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THEATRE REVIEW: Cilla The Musical @Mayflower Theatre Southampton

It is always tricky when presenting the life of a showbiz legend in the format of a musical, but on many levels Bill Kenwright gets it spot on with his new production Cilla the Musical based on Jeff Pope’s hit television series.

The show charts Priscilla Maria Veronika White’s rise to stardom, from cloakroom attendant and typist to pop star, explaining her historic position as part of the Mersey Sound in the 60s and her progression to game show host and the highest paid woman on TV.

More of a play with music than a pure musical, the first half documents Cilla’s links with the Beatles and The Big Three – her family, her developing relationship with Bobby Willis, but most importantly her introduction by John Lennon to Brian Epstein, the Beatles manager who helped her to her first number one in February 1964.

Anyone Who Had A Heart closes the first half of the show, giving Kara Lily Hayworth who plays Cilla the opportunity to deliver a simply stunning performance, which puts her alongside only a handful of West End leading ladies capable of such a splendid vocal. The audience reaction to her performance said everything, it was quite simply a magnificent interpretation of this classic number, which is notoriously difficult to sing.

The second half slips back into a more formal Juke Box Musical structure, exploring Cilla’s meteoric rise to stardom, her developing relationships with Bobby Willis and Brian Epstein and Bobby’s relationships with his brother, his father and Brian Epstein.

It deals honestly with Cilla’s ruthless determination to become a star, even at the expense of Bobby Willis, who is offered his own recording contract by Brian Epstein, but Cilla is having non of it, wanting Brian to be totally focussed only on her and her career.

The second half of the show is a catalogue of Cilla’s hits including You’re My World, Alfie, You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling, Liverpool Lullaby, Step Inside Love and Something Tells Me, all performed by Kara Hayworth who is the shining star of this show. Despite strong individual performances by Carl Au (Bobby Willis) and Andrew Lancel (Brian Epstein), ultimately all accolades go to Kara whose stunning vocals overshadow everything else and everyone around her.

Gary McCann’s set design is very impressive, Carole Todd’s choreography is authentic and 60s to the core. Overall the direction is tight but maybe the show could benefit from losing a couple of the numbers in the first half that are more about the narrative rather than about Cilla.

Special mention for the musicians and musical director Scott Alder who does a great job with the musical score. The arrangements are first class as are his musicans.

This is a musical not to be missed. It is big, loud, and provides a unique insight not only into a driven woman who was determined to be a star but also on the impact her ambition had on the people around her, including Brian Epstein who it turns out professionally needed Cilla as much as Cilla needed him.

Cilla the Musical plays at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton till Saturday, October 7. Make sure you see it.

To book tickets online, click here:

THEATRE REVIEW: Dreamboats And Petticoats @Theatre Royal

Inspired by a multi-million-selling series of albums, Dreamboats And Petticoats breezed into Brighton on a wet Monday evening and managed to send the audience away from The Theatre Royal very content and humming numbers from the golden age of rock and roll, 1956-62.

A jukebox musical crammed packed with memorable tunes, this feel good show which I was seeing for the first time was really uplifting and gave me a very memorable night out.

The storyline is classic boy meets girl love story with a little wobble in the middle while the boy thinks the grass is greener somewhere else. Bobby and Laura, enter a national song writing competition and win it with their entry Dreamboats and Petticoats.

The rest of the show is an excuse to pack in as many numbers from this golden rock and roll era as possible including Lets Dance, Dream Baby Dream, Bobby’s Girl, Do You Wanna Dance and Lets Twist Again to mention a few. You barely get the chance to appreciate one classic number and another comes along like an express train.

Bob Tomson’s direction keeps the at times meandering storyline moving along at breakneck speed while Carole Todd’s choreography is precise, effective, very much of the era and lovely to watch.

Very much an ensemble piece for seven lead performers, special mention for Bobby played by Alistair Higgins who has a fine vocal range, a great voice and plays vulnerable very effectively while Laura, played by Elizabeth Carter plays his love interest to victim perfection. She has a lovely voice and keep the audience on side all evening. Alastair Hill playing Norman has more than a passing resemblance to Billy Fury and certainly knows how to move his hips.

While this tour is coming to the end of its current run all the cast performed with great enthusiasm, the performance felt fresh and energetic and the musicians were really impressive.

The mega mix at the end was the icing on the cake of a wonderful evening out at the theatre and had the ageing audience up on their feet dancing.

Dreamboats And Petticoats plays at the Theatre Royal until Saturday, October 7.

To book tickets online, click here:

 

 

Rainbow Fund call summit for LGBT+ and HIV sectors on October 16

Rainbow Fund call the first annual Brighton & Hove LGBT+ and HIV sectors summit at Brighton Metropole Hotel on Monday, October 16.

The Rainbow Fund is the central hub for community fundraising, created to support the LGBT+ and HIV communities in Brighton and Hove.

Each year organisations, businesses, venues and individuals (Brighton & Hove Pride, Brighton Bear Weekend, Bear Patrol, Legends, Charles Street and many more) fundraise or donate money, which the Rainbow Fund distribute to local community groups and organisations in the form of grants to support projects which support LGBT+ and HIV communities in Brighton and Hove.

The Rainbow Fund are initiating this annual opportunity to promote the services which exist within these sectors, (not just those that apply to them for grants) and to brainstorm  ideas around specific challenges and opportunities for our communities.

The morning session will be networking, pure and simple, where delegates representing groups and organisations working in these sectors locally, whether as providers of services or referrers, will give a short presentation, maximum two minutes, about their LGBT+ or HIV specific services or support, or how their work brings them into contact with individuals within these communities who they believe would benefit from the services they provide. Clearly, there will be many delegates who will be providers AND referrers. The rest of the session will be a free for all mingle and get to know each other.

There will be two sessions in the afternoon, the first addressing:
“How to Reach the Hard to Reach”

The second:
“Does Brighton need a  one stop shop LGBT+ centre ?” If it does, how can we create it, fund it, and what could it do?

Chris Gull
Chris Gull

Chris Gull, Chair of the Rainbow Fund, said: “Please share this invitation as widely as possible to potential delegates, and reply to me if you are interested in coming to the whole, or any specific part of the day.

“I’m keen to involve as many of those involved in these sectors as possible, so any suggestions of contacts that refer to you, or who you refer to, would be valuable.

“We can be reached via the contact facility on the website www.rainbow-fund.org”

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