Cheerio, old chaps, you cultural bastards who leech upon the artistic fluids coming from the arteries of bigger men. It is me, Lord Boyling, and I am dedicating a section of this latest issue to reviewing some of the latest shows that have hit our beloved stage life, here in the heartland of cultural London. Yes, as we all know, spring has given us a massive amount of spectacular shows, many of which I have visited, and most of which I have slept through entirely. This, however, does not stop me from actually providing you, dear readers, some insight in what to see and what to avoid, in this bedlam of theaters, operas and ballets. I give you, The Stage in Review!
First up is the critically acclaimed three act drama from famed writer and director A.M. Barrelton: The Thrice Tried and Failed Hara-kiri of Young Werther. In this fifth of Barrelton’s plays, which takes place in an Irish sake bar in southern Germany, we get a grip of the true capacity of up-and-coming actor Laurence Dandleburn, who previously charmed half of London with his interpretation of Marc Anthony in Romans and Romance, a Story of Spears in Rears. As young Werther, he absolutely shines on the stage, his boyish face a fiery beacon of true artistic value. It’s really a shame that the whole play completely fails because of his utter inability to read a single line with even a hint of conviction. I look forward to the day when his talents will come to better use in one of those Whitechapel stage classics, such as Donkey and Boy, or Big Man, Small Man. Or, perhaps, I don’t.
A more refreshing experience was had at the local variety show this February, where the freshly imported, three-legged dance miracle Anushka Nvovelka made a wonderful interpretation of the usually four-hundred-twenty cast ballet Wincing the Night Somewhere all by herself. It is really a tragedy that she was later found dead in her dressing room due to heart failure and more so that the ballet was not really that special, when it comes down to it.
Oh, I know, I must sound like such a contemptuous bastard, but such is the life in show business: harsh, cruel and elitist. Just look at how the potentially magnificent, yet outright failing, opera Timmy, the Brave Little Pup, based upon some of Salieri’s lesser known works (the early years). How creator Luca Pinizione could eliminate the talent of the powerful soprano Lugo Moranciello by muffling him in the dog costume is beyond me, and I can still not understand why security forcefully removed my kazoo after lightening up some of the gloomier moments of this rather dreary opera. I did not enjoy this opera, not one bit!
And that is all for this time, dear readers, and I am sure that till next time, I will have more reports of the sordid and tedious shows of today’s society |
