“Top Hat”, The Grand Theatre and Opera House, Leeds, 03/01/15.

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BBC Radio 4, Clive Hayward, Fred Astaire, Leeds, Musicals, The Grand Leeds, The Grand Theatre and Opera House Leeds, top hat, Top Hat The Musical

Happy New Year!

The New Year starts not far from where the last year left off; in Leeds and heading for The Grand!

“Top Hat” is a great show, but I guess I am a little bit biased, because I have been a big fan of the original, 1935, film version, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers for a long time and the musical mirrors the film so closely that I was bound to love it! Even scenes, that I thought would be impossible to recreate on the stage, were laid before my eyes with the greatest of ease (or so it seemed; the production must have been technically very difficult).

The cast were superb and if I had to single out one member of it for a special mention, it would be Clive Hayward, who played Horace Hardwick. Firstly, it was a great role well played and secondly, Mr. Hayward’s voice is regularly heard at Mr. B HQ, via BBC Radio 4 (if my memory serves me well and l have read the programme correctly).  Two productions, mentioned in the programme, stand out for me, the Classic Serial “The Divine Comedy” and an adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?“. It is quite something to see somebody you have only ever heard.

The Northern Ballet’s “Peter Pan”, The Grand Theatre and Opera House, Leeds, 20/12/14.

Tags

ballet, dance, Leeds, Northern Ballet, Peter Pan, The Grand Leeds, The Grand Theatre and Opera House Leeds, Theatre

Outside The Grand before the matinee performance.

I have never seen myself as a reviewer before, but I found myself, on the 17.05 East Coast service from Leeds to London King’s Cross, scribbling down notes on the performance in my pocket book and it wouldn’t do harm to share them with you.

Firstly, The Grand is a great venue and the staff are first rate; I’ve never had any problems there. If I had to say something negative it would be that it got got a bit warm up in the Dress Circle, but there isn’t a lot you can do about that!

Over the years I have tried to learn the dancer’s names from the programmes and the cast sheets they put in them, so I was concerned at first that I hardly recognised any, but I needn’t have worried. Mlindi Kulashe, for example, is a new name to me, but he gave a wonderful performance as Peter Pan and I’d be very interested to see what his next role will be with the Northern Ballet. Luke Francis, another name I’m not familiar with, played Peter Pan’s shadow in a scene that I’m sure will prove memorable.

Dreda Blow delivered, not one, but two enthralling performances as Mrs. Darling, the mother of Wendy, John and Michael, and the incredibly graceful Never Bird. I checked my programme in the interval and wasn’t surprise to find that the roles were being performed by one of the company’s Leading Soloists [and that evening I looked through some of my other programmes and I Dreda Blow’s name appeared more than once; most notably in “The Great Gatsby” at The New Theatre in Hull back in 2013].

The Mermaids received a universal gasp of amazement from the Dress Circle as they appeared, shimmering, on the stage [I’m not a big sequin fan, as a rule, but everything has its place and a Mermaids tail is one of those places]. Nana The Dog, played by Olivia Holland, was also well received.

I’m saving the last paragraph for Joeseph Taylor’s performance as both Mr. Darling and Captain Hook. I had never given much thought to either character or how they might relate to each other before that Saturday matinee. The final scene sees the children return home and the children look at their father as if he were Captain Hook and I found it very moving, as did some other audience members within earshot of me on Row F.