Theatre 2017: Review Nineteen - Spamalot

Monty Python's Spamalot, Norwich Playhouse, Norwich. May 2017.

Although slightly too young to remember Monty Python from the original broadcasts I have been a fan for many years now and most Easter weekends I like to watch Life of Brian in a double bill with Jesus Christ Superstar. I do also like The Holy Grail as a film but it has to be said I think that Spamalot is better.

I was lucky enough to see Spamalot in London soon after it opened and then again on tour in Norwich a few years later but when a friend and I saw it was on in Norwich again I was certainly keen to see it once more.

This production was put on by the Threshold Theatre Company, part of the Norfolk and Norwich Operatic Society. They have a great idea behind them:

The Threshold Theatre Company was set up by NNOS to provide a training ground for less experienced actors and singers, preparing them for stepping up into the main company when they felt confident enough to do so. One of Threshold’s objectives is “to train young or inexperienced people to gain a good knowledge of all aspects of operatic and dramatic arts“.

With this in mind I wasn't sure what to expect on the night - would it be a low budget am dram show? The answer was an emphatic no - this was as professional and as polished as any touring London show and being in a small theatre was wonderfully intimate as you got to see every eyebrow quirk and facial twitch!

The singing, dancing and acting were all superb with a relatively small cast doubling and tripling to great effect, I had a grin on my face before the end of the first line and by the end a huge stitch from laughing so much.

The Threshold Co. are now high on my watch list and I can't wait to see more of what they put on. Norwich is so lucky to have great local talent as well as a theatre which books great London theatre tours - I'm now off to look at the schedules for the Playhouse and Maddermarket...

Theatrical Interlude 23

A Change of Heart, The Blakeney Players, Blakeney. August 2013.

Once more Mr Norfolkbookworm and I headed to the Norfolk Coast to support the Blakeney Players and as ever the evening was a total delight.

This was another original play that managed to poke fun at London based multi-national companies and the Blakeney Players themselves whilst including some terrible puns and plays on words involving Shakespeare.

As ever the plot isn't the point of the play but the story was funny and the choreography and singing was brilliant - I dread to think how long it took them to learn the routine to All That Jazz but it was better than a lot of entries I've seen on 'find a star' TV shows.

I was pleased to hear that the Players are already thinking of their Christmas show - I can't wait to see it!

Theatrical Interlude 13

Rocky Horror 40th Anniversary Show. Theatre Royal, Norwich. June 2013.

I've seen the film version of this a few times and often listen to the sound track on my iPod but this was my fist time seeing it live, and even then it nearly slipped by as I didn't notice it listed in the brochure at first.

What is there to say about such an iconic show? It was brilliant - all of the actors were great with stunning voices and it was just a laugh from the very beginning.  Mr Norfolkbookworm and I didn't go in costume (the world is not ready for either of us in a corset and I fall off 1/2 inch shoes let along stilettos!) but many in the audience did and they were audacious and daring as well as very clever.

There were a lot of people in the audience who knew the "heckles" for the stage and it seemed that sometimes these had a particularly Norfolk twist to them for the narrator was occasionally hard pressed not to giggle but even then he managed to come back with some witty lines.

You either like Rocky Horror or you don't I feel - I loved it. It was like pantomime for grown ups and left me smiling and humming for the rest of the week.  If it had been possible I think that I'd have got tickets and gone again, I had so much fun.

Theatrical Interlude 1 (2013)

Acropolis Now, The Blakeney Players, Blakeney. January 2013

The first theatre outing of the year and one that didn't need a journey out of the county.

I've said before that I can never be unbiased in my reviews of these shows due to knowing at least one cast member but I think that they out did themselves this winter.

This was pure pantomime, with sketches barely linked to tell a story that was set up from the introduction of the character Hadron the clumsy boy.

We had the Gods on Mount Olympus squabbling amongst themselves - Hera channelling Sybil Fawlty was a stroke of genius - as well as interfering with the lives of the mortals in Acropolis and Troy.

Greek myths merged as the Minotaur and Labyrinth moved to Troy and then there was the Trojan (pantomime) horse. The jokes were dire - yes, the 'what's a Greek earn?' gag was in there but delivered in such a way, with such great set ups that it didn't matter. The song and dance routines were as brilliant as ever but possibly even more tenuously linked to the story than usual. 

I laughed more at this than I can remember laughing at anything since Noises Off.  Any show that manages to get four Harpies singing Tom Lehrer songs *and* a tap dancing horse has to be considered truly brilliant and biased although I am I do think that this rivalled a lot of professional stage productions.

Roll on the summer and the next Blakeney Players extravaganza!

a sneaky photo taken by Mr Norfolkbookworm during the curtain call.
On stage you can see the Harpies, Helen of Troy, Hermes, Zeus's earthly form, Hera, Zeus, Eros and the Muses.

Theatrical Interlude 11 (2012)

Hector Goes to Hollywood by The Blakeney Players, Blakeney Village Hall, August 2012.

I can never give an unbiased review of this show - even if it had been the most dreadful thing I'd ever seen (and it wasn't by any means) - as I've known one of the actors since she was born!

As ever the play was a fun romp with a daft story line which can easily be forgiven due to the passion that the whole cast throw into the performance.

The Players write, direct, choreograph their biannual shows as well as creating their own costumes and scenery.

If you haven't seen one of their shows before, or you aren't from Norfolk/Blakeney then you will be a bit lost at first but sit back and enjoy the ride, I guarantee that you'll laugh lots and find your toe tapping.

Overlook the imperfections, the corpsing and the missed lines and rush to book your tickets for the Christmas show as soon as they go on sale.