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Review of audio described performance of South Pacific at the New Alexandra Theatre matinee on Saturday 18 Feb 2012.

63 years after its premiere Rogers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific still has some of the most popular songs of the musical genre, such as the familiar the light-hearted ‘I’m going to Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair through to the mystical Bali Hai, and of course, the romantic Some Enchanted Evening.  Having seen the film many years ago I was looking forward to seeing this award winning production newly on tour following its sell out success at London’s Barbican theatre.

Audio describers, Matt and Jacey met fellow visually impaired patrons and their companions at the Station St entrance of the New Alexandra Theatre in time for the 1 pm touch tour.  Unfortunately my cab driver dropped me off at the wrong entrance which did pose a bit of a problem but, thanks to the benefits of my mobile phone, I was able to contact the Stage Door who were really helpful and in a couple of moments the front of house manager Paul came to find me to take me to the correct entrance .. which was a great relief!  Despite this unscheduled detour I caught up with the group so didn’t miss any of the going on stage to examine some of the props including the kiosk of the Polynesian pedlar, Bloody Mary.  Matt and Jacey kindly  ensured that we all had our headsets in time to tune into their comprehensively informative pre-show notes which they delivered ‘live’ a quarter of an hour before the 2.30 pm curtain up.  During this introduction we learnt more about the sets of the various locations, the costumes and who plays which character – and we were told that on this occasion the part of the leading lady, Arkansas nurse, Nellie Forbush, would be played by the understudy Carrie Anderson, (who I thought did a brilliant job!).  I had forgotten that the story, set on a Polynesian island in 1943 during World War 2,  deals in part, with the subject of racism and so there are inevitably, some serious moments, but there are also many light-hearted scenes especially the ensemble performance of the iconic piece There is Nothing Like a Dame.  Although it is fair to say that in general terms I felt I could have followed the story without audio-description, I am so pleased that it was available for this particular performance as it enabled me to appreciate the subtle nuances, which otherwise would have eluded me.

The next audio described production at the New Alexandra Theatre will be another popular musical, Chicago, on the afternoon of Saturday 10 March 2012.  To book tickets and headsets for this audio described production and the touch tour, please ring the dedicated access line 0121 230 9077.

Review of audio-described performance of Peter Weiss’ The Marat Sade at the RSC Theatre on the afternoon of Saturday 29 October 2011.

Having read a number of differing reviews during the week leading up to this audio-described production, I was increasingly unsure about what exactly to expect from Peter Weiss’s controversial play, first performed by the RSC in London in 1964.  The subject matter of The Marat/Sade is summed up by its full title – ‘The Persecution and Assassination of Marat as performed by the inmates of the asylum of Charenton under the direction of the Marquis de Sade’ and this production directed by Anthony Neilson could, for some, be shocking with graphic depictions of perverted sexual activity and scenes of torture and violence.  Although set in 1808 less than 20 years after the French Revolution and only 15 years after Marat’s death, this production is characterised by a contemporary setting with reference to more recent revolutions, including this year’s ‘Arab Spring’.

Arriving at the RSC Theatre in time for the 11.15 am touch tour, describers Julia Grundy and Ellie Packer, escorted fellow visually impaired patrons and those accompanying them, onto the stage, which was covered with a black padded material.  The setting – the asylum – was a bare, minimalist space and we were shown a number of revolving metal turnstiles (with very sharp prongs) around the stage, through which characters could enter and exit. In the ever helpful pre-show notes (prepared in advance for people to study on-line or listen to on CD and then tune into ‘live’ for a final reminder 15 minutes before curtain-up) these 2 and a half metre high turnstiles were described as giving the impression of horizontal prison bars.  Above these gleaming metal turnstiles was the Musicians’ Gallery, which as well as housing the musicians with their array of instruments, some of Middle Eastern origin, such as an oud –  also had seats on which guests of the Asylum’s director sat, and on occasions to which  an inmate climbed up.  The Marquis de Sade himself moved between the gallery and the stage, during the 2 and a half hours of stage action depending when he had to take part in the inmates’ play him.

In the centre of the padded stage we were invited to inspect the only piece of furniture, an enormous grey rectangular metal bath, in which Marat often sat to relieve his skin disease, and a shelf placed across it allowed him to work on his lap top whilst soaking in water, which was represented by pages of white paper with print in French on them.  We were told that mobile phones would be a constant presence throughout the play, and the Asylum Director seemed to be able to calm the behaviour of any unruly inmate by ringing that individual’s phone.  All the patients – a diverse group – were dressed in variations of the same white, semi-transparent, uniform consisting of a shirt and baggy trousers for both men and women, with a trouser leg pocket in which each patient had their mobile phone.  Thanks to the comprehensive notes we also learnt that the play’s Narrator called The Herald whizzed round the stage in an electric wheelchair wielding a big stick with which she used to keep the ‘cast’ in order.

In view of the subject matter and disturbing behaviour depicted, the describers certainly faced a challenge in describing some aspects of this lewd activity – which, I must say, they didn’t shy away from doing!

The next RSC audio described performance will be the Christmas production of ‘Robin Hood’  on either the evening of Thursday 15 December 2011 or the afternoon of Saturday 7 January 2012 and information on concessionary tickets, the touch tour and how to book headsets can be obtained from the box office on 0844 800 1110.

Review of audio-described performance of Peter Weiss’ The Marat Sade at the RSC Theatre on the afternoon of Saturday 29 October 2011.

Having read a number of differing reviews during the week leading up to this audio-described production, I was increasingly unsure about what exactly to expect from Peter Weiss’s controversial play, first performed by the RSC in London in 1964.  The subject matter of The Marat/Sade is summed up by its full title – ‘The Persecution and Assassination of Marat as performed by the inmates of the asylum of Charenton under the direction of the Marquis de Sade’ and this production directed by Anthony Neilson could, for some, be shocking with graphic depictions of perverted sexual activity and scenes of torture and violence.  Although set in 1808 less than 20 years after the French Revolution and only 15 years after Marat’s death, this production is characterised by a contemporary setting with reference to more recent revolutions, including this year’s ‘Arab Spring’.

Arriving at the RSC Theatre in time for the 11.15 am touch tour, describers Julia Grundy and Ellie Packer, escorted fellow visually impaired patrons and those accompanying them, onto the stage, which was covered with a black padded material.  The setting – the asylum – was a bare, minimalist space and we were shown a number of revolving metal turnstiles (with very sharp prongs) around the stage, through which characters could enter and exit. In the ever helpful pre-show notes (prepared in advance for people to study on-line or listen to on CD and then tune into ‘live’ for a final reminder 15 minutes before curtain-up) these 2 and a half metre high turnstiles were described as giving the impression of horizontal prison bars.  Above these gleaming metal turnstiles was the Musicians’ Gallery, which as well as housing the musicians with their array of instruments, some of Middle Eastern origin, such as an oud –  also had seats on which guests of the Asylum’s director sat, and on occasions to which  an inmate climbed up.  The Marquis de Sade himself moved between the gallery and the stage, during the 2 and a half hours of stage action depending when he had to take part in the inmates’ play him.

In the centre of the padded stage we were invited to inspect the only piece of furniture, an enormous grey rectangular metal bath, in which Marat often sat to relieve his skin disease, and a shelf placed across it allowed him to work on his lap top whilst soaking in water, which was represented by pages of white paper with print in French on them.  We were told that mobile phones would be a constant presence throughout the play, and the Asylum Director seemed to be able to calm the behaviour of any unruly inmate by ringing that individual’s phone.  All the patients – a diverse group – were dressed in variations of the same white, semi-transparent, uniform consisting of a shirt and baggy trousers for both men and women, with a trouser leg pocket in which each patient had their mobile phone.  Thanks to the comprehensive notes we also learnt that the play’s Narrator called The Herald whizzed round the stage in an electric wheelchair wielding a big stick with which she used to keep the ‘cast’ in order.

In view of the subject matter and disturbing behaviour depicted, the describers certainly faced a challenge in describing some aspects of this lewd activity – which, I must say, they didn’t shy away from doing!

The next RSC audio described performance will be the Christmas production of ‘Robin Hood’  on either the evening of Thursday 15 December 2011 or the afternoon of Saturday 7 January 2012 and information on concessionary tickets, the touch tour and how to book headsets can be obtained from the box office on 0844 800 1110.

Review of audio described performance of Aladdin on the matinee of Saturday 30 April 2011 at The Wolverhampton Grand.

Winner of the Tony Award for best musical in 2005, Eric Idle and John Dupres’ ‘Spamalot’ tells the legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, featuring the Lady of the Lake as well as a bevy of beautiful showgirls, not to mention cows, killer rabbits and over the top French people!  Hilarious songs include, ‘He is not dead yet’ ‘Knights of the Round Table’, ‘Find your Grail’ and the particularly well known ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’.  Billed as Monty Python’s Spamalot we knew from the start that it was likely to be zany comedy which is indeed exactly what it turned out to be!  It was a thoroughly entertaining show by extremely professional company of 13 actors (10 men and 3 women) many of whom played a number of roles.

On our touch tour an hour before curtain-up, we were shown the one simple pantomime style set, the central acting area of which was grass green painted floor, enclosed by panels painted with designs of the 12th Century.  We were also able to inspect a grand French-style chateau rising up beyond the trees – the chateau was built of mellow red brick with lots of windows.  While we were in the wings we were also shown a number of props, including wigs and King Arthur’s sword ‘Excalibur’.

Back in the foyer there was plenty of time to collect our headsets (for the standard 2.00 deposit) before taking our seats to listen to the ‘live’ introductory notes presented by the describer who, on this occasion, was Anne Hornsby.  For those of us who had been on stage we were reminded of the set and Anne gave us some useful detailed description of the characters and their costumes – like the scenery the costumes were brightly coloured pantomime-style outfits – knights in armour, ladies in long elegant gowns and tall head-dresses, as well as grubby peasants in rough, ragged brown and grey clothes.  The pantomime theme was also evident when somebody was invited up on to the stage having, unbeknownst to him of course, been sitting on the seat under which the Grail was hidden, however much you prepare your commentary you obviously can’t legislate for this type of ad-libbing but if you have the expertise of  Anne Hornsby its clearly not a problem as she rose to this challenge effortlessly.  At the end of the show when the words appear on a screen of the iconic Bright Side of Life song so that the audience can join in, Anne made sure that we VIPs could also sing along by reminding us of the lyrics line by line.

The next audio described show at the Grand will be the American classic, To Kill a Mocking Bird, on the afternoon of Saturday 21 May, and information on concessionary tickets, the touch tour and how to book headsets can be obtained from the box office on 01902 429212.
 

Review of audio described performance of Jekyll and Hyde at the Birmingham Hippodrome on Saturday, 9 April 2011 – from Vidar Hjardeng

It is quite some time since I went to a musical that I hadn’t seen before and enjoyed it so much, but this was the case with Saturday’s audio described matinee of Jekyll and Hyde at the Birmingham Hippodrome.  Based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic gothic novel – with music by Steve Cuden and Frank Wildhorn and lyrics by award-winning composer Leslie Bricusse - this is the story of the respectable, decent and brilliant, but obsessive, scientist Dr Jekyll whose sadistic alter ego Mr Hyde wreaks havoc across Victorian London in this, dark, twisted tale about love, redemption and the seductive power of evil.

On our pre-show touch tour visually impaired patrons and their companions, were taken onto the stage featuring a London backdrop featuring the up market Regent’s Park facades and the sleazy Spider’s Web, which was a Camden Town brothel.  We were also shown Dr Jekyll’s laboratory and a number of the key props such as a bed in the brothel, another bed with its restraining straps in the Hospital for the Mentally Ill, and an old hand cart used for, amongst other things, wheeling off the murdered Lucy whose body was then sold for dissection.
As we explored the set we had the unexpected bonus (especially for the women!!) of a brief appearance from the star of the show, Marti Pellow, who had a few words with us before starting his warm-up.  Normally matinee touch tours at the Hippodrome start at 1 pm but on this occasion it began at 12.30 which allowed us to both enjoy an unhurried examination of the set and props along with a leisurely lunch in one of the 2 theatre restaurants which still gave us time to take our seats for the introductory notes 15 minutes before curtain-up.  As I have often mentioned before, first class audio description requires a lot of preparation with the describers constructing their script by watching a DVD recording of the show.  On this occasion however when describer, Margaret Spittles, put her DVD in the machine it wouldn’t work!  Consequently because of this dud DVD, Margaret had to come up to the Hippodrome to watch Friday evening’s performance during which she made notes which she then worked into a script – late into the night.  Had Margaret not told me of these technical difficulties I would certainly not have been any the wiser as she did a fantastic job, and her detailed audio description certainly enhanced my enjoyment of the performance.

The next audio-described performance at the Birmingham Hippodrome will be Thriller based on the music of Michael Jackson, on the afternoon of Saturday 30 April 2011 and details on ticket prices, how to book headsets and places on the touch tour, can be obtained from the box office on 0844 338 5000.