A Harlem Dream comes to the Young Vic

IT is not often that theatres devote whole shows to dance but the Young Vic is about to change that with a new production focusing on hip hop.

A Harlem Dream takes inspiration from the Harlem Renaissance, an African American cultural movement that emerged in response to the hardships of the Great Depression, and draws parallels with society today.

It has been choreographed by Peckham based Ivan Blackstock, founder of the hugely successful South London dance company BirdGang Dance.

Working with actor and fellow dancer Ukweli Roach and with an eclectic score composed by Mercury prize nominee Soweto Kinch, Ivan has created a 50-minute show in which a fusion of popping, locking and lindy hopping, burlesque performance, and cabaret combine to create a speakeasy atmosphere with a contemporary twist.

A Harlem Dream is something of a departure for Ivan in that as well as choreographing the piece he has also created the narrative which he admits has taken him out of his comfort zone though he says he's excited about the result.

"It was a challenge because it was the first time I have worked on something like this," he says. "There is a narrative that runs through it - so it's not all about the dancing and the music - and it took me into a different zone.

"But I have had a fantastic team around me, we have worked really hard and it's been great fun to do."

The show is part of a series of dance events at various venues in London by Dance Umbrella which celebrates choreography in all its forms.

Its artistic director Emma Gladstone approached Ivan after the pair had worked together on shows at Sadlers Wells.

"Emma asked me to do something for this festival that Dance Umbrella is organising," says Ivan.

"It's a risk but a good risk and very exciting to be part of especially as it's something different for me. The Young Vic has been amazing and I'd definitely like to do more work like this."

The show itself tells the story of a man from Jackson Mississippi who Ivan says has "big dreams" of making a better life for himself and his friend.

"They go to Harlem but things turn bad," he says. "I don't want to give it all away but it's got a deep story with themes of ambition, greed and love.

"I think we've come up with something that is interesting and dynamic and that will make the audience think about what they have seen as they leave the show, which for me is really important.

"This is a show that you think is going to be a fun hip hop show and then it takes a turn! It's not like a musical theatre show but an immersive experience."

And he says the Young Vic's Maria auditorium is the "perfect" place to stage it.

"The audience will feel very much part of it and will be incredibly close to the performers so I think it will work really well there," he says.

"What's great about it is that I hope it will bring new audiences to the Young Vic, and to hip hop and theatre in general by encouraging young people to take a chance on seeing something else there and bring more young people into theatre.

"I also hope it will encourage those who love theatre to look at hip hop in a better light. TV has put hip hop in a bad light but it isn't all about violence and this show explains the reason why it's how it is now.

"When it first came out, hip hop was more about positivity - bringing the community together. I hope A Harlem Dream will show people that it isn't really about twerking on TV, drugs and throwing money in the air but that we can tell an interesting, entertaining and intelligent story through hip hop."

A Harlem Dream is at the Young Vic in Waterloo until November 1. Tickets from £10. Visit www.youngvic.org or call 020 7922 2922.

REVIEW - Here Lies Love at the National

FOUR STARS

AFTER being closed for 18 months for a refit the National Theatre's Cottesloe stage is now back open. As well as a name change - to the Dorfman, although I am sad about this as I loved the Cottesloe - it looks funky and fresh.

Which is just as well because the show with which it has re-opened is about as funky, punky and fresh as you could wish.

Here Lies Love is the brainchild of Talking Heads' David Byrne and DJ Fatboy Slim. It essentially tells the story of the rise to power of Imelda Marcos, though sadly pays no reference whatsoever to her vast shoe collection.

But if you think it's going to be a traditional theatre experience think again. This one is part disco, part musical theatre and part karaoke.

Most of the audience stand in the pit area of what feels like a nightclub where there is a moveable stage in the middle of the space over which hangs the most enormous glitter ball.

To the sides are other moveable platforms, all of which are moved about during the show - meaning those in the pit area move too.

On the walls and any available panels are images both moving and static which are projected throughout the show.

Presiding over proceedings from on high is a DJ whose main job apart from playing the pulsating music throughout and which greets the audience as we walk in - is to chivvy the groundlings into dancing, singing and getting into the groove.

He doesn't need to do much work in this department as it's not difficult to get swept along with it.

And indeed the show itself is a joy. There is hardly any spoken narrative, instead the performers sing, dance and act their way around the space and by the end those in the pit area have become part of the show, dancing and singing along.

It is a fascinating story of Imelda Marcos' life from the back streets of a poor town to being rejected by her first love for being too tall to becoming a beauty queen before marrying Ferdinand Marcos and their rise to power and then exile.

The whole cast and crew do a great job - especially the crew in pink boiler suits and make up who usher the groundlings in the right direction as the stage set moves.

Gia Macuja Atchison is great as Imelda's childhood friend Estrella, and Mark Bautista and Dean John-Wilson put in fine performances as Ferdinand Marcos and Ninoy Aquino respectively.

But it was Natalie Mendoza who, with her terrific voice, gave a blistering performance as Imelda and stole the show.

Here Lies Love is on at the National Theatre's Dorfman stage until January 9. Tickets cost from £15. Visit www.nationaltheatre.org.uk or call the box office on 020 7452 3000.

Interview - Robert Daws

IF his school careers adviser had had his way Robert Daws would have been "commuting to Fenchurch Street every day to work in the city in insurance".

Fortunately for him and indeed the rest of us Robert had another - better - idea and instead set his sights on being an actor. He got a place at RADA and by the time he was 20 he had finished studying and was "out acting".

"Acting was always what I wanted to do - in fact from the moment I thought it was a possibility," he remembers. "I might have toyed with teaching but didn't get much beyond thinking about it - much to the chagrin of my school careers officer who had other ideas for me!"

His persistence paid off as his subsequent 20 plus year career since then has featured star roles on stage and screen most notably as Dr Gordon Ormerod in ITV's The Royal, Sam Mountjoy in Roger Roger, Tuppy Glossop in Jeeves and Wooster and Roger Dervish in the award-winning Outside Edge.

But it's theatre that he's concentrating on at the moment thanks to his starring role in The Perfect Murder which is coming as part of its national tour to the New Wimbledon Theatre.

Based on Peter James’ best-selling novel of the same name the story has been adapted by award winning writer Shaun McKenna.

It tells the story of Victor Smiley and his wife Joan who have been married for perhaps more years than they would wish and now their marriage has reached crisis point. Victor has decided there is only one way to get Joan out of his life forever. And that means murder. But it seems he's in for a nasty surprise.

"It's a great story," enthuses Robert. "It's very funny but it's also very dark and we are having great fun with it.

"It also seems to be going down really well as audience reactions have been lovely which is obviously great for us but really nice for Peter as well.

"It's a real mix of thrills and laughter - I think most people who see it don't expect it to be as funny as it is.

"It's about a couple married for about 20 years who hate each other and they set about trying to murder each other. That's all you need to know really!" he adds cheerfully.

"Victor is a suburban husband who's had enough of the relationship and his wife is equally fed up with him.

"He's middle management and aimed low most of his life. He's a fascinating character and obsessed with great detectives. You could say murder is his hobby and has developed a 53-point plan that will lead to the perfect murder which is quite interesting. So it's a question of who murders the other first!

"Peter James is a terrific writer and really brings the characters to life so what actor wouldn't want to play this IT manager? I couldn't possibly turn that challenge down," he laughs.

"When they offered it to me last year I read the book and then the play and I have now read most of the other books he's written as it's part of a series featuring Detective Roy Grace who's in the show."

However, he sounds a note of caution for die hard Peter James fans.

"If people have read the book they are in for a surprise because although there is much they will recognise there is a different ending. The powers that be decided to give it a theatrical pep! But it's great."

Robert is no stranger to crime stories having appeared in shows such as Midsomer Murders - who can forget his larger than life character Mike Spicer.

"I was drowned in a TV full of red wine," he chuckles. "You don't have to ask what attracted me to that part! Mike Spicer was a fairly wretched individual but he was great fun to play and that episode was voted the most popular ever Midsomer Murders episode which is very nice."

And he also admits to penning his own crime novels, though he is modest about his talents.

"I have got an interest in crime writing and in the middle years of my career I have found myself turning to writing a bit more if I can. I quite like it, though I'm not in the same league as Peter."

But he adds he's not about to give up the day job - which consists of doing work on screen, stage, radio, commercials and giving tips to RADA students.

"I have enjoyed everything - most of the jobs I have done have been great and it's difficult to pick one favourite," he says.

"To be honest I had no idea it would last this long! But I feel very fortunate to have done a range of work.

"Radio is great yet it can be one of the most difficult things because you can't rely on mannerisms though you can be left in a virtual migrane at the end of it.

"I have done a lot of TV which I do enjoy. I loved playing Tuppy Glossop on the Jeeves and Wooster series - I'm a big PG Wodehouse fan and it was a great job - we had fun on set all the time.

"Tuppy Glossop is a fantastic character and is described as a bulldog who had just had his dinner snitched which is fantastic!

"I am so grateful because we had four happy years filming those shows.
"It's a strange world though - one day you could be doing high brow theatre and the next day you can be doing a commercial about oranges! But it's good and I like the variety and versatility of the job.

"But it all comes back to the script and the words - much like this play in fact and although theatre is in its own way a bit more complicated, I love the sense of live performance and doing a show like this is a joy."

And he says he's loving the demands of the tour and is looking forward to coming to Wimbledon.

"It's my first time performing at this theatre though I have been to see shows here before," he says. "One of the reasons I do tours once every three years or so is because I prefer it to being in one place for a long time. It keeps you on your toes and every Monday is a new opening night.

"Each week we are in a different town and it's nice to go and explore the area.

"So as well as entertaining the audiences I'm looking forward to exploring Wimbledon!"

The Perfect Murder head to New Wimbledon Theatre from October 27 to Saturday November 1. Tickets from £12.90. Visit www.atgtickets.com/wimbledon or call the box office on 0844 871 7646.

Alternative Miss World - review

FIVE STARS

INFLATABLE costumes, glitter, sequins, wigs, make up, neon, lights, colour. All the ingredients for the 13th Alternative Miss World contest which lit up the South Bank on Saturday.

Organised by sculptor, painter and South London-based artist Andrew Logan it was the most glorious evening of fun and merriment and the epitome of fabulousness.

It was staged perhaps appropriately at the Globe theatre. In fact the Bankside stage seemed made for such a spectacle though I’ve never seen it lit up so much like a Christmas tree before!

The proceedings kicked off in style with Andrew as host and hostess being lowered onto the stage via a hatch in the ceiling. He was joined by artist and friend Grayson Perry who was co-host for the evening and between them they introduced the contestants.

For those unfamiliar with the show, it started more than 40 years ago as an opportunity for Andrew to mix his love of parties with fashion. Such was the success of the first event, held at Andrew’s then studio in Hackney, it has now become something of an institution and has featured the well known and unknowns as contestants.

It is not an annual event – in fact it has been five years now since Miss Fancy Chance won the last contest – but such is its popularity it attracts people from all over the world to take part. Indeed, people clamour to be part of it and each time the costumes get more and more inventive, elaborate, flamboyant, fanciful and outrageous.

Like the Miss World shows it features day wear, swimwear and evening wear but unlike the other, this one doesn’t take itself seriously and it is open to all, celebrating diversity and equality.

It is a show to show off in – and this one was no exception. The theme was Neon Numbers and among the outfits to grace the stage was an inflatable octopus, a telephone box and a dinner table complete with chandelier above it. Outrageous? Yes but joyful, funny and hugely entertaining.

In between the costumes there were cabaret acts including Jonny Woo, Eve Ferret, David McAlmont and Le Gateau Chocolat.

The judges – who included Suggs, Zoe Wanamaker and Zandra Rhodes – had a tricky task but they settled on Miss Zero +, also known as Sasha Frolova – who, once crowned was showered in confetti.

It was a glorious and colourful end to an equally glorious evening. There’s no mention of when or if there will be another one. But if there is, I’d recommend going.

The Alternative Miss World was held at the Globe Theatre on Saturday, October 18.

Preview - Grand Guignol at Southwark Playhouse

IN Paris at the turn of the last century the Theatre du Grand Guignol was one of the most popular theatres in the city.

Based in a former chapel in the Montmartre district its success was down to it gaining a reputation for developing a genre of plays specialising in naturalistic horror shows - depicting violence, madness, murder, sex and terror and became the cult of its day.

Although it is no longer in existence - it closed in 1962 - it achieved legendary status and in its heyday tickets to see shows there were amongst the hottest in town.

Now a play by Carl Grose, which has just opened at the Southwark Playhouse after a successful run in Plymouth, pays homage to both the theatre and its principal playwright Andre de Lorde, who between 1901 and 1926 wrote at least 100 plays and collaborated with the experimental psychologist Alfred Binet to create plays about insanity.

Grand Guignol stars South London based Jonathan Broadbent as Andre de Lorde, the playwright who penned the gruesome dramas and his relationship with the psychiatrist who ingratiates his way into the company.

However the boundaries between theatre and truth begin to blur when the psychiatrist starts to unpick de Lorde’s mind with terrifying consequences.

Despite the somewhat macabre elements of the show Jonathan insists it is "very funny".

"It's funny, has lots of drama but is quite complicated," he says. "It's a bit like Carry On meets Hammer Horror! But it's enormously enjoyable and during the run in Plymouth audiences were laughing which is great."

He says it was an interest in the history of the Grand Guignol as well as the the script that persuaded him to take on the role.

"The script was the draw," he says. "I thought it was brilliant. Essentially Carl has written a tribute to Grand Guignol setting the piece in 1903.

"But it's also a pastiche of that particular style of theatre which is quite melodramatic and bloody and incorporates some of the original plays into his own one so the audience gets a flavour of what the plays were and were like but there is a mystery sub plot.

"De Lorde was a pioneer of this style of play and his work was very well known and well documented. Carl made the play about real people with huge dramatic license but essentially it's about a theatre company within the Grand Guignol which actually existed and ran until the 1960s. The productions they staged were hugely popular and were the real must see ticket of the day.

"They featured people like Paula Maxa who we meet in this play and who was known as the Sarah Bernhardt of her day.

"It's so funny, well written and gripping and I read it in one sitting. It was a real page turner and looked challenging to do."

And the challenges presented by the play extended to him being able to develop technical skills such as faking gauging peoples' eyes out.

"There's lots of blood, guts and gore and people have their throats slit so there are a lot of technical things to be achieved to make people buy into the horror of these plays," he says cheerfully.

"I get to gauge someone’s eye out with knitting needles - which is something you don’t do in Midsummer Night’s Dream!" he laughs. "The props department have come up trumps with all the magic and worked hard at things appearing to be real so it's been great fun."

As well as the technical elements Jonathan says the play will keep audiences on their toes.

"The script is very clever and you never quite know where the story is going," he says. "You think you have got a handle on what it is then it goes somewhere else – and it’s like this til the last page. It’s fantastic. It plays on the audience's perception of what they are seeing even to the last page of the script.

"It’s quite brilliant and it makes the audience go somewhere and think rather than just letting it wash over them.

"It's a shame the theatre no longer exists in Paris," he adds. "There was a similar venue in John Adam Street in central London for many years which Noel Coward wrote plays for. Although it's gone too the Soho Theatre does a Grand Guignol season."

And he says that the Southwark Playhouse is the perfect venue for the show.

"Originally the Grand Guignol Theatre was in the arty part of town, down an alleyway and the experience of going there was probably a bit seedy and scary. I don't want to cast aspersions on the Elephant and Castle but the subway is a bit scary!

"The Grand Guignol was a little fringe theatre seating less than 300 people which is much like the Southwark Playhouse. It's also got that 'off the beaten track' feel to it which is exactly like Grand Guignol so I think it's the perfect place to host it.

"It's also a venue where they aren't afraid to take risks with the shows they put on and have a fantastic range of work.

"And it's hosting a play that treats its subject successfully and has a serious story behind it so I think it will be right at home there and it will go down really well - you may even have to kill for a ticket!" he laughs.

Grand Guignol is at the Southwark Playhouse, Newington Causeway until November 22. Tickets cost £18, £16 concessions. Visit www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/ or call the box office on 020 7407 0234.