Theatre Trip: Once On This Island

ONCE ON THIS ISLAND

Southwark Playhouse

Date: 13 August (Tuesday), 3:30pm

Seats: The Large, Row B15

(Seen solo!)

Notes: This was my second trip (and in fact, second solo trip) to the Southwark Playhouse and it is a very cool venue. Each time the seating arrangement changes, depending on the needs of the show. In fact, the chairs simply lock together, as shown when an usher removed two seats in front of me to make a space for a lady in a wheelchair (very clever and means they get a great seat!) This time it was rather different to Ain't Misbehavin', as the stage was long and skinny and ran the length of the theatre, with seats on both sides. This meant the cast performed in multiple directions at once, which was very well planned and organised.

One thing that was also affected by the chair layout was the set. The floor was painted with a map of the French Antilles, where the musical is set, but all the set pieces were moved on and off by cast members - tyres, boxes, and a ladder on a wheeled platform which was moved around. I thought this really suited both the space and the feel of the show, where most of the cast are peasants and have very little. 

The only thing I knew about Once On This Island going in to the show was that there had been a recent revival at the Circle in the Square theatre on Broadway, and that it had had rave reviews. So I knew very little. Plot wise, it's kind of like a cross between Romeo and Juliet and The Little Mermaid. Because of where it's set, the music almost all has a calypso island feel which gives the whole show a feel good vibe. The only contrasting music is the French sections which have a European waltz feel instead. This makes the difference between the two worlds feel even stronger.

As this is a British Theatre Academy production, it is also an amateur production (I mean, it was fantastic, but I believe amateur means they didn't get paid and I don't believe they did). Despite that, the cast was amazing. Some of them didn't have the strongest voices, but they sang really well and their dance moves were incredible! Highlights for me included Chrissie Bhima (Ti Moune), Jonathan Chen (Asaka) and Elliot Gooch (Armand), whose performances really stood out for me.

I am so glad to have been back to another great show at the Southwark Playhouse! In fact, right after I got home I booked another show there for next month! £16 preview tickets, great productions, and a great theatre... What could go wrong?

Theatre Trip: Jesus Christ Superstar!

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

Barbican Theatre

Date: 7 August (Wednesday), 7:45pm

Seats: Circle, Row CC3-4

(Seen with Richard!)

Notes: This was a reasonably late booking, in that we booked on Saturday night for this Wednesday evening performance. Both Richard and I love Jesus Christ Superstar, both having been exposed to it in childhood (separately). In my case, it was one of the few musicals my Nana had on VHS and that I used to watch on repeat (also Pirates of Penzance, the Mikado, HMS Pinafore, and Cats, primarily), even though I was much too young to understand it. It was one of the musicals which helped bond Richard and I when we first met, and we saw it in Sydney on tour when the arena tour came to Australia which was awesome.

This production we are really lucky to have seen - I thought we had missed it! It was on in 2016 in the Regents Park Open Air theatre, then it was back in 2018 (which we missed out on) and then it went to Chicago, and now it's back! This time around it's at the Barbican Theatre, which is a new venue to us and really cool. So between this being a highly successful production and our personal histories, I was very excited for this performance!

There were basically no discounted tickets available for this show due to demand, so we ponied up full price for Circle seats in Row CC (a row of 4). We were only overhanging a few rows back, although we were right on the edge. This is listed as restricted view, and it was but we only missed about 3 minutes of singing, if that, when Judas was on part of the band set above the stage. Other than that it was actually pretty great, and I would definitely sit there again! It might have been better to sit on the other side, as a lot of action was done facing towards the other side, but definitely worth the money.

The set itself was quite industrial and minimalistic, with lots of crosses in the architecture as well as a very large one on the stage itself. There were a few different levels (even if they are only a few steps up) and then the band was on stage a full level above. Some action did take place up there in front of the band. It was very well thought out and as the stage isn't big, they made great use of the space.

They also used the space well for the choreography. It felt more like timed movement than choreography, in the sense that it was more guttural and felt less like dance moves (if that makes sense). I felt like it was very effective, as well as some of the visual choices. My two favourite examples of this were when Judas took the money, they dipped his hands in actual silver (paint?), and they remained stained for the rest of the show. Also, during the whipping, the whole cast took turns to "whip" Jesus by throwing handfuls of glitter violently at him. It was visually compelling and enthralling to watch.

This cast was pretty much incredible!!! I'll start with the only one I was disappointed by, which is also my least favourite musical theatre role (perhaps ever?), Mary Magdalene. The actress playing her, Sallay Garnett, had a very 'smoky jazz club' vibe to her voice which just didn't suit the role, go with the others in the cast, and meant she didn't fully sustain many of her notes, which was a shame.

But the others? Phenomenal. Simon (Tim Newman) really blew me away with his Simon Zealotes number with crazy good vocals and many riffs! He was an unexpected surprise. Also unexpected was the only actor I (thought I) knew going in - Nathan Amzi, who I had seen a few times in Heathers as one of the adults. He played Annas, the assistant to Caiaphus, and his voice was so intense and strong. Plus he pulls great faces!

His leader, Caiaphus, was the first one to blow me away. His vocals were so great and he sang all the lowest of low notes like you're supposed to (but not all actors do, because they're super low) and he was really enigmatic. It turns out he's been the only Caiaphus through both the Open air and the Chicago productions, and I can see why!

Robert Tripolino played Jesus and going in to Act Two, I wasn't 100% sold on how good Gethsemane was going to be. He was good in Act One, but not quite what I had hoped. But actually, he came good! His Gethsemane was amazing - not note perfect, but his emotions overcame that for me in his performance and I thought he was fantastic!

But the real star was Ricardo Afonso, who played Judas. As soon as I heard his voice I recognised but I couldn't place it. When I read his bio, it said he was in the original cast of We Will Rock You  - which I saw twice in 2008! So I'm pretty certain I saw him play Galileo back then which is where I know his voice from. But wow. His Judas is INCREDIBLE. He was so intense and riffs were amazing and there were multiple times my jaw actually dropped because he was so incredible.  I actually don't think I could describe it properly, and I certainly didn't feel like my clapping and cheering and giving a standing ovation did his performance justice.

If you can get there, RUN, don't walk - it's not on for long!!!