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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,
Nick Curtis's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Kerry Michael, Dawn Reid, Jackie Guy (choreography).
Cast: Rolan Bell, Jacqui Dubois, Derek Elroy, Victor Romero Evans, Joanna Francis, Matthew J Henry, Marlon King, Susan Lawson-Reynolds, Joy Mack, Marcus Powell, Joe Speare, Chris Tummings
Description: Perry Henzell's stage adaptation of the 1970s film, in which a young reggae singer goes to Kingston, Jamaica, with dreams of becoming a star. Directed by Kerry Michael and Dawn Reid. Contains strong language, not suitable for under 12s.
Trains: Tube: Charing Cross 
Phone: 0870060 6631
Website: www.ambassadortickets.com/Playhouse-Theatre/Information
Enthralling: The Harder They Come cast
Honky Tonk father: Sir Mick Jagger and his daughter Georgia in the audience
Never mind the plot, just revel in the reggae standards and the shattering vocal performances.
Perry Henzell’s lively, beautifully sung and danced musical, previously admired at Stratford East and the Barbican, is loosely based on his 1972 feature film about a would-be Jamaican singer who becomes a gangster, then a folk hero, then a bullet-riddled corpse.
You could draw a direct line from the options open to Jimmy Cliff ’s Ivan Martin in the film to the world of So Solid Crew and 50 Cent today, but on stage the plot is a mere framing device for the killer soundtrack. The show is none the worse for this, but Ivan points fingers, rather than pistols, at us from the poster now.
In the inventive staging of directors Kerry Michael and Dawn Reid, the cast throngs around the band on the stripped-back stage like punters at a Kingston dancehall stepping forward as required.
Even the temperature felt right last night as Sir Mick Jagger and his teenage daughter Georgia joined the first night audience and danced along to the performance. If the acting is arch, with half-rhyming lines tossed off with a wink at the audience, the singing is anything but. Each song is delivered with verve, brio and in many cases astonishing virtuosity, while the dance routines escalate from sedate strutting into hectic frenzy.
And, to be honest, there is arguably enough emotional information in Cliff classics such as You Can Get It If You Really Want and Many Rivers To Cross to negate the need for a plot all together.
The corrupt and thwarting collusion of Jamaica’s politicians, police, drug dealers and record producers is similarly underscored by Desmond Dekker’s Shanty Town and The Maytals’ Pressure Drop, while the only alternative offered to Ivan — Christianity and poverty — is made to look briefly alluring via an uplifting version of Higher And Higher. This last number benefits immensely from the extraordinary vocals of Joanna Francis, who plays Elsa, the preacher’s ward who catches Ivan’s eye, and who has a gospel-tinged voice that could blow a church down.
Rolan Bell, once again reprising the role of Ivan, has a clear, bell-like voice and wonderfully snaky thighs, even if he boomerangs too easily between sorrow and swagger when not singing.
Despite indifferent acting, when the whole cast and the tight band pull together, it’s enthralling.
How nice to have an all-black and almost-contemporary musical in the West End at last, even if it has more confidence in its back catalogue than its narrative convictions.
Box office: 0870 060 6631.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
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I went to see this show twice when it was in Stratford, fantastic performance on both occasions. Congratulations to all involved in getting it to the west end, I just might have to go a third time.
- Annette, London
You could have mentioned that the late Perry Henzell's wife Sally, his daughter Justine and his grand kids Drew and Dylan were in the audience to lend a little luck to the opening night... in addition to Sir Mick.
- Jonathan Orenstein, New York City
