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A BOUNCING BABY
Large as Life
Focus Theatre Co.
The Playhouse Theatre, Cheltenham 31st March 2007
Take your partners for the Mood Swing Waltz. While we’re there,
check out the lentil soup and try taking plenty of deep breaths. In a
refreshing departure from their usual greatest hits pastiches, Focus find
themselves pacing round the maternity ward, courtesy of a new musical
on the unlikely theme of childbirth. What might have been subtitled Five
(Very Diverse) Couples and a Ms., Keith Strachan’s enjoyable romp
steers a witty and honest course through the eventful business of bringing
on baby. Large as Life ticks all the prenatal boxes, from lah-di-dah Caro’s
hilarious exercise class, to meditation sessions with lots of humming
(Sorry, ‘umming), and the inevitable marital tensions that surface
as the big day approaches. This is the kind of production that will strike
resounding chords with anyone who has been through the process, mothers
especially, as well as light the blue touch paper on the whole box of
laughter fireworks. Sometimes tense, often touching and always heartening,
this delightful creation comes alive in the hands of a highly versatile
troupe who get plenty of opportunities to display their stage credentials.
Choose from any number of defining moments, but everything peaks in the
Chorus Line-ish showstopper Ladies in Waiting and the excruciatingly funny
Oh, The Pain! Oh, the joy; another masterpiece.
Simon Lewis for BBC Radio Gloucestershire Theatre & Arts
FIVE GO SUPERNOVA
The Sounds of the 70s
Focus Theatre Co.
The Playhouse Theatre, Cheltenham 3rd March 2006
Question: if it takes 7 people 2 hours to put on a splendid show and
leave a packed auditorium howling for more, how can you get 5 people to
do the same job 8 months later and for even longer?
Answer: send for Focus. Smaller is still beautiful when this talented
troupe are involved, as was abundantly clear when they returned to the
Playhouse with a revamped presentation of their high-octane tribute to
the 1970s. A few judicious alterations had been made to the original programme,
but the impressive lighting display was the most striking addition, even
if the little matter of spotlighting the soloists had been evidently overlooked.
Images of Queen concerts sprang readily to mind, however, especially with
the band now sharing the stage with the vocalists, whose ensemble singing
and rejigged dance sequences remained as crisp, entertaining and amusing
as before.
For all its consistency, there were some extra-delicious slabs of icing
on top of this already tasty cake: YMCA fostered some inevitable audience
participation, Sweet Transvestite from The Rocky Horror Show featured
a performance of Dr. Frank N. Furter to die for, while Paul Newman’s
sizzling guitar break lit up the Eagles’ classic Hotel California.
Their hilarious interpretation of Amarillo has finally ended my aversion
to this song.
It’s a measure of the show’s strength that one wishes they
could include more material, knowing it will be well staged, but the current
selection more than satisfies. They may not have sung City Boy’s
5-7-0-5, but the maths still applied. Tonight the Fab 5 gave the 70s another
5-star makeover. Is there nothing this company cannot do?
Simon Lewis for BBC Radio Gloucestershire Theatre & Arts
THIS PARTY NEVER STOPS
C’Mon Everybody, Let’s Party
Focus Theatre
The Playhouse Theatre, Cheltenham 1st October 2005
I’ll be honest, I’d already experienced a sizeable chunk
of this show’s programme, as some gratuitous transplanting from
previous productions had been carried out to flesh out this hugely enjoyable
tribute to the 1950s and 1960s. When the bill of fare, however, includes
re-runs of the closing medley of Free ‘n’ Easy, several lifts
from Sounds of the 70s and Encore!, especially the glorious barnstormer
The Rhythm of Life, there’s no need to grumble. Like an extra helping
of smoked salmon, it’s no less enjoyable the second time round.
Tastefully costumed, though with one solitary pair of blue suede shoes
between them, Focus unleashed another litany of vintage hits and show
songs - the spectre of the West End forever hovers in the air when these
guys take the stage - invoking the spirits of Elvis, Ol’ Blue Eyes
and Bill Haley in considerable measure.
With good reason: fifty years after the event, All Shook Up and Rock Around
The Clock still get the feet tapping, and the readiness of more recent
generations to appreciate and perform such songs is a testament to their
eternal appeal. Repackaged in the engaging style that constitutes Focus’
principal hallmarks, i.e. crisply choreographed and sung with panache
at a relentless pace, these trailblazing hits are assured of immortality,
and will endure long after the Fame Academy has-beens and their featureless
repetoires have sunk without trace.
Dancing with almost regimental precision and singing with a richness that
puts many bog-standard amateur groups firmly in their place, this talented
troupe maintained the momentum throughout another highly entertaining
evening of pure nostalgia. There were the usual sublime guitar riffs (She’s
Not There), powerful solo and duet work (Strangers in the Night, Ticket
to Ride and Love Me Tender), with some equally welcome humour, courtesy
of a hilarious performance of Wild Thing. The girls gave it plenty during
Big Spender and These Boots Are Made For Walking, and the tight ensemble
work was again in fine fettle (All I Have To Do Is Dream and Bridge Over
Troubled Water). So polished is the finished article, that one is almost
reduced to nitpicking: was so-and-so’s arm at precisely at the same
angle as the one alongside it, and could there perhaps be a tad more imagination
and movement during some of the instrumental sequences and segues?
But away with such pedantic observation. Should anyone ask you who does
what at the Playhouse, once you’ve reeled off the diverse societies
who do operetta, straight drama, pantomimes, modern musicals and the Savoy
operas, be ready if you are asked “What about popular hits and top
quality, feel-good shows?” Just say “Focus Theatre”.
Simon Lewis, BBC Radio Gloucestershire
CELEBRATE, COME ON!
The Sounds of the 70s
Focus Theatre Co.
The Playhouse Theatre, Cheltenham 2nd July 2005
Remember the days, thirty-odd years ago, when going to a disco meant
not only enjoying a good bop but also singing along to the record, even
if it involved that embarrassing dance sequence to Tiger Feet? Those glorious
years still cast their shadow, and, on a day when Live 8 cast huge ones
across the planet, I left the video recording the last hours of the Hyde
Park concert and headed for the Cheltenham Playhouse to savour some of
the gems from this greatest of musical eras, and served up by the richly
talented Focus Theatre Company.
Sartorially dysfunctional though they were, the 1970s were popular music’s
Golden Age, when songwriters wrote powerful and passionate anthems, not
some banal monotone mantra delivered to the strains of an equally tedious
bass line. Focus did a splendid job of recalling how unforgettable a time
it was, with glitter balls, tasteful lighting, suffocating clouds of dry
ice and more than a few amusing poses and costumes in considerable abundance.
A barnstorming performance of Gloria Gaynor’s trumpet call I Will
Survive alone proved why so many 70s treasures continue to do precisely
that.
Perched on glittery platform boots, over which hung appropriately gross
flares, topped off with billowing silk blouses and some highly suspect
wigs, Focus stomped their way through a whistlestop tour of the decade’s
greatest hits, though it was clear where their true preferences lay, as
a dazzling kaleidoscope of soul, easy listening, reggae and funk alternated
with liberal doses of Fleetwood Mac, Queen and The Bee Gees, all bolstered
by a few items from their Encore! set of two weeks earlier (The Rhythm
of Life, I’m A Song, Sing Me, with Bohemian Rhapsody spectacularly
ringing down the final curtain). The second half starter One from A Chorus
Line amply demonstrated their flair for show songs. I wasn’t joking
when I said they could play the West End.
Their winning combination of judiciously edited songs strung together
in brisk sequence, comprising delicate, moving solos (Goodbye To Love,
Without You) and stirring ensemble work (The Chain, Kung Fu Fighting),
ensures that no trick is missed. An acappella performance of Crazy Little
Thing Called Love, in particular, showcased their vocal dexterities, while
a timely injection of humour ensured that yet another hearing of Amarillo
did not, for once, foster a desire to commit murder. As the nostalgia
factor got higher, the guitar work slicker and the outfits worse, the
star quality dipped only once, during a dismally unimaginative presentation
of Rivers of Babylon. Classy renditions of Hotel California and Close
To You reclaimed the lost ground, before an inevitable Abba medley rounded
off the evening. (A 70s tribute without Dancing Queen? My, my!)
Aficionados of 1960s music will be delighted to learn that this is Focus’
next major project. Meanwhile, set course for the Tuckwell Amphitheatre,
Dean Close School, Cheltenham on Saturday 23rd July, when a few famous
Disney songs, amongst others, will be granted a workout. Our town is indeed
blessed on the theatre and arts front, and Focus are the latest diamond
to grace its jewel-encrusted crown.
GREAT VIBRATIONS!
Our resident reviewer Simon Lewis was at the Playhouse Theatre in Cheltenham
to see Encore! performed by the Focus Theatre Company on 19th June 2005
“Just what we need” I thought, when I saw the advert. “Another
bunch of Fame Academy types who think that all they have to do is perform
some well-known songs in the hope of convincing the world they’re
the greatest thing since sliced bread and good enough to play the West
End.”
Except that the supremely gifted individuals who make up the Focus Theatre
Co. are precisely that. My first encounter with this troupe ensured that
any premature reservations were swiftly consigned to oblivion, once this
appetising cocktail of 20th century favourites kicked in and swept me
along on a rollercoaster of musical delights that maintained its infectious
appeal over two glittering hours.
"A rollercoaster of musical delights that maintained its
infectious appeal over two glittering hours..."
Tight vocal strains
Nostalgia knows no bounds. Whether it’s 1940s rhythm, legendary
rock anthems or Cole Porter’s finest, mixed in with some Gershwin
and topped off with the tight vocal strains of the Beach Boys, the gang’s
all here and will thoroughly entertain all generations.
Despite the distracting presence of radio mikes resembling displaced hatpins,
there was plenty to savour as the seven vocalists and their accomplished
band cut a triumphant swathe through a scintillating anthology of song
from across the decades. An exquisitely harmonious balance of voices,
slick choreography and tasteful lighting all made for an upbeat pageant
of musical reminiscences, interspersed with a few comedy sketches, notably
those made famous by Rowan Atkinson and Victoria Wood, the latter being
equally well represented by a rip-roaring rendition of her hilarious duet
Let’s Do It.
Feel-good factor
Focus ensured that the feel-good factor ran high throughout, although
nothing quite showcased their collective versatility like their enthralling
interpretation of The Rhythm of Life, along with an appropriately costumed
sequence of foot-tapping Glenn Miller evergreens that closed the first
half. Meanwhile, Paul Hughes’ sizzling guitar work lit up the Santana
classic She’s Not There.
The second half opened with a sumptuous medley of Beatles songs that complemented
a quite magnificent performance of Michelle earlier on. A seraphic arrangement
of Simon & Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence made the blood run
cold, Hernando’s Hideaway added some Latin spice, and I’m
A Song, Sing Me simply soared. The eternal tribute to Ol’ Blue Eyes
My Way usually raises a smile, but never more so than when someone with
the silken vocals of Ben Clark does this oft-mistreated chestnut proper
justice.
Acid test
Now, my all-time favourite band is Queen, so you can appreciate that I
expect great things when Bohemian Rhapsody is listed as the finale. Unfortunately,
having endured 30 years of inept imitations by talentless pretenders,
expectation is still tinged with misgivings.
It remains the acid test for any aspiring vocal ensemble, and I had only
previously heard two convincing performances of this masterpiece - by
G4 and the cast of We Will Rock You. As clouds of dry ice wafted round
the auditorium, I heard a third; a stunning rendition that brought this
immensely enjoyable evening to a spectacular climax.
An uplifting night out, don’t panic if you feel you’ve missed
something. Focus Theatre Co. are back at the Cheltenham Playhouse on Saturday
2nd July for what promises to be a glorious night of music from the 1970s
– be there!
By Simon Lewis
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