Review: Janet Evra + Ilario Ferrai Trio

Janet Evra is an international jazz vocalist, bassist, and bandleader, originally from England and now based in St. Louis in the USA. 

Janet has collaborated with jazz superstars Randy Brecker, Taylor Eigsti, Marcus Miller, Veronica Swift, Wycliffe Gordon, Sara Gazarek, Mohini Dey, Dave Weckl, Eric Marienthal, and Diego Figueiredo, amongst others.  She sings in English, Portuguese, Spanish, and French, blending traditional American, French and Latin jazz flavours with a modern twist and a dash of pop to produce a charming performance.

The night began with Janet Evra, an international jazz vocalist, bassist, and bandleader, originally from England and now based in St. Louis. She was supported by her husband on guitar and a drummer from Essex, now based in Wales. It was in all regards a truly international set as their song choices also took us globetrotting through the USA, Latin America and Europe, she even sang in French and Spanish! Language is a passion of her, and she shared a beautiful anecdote about how she used to practice French with her mother. Moments like that made the show incredibly warm and intimate as she brought us not just into the world of her music, but her life entirely. She spoke about her delight in expecting twins, and her excitement at working with Grammy winning artists on her latest album - her 'musical crushes'. It was a joy being in her company.

The majority of the songs were originals, playful and cheeky numbers like It's Late... But Not Too Late... were beautifully crafted and could have easily slipped into The Great American Songbook.

Evra's playful, light voice which is consistently precise and clear. I especially enjoyed the fact that she sings with an English accent which is ever so gently tempered by her years living across the pond. Her husband‘s guitar playing was relaxed and laid-back, while the drummer provided a sturdy spine to the evenings proceedings.

Overall, a beautiful hour of easy listening café style jazz. I have never heard a sweeter, more pared back version of Bye Bye Blackbird; just her on voice and her husband on guitar. Perfection.

Next up was the Ilario Ferrari Trio featuring Ilario on piano, Charlie Pyne on bass and Katie Patterson on drums. They have long been Watford favourites. Although Ilario hails from Italy, he has made Watford his home and the town has taken him to its heart. The audience was filled with local fans who couldn’t wait to hear him perform some of their old favourites as well as some new work from his recently released album Above The Clouds.

His work can be quite conceptual, exploring ideas and emotions in a meditative and reflective way. He’s very good at bringing the audience into his confidence and into his mindset so that we have an understanding of what it was he was trying to achieve with each piece of music. Above The Clouds is a perfect example of that, a theme which allows him to explore ideas of perspective. He explained he was very interested in looking at what it means to see yourself as belonging but from different angles. He spoke about belonging at a local, national and international level, but beyond that at a cosmic level, exploring the theme of space travel, in particular the first journey to the moon and the opportunity it gave for human beings to look back at the earth for the first time, to see the earth rise, and to see ourselves as Earthians.

The music was captivating, full of interesting interesting harmonic choices and strange rhythmic shifts, moments of pauses and surprising movements between lyrical and angular sections of sound. He even began one of his songs with a thirty silence in which we will reflected on the importance of and hope for world peace before he began his piano playing.

The use of technology was impressive. The projector (once switched on!) provided a wonderful backdrop, firstly of a image of mountains poking through above the clouds in a dreamy heaven-scape, but also a sweet animation of an old man who releases a caged dove into the wild. 

Ilario encouraged audience participation, praising us for clapping on the 2 and 4 (we were a jazz audience after all!) and bringing on a local choir of children and adults to add colour to a couple of tunes. He closed on the ever popular Walking The Yellow Line, the closest he gets to a pop song, cheerful, optimistic and a wonderful end to another great evening of jazz from the Watford Jazz Junction festival.

Review: Vanessa Haynes presents Aretha Franklin + Harry T Pope

VANESSA HAYNES PRESENTS ARETHA FRANKLIN

10 MAY 2025

• WATFORD JAZZ JUNCTION FESTIVAL – OPENING NIGHT GALA SHOW

The Watford Junction festival returns for its fourth year and kicks off with a brilliant gala night as ever at the Watford Palace Theatre. The supporting act this year, opening up the festival, is local boy Harry T Pope and his funk band. Hailing from Croxley Green, Harry remarked on stage that it had long been his dream to play the Watford Palace Theatre stage, and you could tell he was delighted to be given this chance to realise that long held ambition. 

Mixing original songs like his debut single Stay Away with funk classics such as Stevie Wonder‘s Superstition, Harry plays like an established pro despite being only 23 years old. He has a showman‘s flare, magnetic charisma, and affable charm which makes him and his floppy hair utterly watchable from the moment he steps on the stage. On top of his stage presence, his musicality is marvellous. He is a multi-instrumentalist, playing the piano with a fluidity and energy that captivates, and the guitar with a dextrous swagger. But most impressive is his vocal ability. He sweeps up and down the scale with such clarity and articulation. One of his original songs was effectively a patter song, stuffed full of so many words a minute it would rival Sondheim's famous Company number Not Getting Married Today! Indeed, despite his tender age, he is married, a revelation that drew a gentle gasp of surprise from the audience, and much eye dabbing when he dedicated his last song 11:11 to his wife.

His band are equally young; they all met at King’s College London and have been playing together ever since. This is their biggest gig to date but they were part of WJJ last year, playing at Jazz Steps around Oxhey Village. It’s great to see them graduate to this larger venue and be appreciated by such a responsive crowd.

Next up was the thrilling Vanessa Haynes, resplendent in gold with a red flower in her braided hair and a complete dominance of the stage. She prowled and stomped, two stepped and strutted until every inch was her territory. She treated us to a stunning array of Aretha Franklin classics, opening with the massive hit RESPECT and including iconic hits like Chain Of Fools, I Say A Little Prayer and (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman. On this last song, the trio of backing singers were able to show off their own truly phenomenal voices which added such texture and colour through the night. The ten-piece band as a whole were terrific, moving from funk and soul sounds to gospel with complete ease.

Haynes' voice is a powerhouse, rich, rough, and reminiscent of Aretha's in both tone and strength. Towards the end she brought Harry T Pope back out to join her on the 1987 Aretha and George Michael classic I Knew You Were Waiting For Me. Together their voices, riffing and melding through call and response, got everybody up on their feet dancing.

If this is a promise of what's to come across the week for WJJ, then we’re in for a treat. Listen to my What's On Watford episode featuring Ruth Fisher for a run down of forthcoming shows, and visit the WJJ website for tickets. Hope to see you there!

Band line up

Vanessa Haynes – vocals and Wurlitzer piano

Tom O’Grady – piano & Hammond

Tiago Coimbra – bass

Al Cherry – guitar

Martyn Kaine – drums

Sam Ewens – trumpet

Paul Booth – Tenor Sax & Flute

Mary Pearce, Chloe Du Pré and Belle Erskine – backing vocals

Review: Bouncers

 

After the recent broadcast of the Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham drama Adolescence on Netflix, there is an urgent conversation taking place at the moment around masculinity and misogyny in society. Questions about the role models young men and boys have (or choose) to look up to, the damaging influence of peer pressure, and the toxic expectations of what qualifies as masculine behaviour are very much in the spotlight. And so it’s in this context that the Pump House Theatre Company present their production of Bouncers by John Godber. It feels a very timely and prescient examination of the masculine stereotypes of the decades gone by.

The play is set in and around a 1990s Wakefield nightclub called Mr. Cinders. Although a fictional nightclub, it’s rendered very realistic by the myriad period references to booze, music, swearing, fashion and disgusting bathroom habits. Although the original Olivier award-winning comedy was set in the 1980s, Godber updated the piece for later performances and has ironically created through a comic lens a searing slice of social realism. The interaction of the bouncers is full of laddish humour and banter, but underneath the jokes  lies an ever pervasive threat of genuine danger and imminent violence.

The lead bouncer Lucky Eric (played by a commanding Russell Stratton) is a faded lion of a man. Once majestic and one imagines unchallenged in his authority, he is now constantly jibed and undermined by the young pretender Judd (played with a swaggering confidence by Connor Davey). Lucky Eric has got a sense of control, insight and nobility afforded him by his frequent speeches direct to audience, but his thin armour is quickly penetrated. His is quick to anger and his rage easily prompted. It's this sharp defensiveness which is so frighteningly apparent as a typical male reflex in this microcosmic 'manosphere', but we get a glimpse through Stratton's acting as he worries away at his ring finger while contemplating his divorce, that it actually masks a tender fear of his own vulnerability.

All four of the bouncers are wonderfully realised. Dale Carpenter's Les is apparently affable at first sight but hides a thirst for violence, letting blokes he dislikes into the club with the specific intention of battering them later in the night. Ralph, played by Russ Clancy, is perhaps the most balanced of the four; ironically the character training in martial arts seems the least inclined to fight.

A strand of comedy comes from the fact that the four bouncers play all of the other characters. There’s a brace of lads who are out on the lash keen to have a brash night out, and a gaggle of girls celebrating a birthday and looking for a fun time. The sharp contrast in the characteristics between these groups is a rich source of comedy.

This is a thought provoking play as well as a funny one. It reminds us that we’ve come a heck of a long way from the 1990s in terms of our social attitudes. The casual misogyny and homophobia littered throughout the script is a chilling reminder of how society viewed minorities and those who didn’t conform to social expectations of the time. But it's also a timely reminder that progress is hard one and hard kept. There is always the risk of moving backwards and if we don’t take care, we could see some of those positive social liberations expunged in the not too distant future.

Bouncers runs at the Pump House Theatre until Saturday 12th April. Tickets available here.

Review: Bitch Boxer

The Watford Palace Theatre stage has been transformed into a boxing ring to welcome Bitch Boxer, a one woman play by Hertfordshire local Charlie Josephine. Directed by Prime Isaac, the story follows East London girl Chloe Jackson in the approach to the 2012 Olympics, the first Olympics in which women were allowed to participate in boxing. Jackson, whose stomping ground is Leytonstone and Stratford, sees this as a sign of destiny, and is determined to become one of those women. As she takes on an intense training regime, her life is spun off centre as in the midst of this sporting pressure she meets her first love, and two months later suffers the loss of her father. The scene is set for an emotional rollercoaster which tugs at the heart.

At a tight one hour, this is a sizzling show which moves with pace and alacrity. There are some wonderful moments of stage symbolism, such as the punch bag made of shirts and the boxer's robe descending from the heavens, which bring a sense of theatricality to what could otherwise be a challenging slice of social realism. The atmosphere created by the lighting and sound is very much like that of a sporting arena: tense, dramatic and filled with the sweaty anticipation of physical action.

Chloe Jackson is played by Jodie Campbell from the popular BBC comedy drama Boarders. She's a fireball of energy from the moment she steps into the boxing ring. Whipping out a skipping rope, she immediately demonstrates the fitness energy and determination anyone trying to be successful in the world of boxing has to have at core. The story develops into a sensitive exploration of the pressures faced by a queer young black woman, a demographic woefully underrepresented in our cultural storytelling. It’s wonderful to see her story played out with such sensitivity and subtlety, presenting a fully rounded character rather than a two dimensional stereotype.

Campbell mixes intense acting with moments of lightness and comedy, and a physical control which is exemplified in her dancing, and most powerfully in the careful choreography used to re-create the boxing scenes. In each one of her punches, weaves and crouches you feel the presence of her opponent bearing down upon her.

 It’s great to see this play return to the Watford Palace stage 10 years after its first performance. It certainly still packs a powerful punch.

BITCH BOXER

WATFORD PALACE THEATRE

28 February – 9 March

Written by Charlie Josephine

Directed by Prime Isaac

Movement Direction by Mateus Daniel

Design by Hazel Low

Lighting Design by Jessie Addinall

Sound Design by Mwen

 

Press Night: 05 March 2025

Special In-Conversation with Jodie Campbell and International Boxing Champion, Shannon Ryan: 06 March 2025

 

Tickets: From £12

 

Available online at https://watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk/events/bitch-boxer/ or please contact the Box Office on 01923 225671 to make arrangements.

Review: Orpheus in the Underworld

 

Abbotts Langley Gilbert and Sullivan Society have, for the first time in Watford Palace Theatre history, chosen to present Offenbach's operetta Orpheus in the Underworld. And it's an inspired choice. With Hadestown currently pulling in crowds in the West End, this clever and satirical re-imaging of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth is a delightful antidote and contrast to the romance and tragedy of traditional tellings.

With a script by much loved comedy legend Rory Bremner (who actually visited the company to share some of his vision for his new translation), the evening fizzes with humour. There are gags, one liners, contemporary references and comic scenarios aplenty. But the real humour, as it does with all good situation comedy, come from careful and clever characterisation.

Orpheus himself, played by Dan Gilchrist, is transformed from the muse-inspired master of melody and harmony who can calm the very seas with his playing, into a second rate violin tutor with an over-inflated sense of his own abilities. His wife Eurydice, played to perfection by a bubbly Gina Carmello, is a randy, yoga mat swirling fun seeker who recognises she made a mistake in hitching herself to the boring, pompous, professorial Orpheus. The comic contrast between the two is hilariously evident in everything from their mannerisms and costume to their height, and beautifully skewers the traditions of mythic romance.

Things are no better up on Mount Olympus where Jupiter, played with commanding confidence by Rob Milner, and Juno, a justifiably peeved Carolyn Morrissey, are at loggerheads. The cast of gods and goddesses are, well, divine. Sophie Feary as Venus has all the swagger of a modern day Instagram influencer, while Lisa Morelli is brash and bold as a forthright Diana. 

A highlight of the evening for me was Susan Ackroyd as the chorus character Public Opinion. Her outfit was testament to the brilliant work of the costume department. Dressed in a trouser suit bedecked with newspaper print, plus glasses and a handbag that made her a spitting image for Mary Whitehouse, she was every inch the finger wagging matriarch who delights in taking offence. She opens proceedings with a rhyming monologue which reminds us of the hypocrisy of the moral crusaders all too ready to break their own moral codes in pursuit of those they see as social sinners. It is her character who ultimately turned the satirical bite of the comedy back on us as the audience, reminding us that we're all complicit in both upholding and undermining these standards of so-called respectability.

Directed by Andrea Campusano, the staging is ingeniously designed to give us an immediate sense of the contrast between the Overworld, the Underworld and Mount Olympus, largely from clever and controlled use of colour, but also via a tall scaling staircase which nicely brings a range of levels into the performance.

The musicianship of the orchestra led by Philip Joslin was exceptional, not least on the night's big number, the Galop Infernal, more popularly recognised as the Can-Can. A terrific evening of music and comedy, and wonderful to see this sharp new script enter the ALGSS repertoire. 

Review: TOYS a new musical

Toys are as ancient as human civilisations, inspiring play and imagination in children the world over, and this Christmas a brand new musical called TOYS graces the stage at the Pump House Theatre in Watford. Directed by Chris Wheeler, with music by Phil Edwards and Ben Dermer and lyrics by Ben Dermer and Paul Morrissey, TOYS is the story of a young girl called Victoria who has to come to terms with the tragic loss of her mother. As she becomes trapped in her grief and sadness she also loses her sense of play. Her toys are packed away in old cardboard boxes and end up lost and forgotten in the attic until her father digs them out and places her once beloved teddy bear on her bed. The teddy transports her to Ludus, the world of play, and through a series of charming encounters with her neglected toys she comes to rediscover the joy of play, and the importance of living life with an open heart.

 

Victoria, played by Mille Robins, navigates the challenges of her part well, moving swiftly and convincingly between the cool insularity of someone in emotional pain, and the unburdened glee of a child at play. Many of the best comic moments comes from Tomas Aleman as Joe, a toy solider, whose unfettered military masculinity feels out of place in the rather soft-edged world of Ludus, primarily populated by three very feminine dolls. Dolly (Clair Gleave) is the prim and proper head girl, keen to follow the rules and ensure others do too. Lily (Jasmine Hackett) is the kind-hearted Miss Popular, resplendent in hot pink, while Brandi (Shyanne Barnes) is the rebel, keen to follow her own path and unafraid to be a little ‘Insensitive’. It was amusing to see the three dolls move in a stilted and jilted fashion to reflect their plastic limitations, and given that they’re very deliberately constructed as synchronised chorus, I enjoyed how well they’d each been characterised and delineated to have a separate sense of individuality.

 

Mikel Sylvanus played the Dad/ Captain while the mother character, played by Davina Manuel-Mokwenye, doubled as the musical’s sinister villain Hera, a resentful witch-like figure who wanted to free the toys from the tyranny of their child-owner’s playful whims and take control over their own actions through electrification. She had several of the most poignant and powerful vocal moments and delivered them with aplomb. Particularly impressive was Santino Zapico who not only brought the teddy bear alive with great puppetry but as Stinky Lomax delivered the stand out number ‘Power Up’, a sharp and modern pop classic with voice distortion, angular choreography and mesmerisingly fast paced lyrics.

 

The stage is immediately intriguing, with pyramid towers of brown cardboard boxes stacked in every corner and ladders soaring heavenward. In our age of internet shopping, these boxes are a familiar sight, promising a hidden trove of gifts and stories to be revealed. Although the story is a bit challenging to follow and there is lots of exposition to digest, there’s also lots of heart and thoughtful life lessons about the value of toys as therapeutic tools as well as playthings. The story is set at Christmas, and Watford is lucky to have this extra opportunity alongside the fabulous Palace Theatre panto Aladdin to revel in some seasonal theatrical magic.

Tickets available here.

Plus my What's On Watford podcast interview with director Chris Wheeler is available here.

Review: Aladdin

This year’s Watford Palace Theatre panto is perennial favourite Aladdin. Transporting us from leafy Hertfordshire to the sweeping vista of our Chinese twin town Wat-a-ford, the evening proves to be a magical treat for all the family. Sticking fairly faithfully to the well-loved tale of a penniless boy who dreams of a life beyond his mother’s laundry business, the script gleefully adds more than a handful of unexpected twists and characters, not least a surprisingly articulate duck, a beat-boxing blue monkey and a startlingly well-read frog!

 

Louis Gaudencio gives us a cheeky, diamond in the rough Aladdin who is as happy dancing by himself in the corner of the imperial garden as he is helping his mum tackle the mountains of unappealing laundry. He shines when he’s able to deliver a little romance, such as when he whisks Princess Perfect Rose, played by a confident Diya Sohi, away on their magic carpet ride. Terence Frisch returns as Watford’s favourite dame to play the indomitable Widow Twanky. His frequent costume changes are a delight, and occasionally a concern (I shall never see belly dancers the same way again), while his Christmas cracker style gags and puns were delivered with quick fire pace.

 

John Henry Falle was brilliant as dastardly villain Abanazer, building a wickedly witty rapport with the audience from their first hiss and boo. Gigi Zahir doubled up as both Emperor and Genie, nicely differentiating the two roles but really shining as the camp as Christmas genie, voguing his way through some impressive dance numbers.

 

But the star of the night has to be the hyperactive blue monkey Wishee Washee, played with boundless energy and enthusiasm by the wonderful Kate Donnachie. Upbeat and optimistic even at the story’s points of peril, the whole audience was charmed by this cheerful chimp and the younger members of the audience will be beat-boxing and funky-monkeying for many days to come. I was lucky enough to bring my 5 year old nephew along and he was engrossed throughout, but when I asked him about his favourite bit, it was all about the monkey!

 

There was lots of interaction with the audience beyond the usual ‘oh no it isn’t’ and ‘he’s behind you’, the highlight being a hilarious re-imagining of The Twelve Days of Christmas featuring oodles of local references and two super-soakers! With colourful costumes, a fast paced script and a funky pop song soundtrack, Aladdin is a festive winner.

Tickets available here.