"Fly Me to the Moon" - September 2019

So, it’s been a while.  Although we’ve seen lots of "Disney on Ice" and "Walking with Dinosaurs" type shows, grown up theatre has been absent from our lives.  But… sometimes being in a civil service type job has its benefits and our latest trial of a weekly “Wellbeing hour” for staff seemed the perfect opportunity to get back to the theatre.  And in the unlikely event that anyone still has View From The Stalls in bookmarks (are RSS feeds even still a thing?) I figured I might as well put something up here for old times' sake.

Anyway, I headed along to Oran Mor for my first “A Play, A Pie & A Pint” in more than 5 years, and although some things had changed (the steak pie is now a scotch pie), many of the faces in the audience were familiar.  Given this long term supportive audience, it’s no real surprise that some of the writers have learned what buttons to press.  There have always been a few plays that relied on the Glasgow West End superiority complex a little too much, and for me, “Fly Me to the Moon” falls firmly in this category.  Its laughing-at-not-laughing-with portrayal of two Glasgow wummin working as care workers left me deeply uncomfortable throughout - in a way that a few earnest lines covering their financial pressures could never overcome.  Of course all professions and classes have their share of rogues and chancers, but here Francis and Loretta are held up to be examples of good care workers.  And yet still they trudge on through one farcical decision, criminal caper or moment of stupidity after another.  

As in the past, I can recognise when I’m out of kilter with the rest of the audience, and I’m happy to admit that the the Oran Mor audience seemed to lap it up. But that only served to make me feel even more uncomfortable.  Location and audience matters.  Put Marie Jones' play on at the Pavilion and I'm fine with the laughing-with response it would no doubt receive.  But at Oran Mor my heart sank further and my arms folded tighter with every laugh around me, and I'm even less thrilled at the prospect of it entertaining an Edinburgh crowd next week.

I'm still hoping to get along to a few more PPPs because what else am I going to do with my "Wellbeing hour"? Yoga?

"Fly Me to the Moon" runs at Oran Mor until Saturday 5th October and at the Traverse from 8th to 12th October 

Image by Leslie Black used with permission (they never stopped sending us the weekly PPP images and programmes!)

"Hairy Maclary & friends" - August 2016

Although Lynley Dodd’s Hairy Maclary stories have never been among Miss Ritz’s favourites, we had good reasons for taking her along to Nonsenseroom’s “Hairy Maclary & Friends”.  Their shows for grown ups at Rosslyn Chapel were highlights of our Fringe trips for many years, and Waldorf had seen their “Hairy Maclary” show with some friend’s little ones a few years back.  So we knew this would be high quality stuff.

Unlike so many character based shows for children, this one doesn’t take the puppet option (with the exception of Zachary Quack the duck).  As well as the two human characters, all of the dogs (and cat) are performers in costume.  Being so used to similar shows operating with very small casts I was initially incredibly impressed by the impossibly quick changes the performers were making - until it dawned on me that this is a full company of seven actors – which eventually allows all of the canine friends on stage at once.   For years I’d mocked one of the little ones (old enough to know better) that had accompanied Waldorf previously for asking at the end “Were they real dogs?” but I have to admit that from more than a few rows back both Hairy Maclary and Muffin McLay are pretty convincing!  And the set is also several cuts above the usual efforts – with some very cleverly created obstacles and an ingeniously designed multi-purpose picket fence. 

It’s a charming show to watch as a child or adult – in part of course due to Dodd’s writing and characters – but also because of the framework that holds the stories together.  Miss Plum and Sam Stone the Butcher act as our narrators and keep the youngsters in the audience fully involved while calling back to old school panto routines to boost the nostalgia factor for the adults.  Our Miss Ritz really enjoyed it, but I do have to issue a little parental warning about the show.  At two-and-a-half, Miss Ritz can be a sensitive little soul at times and she found Scarface Claw a little on the scary side. She also gets quite emotionally involved so had a couple of quiet tears rolling down her cheek when (spoilers ahead) Schnitzel von Krumm lost his comfortable old basket.  Of course the biggest tears of the afternoon were when she didn’t want it to end, but fortunately the cast recording CD made for an acceptable substitute (and we felt was well worth the £10 we paid for it).  And although photographs were not permitted during the show, at the curtain call we were encouraged to take pictures which Miss Ritz will enjoy looking at later.

Nonsenseroom have made an amazing success of this show with several runs at the Fringe and UK and overseas tour, but I still miss those summer evenings at the Fringe and their freezing cold Christmas shows at Rosslyn. The Hairy Maclary tour has now finished but info on future tours will available on the Nonsenseroom website.  They also have a new show at this year’s Fringe – The Shark in the Park. 

Peppa Pig's Surprise! - July 2016

This wasn't really in our plans as we weren't sure Miss Ritz was quite ready for a full-on large scale theatre experience that the Kings in Glasgow - filled with toddlers - would provide. But a couple of weeks before the show, Miss Ritz was recalling how she had enjoyed her trip to In The Night Garden, and coincidentally that afternoon Waldorf was offered tickets to Peppa Pig Live from a friend who had booked but was unable to attend.

Although all of her previous theatre trips had been to small scale shows, our fears as to how she would cope in a full Kings were unfounded.  Although admittedly we did have good seats in the stalls - and I'm very glad we weren't in the Upper Circle!  The show itself was fairly painless from a parent's point of view and was a pretty good replication of the TV show. Mummy & Daddy Pig were performers in costume while the other younger characters were portrayed by performers with puppets (think Avenue Q without the adult humour). A simple enough tale of a trip to the seaside, but all of the favourite characters make an appearance and there are plenty of fun songs (although the take home CD (£8) grates after 20+ plays in the car).

At around 90 minutes, the show is a bit longer than many aimed at the very young audience and does have an interval.  While perhaps a little safe and unambitious, the show hits all the boxes required and Miss Ritz had an enjoyable time. Our one real disappointment was that photography was prohibited throughout, so Miss Ritz couldn't easily recall the day later - as she like to do.

More details on upcoming tour dates in at Peppa Pig Live

It's been a while...

Yeah, so, it’s been a while (again).  Turns out that even when we do manage to find the time to take Little Miss Ritz on occasional trips to the theatre, finding the time to actually write about it afterwards is near impossible.  With that in mind here is a quick summary of what we’ve seen – and a promise that a couple of fuller reports on shows we've seen more recently will follow shortly. 

In the Night Garden Live – August 2015.

One of the things that we've come to realise when taking Miss Ritz to any kind of event is that the success of it is hugely dependent on so many external factors. A large element is simply what kind of a day she (or any other toddler) is having: a missed nap, a late lunch, a bad night... all can impact significantly.  And while there's little a show can do to prevent any of those, there are a whole host of things on the periphery of a show that when handled well optimise the chances of a successful day, but when handled badly will threaten to turn even the best show into a nightmare.  Fortunately, "In The Night Garden...Live" makes considerable efforts to make everything as easy as possible.  Show times are spread throughout the day with limited crossovers between arriving and exiting audiences; car parking, queues and meet-the-characters are well organised; merchandise prices are restrained and there's plenty of space for buggy parking.  Although I'd been filled with dread in advance of the show, any pain from the content was mitigated by the efforts made by the production to make this a memorable visit - for all the right reasons.  It is superbly slickly run and the temporary ‘showdome’ provides a fantastic first theatre experience in a small-ish audience where everyone gets a good view.  That said, it’s definitely worth paying extra for a premium seat (in the first few rows) and getting there early to sit in the front row (seats aren’t pre-allocated other than premium/non-premium).  The show itself is a mix of performers in costume and puppetry - and it ticks all the boxes little fans of the TV show want to see.  At 1½, Miss Ritz was at the younger end of the audience but she was entranced throughout – although some of the “mild peril” did have her cuddling in to us.  Photography is permitted throughout the show, and even a year later she loves looking at the photos from the day on a tablet.  We would happily have taken her back again this summer, but sadly it’s not returning to Glasgow for 2016 – and it’s not worth the trip to Manchester, Birmingham or London.  More info about this year's tour and to sign up for future tours see the website.

How to be a Christmas Tree – Cumbernauld Theatre, December 2015

Aimed at under 5s this was delightful, clever and funny – for little ones and adults alike.  This is exactly what I’d hoped all children’s theatre would be like: charming and silly enough for the kids but with a sprinkling of gags for the parents.  No panto style innuendo – just smart cultural references, absurd comedy and subversion of the format.  It’s simple concept was beautifully executed – although they did ‘cheat’ a little by avoiding mentioning the most significant element of the transition to between being a tree in the forest and becoming a Christmas tree.  Although the use of chainsaws may have upped its rating from U to 12A!  The 2016 show from Cumbernauld Theatre for under 5s is "Christmas at the Circus" and we'll certainly be booking up.

White – Tron, March 2016 (and touring again in October)

We'd heard so much about this show when Catherine Wheels launched it in 2010 that we considered borrowing nieces and nephews so we could go along.  So now that Miss Ritz was at the right age for it, I was really keen to see it  really keen for her to see it.  Perhaps that raised my expectations too much, but I really didn't get what the fuss was about.  It's definitely pretty to look at, and kept the young audience engaged, but I was left feeling that there must (or maybe should) have been more of a meaning or message to it - about diversity, tolerance and rebellion against suppression.  But although these themes hoverred in the background they never seemed to crystallise.  As a result, it just felt like a fleeting way to spend an hour, and although we talked about it for a couple of days afterwards I'm not sure Miss Ritz would even remember it now.  But it's unquestionably widely and highly acclaimed, so this is definitely an instance where your mileage may vary.  Info on the upcoming tour on the Catherine Wheels website. 

"Tall Tales" at the Tron (Jan - March 2015)

Since the arrival of little Miss Ritz we've kept an eye open for theatre events suitable for young children, but while there are many for those aged three and over, there are very few for under threes. The Tron's "Tiny Tales" (for babies and crawlers) didn't really fit in with Miss Ritz' development timetable last year, so we went straight in to the "Tall Tales" (for those walking independently up to 3 years old).

The block started in January just as Miss Ritz turned 14 months and although walking, she was very much at the younger end of the little ones attending.  In our previous theatre reviews we always tried to give our thoughts in the context of our personal preferences, and I think it's only fair to try and do the same for the shows we'll see with Miss Ritz.  We've been lucky that for the most part she's a pretty chilled, smiley little thing who loves being around other children. She loves her time at nursery and enjoyed various baby classes. Yet, I found that she and I struggled for the first couple of times times we attended "Tall Tales".  She seemed a lot less confident than in other similar environments such as Baby Sensory classes - there were a few tears and I couldn't really say she was enjoying it.  Our third week was very much 'make or break' and our future attendance was in real doubt. Fortunately we had a bit of a breakthrough and there were no more tears after that.  I can't say for sure what the problem was, but when fully booked the classes can feel 'busy' and my best guess would be that she didn't feel she had quite enough 'personal space'.  But as the weeks went on she relaxed more and our Saturday mornings became the fun events I'd hoped they would be.

You may have noticed I've referred to them as 'shows' and 'classes' - so what exactly are the "Tall Tales"?  Part of the Tron's Participation programme, I'd best describe them as instructed storytelling. All the little ones must be accompanied by an adult who takes them through the weekly stories told by class leader Deborah and her assistant Catherine.  Props are passed out to represent elements of the story - sometimes just balls or material, but on occasions basins of water (or even jelly!).  Nothing too fancy - this is all about imagination after all.  There are rhymes to repeat and actions to do, but - and this is a huge plus point for me - there is NO SINGING.  I suspect that's one of the reasons that they attract a good number of Dads.   And although it's all about getting involved, there's no individual 'audience participation' in the sense of everyone else watching (for children or parents). An added benefit is that by keeping the tales and props simple, they can easily be retold at home later.

Each story lasts around 45 minutes which is perfect for the attention spans of the small people and energy levels of the big people. Deborah and Catherine are great with the children - coping admirably with the inevitable unscripted interactions.  They also remember the childrens' names from week to week (stories are booked individually rather than for a block so while there are 'regulars', others drop in and out).  Miss Ritz and I didn't make it every week due to other commitments but we managed to see "Where's that Bear?", "Jungle Dance", "Little Chefs" (my favourite), "Little Chatty Ladybird" (her favourite), "Spring Time" and "On the Building Site".  

My one disappointment is that they aren't filling my theatre-going gap.  I'd hoped that they might be clever, ironic or self aware - giving a few laughs aimed for the adults along the way. Almost like mini-pantomimes.  But those were unrealistic hopes on my part for something I had no right to expect.  "Tall Tales" plays things straight - it's all about the little ones.  As it should be.

The current block of stories has now finished.  The next set starts at the end of April and with Miss Ritz now 17 months I think she'll get a lot more out of them.  Each Saturday morning is a new story with tickets priced at £5 for each child - and they do sell out, so book in advance.

Image by John Johnston used with permission.

View From The Stalls - The Next Generation

So, it's been a while.

But, we're back.  

Kind of. 

Just a little different.

During our extended absence (and largely responsible for it) we were working on our own 'small scale production' - a little 'Miss Ritz' as it were (Waldorf vetoed 'Miss Piggy').  And whilst pregnancy followed by sleepless nights knocked our theatre trips firmly on the head, as she's now five months old, Miss Ritz made her theatrical debut this morning.

I'll leave it for Waldorf to share her thoughts on Ipdip Theatre's 'Head in the Clouds' (it might take several days - some things never change!) but hopefully it will be the first of many shows for young ones that we'll be seeing and commenting on in the months and years to come.  

I don't expect that we'll ever get back to seeing as much theatre as we did a couple of years ago, but we hope that with our new perspective and interest in children's theatre, we'll be able to add something different to the online theatrical community once again.  And we promise this won't turn into a 'Mommy Blog' as we even plan on getting out on occasion to see some grown-up theatre too. Eventually.

In the meantime we'd be delighted to hear any recommendations for upcoming shows suitable from 6 months up.

It's good to be back. Thanks for sticking around while we were away,

Statler, Waldorf & Miss Ritz

"Humans Inc" - Edinburgh Fringe 2013

'Futuristic-good-cop-rescues-bad-corporation's-secret-test-subject-while-falling-in-love-and-defeating-OTT-Bond-villain' plot aside, Humans Inc is actually a rather good show.  Stylish, imaginative and with a bit of a swagger. I didn't even mind the elements that sailed perilously close to the dreaded 'Dance & Physical Theatre' section of the Fringe programme...

The seven strong cast deliver a very polished set of performances but there's a bit of a difference in tone that hampers the show as a whole.  Jonathan Stephenson has a genuine stage presence and plays Isaac, our cop-having-a-bad-day with a level of sci-fi gravitas last seen circa Blade Runner, while the rest of the cast camp things up Galaxy Quest style.  Individually, the performances are excellent but the contrasting styles didn't sit well for me.  The exception being Lily Levin's gloriously dead pan take on Isaac's wife which comes closest to matching Stephenson's approach.   I get that 'serious' sci-fi is a hard sell to an audience, but the creativity of the company displayed here suggests that The Alchemist are capable of pulling it off.

A fun bit of fluff to fill a gap in a schedule - and the venue in C-1 is as comfy as you're likely to get at the Fringe this side of 2440.


Humans Inc runs at C Chambers Street at 18:10 until 26 August

"Bite the Bullet" - Edinburgh Fringe 2013

Back in the early nineties Sandy Nelson & Keith Warwick's fictional Proclaimers-esque duo "The Telltales" achieved minor chart success in the UK but were a surprise No.1 sensation in Japan.  21 years after their pop career fizzled out, they are reuniting to perform at a ceremony in their honour in Tokyo.  The show cuts between the present day and pivotal moments from the group's past, featuring a number of songs along the way.

Some shows at the Fringe have actors doing a very passable job of playing musicians, but Nelson & Warwick are undoubtedly the real deal - and should really be selling CDs post show in the foyer. But while the music is a strength, the show's desire to establish its 'muso' credentials works against it.  This was my era and I struggled with some of the references. There's certainly a danger that cultural touchstones written for its original incarnation as part of Oran Mor's "A Play, A Pie & A Pint" in Glasgow simply won't transfer to the Fringe's more diverse audience.  But that's a minor quibble - the music, comedy and characters are universal.

Nelson & Warwick may play up the comedy, but they are equally comfortable as the tone shifts to more serious considerations of friendship and their post celebrity lives. Kirstin McLean completes the cast with a fine performance in a number of roles including the band's manager Zara. With the exception of an unnecessary filler scene in Norway, the show is slick and tight; never feeling anything like its one hour runtime.

Bite the Bullet runs at the Assembly Rooms until 25 August.

"Macbeth" (MIF / NT Live) - July 2013

With tickets for the entire run at Manchester International Festival selling out in nine minutes, it's fortunate that NT Live enabled us, along with thousands of others, to watch a live broadcast in cinemas around the UK and beyond.   The pairing of Kenneth Branagh and Alex Kingston is clearly one that features on many "Macbeth" dream cast lists, and it would be convenient to put our general sense of disappointment down to overly high expectations.  But in truth, despite glowing reviews just about everywhere else,  and some fine moments of spectacle, it was just a bit bland.  There's a distinct lack of any stamp of creativity or new take on the play.  Is it asking too much to want to remember the production in future as something other than 'the Macbeth where they traipsed through a lot of mud'?

There's no doubting Branagh's ability to deliver Shakespeare in a clear and accessible manner, and his ability to deliver a perfect tear on demand is truly impressive, but there seemed little behind the words to give insight into the character. For her part, Alex Kingston has no difficulty in bringing the text to life, but as a performance I found it largely forgettable - save the overcooked sleepwalking hysterics which stay in the memory for all the wrong reasons.  As a classic treatment of Macbeth it would make for a great 'study text' for schools, but brings little new to anyone familiar with the characters - and even with co-director Rob Ashford's pre-show interview giving crib notes as to how they perceived the characters' motivations, I saw no real evidence of this once the play began.

Yet, there are some great performances elsewhere in the cast.  I was just about on the verge of giving up on the play and joining Waldorf in her 15 minute snooze when Rosalie Craig as Lady Macduff revived my interest with a performance more affecting than any other on the night; closely followed by Ray Fearon's portrayal of Macduff's grief on learning of her fate.

I'm really glad we saw this, and can tick a 'Branagh Shakespeare' off our non-existent 'to-see' list (albeit virtually - although I don't think seeing it in the flesh would have been any more rewarding) but I can't say it made much of a lasting impression on me.

Macbeth has completed its run in Manchester, however recordings of the live broadcast are being shown in limited cinemas over the next few weeks.
Image by Johan Persson used with permission.

"The Audience" (NTLive) - June 2013

Although we’ve been absent from the theatre for several months, it was never far away from our thoughts.  Indeed, at one point we came very close to booking up for a London trip with “The Audience” as the focus for our weekend, so when our trip fell through we were delighted to see that it was to feature as part of NT Live and be broadcast to cinemas around the UK and beyond.  We've seen a few NT Live shows in the past at the GFT and found the concept to work very well, and our concerns that that the intimacy might be lost in a large auditorium at the Cineworld were quickly dispelled.

Rather oddly, I was quite taken aback a little by the humorous tone of Peter Morgan’s play.  I can’t quite pin down why, but I was definitely expecting a more serious, possibly even academic, series of imagined conversations between Elizabeth II and her Prime Ministers over her 60 years on the throne.  Whilst Morgan’s writing certainly has its more sombre and political moments, it’s first and foremost a light hearted piece of entertainment.  The Queen’s encounters with John Major, Gordon Brown and David Cameron evoke the gentle-but-sharp humour of “Yes Minister” while those with Harold Wilson show a more relaxed monarch with a genuine affection for the politician.  During the interval Morgan when interviewed suggested that he couldn’t claim his imagined accounts were ‘accurate’ but hoped they were ‘truthful’, but I’m not entirely convinced there isn’t more than a little rose-tint being applied to all the characters featured here. 

The completist in me can’t help but feel a little cheated by the absence of some of those who have resided at No.10 including Ted Heath and Tony Blair.  While Morgan would no doubt argue that he’s already covered the Queen/Blair relationship on screen, on stage it felt like a missing chapter.  Although Eden receives an uncomfortable grilling over Suez, and troubles with Blair are hinted at, it’s perhaps Margaret Thatcher who receives the harshest treatment over her approach to apartheid South Africa. Surprisingly, despite an impressive portrayal by Haydn Gwynne, the scene with Thatcher is a bit of a lull in the proceedings where sparks were expected to fly – leaving both Waldorf and myself glancing at watches for the first and only time of the evening.

Of course, Helen Mirren is the star attraction here and she doesn't disappoint. It's almost breathtaking at time to watch the flash transformations between the eras and Mirren convinces entirely from the young novice finding her feet to the present day Queen who has seen-it-all-before.  It's a very demanding role with almost no time off stage (if any - as this was NT Live she may have just been out of shot) and in addition to the segments with each Prime Minister, Morgan uses a nice conceit to bring the young Princess Elizabeth on stage to interact with her older self.    

All in, this was a very enjoyable evening out at the 'theatre' and has given us a bit of our appetite for seeing some more 'proper' local theatre in the near future.

The Audience has completed its run at the Gielgud Theatre, but 'encore' performances of the NT Live show are available at cinemas across the country over the next couple of weeks.

Image by Johan Persson used with permission.

Back again...

So, it's been a while...

We continued to struggle over the winter with intermittent illnesses, family commitments and day jobs, but after a trip to the NT Live screening of "The Audience" we're hopefully, finally, going to get out to see some theatre.  We've started looking through the Edinburgh Fringe programme and will be having a trawl through our local theatres' websites. 

Thanks for sticking around while we 'disappeared'.

Theatre needs 'Games Makers'

First off, let me be absolutely clear.  This post is in no way a criticism of Front of House staff at the theatres we attend - they've never been anything other than welcoming and helpful.  And we've also seen how effective they can be when needed. But recent months have convinced me that they might be missing a trick somewhere along the line...

Back in July and August we were fortunate enough to see a number of events at the Olympics and one of the elements that made London so special for those few weeks was the contribution of the 'Games Makers' (for the sake of simplicity I'm calling them all Games Makers but I'm also including the large numbers of staff from London Transport etc. in this).  This volunteer army helping spectators in venues and around London were given one of the loudest cheers of the evening during the Olympic Closing Ceremony and have been widely praised for their efforts.  I can't claim to be an expert on these things, but to my untrained eye the reason the Games Makers made such an impression was their willingness to engage with spectators - to chat about the Games, to take photos or just share a moan about the weather.

I'd pretty much written off the undoubted success of the Games Maker role as a transient magical bubble that was lost with the ending of the games, but on Friday night I witnessed something very similar... in Glasgow.  We were going along to see some of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup at the new Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome and as we'd been advised there would be no visitor parking we'd opted for the free shuttle bus from Glasgow City Centre.  As I waited at the bus station for Waldorf to join me, the SPT staff organising the services were chatting away to those in the queue, giving helpful advice for the return bus schedule and talking about the event.  They even offered to hold the bus a minute or two if needed as Waldorf was running (literally) slightly late.  On arrival at the Velodrome a number of hosts in Games Maker style uniforms were greeting people and offering assistance, and later, while waiting for our return bus after the event we had a lengthy conversation with some G4S staff about how the event had been going.

We've seen approaching 400 shows over the last six years and I could count on one hand the number of times we've actually been engaged in a conversation about theatre by front of house staff.  And off the top of my head I can only think of two occasions where it was more than a passing comment - once by a young usher waiting to go in to the Citizens Circle Studio and once by staff at the Pleasance during the Fringe.

Of course, theatres and companies make other efforts to connect with their audiences - the Tron staff mingle at 'Patrons' events, Nonsenseroom chat away with audiences after their 'Special Performances' at Rosslyn Chapel and Rapture often greet people on their way into the theatre. Cumbernauld Theatre also tried hard with an 'Arts Ambassadors' scheme while the National Theatre of Scotland run their 'Social Media Calls' and often hand out audience comment cards.  But that leaves a huge number of missed opportunities where audiences simply arrived to a welcoming smile and left with a flyer for another show.  There's no shortage of moments before house doors open where greetings could be exchanged and shows promoted - "I think you'll really enjoy this, I've seen it three times and am still laughing each night", "If you like this you might like XXXXX which is on next month", "Did you see their last show?  Wasn't it amazing?".  We don't think many people working front of house in theatres are there just for the money - they have a love of theatre and that passion should be cut loose and encouraged to be passed on to audiences.

It's a cultural change but it's one that can be made, and one that I think could make a difference.  Other places already seem to do it.  I'd noticed a while back that checkout staff in Asda were noticeably chattier than any other supermarket - it was almost impossible not to find yourself chatting to them. "Oh those must be new, I'm going to have to try them myself", "Have you tried the Honey flavoured ones of those?"  So much so, that I'm convinced they've been trained that way - and it's not just in one store.  Admittedly at first I found it a little odd, but actually I've come to quite like it.  It's the same thing that elevates a restaurant where the waiting staff have tried all the dishes and can happily make recommendations - "The Cheesecake is delicious but is quite heavy - if you prefer something lighter the Lemon Mousse is always popular."

So, all the theatres out there, the next time you have a meeting with your front of house teams, maybe you could ask them how they would feel about interacting a bit more with audiences.  I'd like to think at least a few of them are just waiting for a bit of encouragement.  Some people will no doubt be sceptical about such an initiative, and in fairness I can't really blame them.  I would never have thought that London's Games Makers would make a difference.  But they most definitely did.

"Glasgow Girls" - November 2012

I doubt there's a greater compliment I can pay "Glasgow Girls" other than to say that at times it threatens to finally be the National Theatre of Scotland's 'next Black Watch'.  It can't maintain that high level throughout, but there are moments, several of them, that left my spine tingling.  And my only disappointment of the night was discovering when I got home that I couldn't buy the soundtrack.

Cleverly, David Greig's book mocks the very idea of a musical based on a group of schoolgirls campaigning against the treatment of asylum seekers in Glasgow - and some characters are happier than others to find themselves on stage.  Considering that the cast all play multiple roles (and at times themselves) it sounds on paper as if it could get very complicated, very quickly, but helped by some superfast costume changes it hangs together seamlessly.

While the show as a whole certainly doesn't feel overlong, some scenes and songs don't serve the show as well as others.  It's not that they weren't good - just that they dilute the truly great ones.  There are also times in the high tempo songs that the lyrics become very difficult to pick out.  It's frustrating for an audience when sounds levels aren't spot on, and a huge pity as the lyrics we did catch deserved to be heard.

From the playful "Opening Montage", through the earworm inducing "Glasgow Girls", the sinister "At It" to the devasting "It's No a Weans Choice" there is a massively diverse tone in the numbers, reflecting the contributions of the show's several composers (the Kielty Brothers, Soom T, Patricia Panther & Cora Bissett).  My own favourite was Bissett's "From the 16th Floor" - an ethereal lovesong to Glasgow, while Waldrof preferred the Kielty Brothers' punchy "Ain't Done Jack" but there are many others that last in the memory.

The cast all meet the enormous challenges set by director Cora Bissett and choreographer Natasha Gilmore admirably and it seems unfair to single out individuals but the short turns by Dawn Sievewright as Tommy Sheridan and Myra McFadyen as the 'headmaster' were magical.

Along with some wonderful songs, a talented cast and powerful story, "Glasgow Girls" has three more things going for it - its humour, emotion and a clear affection for Glasgow.  Despite the issues highlighted, it really wouldn't be a stretch to describe it as a musical comedy - there is no shortage of genuinely laugh out loud lines.  But there will also be tears - including many prompted by a single line, not even spoken on stage, that had half the audience reaching for their Kleenex.  Yet it rarely feels manipulative and avoids becoming mawkish.  The worst accusation you could legitimately throw at it would be that it gives a rose tinted portrayal of Glasgow, but it does acknowledge the city's problems and maybe it's no bad thing once in while to focus on the positive aspects of the city.

And just to show that I was paying attention, there's one more 'release' we'd like to see...

We, the undersigned, in recognition of our enjoyment of "Glasgow Girls" at the Citizens Theatre demand that the National Theatre of Scotland release, without delay, a cast recording of the soundtrack in order that we can continue our enjoyment.  While we recognise and appreciate that a version of the title track is already available, that's really just teasing us...  

What do We Want?  Glasgow Girls Soundtrack!  When do we want it? NOW!

Waldorf & Statler @ View From The Stalls

Feel free to add your comments on the show and demands for a soundtrack release in the 'heckles' below...

Glasgow Girls runs at the Citizens until 17th November and will be at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East in London from 8th Feb to 2nd March 2013.  The show is presented by the National Theatre of Scotland, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Citizens Theatre, Pachamama Productions, Richard Jordan Productions Ltd in association with Merrigong Theatre Company, Australia
Image by Drew Farrell used with permission.

"Glasgow Girls" - coming soon...

Later this week we'll be seeing the new musical from the National Theatre of Scotland, based on the group of Glasgow schoolgirls who fought a high profile campaign on the treatment of asylum seekers.  But before it opened I got the chance to pop along to a "Social Media Call" at the Citizens for a sneak peak and Q&A. We normally decline this type of invitation as we prefer to experience things as any audience member would, but this was just too interesting an opportunity to miss.  And a quick check of our archives revealed that we'd only ever said nice things about those involved in the show...

After a chat with NTS Digital Associate Eve Nicol who had kindly sent us the invite, I got to watch three scenes.  Before talking about the content, I want to say a bit about how revealing it was to see this process.  A sharp reminder that what audiences will see as fast paced, flowing pieces of theatre is the result of many hours of repetitive rehearsals and a lot of standing around waiting for other people to do their bits.   So it was quite a big ask for them to have a group of bloggers and tweeters descend on them  on the day of their first preview.  Especially as they had to run through each scene twice to let us take photos and some amateur organisation delayed things while they sorted out their sound.

Given that we'll be posting our thoughts on the full production in the next few days, it doesn't seem very sensible to comment much based on three short extracts.  But what was immediately obvious was how full of energy the show is, and how wide ranging its musical influences are.  I'm a little concerned that the combination of accents and high tempo songs made it tricky to catch the lyrics but I'm hopeful it will just take time to become accustomed to them.

Afterwards, in the Citz foyer, director Cora Bissett who is the driving force behind the show, was able to tell us how it came about and why it became a musical.  As she answered our questions we were joined by the cast who shared their thoughts on meeting the real 'Glasgow Girls' and why they expect the show to engage a London audience next year.

It all made for a very enjoyable couple of hours, and I'm really looking forward to seeing it all 'properly', but I think it will make it just that bit harder to write our post about it.  Actually, that's not true at all as I expect to be writing a wholly enthusiastic review. But it does worry me that in the unlikely event that I don't enjoy it I would find it that bit harder to write a negative review having met those involved and witnessed first hand their commitment and enthusiasm.  Actually, that's not true either.  I'd be fine writing the review - it's just that afterwards I'd feel really guilty about it.  Then again, I could always just get Waldorf to write it up...

Thanks to Eve Nicol and all at the National Theatre of Scotland, the Citizens and particularly Cora Bissett and the cast. 

We've now seen the full show and posted our thoughts on it.

Glasgow Girls runs at the Citizens until 17 November
Image by us (I'll take a camera next time if we get invited again!)

"Wonderland" - September 2012

"Wonderland will be a dark, mysterious and magical new show" says the Vanishing Point website of their show that take an audience into the world of pornography.  And they are right - if perhaps not always as intended. The violence and nudity certainly qualifies it as 'dark', but I found it 'mysterious' to a point beyond confusing - bordering on frustrating.  And 'magical' - well, yes, in a Paul Daniels kind of way: I liked it, not a lot, but I liked it.

There's a place for leaving things open to interpretation and it can help ensure an audience actively thinks about a piece, but often there's a price to be paid in a resulting disconnection between audience and character. Wonderland's apparent non-linear timeframe, uncertain locations and the way its central character shifts between her Alice/Heidi personas (at times without clear signposts) left me so unsure as to the blurred lines between the in-show fiction and in-show reality that I was no longer willing to invest emotionally in Alice's fate for fear of being 'tricked'.

In Vanishing Point's previous productions "Interiors" and "Saturday Night", watching conversations take place silently behind 'glass' added another layer to the shows.  But despite the voyeuristic aspect being more pertinent to "Wonderland", it seemed to detract rather than add on the occasions it's used here. While I could certainly get the general drift of the conversations between Alice's parents, I was always grasping for the details and never quite getting them.  And my inability to decipher the final conversation between Alice and her father left me feeling simultaneously cheated and inadequate as an audience member.  Is it too clever for its own good - or just too clever for me?

An odd choice of starting point doesn't help the show either.  Why and how Alice came to be auditioning to join the pornographic industry is unclear - and is potentially the most interesting aspect. Similarly, how did her father find himself drawn into the darker side of the internet? Without seeing the seeds of their 'downfalls' the show lacks much of the 'this could happen to you' element common to most morality based fairy tales (or modern urban myths). 

"Wonderland" is at its best when highlighting the power balance between exploited and exploitee. Who really has the power?  Who is left feeling ashamed of their actions?  But my inability to settle on a 'real' version of events left even this up in the air.   "Wonderland" feels like a show with something to say - but I couldn't hear or understand it.


Wonderland is a co-production with Fondazione Campania dei Festival - Napoli teatro Festival Italia and Tramway in association with Eden Court.  It runs at Tramway until 29 September.
Image by Francesco Squeglia used with permission.