Another Way Theatre Company
  • HOME
    • About Us
    • Testimonials
    • News
    • Video Gallery
    • Contact
    • Links
  • Blog
  • Productions
    • Current Productions >
      • JANE EYRE >
        • Booking Tickets
        • Cast
        • Programme
        • Zoom Readthrough
      • BETWEEN FRIENDS >
        • Promo Video/ Cast & Crew
        • Programme
    • Casting
    • Previous Productions >
      • SHAKESPEARE IN SHORTS >
        • Gallery
        • Shakespeare in AZILLE, France
      • HAMLET 2018 >
        • CAST & CREW
        • IMAGES & REVIEWS
        • HAMLET whole show
        • Feedback
      • SING IT
      • GULLIVER'S TRAVELS >
        • Featured Articles
      • RECITAL
      • THE SEAGULL >
        • Cast and Crew
        • Seagull Gallery
        • Reviews
        • Video Link for Cast and Crew
      • SHAKESPEARE SMORGASBARD 2015 >
        • Cast and Crew
      • ELEPHANT OF MY HEART >
        • DONORS
        • Reviews
      • THE DRAGON'S SCALES
      • THE WABBIT KING >
        • BOOK TICKETS
        • Cast & Crew
        • Pilot Production
        • Price List
        • Wabbit Blog
      • SHAKESPEARE SMORGASBARD 2014 >
        • Cast & Gallery
      • GULLIVER'S TRAVELS SHOWCASE >
        • Showcase Review
      • ANTONY & CLEOPATRA >
        • Venues
        • Gallery
        • Cast & Crew
        • Reviews
        • Theatre-Makers
        • Dan Avery's Minack Video Blog
      • A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM >
        • Gallery
        • Cast List
        • Reviews
      • TWELFTH NIGHT >
        • Reviews
        • Cast List
        • Venues
      • MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
    • Collaborations >
      • OLYMPUS >
        • Cast List
        • Reviews
        • Promos
      • SNOW WHITE
      • THE WIZARD OF OZ
      • Rehearsal Tools
  • Education
    • SCHOOL/COLLEGE PRODUCTIONS >
      • SHREK - Trinity School
      • CORAM BOY
      • JOSEPH AN HIS AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT
      • CYRANO DE BERGERAC
      • TREASURE ISLAND - TRINITY SCHOOL
      • A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM - TRINITY SCHOOL
      • IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST - TRINITY SCHOOL
      • OLIVER - TRINITY SCHOOL
      • TWELFTH NIGHT DLD COLLEGE
      • GREAT EXPECTATIONS - DLD COLLEGE
      • THE ANIMAL FACTOR - WARLINGHAM VILLAGE
  • Another Way Cabaret
    • Skinny Bananas Piano Bar
    • Cabaret Cuttings
  • BOX OFFICE
    • CD for Sale

STOP-PRESS - TONY & CLEO'S RUMPY PUMPY IN QUEEN'S PARK (review)

20/6/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
In the words of the great man himself, “If you have tears, prepare to shed them now,” unless you were one of the happy few who saw Another Way Theatre’s production of “Antony and Cleopatra” in Caterham. 

Cole Porter’s advice jars - ”If your blonde won’t respond when you flatter’er, /Tell her what Tony told Cleopaterer” – because every word of admiration bestowed by the two protagonists (Chris & Nicky Chambers) upon each other was full of heartfelt sincerity, all the more cheering when we contrast this modest husband and wife team from Warlingham and their modest (but convincing) budget production with the lavish extravaganza of the notorious Burton-Taylor film of the same story. 

Jean Hammond’s costumes were exquisite, the music suitably exotic, with snake-like elements during the biggest asp-disaster scene.

Props were fine – Cleopatra’s love couch, smoke for battles, ship sails, torches for the darker moments and bleakly auguring black crows.

We start with Blind Man’s Buff, symbolizing A & C’s escapism, not surprising when we later hear of what a toughie celebrity soldier Antony (Chris Chambers) used to be.

All the cast were impressive even if the greatest star was inevitably Shakespeare himself. How fresh and meaningful was the language, and how well interpreted! The lovers’ obsession brings out the bard’s creative best: “There’s beggary in the love that can be reckon’d.”

“Eternity was in our lips and eyes.”

“So I hence fleeting here remain with thee.” (So much psychological truth is held in the oxymoron!)

Unforgettable too is the mental picture, inspiring so much painting, of Cleopatra’s arrival by barge.

And does this sound familiar? – “Age cannot wither her…”

What has “a gypsy’s lust” done to Antony? Octavian (Luke Walsh) speaks with genuine admiration of how he had been “so like a soldier”. The future Augustus came across as a really 3D personality, genuinely caring for his sister but always shrewd in politics.

Maecenas (Dan Avery), future Minister of Culture, made a convincing soldier, counsellor and messenger. His being whipped contrasted the restoration of treasure to Enobarbus (Andrew Fitch), indicating respectively the dark and generous sides of Antony’s character. In this, he matches Cleopatra’s (Nicky Chambers) unpredictability (though sometimes hers is deliberate, as in her coquettish behaviour towards him). 

It has been said that conflict is the essence of drama. So we get civil war, the clash between the individual and the state, duty and inclination, arranged marriage and adultery, sobriety and drunkenness (particularly demonstrated by Caesar and Lepidus (Robert Rowe), promises and politics.

My favourite moment? When Cleopatra speaks of the now dead Antony: “His legs bestrid the ocean…”

Small wonder the programme notes call it a soap opera.

Like his supposed ancestor Hercules, Antony’s reason is lost - through the most dangerous addiction of all, namely love.

                                                                                                                      Reviewer  M.A.G. 20.6.2013


0 Comments

Antony & Cleopatra Caterham & Purley Festival Promo

11/6/2013

0 Comments

 
0 Comments

ANTONY & CLEOPATRA coming soon JUNE 2013 - Minack Theatre & Caterham and Purley Festivals - book now at www.anotherwaytheatre.co.uk

10/3/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
0 Comments

CAST for ANTONY & CLEOPATRA 2013

8/3/2013

0 Comments

 
CAST

AGRIPPA - TBC
ANTONY - Chris Chamberlain
CHARMIAN - Elaine Hartley
CLEOPATRA - Nicky Chambers
CAESAR - Denholm Spurr
ENOBARBUS - Andy Fitch
EROS/ALEXAS - Glyn Williams
IRAS/OCTAVIA - Rebecca Livermore
LEPIDUS/CLOWN - Robert Rowe
MAECENAS - Dan Avery
MENAS/SCARUS - Elliot Young
POMPEY/DOLABELLA - Andy Mulquin
THE SOOTHSAYER - David Kay
0 Comments

CAST for ANTONY & CLEOPATRA at THE MINACK, CATERHAM & PURLEY FESTIVALS

9/2/2013

0 Comments

 
CAST

AGRIPPA - Ralph Aiken
ANTONY - TBC
CHARMIAN - Elaine Hartley
CLEOPATRA - Nicky Chambers
CAESAR - Denholm Spurr
ENOBARBUS - Andy Fitch
EROS/ALEXAS - Glyn Williams
IRAS/OCTAVIA - Rebecca Livermore
LEPIDUS/CLOWN - Robert Rowe
MAECENAS - Dan Avery
MENAS/SCARUS - Elliot Young
POMPEY/DOLABELLA - Andy Mulquin
THE SOOTHSAYER - David Kay

0 Comments

Like Our Logo?

8/2/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
0 Comments

Blogged! Olympus The Musical on popular Blog site BRAAP

3/4/2012

1 Comment

 
Chris Chambers interviewed by Jaz Mackenzie on BRAAP. Click here. Or read transcript below:


Twenty years ago, composer Ian Rae wrote a sung through piece of musical theatre called OLYMPUS, drawing on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and retelling that story in the context of Ancient Greece. Weaving Athenians, Spartans, gods and myth through the piece, he created a work that was twice presented as a concert version.

In the years that followed the two concert performances, there were a few occasions when Ian and his wife, Morven (Producer of Good Company) considered resurrecting it, but time passed and nothing happened. However, in 2010 with The London Olympics on the horizon, they felt the time was right to develop the piece further.

Having seen my adaptation of Gulliver’s Travels (which was produced at The Minack Theatre in 2008 by The Mitre Players) Ian approached me about working on a book for Olympus. 

I listened to the music and was overwhelmed with its beauty – particularly “You Are The Air I Breathe” and “How Many Dreams.” (Listen at www.olympusthemusical.co.uk) 

Hearing these songs inspired me to take the project on, but I was a little wary, as it was clear to me from the start that reshaping the piece into something more contemporary was going to involve some big changes in structure and plot.

The transformation of the original concert piece has been a fascinating process – not always easy for Ian or myself, but has proved to me that there is no set formula for working on a musical. Ideally it would be easier, I think, to start with nothing and shape the plot, music and lyrics moment to moment. In the case of Olympus, existing material has had to be shuffled, switched, cut, pasted and totally rewritten. It may sound like a crossword, but actually it is quite a similar process to adapting a novel or existing story for the stage.

New songs have been composed for Olympus and new characters introduced. There is a comedy mystic by the name of Asclepios, and Homer himself, of Iliad fame, makes an appearance as a ridiculously talented twelve year old boy. 

Instead of the action taking place in Ancient Greece alone, it now takes place in two time zones – 2012 AD and 780 BC. We have introduced a modern story and weaved it through the material that existed previously. Bizarrely, much of Ian’s music and lyrics have remained unchanged, as the original story has become the dream that our Olympic Athlete (Dimitry Raphael) experiences when he is struck by lightning and sent back in time. 

The process is on-going and we are all looking forward to getting into the rehearsal room to bring the play off the page. Only then can you really see what works and what doesn’t. Someone said that musicals aren’t finished – they are abandoned – and I would go along with that! We must have been through twenty drafts in the last two years – each one an improvement. You just have to keep open to change.

And now we have cast over 60 people in the show and it has a fantastic community feel about it, drawing on talent from many local amateur societies, a number of professional actors and singers, local children and students from Croydon College.

Composer Ian Rae will MD and s et designer extra-ordinaire and self confessed “Minack bore” (how can she call herself that!) Jill “Wiggy” Wilson will be designing the show. She has recently been part of the team restoring and creating the artwork on the Minack stone after the reconstruction of the dressing rooms. Peggy Mayes will work on Costume, Niall Monaghan on creating atmospheric lighting and Penny Parks, who for 35 years has run a successful Dance Academy in Purley will choreograph the show. (It should be noted that her charity – The Penny Parks Charitable Trust - has agreed to donate a sum to help fund Croydon College students whilst in Cornwall, giving them the chance of a lifetime.)

We are indebted to Phil Jackson for thinking outside the box and giving OLYMPUS a slot to co-incide with the arrival of the real Olympic Flame at Land’s End on May 19th.

So all very exciting to get to this point and we are also very pleased to have had OLYMPUS approved by the RSC as part of their Open Stages Project. We have attended workshops given by the RSC and picked up some great tips for bringing a new musical to production - all part of developing the links between professional and amateur theatre and audiences.

To watch our progress follow Ian’s Blog at www.olympusthemusical.co.uk or mine at www.anotherwaytheatre.co.uk

So do book your tickets for this epic new piece of musical theatre. We can’t think of a better venue in England to produce Olympus. We might just as well be producing it at Cape Sounion or on the slopes of Olympus themselves.

Chris Chambers
Writer & Director
1 Comment

OLYMPUS THE MUSICAL - A RACE AGAINST TIME

1/4/2012

0 Comments

 

Picture
0 Comments

Switching on The Croydon Lights

18/11/2011

0 Comments

 
The Olympus cast joined Larry Lamb last night in The Whitgift Centre Croydon to help switch on Croydon's Christmas Lights. Two songs from the show - both very well received. A couple of clips below. www.olympusthemusical.co.uk

0 Comments

    Author

    Another Way

    Archives

    April 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    January 2019
    September 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010

    Categories

    All
    Another Way
    Another Way Theatre
    Auditions
    Caterham Festival
    Chichester
    Croydon
    Entertainment
    Gulliver
    Gulliver's Travels
    Gulliver's Travels
    Hoxton Hall
    Middle Temple
    Midsummer Night
    Minack
    Minack Theatre
    Much Ado
    Nicola Chambers
    Olympus
    Palladium
    Polka
    Purley Festival
    Questors
    Rehearsals
    Review
    Rsc
    Shakespeare
    Stagescripts

    RSS Feed

Picture
For more information or if you would be interested in hearing more about our work please email us.