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Stars explained: * A production of no real merit
with failings in all areas. ** A production showing evidence of not
enough time or effort, or even talent, and which never breathes any real
life into the piece – or a show lumbered with a terrible script. *** A
good enjoyable show which might have some small flaws but has largely
achieved what it set out to do.**** An excellent show which shows a
great deal of work and stage craft with no noticeable or major
flaws.***** A four star show which has found that extra bit of magic
which lifts theatre to another plane. |
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Stage2 held to Ransome Swallows and Amazons
Stage2
The Crescent Theatre, Birmingham
*** ARTHUR
Ransome’s series of books about the adventures of children during
idyllic summer holidays in the Lake District have struck a chord since
the first, Swallows and Amazons,
was published in 1930. Their tale of childhood innocence is not the
easiest to stage, for a start lakes tend to be big, and somewhat wet,
and this version is based on Helen Edmundson’s National Theatre musical
adaptation which, incidentally, normally calls for a cast of eleven with
some doubling of minor roles – or in the case of Stage2, a cast of 36. It is always intriguing to see how this excellent
youth theatre will rise to the challenge of expanding the cast numbers
of any play Director Lucy Bailey-Wright has used a chorus of
16 and 11 minor roles such as cormorants and ducks, a policeman and
charcoal burners, as everything from waves and winds to a bloodthirsty
crew of pirates in a dream, but although the policy of giving a part to
as many people as possible is commendable, it does have its drawbacks. In the National Production, the waves around the
two skeletal of sailing boats, Swallow and Amazon, were represented by
two blue ribbons – off and on stage in a splash. Here a veritable ocean of people had to wash
onstage to surround the cleverly made boats with the crew becoming lost
in the crowd – which is no criticism of the briny extras, who did a
splendid job, rising and falling in unison to give an impression of the
lake surface.
But they did tend to confuse and detract from the
main characters in boat scenes while the tacking of Swallow was
inevitably a bit clumsy with so many people to move; the biggest
drawback though, was that the numbers deadened the pace, with boats
sailing on or off stage into the wings probably only taking seconds but
seeming an age, putting a damper on any rhythm that had been built. Charlie Stewart gave us a rather bossy John, as
12-year-old leader of the Walker children on their great adventure, and
handled the rather archaic language of the 1920s well, as did all the
children. Mag Luesley was a prim and proper Susan, the
mate, who was rather serious and extremely matronly for an 11-year-old
while sister, able seaman Titty, aged 9, full of imagination and longing
for adventure, was played by Emily Cremins and seven-year-old, almost
eight, Roger, the ship’s boy, was played noisily and excitedly, as
befitting a boy of his tender years, by Toma Hoffman. On the other side we had the Amazons, Nancy, the
captain, played in no nonsense manner by Hanifa Ali and her younger
sister Peggy, played by Hana Ali. These are the main characters and have the
difficult job of children playing the roles of . . . children. It sounds
easy, but isn’t. They are not just playing the middle class children of
1929, but also how a 21st century audience perceive middle
class children of 1929 as well as having the usual acting duties of
accentuating and amplifying characters so they can carry beyond the
footlights.
They managed it with performances full of
enthusiasm and giving the characters identity, from the permanently
bickering Amazons, who delight in insulting each other, to the more
organised Swallows with their sibling chain of command, tempered by
their permanent note of caution from Susan. In support roles we have Georgia Homer as Mrs
Walker, the Swallows’ mother and what we all think of 1920’s mothers
should be, then there is Gabriel Hudson as the less than talkative Mr
Jackson, owner of the farm where the Walkers were staying, and Matt
Childs gave us a rumbustious James Turner, designated as Captain Flint,
who first accuses and then befriends the Swallows. Meanwhile George Bandy gives us a remarkably
gruff and unfriendly policeman as the Walker children’s adventures seem
to have been ended by unfounded accusations but we all know everything
will turn out all right in the end, after all this is a children’s
adventure. Bandy, Meg Leusley, Emily Cremins and Stewart
along with Violey Sprigg, who played a duck and an owl, and Maya
Bennett, one of the charcoal burners, are also the musicians for the
offstage music. The music itself is less than memorable, which is not
the fault of the musicians, and at times instead of dialogue we have
almost operatic recitative which, like the singing, much of it a
capella, can be a bit hit and miss. A capella is not the easiest for young voices and
perhaps a bit more experience is needed although it is worth remembering
that this was a show featuring many younger members of the company and
many of the cast were performing for the first time with director Lucy
Bailey-Wright noting in the programme: “it is great to have a new
generation of kids coming through.” Like all good children’s yarns it requires a lot
of imagination from the reader as a book and even more to stage and the
company, along with Alan Bailey, have created a clever set with six
fencing panels, four hinged in the wings as doors, harbours, boat sheds
and all manner of locations on Wildcat Island and two simple boats to
wheel around the stage. The use of a large video screen which dropped
down with maps, or the farmhouse, with spots picking out bedrooms or
camps at night was also clever while the paper boats dangling of strings
festooned from both balconies was a nice touch. It is not an easy story to bring to the stage
and, as we would expect from Stage2, this was a commendable effort. To
19-07-14 Roger Clarke
18-07-14 |
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