Coram Boy

I went to the National Theatre to see this a few nights ago. I must confess that as the tickets were a gift I was completely unprepared for it. I wasn't expecting very much from this play but now that I have been to see it I am more than happy that I did. It is very good.

It is a simple story told in a surprisingly effective way. The novel on which it is based won the Whitbread Children’s Book Award, which probably explains the simplicity of the story - it was written for children. But unlike most books written for younger readers this story is a dark and honest tale well suited to the time in which it is set, and I liked that.

Despite the dark setting there was space for humour and an exploration of the full gamut of human emotions throughout the two and three quarter hours of the play, which went by surprisingly quickly.

The production was very well executed. The Olivier Theatre has one of the most interesting stages in London, and when used properly that makes it ideal for staging dynamic productions such as this.

Coram Boy

Plot: 16/20
Acting: 17/20
Production: 18/20
Entertainment: 35/40

---

Total: 86/100

The acting (and singing) was excellent. So good in fact that I'm going to have to acquire a copy of Handel's Messiah and have a proper listen. Whilst not a huge fan of 18^th century choral pieces I left the theatre humming away.

All in all it was a very entertaining evening and I would recommend it for both adults and older children. I wouldn't take a child under twelve years though unless they had a particularly hardy constitution.

Blood Brothers

A musical derived from a play originally written for secondary school children there is no doubt that Blood Brothers has been very successful.

It opened at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1983, and is currently playing at the Phoenix Theatre in London, which is where I went to see it. There is also a touring production making its way around the UK and a number of fixed productions spread throughout the English speaking world.

The question is why has it been so successful? The production I saw was well executed, but then it would be, it has been in continuous production for 14 years. The performances by the actors were very good, and the musical accompanyment was also of a reasonably high quality. These all work in its favour, but there is on niggling aspect of the whole production which I found lacking, there is the small matter of the plot, and as it happens Willy Russell must have considered it to be a very small matter indeed.

It may have been originally written for secondary school children but a nine year old could follow it without much difficulty. The plot is so obvious and predicatble that once you have seen the first five minutes you could have an hour long nap, and pick up from where you left off without any difficulty, and without missing much, which I must confess I had to resist the temptation to do the whole way through.

Blood Brothers

Plot: 5/20
Acting: 16/20
Production: 15/20
Entertainment: 15/40

---

Total: 51/100

It is theatre for the mentally fainéant, and I cannot for the life of me figure out why it won so many awards. 1983 must have been a prticularly bad year for theatre.

That said I must confess that as musicals go I have seen worse, much much worse. But I have also seen a lot better, 'High Society' at the beginning of the year being an excellant example of a good musical.

Frost/Nixon

I went to see Frost/Nixon at the Gielgud Theatre a few nights ago and have to say that it was bloody fantastic. From the opening line to the last scene it was excellent.

The plot revolves around David Frost's interviews with Richard Nixon after he resigned as president of the USA and the events that led to the eventual filming of what would then become the news interview that drew largest audience ever in the history of television.

Frost/Nixon

Plot: 19/20
Acting: 19/20
Production: 19/20
Entertainment: 38/40

---

Total: 95/100

Michael Sheen was truly terrific as David Frost & Frank Langella despite looking nothing like the ex-president was a very credible Richard Nixon, and captured the character perfectly. The main honour however has to go to Peter Morgan for his excellent script.

I'd recommend that you go to see it but is is finishing its run at the Gielgud soon and then will be on stage on Broadway, so unless you are going to be in New York you are unlikely to get tickets.

As a side note I'd like to say that during the interview scenes that there was a very nice little G-Plan side table next to Nixon's chair that I wouldn't mind owning.