Thursday, 18 October 2012
YorWorld: 21 November 2012
John Wakefield interviews Zam Salim, writer and director of exciting new British comedy 'Up There' looking at life after death, about making his first feature film and his award winning short films.
Tom Edwards speaks to artist Robin Spalding and curator Penelope Hines, the people behind 'The Temple of the Occult' - the latest exciting exhibition at York University's own Norman Rae Gallery.
We review Dramasoc's first offering of the term, Ira Levin's comedy thriller 'Deathtrap' which is running this weekend in the Dramabarn and also preview next weeks performance 'Paradise' by Christian Smith - a one man show.
Its not one to miss - this Sunday at 2 on URY!
Auditions: 'The Witching Hour'
From Tess Humphrey, the writer behind the National Award
Winning ‘The Prince of Humberside’, comes a brand new spoof horror comedy.
A local radio station is trying an exciting new venture, a
live show to contact the dead. When the show appears to be going badly the
world-weary student presenter is stuck in the studio talking to a psychic who's
coming up with predictions like "Tories to abolish student radio
funding." To fill in the time, they start telling each other local ghost
stories, which are blended in with re-enactments.
We meet Marmaduke Buckle,
Star-crossed Yorkshire lovers;
Plague victims,
And the vampire employed by the council.
With a large cast of over 36 characters there is definitely
a part you’ll love – and through the magic of radio prepare multiple voices for
this fantastic spoof horror comedy!
Auditions Fri - Sat Week 3 - 18:00 - 20:00 in VO44
YorWorld: 14th October 2012
YorWorld makes a return after being nominated for two
national student radio awards. One for best interview and another for our ‘In
the Stalls’ drama previews for another year running.
This week on the show we preview YUSU Drama Society's
production of 'Deathtrap', Ira Levin's 1978 classic combines satire of the most
famous thrillers, such as Sleuth & Dial M for Murder, with an intricate and
clever plot to create one of the most successful and long-running productions
in Broadway history.
We also preview York Shakespeare Project's ambitious new
production of 'Othello' as well as reviewing the York St John Graduate
Productions, the York Theatre Royal's 'The Guinea Pig Club' and the touring
production of 'Blue/Orange'!
Hear the programme now on the ((URY PLAYER)) here!
Review: Blue/Orange - Grand Opera House
Joe Penhall’s psychological thriller,
Blue/Orange, after its National Theatre premiere in 2000, won almost every
major award for New Play. The Theatre Royal Brighton Productions’ revival,
directed by Christopher Luscombe, is pacey, witty and provocative, but it is a
complex play and it certainly doesn’t hand things to you on a plate.
This raises a whole multitude of other
questions. Is Christopher’s schizophrenic behaviour caused by his environment,
is it inherent in his race, or is he merely socially insecure? Should he be
protected from the public and vice-versa? And why the hell does he say the
oranges on the consultancy table are blue? Everything is not simply black and
white.
Robert Bathhurst, (aka Downton Abbey’s Sir
Anthony Strallan) is excellent as Robert. Awarded many of the best lines, they
roll off Bathhurst’s tongue with such eloquent timing and precision that our
allegiance often ends up with him instead of Bruce because, as he puts it so
pertinently, ‘my semantics are better than yours so I win.’
It was harder to side with Gerard McCarthy
as Bruce. Though he performed admirably and with gusto, I found his delivery,
at times, whiny and repetitive as well as his gesture; the hands often covered
the face in ‘shock’ or chopped the air emphatically when making ‘a point.’
Consequently, I found I did not fully believe him cracking under the pressure
of scrutinization from above when he lets rip in his tirade of abuse on Chris
in Act Three.
Oliver Wilson provides an understated yet
solid performance as Christopher. His affability as a person combined with a
nervous laughter, constant repetition of colloquilaisms like ‘know what I
mean?’ and unpredictable anger make his portrayal of a schizophrenia sufferer
believable and unnerving.
The production as a whole however, feels
as though it would be more suited to a more modern and intimate studio space,
as opposed to a functioning museum like the Opera House. Colin Falconer’s
strikingly stark, clinical set feels unnecessarily bulked out with a moving
platform for the sake of filling an overly-large stage.
Oliver Fenwick’s cold blue lighting,
brilliantly contrasted by an out-of-place bowel of oranges, though effective,
is dulled somewhat by the surrounding faded grandeur.
What I enjoyed most about the production
was the construction of the play itself and watching three actors working well
together in delivering the ‘pin-ball’ fast dialogue, contrasted with almost
Pinteresque moments of stillness before sudden, violent explosions.
This is definitely worth a watch for the
talent on display, and for being one of the only plays that confronts head-on
one of our last great modern taboos.
And you can hear Alex's full audio review in YorWorld.
Review: 'The Guinea Pig Club'
Kate Bull reviews The Guinea Pig Club, an impressive piece
documenting British wartime pride, and commenting on society’s ingrained
obsession with appearance.
The Guinea Pig Club, written
by Susan Watkins, premiered this week at York Theatre Royal. Based on a true
story, the play follows the story of a pioneering plastic surgeon during the
Second World War. Archibald McIndoe applied dexterity and care to the burned
and crippled bodies of RAF pilots who were wounded in action, and training
exercises.
As Dr Ludwig Guttmann refused to give up on his paralysed
patients at Stoke Newington, the Sussex town of East Grinstead was populated
with wounded pilots who were encouraged to continue to live in the outside
world, rather than hide away with (and behind) their battle scars.
Susan Watkins has a close attachment to the subject matter,
for she personally knew a member of the self-named ‘Guinea Pig Club’. The
sensitive manner in which she dealt with the story deserves congratulation,
although the length (three hours including interval) reaffirms the belief that the
closer you are to a subject, the harder it is to edit.
Occasionally, the pace seemed to drag, but apart from that
the script was light-hearted and humourous. To a certain extent the characters
were predictable – the private school boy who’d always longed to be a pilot,
the pretty nurse who falls for him; the brusque matron, and the token Yankee
are all characters we see perennially in anything war-based.
However, the particular subject matter meant that the actors
really had to work to develop well-rounded characters. It is hard to convey
feelings and thoughts without the use of your facial muscles, and as some of
the actors were masked for the majority of the play they did well to create
characters with body language, vocal range and chemistry with each other. In
this way, the potential of acting stereotypes was averted, and the characters
on stage came across as well-rounded individuals.
Damian Cruden, the current artistic director at the Theatre
Royal used the traditional proscenium arch of the theatre to his advantage:
creating a tall, RAF base in which the patients were housed. Joanna Scotcher’s
stage design echoed well the scary, cold environment of a military hospital
which eventually became a place of comfort and sanctuary for ‘Archie’s boys’.
Ingenious use of hospital bed curtains and disco balls (not necessarily at the
same time) transformed the stage into a ballroom, hotel suite and local pub.
Graham Harley created a sympathetic, well-rounded McIndoe,
and his Kiwi accent wasn’t bad either. The revelation of his extra marital
affairs, as well as his stubborn personality, made McIndoe very much a human
character; Harley performed the role well. Anna O’Grady’s work as nurse Alice
Harwood was convincing, although in my opinion, her character was not developed
enough for her skills as an actor to be demonstrated.
Richard Jones’ lighting choices complemented the various
moods of the play – despair, jubilation, anger. The projections designed and
projected against the back wall of the stage anchored the play in its
historical context.
One of the most engaging aspects of the entire play was the live music provided by George Ure on cornet and piano. His character, Tom, can only communicate through his ventriloquist’s dummy, but the music he creates is rousing and spine tingling.
One of the most engaging aspects of the entire play was the live music provided by George Ure on cornet and piano. His character, Tom, can only communicate through his ventriloquist’s dummy, but the music he creates is rousing and spine tingling.
The unpolished, proud singing of the patients made
startlingly evident the long lasting friendships that these men had created in
such traumatic experiences. As they raised their glasses to each other and to
their doctor, the audience was exposed to the sense of pride felt by every
member of the Club to overcome such debilitating conditions.
2012 has been an excitable, patriotic year. With the
Olympics, Paralympics and Diamond Jubilee, The
Guinea Pig Club was well timed to ride the Union Jack wave and it would
have had to have done something diabolical to fail. This country’s fascination
with The War – whether through
documentaries, plays, interviews and films – continues to draw in the crowds.
This play was no gimmick, however, and tells a story that needed to be told
very well indeed.
And you can hear Kate's full audio review in YorWorld here.
Thursday, 11 October 2012
Review: York St John Graduate Prize 2012: Journey to Karawane and Letters to Yseult
By Alex Gordon.
They are then given the chance, under guidance from the
Theatre’s Associate Director Juliet Forster, to take a short play they have
created as part of their degree and re-work it for a public performance. An
opportunity that should make students on the equivalent theatre course at York
University shiver with envy.
The first play, Journey to Karawane, follows ‘The King’
(Joel Dean) and his noble steed, ‘Horse’ (Adam Ekin) on their journey to…well,
Karawane. Although the play revealed as much about the plot as the title does,
evidently this was not the point as, in part homage and part pastiche of
Beckett’s Waiting For Godot, we watch two lonely, slightly unhinged individuals
pass the time on their journey by playing several equally off-the-wall
characters in a series of games and sketches.
Though at times slap-dash in its construction, the play had
some amusing, Pythonesque moments and some well-thought out jokes. As Dean’s
character points out, ‘Baffling people can be fun,’ and what’s more, they can
enjoy being baffled. Dean and Akin’s performances however, were perhaps not
quite strong enough to make their Pozzo-Lucky relationship entirely convincing.
It could be hilarious and thought-provoking if its creators refined their
material and their performances more carefully.
Letters to Yseult could not have provided a more different
change of tone to the evening. Performed solo by its author, Richard Wade, we
are taken on a journey through the old ‘Tristanian’ Legend – the love of a
Cornish Knight, Tristan, for an Irish Princess, Iseult – told from Tristan’s
perspective in a modern context, with Wade convincingly inhabiting a host of
characters along the way.
It is unusual, intriguing, romantic, funny and
heart-breaking. Wade’s versatility must be commended as he took us from
comic-highs, such as when Tristan drunkenly performs Beyoncé’s ‘Single Ladies’
dance, to heart-shattering lows when Tristan, blinded by an assassin, his face
smeared by crushed berries for blood, dies thinking that his beloved Yseult has
abandoned him. Music was also used to great effect, as Wade both sang and played
guitar, his lyrics introducing us to, and resolving the story.
This was an engaging and vibrant story told by a youthful,
energetic performer, and I sincerely hope he finds the opportunity for it to
grow and reach audiences beyond York. Perhaps next year’s Edinburgh Fringe
would be ideal?
The evening proved an interesting and eclectic mix, with a
post-show talk revealing as much about the actors as about their plays. Perhaps
their characters, who all share a common thread in their loneliness and their questioning
of their own situations are simply, as Akin puts it, ‘extensions of ourselves.’
Hear Alex's full audio review this Sunday at 2 on YorWorld.
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