REVIEW - Man of Steal, Menier Chocolate Factory

FIVE STARS

ARE you a thief? That's the question posed by James Freedman, the self confessed Honest Pickpocket.

He suggests that most of us are - from nicking a few sweets as a kid to taking momentos from a hotel room to even claiming more in expenses than you should.

He also likes to distinguish a thief from a thug - someone who uses violence to steal.

He does all this in a brilliant 80 minute show, Man Of Steal, now on at the Menier Chocolate Factory.

And if you've got any sense, I would urge you to see it - it's quite astonishing.

For not only is it hugely entertaining and at times very funny, it is also incredibly insightful and most importantly education. In fact I would go as far as to suggest it's essential viewing.

It is for everyone - and not just those who've had the misfortune to have their pockets picked.

Through stories, demos, audience participation and chat, Mr Freedman, widely acknowledged as one of the world's greatest pickpocket entertainers, takes us through various scenarios.

He also shows how the minds of the thieves work - and how to be more vigilant to scams and be more aware of our personal safety to stop becoming a victim. He shows us how frighteningly easy it is to become a victim of theft.

Funny and fast fingered he exposes how the bad guys work, done through a life time spent studying thieves of all sorts, from street criminals to hustlers and to conmen.

It is no surprise that over the years he has been an invaluable support to the police and other security professionals.

I'm not going to give anything away - it really has to be seen to be believed - but safe to say the last 10 minutes of the show were more than just eye-opening.

I am sure there was not one person in the audience who did not sit up, take note and gasp at what he showed us.

Man Of Steal takes place at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Southwark Street until April 27. Tickets from £22.50. Visit www.menierchocolatefactory.com or call the box office on 020 7378 1713.

INTERVIEW - Trystan Gravelle

IT'S 1649. In the aftermath of a bloody and brutal civil war, England stands at a crossroads. A period of restless volatility amongst the masses, food shortages, economic instability and a corrupt political system threaten to plunge the country into darkness and despair.

Fast forward to 2015 and some might argue the country still faces very similar issues thanks to a rise in the number of foodbanks, on going economic jitters following the 2008 recession, and a political system many feel alienated or removed from.

And with the imminent General Election at the forefront of the news agenda it is perhaps timely that a play which looks at these issues should be staged.

Said play is Light Shining In Buckinghamshire written by playwright Caryl Churchill and which opens at the National Theatre on Thursday.

It tells the story of the men and women who went into battle for the soul of the country during the English Civil War of the 1640s.

It shows how the Parliament men fought against the tyranny of the King and argued for stability and compromise and how the country's people were hungry for change. It speaks of the revolution we never had and the legacy it left behind.

Among its stellar cast is Trystan Gravelle, last seen as Victor Colleano in ITV's Mr Selfridge.

The Welsh born, but Camberwell-based actor plays a farm labourer who joins up as a soldier in the war, but becomes an agitator, a leveller and finally a deserter.

In a chat towards the end of rehearsals Trystan tells me the issues of social unrest, political activism and ideas of political reform within the piece have plenty of parallels with what's going on today.

"In many ways the play deals with issues which still feel very contemporary," he tells me. "It is a play about ideas and how incredible those ideas were for the time and if we'd just held on to them we might be in a different society today.

"Essentially, it tells of the build up to the war, what happens during the war and the effects it had on the people of different social standings afterwards," he adds.

"My character is a farm labourer who joins up to fight with Cromwell who tells them they are on a mission from God. It was a big thing to be told you have got God on your side.

"Being a soldier means more pay than a farm labourer so he signs up. He thinks the war will be over soon - but it lasts eight years.

"His journey through the play is quite sad in many ways. But as well as that we see the immense suffering that happened at that time - people lost their families, there was a lot of starvation and five million people became very transient during the war - wandering from village to village. It was quite desperate."

Despite the poignancy Trystan believes it's a play people should see, not least because it gives an insight into a slice of history that is not often taught in schools.

"It's a fascinating piece and is hugely enjoyable to be part of," he says. "It was an incredibly radical time because people wanted more of a say - we even got rid of our class system for a while which was an incredible achievement.

"In the play the politicians get into power and say they understand the issues of the ordinary people but then don't listen to them.

"They end up fleecing the country and don't care what the ordinary people say. Then there is a Civil War, a revolution and new people come in to power but the same things happen again.

"In that respect it's also a very timely piece especially with the election coming up and is a story that I think will resonate.

"Even now it still feels as though a lot of politicians who are from the upper echelons of society seem aloof and don't listen or care about the people they are supposed to represent."

And he says he hopes those who come to see the play are inspired to vote in the upcoming election.

"If you don't vote a general sense of apathy creeps in and if you don't vote you can't moan," he says firmly. "For your voice to be heard you have to vote. The more people that do that the better.

"I am sure a lot of politicians do what they believe to be right and I don't think they are all dining on swans and chucking us grapes but it feels sometimes that they get away with things, and think that no one is watching.

"If they thought everyone was they may do things differently. So the only way to get politicians to sit up and take notice is to vote - they need to see we care."

Despite his passion he draws the line that voting should be compulsory.

"I would have a problem with that," he says. "It's about attitudes. We need to make people want to vote.

"Everyone wants a free country where there is freedom of will and choice. People - like many who are the subject of Light Shining - fought so we could have a say in what happens to our country but the choice to vote has to come from within.

"We can't blame the politicians just because they went to a posh school. I grew up in the valleys of South Wales. We mustn't begrudge them - we all have to crack on with life!"

Given his passion for the subject I ask if he had ever thought about going into politics himself.

"It's not something that ever appealed to me," he laughs. "I actually find it weird that anyone would want to become a career politician."

Instead, Trystan says it was always acting that he wanted to do and on leaving school he won a scholarship to RADA and has since built a successful career working on both stage and screen.

And he says he's "glad to be back at the National" and working with director Lindsey Turner who gave him his first job there.

"Caryl Churchill is an amazing playwright and this play is brilliantly written so it was a no brainer to take on the role," he says warmly.

"It's also at the National which is the epicentre for important theatre and Lindsey is incredible - the attention to detail and the clarity she brings out of the actors makes it a real joy, so I'd have been a fool to turn it down.

"It's been tough though and a lot to take in but it's fantastic!"

Light Shining In Buckinghamshire is on at the National Theatre until Monday, June 22. Tickets from £15. Visit www.nationaltheatre.org.uk or call the box office on 020 7452 3000.  

REVIEW - King Lear, Rose Playhouse, Bankside

FOUR STARS

KING Lear is one of Shakespeare's greatest plays and also perhaps one of his most difficult given the themes. And to get it right it relies on a skilful actor to play the title role.

How fortunate then that The Malachites theatre company managed to get John McEnery to play him in their pared down version now on at the Rose Theatre.

In a further plus point, the Bankside theatre, which is a small wooden stage over the remains of what was the original playhouse is the perfect setting for the play.

It is cold, eerie, and atmospheric and the company makes good use of the space throughout.

The production opens with Lear dividing up his Kingdom amongst his three daughters on condition they tell him how much they love him.

Only Cordelia, the youngest and his favourite refuses to flatter him and for that she forfeits her share of the inheritance and is banished by Lear.

In dividing the kingdom among his three daughters Lear sets the stage for his own destruction, with Cordelia's two sisters, Goneril and Regan planning to get rid of their father.

And in a sub plot Gloucester's bastard son Edmund plots to get rid of his brother Edgar.

The production is a mere 100 minutes which despite the inevitable cuts manages to keep most of the plot intact.

However, there were moments when as a result of the cuts it felt a bit rushed - for example the scene where blind Gloucester and his son Edgar are on Dover cliffs. This is one of the most powerful in Shakespeare's canon but it seemed too brief and could have been more dramatic had it been staged at the back of the space by the water which cover the remains of this amazing theatre.

However, these niggles aside, it is a great production. Tight, dramatic and features a top notch cast led from the front by John McEnery as Lear.

He is full of contradiction - at once frail and showing signs of madness before switching totally to complete clarity of thought and action and raging against the elements and injustices as he sees them.

It is an utterly mesmerising performance in a fabulous production.

King Lear is on at the Rose Theatre, Park Street until April 30. Tickets cost £12. Visit www.rosetheatre.org.uk or call the box office on 020 7261 9565.

REVIEW - The Chair, Unicorn Theatre

FOUR STARS

FROM the moment the audience enters the Tiger Bay warehouse of barber Owain Sawyer, it's clear something mysterious is afoot.

Owain (Gary Lagden) is the teller of extraordinary tales in a new hour-long play, The Chair, written and directed by Lewis Gibson, now on at the Unicorn Theatre.

The audience enters through a small wooden door which leads into a dimly lit and cavernous room. It is full of smoke, with dust covered jars on the shelves containing Victorian objects, sails hanging from the ceiling, a leaky roof and chairs on three sides.

It is also a place which we quickly come to realise is full of strangers and tales of ghosts, fortunes found and lost, myths, rumours and plenty of rum to numb the pain.

As we file in, a man is sitting in "the chair" having a shave before Owain decides he also needs to remove his tooth. For not only is Owain a barber, he also patches up wounds, removes teeth and most importantly, tells stories to the sailors who come through his doors.

They are not just any stories though, they are mysterious, dark and sometimes scary but all from Owain's travels across the seas in countries far away.

And with these stories, which include music and songs, we are transported on a journey around the world visiting countries afar afield as America and India.

It is a fully immersive experience and interactive too at times with younger members of the audience invited to come up to sit in Owain's battered leather chair.

At times there is a distinct chill in the air and at times there are moments of dark humour. It is spine tingling stuff.

Gary Lagden switches seamlessly between the characters in Owain's stories and with the sound and special effects, music and clever lighting we really do feel as though we are in his Tiger Bay room.

The stories are great and very different from each other, the set is brilliant and with the music, performed by Christopher Preece, it makes for quite a spooky show - but never too scary to induce nightmares.

The Chair is on at the Unicorn Theatre in Tooley Street until Sunday, April 12. Tickets cost £16 for adults and £10 for children. Visit www.unicorntheatre.com/ or call the box office on 020 7645 0560.

Miann and Innocence - Southbank Centre

THE rugged and beautiful Scottish landscape and the works of poet William Blake have provided inspiration for two dance shows which will be performed at the Southbank Centre this week.

Miann - the Gaelic word for craving and desire - and Innocence have been choreographed by Scottish Dance Theatre artistic director Fleur Darkin.

And while there are similarities within the pieces on a basic level, Fleur tells me they are aimed at two very different audiences.

"Miann is very much for adults whereas Innocence has been choreographed especially for children," she says as we chat in a break from rehearsals.

"Innocence is essentially a playroom performance for little ones and features music, song and even some animal noises! It's very playful."

Fleur, who moved to Dundee from her native Peckham just over two years ago, says it was the poetry of William Blake and his vision of angels which inspired the piece.

"I'm from South London and it was an area where Blake lived and where he had his visions of angels," she says.

"I had been thinking about doing a show for children for a while and his poetry had a real resonance with me and the more I thought about it the more it appealed."

As well as choreographing the piece Fleur has included some of his poems which have been set to music by musician Paul Bradley who plays live during the show.

"There is a real variety of musical styles which makes the piece come alive," she says.

"Through the music, the dancers invite the children to explore Blake's poetry and imagination and enter a realm full of mystery, fun and adventure.

"The children share the stage with the performers and they lead a merry dance. It’s not like in the theatre where they have to sit still.

"It’s amazing to see the children take the piece in different ways," she adds. "They have no inhibitions and as soon as the music starts and the dancers start moving, so do the children.

"It's almost like watching grass grow - they just spring up as if they are heading to towards the sun. It's beautiful to watch."

And she says not only do the children get a lot out of the piece, so do their adult companions.

"It's as much for the parents as it is for their young charges," she says warmly. "What is lovely is that when we've performed it before, parents have come in a bit stressed but have let themselves go during the show - it's liberating to watch!"

In contrast Miann is sensual, tactile and intimate and Fleur's choreography creates an intimate ritual about grief and loss.

"It is about craving, longing, abandonment and a desire to almost be at one with nature," she explains. "It's also quite a dark show with 12 performers and a lot of blood, sweat and tears."

Like Innocence it features live music but this time by Glasgow band The One Ensemble.

"The music is incredible - it's part punk and part chamber music," she says.

"There’s no real story as such but it's about living and dying, opening up to the land in a most sensual way and connecting with it on a visceral level. It's very emotional too and the audiences go on a journey with it.

"I wanted it to be engulfing and to create something that conveyed the relationship we have with the land and the fact it is anyone's.

"It's almost like the opposite of Innocence.

"Miann is very much inspired by where I now live in Dundee where the rugged landscape, the sea and the environment are so beautiful," she adds.

"When I moved to Scotland two years ago to take on this job, it was a wrench to leave London but when I got here I was really struck by the landscape and the fact there was no noise - it is very inspiring.

"In London there is a brutality to the place with lots of energy, noise and people living so close together.

"But wherever you are, nature will stop you in your tracks and we should get lost in it. So this piece is about the way grass falls under your feet, how the rain falls and sound falls - there is even real mud on the stage!"

And she says she can't wait to bring it to the Southbank Centre.

"I was born and brought up in South London and had my kids here so it still feels like home in many ways," she says.

"The Southbank Centre is a brilliant space to perform in and does so many great things to bring people closer to the arts - it's wonderful and very much part of London culture so it's fantastic for us to be part of that.

"It's really exciting to come home and show it to a London audience," she says. "I can't wait!"

Miann is on at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, on Thursday, April 9. Tickets cost £15. Innocence is on at the Spirit Level, Royal Festival Hall on Wednesday, April 8 and Friday, April 10. Tickets cost £12 for adults and £6 for children. Visit www.southbankcentre.co.uk or call the box office on 0844 875 0073.