Review: LoKkhi TeRra featuring Dele Sosimi

Brazil. Cuba. Nigeria. Bangladesh. India. Britain. I have never before heard a more majestic fusion of sounds from across the globe brought together on one stage, more than even that opening list describes. The joy, the celebration, the vibrancy and colour; this is what live music is all about and this is what the Watford Jazz Junction Festival has brought to the Pump House Theatre stage. A priceless gift at subsidised prices - no wonder it sold out!

The core of the sound is Afrobeats, a unifying dancing rhythm that brings all the various elements of the music together. With ten performers on stage, each with their own cultural heritage and musical influences, there was a powerful sense of connection and communication which underscored the fact that music (and the arts more generally) are the true diplomacy, building bridges across nations and cultures and communities the world over in a way that politics never can.

Lying on top of those Afro-Cuban grooves were sounds from Lagos, from India, from Bangladesh, from London and - dare I say it - from Watford! The coming together of these disparate sounds never felt forced or conflicted. It was like being in the presence of a living, breathing symbol of the interconnectedness of human beings, of the joy and playfulness we can bring to one another if we step outside of the prevailing news cycle and apocalyptic headlines, and instead remember to just enjoy one another's playfulness, love and company. The improvisations, especially from Justin Thurgur on trombone and Nick Walters on trumpet, were full of power and invention and protest, blasting away by their sheer physicality any doubt about the strength of this band's mission and message.

I guarantee every member of tonight's audience left the Pump House Theatre feeling on top of the world. A world united.

Review: Xantone Blacq and Ray Gelato & the Giants

And just like that, it’s time for the gala night of the Watford Jazz Junction festival! In only its third year, WJJ already feels like an essential and much loved fixture on Watford's cultural landscape, and the gala opening at the Watford Palace Theatre like a long standing and highly anticipated tradition. The fact that several of the festival's shows have already sold out is testament to how quickly our town has taken WJJ to its heart.

The gala evening opened with the blissful Xantoné Blacq. Resplendent in a billowing, colourful cape, wide brim hat and sunglasses, Blacq looked every inch the fashionista. His piano playing and vocal style were an exciting blend of jazz, soul and funk, a heady mix of Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. His first three songs, all originals, were contemplations on love and relationships with storytelling at their core, evoking trips to the cinema and nights full of dance. His charming interactions with the audience coaxed a fair bit of tentative singing along, which really took off when he gave his groovy version of Michael Jackson’s The Way You Make Me Feel, his voice was perfectly suited to imitating some of those iconic high register MJ sounds. His breath control was spell binding and garnered a round of applause in its own right!

After the interval, Ray Gelato and his swinging band The Giants proved a remarkable contrast. Gelato's Louis Prima style (an early influence from his father's record collection) mixed jive and swing and even a touch of rock ‘n’ roll to create a really rhythmic, vibrant, energetic set.

Gelato's wide smile and open-armed personality turned the Palace Theatre's Edwardian auditorium into a vast living room, with The Godfather of Jazz as our avuncular host. He said the crux of his performance is making people happy, a sentiment pointedly reflected in his optimistic, uplifting set list, perhaps best captured in his rendition of The Best Things In Life Are Free. Just A Gigolo/ I Ain’t Got Nobody was a perfect comic set piece with banter and wobbly vocal lines honed to perfection, and there were occasional moments of poignancy, such as the sultry instrumental version of Cry Me A River.

His original songs really hit the funny bone, as he regaled us with anecdotes about having to go to Youtube to relearn his own lyrics! 'If we listened to the experts, everything they said, forget about living we might as well be dead' was a great example of his sardonic wit and his determination to squeeze every pleasure he can out of life. The second original Bar Italia, originally written as a jingle for his friend's restaurant in Frith Street in Soho, was an instant crowd pleaser with everyone singing along to the catchy chorus.

The request section towards the end of the show had audience members shouting out favourite tracks with enthusiasm, among which choices Gelato ended up giving us Volare, which he said (tongue in cheek) he hadn’t performed in over a decade. He introduced Mack The Knife by reminding us of the difference between that inimitable swing style which we all love and the pop style which stretches and flattens out phrases to a song's detriment. Gelato then gave a masterclass performance, with a knowing twinkle in his eye, bringing Macheath to life with the shortened syllables and stabs of textbook swing style.

A mention must go to the surprise star of the show drummer Ed Richardson who turned out to be an amazing vocalist and gave us a sumptuous swing rendition of Ain’t That a Kick in the Head, and the evening ended with Blacq returning to the stage to join Gelato and the Giants on a gorgeous rendition of Have You Met Miss Jones.

Overall, a fitting opening to the third Watford Jazz Junction festival bringing together so many different strands of jazz style into a harmonious evening of pure entertainment.

Review: Frankie Goes to Bollywood

“Frankie Goes to Bollywood” is the story of a young woman who finds herself unexpectedly plucked from obscurity and thrown into the world of Bollywood stardom when her talent is spotted at an audition she only attended to support her best friend and ‘cousin-sister’ Goldy. What follows is a fast-paced, funny and emotional journey through the highs and lows of an actor’s life, specifically female actors, on the Bollywood scene.

Laila Zaidi is stunning as Frankie. Armed with amiability and charm, a beautiful singing voice and a confident stage presence, she tackles the family dominated Bollywood hierarchy head on, exposing many of the corruptions and injustices at its heart as she does. Bollywood is the biggest film industry in the world, and this musical is inspired by real stories of British women caught in the glare of its shine. This fish out of water element of the story really resonates, with Frankie observing how she feels too brown to be British in the UK, and too British to be brown in India.

Katie Stasi as her best friend Goldy is a powerhouse performer with a singing voice that blew the roof off the Watford Palace Theatre more than once, most notably in her 11 o’clock ballad. Indeed, the female characters carry the emotional heart of the show, as it’s their struggles against the patriarchal Bollywood film structure which objectify and limit them that provide the central conflicts. This is powerfully represented in the character of Malika, a feisty older actress played with serpentine venom by Helen K Wint. Malika extols the virtues of being less kind and instead celebrating your inner 'b*tch' in a song which pointedly draws out the contradictory demands faced by female performers who want to make it to the top and stay there. You need to exude beauty, but you have to be ruthless, too.

There is ample comedy throughout, especially in funny visual gags that send up the stereotypes of Bollywood films, from rose petals falling from the sky to fans used to cause hair and saris to billow romantically in the wind. There is subtler humour as well (keep your eyes peeled for a cleverly positioned Reduced Indian Film Company gag) but for me the belly laughs came from two of the male characters: Raju King, the pot-bellied, preening male lead significantly past his prime played with gusto by Shakil Hussain, and the outrageously camp choreographer Shona, played by Gigi Zahir, whose dazzlingly flamboyant costumes deserve to be persevered for posterity in the V&A. Both actors imbued their characters with subtlety and depth, turning what could have been cardboard cut out pantomime villains into layered, flawed and complex human beings.

The hardworking ensemble were jaw-droppingly terrific. Dashing back and forth across the stage in frenetic choreography, every time they appeared from the wings they were dancing, moving props, singing and dazzling, all while having changed costume in what seemed an impossibly small period of time.

The music, performed by a live band, blends Bollywood styles with traditional Western musical theatre sounds such that you’re never in doubt of the show’s hybrid context and never alienated from one world or the other. Similarly, the stage was presided over by three luminous pavilion arches that flashed a whole rainbow spectrum of colours across the course of the evening, bringing Indian architectural style into perfect harmony with the proscenium arch tradition of Western theatre.

With concept and book by Rifco Artistic Director Pravesh Kumar MBE, and songs by Niraj Chag and Tasha Taylor Johnson, this is billed as Rifco’s most ambitious musical to date, and you can see why. The audience, many of whom dressed up to the nines in radiant Indian traditional dress, gave this world premiere a celebratory feel before the show even started. That feeling was more than deserved by the curtain call. Watford is extremely fortunate to have this vibrant company bring so much exuberance to our cultural landscape. A highly recommended entertainment for musical lovers of all stripes.

Run-time: 2 hours 20 mins apprx (incl. interval)

Age suitability & content warning: 11+ recommended. Contains flashing lights and vaping.

Review: Gotta Have Faith

 

Gotta Have Faith 

Written and performed by Neil Maxfield

Directed by Alex Williams 

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

WARNING:  This show contains discussion of homophobia, domestic violence, drug abuse, and sexual references. 

I enjoyed a visit to a venue I’ve not attended before to catch the first show in a short run of a new one-man comedy called “Gotta Have Faith”.

This play is the funny and honest story of Neil, the writer, and focuses on his journey through a life from church going teen to drug using adult, whilst also learning about being gay and how to accept himself. And all the while clinging to the one constant: his love of the late, great George Michael.  

Neil says himself this is a very personal journey and it absolutely is. We see him as a mixed up teenager, unsure of his sexuality, confused about how his relationship with Christianity and being gay can work when everyone tells him being gay is a sin. We see him as an adult, forgoing that relationship in favour of a party life in London, learning that the grass it not always greener on the other side of the fence.  

Neil presents very well.  His switch between characters is effortless as we meet his grandmother, his abusive boyfriend and many other people who influence his journey. He intersperses his story with some snippets of George Michal songs, which he sings fairly well, and identify how his character is feeling at that moment. 

As a massive George Michael fan, I would have liked a bit more of his music in the show (though I imagine that would likely mean asking for rights to play it, so not that easy).  Whilst there was some brief music during the nightclub scenes, it would have also been nice to have a little more music as background overall.  

This is a very raw presentation of Neil’s life story so far and one that would undoubtedly be true of other members of the LGBTQ+ community. Neil has come through this and out the other side – others maybe have not been so fortunate to have found that support.  This is also a love letter to his grandmother, whom he clearly adored.

A funny and poignant show, I can see this doing well in future venues and would recommend seeing it. 

Disclaimer: Alex Williams (director) runs watfordfringereviews.blogspot.com. This review was written by Andrea Richardson (of Belmont Theatre Company and numerous review websites).

Review: Romeo and Juliet

Jo Emery's Pump House Theatre Company production of Romeo and Juliet is a real treat. The simple set, comprising of a metal bin and two towers of stage blocks manage to become everything from town square benches and garden walls to the infamous Juliet balcony. Transported away from Verona to somewhere outside London (Watford perhaps?) the focus is not on stage wizardry but on character and relationship, and the storytelling is all the richer for it.

The relationship between Romeo, Benvolio and Mercutio is absolutely wonderful. The moment you see them together you totally believe their friendship and it feels like they’re a trio who have been knocking about together for years. Romeo, played by Harry Miller, is the eager puppy of the group, obsessively excited by every new discovery and quick to forget former passions. His raffish wide eyed charm makes complete sense of the ease with which Juliet replaces Rosalind in his affections. Dashingly handsome in stylish skinny jeans, Juliet's sudden infatuation is easily believed. 

Benvolio, played by Christopher Vincent, is the gentle peace maker, occasionally bold enough to make a saucy joke but mostly a willing and necessary audience to his friends' more agile wits. One feels that without him Romeo and Mercutio would endlessly frustrate one another.

Which leaves Mercutio himself, the shapeshifting clown, played to perfection by Cat Harper. She inhabits a catalogue of disparate characters at break-neck speed, with the agility and precision of the much missed Robin Williams. With a shuffle of her feet or a twist of her wrist she transforms from a horse to a drunkard, from a squirrel to a sex pest, and all with such precision that there’s never any doubt of the exact image she wishes to project. In her telling, every line of Queen Mab made perfect sense, and her disintegration at the end of the speech foreshadows a sinister darkness in her soul. Her movements ranged from the buffoonish to the balletic, and I felt there was something inherently feminine in that dance-like quality. Although apparently a man in the story, with gags about fiddlesticks very much intact, in my mind Harper's Mercutio was irrefutably a woman. Dressed in a black vest and cargo trousers like a member of 90s girl band All Saints, she gave a truly mercurial Mercutio, who completely captivates the audience's imagination.

Jo Emery not only directs this production but also adapted the script, skilfully cutting away unnecessary distraction so the narrative can focus sharply on the young couple in love. And they certainly feel young, with their faces frequently buried behind smartphone screens and vital communications taking place on video chat. 

However, what particularly moved me in this production was the plight of Juliet, sensitively played by Poppy Zavazi. While Romeo is all energy and bounce, pacing the stage and auditorium, desperately displaying his heart on his sleeve, Juliet is much more caged, emotionally and socially. Trapped by a patriarchal society in which even the female characters reassert male dominance, she rarely gets the chance to be as open and honest as her paramour. Almost everything she says drips with irony or double meaning as she carefully tries to navigate a world in which she is seen as the property of her father, a gift he can bestow upon Paris with no regard to her consent.

The Nurse (Wendy Moir) and Friar Lawrence (Roger Saper) both provide moments of comic relief, with Moir in particular filling the stage with a matronly, giggling effervescence. Her shift from a louder than life chatterbox to a subdued witness of her ward's dismal end really drives home the tragedy of the play.

As with Baz Luhrman's groundbreaking film version, music is cleverly used throughout to create moods and contexts. Whilst most of the cast project wonderfully into the auditorium, some battle to be heard over background soundscapes like the bustle of a market or church bells, sounds which could perhaps be faded down once the scene is established.

Overall, a sensitive and fast-paced Romeo and Juliet for the 2020s, reminding us of the timeless nature and the intoxicating innocence of young love.

Winner! WACA Innovation Award 2024

 

Thank you to everyone who nominated me for the Watford African Caribbean Association Innovation Award 2024. It was a genuine honour and surprise to win the award. The Association made particular mention of the work I do for Inclusion and Diversity in Watford, our Black History and LGBT+ History Month Dial Up Open Mic events, and the success of the What's On Watford Podcast. Thank you to everyone who's helped make these projects thrive!

Review: Three Proud Men

 

“What have you done today to make you feel proud?” 

It's not just a quotation from iconic M-person Heather Small, but also the pithy question posed by a new one act play by Watfordian film-maker, Ian Port. Taking three separate narratives of men growing up gay in Watford, his scripts deftly weave their real life experiences together into a fascinating evening of insight, honesty and humour. Peppered with observations and facts about the visibility (and invisibility) of gay men throughout history, this simple structure helps draw out the contrasts and parallels between the men, whose experiences span different generations.

The youngest performer, at 22, is Lee Keogh, who fizzed with affability and charm. He was a magnetic presence, filling the centre stage with his warmth, wit and, of course, his wheelchair, which he spoke about with intimate frankness. Keogh has Cerebral Palsy and the insights he shared about his experiences navigating the intersection between being gay and being disabled were extremely moving. His smile is like sunshine, and so when he opened up about his darker moments, his depression and his anxiety, it was deeply shocking and a perfect example of the searing honesty at the heart of this play.

The middle man, as it were, is Three Proud Men playwright Ian Port, who originally conceived the whole project and spearheaded its production. Wowed by the anecdotes of Bryan Timberlake, he wanted to find a way of getting them on stage and in front of a wider audience. Timberlake said he was game on the proviso that he wouldn't be up there alone. From such innocent pub conversations are wonderful works of art born! Port's story reflective, exploring with a critical eye his awareness of his own personal growth. He looked back on his past analytically, noting moments when he exploited his white privilege while working in India, or stayed silent about his sexuality when now he might speak out. His tale was an interesting reminder that social change and progress come through the work of each of us as individuals reflecting on our beliefs and behaviours.

That only leaves the elder statesman of the trio, the inspiration for the show, Bryan Timberlake. A former drag queen, jack of all trades and well versed raconteur, Bryan opened the show with a teaser about 'unusual erections' and had us in the palm of his hand thenceforth! He immediately put the audience at their ease with his twinkling eyes and impish grin. He reminded me a little of Peter Ustinov in the way he seemed stuff full of anecdotes and stories, most of which had more than a hint of naughtiness about them. The audience were left in no doubt as to why Ian felt inspired to get him on stage!

Directed by Olivier award nominee Dan Clarkson, and produced by Chris Wheeler of Harlequin Theatricals, this was a world premier and a real feather in Watford's cap. It's an honour to have three such dazzling talents declare Watford as their home and put that relationship front and centre in a dramatic work. Here I must declare an interest: as a Patron of Proud Watford I am fully invested in the aims and objectives of this feisty grassroots group, dedicated to bringing people together and championing inclusion and diversity in all its forms. I even played a song or two in the after party! But the emotional impact not just of the play itself, but the sense of celebration and support, of Watford's community coming together in an outpouring of friendship, and of the Pump House being the vibrant pulse Watford's cultural heart, is a feeling I shall cherish for a long time.

A one night only show is always going to push up against some limitations and hurdles, the most obvious of which was the cast's dependency on their scripts. But this didn't hinder the pace or the impact of the performance in any meaningful way, and small blips like the back wall being covered in pleated fabric so that the projections were obscured are easily remedied. The intention, as stated in the informal and informative post show Q&A, is to mount the show again in the forthcoming Watford Fringe. My advice: buy your tickets early. It deserves to be, and I anticipate it being, another sold out show.