#1 - FRANKENSTEIN
Stars - Benedict Cumberbatch, Jonny Lee Miller, Naomie Harris
Director - Danny Boyle
Memorable Quote - 'All I ask is the possibility of love!'
Review - By now, if you've been paying any attention at all, you'll have heard a lot about Frankenstein at the National Theatre. It was the kind of thing that cannot be missed, and I'm ecstatic to say I didn't. What a treat it was! The direction was world-class, not to mention the acting, the costuming, the effects and make up... It's fair to say it blew me away. Let's go through everything in order then, from the moment we entered the theatre. The ringing of a gigantic bell at certain intervals, marking out ten, five, and one minute to go before the start, set the audience jumping even before they began. The strange, drum-like object spinning round with the moving centre of the stage held our attention, certainly, but we had no idea what it was or what its purpose might be. So, imagine our surprise, then, at the monster's birth - as Jonny Lee Miller climbs out of that stretched skin, which we now understand is some sort of scientific placenta! That's right - he was there all along, naked and covered in grotesque make-up-scars. The next few moments are funny in a pitiful kind of way, as the young monster gradually tries to learn to stand up, and finally, joyfully, learns to run around. Miller's performance is touching, and well-studied: it is easy to believe that he really is experiencing the world for the very first time, as rain falls down from the rain machines and he tastes the grass, as well as his own toes, and he yells with joy at the first sunrise. Cumberbatch's appearance as Frankenstein is, for the time being, brief; for the moment we only focus on the monster. Despised by everyone, but then taken in by a kindly old man (Twister Turrell, for 'Lark Rise' fans, playing a posher variation of the character). There are two distracting characters in the form of the farmer and his wife, who seem to overact their parts, but Miller easily outdoes them with his 'snow' scene and the humour of his exchanges with the old man - some of the jokes subtle enough that a ripple of laughter spreads across the audience a moment or two after the line has been delivered. This segment (complete with an actual entire house that descends from the ceiling and returns to it) ends in tragedy, as did the last; as, you begin to feel, might every segment.
The set changes are nothing short of amazing. My theatre-going companion nudged me multiple times throughout in wonder at the way it would sink, rise up with an entirely different set on it, turn to reveal another set built on the back of the other one, rise up at an angle to create a slope, drop away and leave a chasm, and so on and so forth. It was used to its utmost, something that the director must be credited for. There was not an ounce of potential on that stage left unsqueezed, and the play was all the more spectacular for it.
Onto the Frankenstein family now; and though Naomie Harris fit very well as the subordinate but fiery fiancee, Frankenstein senior was very badly cast. The high pitch of his voice left everything he said amusing rather than serious or intimidating, quite ruining some of the scenes, and the play might have been perfect without him. Each twist and turn of the plot was fascinating and the tension was palpable - every time Frankenstein turned his back, or every time he made a deal, we were holding our breath waiting for the monster, or some other sort of tragedy, to strike. We were in for a shock again as Miller leapt out of a perfectly-made bed that seemed only moments before to have been totally flat, and the rape/murder of Frankenstein's fiancee, though inevitable, was horrifying in both the actions themselves and the monster's regret.
The final scene, as Frankenstein pitifully chases his monster through the arctic tundra, and his monster both taunts and cares for him, has to be the most emotionally charged of them all. Finally giving us a clear view of the real dynamics of their relationship - both hating each other, envying each other, and indeed loving each other at the same time - it brings the play to a dramatic but well-thought-out close, a close that earned the loudest cheering I've ever seen in a theatre. At times it was so well done that I almost felt I was watching a screen rather than a live performance; even the few slip ups that were doubtless made slipped by unnoticed, giving the play a veneer of flawlessness. I would recommend it to all and sundry, but it's over now; still, if you ever get your hands on time travel technology, that's one time and place you'll have to check out. Despite the few flaws, I cannot rate this down by even half a point. Beautiful. 5/5
#2 - FLARE PATH
Stars - Sienna Miller, James Purefoy, Harry Hadden-Paton, Joe Armstrong, Mark Dexter, Clive Wood
Director - Trevor Nunn
Memorable Quote - 'I fall in ze drink!!'
Review - As a follow-up to my 'The Little Dog Laughed' review, here's another play starring someone from 'Robin Hood'! Yes, it's Joe Armstrong this time, though unlike Harry Lloyd he does not in fact get his kit off in this play. It would be rather out of place - in the stiff-upper-lip atmosphere of a British air base in WWII, it seems there is little time for real frivolity. What partying there is is merely a cover for the real emotions going through the wives of the men of the forces - worry, fear, sorrow, and more. Miller and Purefoy are a tad lacklustre in this play; Miller shines only when paired with her stage husband, Hadden-Paton, while her lack of chemistry with Purefoy is palpable. Still, this is the only area where the play falls down; the script is immaculate, bringing to life all the troubles of the time as well as drawing a beautifully detailed picture of each individual character. From the pilot suffering from a terrible fear of letting others down that he hides under goofiness, the old-fashioned couple who love each other more than they dare to say, and the uptight hotel owner, through to the actress who has never acted selflessly before and the actor who thinks love will save his career, each individual shines through every scene. Sheridan Smith is surprsingly good - the leading female, for me - as the new wife of a man who she does not think will return from a mission, and there were not many dry eyes in the audience when his letter finally revealed how he really felt about her. The man himself, a Polish pilot, was played magnificently by Mark Dexter. With impeccable comedic timing and an amazing ability to hold a character (I don't think I saw one single twitch of an eyelid that was not Johnny through and through), he was the real star, and the gasps of the audience as he appeared at the back of the room in the final scene were a testament to this. Even in group scenes he dominated - you could see him trying to listen closely and translate what the others were saying even in the first scene, where he had few lines, and it was difficult to stop watching him and pay attention to the others. In the previous scene we may have shed a tear over his tragic story, but now, during his recounting of what had happened since his crash, it was tears of laughter that were falling into our handkerchiefs. It was here that the play at last reached its full potential, as the story gained pace and voices towards the call of 'he fall in ze drink!', pausing only momentarily to catapult us out of the doors on the rousing call of 'I don't want to join the air force...', a song that was no doubt stuck in many a head for a long while afterwards. Something, again, that is not to be missed, it will leave you with a feeling of pride for our Great British traditions and history, a feeling of sadness for those who went through the war, and a feeling of joy that we did, indeed, get through it. 4/5
#3 - STARSHIP
Stars - Joey Richter, Joe Walker, Lauren Lopez, Brian Holden, Dylan Saunders, Denise Donovan, Meredith Stepien, Julia Albain, Brant Cox, Jim Povolo, Joe Moses, Jamie Lynn Beatty, Nick Lang
Director - Matt Lang
Memorable Quote - "He cut me right in half... vertically... like hot dog style, not hamburger."
Review - Now at last, something you can watch from the comfort of your own YouTube! 'Starship' is proof irrefutable that Team Starkid don't need the help of an existing universe, or Darren Criss' performance, to put on a good show. In fact, they proved that they can put on an original production and smash it right out of the ball park. Set on an alien planet inhabited only by bugs and cute mammals that provide their food, the action is precipitated by two things: the desire of Bug to become a Starship Ranger, and the arrival of a troop of the said. Joey Richter takes over the position of leading man once again, showing off a much improved singing voice, cooler hair cut, and more hilarious range of facial expressions than ever before. The star turns as always come from Joe Walker and Lauren Lopez, two Starkids who always carry the performance no matter their roles. Walker's soldier-gone-soft is both hilarious and emotional, evoking parodies of many a video game or manga character whilst still creating a fresh approach. Lopez on the other hand provides plenty of laughs as the battle-hardened Hispanic soldier - "One more comment like that and I will wrap you up in a tortilla and eat you!" being an example of a typical line. The rest of the cast are less remarkable, though Brian Holden puts in a good performance as Junior; Denise Donovan, the newbie, is memorable in a bad way, however - her voice is irritating and she overplays the dumb blonde act almost to the point of destroying some scenes. The other characters, particularly Richter's Bug, manage to redeem her - but only just. The storyline is as charming and packed full of drama as ever, with excellent writing from Criss and everyone involved. The technology has ramped up - microphones are a very welcome addition to the stage, and for the first Starkid performance ever I didn't need the lyrics sheet to figure out what was being sung. The use of puppets I was at first skeptical about, but they made it work, and after a few scenes it began to seem a thing of normality. There was not much I could criticise save Donovan, and the subplots - such as Noodles' growing relationship with MegaGirl - were just as enjoyable and enchanting as the main action. A thumbs up all round; a little cast tweaking aside, the Starkid team have done what they do best yet again: providing quality entertainment that is ideally suited to the young modern audience. 4/5
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