Pericles re-imagined, Regent's Park Theatre

The warning: "suitable for children 6 years and up" told me immediately that this was not to be your standard Shakespeare production. Sure enough, I seemed to be the only audience member without an excited child on my arm. As we entered the auditorium for the 10am Sunday performance (no weekend lie-in for me) I was handed a flimsy programme that cleverly opens out to be made into a pirate's hat. Pericles re-imagined is a new production being performed in the magical Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, an adaptation of the classic play that caters for the whole family.

The play is abridged with the first two acts of Shakespeare’s original script omitted, and yet the narrative stays very much intact, a surprisingly coherent plot despite regular jumps back and forth through time. Director Natalie Abrahami gives the focus to Marina, a pretty young girl, born dangerously at sea and left to be brought up by an evil guardian Dionyza. She is kidnapped by pirates and forced to perform as a singing mermaid in a circus show. While we watch her maritime adventures, we are also very much involved in the quest to find her long lost father.

A tiny cast of six take on all the play's characters, resulting in some very tricky but brilliantly managed character switches, which are genuinely hilarious at times. Hara Yannas is very personable as the innocent Marina. I have previously seen her excelling in Chekhov and here she is just as convincing, encouraging the kids to wave their boats and pass a message in a bottle across the stalls in the hope that it will find her dad. Gary Milner as Pericles is regal and speaks the Shakespearean text with a humble charm and deep understanding. It is Liza Pulman who stands out most for me though, with a strong singing voice and an ability to metamorphose from malevolent Dionyza to kind Goddess Diana in seconds which is quite magnificent to watch. Pulman is very engaging and has a brilliant sense of comic timing.

Pericles succeeds in the ultimate challenge: to stage a children’s panto that will also appeal to the mature audience members, I was very impressed.

Continues until 23 July, book here.

The Beggar's Opera at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

The weather forecast predicted rain so I was sceptical as to whether ‘The Beggar’s Opera’ would go ahead in Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. The policy for this seasonal venue is never to cancel any performance, with the hope that any showers will clear and the play can go ahead. With a completely uncovered stage and auditorium every show is unique, with the weather and open skies adding extra transient effects each night.

Written in 1728, John Gay’s satirical drama was the first ballad opera, poking fun at the very popular extravagant Italian opera of the time. Poor Polly Peachum is in quite a pickle – newly wed to her beloved Macheath, a famous highwayman; her parents are furious that she can no longer be of use to the family business, and decide the only solution is to kill Macheath for his money. Aware of this plan, Polly hides Macheath before ordering him away for protection. In a tavern, he is surrounded by dubious women, and enjoys flirting with them but discovers, too late, that two of them (Jenny Diver, Suky Tawdry) have been sent by Mr Peachum to capture him - he is taken to prison to await trial and be hung. Pregnant women come from near and far to claim him as their rightful husband, particularly a very persistent Lucy Lockit (daughter of the gaoler), while his wife Polly struggles to win him back. Morally Macheath should be hung, but the audience demands a happy ending and so the play concludes with the celebration of Polly and Macheath’s marriage.

It is a silly story, but one filled with vivid characters and popular folk tunes. To one side of the stage a small band, the City Waites, provide the music using authentic instruments. Led by a lively Roddy Skeaping on violin and bass viol, I thought the band was fantastic - rich in tone and character, a gentle purring accompaniment that adds depth to the narrative. The stage is appropriately decorated with beds and wooden carts, a clever and adaptable design from William Dudley. Big bosomed women hang around the edges, lurking in the bushes, waiting to pounce. It is quite a sight and gloriously romantic in the leafy setting of Regent’s Park.

Unfortunately on the night there were a few technical hitches with the microphones, aside from being rather distracting this also disrupted the flow of the drama, and swallowed up the occasional word or song lyric. On the whole though, I was impressed with the cast, especially considering the 32 degree heat - their energy was commendable.

Jasper Britton is a suitably stern Mr Peachum, and Janet Fullerlove is hilarious as his wife; she seems to revel in Gay’s wickedly naughty script. I loved watching the frantic catfights between Lucy (Beverly Rudd) and Polly (Flora Spencer-Longhurst) who certainly got the most laughs on the night. I saw Rudd last year in the Regent Park’s version of Sondheim’s ‘Into the Woods’, she was outstanding then and is just as brilliant here... with a buoyant attitude and a belter of a voice, she conquers the expansive Regent’s Park stage; there is so much to look at and yet I always feel gripped by her presence on stage. Spencer Longhurst, bright faced and wide eyed as the innocent but crafty little Polly, acts with great assurance and in addition has a bright soprano voice that soars in this theatre.

What this play lacks in excitement, it makes up for in charm: Regent’s Park is the loveliest of settings, and ‘The Beggar’s Opera’ is a witty, sometimes neglected work sure to provide a pleasant summer’s evening out.

The Beggar's Opera continues until 23 July, book here.

Sondheim's Into the Woods at Regents Park Open Air Theatre

This year marks Stephen Sondheim’s 80^th Birthday. Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre are celebrating with their tremendous production of a Sondheim favourite, Into the Woods. I have seen this musical once before at St Paul’s Girls School and was impressed with it then, so was excited to see it again.

Into the Woods, with music and lyrics by Sondheim is based on a book by James Lapine. The story intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales and follows them further to explore the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. The main characters are taken from the stories of Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and Cinderella, tied together by a more original story involving a baker and his wife and their quest to begin a family, most likely taken from the original story of Rapunzel. It also includes references to several other well-known tales. The first half introduces us to all the characters and we accompany them as they explore the woods. The second half feels like a completely different show, half the characters are killed off or transformed, and the general atmosphere is much more sinister. Various moral themes emerge, for example the importance of love over material things and the repercussions of unpleasant greed.

The cast is brilliant, and big, so I will only mention my favourites. Little Red Riding Hood comes top of my list: a delightful smiling girl played by Beverly Rudd she acts and sings charmingly. Ben Stott as Jack is also memorable. The two strutting self-absorbed princes (Simon Thomas and Michael Xavier) provide some comic entertainment with their hilarious duet, ‘Agony’. Not all the vocals are great though and I noticed some faltering particularly from the Baker, but on the whole this cast tackles the tricky Sondheim score well. A special mention also to the adorable cow, Milky White, scarily lifelike, despite only being a puppet, it reminded me of War Horse.

An outdoor theatre is, of course, the ideal setting for a musical about the woods. The large wooden structure is set up beautifully and used so creatively throughout the show. Hidden away around every corner are clever little gadgets, and swings, and even wires to lift the characters high into the sky. The creative team have thought of everything, and the multi-levelled platforms continue to surprise right until the end. The orchestra too, lurk behind the woody backdrop producing the most enchanting music to accompany the drama.

I love this production, but much prefer the first half to the second. The show starts at 8 pm and so by 9.30, when the interval comes, I was pretty exhausted. Also, be warned the seats are quite uncomfortable and it gets bloody freezing towards the end of the night, I luckily came prepared with my lovely checked Brora blanket to snuggle under. Visually absolutely stunning, musically brilliant, Into the Woods is always a great show to see, but Regents Park gives it a little bit extra that for me makes it a breathtakingly magical production to see.

The Crucible at Regents Park Open Air Theatre

The Salem girls

The weather forecast had been 'heavy rainfall' so I was delighted to find the sun still shining when we arrived at Regents Park Open Air Theatre. This production of Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible' relies on light. A long play, it seems surprising that it begins as late at 8 o'clock, but as the interval finished and the trials of the second half began, it became apparent that this production uses the inevitable nightfall to its advantage.

Previously I have seen 'The Boyfriend' and 'Hello Dolly' at Regents Park Theatre, both light witty musicals. This year they are proving their versatility by tackling two rather more sombre plays, 'The Crucible' and 'Macbeth'. Miller's play is, if anything, more effective than the musicals I'd witnessed in its use of the space. The young Salem girls sit surrounding the circular stage almost throughout the show, with haunted blank faces, reacting occasionally to the speech before them. Their silence is sometimes even more poignant than Miller's most dramatic words.

The cast, together capture the dark hysteria wonderfully. John Proctor (Patrick O'Kane) towers above the young Abigail Williams (Emily Taafe), a physical contrast that emphasises the struggle for justice between them. O'Kane's bellowing voice carried across the park, and his gradual desperation is developed very naturally by the actor. For me though it is Philip Cumbus as Reverend John Hale who gives the most compelling performance of the night. The Reverend interacts with most of the other parts in the play and is therefore crucial to the play's credibility. He twists and turns with the story perfectly. Christopher Hunter gives a chilling performance as Judge Hathorne and Susan Engel as Rebecca Nurse also produces some powerful characterisation. Director Timothy Sheader should be congratulated on this eerie realisation of 'The Crucible', adapted well for this al fresco venue and yet staying true to the playwright's intentions.

The play, written in 1953 is still just as politically and culturally relevant making the performance all the more poignant. Towards the end I found myself gasping and begging for a consoling outcome, but to no avail. The cold night and the chilling drama left me shivering as I left the park. I would urge you to catch this production before it ends on 19th June, it is a stunning rendition of Miller's classic. However if you prefer something a little more light-hearted, opt for Sondheim's 'Into the Woods' on at Regents Park from 6th August.

http://openairtheatre.org/