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March 23, 2018March 23, 2018

BREVIEW: Evita @ Birmingham Hippodrome until 24.03.18

Words by Eleanor Sutcliffe / Production shots by Pamela Raith

I adore Birmingham Hippodrome. Granted, I’m not the most well-versed theatre critic, however there is something rather decadent about settling yourselves into the plush red seats ready to absorb an hour or three of theatrical roguery.

Hurling ourselves into the world of 1940s Argentinean politics, it is the opening night for Evita – the long running musical written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, that focuses on the life and untimely death of Argentinean political and social icon Eva Perón.

Church pillars and weeping mourners set the scene as Eva Perón’s casket is brought onto the stage. It is during this opening sequence that we meet the three key performers for the evening. Che, played by Gian Marco Schiaretti, is our narrator; sporting a black flat cap, he ponders the true motives behind Evita’s charity and her rise from poverty to political aristocracy. Next is her husband, Juan Perón, who is brought to life with military precision by Jeremy Secomb.

And finally, silhouetted against a portrait donning the church walls, is Evita herself. Madalena Alberto has had plenty of practice in this role since her critically acclaimed performance in the West End revival of Evita back in 2014, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed. As the lead role, Alberto is simply captivating throughout the entire production – from the sprightly 15 year old who runs away with tango singer Agustín Magaldi to Buenos Aires, to the blonde, sophisticated flame of Juan Perón, her impeccable acting skills pay tribute to the late First Lady with class and demeanour I could only wish to have.

The first half shows Evita’s lust for power, as she slowly makes her way to the top of the social ladder in Buenos Aires. At a time where sexual promiscuity was considered sinful and wretched, watching Evita manipulate various lovers to obtain social power was truly entertaining, especially when coupled with the song ‘Goodnight and Thank You’.

This rise to stardom results in her colliding with Juan Perón at a charity concert, and after seducing him with the promise of becoming an asset to his career they soon become an item. The stage glides to and fro as balconies are pushed forwards and backwards for different scenes, from the staging of a military coup using musical chairs during ‘The Art of the Possible’ to the energetic choreography of ‘Eva, Beware of the City’, the cast make use of every inch of the Hippodrome stage with minimal props.

Following an interval (and a glass or two of wine) we returned to the reveal of Juan Perón’s successful election as Prime Minister, with Evita delivering a powerful speech as the First Lady bedecked in a glittering white ball gown. The second half passes in the blink of an eye, as we witness Evita embark on her renowned ‘Rainbow Tour’ of Europe without her husband, and her resulting ill health. Despite this, she seemingly perseveres with her saintly actions, setting up a charity and literally showering her supporters with money.

This is where Che truly comes into form – stripping back the glamour that Evita covers herself with, he reveals a woman spurned by political aristocracy who has carefully moulded the Argentinean people into supporters for her husband. Sombre and lonely, he narrates Evita’s life as she tirelessly works to prove herself as a saint not only to Juan Perón and her critics, but to the people of the world. The scenes surrounding her demise and following death are truly heart wrenching – the performances given by both Secomb and Alberto are harrowingly beautiful as Evita laments for the life she could have lived, had she not pursued fame and glory.

True, the production is somewhat lacking in what my mother would describe as ‘fancy stuff’. But that is the beauty of a theatrical piece such as Evita – it simply is not needed. Props and lights could never replace what this cast deliver, which is a highly emotionally performance guaranteed to resonate, to some extent at least, with anyone who is lucky enough to see it.

Evita runs at the Birmingham Hippodrome until Saturday 24^th March. For direct show information, including a full breakdown of dates, times and online ticket purchasing, visit www.birminghamhippodrome.com/calendar/evita

For more on the Birmingham Hippodrome, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.birminghamhippodrome.com

March 16, 2018March 16, 2018

BPREVIEW: Evita @ Birmingham Hippodrome 20-24.03.18

Words by Ed King / Production shots by Pamela Raith

Evita runs at the Hippodrome from Tuesday 20^th to Saturday 24^th March – as produced by Bill Kenwright, with special arrangement from The Really Useful Group.

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s long established musical comes to Birmingham following ‘smash hit runs’ in London and beyond. Evening performances will be held at 7:30pm every night from Tues 20^th to Sat 24^th. Matinee performances will be held at 2pm on Weds 21^st and Thurs 22^nd, with a further matinee scheduled at 2:30pm on Sat 24^th.

Reflecting the Hippodrome’s wider programme, provisions have been made of those who are hearing or sight impaired at the following Evita performances: Weds 21^st at 7:30pm (captioned), Thurs 22^nd at 7:30pm (BSL interpreted), Sat 24^th at 2:30pm (audio described).

Tickets are priced at £15-49, depending o the date/time of performance and positioning within the theatre. For direct show information, including a full breakdown of dates, times and online ticket purchasing, click here.

One of the century’s most recognised female public and political figures, Eva María Duarte de Perón climbed her way from a socially and fiscally forgotten childhood to become the First Lady of Argentina.

On the way up the ladder, she was also a revered actress, model and radio star – eventually becoming co-owner Argentina’s most prominent broadcaster, Radio El Mundo. And if cancer hadn’t taken Eva Perón at the young age of 33, she may well have become Vice President of Argentina – sitting in office alongside her husband and el predidente, Juan Perón.

Wildly popular with the working classes of Argentina, Eva Perón became to stand as a beacon of hope for the proletariat – having risen up the ranks herself, yet still mistrusted by the country’s political elite and social bourgeoisie. Many argue that it was Eva Perón, standing beside her husband at many a rally and public appearance, that cemented the political progress of Juan Perón from Minister to President.

But many also argue to the contrary, claiming the often contradictory administration – that would spawn the continuously contradictory political movement known as Perónism – was a merely a disguised dictatorship that only played ‘the people card’ for political gain and even personal glory. It is this dichotomy that Rice and Webber brought to the stage with their musical Evita, when they turned their rock opera album into a West End production in 1978. Forty years later and Evita is still touring the world, with its name sake still considered a ‘Spiritual Leader of the Nation’ after being officially awarded the title in 1952.

This current production of Evita sees Madalena Alberto return to the title role, after playing Eva Perón in the 2004 West End revival. The role of Che, who acts as the story’s narrator and filters into many supporting and ancillary roles, will be played by Gian Marco Schiaretti.

Evita @ Birmingham Hippodrome 20-24.03.18 (featured cast members may vary)

Evita runs at the Birmingham Hippodrome from Tuesday 20^th to Saturday 24^th March. For direct show information, including a full breakdown of dates, times and online ticket purchasing, visit www.birminghamhippodrome.com/calendar/evita

For more on the Birmingham Hippodrome, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.birminghamhippodrome.com

January 31, 2018

BREVIEW: Trish Clowes – My Iris @ Eastside Jazz Club 25.01.18

Words by Anna Whittaker

Eastside Jazz Club is a new venue inside Birmingham Royal Conservatoire at Birmingham City University. Given the gig started at 6.30pm and was set in a university building, I was prepared to feel like I was still at work and be horrified by the lack of alcohol.

In fact, there is a cafe bar, from which you can take your drinks through to the venue, and they even do a little bit of food. Actually with the lighting and seating, it feels less like a lecture theatre-cum-practice room and less like a typical jazz club replete with sticky floor, general trodden in smell and dingy bar in the corner. The band gets loads more room than you see at most places, and the acoustics are great. Get here early for a seat.

Trampette, the support band of students at the Conservatoire, come on stage at 6.30pm. They’ve only been playing together since the summer but Tom Harris, Tommy Fuller, Josh Savage and Kai Chareunsy have a funky sound with songs based on your typical student things like a game of Jenga that went horribly wrong. It’s an interesting combo of keyboard/grand piano and bass guitar, with a drum kit and percussion section featuring bongos and a beat box to modernise the sound. Guest singer, Rebekah Wilkins, brings another dimension, and sounds beautifully like Melody Gardot. The best thing is they are definitely enjoying themselves. Trampette are also joined by a tenor sax player Harry Lear, for ‘Chickpea Mash’ they regularly stay with a slow rhythm then switch on the offbeat to more upbeat with impeccable timing on those pauses.

Talented saxophonist and composer, Trish Clowes, tours with her new quartet, My Iris. Clowes plays tenor and soprano sax with the accompaniment of Chris Montague on guitar, Ross Stanley on piano and Hammond Organ, and James Maddren on drums. Evocative and dreamy, Trish Clowes and My Iris build up slowly to an entrancing wall of sound as an intro to a much funkier guitar-led beat. There’s quite a lot of instrument switching going on but it’s smooth. The improv is fast but coordinated, reminding me a little bit of Ken Peplowski as there is a lot of doodle-oodle going on but it then fades into what seems to be her classic style on this album which sounds like the end of a rain storm. The puddles of sound keep coming, and actually this isn’t quite like any other jazz; with plenty of tempo switches. Clowes mixes in new material to the album My Iris released last year.

Next up is a ballad that makes the most of the gorgeous sounding grand piano. If you had to sum up the style of this set, perhaps ‘dreamy’ and ‘echoes’ would be the sort of words you would use. The piano solo in this piece is stunning to the point where the audience barely dare breathe; it’s reminiscent of Debussy. ‘Lightning Les’ finishes the first set and sounds like a barge coming through with discordant tones; you could be forgiven for thinking that the main chords were being played by an inexperienced clarinetist, blowing too hard and aiming at setting your teeth on edge, but it’s certainly a unique sound.

James Maddren’s drum solo provides some relief. But for some this might prove a little bit too experimental although it’s certainly not derivative in any way, and each musician is clearly highly talented; they meld together well, but it’s not relaxing listening. It would be nice to hear a few more solos from Clowes herself, amongst the bridges and twirls of the other artists, and we get a bit more of that towards the end of this piece on her tenor sax.

The start of the second set is more moody with just sax and piano before getting more boisterous. They’ve got sheet music in front of them, but I’d love to know how the ensemble get what they play from a mere couple of pages of scribble. This is more of a foot tapper and intriguing in its melodies. The older chairs in the audience all sit forward and start nodding in their seats, ‘Eric’s Tune’ is hitting the jazz nerve. Tap Dance (for Baby Dodds) is next, continuing the drum theme. This tune indeed has a tap dancing undercurrent throughout, with lead solo on tenor sax; it’s jumpy, it’s rhythmic while somehow mellow at the same time.

There is definitely something special about the weird wobbly sound of a Hammond organ that introduces the next piece, but what we didn’t expect was Clowes to do vocals rather than sax, in a sort of sound poem. This is really different, and such a contrasting intro to what comes next – an up tempo syncopation with echoes of the sax followed through on the piano. Tuning up the sustain on the guitar it’s very atmospheric; the moody ending is what makes them unmistakable.

Finally, ‘A Cat Called Behemoth’: the organ and guitar are the rhythm of its giant paws, the sax it’s swaggering walk, and the drums are fizzing the sound of each tensed muscle and especially every hair in his fluffed out tail. The students are amazingly attentive, by now mine are out on Sports Night ten sheets to the wind and don’t know what they’re missing.

My Iris is a completely unique sound, inspired by Clowes’ grandmother and messenger from Roman and Greek mythology (as well as a song called ‘Iris’). But as Trish Clowes says, Iris kept coming up from all directions as inspiration, like the many colours from the instruments her band.

For more on Trish Clowes’ My Iris, visit www.trishclowes.com

For more on Trampette, visit www.facebook.com/trampetteband

For more from Jazzlines, visit www.thsh.co.uk/whats-on/org/jazzlines

For more events from Eastside Jazz Club and Birmingham Conservatoire, including venue details and links to online ticket sales, visit www.bcu.ac.uk/conservatoire/events-calendar