A right rocking knees-up - review of Chas & Dave

Chas & Dave at The Corn Exchange, Newbury on Thursday, March 17

I’VE always meant to catch Chas & Dave on their regular visits to The Corn Exchange, but thought I’d missed the opportunity when Dave Peacock announced his retirement in 2009 following the death of his wife - and jumped at the chance when he decided to put his plans on hold for one final tour with Charles “Chas” Hodges.

There’s something very heartwarming about Chas & Dave’s distinctive and original “rockney” sound, mixing rock & roll with musical hall lyrics and a pub singalong style. EastEnders ought to establish them as the Queen Vic’s house band to cancel out some of Albert Square’s never-ending misery (it would make better use of the pub’s piano as well). They are loved by musicians from Led Zeppelin who had them open their legendary Knebworth show in 1979, to The Libertines, who cited them as direct inspiration for their sound. They also received the ultimate “cool” accolade when they played Glastonbury in 2005.

The first part of the show was a rip-roaring journey through Hodges and Peacock’s musical influences and early days as session musicians, demonstrating how strongly early rock & roll and boogie-woogie influenced their musical style. They moved on to their hits in the second half, from 1979’s Gertcha to 1986’s Snooker Loopy, and I doubt anyone who grew up in the 1980s has truly forgotten The Sideboard Song or Ain’t No Pleasing You, even if they’ve tried to (a quick survey among friends suggested that Chas & Dave incite quite contrasting feelings).

Joined on stage by Hodges’ rather comely son Nick on drums, replacing the long-serving Mick Burt, with Hodges on piano and Peacock on bass, the duo’s oh-so-English vocals are a central part to their sound, their voices merging in a way that only performers who have worked together for so many years manage to achieve. It’s all great fun, but also a demonstration of musicianship that goes deeper than the comedic stylings and witticisms of their hit songs.

While the show was an uplifting celebration of the pair’s 36 years together, there was no doom-laden sense of finality about proceedings (and I saw A-ha on their farewell tour in December so I know what I’m looking for). I might be wrong, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this turns out not to be Chas & Dave’s final visit to Newbury after all.  “Nobody else can do that”, commented Peacock after the frenetic ending to Rabbit (“Yup yup rabbit rabbit bunny jabber rabbit...”). This pair of musicians look as if they’re having far too much fun to give up on this touring lark entirely just yet.

• First published in Newbury Weekly News, Thursday, March 24, 2011

It's just not cricket - review of Miles Jupp

Miles Jupp - Fibber In The Heat, at New Greenham Arts, Newbury, on Thursday, March 10

HAVING been rather burnt by an uncomfortable evening spent in the company of Will Hodgson and his disconcerting tales of a childhood being bullied, I tend to shy away from storytelling comedians, so it was probably rather fortuitous that I hadn’t done my advance research and twigged that Miles Jupp’s show was one long tale surrounding the England cricket team’s 2006 tour of India.

Inspired mainly in my attendance by my fondness for Jupp’s character Archie the Inventor in the CBeebies series Balamory, I was aware that the actor also performed stand-up comedy, but I hadn’t expected him to combine the two in such a well-told based-on-a-true story of dreams achieved and thwarted, as Jupp described how, jaded with his acting career and buoyed by England’s success in the 2005 Ashes, he made it his aim to break into the world of cricket journalism.

Blagging his way into the press pack with vague promises of some piecework for BBC Scotland and Swansea’ s Western Mail (who were only interested in anything to do with Welsh cricketer Simon Jones - who was injured before the first match), Jupp soon discovered he was well out of his depth among a group of experienced hacks and legendary players-turned-pundits. and by the end of the month-long tour had concluded that there’s no such thing as a dream job, you should never get too close to your heroes, and the view from the press box isn’t all that special.

The joy in the performance was in Jupp’s turn of phrase as he staggered from one disastrous event to the next; trying to avoid sunburn from the glare bounced directly off the pitch into the press box, and attempting to resemble the photograph on the illicit press pass handed to him when his own promised one didn’t transpire. Even the scatological was so eloquently put as to transform a description of a nasty dose of Delhi belly into a voyage of self-discovery, as Jupp realised he had taken on more than he could chew - and not just from the roadside food stall he had stopped at for an ill-advised snack.

Jupp’s trip to India may have been ultimately doomed in terms of turning him onto a new career path, but among the tales of mishaps, loneliness and uncertainty there was an element of triumph in the audacity of his attempts to follow his dream, and his realisation that as a fan of anything there’s no better place than to be among other fans, revelling in the thrill and vibrancy of a crowd enjoying the escapism of an experience that is a million miles away from their day job, whatever that may be.

• First published in Newbury Weekly News on Thursday, March 17, 2011

Hang on to your ego - review of Neil Innes

Neil Innes at Arlington Arts Centre, Snelsmore, on Friday, March 4

THE MUSICAL force behind Monty Python and The Rutles, Neil Innes can certainly turn out a good tune, but he also has a great love for words, philosophy, and the power of ideas. All of which feature in his show, A People’s Guide To World Domination and his concept of the Ego Warrior; people cocking a snook and blowing a raspberry at those who try to tell them what to think.

It’s food for thought among the joyful silliness of Innes’ career, laid out here in tantalisingly brief nods to his past life as “The Seventh Python” - a performance of a missing song from Monty Python And The Holy Grail called Run Away, a medley of gems from “The Prefab Four” aka The Rutles, and a blast from the past in the form of some wonders from the earliest days of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, along with some great anecdotes about the trad jazz movement that inspired them.

Railing against cyberspace in favour of “face mail in the meat zone” - ie real life interaction (although I was amused afterwards to discover that he’s a rather prolific and popular Twitterer), Innes’ real bug bear is the poor quality of television today, dismissing it all as “eye candy”. “I used to be eye candy,” he sighed. “Now I’m eye pickle.” That may well be, but having played a part in such seminal televisual classics as Monty Python’s Flying Circus and Do Not Adjust Your Set, it’s fair to say that he’s well placed to comment on the medium. 

Innes’ Ego Warrior movement is a semi-serious idea; the rebellion of the individual against mass media, mass politics and mass thought, complete with its own protest songs, badge and swearing-in ceremony. But really it’s just all a fabulous excuse to play some of his lesser known songs from the Rutland Weekend Television series and other sources, and encourage the audience to join in whenever possible - entirely of their own free will, of course!

Luckily the crowd was as knowledgeable and enthusiastic as required, if a little smallish - possibly as a result as of clashing commitments to comedian Milton Jones, who played The Corn Exchange the same night. They joined in enthusiastically (and reasonably tunefully) whenever encouraged, and although I’m sure there wasn’t a person present who wouldn’t have liked to hear The Rutles’ How Sweet To Be An Idiot (the song that launched Oasis’ career), everyone had a quite spiffing time.

• First published in the Newbury Weekly News, Thursday, March 10, 2011

Howlin' Loud - review of Howlin' Lord and Case Hardin

Howlin’ Lord and Case Hardin at Ace Space, Newbury, on Friday, February 18

WITH folk-tinged music making its mark at the Brits last week in the form of gongs for Mumford & Sons and Reading’s Laura Marling, it was perfect timing for Newbury community venue Ace Space to prove that folk can rock, with a Friday night showcase of two bands influenced by the Americana strain of the genre.

Well, I say “rock”, but in fact  Reading-based Case Hardin, featuring Ace Space stalwart Adam Kotz on banjo and mandolin - an instrument featured too rarely in popular music outside of REM’s Loosing My Religion - stripped back their more usual plugged-in sound for an acoustic, percussion-less set. Gathered around a single microphone for a performance reminiscent of the aforementioned Mumford & Sons on the Brits (although, Case Hardin pointed out, they’d been using that technique for years) allowed them to rework some of the more upbeat moments from their 12-year back catalogue into something more intimate yet still lively.

Hairy Bristolians Howlin’ Lord, led by their intriguing self-titled frontman, aka Mark Legassick, were a much louder entity, mixing some really quite lovely tunes - Bright Lights being a particularly highlight - with unexpected high-octane covers such as La Bamba. A sweaty, amusing and entertaining set from the trio proved that country-folk can get people up and dancing as much as thinking and listening.

Recently redecorated by its dedicated committee members and team of volunteers, Ace Space has been transformed into an excellent live venue, the small stage’s proscenium arch and star-spangled backdrop framing each act  rather pleasingly. While the venue’s monthly Unplugged events are mainly quite sedate affairs in terms of audience interaction, Friday’s gig proved that with ample dancing space, when punters want to kick up their heels and have a rocking old time of it along with the bands, Ace Space is more than happy to oblige.

• First published in Newbury Weekly News, Thursday, March 3

Hugelaidbackchoonz - review of Tropic of Comfort by Isomeric

Tropic of Comfort by Isomeric

If you like your tunes so laid back they’re horizontal, with silky smooth vocals and lounge-lizard beats, then this album release by new Newbury-based chill duo Isomeric, aka West End musical director Griff “Hugechoonz” Johnson and Simon “Brother of Norman” Cook should chillax you better than any infinity pool ever could.

Released on Johnson and Cook’s own Kollaidal Music label, Tropic Of Comfort features the beautiful vocals of, among others, former Wicked and Oliver! star - and Brian May collaborator - Kerry Ellis, floating effortlessly over the delicate down-tempo beats provided by Johnson and Cook.

In this crazy world, Isomeric provide a moment of calm. Who knew such beauty could be produced in Newbury. So take a trip, relax, and float downstream... somewhere a lot more exotic than the Kennet & Avon Canal.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=isomeric&x=0&y=0

Fitting it in - keep fit feature

Esther Fairfax, teacher of the Lotte Berk Technique

YOU ate enough over Christmas to see you through to the Spring, the weight loss adverts are on the telly, and gym membership offers are dropping through your door. New year, new you, is your resolution, but that hasn’t motivated you beyond February in the past, so why should it in 2011?

The answer might be to try something a bit different - be it challenging, fun, fulfilling or a little bit crazy, there are plenty of activities out there which are a world away from pounding the pavements, providing a social side and working wonders for the soul as much as the body.

There’s plenty out there to chose from - and West Berkshire certainly has its fair share of hidden gems. With this little lot to try your hand at, you need never go near a treadmill again...

Buggyfit - New mums often want to get back into shape, but it’s hard to squeeze in a fitness plan when you have a baby. Buggyfit gives you no such excuse, as it’s an outdoor exercise class which fuses your cherub’s pushchair into the workout. 

These classes are designed to allow post natal mums to exercise safely, but having attempted this one myself, I can confirm that the Buggyfit workout is no walk in the park; it’s a combination of powerwalking and toning exercises that burn fat, raise the heartrate and strengthen neglected muscle groups.

“It’s about friendship and a support network as well as the exercise,” says local Buggyfit instructor Elizabeth Masters. “It’s sad when a mum has to stop because she’s gone back to work, but some are able to keep coming as long as they’ve got a buggy. Some of the ladies are really hardcore - they always turn up, whatever the weather.”

The classes utilise the terrain with park benches providing convenient staging posts. Buggyfit classes can be attended as soon as mums have been given the medical all-clear for exercise; however, they really need to be pushing a three-wheeler; a travel system might make the workout a little bit too challenging.

Ceroc - Featuring a dance style fusing jive and salsa, ceroc classes are as much a social scene as a form of exercise. Indeed, Newbury instructor Val Rokov believes that most people start attending for the social element of the evenings rather than viewing the classes as a potential new fitness regime.

“However, it does have massive benefits in terms of weight and fitness,” she says. “I started dancing 13 years ago, and haven’t returned to the gym since.”

Ceroc dancers are certainly put through their paces; pedometers have shown that dancers can take 12,000 in an evening. But Val says that ceroc is easy to learn, and beginners are made to feel very welcome - “no one is ever a wallflower. Three hours just fly by, and everyone ends on such a high.”

Forces Fit - Military-style classes led by current or former members of the Armed Forces may sound like a bit of a scary concept, but instructor Kevin Gormley says that Forces Fit is not just aimed at those already at the peak of physical fitness. “Classes are divided into ability groups, so beginners are very welcome, even those who may not have exercised regularly for a long time. It really is for everyone,” he says.

“It’s enjoyable, supportive, friendly and effective. Going to the gym can be like being on an underground train - no one talks to each other. We describe this as ‘training with a breath of fresh air’.”

Classes are held twice a week all year round in Goldwell Park, Newbury - the one with the gruelling hill. And the Forces Fit team don’t let a little thing like darkness get in the way of their workout, with two evening classes a week being held all year round.

Hatha yoga - “The brilliant thing about yoga,” says Lucy Malkin, “is that there are so many styles. Some are strenuous and give you a really tough workout, while others focus more on meditation. It means that yoga can suit everybody, from athletes to people in their 80s. A decent yoga teacher is one who knows how to modify a style to suit the individual.”

Lucy focuses on Hatha yoga, which covers “all physical styles of yoga”, meaning her classes can be modified to cater for old injuries, address specific physical issues, or enhance the body’s metabolic rate.

“Central to the ethos of yoga is better learning to inhabit the body we’ve been given rather than striving for the body beautiful,” says Lucy. “It’s about feeling more relaxed and comfortable in your skin, and being able to deal with stress.

“It clearly has physical health benefits - it can make people lean, strong and supple - but this is just a happy side affect for a lot of people.  Some people find their inner peace through working out hard, but others find it through being very quite and gentle. Yoga is non-judgemental.”

Kettlebell - Like a cannonball with handles, kettlebells are used by the Russian military to build up muscular strength. They are becoming popular for use at home - although you do need the room to swing the proverbial cat. However, group kettlebell training sessions are also catching on, such as those run by The Workout Team.

“Kettlebells provide a fundamental workout, using the body in the way it was designed,” explains The Workout Team’s Ria Ingleby. “They improve overall strength and endurance, work on core muscles and are good for posture. The kettlebell swing is a fundamental exercise; it really does work the whole body.”

Ria suggests that even those intending to a kettlebell at home should attend a short course in order to learn how to use them safely.

Lotte Berk Technique - West Berkshire’s best kept fitness secret has surely got to be the intimate and friendly classes run by Esther Fairfax, daughter of fitness pioneer Lotte Berk. The lithe and effervescent septuagenerian Esther and her long-term pupils are a wonderful advertisement for the benefits of the technique, which is based on dancers’ warm-up exercises - “without the dancing,” laughs Esther.

“These exercises are very small, very intense and very deep,” she explains. “Everything is based around the ‘tilt’, which my mother brought into the fitness industry, and for which I don’t think she gets enough credit. They create a smooth, firm line, not bulges.”

Many of Esther’s pupils demonstrate that a lifetime of exercise really does pay off, with her oldest student being aged 86 - “although we do have some students under 40”. The secret, she says, is that the technique keeps muscles strong so that joints remain well supported.

The women attending the class I observed at Esther’s carpeted dance studio in Hungerford had been following the method for between 25 and 40 years, with fabulous results. However, Esther says that newcomers are welcome. “Although you will never feel as bad as you do the day after your first class,” she says. “It puts muscles you didn’t know you had into shock.”

Newbury Fencing Club - It may not provide the gruelling cardio-vascular workout of some other activities, but fencing gives you the opportunity to test out your mastery of tactics and timing. “Fencing has become a lot more accessible as a spectator sport,”  says Imad Rahman of Newbury Fencing Club. “It’s certainly something you can take up as an adult - we run beginners’ courses three times a year to introduce people to the basics.”

But what about the risk of injury? Those points look sharp... “The weapons are designed to break very easily,” says Imad. “The most common injuries in fencing are actually muscle pulls, when people haven’t warmed up properly.”

Pole fitness - Put images of high heels and skimpy costumes out of your head; pole fitness has more in common with gymnastics, with the pole being used as a vertical bar.

“People have preconceived ideas, but it’s about fitness, not dancing,” says teacher Kate Tolhurst. “Gymnasts and dancers tend to pick it up really quickly, although you don’t need the strength to begin with to get up to a similar standard. 

“Pole fitness makes you really aware of the body’s posture; it’s really good for you physiologically, as well as providing a great cardio workout. It’s also very empowering. Your confidence grows as you learn the moves and begin to perform routines. It’s also really sociable. There’s a massive ‘pole’ community out there.”

Zumba - One of the liveliest workouts around, zumba is a fitness programme based on international music and dance styles that aims to turn every class into a party. “The moves are quite wiggly,” says Newbury instructor Emma Stanley, who runs classes at Greenacre Leisure Club and Nu Yuu. “It’s great if you’re trying to whittle down your waist.

“There are a lot of ‘secret squats’ hidden behind the dance moves as well, which are great for your legs and thighs. I’ve seen the difference it’s made to my own body - it’s the one class I’ve done which really helps you lose the weight.”

Moves can be modified to factor in knee or hip problems, and there’s no right or wrong way of doing it: “Just follow the instructor, and if you go wrong it doesn’t matter,” says Emma. “Most people love it, because it doesn’t feel like a fitness class. It really does have a party atmosphere.”

Contact info:

Buggyfit - www.buggyfit.co.uk, phone 07920 826966

Ceroc - www.cerocnewbury.co.uk, phone 07958 587256

Forces Fit- www.forcesfit.co.uk. phone 07711 856393

Hatha yoga (Stable Yoga) -  http://www.stableyoga.co.uk, phone 01635 250832

Kettlebell (The Workout Team) - www.theworkoutteam.co.uk, phone 07775 862076 

Lotte Berk Technique - www.lotte-berk.com, phone 01488 683 609

Newbury Fencing Club - www.newburyfencingclub.com, phone 01235 559481

Pole Fitness (Kate Tolhurst) - http://www.polefitnessassociation.com/KateTolhurst.html, phone 07748 628 882

Zumba (Emma Stanley) - http://78833.zumba.com/, phone 07905 369 351

• First published in Out & About (Newbury Weekly News), February 2010

A Peaceful moment in the Great War - Scamp Theatre, Private Peaceful review

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Private Peaceful, at The Corn Exchange, Newbury on Tuesday, February 15 and Wednesday, February 16

WHEN the then Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo wrote the novel Private Peaceful in 2003, he highlighted the plight of the 306 British soldiers shot in the First World War by their own side for desertion or cowardice, dismissed as “worthless men” rather than being treated as the victims of shellshock which many of them were. In 2006 the Government finally granted pardons to these men, but the story still resonates, both in the novel and this one-man play, devised shortly after the book’s publication.

The horrors Great War are seen through the eyes of Tommo Peaceful, an under-age soldier who enlists with his beloved brother Charlie, and whose experiences in the trenches contrast sharply with their Devonshire childhood, where a plane spotted in the sky rises over rooftops instead of plunging to the ground, and figures of authority are to be laughed about rather than feared. Even the death of their father in a forestry accident and the respects paid by his employer is bathed in a warmer light when compared with the devastation of No Man’s Land, where bodies lie unburied, tangled in barbed wire.

Recent RADA graduate Mark Quartley took Tommo through early childhood and first love and then to the trenches of “Wipers”, his innocent disappearing as the fields turn to mud, but his devotion to his family staying strong through to the big push where brotherly love and battlefield experience clash with blind obedience. The play ended with a left-turn from the novel, which I shall not explain for fear of revealing either, clearly rewritten to better suit the one-man performance, but also making for better dramatic impact on the many school groups present who were probably bracing themselves for an ending they thought they knew to expect after reading the book.

While Morpurgo’s other Great War tale, War Horse, continuing to thunder in the West End, with a Broadway run and Spielberg film in production, Private Peaceful demonstrates that even stripped back to one actor and a few sound and lighting effects, the tragedy of war as seen through the eyes of a boy not much older than most of those in the audience can still resonate through words with young people today.

• First published in Newbury Weekly News on Thursday, February 24

Steeling a laugh - Mark Steel review

Mark Steel at The Corn Exchange, Newbury, on Saturday, February 12

FOREVER confused in people’s minds with fellow left-leaning (but far more incendiary) comedian Mark Thomas, Mark Steel came to Newbury for a relatively gentle stroll down the high streets of Britain with his Mark Steel’s In Town tour, based on his BBC Radio 4 series of the same name.

Mainly focussing on Britain’s more beleaguered towns, and inspired by his own allegedly dreary hometown of Swanley in Kent, the show celebrated the humanity and quirks which make every town special, from Walsall’s beloved hippo statue to the residents of Penzance thinking that neighbouring St Ives must be posh “because they’ve got their own dentist”.

Steel had done some research on Newbury prior to his tour, including a whirlwind visit to West Berkshire Museum (“it was about to close when I got there, which only left me 14 minutes to kill after I’d finished looking round”) and reading a booklet on Newbury’s part in the English Civil War (feeding the Parliamentarian army, presumably with local sausages).

Surely with his left-wing opinions he missed a trick in not delving into the history of Greenham Common (the missiles got the briefest of mentions in passing); but I felt that Steel was careful not to alienate those present by exploring local issues which could potentially divide the audience - the bypass only received a mention as “a way to avoid Newbury”.

Anyway, local events had rather come bang up to date with the weekend’s tragic goings-on at Newbury Racecourse: “two dead and one wobbled” as a refreshed audience member summed it up. Indeed, with a few lubricated would-be racegoers in the audience, Steel dealt well with a number of uninvited interactions, appearing quite happy to take the show off-message as and when required.

The locally-skewed material only played a small part in the show, but the backdrop which accompanied the first half, of Steel outside Griffins in Bridge Street (“Home of the Newbury Sausage”) created a friendly vibe which was reflected in the audience, even prior to the show beginning, with conversations arising about the errant “B” in the sign above the butcher's shop: “When did that go missing?” “Longer than I care to remember, mate”. And of course the entire audience was drawn together by the use of Thatcham as the butt of a joke.

Steel’s shows may demonstrate great research and thought, but he also appears fully aware that a little education can go a long way, and sometimes people just want a silly old laugh.

• First published in Newbury Weekly News on Thursday, February 17

G'Osho, it's Andi! - Andi Osho review

IT would be interesting to know what comedian Andi Osho thinks of David Cameron’s remarks that multiculturalism has failed, as it was a concept that was thrust on her in its most brutal form when, aged eight, she was called a “nig-nog” by other children. Before then she had not viewed herself as any different from other children in her then predominantly white area of London’s East End.

Osho’s show AfroBlighty explored her relationship with her Nigerian background since that moment, from anglicising her name from Yewande to learning to celebrate her family’s culture, concluding that although her ethnicity didn’t solely define her, it was an important part of who she was - and that political correctness in its most effective form was nothing more complicated than “being nice” to each other.

Lots of food for thought there, but Osho presented much of it in a light-hearted manner, mixing it up with more generic memories from childhood, such as silly noise competitions with her siblings (“if you didn’t do that when you were a kid, you must have had toys”). 

However, the show gave an interesting insight to growing up as a black child in a mainly white area, such as the fact that rather than sticking together, there were tensions at her school between the West Indian kids and those from African families. These were probably not helped by some of the older generation, such as Osho’s own uncle, describing those from the West Indies as “slaves” - mind you, he was also convinced that Obi-Wan Kenobi must be Nigerian with a name like that, so being well informed was clearly not his strong point.

Osho rounded off her set with an unexpected and strong spoken word poem regarding her thoughts on multi-culturalism and diversity in Britain today. It proved that when she played to the strength of her convictions, Osho could really come up with some thought-provoking material, and insights which David Cameron himself could learn from. However, while her friendly interplay with the audience which warmed up the first half was pleasant enough - if a little predictable, and partly saved only by an audience member nearly as quick-witted as her - the more interesting stuff was too interspersed to really make the impact it deserved.

Amos-ing Grace - Stephen K. Amos review

Stephen K. Amos at Arlington Arts, on Saturday, January 15

I TOLD you last week what a nice man Stephen K. Amos was, and at his comedy show at Arlington on Friday he proved it to the max. While he relies heavily on audience interaction he went out of his way to make sure that no one felt uncomfortable, and promised to return to do a fundraising gig for Mary Hare School, to which sixthformers would be invited.

His current show show, The Best Medicine, would certainly be spot-on for a young crowd, as much of it is based around his genuine childhood diary, proving that Amos had a witty turn of words even aged 12, despite the fact that at the time he was deadly serious about his major life traumas, such as his mum buying him cheap “Abibas” trainers.

As it happened, the front row was chock full of young people, which proved the perfect conversation point as Amos compared his own childhood and adolescence with that of the youth today, pausing to explain terms which they may not recognise, such as “chalk” and “mining”.

Like Lenny Henry, performing his own preview shows at The Corn Exchange this week, who covered similar themes on his last tour, Amos is one of seven children of immigrants whose parenting style combined love with regular clips round the ear. HOwever, he clearly has a great love for his family - even if he didn’t when he was 12 - and has his mother to thank for rediscovering his diary and the comedy gems hidden within when she read out extracts at his twin sister’s wedding.

It was a treat to see Arlington packed to the rafters, and I recommend that others make the effort to experience the warm and wonderful atmosphere for themselves when Amos makes his promised return visit.

Support came from Paul F. Taylor, a Reading comedian and graduate of Newbury Comedy Festival’s You Must Be Joking stand-up contest. He was enthusiastic and likeable, with some enjoyably leftfield lines, including his thoughts about Americans sending their children to camp to deal with their problems such as “fat camp” and “brat camp”. When he was young, he had a problem with concentration... I’m sure you can figure out the payoff.

• First published in Newbury Weekly News on Thursday, January 20, 2011

This charming man - Stephen K. Amos interview

RELAXED after a Christmas and New Year in the Australian sun, comedian Stephen K Amos is geared up for an 80-date UK tour that brings him to Arlington Arts Centre on Saturday, January 15. And with his show called The Best Medicine, he really does want to bring the joy of laughter into our gloomy winter lives - but maybe not in exactly the way you’d expect.

“The show is all about things that happen in our lives that at the time seem quite negative, but now we can look back and laugh,” he explains.

“It came out of finding the diary I wrote when I was 13 - it was so funny to remember the crazy little stuff that really mattered to me at the time.  If I could talk to my 13-year-old self now, I’d say ‘life is too short, you never know what’s round the corner’.

“’Eventually you’ll grow up and realise that certain things can’t be changed’.”

Amos is as charming to be interviewed as he appears in his many other regular television appearances, such as Five’s current affairs daytime show The Wright Stuff. Once crassly informed by Prince Harry that he didn’t “sound like a black chap”, his cultured accent certainly makes him stand out from the crowd of potty-mouthed comedians, although he did once accidentally use a naughty word on ITV’s Loose Women, declaring afterwards “I didn’t realise it was that bad a word”.

But it is Amos’ BBC Two series, The Stephen K Amos Show, that is a dream come true for the comedian (although not all his fans may agree - he elicited an impassioned “no!” from one audience member when he declared his wish for it at a Corn Exchange performance two years ago). Partly, it was because it gave him the opportunity to draw on his acting skills, which have also been demonstrated on the West End stage in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, with Christian Slater.

“The TV show was such good fun. I was able to do something a bit different, play different characters, and bring on quirky odd guests. Hopefully if all goes well, we’ll be filming a new series in the summer.”

With the current tour running until late May, Amos certainly has a full schedule for a good chunk of the year, for which he is grateful. “It’s very beneficial not having to worry where the next gig is coming from. The last tour was really exciting - every venue sold out. The comedy industry in the UK is very healthy at the moment.

“I love the live stuff. Things happen in the moment that you can’t plan for. I love to play along with the audience.”

Amos certainly made the most of the moment at his last Newbury gig; inviting an impromptu teenage boyband up on stage, who amazingly had a rehearsed routine “just in case something like this ever happened”; berating an audience member for their persistently ringing phone when his own mobile received an unexpected call from fellow comedian Jo Brand; and inviting his support act down from the balcony to perform some of Amos’ own routine when a friendly heckler pointed out the similarity between their themes.

So, with Amos vowing that he’ll be over his jetlag and reacclimatised to the chilly UK, he vows that he’ll be on top form for his Arlington date on Saturday. “It’ll banish those winter blues,” he promises. “Come along - we’ll have a laugh.”

• First published in Newbury Weekly News on Thursday, January 13, 2011, and online at Newbury Today on Saturday, January 15, 2011: http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/News/Article.aspx?articleID=15638 

Mr Tumble is a real Beauty - review of The Hexagon 2010 pantomime, starring Justin Fletcher

Sleeping Beauty at The Hexagon, Reading until Sunday, January 2

THE HEXAGON has landed the pick of the celeb crop for its pantomime this year in the form of TV’s Mr Tumble himself, Justin Fletcher, in only his second live panto. Even George, now aged eight and long a graduate of CBeebies, was impressed enough to earmark this panto as the one he wanted to see.

In a production created by the team behind hit CBeebies show The Tweenies (also starring Fletcher as the orange-skinned Jake), Fletcher lit up the stage whenever he appeared as ebullient joker and inventor Josh the Jester, with a great sense of slapstick and comic timing far beyond that normally demonstrated after a panto’s normal fortnight of rehearsal. 

But although clearly the real star, Fletcher (the son of Hungerford composer Guy Fletcher) was not the only strong point of this year’s Hexagon pantomime. Proudly proclaiming Reading’s long history of panto in the programme - the town’s first was Robinson Crusoe, in the Friar Street Theatre in 1789 - Sleeping Beauty featured lush sets, fabulous costumes, a lively dark light scene, and an impressively fearsome if underused dragon.

Also strong was the supporting cast, including the legendary Jane Tucker from Rainbow - my own childhood hero - timeless as Azuriel, the good fairy, and well worthy of a mention, as she said to me after the show “the fairy never gets mentioned in reviews”. Then there was Leah Bracknell (formerly Emmerdale’s Zoe Tate), unrecognisable in a purple fright wig as the evil Carabosse, and Jolyon Dixon, an excellent sidekick to Fletcher as the panto’s dame, Nanny Nora.

Imagine Theatre did away with a lot of the current chart hits (although there was a ‘70s disco scene) and reference to current television shows that often pepper modern pantomimes but may go over the heads of the younger children, concentrating on the slapstick comedy, song, dance and audience participation that appeals to all ages. That’s not to say that this is a production aimed at pre-schoolers - it was great fun for all present, secretly even a too-cool eight-year-old who refused to join in any of the clapping. 

The only pity is that as The Corn Exchange in Newbury is also presenting Sleeping Beauty, it’ll take a hardened panto fan to make it to both productions this year. But for many wanting to take their children to their first Christmas show, the popular draw of the delightful Fletcher will be hard to resist, and they have every right to be extremely satisfied with their choice.

• First published in Newbury Weekly News on December 16, 2010

A real treasure - review of Treasure Island at The Watermill

Treasure Island at The Watermill, Bagnor, until January 2

GRAB your cutlasses and don your eye-patches - although you may want to lift them up during the performance as you won’t want to miss a thing - The Watermill’s Christmas show is a swashbucklng adventure brimming with thrills, spills, daring-do and festive sparkle.

Robert Louis Stevenson’s 19th century children’s story has been cleverly tweaked for the 21st century by playwright Toby Hulse to make sure the production appeals to girls as well as boys, and also to ensure that the bloodthirsty elements of the tale can remain without making it too gory for the youngest of pirates.

And so, the story began in the bedroom of Emily, a modern-day girl who dreamt of growing up to be a pirate rather than a businesswoman. As Emily conjured up a motley crew of her own, the bedroom curtains swept back to reveal an “ooh”-inspiring set, that made the most of The Watermill’s natural design to double up as the Admiral Benbow inn, the schooner Hispaniola, and the island inself.

In turn, Emily’s musical pirates took on the roles of various Treasure Island characters, with Emily herself becoming young Jim Hawkins, the innkeeper’s son who runs away to sea to find the pirate treasure marked on a mysterious map. This device allowed the cast of six to constantly break the fourth wall, with knowing remarks to the audience, “I’m not really dead” being a regular call, dissolving any darkness in the tale with a cheer as the pirate bounced back up, dusted himself down and bounded off to take on the next crucial role in the tale.

A hefty injection of panto-style fun also worked well as the pirates goofed around with the props, asked the audience to suspend disbelief regarding a clearly two-legged Long John Silver and invited all to help in the ambush of the mutineers by bombarding the stage with foam rocks. The audience, of course, obliged with much gusto.

Despite the laughs to be had, Emily (Emily Butterfield) was left questioning whether a pirate’s life was truly for her when a jolly hunt for treasure revealed a raft of double crossing and left such mayhem in its wake. But with a yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum, she was persuaded that the pirate life of her imagination was worth at least one final carouse.

As for the audience, many of whom had dressed for the occasion - well, there was no need to down the grog before setting sail on this thrilling and funny adventure, that brought the classic book to life with just the right mix of respect and modern insight. The Watermill has created a Christmas production to be treasured.

Catriona Reeves and Miya Akeda-Morris, aged nine

• First published in Newbury Weekly News on Thursday, December 2, 2010

Bittersweet - Marc Almond review

Marc Almond at The Anvil, Basingstoke on Friday, November 12

SINGER Marc Almond has always been something of a chameleon so it could have been a bit of a gamble to see if he was going to provide a big crowd with the songs they knew. However, he is currently celebrating his 30 years in the business with a tour subtitled ‘My Best Bits’, so on this occasion it was a safe bet that the best-loved releases were going to feature strongly.

Almond’s ‘Best Bits’ were described as “hits and A-sides”, possibly a tongue-in-cheek nod to the fact that after his band Soft Cell’s flurry of Top Five singles in the early 80s, his solo releases have often missed the charts; his duet with Gene Pitney, Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart, being the biggest exception when it hit the top spot in 1989.

However, Almond’s three-decade career gave him plenty of well known electro-pop classics, torch songs and leftfield covers to pull out of the bag with a magnificent flourish. Backed by a four-piece band he never failed to entertain, putting his all into the songs he must have sung so many times before, and donning a wonderfully showy gold lame jacket for part of his performance.

There is a faint nasal quality to Almond’s voice which probably prevents him from being considered one of the truly great singers, but this is overridden by a passion which breathes heart and soul into every song. This is made all the more evident when the music doesn’t so easily lend itself to impassioned vocals, such as the strident hi-NRG beat of 1995’s Brilliant Creatures or Soft Cell’s cold, stripped down synthpop version of Tainted Love.

What was a pleasant surprise was that for such a flamboyant performer Almond was not aloof or precious; happy to chat, he explained that a plaster on his finger was the result of a peck by his parakeet. Although his biggest hits put in their deserved showstopping appearances - Soft Cell’s Torch and What, and 90s solo releases Jacky and The Days of Pearly Spencer - he also had some treats for the real fans, such as less-remembered Soft Cell single Where The Heart is, and a couple of quite amiable songs off recent album Variete.

Early Soft Cell hit Say Hello, Wave Goodbye gave the show the perfect encore, eliciting a pretty impressive rendition of an entire chorus by the audience alone, along with plenty of jocular waving at the stage. However, the real goosebump moment was produced by Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart. Gene Pitney may have passed away in 2006 - in fact, one of his final concerts was at The Anvil, just days before his death - but however much Almond may miss his former collaborator, his powerful solo rendition of the song lacked nothing for being performed alone.

• First published in Newbury Weekly News on Thursday, November 18, 2010

Down on the farm - New Perspective Theatre Company, Farm Boy review

Farm Boy, at The Corn Exchange, Newbury on Saturday, November 6

BASED on the Michael Morpurgo book written as a sequel of sorts to epic trenches tale War Horse, itself a hit on the London stage and with a Steven Spielberg film in production, Farm Boy was always going to be a quieter affair, but as it turns out, none the less powerful in the telling.

Every war hero deserves a happy retirement, and Farm Boy tells the story of how Joey, the titular horse of the first book, was finally released from his farming duties along with his mother, Zoey, after a thrilling ploughing match which set him against the newfangled tractor from a neighbouring Devon farm.

The play itself was set in the modern day, with the story of Joey and his owner Alfred - known as “the Corporal” since his return from the Great War - being told by his now-elderly son to his own grandson, a city boy inspired by farming life and his grandpa’s tales to take over the running of the family farm, and lovingly restore the vintage Fordson tractor which Joey and the Corporal had competed many decades before.

New Perspectives Theatre Company’s production was a two-hander between Grandpa (John Walters), a sometimes grumpy farmer with a fondness for whodunits, and the adult Grandson (Matt Powell), who could still relive the exuberant joy and excitement he had felt when visiting the farm as a child. Grandpa and Grandson took on the personas of their forefathers to tell the story of the ploughing match with a clarity which avoided confusion, even when Grandson was playing Grandpa as a boy, and Grandpa became his own father, struggling with a gammy leg from a war wound as he ploughed “straight and true” behind his two beloved horses.

The stark stage was furnished with just a life-size replica of the 1920s Fordson tractor which the Corporal first feared, and then built a relationship with when it fell into his ownership. The horse-drawn  plough may have been represented by a chair, but its full weight was clear to see as first father then seven-year-old son steered it in an apparently futile attempt to create as many furrows as the tractor on a cold November day.

The timelessness of farm life was contrasted with the modern world as Grandson, an engineering graduate, not only took over the farm but taught Grandpa to read and write  - he had never learnt as a child, having missed so much schooling to help on the family farm. Also present was a down-to-earth attitude towards death, as Grandpa wished that he could go while shutting the chicken coop for the night as his father had done.

There may have been no guns or tanks, although the War Horse tale was touched upon as a beloved family legend, but the tale of Joey and the tractor was just as gripping as any war story. The play, adapted from the book by Daniel Buckroyd was a tribute to the magnificent writing of Michael Morpurgo, and the author’s words were allowed to shine throughout.

• First published in Newbury Weekly News on Thursday, November 14, 2010

Dark side of the loon - Alun Cochrane review

Alun Cochrane at New Greenham Arts on Friday, November 5

COMEDIAN Alun Cochrane’s usual style is very much observational - a previous show of his was entitled Things That Have Happened To Me In Life, Or In Cafes “because that pretty much covers everything”.  But this year, he set himself a challenge: after receiving the tired old heckle “tell us a joke”, he decided to write some.

As it turns out, Cochrane is no Tim Vine, and his “joke jokes” are pretty groan-inducing. But he is entirely aware of this, and so the one-liners, selected in random order from a tub, played no great part in the performance, and merely supported his argument that no carefully-crafted joke is as funny as real life. The show being called Jokes. Life. And Jokes About Life., Cochrane contrasted these inconsequential nuggets with some fairly dark insights into his own life, testing his theory that humour can be found everywhere, even when serious illness invades a family.

Despite the “jokes” not really being the important part of the show, Cochrane probably shouldn’t have bothered offering to write some based on audience ideas during the interval, as he failed to deliver on this. He also seemed unaware of the relevance of the “cruise missile” suggestion thrown to him at this point, which was a pity, as Greenham Common’s history has provided a rich vein of material for many previous visitors to the arts centre.

But no matter, Cochrane’s relaxed yet riveting delivery and shadowed content is not about facts or showy flourishes of improvisational skill. It’s about finding the small pleasures and joys on the gloomiest of days, such as thinking how attractive a package he and his cute toddler son would present if he were to be widowed. Rather too dark you may think, but his wife, who is actually quite ill, has seen the show, and apparently approves.

So yes, Cochrane should ditch the jokes and stick to the life stuff, but he knows that, and it was fun to play along, deciding if each joke had any potential. As he hits more bumps along life’s rickety path, he seems able to find more to laugh at, and it’s rather touching that he’s happy to invite audiences along for the ride.

• First published in Newbury Weekly News, Thursday, November 11, 2010

All hands on Dexter - Felix Dexter review

Felix Dexter at  New Greenham Arts on Thursday, November 4

THE good people of West Berkshire must be busy saving for Christmas, as comedy character actor Felix Dexter was the second performer in a couple of weeks, after John Hegley, to see his show downgraded from The Corn Exchange auditorium to a smaller space owing to disappointing ticket sales.

However, apart from the obvious financial benefits to the performer of filling a bigger venue, Dexter’s show, like Hegley’s, appeared to benefit from the intimate atmosphere. I’m not a fan of the current vogue for arena comedy (although that’s partly because those venues are outside the Newbury Weekly News’ jurisdiction and I’d have to buy a ticket), and many comedians come across better in a smaller room, as long as there’s enough audience members present to allow for laughter without awkwardness.

Dexter’s show, Multiple Personalities In Order, saw him perform as three characters, charming Nigerian Julius Olufemwe, posturing playa Early D and refined architect Aubrey Dubuisson. Each character’s persona explored issues of ethnicity such as the suspicion of Dubuisson’s Cotswold neighbours towards his “high melanin content”, and his apparent acceptance of this as being the way of the world.

A former lawyer, Dexter has won awards for his acting, and was seen on television earlier this year playing several of the central characters in Charlie Higson and Paul Whitehouse’s spoof travelogue Bellamy’s People on BBC2. It was fascinating to see him physically transform into the characters as he slipped on Early D’s oversized padded jacket or Dubuisson’s elegant gilet. Unlike many similar stage performers, Dexter interacted heavily with the audience while in character, demonstrating a confidence in his well-defined personas, and in audience member’s willingness to play along with some potentially embarrassing scenarios.

However, it was his mid-change monologues that invited the most relaxed laughter, as he told the story of a recent performance in a high-security prison. Maybe this was because the audience felt more comfortable with Dexter as himself rather than as his sometimes unpredictable characters. He has previously performed “straight” stand-up shows to a mixed reception, but I would be happy to hear more from the man behind the gilet.

• First published in Newbury Weekly News, Thursday, November 11, 2010

The crazy bunch - Andy & Mike's Big Box of Bananas review

Mike wonders why the 'big box' has shrunk

Andy and Mike’s Big Box of Bananas at The Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke, on Friday, October 29

GEORGE and I were disappointed to have missed children’s entertainers Andy Day and Mike James when they performed during Newbury Comedy Festival in July. George was particularly keen to see them as the duo had won him over when they popped into his school to promote the show prior to their Corn Exchange appearance.

Big Box of Bananas was an anarchic tale of the duo’s quest to track down the password to open a mysterious giant box delivered to their day-glo flat. Through a number of dream sequences the audience was introduced to effervescent air stewardesses Tango and Fizz, a Max Headroom-style television star, and the presenters of Ocean’s Got Talent, the wonderfully-named Sunk and Wreck (get it?).

The show was aimed at ages four to 11, but probably appealed slightly more to the younger contingent in the audience, as George (aged eight) and his friend Kai (celebrating his seventh birthday), considered themselves a little too old to join in the various actions, singing and general audience participation with full gusto. However, it was perfectly clear that beneath their cool exterior the boys were thoroughly entertained, particularly by the water pistol-toting pirates who squirted the audience quite liberally during their anarchic appearance.

Day’s main job as a CBeebies presenter makes him quite a celebrity for pre-schoolers, and I suspect there were a couple of CBeebies in-jokes thrown in that went over the heads of the older children and their parents. Day and childhood friend James each played to their strengths of vocal and physical comedy respectively. The show may have been expanded from its original 2009 Edinburgh Fringe hour running time to a generous 90 minutes, but none of the content stood out as padding.

Crammed chock full of silliness, it was rather refreshing to see a children’s production that has no claims to literary credence, highbrow artistic merit or educational messages of morality.  Day and James are talented performers who deal successfully in the serious business of fun, and they thoroughly deserved the longest queue for post-show autographs that I have ever witnessed.

• First published in Newbury Weekly News on Thursday, November 4 2010