play the comedic side so much; she was more realistic and 'human' than I thought Sibella could be. Kristen also has a wonderful voice; it's not too shrill, and it really suits the score. Long story short, I couldn't've asked for a better portrayal of my favourite character. 

Adrienne Eller (Phoebe)

I don't usually notice Phoebe that much (I honestly can't remember a thing about Catherine Walker's Phoebe), but I thought Adrienne did an incredible job at making Phoebe noticeable and very likeable. You have to want her to end up with Monty and actually care about the character, or you just get annoyed with her. So kudos to Adrienne for that; it's not an easy thing to do with the way Phoebe is written. One of my favourite things about Adrienne is that she has wonderful comedic timing; her bouncing up and down on the chair during 'I've Decided to Marry You' was such a small detail, but it was the most hysterical thing ever. She's sooo tiny and adorable too, so it just makes all the little giggles and jumping around even funnier. Phoebe is just a tiny ball of energy - like a hamster! Even though she was so small, she projected her emotions and voice perfectly; you could see everything, but it wasn't overdone. I also really liked Adrienne's voice; the first Phoebe I saw was very much on the shrill and squeaky side - Adrienne was still very high-pitched (obviously), but sounded so much more smooth and 'adult' (kind of like Magnolia in Show Boat). She had some unique little 'trills' in certain parts, but it worked. I don't really have any complaints about her; a great, well-thought-out performance, and I'd be very happy to see her as Phoebe again.

Kevin Massey (Monty)

Kevin Massey (Monty)

He was very different from the other Monty I've seen, but not in a bad way. I really loved that you could see him slowly falling out of love with Sibella as he fell in love with Phoebe. By the end, he does love them both, but it's a different kind of love, and Kevin did a great job of establishing the changing relationships between himself and his two love interests. I also liked how he made Monty quite a dark character throughout the show, who perked up when he was around Sibella (and later Phoebe). It made his transition to murderer seem more plausible, yet he still maintained an aura of innocent 'boyishness' (as Mrs Shingle comments). His singing voice wasn't as strong as Jeff Kready's, but he made up for it with very expressive uses of his voice.  It may have been because four shows in two days has to be hard on the voice, but I can't make that judgement call. My only other main issue with him was he didn't really utilise the comedic moments as well as he could have; one of the things I (and my Mum, oddly) remembered most vividly was the 'Poison in my Pocket' 'dance' (the little hip twist on 'pocket'), and Kevin barely did it. He sort of twitched a bit, but the defined movement wasn't there. Because it wasn't clear what he was doing, it wasn't as funny as it could've been. 

John Rapson (D'Ysquith Family)
I don't have too much to say about John Rapson, but that's mostly because he was just all-around incredible! He really embraced the very different characters, giving each a unique personality, voice, and even walk. My favourites had to be Reverend Ezekiel D'Ysquith (his voice and acting were just hysterical) and Lord Bartholomew D'Ysquith (that walk! Every time he moved I cracked up). I also really loved how he did Henry (who is my favourite D'Ysquith - aside from Phoebe); Henry is written so fabulously, and John really got all of the intricacies of the character. Just a lot of fun to watch. I guess what I liked most about John in general; every character was suitably funny, but in a unique way, and without making it more obnoxious than was necessary. The only complaint I have about him is that at the high note in Lady Hyacinth's song, he completely missed the start of it, so instead of looking like a smooth (albeit obvious) transition, it just looked clumsy. Other than that little thing, loved him!

Ensemble

John Rapson (The D'Ysquith Family)

Such a small ensemble! There didn't seem to be people missing (based on the cast board), but it was noticeable how few people there were onstage at any given time. I don't think it necessarily detracted from the show, and every one of the ensemble members gave their all, but it did feel a little empty at times. However, despite their small size, the ensemble was a very cohesive group that had perfect synchronisation during certain songs and dances, and all exhibited great voices and interesting and varied acting abilities. Special shout out to Kristen Mengelkoch (Lady Eugenia), who was absolutely hysterical. She and John Rapson played off of each other so well; they knew exactly when to milk the comedy and when to let it go. I really enjoyed watching their characters interact; they had me in stitches every time they spoke to one another. I also liked whoever played the Policeman; his face while he was reading Monty's journal was hilarious. 

Other

No noticeable mistakes or errors (which is both a good and bad thing; I love bloopers, but a smooth show is always nice too). All of the accents were relatively good and fairly consistent; sometimes people would slip into American for a few words, but they always caught themselves quickly. Such thick English accents are definitely difficult to do. 

I really love the set and costumes of this show. Each costume so perfectly suits the character it appears on, and the fits and details are just impeccable. 

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder is an amazing show, and I can't believe it's only playing on one production at the moment (can we get it in London - or at least a UK tour - please?!). I highly, highly recommended this show to anyone who loves blends of comedy and drama, interesting lyrics, and just an all-around good time at the theatre. GGLAM closes in Toronto June 26th, but the tour is continuing into 2017. Make sure you see it!

Show Boat (May 27th, 2016)

Show Boat

May 27th, 2016 (eve)

The final evening of my latest trip to London found me at the New London Theatre, excited to see Show Boat. I hadn't heard much about the show other than that it had generally favourable reviews, and that it was closing sooner than expected. We'd also discussed it briefly in my theology class, but generally, I knew nothing about the show other than that it was nearly 100 years old. I was curious to see how (and if) such a classic would be adapted for a modern audience.

Seat/Venue Review: I sat H36 in the Stalls, and it was £69.99. The Premium Seats (£90) were a little farther forward, but I had an entirely unobstructed view that was perfect for the height and depth of the Show Boat set. I couldn’t’ve picked a better seat. The New London is a lovely theatre, with lots of bathrooms, comfortable seats, and friendly staff. My only complaint would be how difficult it is to navigate, and the huge number of stairs (not ideal if you have mobility issues).

Gina Beck and Chris Peluso 

The highlight of Show Boat had to be a few of the incredible individual performances given. The casting in general was very well-done; everyone looked exactly like their character (if that makes any sense at all). Gina Beck (Magnolia) was, as always, an absolute superstar, with a glorious voice and thoughtful acting. I loved how she portrayed Magnolia's transition from ditzy, wanna-be actress, to girl-in-love, to defeated young woman, to adult and proud mother. She also absolutely owned that accent. Her voice was stunning, as one would expect; my dad was so shocked the first time she opened her mouth. It definitely doesn't look like a voice that big could come from someone so small. The only thing I'd say is that I thought she could've made her voice a bit more girlish at the beginning, so her singing voice could've evolved with her character. I also really loved Rebecca Trehearn (Julie); such a talented actress with the voice to match. Julie didn't get much time on stage, but Rebecca managed to use that short time to establish a solid, likeable, sympathetic character. I especially liked how in just a few words in the second act, you could see how Julie's emotions had been hidden beneath a tough exterior. I also enjoyed how Alex Young (Ellie) brought much-needed comedic relief to the show without overdoing it. The performances of Grace Schneider (Young Kim), Sandra Martin (Queenie), Lucy Briers (Parthy) and Malcolm Sinclair (Captain Andy) also stood out for various reasons. Grace was adorable and had a lovely voice, Sandra was wonderfully comedic, Lucy captured the moodiness of her character perfectly, and Malcolm was very entertaining. 

I didn't favour the performances of Emmanuel Kojo (Joe) or Chris Peluso (Gaylord). Emmanuel had a brilliant voice, but failed to establish his character beyond the great voice. Chris had a similar problem; I can't fault his voice, but I could not figure out how he was trying to play his character, and the result was a rather uninteresting, one-dimensional character (and I couldn't for the life of me see any reason why Magnolia would've fallen in love with him. There was absolutely nothing interesting about him. I also couldn't figure out why Magnolia and Kim so easily forgive him for running off). I think part of the problem with Show Boat is the way the characters were written; in general, they are extremely one-dimensional. Because there are so many characters, you don't get to see the depth of anyone, meaning it's difficult to find a character to relate to (I feel like there could be so much more to Kim and Magnolia, and I really would've loved to see both of them, and their lives, expanded upon. Nevertheless, some actors were able to find more to work with than others, and those were the ones that gave more interesting, emotionally-driven performances. 

The sets and costumes were also absolutely fabulous. I don't study American history, but from what I know, the costumes were very accurate to the time period. It was a bit of a stark transition from the 1800s scenes to the 1927 scenes, but there's not a whole lot you can do about that. It was a little hard to believe that the residents of a Show Boat in the deep south would be at the height of fashion, but I suspect that's more my neuroses rather than something other people would notice. My only issue costume-wise is the statement that Kim looked exactly like Magnolia, and then Kim showed up in a dark wig (especially when Young Kim was blonde, and looked very much like Gina Beck - whose blonde wig was glorious, by the way). Other than that, costumes were beautiful, fit well, and had perfectly chosen colours. I also thought the technological aspects of the show blended seamlessly with the physical sets; I thought they used each appropriately, without overdoing it on one or the other. I particularly liked the multiple uses of the set of the Show Boat itself, and the way the screen was used to transition from 1900 to 1927. It was very simple, yet effective, and helped the audience understand how time had shifted so drastically, and what had happened in the 'in-between'. 

I think Show Boat's main fault is its writing. None of the songs are particularly catchy (I can't remember a single one; it's not like when you walk out of the Book of Mormon singing "I Believe!" or Wicked singing "Defying Gravity"). It's very much a product of its time period, where music didn't necessarily need to be catchy. Hammerstein pieces always focus on their moral messages rather than a show tune, and while that's not necessarily a bad thing, it means that the show is less memorable than it could be. 

Gina Beck and Rebecca Trehearn

Show Boat had everything I love in a show; magnificent sets and costuming, talented and skilled performers, and huge amounts of energy. However, I felt that something was missing, and I couldn't connect with any of the characters or situations in the way I can with other shows. In a way, I can see why it hasn't had an extended West End run. I think it misses having relevance to modern (especially British) audience; the situations seem so far removed, and almost too sensationalised to be real, and the characters are simply archetypes rather than complex human beings. The way they respond to their situations are almost too predictable (from the second it was apparent Gaylord had left Magnolia, I knew immediately she would wait around for him). The conflicts and 'messages' (i.e. the problem of gambling) were completely lost on me until my mum pointed them out later that night - it just doesn't resonate with the current generation. While I commend the cast and production team on doing the best with the material they had, the material itself needs to be updated or altered if one wishes to appeal to a contemporary audience. 

Matilda the Musical (18th May 2016)

Matilda the Musical 

(May 18th, 2016 Matinee)

I’ve reviewed Matilda a LOT, so this is just a few quick little comments on bits and pieces I liked or disliked.

Clara Read (Matilda)

I’d heard mixed reviews of Clara, and she was the new Matilda that I was most excited to see, so it was really great to have her on. She was also my 10^th Matilda! Her singing voice isn’t the strongest, but it’s adequate – she hits all the notes and sounds very cute. She also had a few line fumbles in the multiplication scene, but she stayed calm and continued on as if nothing had happened like a true professional. But her acting is what made her stand out as a Matilda; it was very intelligent and thoughtful, yet not forced. She had clearly considered how Matilda would react to the world and people around her – most Matildas are, individually, strong actresses, and what sets them apart is their ability (or lack thereof) to thoughtfully react to other characters). Clara isn’t a stoic Matilda; she’s very engaged, and very reactive. Definitely a Matilda that strongly feels that urge to ‘put things right’, because it’s the ‘right’ thing to do, not because she’s just messing with people. She was also a likeable Matilda; she wasn’t showing off her knowledge, but rather, showing off how much she loved books and learning. This made her a very sympathetic Matilda, which I loved. Acting aside, she’s the cutest little munchkin, and she has hair like mine – dead straight, and no matter how much it was teased, it was nearly completely straight by the end of each scene. I thought that was a funny little thing, anyway. A final few things; Clara’s “Big Fat Bully” got the best reaction. It was dead silent for a long time, then there was a rumble of “oooooooh”s, and then the cheering started (and went on for quite a bit). It was epic. Clara is also an excellent dancer; her Ninja moves were some of the sharpest and cleanest I’ve ever seen. Her dancing in Bruce was very strong as well. A great Matilda all around, and totally one of my new favourites.

Miria Parvin (Miss Honey)

Stunning as always; beautiful voice, great acting. I love how she changes her portrayal subtly to match the Matilda; she can be quite in awe of some Matildas (Lara), uneasy around some (Lizzie), or more of a friend/mother figure to others (Evie/Clara). She also does a full tour sauté at the end of Bruce, and it’s epic.

Oliver Brooks (u/s Miss Trunchbull)

Oliver is on as Trunch all the time, which is a bit odd, but great for him as he gets more experience. I expect he might be made principal after Craige leaves. I don’t find Oliver’s portrayal particularly interesting, nor has it evolved much in the last while. He’s good, but nothing spectacular.

The Kids

Carla Dixon (Alice) is incredible; great acting, great dancing. You can’t take your eyes off of her; she’s a stellar performer and never loses energy. Superstar in the making. Harrison and Jamie Wilding (Eric and Nigel) both need haircuts, and both had zero energy. Ellie-Rose Eames (Amanda) is ridiculously adorable and a great little performer. She lost energy a bit, but was all-around good. Ynez Williams (Lavender) was apparently ill, and it showed. Oliver Llwellyn-Williams (Bruce) has a good voice, and is hilarious in Revolting Children, but he’s very tall and stick out quite a lot.

Other Notes

There was a big messup in Loud; I’m not entirely sure what happened (I don’t like Rebecca’s Loud to begin with – her voice is fine but her dancing isn’t strong). The choreography looked like it may have been changed (I suspect Rebecca may have an injury of some sort; she’s been skipping the back walkover about half the times I’ve seen her), but something definitely went wrong. Rebecca nearly got dropped at one point, which was a bit scary. I do love Tom Muggeridge as Rudolpho though; he's so much better than John Brannoch. 

Michael also flubbed the beginning of Telly; he somehow got off the music, and was glaring at the conductor until they managed to sync up. It was pretty funny. 

Frankenstein (May 18th, 2016)

The Royal Ballet's

Frankenstein

May 18th, 2016

I’d been very excited about this ballet since it was announced, and I’m very pleased I finally got to see it. As with any brand new work, there were strengths and weaknesses, and there are definitely a lot of kinks to be worked out. I wasn’t overly fond of some of the casting, so I hope that in the future, Frankenstein will be presented with more than two casts. So I’ll comment on most areas of the ballet, both what I liked and didn’t like. Enjoy!

Seat/Venue Review: I sat C36 in Stalls Circle Left, and it was £35. The view is incredibly restricted and therefore slightly overpriced. But the ROH is always a nice venue and generally pretty comfortable.

(The Guardian)

I really enjoyed Federico Bonelli as Victor Frankenstein. He’s obviously an incredibly solid technician, and his turns are textbook perfection, but he also succeeded in executing the emotional aspects of his character too. Victor was a spritely young man turned into a tortured, slightly mad inventor, and Bonelli found the line between under and overplaying it. I liked how during the ‘lightning’ scene, you could see and feel his desperation as his brilliant idea seemed to be failing, and then his absolute fear and disgust at what he had created. It was sort of the final realization that his mother was absolutely gone, and there was no way to bring her back.

Stephen McRae was excellent as the Creature (and only a dancer of his caliber could pull off that costume). He portrayed the craziness believably; it was an interesting mix of childlike innocence and adult insanity. However, I did feel there were a number of moments where the ‘character’ was left behind in favour of a short ‘dance break’ that didn’t quite fit with the rest of the story.

Laura Morera, who played Elizabeth, was a technically solid dancer, but a rather uninspired actor. The girl playing young Elizabeth was more interesting to watch, and more expressive in body and face than Morera. It was a shame as Elizabeth had potential to be such a beautifully tragic figure, but Morera spent most of the show with a wistful smile on her face, and the rest overacting to the extreme. Her strongest moment acting-wise was in the PDD with the Creature; here you could actually feel some despair and fear (though I wanted to yell, “If you hadn’t stopped for that arabesque you would’ve gotten away!). Just a generally underwhelming performance; I would’ve preferred to see Olivia Cowley or Lauren Cuthbertson dancing that part. They would’ve brought the stellar technique along with intelligent character work. 

Alexander Campbell as Henry was just the most adorable little nugget on the planet. He’s so small, but a powerful dancer and great actor. He did an excellent job establishing his character in his first few moments onstage; Henry was sort of the loveable dork of the show, which Campbell portrayed wonderfully. I was quite bad for him when he was killed by the Creature; no way could this Henry ever shoot anyone. He was too gentle, and Victor knew this (and was a bit of an idiot to leave him alone with a gun).  

Stephen McRae (The Creature)(A. Muir)

I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that I can apparently identify my favourite dancer by one of her arms. I had a mega restricted view and wasn’t really paying attention to the side of the stage I couldn’t see, but I saw an arm wave off to one side and thought, “that was so elegant – must be Olivia.” I was right. As usual, Olivia Cowley exudes elegance and finesse. Gorgeous legs and feet (such lines!), and effortless flexibility. You can’t take your eyes off of her when she’s dancing; in the scene in the anatomy classroom she just exudes this dark, almost contemporary feel. I don’t know how she does it, but she captures and intensifies the mood of whatever scene she’s in. It’s wonderful (and I need to learn how to do that).

The choreography itself was ok. Liam Scarlett’s work has never been entirely to my taste, but this was probably my favourite of his pieces. I don’t like the constant repetition of the same turns and lifts; it gets monotonous quickly. As mentioned above, there were moments where it very much seemed “let me stop the action for a moment and arabesque/pirouette/jump,” which I find incredibly frustrating. Part of what I love about narrative ballets is their ability to smoothly blend dance and storytelling, and for the most part I didn’t feel Scarlett’s choreography achieved this. One scene I really enjoyed was the anatomy lecture. The choreography was very creative, yet still communicated the story of the scene (i.e. the students ‘sewing up’ the assistants). Wildly different choreography and dance styles (contemporary and classical) blended together to form a thoughtful, easy-to-follow scene. I also thought the opening was particularly poignant, though it was more acting-based than ‘dancey’; I loved watching young Victor and Elizabeth’s relationship grow through the opening sequence, and the kids were adorable.

I also really, really loved the costuming. The sparkly ball costumes at the end are my new favourite thing ever; the colours are perfect, the flow of the skirts are beautiful, and they’re very gothic and dark, yet still ‘pretty’. I also liked little details such as how Henry wore brighter colours than everyone else to make him stick out and the variety and balance of hats in the party scene. Each individual costume was beautifully conceived and created, as is usual with the ROH. The only one I didn’t like was Frankenstein’s mothers, as the dancer playing her seemed to be struggling with the length and weight of it. Another favourite of mine was the off-white costumes of the assistants in the anatomy scene

The Anatomy Lecture (The Guardian)

A final thing that stood out was the set. Certainly no expense was spared in this department; the stage was sumptuously decorated with the utmost grandeur. They were all so thoughtfully designed; they were all accurate and realistic, yet still opened up to the front as was necessary. An example would be the anatomy scene; the anatomy theatre was designed such that it extended outwards, yet it could still be visualized as a round theatre. It’s hard to explain, but it just worked. I also liked the outdoor set with the Frankenstein’s house, and the final ball set with it’s large, imposing, yet simple staircase. It was a nice affect.

The only other thing I didn’t like was the final resolution. There was such a dramatic build up, and I was fully expecting a huge, gruesome conclusion (I knew there would be multiple deaths, so I expected them to be quite bloody). As it were, the Creature simply strangled Henry and Elizabeth for a few moments, then left them lying on the floor. It was very anticlimactic. It would’ve been better if he’d ‘torn’ them apart, or raked fingers through their stomachs, or something. Fake blood is a wonderful thing (though I’m sure it’s appallingly hard to get out of costumes). It was just missing something.

So, all in all, a good ballet. Definitely work to be done, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I look forward to seeing it performed again in a few years time, once it’s had some more time to develop.