The cast of Polka Theatre's ALL JOIN IN (including myself) will be performing in Trafalgar Square on Sunday as part of WEST END LIVE. Our slot is 12.15, sandwiched between STOMP and THE WIZARD OF OZ.  We will be performing a ten minute selection of songs from the show. Lets hope the sun comes out! www.westendlive.co.uk for more info.

 All Join In – Polka Theatre, Wimbledon Writer: Quentin Blake Adaptors: Ben Glasstone, Jonathon Lloyd and Roman Stefanski. Music/lyrics:  Ben Glasstone Director: Roman Stefanski Reviewer: Ann Bawtree The Public Reviews Rating:

Christopher Chamberlain, Charlie Folorunsho, Gilbert Taylor, Mandy Travis and Charlotte Workman are an extremely talented group of…what? Are they simply actors? No. They are also dancers, acrobats, children’s entertainers, puppeteers and musicians who between them play the violin, accordion, ukulele, percussion, trombone, trumpet, saxophone, recorder, cello, banjolel and penny tin whistle. They also appear to be just a bunch of big kids who like nothing better than to spend an hour and a half entertaining not only the four to seven year olds for whom the show is designed but also the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, godparents, guardians and babes in arms who filled the auditorium at the Polka theatre in Wimbledon.

Laura McEwen’s set design is of a room apparently sitting inside a circus tent. Four children are fed up because it is pouring with rain outside the French windows. They begin to entertain themselves, and us, with their noisy games until their mother admonishes them from “upstairs”. Mr Magnolia with his incomplete footwear elicits sympathy although the doomed romance between the boot and the ballet pump is a little lost on the younger members of the audience. More popular is the noisy demonstration of “how to upset grown ups with sudden loud noises”. Some of the noises are so sudden and so loud it was a surprise that more small people did not burst into tears, but very few did.

Act two begins with the Irish tinker playing his enchanted violin and conjuring up tropical fish and birds of paradise, projected by lighting designer Chris Barham. There is even the dramatic proof of the efficacy of his music therapy on the poor soul who has everything wrong with him but turns in an instant to a exponent of Irish dance, flying neatly across the stage to a toe tapping rhythm.

Mum calls them to order and demands that the kitchen be tidied up forthwith.. This of course leads to more deafening chaos than ever to the delight of the audience. At its height Mum reappears and guilty silence reigns, only to astound us all with a solo performance which brought the house down.

The tragedy of “The Last Biscuit in the Tin” is relieved by the final scene, that of Mrs Armitage and her extraordinary mode of transport apparently travelling considerable distances but, as in previous scenes, staying in one spot while the scenery moves past her.

Finally the moon comes out and a bedtime song calms us down for the journey home after a wonderful theatrical experience.

Photo: Robert Workman – Runs in REP until the 6th August

All Join In and Other Stories Published Monday 23 May 2011 at 10:26 by Susan Elkin

Based on four books by the illustrator Quentin Blake, this enjoyable, tuneful, imaginative show features lots of songs performed by five highly accomplished actor-musicians - most of whom are also puppeteers - and not much dialogue or narrative. 

Thus we get Charlie Folorunsho as a colourful, rueful Mr Magnolia who has only one boot, and Gilbert Taylor and the extraordinarily versatile Mandy Travis as a pair of resistant young owls who have to be taught to hoot.

Other highlights include Travis as Mrs Armitage riding her gradually enhanced bicycle and the lovely folksy ensemble singing in the duck song. The Stomp-type sequence in the kitchen with pans and the ballet duet by a boot and a shoe are fun, too.

The musical instruments add a lot to this show. Charlotte Workman, a fine and very expressive actor, almost develops her cello into another character. Christopher Chamberlain is a fine fiddler and banjo player and the mercurial, boyish, lithe Taylor is good on trombone and banjo. Travis is a strong saxophonist and penny whistler and her unexpected spoon playing is a rhythmic tour de force.

When artwork is as instantly recognisable as Blake’s, it can’t be easy to translate it visually to the stage, but Laura McEwen’s designs make inspired use of Blake-style small flats and various items of stage business.

This is a most appealing piece of theatre for four to seven-year-olds, many of whom were joining in enthusiastically as encouraged by the cast - and the show’s title.

Production information By: Quentin Blake, adapted by Ben Glasstone (also music and additional lyrics), Jonathan Lloyd, Roman Stefanski (who also directs)
Management: Polka Theatre
Cast: Charlie Folorunsho, Gilbert Taylor, Charlotte Workman, Christopher Chamberlain, Mandy Travis

Looking forward to a week of tech at The Polka - I am very happy to be part of the summer season with a very talented cast of actor musicians and crew.  Have a look at a video of our rehearsals here and last weeks blog (written by Gilbert Taylor) here.

Chris  here enjoying a tea-break after a gruelling rehearsal at The Polka - also pictured are the cast and crew of All Join In, including musical director Ben Glasstone and stage manager Nadia.  It will be playing at The Polka from May 13th - August 13th 2011. I have lost count of the number of musical instruments in the room, Charlie on drums, Charlotte on cello, Mandy on sax and Gilbert on something else by the look of the picture! (trombone) -  but it has been great to be strumming a ukelele again - and bashing out a tune on the fiddle.  Roman Stefanski, director has been providing the biscuits (and eating a few of them too) guiding us through dance breaks and transforming our input into workable formats (where possible).

Children are going to love this one. And I'm sure adults would have a laugh too!

Adapted from Quentin Blake's stories by Ben Glasstone with Jonathan Lloyd and Roman Stefanski. More info here.