THE STAGE review by Mark Shenton

As Oscar Hammerstein II so eloquently put it in ‘Sixteen Going on Seventeen’ from The Sound of Music, “A bell is no bell till you ring it/ A song is no song till you sing it.” And a show is no show till you stage it, in front of an audience of some kind. But is it also not a show till it’s been reviewed, either?
Over the last few days, I’ve been hearing plenty of new songs sung and watching new shows emerging, blinking into the spotlight of showcases, presentations and even full productions. New writing, whether of plays or musicals, is of course the lifeblood of the theatre and the passport to its future. Classics and revivals are all very well (and also absolutely essential – we can’t invent the future without knowing the past), but in order for there to be great shows to revive in the future, writers need to be constantly inventing a new present.
Quite how much critical scrutiny development work requires is another question. Hampstead Downstairs, for example, routinely offers new plays full productions without any kind of critical scrutiny; we are welcome to attend, but only to write about them ‘informally’. There are no designated press nights. But critics, at their best, are part of the community of an audience that completes the cycle of communication between page and stage – and by recording our experience, also chronicle whatever achievements or progress is made.
There’s a lot of peer review (and reviews) these days, too, whether by Facebook, twitter or on bulletin boards. And I contribute my own share to some of those channels. But reviewing is a much more formal – and possibly rigid – process, requiring a proper analysis of what has actually made it to the stage, rather than what it might be aspiring to be.
Maybe it is simply about a mind-set: a showcase or workshop is simply an invitation to view the work-in-progress, not the finished result, and so we look upon it with slightly different eyes (and ears). But I’ve also loved the sense of promise and discovery I’ve felt as I’ve done so. We’re seeing work at the start of its journey into the world, and indeed the collective reactions and feedback of our membership of its first audiences may yet shape its future.
An invited showcase presentation of a new musical version of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels last Friday was offered up after just four days of prior rehearsal by a cast that included veteran West End names like Andrew C Wadsworth and younger arrivals like Laura Pitt-Pulford and Nadim Naaman. It is inspiring to see the level of commitment they brought to it, with many of them ‘off book’ for their scenes.
For performers, of course, showcases are an early investment in a future for the show that they may become part of, but also a creative opportunity to do new and challenging work away from the repetitious ‘night’ job. And the wash of sound created under the musical direction of composer Andy Rapps at the piano, with judicious linking narration provided by his writing partner Chris Chambers who has written book, lyrics and additional music, was frequently inspiring, too. It’s a show I’d be keen to see more of – and that’s precisely the point of a showcase. It is intended to whet the appetite – especially of potential producers and investors.
On the other hand, seeing a show I’d once seen a full production of – and reviewed for The Stage here previously – back in an extracted showcase took it in the wrong direction. Its producers Interval Productions have produced four musicals including this one in the last two years, three of them original and British; so all credit to them for such a bold and enterprising mission. But staging a concert with extracts from all four yesterday afternoon didn’t serve them well.
While I’d called After the Turn “the British equivalent to Rent, full of punchy, raw and youthful energy” when I saw it in February 2012 at Hoxton’s Courtyard Theatre, some of that was dissipated in the extract chosen for the concert; it wasn’t until Rent itself came to the rescue (a revival of which the company has also produced) that the concert came fully alive. Musicals also require context to live, and even though I’d seen After the Turn before, here it felt like a series of turns.
Yet, as if to contradict me entirely, l went directly from the Cockpit yesterday to the St James Theatre’s Studio, where young American writers Kerrigan and Lowdermilk were completing a weekend showcase of their work with a series of turns by a top-rank British company of West End regulars including Stuart Matthew Price, Julie Atherton, Lauren Samuels, Daniel Boys, Chloe Hart, Jodie Jacobs and (a new name to me) Anton Zetterholm. And though their turns came from a variety of different shows that Kerrigan and Lowdermllk have collaborated on over the years, each was brought to a distinctive and fully inhabited life of their own by the skill both of the writing and the performances.
I didn’t know Kerrigan and Lowdermilk or their work before last night, yet now I’m smitten. They’re the real deal as writers: like a younger version of Ahrens and Flaherty, their work is equally full of soaring melodies and surprising emotions.
Finally, while the West End is still woefully short of new original musicals, especially British-originated ones – though I Can’t Sing! is soon to begin previews at the London Palladium – it was great to see the premiere of Drunk at the Bridewell, a new, genre-busting type of new British-written and created musical. The debut production of director/choreographer Drew McOnie’s new self-named company, it tells its story in exhilarating movement and ravishing melody – with the latter, entirely original score created by Grant Olding.
All of this activity proves that there’s a lot of new music around — but it is not to be found in the usual places or the usual shows. We need to keep looking for it. I’m glad to have found some of it. And starting tonight, Clapham’s Landor is hosting From Page to Stage, a four-week season of showcases, readings and full productions of new musical theatre from around the world. I hope to be able to support some of that, too.
Over the last few days, I’ve been hearing plenty of new songs sung and watching new shows emerging, blinking into the spotlight of showcases, presentations and even full productions. New writing, whether of plays or musicals, is of course the lifeblood of the theatre and the passport to its future. Classics and revivals are all very well (and also absolutely essential – we can’t invent the future without knowing the past), but in order for there to be great shows to revive in the future, writers need to be constantly inventing a new present.
Quite how much critical scrutiny development work requires is another question. Hampstead Downstairs, for example, routinely offers new plays full productions without any kind of critical scrutiny; we are welcome to attend, but only to write about them ‘informally’. There are no designated press nights. But critics, at their best, are part of the community of an audience that completes the cycle of communication between page and stage – and by recording our experience, also chronicle whatever achievements or progress is made.
There’s a lot of peer review (and reviews) these days, too, whether by Facebook, twitter or on bulletin boards. And I contribute my own share to some of those channels. But reviewing is a much more formal – and possibly rigid – process, requiring a proper analysis of what has actually made it to the stage, rather than what it might be aspiring to be.
Maybe it is simply about a mind-set: a showcase or workshop is simply an invitation to view the work-in-progress, not the finished result, and so we look upon it with slightly different eyes (and ears). But I’ve also loved the sense of promise and discovery I’ve felt as I’ve done so. We’re seeing work at the start of its journey into the world, and indeed the collective reactions and feedback of our membership of its first audiences may yet shape its future.
An invited showcase presentation of a new musical version of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels last Friday was offered up after just four days of prior rehearsal by a cast that included veteran West End names like Andrew C Wadsworth and younger arrivals like Laura Pitt-Pulford and Nadim Naaman. It is inspiring to see the level of commitment they brought to it, with many of them ‘off book’ for their scenes.
For performers, of course, showcases are an early investment in a future for the show that they may become part of, but also a creative opportunity to do new and challenging work away from the repetitious ‘night’ job. And the wash of sound created under the musical direction of composer Andy Rapps at the piano, with judicious linking narration provided by his writing partner Chris Chambers who has written book, lyrics and additional music, was frequently inspiring, too. It’s a show I’d be keen to see more of – and that’s precisely the point of a showcase. It is intended to whet the appetite – especially of potential producers and investors.
On the other hand, seeing a show I’d once seen a full production of – and reviewed for The Stage here previously – back in an extracted showcase took it in the wrong direction. Its producers Interval Productions have produced four musicals including this one in the last two years, three of them original and British; so all credit to them for such a bold and enterprising mission. But staging a concert with extracts from all four yesterday afternoon didn’t serve them well.
While I’d called After the Turn “the British equivalent to Rent, full of punchy, raw and youthful energy” when I saw it in February 2012 at Hoxton’s Courtyard Theatre, some of that was dissipated in the extract chosen for the concert; it wasn’t until Rent itself came to the rescue (a revival of which the company has also produced) that the concert came fully alive. Musicals also require context to live, and even though I’d seen After the Turn before, here it felt like a series of turns.
Yet, as if to contradict me entirely, l went directly from the Cockpit yesterday to the St James Theatre’s Studio, where young American writers Kerrigan and Lowdermilk were completing a weekend showcase of their work with a series of turns by a top-rank British company of West End regulars including Stuart Matthew Price, Julie Atherton, Lauren Samuels, Daniel Boys, Chloe Hart, Jodie Jacobs and (a new name to me) Anton Zetterholm. And though their turns came from a variety of different shows that Kerrigan and Lowdermllk have collaborated on over the years, each was brought to a distinctive and fully inhabited life of their own by the skill both of the writing and the performances.
I didn’t know Kerrigan and Lowdermilk or their work before last night, yet now I’m smitten. They’re the real deal as writers: like a younger version of Ahrens and Flaherty, their work is equally full of soaring melodies and surprising emotions.
Finally, while the West End is still woefully short of new original musicals, especially British-originated ones – though I Can’t Sing! is soon to begin previews at the London Palladium – it was great to see the premiere of Drunk at the Bridewell, a new, genre-busting type of new British-written and created musical. The debut production of director/choreographer Drew McOnie’s new self-named company, it tells its story in exhilarating movement and ravishing melody – with the latter, entirely original score created by Grant Olding.
All of this activity proves that there’s a lot of new music around — but it is not to be found in the usual places or the usual shows. We need to keep looking for it. I’m glad to have found some of it. And starting tonight, Clapham’s Landor is hosting From Page to Stage, a four-week season of showcases, readings and full productions of new musical theatre from around the world. I hope to be able to support some of that, too.