What would you say is the best way to do a book to theatre adaptation? Well I think ‘Tess’ by Ockham’s Razor could be the answer to that question. On offer at New Theatre Royal Portsmouth at the moment is ‘Tess’ by Ockham’s Razor, and all I can really say is wow! This is an adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s classic novel, ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’. It’s a story that has already been adapted to the screen, and to be honest I wasn’t quite sure how it would transfer to the stage. I could vision it being performed as a standard play, but could I vision it as a mixture of contemporary circus and theatre? My answer should have absolutely been yes! Alex Harvey and Charlotte Mooney have adapted and directed this masterpiece to perfection. Along with producer Alison King, a fantasy vision was seen – and they have managed to bring that vision to life. 

This show showcases the storytelling ability of dance, circus, and movement; as well as the athleticism and range of talent its performers have. The story is one that still has major relevance in today’s society with its incredibly nuanced evocation of female relationships, sexual desires, consent, privilege, and poverty. In this particular adaptation, it is all told as a flashback through Tess herself as a narrator. She is the only character with dialogue, the rest of the cast (including ‘Memory Tess’) tell their part of the story through the incredibly energetic and powerful nature of circus and body movement. I just love this! It’s such a creative way of showing the power, loss and and endurance of the story – as we see how the performers bodies react with the extreme strength and physicality of circus. It seems like subliminal messaging at its finest almost. 

Just stunning.

There are only seven in the cast but they have to be seven of the most talented performers I have seen. All of them are so strong and powerful, you get hooked on their every movement and emotion. These aren’t just performers, they’re athletes. I can guarantee that you will feel a wide range of emotions whilst watching this show. There were many times I was audibly laughing, and there were times when you could hear a pin drop in the auditorium. Just stunning. Heading the cast was Hanora Kamen as ‘Tess Durbeyfield’, and her narration was spot on. She wasn’t only telling the story, but recalling speech in different accents as the cast was performing the relevant flashback. In fact there were many times when the cast would be performing something different to what Kamen would be narrating, and you would be consuming two different things at once – but it didn’t feel difficult. 

Kamen’s partner in crime was Lila Naruse as ‘Tess Durbeyfield’ but the ‘memory’ version. These two were so good together that you would actually forget that you were watching/listening to two different people. The trio of girls was Lauren Jamieson, Victoria Skillen, and Shannon Kate Platt. The connection that these three share is phenomenal, and their comedic moments were fantastic. ‘Alec D’Urberville’ was played by Joshua Fraser who’s ring routine won’t leave my mind anytime soon; and ‘Angel Clare’ was played by Nat Wittingham who’s performance was beautifully powerful. The strength, commitment, and attention to detail of this cast is fantastic and certainly doesn’t go unnoticed. The standing ovation tonight only proved that – Bravo!  

The set was actually incredibly intricate, whilst also being very stripped back. It was basically just lots of wood, rope, and materials – that when placed together with the dynamic movements from the cast, created a piece of innovative theatre. The cast actually end up building all of the set and there is always so much going on, that it feels like incredibly organised chaos. One thing that sticks in my mind as extremely effective was the way in which they portrayed Tess’ horse, and the way they would walk on the two planks whilst staying in place. It was new, it was fresh, and I loved it! The lighting and projection was also simple but added the perfect amount of ambience or warmth/cold when it needed to. Visually gorgeous.

I still can’t get over how beautiful and impressive the whole thing was.

The music was matched perfectly to the show, but sometimes was very repetitive in all honesty. It was only a soundtrack that was being played, but as a friend rightly said, if it was a live band it probably would’ve taken away from the show because of how much was going on. In fact there were times where the music was too loud which just overloaded the senses. I think what really makes this show is all of the above mixed with the brilliant choreography. Choreographer, Nathan Johnston, cannot be credited enough as without his work, I don’t think the show works. One piece of movement that gets revisited multiple times, forwards and in reverse (if you know you know), is the sequence of ‘Tess’ and ‘Angel’ when they make their way along the trail to the farm. The movement of the set and cast had to be inch perfect, both in timing and spacing, and that’s exactly what it was. Literally mesmerising! 

Overall, ‘Tess’ is an incredibly impressive spectacle. It’s something new and exciting, and I’m interested to see what Ockham’s Razor will produce next. The story was easily followable, and the way in which it’s told is beautifully powerful and physical. Mixing contemporary circus into theatre adaptations should now be a benchmark to hit I think. I still can’t get over how beautiful and impressive the whole thing was. Whatever part of theatre you’re into, I think this is a show that you should definitely see if you’re lucky enough to get the chance. The cast are superb and the production as a whole will be unlike anything you’ve quite seen. ‘Tess’ is touring until June this year before further dates for spring 2025 are announced. I wish everybody involved the best of luck going forward, I know I’m already looking at when I can come and see this again. 

Would you kiss the fish? Coming straight from the West End, the multi award winning ‘Come From Away’ has landed right on the edge of this island in Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre for the week. This musical has won four Olivier Awards including Best New Musical (in London), and the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (on Broadway) – and my only question is, HOW HAS IT NOT WON MORE?! I never got around to watching this show when it was in London, and now I’m kicking myself because this is just the most beautiful, wholesome, heartfelt story. Literally the perfect musical (big claim I know!). For a new musical to rise straight to the top and bump shoulders with some of the more veteran musicals, there needed to be something new evolving the way that theatre is performed. I think ‘Come From Away’ has found this evolution.

This musical is perfect.

If you’re unaware of the plot of this musical, it shares the incredible story of the 7,000 passengers of 38 planes who were grounded in Canada during the wake of 9/11. The small Newfoundland community invited these ‘come from aways’ into their lives and this is the true story of what happened. Being from an era that doesn’t remember 9/11, all we ever got told about it was the event itself. Stories like this are true beacons of real hope in this world, and having not really known about it prior to this musical, I think it just shows the power of theatre doesn’t it? Writers Irene Sankoff and David Hein have brought this beautiful story to life through an inspiring original songbook with tonnes of comedy. Director Christopher Ashley is well deserved of that Tony Award because the movement in this musical is immaculate and it elevates this performance both physically and emotionally. 

This touring cast is magical! There are 12 people in this cast, but from the numbers I mentioned above you’re probably thinking how do 12 people portray a story of nearly 20,000 people? Well, each member of this cast plays multiple different characters all in the same space. This is done via a change in accent, hat, coat – and it is just seamless. When I looked in the programme before the show, I was nervous when reading that all of the cast play multiple characters. This is usually incredibly different to differentiate between characters and it can get extremely confusing. However that is just not the case here. The award winning direction has been shown perfectly by this cast and I almost have no notes except wow! It goes without saying that the layered singing and poetic speech was gorgeous, almost so gorgeous that I don’t think that I can single out any individual cast member. Everybody brought the perfect amount of energy and comedic timing, and you can just feel the bonds that these actors share on stage. It feels like you’re literally just watching a group of friends doing what they love. 

The set was very simple. In a show about planes, you would expect to see one right? Well you don’t, but you also don’t need to. The set is exactly as you see it, a few chairs and a couple of desks that get rearranged to show different places/show different scenes. Again, this all ties in to how brilliant the direction of the show is. The lighting was also extremely effective. There were some spotlights on the trees and the coloured backdrop also helped in changing the setting. The use of spotlights to signify who was telling the audience the story was also brilliant. You knew exactly what was going on from narration to speech! Simplistic, but so so good! 

Go and see this show. Just go!

The score and original songbook are also so uplifting. The band are situated on stage, hidden within the trees and they are superb! From the moment the musical starts, to the moment it ends you will be nodding along with them. I literally caught myself tapping my feet within the opening number. The lyrics are perfectly crafted and you best believe that the soundtrack is going to be on repeat for the rest of the week (at least). There’s a couple of moments where the band come on stage playing their instruments. They become a part of the story, their own characters if you will, and the way they interact with each other and the other actors just makes you feel good. It’s indescribable but the music just makes you feel warm. It may be down to the fact that they aren’t using the average ‘musical theatre’ instruments – but I love this! 

This musical is perfect. For such a tough subject, you leave feeling so inspired and warm. This is usually the section of my review where I give a split of the acts, but this show is all one act. It’s 100 minutes of pure entertainment, that feels like only 60. Everything about this musical from the story, to the acting, to the music, and the overall production value is flawless. It’s quoted that this show gets audiences up on their feet night after night, and that was proven tonight. In fact I have never seen such a fast and full standing ovation I think ever. This is one of those shows that you feel like you have so much to talk about, that you’re instead rendered speechless (it makes sense in my head). I think all that’s left to say is go and see this show. Just go! I’m already trying to plan when I can go back now. ‘Come From Away’ is in Southampton until Saturday before carrying on with its UK tour. This is a MUST see! I wish everybody involved in this show the greatest success going forward. I can see the awards coming for this tour already! 

JESUS CHRIST – SUPERSTAR! Yep I sung it too! At Mayflower Theatre this week, perfectly timed for Easter, is the critically acclaimed ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ – back from the dead if you will. This revived production started in 2017 with two sold out runs at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, before taking over North America (again) with a tour that is still ongoing. This is an updated, slightly modernised version of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s original concert turned Broadway musical smash-hit, and its not hard to see why it has such raving reviews and accolades. If you’re not aware of the story, you are more than definitely aware of ‘Superstar’s’ title tune (as sung above…); but for those of you unaware, the story takes us through the last few weeks of Jesus Christ’s life, seen through the eyes of Judas. 

This production is all about the music! As it was originally written as an album and later turned into a musical production – the new design and direction from Tom Scutt (designer) and Timothy Sheader (director), lends itself perfectly to not only the story but also the music style. A lot of the modernisation comes from the set, design and costume (which we’ll get onto a little bit later), but this particular production of ‘Superstar’ has everything that you’d expect from an Olivier Award winner (Best Musical Revival). The coherence between Drew McOnie’s wonderful choreography, with the new design elements and powerful vocals/instrumentals, all give this musical the ‘Rock-Opera’ vibe. What I particularly liked was the fact that you couldn’t tell that this musical is over 50 years old. Granted this version isn’t 50 years old, but the music and story is – and it felt as if it could’ve been written yesterday. Although they both more than likely took some inspiration from the original, this version of ‘Superstar’ was like the perfect modernised love-child of ‘Les Misérables’ and ‘Hamilton’.

The raw emotion in his performance was stunning.

This cast was superb! Firstly I think I need to mention the ensemble. The energy in dance and movement took this performance to a whole new dimension. Their movements were strong and gave an extra edge to the story by adding physical emotion into the mix. Brilliant from all them! We also HAVE to mention the main man!Playing ‘Jesus’ tonight was understudy, Luke Street. He was phenomenal! His voice had the perfect rock tone and his rendition of ‘Gethsemane’ was flawless. The raw emotion in his performance was stunning. Keeping on the trend of incredible voices, Hannah Richardson as ‘Mary’ was again phenomenal. In particular ‘Everything’s Alright’, which also included Shem Omari James as ‘Judas’, was beautifully sang from all three of them. Shem’s voice also lent itself perfectly to the narrative of the story, like he was singing to the audience and telling them what was happening/what he was thinking. Although he may not be involved for too long, ‘Herod’ played tonight by Timo Tatzber, completely switched up the pace of the musical, and got a huge reception. Overall, this cast clearly has lots of talent and they showcased that – they sparkled out there tonight, and that was way before the glitter! (if you know you know). 

When it comes to set and design, as I mentioned earlier – this is really something that has made this production that much better. The set itself is modernistic industrial minimalism, with iron pillars making up the back of the staging where the band sits (will also touch on this later). In the centre of the stage is a cut out crucifix on the backdrop with a grated, giant, three dimensional crucifix on a slant centre stage. This is used as a runway at times, and the levels of the set at the back for characters to run up and down on is very nice in adding layers to what you’re looking at. The little modernised touches of cables and wires being used as bits of symbolism and replacements as restraints was also a nice oxymoron from the story to modern times. The costumes were also on this same line as well. Minimalist and modern but that’s all they needed to be. The lighting was a mixture of minimalist – to rock concert. There was no in-between. I particularly loved the way it looked like the cast would just appear from under the crucifix because of the way the lights were formed. Incredibly effective! 

You’re expecting to see a Broadway show, and that’s exactly what you get.

To talk about the music, I don’t think there’s too much that can be said. It’s an album that’s gone gold and platinum, and you can see why. It’s not really surprising coming from the minds of theatre royalty. The live band fronted by Michael Riley smashed it tonight. Live music always adds so much more to musical theatre, and when its basically a rock concert on stage – even better. I also love it when we have actors that can play instruments live on stage. It not only showcases the incredible performers further, but I think in ‘Superstar’s’ case, it pays a nice homage to when this used to just be a touring concert. The same can be said in the way handheld microphones are used – its something new and fresh to see in a current musical. The guitar solos were straight from Slash’s songbook, and there were so many different styles of music – including the sax solo! You can definitely see why this was instantly so popular in the 70s. Rock music was at its high point. To make another similarity to modern day, ‘Hamilton’ has done the exact same thing in todays age. Rock is to ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, what rap is to ‘Hamilton’. 

Overall, the production value of this musical is certainly something that doesn’t disappoint. You’re expecting to see a Broadway show, and that’s exactly what you get. It’s again collaborative between multiple different art forms. By having the band on the stage, they now become a character. I don’t think enough has been said about the dance either. So much is happening, and when the ensemble go from sequenced dance individually to in unison it looks so clean. When they bring out different crucifixes that light up or pour glitter, it again is something very simple that has a very big pay off. A scene that I can recall instantly would be the last supper, because that’s exactly what it represented. If you were to walk in without context to what was going on, you’d know exactly what it was. Extremely clever direction. At the point when Jesus gets crucified I knew what was coming, but I wasn’t prepared for the atmosphere to get as dark as it did. The effect of having him hanging there with a light shining through him, left a silhouette which was exceedingly powerful. The silence that followed this was potentially the longest that I have ever witnessed in a theatre. 

From silence to a standing ovation roar, ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ got exactly what it deserved. I feel like I could talk on and on about this particular production, but what fun is reading about it when you could go and see it yourself? (Which you definitely should do!). I remember I always used to think that this musical was going to be heavily religious which put me off previously. However, if I could just ask you to go and listen to the ‘Overture’ from the album – it may be enough to get you into the theatre like it was with me. ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ is at Mayflower Theatre until Saturday 30th March before carrying on, on its UK tour. There may be some cast changes with Julian Clary playing ‘Herod’ from Thursday-Saturday. I’m sure this whole company is going to continue to perform to the high standards that gained this musical revival its impressive reputation, and I wish them all the luck as they move forward.