REVIEW - Cinderella at New Wimbledon Theatre

FOUR stars

IF there is a world shortage of glitter in the not too distant future I will know who to blame. The set designers of Cinderella now on at the New Wimbledon Theatre!

No expense has been spared and there is barely any space on the glorious set which hasn't been given the glitter treatment - it looks amazing, full of colour and sparkle.

But what of the show itself? There are stars galore - funnyman Tim Vine as Buttons, Dallas superstar Linda Gray as the Fairy Godmother, Matthew Kelly as one of the ugly step sisters and ballet dancer Wayne Sleep as Dandini - and there is also a star turn by two delightful Shetland Ponies.

The familiar story has been given a bit of an update - Cinderella, her father Baron Hardup and their oil business are being bled dry financially by her two step sisters who also treat Cinderella with contempt.

One day she meets the Prince in the woods but doesn't realise it's him as he introduces himself as Dandini. They fall in love but don't meet again until a grand ball is organised to help him find a wife.

Despite attempts by the step sisters to stop Cinderella from getting to the ball, the Fairy Godmother has other ideas and in true panto style ensures she gets Cinderella there on time thanks to a bit of magic and a wave of her glittery wand.

The script was funny and full of brilliant gags, the cast was top notch, the music was fantastic and the singing and dancing were spot on.

Thanks to the star billing of Linda Gray there are numerous and predictable references to Dallas - though presumably lost on anyone under the age of about 30. And for a first timer Linda did a great job - and on the night I was there even threw in a few ad libs.

There were many highlights in this fabulous show but a real treat was to see Wayne Sleep proving he still has what it takes to dance around the stage.

For me, the funniest was the chocolate sketch featuring Buttons and the ugly step sisters. It was very clever, fast and absolutely hilarious and had everyone crying with laughter at the end.

And I doubt there was a dry eye in the house at the end of the first act thanks to the entrance of Cinders in her coach led by the two Shetland ponies.

A fabulous show and another Wimbledon winner.

Cinderella is on at the New Wimbledon Theatre, The Broadway until Sunday, January 11. Tickets cost from £11.90. Visit www.atgtickets.com/wimbledon or call the box office on 0844 871 7646.

REVIEW - Treasure Island, National Theatre

FOUR stars

TO say that the National Theatre's production of Treasure Island is epic would be to seriously understate things.

Appropriately enough, given the scale of the production, it is presented on the National's vast, impressive and at times revolving Olivier stage.

Bryony Lavery's adaptation of Stevenson’s classic adventure story is genius. She has taken it and given it a bit of a twist to give it more female role models - including transforming the central character of Jim to a girl - Jemima - brilliantly played by Patsy Ferran.

There is also a very funny Dr Livesey (Helena Lymbery) who takes charge of the treasure map situation as the fatuous and pompous Squire Trelawney (Nick Fletcher) can't be trusted to keep his mouth shut.
But Lavery has also dabbled with the characterisation in other ways and so rather than an old sea dog from the book, Long John Silver is played as a much younger, long haired man (Arthur Darvil).

Complete with a brilliant parrot on his shoulder - who at times looks so much like the real thing it's uncanny - he is still full of menace and nastiness.

The rest of the cast is great too especially Gillian Hanna as Jim's feisty grandmother. Joshua James too as Ben Gunn who, having developed a habit diving into the morass of what look like giant pustules, and of talking to himself, has more than a touch of Poor Tom in King Lear about him.

But it is perhaps Lizzie Clachan’s simply stunning set design that is the star of this show - and surely worth the price of the ticket alone.

There are enormous bowed timber beams encircling the stage which look like giant ribs but could easily symbolise the bowels of a wrecked ship as well as the gigantic waves of the storm which engulf the ship.

The wooden stage reveals itself first as a small inn but then spectacularly turns and rises to reveal a two-deck ship complete with rigging, sails and ship's wheel.

It is framed by a backdrop of dazzling stars which even encroach onto the ceiling above the audience and provide a chance for a lesson in the names of constellations, how to find the North Star and to work out what latitude you are so you can find your way home.

It is a great spectacle of a show with some hilarious rag tag bunch of pirates and a stand out performance by Tim Samuels as Grey. The only slight niggle is that there could have been a bit more dangerous sword fighting, a bit more blood and gore and a bit more menace to Silver.

Despite that it's a fabulous show and will appeal to anyone with an adventurous streak in them - boys or girls.

Treasure Island is on at the National Theatre until Wednesday, April 8. Tickets from £15. Visit www.nationaltheatre.org or call the box office on 020 7452 3000. This production is also being broadcast live in cinemas, as part of National Theatre Live, on January 22.

REVIEW - 3 Winters at the National Theatre

FOUR STARS

IT'S always great to see interesting and absorbing plays with strong female characters be given star billing.

And Tena Štivičić’s new play 3 Winters, now on at the National Theatre's Lyttelton stage, which features three generations of women in one family, is a real treat.

It is set in a townhouse in the Croatian capital of Zagreb and the lives, loves, fortunes, aspirations and dreams of the family who make it their home is told over a period of 70 years.

Indeed, the piece weaves its story through three separate but very important periods of Croatia's post World War Two history - 1945, 1990 and 2011.

The changing political landscape during that time becomes the backdrop against which the family's story is told.

The only constant is the Kos family house in Zagreb and a picture of one Karolina on the wall.

The story begins in 1945 and we see Rose King, her mother, her husband and their new baby move into part of the house where her mother had once been a servant.

By 1990 Rose's daughter Masha has married, she still lives in the house and has two daughters of her own, Lucia and Alisa.

By the time we get to 2011 Lucia is about to get married to some dodgy businessman as her aunt's own marriage dissolves into a horrible end.

Tensions have been building and when Alisa learns that her soon to be brother-in-law has bought the once nationalised house, arguments ensue.

For Lucia this is progress but for Alisa it's greed and especially so when it transpires a neighbour and former boyfriend of Alisa's is about to be evicted from one part of the house as a result.

The action jumps about a bit and as the scenes change there are projected images of some of the news items from each period including some harrowing pictures from the Balkans war.

Brilliantly staged it is an utterly gripping and compelling story - thanks to both great writing and the fine performances from an outstanding cast, dominated by Siobhan Finneran as Masha, Sophie Rundle as Lucia, Jodie McNee as Alisa, Lucy Black as Dunya and Jo Herbert as Rose.

3 Winters is on at the National Theatre until 3 February 2015. Tickets from £15. Visit www.nationaltheatre.org or call the box office on 020 7452 3000.  

REVIEW - Usagi Yojimbo at the Southwark Playhouse

FIVE stars

AS an antidote to the traditional Christmas panto the Southwark Playhouse has gone to the land of the rising sun for inspiration for its festive offering.

Usagi Yojimbo is a tale adapted from a 30-year-old Japanese comic book and is an absolute delight - even beginning with the audience getting a lesson in how to hold a sword and we have great fun pretending how to use it.

The show itself is a coming of age story about Usagi Yojimbo, a boisterous, tenacious, impetuous and petulant young rabbit who is in awe of his dead father's reputation as a samurai swordsman.

So in awe that he wants to be just like him.

His mother tries to rein in his curiosity and enthusiasm but one day when she finds that he is showing off his father's swords to his friends she decides enough is enough.

So she sends Usagi to a teacher far away who she hopes will teach him the skills he needs.

However, being the chap he is, instead of going to the intended school, he meets an old lion, a former warrior, who he begs to teach him instead.

And so begins Usagi's journey not only to learn how to use the sword properly but also what it means to be a samurai.

It features a small and amazing cast on a simple stage which itself opens up to reveal hidden treasures tucked away in hidey holes and a lone musician at the back of the stage provides the live music.

The stage and the curtain of bamboo on the back wall also become screens for some beautiful line drawn projections which complement the action on the stage.

It is at times funny and poignant but is also full of fun, charm and lots of well choreographed fights with bamboo poles and other implements.

It is a simple story, beautifully told and will appeal to anyone aged seven and over.

USAGI YOJIMBO is on at the Southwark Playhouse, Newington Causeway until Sunday, January 4.

Tickets cost £18 or £16 concessions. Visit www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk or call the box office on 020 7407 0234.

REVIEW - Slava's Snowshow, Royal Festival Hall

FIVE STARS

WATCHING eight clowns in giant shoes, long overcoats and sporting bright red noses taking silliness to a whole new level has to be one of the best spectacles of the year.

For those who haven't seen Slava's Snowshow, I urge you to go. The show, which has been wowing audiences around the world for the past 20 years, is a terrific assault on the senses and is currently enjoying a fourth season at the Southbank Centre.

Blending wit, music and clever tricks, the group of eight clowns spend 90 minutes making the audience laugh and gasp in equal measure.

Set to a beautiful soundtrack which mixes a whole range of musical styles from pop to classical, the clowns glide, walk, crawl and dance their way through a variety of routines and tricks.

They also come into the crowd, spraying water, climbing over seats, sitting on peoples' laps, taking peoples' bags or coats and throwing them elsewhere in to the auditorium.

At one point a character appears at the side of the stage and sees something white. He pulls at it and a balletic series of moves later he is completely tangled up in what looks like a white cobweb.

Another of his friends comes out and between them they stretch the cobweb so it envelopes the entire audience - even those right at the back get tangled up in it.

Then there is a marvellous scene in which two of them are on a boat and how they negotiate a storm is priceless - and gets funnier when one of the clowns slides on to the stage on a skateboard with a shark's fin attached to his back.

There are bubbles and a giant snowstorm made out of a billion pieces of paper which get blown into the audience and one gorgeous routine in which one of the clowns makes friends with a hat stand.

Finally the climax of the balloons, of all different colours and sizes, which get pushed into the audience and which have everyone on their feet.

Beautifully choreographed and crafted it is a fabulous show. There is no narrative and no words, but there don't need to be. It's silly, funny, breathtaking, exciting, mesmerising and uplifting - a treat from start to finish.

Slava's Snowshow is on at the Royal Festival Hall until Monday, January 5. Tickets cost from £20 Visit www.southbankcentre.co.uk or call the box office on 020 7960 4200.