What? Chess
Where? Cliffs Pavillion Southend
When? 18th February 2011
Why? Because I love it!!!!!
And so it was my turn (Karina here!) to see this masterful musical. As pitiful as it sounds, musicals and theatre visits just aren't the same without Tamsin and she was sorely missed. And this is one musical we should have seen together as it would have been such a fairyesque event. However, despite the lack of Tamsin and the fact I had a few colleagues in tow (who didn't appreciate my need to sing the entire score at the top of my voice on the way home), this show is one of my first loves and has remained one.
Before I say anything further, there is a little something I need to get off my chest.
Oh women of Essex.
SHUT THE F*#~ UP!!!!
Throughout the show, throughout all the songs and musical interludes, there were five women sitting behind me talking constantly, and not in a low voice either. Laughing, chatting, drunk, rustling sweet wrappers and obviously not understanding the show or enjoying it, and too far gone to respond to mine or anyone else's requests for silence. The theatre isn't huge as it is. No respect for the performers or the audience. And sadly in appearance as well as in behaviour, they lived up to the brash, rude, in-yer-face, mouthy, peroxide, Essex woman stereotype. Infuriating. It would also appear the people of Essex in general have remarkably small bladders as they were constantly getting up and wandering out of the auditorium. It baffles me. Yer pays for yer ticket to see yer show. Why the hell talk through it or wander in and out?!? I'm a mild mannered fairy but I'm telling you, I was ready for war...but there you have it. I have said my bit. The rest of this review will be told as if the bloody banshees and ignorant blighters didn't exist!!
Chess. Aaah.
Having always been a fan of all things Abba I still remember the excitement when it was revealed the Abba boys were writing a musical. 1984 was it...? I was among the first to have the album and saved my pocket money for it. Double album. In vinyl. I remember seeing the videos on TV and even watching a concert version with Murray Head, Elaine Paige, Barbara Dickson and Tommy Koberg. I used to sing 'Heaven Help My Heart' as an audition piece. The musical was written for me! As was 'Evita', but that's a whole different story, and I might have been a tad young to take the lead in either. I'm also not certain either ALW or the Abba men were looking for talent in school playgrounds at the time. But! Back to the musical!
I saw it in London in 1988 and loved it even more. It was a very measured, classy, conservative production which showcased the musical and the songs beautifully, but which some people found a bit boring and confusing. That can not be said for this touring version...boring?
From the very first notes it's there and in your face! Tamsin had spoken of the staging and the costumes; Craig Revel Horwood has most definitely out-camped himself. It was magnificent and enjoyable...but the purist in me would have liked, if anything, maybe a cross between the old and the new; something to keep it fresh, but not taking the story to such extreme levels, sometimes bordering on farce. Also, there seemed to be elements and scenes which were there purely for shock value. I sound like my mum now. The stage in the Pavillion unfortunately limited the movement of the cast somewhat; the stage is wide but hasn't much depth and due to this action looked cramped. Because lets face it, for simple staging, there was a lot going on!
At first I thought all the action was going to centre around a perspex box on a raised bit of stage, until the ensemble came on in their magnificent costumes as the chess pieces, pretending to play musical instruments. No, not pretending. PLAYING. The ensemble were the orchestra. As well as the dancers and the actors and singers and...! Talk about multi tasking - these guys earn their money ten-fold with what they do on stage each night and are all top of their game. This was incredibly clever and effective, but would have worked better on a larger stage. And also, with so much going on the one thing that suffered was the orchestration. Or maybe I'm so used to the plush, full tones of the albums; whatever the case, the music suffered slightly in the action and I imagine that someone who hadn't seen the production before or known the songs in advance might have been disappointed. I think on a larger stage and with additional muso's to back up the current one's (as in, transfer to the West End...? Maybe...?) this would work well. Otherwise, I can be a bit of a traditionalist and like my singers to sing, dancers to dance and orchestra to play their instruments (in an orchestra pit if necessary...), if that makes any sense at all...
The song that brought tears to my eyes was 'Pity the Child'. My goodness, that James Fox can sing and I hope we get to see much, much more of him in the West End in the future (where have they kept him???). Great actor as well. Who would have thought? The boy from the Fame Academy on telly? He was magnificent. It was the one song that got an immediate standing ovation afterwards (and I believe even the drunken tartlets behind me were dumb struck having squealed over the acoustic guitar bit...sorry, no more mentions of them...) and is such a key song to understanding why the American is the bastard he is. Shona White played Florence as a sassy, sharp, slightly hard-faced character that was difficult to warm to. I remember the Florence of yore as being softer and more reflective, but I guess the character fitted in well with the new direction of the show. Shona White has a strong, belting voice, very reminiscent of Elaine Paige, which filled the auditorium. My only criticism of her voice was the lack of subtlety. She only had one volume, and that was belting. This is typical of so many female MT singers...and maybe us fairies will write a post dedicated to them at some stage (as we do concentrate on the boys quite a lot...!).
A few of the great songs (such as 'Anthem' and 'I Know Him so Well') were slightly lost and I truly believe this to be due to the size of the stage. Daniel Koek as the Russian has a fine operatic voice which is a pleasure to listen to; slightly Alfie Boe-esque in places, especially with his phrasing, and I must confess to preferring a slightly less 'trained' voice. I could have happily listened to Poppy Tierney as Svetlana a bit longer. Her voice has a slightly lower, softer pitch and she sung 'Someone Else's Story' beautifully. Which just leaves me with The Arbiter, David Erik. What a great part, and he played it well, given he was bare chested for the entire show and wore an outfit which wouldn't have looked out of place in the Rocky Horror Show. The whole production oozes 80's excess, money, greed, lust...and ultimately betrayal, discontentment and ruin. On occasions the high-camp factor grated - there was a lot of striding around letting out short bursts of maniacal laughter - but I enjoyed the show, I love the music and the cast were magnificent. If only this came back to the West End, where it belongs...!
I left the show with the feeling I had just seen something spectacular and unique, which if toned down ever so slightly, would appeal to an even wider audience. And I also left with a little shopping bag with the lyrics of 'I Know Him So Well' printed all over it. I'm so easily pleased.
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