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Ricky Riddlegang and the Riddlegang
by Ben Alborough and Harry Williams
at the Wimbledon Studio Theatre

OK WE’LL start by facing facts
Mr Alborough is proably the most anarchic, idiotic, lunatic writer and creator of comedy since the days of Spike and Sellers. This is the goon show for the twenty first century. It references Computer games, Enid Blyton, Politics, Religion, Scooby Doo, theh family Addams and has the most alarming choreography ever seen on any stage – devised by Sophia Priolo and perfectly and accurately performed by the five extraordinary characters. One imagines hours and hours of rehearsals.
Ben Alborough plays the Leader like a kind of junior Bertie Wooster – one imagines him organising a not very successful amateur cricket club in the outskirts of Ludlow. But the real star, apart of course from Mr Alborough hinmself, is the dog designed in cardboard like all the props including guns, a cutlass, glasses of pop etc by Fenella Corrin. I presume the dog is a near relation to Scooby Do and who appears to help out at useful moments, zooming along the floor when needed.
The characters are like no others as they are like everybody. There is a terminally stupid cowboy called Johnny Screwdriver vibrantly performed by Will Beynon. Frieda, (Lottie Davies) a crazy scientist who seems permanentlyh attached to her laptop as she discovers more and more scientific facts that nobody ever really wants to know. Aurora is a beautiful visionary and medium who, despite her elegant appearance, is not averse to entering into fiisticuffs with Madame Science. Pippa Caddick plays her like a near relation to Mortician Addams .
The fifth member of the cast Bobby Cluecrew, played by Tom Myles, is one of those people who appear to know everything and everybody. Not surprising when he pops up as so many different characters during the course of the play. Uncle Eustace, the gardener, a ghost and a well known movie star.
Despite the general idiocy of the piece, it is cleverly worked out and some hysterically funny scenes well focussed by Chris McDonnell’s lighting.
The director is Olivia Rose Deane and Matthew Farrugia provides music and chorus songs delivered by the entire cast.
Producers: Lauren King and Jason Fité for Peracals Productions
A riproaring and extra jolly evening designed to cheer everybody up. It will be at the Brighton Festival from the end of May and from thence there are plans for the Edinburgh Festival. Definitely worth the trip!

Amour is something quite extraordinary.  The creative team are quite right to place it in the ‘In the Round’   situation. A Normal theatre pros arch would be too confining. This is a show that shouts freedom. The actors ride bikes around a moveable lamp post They move chairs around to create rooms and furniture without a shade of self-consciousness and they sing and dance as if they are real people – oddly difficult for actors – which must have been hell at rehearsals though I’m told they had a great time doing it.  

And yet it is fantasy – an explanation of how a man got stuck in a wall in the 18th arrondissement in Paris in 1950. A simple plot of a pair of lovers – an overworked and underloved clerk and an unhappy imprisoned wife. The unconditional love of real people made victims by the harsh treatment from the unhappy unloved and unloving. 
 I cannot actually speak too highly of this witty, funny wonderful show which is a pure delight from start to finish. No actual dialogue. It is sung and danced through, but it is not opera nor ballet. These are real people dancing and singing as if they cannot help it. It is the reality, the earthiness of the characters that is so Parisienne, crazy and witty.

The wit of the setting by Adrian Gee, of the music by the great Michel Legrand, the translation into English full of hysterically funny rhymes by Jermy Sams,  the original libretto by Didier Van Cauwelaert, adapted from the story ‘Le Passe Muraille by Marcel Ayme, Lighting by Rob Halliday, Sound by Andrew Johnson and the amazingly exciting and eccentric choreography by Mart Cole and what we used to call at the BBC ‘Rough Singing’ directed by Jordon Li-Smith. All added to the perfection of direction by Hannah Chissick.

It is unusual to praise the casting director, but she is also the producer, the very beautiful  Danielle Tarento who has spent many hours of torment casting exactly the correct actor for the job. Outstanding of course are Gary Trushaw who plays the unfortunate and hardworking clerk who becomes the notorious Robin Hood character known as Passe Partout because he could enter any establishment without a key. Anna O’Byrne with her exquisite soprano plays the unhappy imprisoned wife and sings the wistful number ‘Other peoples’ Stories’  The other characters include some prostitutes, gendarmerie, lawyers, clerks, an artist, a newsboy and every single actor has at least one strong solo number.  Claire Machin almost stopped the show in her persona as the whore who is the first benefactor of Dusoleil’s newfound talent.

Due to some computer problems, I am late with my review and have seen that other reviewers have not been sparing in their five stars. I look forward to reading their work. The show is worth every one of those stars.  – wish we could give more.

Jeremy Sams describes the show as. Modest in scope but huge in heart. 

Attachments area

I have spent my life trying to get through it without being a bore. That was always my greatest fear.

Now I realise that to be boring, annoying, getting on peoples nerves is something that helps other people so I’ll give it a go.

Judge Rinder says one should write everything down so hear we go.

THIS WAS THE BEGINNING.

I had been to the UCH hospital and I had a need to go to Boots to pick something up but found that the whole of Tottenham Court Road was blocked and I couldn’t get across the road. So instead I went into PC World – the biggest mistake of my life.

I bought a new phone – which I needed but something else happened. I met a young man called ICE.

I was having a good time chatting to Michelle who sold me the phone and this young man called ICE asked me – out of the blue I thought – what I was paying monthly for my internet. Who was the supplier?

I gave him the name and they called Time Talk. They had patience – they knew how long it took to get in touch with any supplier, but eventually they discovered that I was paying £48 a month. I had a deal but that finished a year ago and I was unaware of this.

The young man called ICE gave me the name of a company that recommended suppliers that would do me a good deal

When I got home I rang that company and they put me in touch with TalkTalk. They warned me that most suppliers expect to change one’s landline number, Talk Talk would not do that. I replied that I had previously been with Talk Talk so they already knew my number. It was the number I had originally got in 1964 – it was the number known by many people including all the audiences I had had at the Pindar so it was very important to me

I gave TalkTalk a call they gave me a splendid deal and said of course they wouldn’t change my number.

The engineer – called Chris – came to fix my new router. Afterwards he said triumphantly ‘And this is your new telephone number’ and waited for me to be delighted. I said ‘No, my number is 02077225395 and he said ‘You have to change your number when you change your supplier and I said ‘When I left TalkTalk a few years ago IO kept the same number’ He told me that was impossible – I must have forgotten.

I spent the rest of that day – it was a Thursday – on the phone to Talktalk trying to get someone to talk to about the change of number – which I didn’t want. I had proof of having my number many years ago. It used to be Primrose 5395 and when I was at the BBC I was ex directory. I have headed paper from that time with the telephone number 722 5395.

But – there is a big problem with Talktalk and I remembered why I left. The calls – once one had got through to a speaking person (another problem – explain later) it turns out to be a young woman who gabbles in a strange accent from a script she has learned. She is incapable of understanding anything I was saying. and I can’t decipher what she is saying. Eventually I give a sigh of relief when she said she didn’t understand and would have to speak to somebody else.. She would put me on hold for three minutes. That is when I found out to my cost that three minutes could last up to half an hour. Eventually I gave up and tried later.

The difficulty getting in touch with any speaking person is the mechanical voice. He asks first of all a question. ‘Are you calling about your broadband press one – for pricing press two etc . When you have pressed one, he comes back saying ‘if you are a new customer press one – or two – or three – usually about five options. When you have pressed one of them, there is yet another question – and so on – may I have your post code, then The first line of your address, so on – ‘date of birth’ – ‘are you the main line holder’ and so on until you have given your life story and they ask for your TalkTalk telephone number which of course I replied 0207722 5395. They say they have no record of this number and eventually say they will put me in touch with an operator. This is when I get another South African/Indian maiden who has the same script and lack of knowledge of the one before. Again I say I need to get back my original number I have had since 1964. Again they say hold the line for three minutes. I hang up and try again. Exactly the same rigmarole, yet another South African/Indian young woman who told me to hold on for three minutes. (The music they put on is horrible and very loud)

I rang a friend who said ‘These people are not good’ and suggested I try PlusNet who are based in Hull. I rang them – there was a mechanical voice again but with only two options. Did I want to join them or was it about pricing – number one or number two. I pressed one . They answered immediately in English and said if I joined them they would try to get my number back.

I got a call from Talktalk saying I had been in touch with another supplier and they had been making enquiries about me. I said that was true, and they had said they couldn’t guarantee the number problem. The Talktalk man told me my number had been discontinued when IK left Talktalk the last time several years ago. I told him IK had been using the number with Time Talk and again he told me I was lying and it was impossible that I should have kept the number as the number did not exist. Friends told me they had tried it and it was on voice mail. People were desperately trying to get hold of me and the voice mail made them think they were leaving me messages which of course I didn’t get.

I called PlusNet

I rang my number. It was on voice mail and the name that popped up on my screen was TalkTalk.

Eventually I got a male person who kept saying ‘I understand’ over and over again when he obviously didn’t. He said how he felt for me, because when he was in South Africa he found it impossible to understand what English people were saying. He said ‘Hold the line and I’ll put you through to the supervisor.’ I said ‘How long would I have to hold?’ He of course said ‘Three minutes.’ I said I don’t have time to wait that long. Please call me back.’

Unexpectedly I get a call back – from a lady with a different accent. She really couldn’t understand what I was talking about. She seemed to think I wanted to change my mobile number. She repeated it over and over again, obviously paying no attention at all to what I was saying. ‘No I don’t want to lose my LANDLINE NUMBER -WHICH I HAVE HAD SINCE 1964. ‘ She didn’t even bother to tell me that that was impossible which is what everyone else said. We parted on not too friendly terms. I had a visit from a very important person during this call – he left.

Then I had a call from a salesman – oddly enough they were quite good at talking. He wanted to know if I had definitely cut myself off from TimeTalk. I said I would call them to check. Oddly enough I got another list of questions from the mechanical voice at Time Talk. I used to have a number for the tech department that I could get straight through to. Now I am told that number does not exist.

I spoke to the salesman at Time Talk and said I would stay with them if I could keep my number. They said that was impossible as Talktalk would have my number and Time Talk would have to rejoin me and that would take at least two weeks and they couldn’t guarantee anything about the number.

I called Plus net again. Again I got through straight away. I got another man who had actually looked me up on Wikipedia and was sympathetic about the telephone number. He promised he would try his bet to retrieve the number.

I called Talktalk – again the long rigmarole with all the numbers. I asked for the s ales department and told them I had joined up with PlusNet and told them I had joined up with Plusnet. I was told that as a special favour they would waive the hundred pounds or so cancellation fee. I said I had cancelled during the cooling off time so there would not be a cancellation fee. They said I would have to stay with them until Plus net became active – May 13th.

I then said – so as its I not a deal I shall have to pay for everything I do on broadband etc. They did not deny it.

Later I got a letter saying that I owed them over a hundred pounds for cancelling but they would waive the fee because I had cancelled during the cooling off time.

I will have to wait and see what happens.

.

Miss Julie /Creditors. ****

by August Strindberg adapted by Howard Brenton.

at Jermy Street Theatre.

Here are two naturalistic plays both written in 1888 so it is interesting to see them on the same day. Creditors in the afternoon and Miss Julie in the evening. Howard Brenton has done new versions of the originals and they are to cut down to the essential dramatic situations. Miss Julie is very well known, set on a Midsummer Eve celebration and shows how a flirtation can turn into madness. Miss Julie is an upper-class young woman who has been trained by her mother both to hate men and to take over all their advantages So when she develops an interest in her father’s valet, Jean, she orders him to dance with her and he has to dump his loving fiance, Kristin, and obey her. Jean is intelligent, well travelled, well read and very polite. He wants to be upwardly mobile, he hates the ringing of the bell by his master, reminding him that he is a servant. He longs to run away and start a business and he believes Miss Julie will help him achieve his ambitions by providing finance. Charlotte Hamblin does a good job as Julie – starting as the dominant mistress and we see clearly how her sexiness can betray her. Equally fascinating is the ambitious Jean (James Sheldon)who is never less than elegant even when the drama between them escalates into violence. Dorothea Mayer-Bennett plays the betrayed Kristin. She spends the first five minutes without any dialogue as she cooks and later keeps all her composure throughout the drama that surrounds her. Ms Myer-Bennett also plays Tekla, the wife in Creditors. but here the emphasis is n the two men involved. James Sheldon as the over-loving Adolf who is missing his wife when she goes away on business and is easy prey to the Evil Gustaf (David Sturzaker) who sets about undermining his confidence; making him think his wife does not love him and that she has a string of young lovers.

. Louie Whitemore designed a couple of stunning settings for the play, the practical kitchen black and white with an actual hob and sink. and the Creditors set, a living room in a seaside resort – cream, cool and relaxing which works to the advantage of Gustaf’s destructive “assistance” Tom Littler is a first-rate director and his work with Brenton is superb.

by David Eldridge

at the Union Theatre.

A brilliant ensemble piece. One sort of expects a musical but music is hardy required. – well there is a bit. “Walking in the Air” a few bars and “Land of Hope and Glory” with everybody singing different words.

Apart from that , there is rap playing constantly at the market. The set is beautifully decorated with the market stalls one full of fruit and veg which is delightfully colourful and other with all kinds of gear, Videos and discs (we are in 1989) jackets and handbags. There are sellers of these goods, the leather boys – gangsters really, who are the only people who take credit cards; the Market Inspector or ‘The Toby’ played by Mat Betteridge like an old fashioned sergeant major who bullies them unmercifully and takes grisbi from each of them.

But the story is centered around The boy Michael Ayiotis and the girl Claudia Archer. Michael’s beautiful and lonely single Mum played by Amy Gallagher. And the sex mad Trader in women’s shoes played by Andy Umerah wo hires the boy and fancies his mother.

But it is the market that is the real star. It is the kind of life that has more or less disappeared with the advent of huge supermarkets, but is hopefully creeping back as ‘Farmers markets’ which sell mostly organic foods .

But what a wonderful time it was. And what wonderful people they were. fightin’ eachother one day and best chums the next. I was constantly reminded of a musical Hall song that I found myself singing

all the way home. ‘He’ll black your eye one minute and he’ll stand a jar the

ext’ Called “e’s all right when yer know ‘im, but you gotta know him fust’

This play was first produced at the National Theatre. How great that the clever Union Theatre have given us another chance to enjoy it.

CLUB TROPICANA
The Musical

by Michael Gyngell

at the New Wimbledon Theatre

This show is an undoubted crowd pleaser. Wonderful to see this theatre crammed with so many happy people. It is a jukebox musical with a slight story wrapped around it. But most of the songs come from the eighties and obviously a joy for those who spent their teenage years listening to pop music.
It begins on the wedding day of Lorraine and Olly – song “Fantastic Day.”
Unfortunately Lorraine suddenly decides she doesn’t want to get married after all “Girls just wanna have Fun” and she jilts him. Afraid of what her mother and the rest of her family and friends might say, she decides to go on the honeymoon anyway along with her two chums.
Olly, devastated by her rejection decides he must go on holiday – and as the honeymoon has already been booked – he and his two friends decide to take up the booking.
This is just the excuse for the trip to Club Tropicana a run down resort hotel in Spain which is where the musical really starts. Neil McDermott as Robert and Amelle Berrabah as Serena are the couple of friends who run the hotel. They are alarmed to find that a hotel inspector is due to come and hotel inspect them so they have to do a general clean up. The main problem is lack of guests so they call on the entertainments officer to help them and concoct some thing to create a good impression and attract customers.
This is where we meet the star of the show, Joe McElderry – a winner of x factor back in the day – who plays Garry, the entertainments officer and gives us his camp MC using some old panto jokes – “I’m wearing Tupperware undies – keeps my things nice and fresh” etc. He also gets the audience going, inviting them to join in whenever they can.
He is partnered by the wonderful Kate Robbins who plays Consuela the waitress, but despite her Spanish name, has an enormous repertoire of comedy impressions and costumes and plays a whole crowd of guests who are presumably staying at the hotel.
Nick Winston who has choreographed the nineteen players has contributed enormously to the ensemble work in this production. He is also co director with Samuel Holmes and there is a lot to admire in their comic ingenuity.It is good that the entire company join in the production numbers. Gives the show a party feeling.
Many of the laughs come from Emily Tierney who plays Christine, the very posh and rather horrid person who comes in as the Inspector and creates some of the ensuing havoc.
Your humble reviewer did know some of the numbers in Act two which were mostly TV signature tunes “I could be so good for you” “Making your Mind up” etc
This is, as I said, aimed at a certain audience and it obviously succeeds brilliantly.

TUMULUS

by Christopher Adams

at theStudio, Soho Theatre

a TUMULUS is a burial mound, There is one on Hampstead Heath and that is where the body was found. Yes, this is a whodunnit played with humour, horror, sex and drugs.
Anthony is a respectable homosexual librarian with a drug habit.  We find him at a chemsex party where people take drugs in glasses of apple juice or Lucozade in order to give them a special sexual experience. Unfortunately, this results in noises in the head which can only be quietened by another dose of the drug.
Anthony is wandering about at the party when he suddenly sees a past lover, just a casual affair he had with a young man called George. The very person whose dead body was found on the Heath with a police verdict of Drug Overdose. Anthony has noted that in the report of the death there were certain things that did not fit Anthony’s knowledge of the young man. One thing that was missing was his necklace with an emblem of The Eye of Horus – his most treasured possession. The spirit of George tells Anthony to find the necklace it will be with the person who murdered him.
It is then that the Librarian becomes a Gumshoe in a raincoat and fedora searching for possible suspects in the chemically induced parties. He visits the house of his ex-lover Jonathan, one who has given up the drugs and written books about his experiences. There he meets Jack the teenage cousin of Jonathan and in him he sees a resemblance to George.
It is a particularly well-written thriller story, particularly well acted by Ciaran Owen who plays Anthony; Ian Hollard who plays all the over forty-year-olds and  Harry Lister Smith who plays all the younger ones. It is a large cast andThe characters change rapidly from policemen to welfare ladies to guests at the chemsex parties, sometimes the changes take place within seconds and without any kind of costume changes. Owen wears normal clothes and the others wear white shirts and little red shorts..
The fun begins as the audience arrive and each given the choice of Apple juice or Lucozade.
Nick Manning has designed the sound, including noises in the heads of the participants. They are terrifying and there are flashing lights to go with them designed by Christopher Nairne.
The actors are all miked up so we can hear the noises and also the dialogue that is in the minds of the characters.
Christopher Adams has written a riveting play directed by Matt Steinberg.
It is played in the Studio at Soho so we can get the claustrophobic feeling of a  private party.
A short play – only an hour long but without a single wasted second in the writing.

HMS PINAFORE
By Gilbert and Sullivan
at the Kings Head Theatre
HMS Pinafore as seen by John Savournin is just wonderful, funny, clever and of course as it is Charles Court Opera – has exceptionally good singing. It is surely Gilbert and Sullivan for the twenty first century and it works like a charm. Savournin’s wit is a great match for Gilbert’s satirical comedy and his Danish choreographer Damian Czernecki adds stylish and seriously daft movements to the mixture. Great music and quirky comedy is an unbeatable combination.
The director is adept at transforming an opera requiring a huge chorus into just nine principal characters. Some doubling, most especially the wonderful Jennie Jacobs who does a neat double as Little Buttercup and a Sister of the Rt Hon Sir Joseph Porter KCB – first Lord of the Admiralty and Ruler of he Queens Navee.
Joseph Shovelton plays him and sings probably the most famous comic song of the G and S and I have never seen it done funnier, showing the man’s utter delight in his situation and the rise to his exalted position.
Gilbert’s satirical comedy about class is easy to laugh at these days, but at the time it might have been a little uncomfortable. The aforementioned lord is wanting to marry a ‘lesser person’ – the Captains pretty daughter Josephine (lovely soprano Alys Roberts – a small girl in a pink mini skirt and knee socks whose voice could shatter glass at twenty paces ) but she is secretly and ashamedly in love with one of the three Able Seamen, Ralph Rackstraw played by the equally mellifluous Philip Lee, and he loves her too but she is so far above him. The Captain Matthew Palmer loves Little Buttercup but she is just a bum boat woman and therefore not good enough for him. The other not so able seamen are Matthew Kellett as the bitterly resentful Dick Deadeye and the bossy Bobstay played by a very attractive tall mezzo soprano Hannah Crerar.
The monstrous female chorus of Joseph’s relatives ( his sisters and his cousins and his aunts ) have been cut right down with a ridiculous Catrine KIrkman as his first cousin.
Rachel Szmukler’s set of a yellow submarine is detailed and something worth looking at as Ian Wilson lights it up before the show so that the auidience has a chance to see all the visual information. It helps to set up the feeling of happy anticipation as the Sailors take their places on their bunks. So interesting that the female sailor has a little clothes line with her knickers and socks drying there and an alarm clock so that they are all up in time to start the show.

This is the 6th G and S production by the Charles Court Opera and it is truly fabulous and a huge Easter treat.