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New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
Kieron Quirke's rating
Reader rating
The Barber of Saville Row: deliberately shambolic
It’s a two star but for a while it felt like a four. Tim Riley and John Lovat’s very silly reworking of the Barber of Seville sets it in an Ealingesque 1950s. It gets off to a cracking start. On a conflated, cartoon set Count Almaviva, renamed the Marquis of Basingstoke, creeps on to a jazzy, walking bass, and woos Rosy Simmons, ward of the tailor Mr Bart, to a washboard accompaniment.
For Opera Unexpected are all about irreverence and accessibility. The music, a jazz trio plus saxophone under the baton of Stephen Hose, gives you the basic orchestral lines played with verve. Dialogue replaces recitative.
The characters are reassuringly familiar. Richard Immargluck’s Figaro is a strangely well-spoken teddy/wide boy, Patrick Ashcroft’s Marquis a Woosterish fop. The policeman says: “Evening all.” Angry old Mr Bart says: “I don’t believe it.” The hoary jokes almost double bluff your expectation, surprising you into laughter.
It’s deliberately shambolic, and Immergluch and Ashcroft are excellent comedians, charming their way through this pantomime shtick, helped by a hilarious Dame turn from Philip Canner as bass nun Donna Basil and the improvisations of Tony Harris as the local plod. It’s all very fun. Then bearable. Then not so.
It is the music that breaks the spell. This adaptation has cut down near four hours of Rossini to two and a half, and should have cut an hour more.
For this opera is a hard sing, its arias long and packed with pyrotechnics. The director tries every trick to distract attention from voices that are at times nowhere near keeping up. But the barrel is empty by Mr Bart’s aria — seven minutes of vocal show the gallant performer can’t make interesting.
After that, things begin to spoil. Bad jokes seem just bad jokes. Zany irreverence seems self-indulgence. With wine at the interval it might have remained hilarious. Sober, all I took away was a worn sense of irony and a paradoxical lesson: with “so bad it’s good”, less is quite definitely more.
Until 15 April. Information: www.warehousetheatre.co.uk.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
This opera was fantastic, i was'nt expecting it to be so enjoyable.
The actors were very professional and the singing was amazing.
It was also very funny, and I was amazed at how much I enjoyed it.
I'm planning to go back and take my daughter with me this time before it moves on
Thanks for a great night
- Ann Oliver, London
Thought the whole evening was immense fun. As someone who's not keen on too much operatic repetition I loved the way the story moved along at an excellent pace interspersed with some extremely funny moments. Having the band on stage and almost 'in the thick of it' adds another dimension and I loved the performers who had huge energy and verve. I'll be back with my 10 and 11 year old neice and nephew!
- Horace, kilburn
One of the best nights out we've had in ages - a real tonic to credit-crunched Croydon, that's for certain!
Unexpected Opera's wonderful show is less opera and more unexpected delight. I certainly wasn't expecting to enjoy it half as much as I did but my sides were aching with laughter at times and I had to remove my glasses on several ocaisions to wipe away the tears!
The chap playing Figaro was pocessed of a very fine voice and gave a splendid performance, the lovely girl playing Rosie also had a beautiful voice.
My wife's the opera buff and brought me along hoping it might encourage me to join her on one of her jaunts up to Covent Garden and the like and after last night it may well do. If the chaps up in town can do half as good as this lot then it'll be another good night out.
- John, Croydon, UK
