Peter Shaffer’s play Equus is a disturbing and dark story about a young man’s obsession? fascination? worship? even of horses. Apparently based on a true crime about a young man blinding six horses, in the play Peter Shaffer sets about discovering why someone would commit such a crime. The setting is a psychiatrist’s office and the story is brought to us through the sessions he holds with the young man, Alan Strang.

This London revival recieved a LOT of press and attention when it first opened mainly due to Mr Daniel Radcliffe, AKA, Harry Potter. Ordinarily a teenager starring in a play wouldn’t attract such controversial coverage but the role required not only nudity but certain scenes which might seem inappropriate for a young man of 17 on stage. But hey these were not the only reasons that Jenny and I went along to see the play although I must admit it was something when the scene (finally) played out.

Daniel couldn’t have chosen a more distinctive and opposite role to the so far nice guy straight role of Harry Potter. Alan Strang is at all times a troubled character and Daniel did very well to deliver the correct level of angst and distress required. Richard Griffiths (also from Harry Potter) plays opposite Daniel as his pyshiatrist and was a good balance and counter-point to the darkness of Daniel’s character, though I think at times he did waffle on a bit. The other characters were fairly minor though each contributed in their own way to the story.

One of the aspects of the play that I was impressed with was the representation of the horses. The way the “horses” moved around and their grace had you almost believing there were horses on stage. With large metal heads and giant hooves the effect was stunning. The lighting and smoke effects also helped.

There is no doubt that having Daniel Radcliffe star in this play continues to help pull people through the door every night but it is the story and delivery that keeps the audience enthralled until the end. Although the cynics may say it is the anticipation of the nude scene which keeps the audience tied to their seats …

Tonight, on Akh’s suggestion, Akh, Jenny, James, Catherine and I visited the Young Vic to check out the latest showing, Vernon God Little. I hadn’t actually heard about Vernon God Little before though I’d received plenty of emails and seen plenty of press about the play. Its based on a book by DBC Pierre and tells the story of Vernon Gregory Little, a teenager living in a small Texan town who is suspected of helping his friend, Jesus, kill his schoolmates in a school yard massacre.

I thought before seeing the play that it would be a good idea to take a gander at the book. I haven’t had much time to read it but managed to get about 2/3 of the way through (and I’m loving it by the way) before tonight. This turned out to be a blinder of a move because without reading the book I doubt I would have understood much of what was happening in, or enjoyed, tonight’s play.

From a story-telling perspective what the play lacks is the running inner dialogue of Vernon’s character which to me was the funniest part of the book and also helped explain the background to a number of the characters. As a result what I felt we were left with were over-acted roles and randomness in terms of character plots. From a performance perspective I thought the cast did welll considering the cast of nine had to effectively play over 50 characters (though at times their attempt at the Texan accent was OTT) with Colin Morgan as Vernon and Lorraine Bruce who played Pam the stand outs. The set was totally ingenious and music was a surprise and interestingly woven into the storyline.

Overall I was quite disappointed with how the book has been translated on to stage especially by the fact it was nowhere near as funny as the book has so far proven to be. Further certain scenes seemed to drag on and on which made me feel a bit restless. Still I guess the insanity and high energy of the book was still there mostly due to the cast and the smart set. This one is a go judge for yourself play because though the critics seem to absolutely love it I for one wasn’t impressed.

We were on our way to meet Connie and Michael at the 2007 Breakin’ Convention but as we had some time (and also had a giant lunch to walk off) we decided to go for a bit of a walk around the city. In a little green near St Paul’s Cathedral we saw something that was a bit surprising – a bunch of guys practising their parkour skills. Parkour is about moving from one point to another in the most efficient manner possible. It seems to be a cominbation of gymnastics, acrobatics, and martial arts even. Clearly these boys were still learning but it was nice to see and reminded me that its something that I’m keen to learn.

Here is some video footage:

I wasn’t sure what to expect with the Breakin’ Convention but Connie was certainly excited about it. She attended to the event last year and had only good things to say about it. The convention attracted quite a varied crowd from the very young to the very old which was rather surprising. The convention is actually about hip hop dance and the energy in the building before the start of the first programme was quite buzzy. I also like how they’ve themed the area with graff all over the place. Wish I could paint like that!

Its wierd but seating at the main stage was on a first come first serve basis and it certainly added to the chaos before the start of the first show. The room was also set up with a standing area up front where the keen (or the late …) could take up residence. We seemed to be surrounded by the little teeny boppers who seemed to know everyone on stage personally and they certainly showed their appreciation with their hollering and whistling.

The session we attended involved a number of groups performing a set piece each including Rapture (young female (including one girl who surely wasn’t older than 4 or 5!) street dancers fro Northern Ireland), Baby Flex (a young girl I think 12-13 who actually made it to the last 16 at the recent World Hip Hop Championships in Germany), Dance 2XS (who brought a wierd story about a toy shop maker who falls in love with a beautiful doll he makes), Moving Shadows (an Austrian group who took a look into the darkest depths of the human soul), and Compagnie Revolution (represented by one woman who in her high heels and eventual nudity certainly brought a few comments out of the crowd. I don’t think people knew what to think of it!) The finale were the Electric Boogaloos who in the mid-1970s created dance styles which influence the world of dance today.

It was all actually pretty cool and the music wasn’t too bad either:

Answer: An adaptation of an opera with music and lyrics by the Gershwins based on DuBose Heyward’s novel about the life of African Americans in South Carolina in the early 1930s currently on show at the Savoy Theatre. A production that failed to hold my attention and was quite possibly, despite the brilliant vocal performances, one of the less interesting shows I’ve seen on the West End to date.

Question: What is Porgy and Bess: the Musical?

I booked Pat and I tickets to see Porgy and Bess on the strength of a recommendation made by a guy I met at Salsa dancing. It might possibly be the last time I take his advice!

It is the Great Depression in the early 1930s, Bess is the scarlet woman who is the lover of Crown, a bully and a lowlife. In a drunken fight Crown kills a man and has to flee leaving Bess behind to fend for herself. Bess finds solace in the cripple Porgy who is the only person in town that won’t judge her. Crown later returns and Porgy kills Crown and is arrested (though later released.) In the meantime Bess turns back to her old ways and runs off to New York. The musical ends with Porgy heading to New York to find Bess.

I’m not quite sure what to make of it in all honesty. Its a quality production as the sets are smooth and the singing was moving – some pieces actually brought tears to my eyes – but I think the story was just a tad depressing and slow-moving for me. The people around us seemed to enjoy it.

One of the funniest plays I’ve seen in a long long time. Boeing Boeing tells the story of Bernard and the juggling of his three air-hostess fiancees. It all depends on The Timetable. An old friend of Bernard turns up and just as he is espousing the beauties of his system it all starts to unravel when bad weather, schedule changes and technology and chaos soon ensues.

A lot of the comedy is purely from timing and the brilliant cast. The men were good but I think it was the ladies that really delivered with the dry tones of Bernard’s housekeeper played by Frances de la Tour and then by the over the top antics of the American, Italian and German air hostesses played by Tamzin Outhwaite, Daisy Beaumont and Michelle Gomez (Judith). All three girls were charming in their own way and totally adorable in their love for Bernard.

Actually some of the funniest moments came from the audience from laughing at the wrong and weird moments, to the weird and loud laughter being brayed out. My brother and I were p!ssing ourselves.

The play is witty and very well written with emphasis on the over the top characters. The cast certainly delivered. It probably didn’t hurt that the three actresses who played the air-hostess fiancées were super hot. The pins on these girls seemed to go on forever.

I had a great time tonight and I would recommend this show to all. And by the way, there is a lot of snogging in this show so you are warned!

Man of Mode is an update of the play first written in 1676. Its amazing to think than in just over 300 years nothing has really changed – some young men will continue to be womanisers and women will constantly fall for it!

The setting is now modern London with all its glitz and glamour. The central character is a guy called Dorimant, who it seems can bed any woman. He is currently seeing Loveit but has his eye on her best friend. Once he is successful with her it doesn’t take long until he turns his eye to Harriet. In Harriet he finds and equal and woman resistant to his charm until finally we are left with two people who genuinely fall in love. The fun are in the cast of side kicks including fop Sir Fopling Flutter who must certainly was the most charming, if campest, of those on stage.

The play was quite enjoyable accompanied by a very appropriate soundtrack. The staging was also very cool with scene changes on a revolving stage being quite innovative. Plenty of laughs in this play.

The first time I saw Lion King the Musical was in February 2003. I loved it then and I still love it now. The Lion King is so impressive in many ways with the most creative and innovative set and lighting, a fabulous soundtrack, AMAZING costumes and puppetry, and a great band. Unfortunately tonight the musical was let down a bit by some of the performances.

I’m sure most people are familiar with the movie so are wondering how on earth it could be brought to the stage. It could have been a little sad with the cast dressed up in costumes. But it isn’t. The puppetry and costumers are absolutely masterful and though you can see the man/woman behind the animal it doesn’t really matter and in fact lends depth to the characters on stage. There is definitely a very African feel to the whole show with all the beautiful colours one might expect. Even the grass has character!

As for the performers all were pretty brilliant with their movement and stage presence however I was disappointed with the singing with the kids being constantly off key and even their adult counterparts seemingly sometime having trouble with their pitch. There was, however, no faulting the actor who played/sang Scar who was deliciously evil and my perennial favourite the actress who was the Baboon. Brilliant voice and great comic timing.

There were definitely lots of oohs and aahs during this musical, despite weak deliveries by some of the cast. Not a musical that should be missed!

Never one to turn down a show tonight I joined my brother for Grimms: The Final Chapter. I’ve read Grimms’ fairy tales all my life but was unsure exactly how this was going to come across on stage. Set in the very intimate Trafalgar Studios a cast of six was able to bring to life a number of horrific, mysterious and funny stories despite the physical restrictions of the studios. They employed a number of techniques and it appeared that all cast members were multi-talented being able to sing, play instruments, dance, use puppets and act all at the same time.

At first I wasn’t sure what to think. I couldn’t stop yawning and partly this was my fault as I really was tired. However, the stories then started to get a bit more interesting and after some ice-cream at the half-time break I was really able to get into the performance. I was a bit worried too that considering the audience proximity to the “stage” audience participation would be called for but it wasn’t thankfully!

This show is definitely one for the older kids. It was quite dark and ghoulish really although there are some lower brow jokes (farting and what note) that will entertain some. I wouldn’t say it’s the best show I’ve been to but it was good for something a little different from the norm.

After a rather sedate Christmas lunch and an entertaining Secret Santa swap with the team we headed off to the New Wimbledon Theatre to check out Peter Pan starring one of my favourite people Henry Winkler (c’mon who doesn’t love The Fonz) and a couple of English performers Bobby Davro and Sarah-Jane Honeywell. Pantos (pantomimes) are a particularly English Christmas tradition so I’m surprised its taken me until my third Christmas in London to get to one! Better late than never I guess. Pantos generally have a number of conventions such as the male lead being played by a girl (in this case Sarah as Peter Pan), lots of double entendre, audience participation (especially hissing and booing the baddie) and normally there will be a man in drag. Peter Pan had this and more. There was huge audience participation in particular when a few of the cast sang a very rowdy version of the 12 Days of Christmas when they threw joined toilet rolls out into the audience as well as blasting us with water guns.

We are all familiar with the story of Wendy, John and Michael who journey to the land of the lost boys with Peter Pan so there is no real need to get into the details. As a performance this panto was much grander than I imagined it be with pretty elaborate sets. The comedy was spot on with Bobby Davro being particular on form. The Fonz was great even when he was covering for a dodgy mike. I’m not sure whether David Hasselhof, originally cast, would have been able to pull off Captain Hook with quite the same coolness, though it would have been interesting to see how the Baywatch theme would be represented in the show. SJH was slightly annoying as Peter Pan but I’m not sure how much that had to do with playing a young bratty bubbly boy than her true self. I’m not sure particularly sure why Bobby turned up at the end in a giant kangaroo outfit but hey it was entertaining nevertheless.

As I said at the beginning today’s performance was great fun despite being clearly some of the older people in the theatre!