@sohoplace – London’s newest theatre reviewed

★★★★★

@sohoplace is the first new West End theatre to open in the last 50 years. That would be exciting news in itself but @sohoplace is primarily a theatre-in-the-round, which can provide the most intimate, electrifying kind of theatre. And, as an unexpected bonus, the restaurant is first class.

Theatre @sohoplace Photo: Tim Soar & AHMM

The new theatre is part of Soho Place, a major new development close to the junction of Charing Cross Road and Tottenham Court Road. Wonderfully, the planning authority Westminster City council insisted that a theatre should be part of this development.

It looks like many modern glass office blocks from the outside but the inside is a revelation. Everywhere you look are constellations of stars twinkling against a dark blue background. Curving white marble staircases, evoking the birthplace of theatre Ancient Greece, take you up to stalls level, then to balconies one and two. Each level is identical, unlike so many theatres where people in the cheap seats are made to feel inferior. Each has a bar and loos with, hurrah, lots of women’s toilets.

And that glass I mentioned means you have many opportunities to look out onto the bright lights of London.

Interior of @sohoplace auditorium — @sohoplace auditorium Photo: Craig Sugden

Inside the auditorium, there are 602 seats in all. The configuration is flexible but it was designed with theatre-in-the-round in mind, and I hope we’ll see lots more productions using this arrangement. Certainly Marvellous and the next two productions As You Like It and Medea are in the round.

The sightlines are excellent: we’re told no member of the audience will be more than six rows away from the action, so you really will be able to see every detail. I was in the front row for Marvellous, which was a mixed blessing. I was thrilled by the proximity to the actors, but I think I might have preferred to be further back, so that I didn’t have to look quite so much to left and right.

Stars restaurant in the theatre @sohoplace — @sohoplace restaurant

On the ground floor are the Stars restaurant and bar. You can enjoy a cocktail or, better still, have a meal. My party of four ate there and all of us loved our food and the selection of drinks. I’m not a restaurant critic, so I’m not going to go into detail, just to say the dishes were imaginative, tasty, beautifully cooked and good value. The staff, not only the restaurant staff but all the Front of house team, were efficient, helpful and welcoming. The restaurant is open even when the theatre is closed and I can tell you I intend to go there whenever I’m in the area looking for somewhere to eat.

So, congratulations to Nica Burns, the owner of @SohoPlace, and her team for a terrific achievement and a welcome addition to London’s West End.

Click here to watch this review on YouTube

January 21, 2020February 21, 2020

The Garrick Theatre – a guide

Small but Beautiful Theatre

Exterior shot of The Garrick Theatre in London — The Garrick Theatre

Located in the heart of the West End, The Garrick Theatre is 130 years old. It’s named after the 18^th century’s most famous actor David Garrick. It is now part of the Nimax group of theatres.

The style is what the Grade 2 listing calls ‘eclectic classicism’. That eclecticism takes in rococo extravagance and lots of beautiful gold leaf.

With less than 700 seats, it’s one of the smaller West End theatres. There are a lot of pillars and a overhang so many seats in the Stalls potentially have a restricted view depending on the production. The best views are in the centre of the front half of the Stalls, particularly from row G where the rake begins to row M after which you may be affected by the circle overhang. The centre of the Dress Circle also offers a good view albeit with slightly cramped legroom. Avoid the third of seats on either side which may have a restricted view.

The legroom is tight in the Grand Circle- the highest level- so don’t choose to unless you’re desperate or you’re looking for a cheap ticket.

Photo of the foyer of the GarrickTheatre London — The foyer of The Garrick Theatre

You’ll find the Garrick Theatre in Charing Cross Road, very close to Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square. You enter at Dress Circle level.

TIP: There is a bar in the foyer but if you are sitting somewhere other than the Dress Circle, then you’re best to go to the Stalls or Grand Circle where there are also bars. If you don’t mind the stairs, I’d go up to the Grand and enjoy the view.

There are toilets at every level, in fact they’re one of the best West End theatres for Ladies toilets.

What is the Official Box Office for The Garrick Theatre London? www.nimaxtheatres.com

How do I find The Garrick Theatre? Address: 2 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0HH. Nearest tube stations: Leicester Square & Trafalgar Square

Where do I park for The Garrick Theatre London? Save 50% off parking by using the nearby Q-Park. To qualify, present your Q-Park car park ticket for validation at the box office.

Watch Paul Seven Lewis’s review of The Garrick Theatre on YouTube

September 24, 2019March 31, 2020

Evita at the Open Air Theatre

An Evita for today

★★★

I doubt whether Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s Evita has ever looked or sounded better.

Production photo of Samantha Pauly and others in Evita by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice at the Open Air Theatre in Regents Park London — Samantha Pauly as Evita at the Open Air Theatre. Photo: Marc Brenner

As you enter the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park, you’re presented with a set that looks like bleachers or maybe a staircase which rises from the front to the back of the stage. At the bottom of the staircase, appropriately, is Eva about to embark on her journey of sleeping her way out of poverty and climbing to the highest office of the land.

She is a showgirl. Like her colleagues, she wears a short skirt and sits with her legs apart, making it clear that she sees her body as a tool in her ruthless ambition. It’s not long before attaches herself to up-and-coming General Juan Peron and helps him to become President of Argentina. Then tragedy strikes as she contracts cancer and dies, the announcement of her death providing the opening of the musical.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s best score is movingly played

I’m not a big fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music but I have to say the stirring swelling arrangements, the Latin American pastiches and the memorable tunes make this, for me, his best score. Coupled with Tim Rice’s clever, caustic lyrics, Evita is a pleasure to listen to and this production is musically excellent under Alan Williams.

Under the supervision of Alan Williams, the blockbusters Don’t Cry For Me Argentina (which I can’t get out of my head) and Another Suitcase in Another Hall are movingly performed, the former by Samantha Pauly, the latter by Frances Mayli McCann.

production photo of Evita at the Open Air Theatre in London — Evita at the Open Air Theatre. Photo: Marc Brenner

Just as the musical is intended to be sung-through, director Jamie Lloyd has made a decision to have it danced-through. Fabian Aloise‘s choreography, picking up on the Latin American rhythms, works exceptionally well. The lack of a flat stage could have made life difficult for dancers but Mr Aloise turns it to advantage by having the performers move up and down and along the steps. At times, he uses Soutra Gilmour‘s tiered design to create a spectacular wall of dancers.

The leads are excellent. Eva is played by Samantha Pauly. In her slip dress and trainers, she seems very young , much younger than other Evitas you may have seen. This is appropriate because the musical takes her from age 15 to 33. She is a pleasure to watch and hear. You have no doubt of why she would be attractive to Peron and the Argentine people. My only reservation is that she didn’t show enough ruthlessness on her face.

I came out humming Lloyd Webber’s tunes but wasn’t engaged in the story

production photo of Frances Mayli McCann in Evita at Open Air Theatre — Frances Mayli McCann in Evita. Photo: Marc Brenner

The strength of this production which is the youthful energetic dancing is also its flaw because Peron should be older. Historically and in terms of this classic musical, it should be much clearer that Eva gave an unattractive older military man sex appeal, much in the way Lady Diana did for Prince Charles or Ginger Rogers for Fred Astaire. Excellent as Ektor Rivera is as a performer, he is too young and fit.

Trent Saunders is powerful in the role of Che the narrator. He has a strong expressive voice. The narrator not only tells us what’s going on but comments cynically until even he falls under Eva’s spell. He is also her conscience, experiencing physically her rejection and her contrition.

The Brechtian device of a narrator is meant to be alienating but I don’t find it works in Evita. Yes, we step back from emotional engagement to think about Evita’s populist progress but the downside is, we don’t care about the protagonists. While the biting libretto goes one way, the music goes another, slapping on emotion with a trowel. It tries hard but Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s musical passion fails to attach itself to Tim Rice‘s characters.

I came out humming the tunes but I wasn’t engaged in Evita’s story.

Evita was performed at the Open Air Theatre until 21 September 2019

Watch the YouTube version of this review here

July 11, 2019

Gielgud Theatre – Insider Guide

The Gielgud is one of the nicest theatres in the West End

The Gielgud Theatre was known as The Globe for most of its 113 year history. In 1994, after a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe was built on the South Bank, iit was renamed in honour of Sir John Gielgud. You will see many fascinating photographs, programmes and drawings featuring the great actor around the theatre. It was built in the Louis XVI style so there’s lots of gold and many beautiful features including an oval gallery above the foyer.

Interior shot of the Gielgud Theatre in London showing the oval gallery — Inside the Gielgud Theatre

Where is the Gielgud Theatre?

You will find the Gielgud on Shaftesbury Avenue in the heart of London’s West End. The postcode is W1D 6AR. The nearest tube station is Piccadilly Circus.

What are the best seats at the Gielgud Theatre?

The Gielgud has 889 seats spread across three levels- Stalls, Dress Circle and Grand Circle. You go downstairs to the Stalls. There isn’t much of a rake or slope but the stage is high so the view from most sets is good. I recommend the seats in the centre, about six rows from the front and 8 seats from the side.

The front of the Dress Circle is more or less level with the street, so that’s the place to go if you’re using a wheelchair. The accessible toilet is in the foyer at the same level. The first few rows in the centre offer a good view if you like looking down on the stage.

Insider tip

You’ll need to wear cool clothes if you visit the Gielgud. By which I don’t mean trendy clothes but ones that keep you cool because the theatre’s cooling system is pretty poor.

What about the bars?

There are bars in the Foyer, at the back of the Stalls and in the Dress Circle.

What are the toilets like at the Gielgud theatre?

Here’s some good news. The Gielgud is among the best of London theatres for toilets, according to The Stage newspaper’s survey. There’s a ratio of 32.3 women per toilet.

This is the official website for the Gielgud Theatre delfontmackintosh.co.uk/theatres/gielgud-theatre

Watch the YouTube review of the Gielgud Theatre on the One Minute Theatre Reviews channel