Review Written by Tony Watts

Even given the undeniable merits of the likes of Miklós Rózsa, Bernard Herrmann, Erich Korngold, Elmer Bernstein, Dimitri Tiomkin, Franz Waxman, Max Steiner and Henry Mancini in Hollywood’s golden age, in more recent times the undisputed master of film music has been the peerless John Williams, whose lengthy career has, to date, spanned more than six decades having begun in the early fifties. Showered with honours, including more than fifty Academy Award nominations (five awards), twenty-four Grammys, seven Baftas and five Golden Globes, his pre-eminence in his field is without question. The long partnership between Williams and director Steven Spielberg has lasted for more than thirty years proving enormously productive. All this coming from a man who, as a youngster, didn’t believe he could make a decent living from writing film music!

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I don’t know if audience reactions are contagious but it certainly felt like that tonight. This shall teach me to believe 5-star reviews. Seriously, what the hell did I just watch? I feel completely fooled here, and I’m not the only one. Sitting in the dark at the packed out Almeida Theatre, I spent most of my evening with my mouth open gesturing ‘eh?’ That’s exactly how I felt, and at least 20 people around me upstairs in the circle.

The Writer, written by Ella Hickson and directed by Blanche McIntyre, is complicated. I get that. Its complexity, multiple scene changes and lapse between a play-within-a-play terrain can throw off the audience a little, but, even still, somehow it holds your gaze. (Sorry but this isn’t a spoiler-free write-up, so move off if you genuinely want to see this play because what I have to say may encourage you to return your ticket pronto if you’ve got a ticket already.)

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For Chess obsessives, who have known ABBA songwriters Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus’s musical ever since 1986, the London Coliseum’s brand new production was worth the wait. (I’m not one of those fans. I was too young when it came out.) In the UK, besides the 32 year old performance at Prince Edward Theatre, only the Royal Albert Hall offered the chance to see Chess performed, again, as a concert event in 2008. But each time Chess was performed it was never the same. Andersson, Ulvaeus and its lyricists, Tim Rice constantly altered and edited the music which goes back to its original recording in 1981. Two of their songs ‘One Night in Bangkok’ and I Know Him So Well’ received much acclaim as chart singles. Music pop stars such as Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston sang notable variations of ‘I Know Him So Well.’

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Written by Thomas Joy

Daniel Kramer’s first season at the English National Opera (ENO) was always going to be bold, and it feels as though the ENO are a perfect fit for Kramer and his vision for the company.

At his introduction to the season on 1st May, Kramer came from a day of press interviews as enthusiastic and passionate about his debut season as ever, and what a season it promises to be. The newly announced 2018/19 season brings five new productions and four revivals to the stage of the London Coliseum, where the ENO are celebrating 50 years of residency this year.

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Instant Opera‘s production of Mozart’s great opera, Don Giovanni (also my favourite opera) is ‘super bad’. Why? Because it involves vampires. What if I told you that, in this production, the Don isn’t just a cold-hearted murderer and polygamous lover, with a long list of international conquests, but Britain’s own version of Count Dracula… Think about it for a second. It sounds interesting, doesn’t it? But does it work?

Performed at Normansfield Theatre in Teddington, I got to see a fantastic show of classical singers falling for, and chasing after, the elusive Count Dracula. In a previous life he was an explorer and whaler from the 17th century. Set two hundreds years after, the Don has returned to give a kiss of death, literally a bite on the neck to whoever he fancied, and they’d turn, too, transforming into hungry zombie-esque vampires. And it is no surprise that his funny, yet scared manservant, Leporello, is the only survivor.

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In Japan and Korea it is customary to ask people what their blood type is. That is so unlike the Brits. If curious, we tend to ask more about one’s zodiac sign or horoscope. It sounds rather strange and science-y but Japanese and Korean people believe that each blood type (A, B, AB, and O) has its own set of personality traits. Now imagine a world where the only piece of data that was important, more vital than your privacy, was the rating and condition of your blood; your genetic blueprint could disclose your life expectancy, job prospects and chances of finding a healthy partner. No doubt, it would be a scary place.

Showing downstairs at The Hampstead Theatre is The Phlebotomist: a challenging and thought-provoking piece of theatre set in a dystopian clinic. Written by Ella Road (making her debut at the theatre) and directed by Sam Yates, people’s survival rates are put under a microscope.

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Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull is one of many classical plays which theatregoers should see; it is almost like not seeing Shakespeare’s Macbeth ever before. Luckily for me, I was back at Theatro Technis, having reviewed Moliere’s The Misanthrope last week (review here), to see the cast of Acting Gymnasium perform Chekhov’s tragicomedy.

Gavin McArlinden‘s minimal staging, and simple use of plastic stools, puts the spotlight on the cast – after all, the popularity of The Seagull is down to the complexity of its characters and Chekhov’s crafty dialogue. Yet, if one part of the play is badly executed, the rest of the production can fall apart.

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London-based composer and violinist Layale Chaker will be performing Inner Rhyme at St Marylebone Church with the Sarafand Ensemble. Here, Layale shares with us: what inspired her to compose Inner Rhyme, how her rich Lebanese heritage influenced her musical style, and her professional experience performing as member of the West-Divan Orchestra.

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There are moments of sheer brilliance in Moliere’s 17th century play, The Misanthrope, and it is no surprise that it has been dubbed his best play. Fast forward 350 years to Theatro Technis in Mornington Crescent and you’ll see a daring, diverse and international cast from the Acting Gymnasium, with direction from Gavin McAlinden, who catapult the play to a contemporary fashion studio.

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