Preview | MATA HARI THE MUSICAL (Edinburgh Fringe Festival)

They’ve done it again! The champions of the parody musical genre are back!

Punchline Theatre, the company behind Guido!: The Gunpowder Treason Plot and Jack & I: The Jack the Ripper Musical return to this year’s Edinburgh Fringe at the beautiful Merchants Hall. Their latest show Mata Hari: The Musical explores and reimagines the life of the infamous wartime courtesan, femme fatale, and alleged spy Mata Hari in an explosion of colour, sound, and comedy!

“No, you don’t have to have seen our other shows, or even be aware of who Mata Hari was”, writer Daniel Henry Kaes informs me. “We are making are the same points as we have always done, but it’s a genre that naturally leaves itself open to parody. It is perfectly possible in my eyes to have a fantastically funny show, with catchy songs and crazy characters, that at the same time is informative, revealing, and up-lifting. The starting point for these musicals was the idea that history is written by the winners, so trying to reimagine these “anti-heroes” in this offbeat, individualist manner is very liberating.”

The real legend of Mata Hari has triggered much debate amongst historians, and it is her fantastic story of seduction and alleged espionage in that makes her such a perfect choice for a musical. Punchline Theatre are fast growing in their popularity for their cult musicals and they are joined this year by award-winning comedian and director Will Seaward. Their anarchic spirit has been compared to The Comic Strip Presents, Python, Jerry Springer: The Opera, and Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, and once again Punchline Theatre is sure to provide a breath of fresh air at this year’s Edinburgh Festival.

Mata Hari: the Musical runs for three weeks from 6th - 27th August, 8:45pm (50 mins) at Spotlites @ Merchants Hall at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2015.

Click here to book tickets. 

Review | THE KING DANCES / CARMINA BURANA (Birmingham Royal Ballet) June 2015

Celebrating 20 years of Artistic Director, David Bintley, Birmingham Royal Ballet present his first and most recent ballets for the company at Birmingham Hippodrome this week. 

The King Dances is the 1653 story of the 14-year-old Louis XIV of France who danced the role of Apollo the sun god in Le Ballet de la nuit, and earned himself forever the soubriquet the Sun King. In the ballet, David Bintley re-imagines the very beginnings of ballet, when men were quite literally, the kings of dance.

From it's fiery opening with flickering flames, the Messieurs are perfectly poised but it is ultimately, Le Roi, the Sun King danced by William Bracewell who commands attention over the discordant score. His duet with the moon, Yijing Zhang's Selene, la Lune is simply beautiful and leads nicely into a striking finale of glowing gold. 

It all overseen by the brilliance of seasoned dancer Iain Mackay as La Nuit who's turn as Le Diable, the devil adds a welcome change in dynamic. It is rather succinct at only 35 minutes but is nonetheless pure, undiluted brilliance. 

1995's Carmina Burana opens with the familiar 'O Fortuna' - the last time I was sat at Birmingham Hippodrome listening to that song, I was being covered in snow by clowns, it's a versatile an anthem. Here it provides the perfect introduction to the angular, disjointed choreography, executed with gusto from Céline Gittens,  as a break from the more classical ballet of which we were treated to earlier in the evening. 

If it's something BRB do well, it's providing contrast in it's double and triple bills whilst keeping the theme relatively correlating. Carmina Burana keeps the dark drama of the first piece but despite being 20 years old injects a freshness through the abandoning of structure and the exploration of fate. 

Divided into several departures from faith, 'On The Village Green' is sprightly, much like MacMillan's Elite Syncopations, an injection of colour, flirtatious and contests with the equally entertaining 'In The Tavern' which also draws parallels with Jooss' The Green Table - gluttons in masks and gloves dancing around a table on which Daria Stanciulescu is presented as an effortlessly delicate Roast Swan. 

The climax, a reprise of O Fortuna is preceded by a breathtaking sequence for the tearing down of the backcloth and revealing of a concert-like spectacle that's all in the staging. 

Not only The King Dances but the evening as a whole is deliciously dark and by it's climax, glows gloriously. 

At Birmingham Hippodrome until Saturday. Click here for tickets. 

View the trailer for Carmina Burana

News | BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET ANNOUNCE JAN TEO AS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE

The Board of Directors at Birmingham Royal Ballet has announced the appointment of Jan Teo as its new Chief Executive. Ms. Teo has served as a member of the Birmingham Royal Ballet Board for the past two years and has long experience in corporate management and the arts. She will take up the position in mid-September. Current Chief Executive Christopher Barron is leaving the Company in July, as announced in November.

Announcing Ms. Teo’s appointment, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Chair of the Board, Professor Michael Clarke said: “I am extremely pleased that we can make this appointment. The Board conducted a thorough international search, and while there was no shortage of qualified candidates it was nevertheless hugely gratifying to find the answer round our own Board table. Jan has just the mix of leadership skills and management experience we need, knows the Company well, and has great experience in the arts sector in Birmingham. We look forward to working successfully with her.”

In 2009 Ms. Teo joined Deutsche Bank as a Director, heading up the Change and Infrastructure Group in Birmingham. Having played a leading role in the exponential growth of the business, Jan became Chief Operating Officer for Deutsche Bank’s European Service Centres in early 2011. Jan draws on extensive commercial experience of planning and executing strategy, having been formerly a senior leader at Legal and General, Barclays Bank, RAC Motoring Services, Lex Transfleet and the Fraikin Group, working in Service and Business Transformation Director roles.

A strong and active supporter of Birmingham Royal Ballet, Ms. Teo joined its board in 2013, and the Company’s Finance and General Purposes Committee in 2014. Ms. Teo is also a Director of the Birmingham Museums Trust, where she chairs the Finance and Operations Committee. She has played an important part in the annual Deutsche Bank Creative Awards and the Women in European Business diversity group. At the invitation of Sir Albert Bore, she led a workshop at the 2012 Cultural

Summit, also sits on a steering group of Birmingham’s Creative Partnership Board looking at alternative funding models for arts and creative businesses.

Jan Teo added: “I am delighted to combine my corporate skills with a personal and lifelong passion for the arts and cultural pursuits, and am looking forward to working with the immensely talented and dedicated team at Birmingham Royal Ballet. Having been a member of the Board, I have had the privilege of getting to know the Chair and the Company well, and vice versa. It is a double honour to be following Chris Barron and all his achievements in the role of Chief Executive and to be working toward the future alongside David Bintley.”

Review | PETER PAN (Welsh National Opera) June 2015

Peter Pan, the story of the boy who never grows up... and it is before they're grown up that you should introduce children to theatre and they're likely to become lifelong theatregoers. Children need a way in, usually pantomime (of which Peter Pan is becoming a popular choice) but for other forms, such as Ballet and Opera it can be more difficult. 

Companies such as Northern Ballet are great at their 'Children's Ballets' with Elves And The Shoemaker currently touring and now Welsh National Opera's attempt to appeal to new audiences comes in the shape of J.M Barrie's classic tale. 

Despite Disney's glossier movie, recent adaptations of the story have focussed on the darker undertone, the RSC's Wendy And Peter Pan for example explores not only death  but closer looks at Wendy's responsibilities. For this version, it appears that the very Victorian nature of the story is the central theme - the dark and Dickens-like London that perhaps ties into WNO's season - A Terrible Innocence. 

The innocence however is what I'd question. I'm not entirely sure that opera fully lends itself to the story of Peter Pan. For one, the operatic style of singing is mature beyond any of the characters' age  and it was apparent in the confusion of nearby children that adults playing the young Darling family was a little too much to comprehend. 

The lyrics are at their best when spoken. Much of the evening is spent looking at the subtitles for clarification despite it being sung in English. It seems odd to say that it is the singing itself that takes away from the piece which is otherwise a visual treat. 

It's beautifully lit and there are some breathtaking movement sequences. The use of trains cleverly  aid change in location and even a train carriage as a pirate ship works well. The locations themselves are made from toys and other objects around the children's nursery - it's very clever, especially the grandfather clock which becomes the crocodile. The only confusion design-wise is that Neverland seems to be located within the nursery itself, perhaps suggesting it's just a make believe bedtime story? 

There is a very nice use of animated projection to portray Tinkerbell and her revival is a heartwarming moment aided with the use of puppetry. 

Ashley Holland is excellent and stands out as Captain Hook. The highlight is Hook's song with his band of pirates. Surprisingly, it is this moment that's most lighthearted and has the most rhythm, it's where the music finally gets going from what was a little discordant before. 

The idea of Peter Pan as an opera is not to be dismissed, but to be thoroughly enjoyed by children it needs to focus on the fantasy and a greater sense of hope, it's dark and very downbeat. The deliberate focus on the danger removes the elements of fun. For the adults, perhaps a deeper exploration into at least one of the relationships that begins to touch at the heart.

An alternative flight to Neverland - a route you won't have taken before but one that's interesting to travel. 

For further operas at Birmingham Hippodrome, click here. 

Preview | 14/48 THE WORLDS QUICKEST THEATRE FESTIVAL IN WOLVERHAMPTON

Straight from the streets of Seattle, 14/48 WOLVERHAMPTON is landing at the Arena Theatre in June and is set to showcase 14 plays over a 48-hour period.

The festival is the brainchild of Michael Neff and Jodi-Paul Wooster, who hatched the initial plans whilst working at South Lake Union, Seattle. From humble beginnings, the festival has developed into a gathering of Seattle’s most daring theatre artists and audiences. After 16-plus years, the festival has gone global and visits Wolverhampton from 12 – 13 June 2015.

During the two-day period in the city, 14 plays will be written, directed, scored, designed and performed within 48 hours. A team of 75 artists from the across the Midlands, the UK and Seattle are engaged in the festival, producing 7 premiere plays per evening.

14/48 is a ‘live brief’ networking opportunity, a new writing festival, theatre stripped back to it’s raw roots. It is the most fun, challenging, and invigorating experience for both the artists and audiences that make it possible. It aims to develop satellite festivals across the world, encouraging a flow of artists between festivals, and the benefits that blossom from these connections.

As part of the festival, there will also be a Meet the Brewer event with Sacre Brew, an exciting artisanal microbrewery based in Wolverhampton on the evening of Saturday 13 June.

14/48 performances begin at 8pm and 10:30pm on 12 & 13 June priced at £5 - £7 per show or £8 - £10 for both nights booked together. Tickets are on sale now from www.arena.wlv.ac.uk or by calling the Box Office 01902 321321.

For more information visit www.1448uk.com/wolverhampton or @1448wolves.