Reviews

Broadcast 2000

Jahn Vannisselroy — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:54:00 GMT

Broadcast 2000 (Groenland Records)

2008 EP Building Blocks heralded the arrival of a whimsy-pop talent in the form of Devon DIY multi-instrumentalist Joe Steer, aka Broadcast 2000.

For his first long player, Steer has once again put together a set of tunes so magical they could have been created by an orchestra of fairies.

Its best songs – Get Up And Go and Don’t Weigh Me Down – already featured on Building Blocks, and see Steer resting on his laurels.

Very pretty laurels, mind.

ALISON GRINTER

Scratch My Back

Jahn Vannisselroy — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:49:00 GMT

Peter Gabriel (EMI)

“The New Blood tour,” reports his website, sternly, “is Peter Gabriel, orchestra, no drums, no guitars.”

Advertisement or warning? Both, probably. But the album it’s promoting is more of the latter.

Gabriel is describing Scratch My Back as a “song exchange” programme, in which he performs another artist’s song in return for them performing one of his on a future record.

But that’s basically just window dressing. Scratch My Back is a covers album, in which Gabriel performs songs by the likes of Radiohead, Neil Young and Elbow to a slow-motion orchestral soundtrack.

The album isn’t without its successes.

John Metcalfe’s languorous orchestral arrangement is a lovely foil for Lou Reed’s The Power Of The Heart, and the string-driven rhythms of the Magnetic Fields The Book Of Love work nicely.

But even so, all but diehard fans will be disappointed that Gabriel’s second album in 18 years is such an inessential collection.

WILL FULFORD-JONES

Six Degrees of Separation

Jahn Vannisselroy — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:41:00 GMT

Affluent New Yorkers are serially conned by a clever confidence trickster in John Guare’s fact-inspired 1990 play about a young black hustler who convinces them he’s film star Sidney Poitier’s son and flatters their egos with the promise of bit parts in a movie version of Cats.

Less interested in financial gain than acceptance into an otherwise inaccessible elite society, Obi Abili’s charmingly reinvented Paul touches something deeper in Lesley Manville’s chic Ouisa, even after she and her art-dealing husband discover the deception.

David Grindley’s swift production can’t overcome the self-conscious nature of the writing, and subsidiary characters are sketchily drawn, but there’s enough wit to sustain the 90 minutes of this satire on the lifestyle and values of well-heeled liberals.

LOUISE KINGSLEY

» Old Vic, The Cut, SE1 8NB Waterloo, Until Apr 3. £10-£47

The Whisky Taster

Jahn Vannisselroy — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:17:00 GMT

James Graham has chosen a fascinating subject for his new comedy – an intriguing neurological condition called synaesthesia in which information processed through one cognitive pathway triggers the functioning of another.

In advertising exec Barney’s case, words and colours are all mixed up together – wavy patterns make him dizzy and tartan catapults him into a headache of colourful sensory overload.

But the way he experiences the world also gives him an edge when it comes to winning a new account – a skill his colleague Nicola encourages when pitching to the agency’s latest potential client.

With the possibility of a posting to Mumbai in the offing, she’s desperate to impress their obnoxious boss (Simon Merrells) with a campaign to reinvent vodka as the new, aspirational whisky. Kate O’Flynn is in verbal overdrive as the determined Nicola, and there’s stolid support from John Stahl as the eponymous Scotsman in a kilt.

Summoned to London so that she can pick his brains, he’s happy to impart what he knows about life and whisky but stubbornly refuses to even taste the vodka.

As shy, lovesick Barney, Samuel Barnett is touchingly perfect, prepared to sacrifice his career rather than break up a working partnership he wishes he could turn into something more.

There’s more than the germ of a first rate play here, but Graham shows a tendency to overwrite and, although the result is frequently enjoyable, he hasn’t yet managed to distil his promising ingredients into anything like a vintage blend.

LOUISE KINGSLEY

Bush Theatre, Shepherds Bush Green, W12 8QD, (020 8743 5050) till 20th February (£15 {Saturday matinees £13})

Three Sisters

Jahn Vannisselroy — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:08:00 GMT

Experimental theatre company Filter aren’t quite radical enough in their new production of Chekhov’s drama of unfulfilled lives and hopeless longing.

Their irresistible 2008 interpretation of another classic, Twelfth Night, ruthlessly cut it down to less than 90 minutes whilst still preserving the essence – and the fun - of Shakespeare’s comedy.

But although some of the same techniques are employed here – the stage looks like a rehearsal room, the technicians and musical instruments are integrated into the action, and the actors themselves shift such scenery as there is – this time round they’re less effective.

There’s an emphasis on sound – a kettle (not a samovar) comes to the boil in a void of silence, declarations of love uttered in secret trysts are amplified through microphones - but quite why, (unlike her older siblings) the youngest Prozorov, Irina (in her black leggings and white lace dress) speaks with an Irish accent is something of a mystery.

As her youthful enthusiasm for work is replaced by the reality of the daily grind, she seems destined to follow in the footsteps of Poppy Miller’s older, dowdier Olga, whilst elegant, languid middle sister, Masha, (wed far too young to Paul Brennen’s well-meaning but irritatingly devoted school teacher) falls for John Lightbody’s philosophising Vershinin (temporarily stationed in their garrison town, equally unhappily married but charismatic in his army uniform).

It’s a competent production, not without its moments of humour and pathos, but the heart seems to have gone out of it – and the innovations aren’t enough to fill the empty space.

LOUISE KINGSLEY

Lyric Hammersmith, King Street, W6 0QL (0871 221 1726) Till 20 February (£10-25))

Animal

Jahn Vannisselroy — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:25:00 GMT

Ke$ha (Columbia)

No, that dollar sign ain’t a typo; it’s more like a statement of intent for one-woman chart-dominating machine Kesha Rose Sebert.

Listening to her debut LP, which was assisted by Dr Luke, producer behind hits for Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne etc, there’s no denying the head-bopping catchiness and sassy irreverence of tunes such as Tik Tok and Back$tabber.

But too many others dissolve into a mess of synths, vocoder effects and obnoxious teen attitude.

ALISON GRINTER

The Courage Of Others

Jahn Vannisselroy — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:16:00 GMT

Midlake (Bella Union)

Swaddled in faintly folk-rock acoustic guitars, rich in lyrics that never quite explain themselves, Midlake’s third LP is even more elusive than their breakthrough The Trials Of Van Occupanther.

For all that though, it’s just as impressive – cohesive despite the carefully constructed mystery that surrounds it.

You occasionally wish Tim Smith would add a second dynamic to his tender, slightly sleepy voice, but that’s hair-picking about what’s ultimately a lovely, tender album.

WILL FULFORD-JONES

One Life Stand

Jahn Vannisselroy — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:11:00 GMT

Hot Chip (EMI)

Alexis Taylor’s contributions to the music may be essential, but his comrades might do well to grab back the mic from their bandmate.

As with the last album, Made In The Dark, Taylor’s emaciated vocals are easily the worst thing about One Life Stand, drilling a hole in the pulsating likes of Thieves In The Night, and rendering such slowies as Slush almost unlistenable.

The frustrating thing is almost everything else about One Life Stand is perfect.

Nearly a great record.

WILL FULFORD-JONES

The Sea

Jahn Vannisselroy — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:04:00 GMT

Corinne Bailey Rae (EMI)

The very public and unexpected death of her husband has probably changed Corinne Bailey Rae, as it would surely change anyone. It has certainly changed her music.

The stock music industry phrase “difficult second album” can rarely have carried as much weight as it does with The Sea, which to all intents and purposes is a eulogy for her former lover.

Leaving aside the odd airier moment (Paris Nights/New York Mornings), the sun-soaked optimism of Put Your Records On is conspicuously absent here.

From grief-shrouded opener Are You Here to the plangent sorrow of the title track, The Sea makes for uneasy listening. It’s partly because of the subject matter, but it’s also partly due to the shapelessness of some of the songs.

Still, at its best – the fluid, shimmering Diving For Hearts, for instance – it transcends the confessional. Beautifully sung and empathetically produced by Rae with Steve Brown and Steve Chrisanthou, The Sea is much more than one person’s panacea.

WILL FULFORD-JONES

The Caretaker

Jahn Vannisselroy — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:59:00 GMT

Inviting a tramp to share your junk-filled bedsit isn’t a smart move, but that’s what well-intentioned Aston does in this 1960 black comedy which marked Harold Pinter’s first commercial success.

Jonathan Pryce invests the stinking, calculating Davies with sudden tics, indignant outbursts and a desperate dependence as he tries to play off Peter McDonald’s sluggish Aston against his menacing brother Mick (a controlled but quick to spark Sam Spruell).

They all have plans – to get to Sidcup, to build a garden shed, convert the place into a dream home.

None is likely to come to fruition, but this fine revival builds in atmosphere as allegiances shift and the unlikely power struggle to take over the grubby attic exposes the damaged natures of all three men.

Louise Kingsley

» Trafalgar Studios 1, SW1A 2DY Charing Cross (0844 871 7632; ambassadortickets.com/trafalgarstudios) Until Apr 17. £20-£45

Legally Blonde – The Musical

Jahn Vannisselroy — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:27:00 GMT

A hit even before press night, this musical version of the 2001 film is as cheerfully chirpy as Californian sorority queen Elle Woods, who sets out to prove that blondes have brains.

It’s as insubstantial as candyfloss, but is lots of fun with Sheridan Smith playing a perky Elle.

Jill Halfpenny impresses as a beautician, Alex Gaumond’s reliable Emmet scrubs up a treat and the Chihuahua performs like a pro.

LOUISE KINGSLEY

» Savoy, The Strand, WC2R 0ET Charing Cross (0844 871 7687; legallyblonde themusical.co.uk ). Until May 23. £20-£62.50

Greta Garbo came to Donegal

Jahn Vannisselroy — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:13:00 GMT

Greta Garbo famously wanted to be alone even before she retired from the silver screen.

So where better to seek out seclusion than a Donegal backwater?

Frank McGuinness’s fine new play puts a fictional spin on an event that really took place – the film goddess’s visit to Ireland as the guest of a painter.

Set in the late 1960s in the large house once owned by the Catholic Hennessy family, but now in the hands of homosexual artist Sir Matthew (a fruity Daniel Gerroll), it imagines a brief stopover in a place “half way” between New York and Sweden.

Unmarried Paulie Hennessy has accepted the restrictions of life as his housekeeper, but for Colette, her teenage niece, the place has nothing to offer.

Her hopes are pinned on winning a scholarship to study medicine in Dublin and escape from Sylvia and chauffeur James (Owen McDonnell), her bickering parents.

Drunk or sober, resentment over the loss of the property and their reduced status as the new owner’s domestics fuels their vitriolic slanging matches.

Cockney ex-boxer Harry completes the household, fulfilling the dual function of live-in lover and gardener - and making an early appearance completely starkers.

Garbo (in her sixties, and as aloof as ever in Caroline Lagerfelt’s ironically detached performance) arrives, takes an immediate dislike to Angeline Ball’s ignorant Sylvia, almost lets her guard slip as she forges an unexpected connection with Michelle Fairley’s excellent Paulie (whose drab pinafore belies the fun-loving girl she once was) and departs leaving an unexpected legacy behind her. Robert Jones’ clever design smoothly merges indoors and out, and Nicolas Kent’s well-acted production hints at imminent change and the Troubles just around the corner.

And although, in a Chekhovian sort of way, nothing much happens, that’s in no way a criticism of what proves to be a witty, compassionate and very enjoyable study of people trapped by a combination of circumstance and their own actions.

Louise Kingsley

Tricycle, Kilburn High Road, NW6 7JR Kilburn Tube (020 7328 1000) till 20th February £10.00 - £20.00)

Cirque du Soleil:Varekai

Jahn Vannisselroy — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:03:00 GMT

Guaranteed to banish back-to-work blues, this stunningly costumed, virtually plotless show from Cirque du Soleil has, mercifully, partially improved the dire clown sequences in a glossy production with a reptilian theme, blending the daring with the sinuous, and pushing human physicality to the limit.

Best of all are the acrobats glittering in red and gold, who spin and flip each other with the ease of seals tossing a ball.

LOUISE KINGSLEY

» Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, SW7 2AP. (020 7838 3122). Until Feb 14. £20-£75

Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2009

Jahn Vannisselroy — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:55:00 GMT

Weighed against the try-hard ambiguities of conceptual art, photography is reassuringly tangible – there are still elements appreciated by a cultured eye, but the spectacle is for its own sake, independent of baffling, barely there subtexts.

This exhibition beautifully captures the raw power of a picture, the best portraits revealing something of their subjects in one poignant frame, presenting them in a disposition or location that is somehow telling.

Katherine shows a teenage girl waiting for the bus, Vicky Pollard made flesh.

In Georgians a young couple pose awkwardly in their tiny Tbilisi flat, trying to make a go of it, while in Wall St Subway 22 commuters squash on to a packed train, completely ignoring each other.

TOM STURROCK

» National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Pl, WC2H 0HE. Until Feb 14. Free

The Betrayed

Jahn Vannisselroy — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:49:00 GMT

Lostprophets (Visible Noise)

Surely the only heavy metal act from Pontypridd to have twice reached number 33 in the American album charts.

Despite the rotten words, the group are on solid form when they keep things aggressive, as on Dstryr And Dstryr.

The softer tracks are less successful: For He’s A Jolly Good Felon and Streets Of Nowhere are the sound of a band who heard Hard-Fi and liked them a little too much for their own good.

WILL FULFORD-JONES