Viva Forever? Or just a short run then back to the drawing board?

So news broke this week of the new Spice Girls musical 'Viva forever' making it's way to the West End. 


As a musical lover, and a Spice Girls 90s kid, I would normally be all over this like a moth to a flame, but I just can't get hyped about it. It just seems, to me that Jukebox musicals have been and gone. Maybe if it was released at the same time as 'Jersey Boys' or 'Mamma Mia', it might have got me more excited. 

I might be wrong. There may be some fabulous songs and dance numbers and some witty one-liners, as Jennifer Saunders is helping to write the book. It might be a hit. According to theatrepeople.com, 'Viva Forever! is a feel-good fable about the ups and downs faced by a mum and her daughter Viva, when the latter enters a TV reality singing contest.'.  To me, and this is my personal opinion, it seems a little bit cliché. Although musicals are good when they're cheesy, there is often a line that you shouldn't cross. I can see that they're aiming for a 'Glee' and 'Smash'-type audience with the plot, but I'm not sure if I can see it being a rock solid plot.

I'll leave an open mind about the show. I may be wrong, it may be the new 'Mamma Mia' and I'm just here saying bad things about it for no reason. I really hope it is a good show simply so that the Jukebox musical isn't given a bad name. 

The shows 'Jersey Boys', 'American Idiot' and 'Mamma Mia' have all set a high bar for The Jukebox Musical. Will 'Viva Forever' reach their high standards?

Frankenstein: The Creator, not the creature.

Recently, I saw the National Theatre production that was shown in cinemas, as I didn't have the chance to see it last year. As with most National Theatre productions, you expect a certain standard of both production and performance.  I set high expectations for the show and it did not disappoint.


The decision to have the two Actors playing Frankenstein and The Creature alternate was a decision rightly made by Director Danny Boyle. This critical choice gave the actors, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller, a new edge of characterisation. They both had part of the Creature in their characterisation of Frankenstein and part of Frankenstein in their Creature. This provided an excellent character that was created by both actors. Each performance had it's similarities, but provided their own personal spin on the character that made their performances so dynamic. 

Photo taken from National Theatre website.

The technical aspects were quite outstanding. The circular stage, surrounded by a simple backdrop of white cloth set not particular scene for the beginning of the play. All that was set on stage was what appeared to be a highly detailed 'homemade womb'. Across the centre of the circular stage was a train track which eventually bore a marvellously structured  industrial train. The scene in itself was very well devised, but the construction of the train added to the scene and opened up the play, giving us a time span and a possible location for where the play is set, if the audience wasn't already aware from knowing Mary Shelly's original novel. 

Photo taken from National Theatre website.

The script was marvellously written; adapted by Nick Dear, it was beautifully poetic and haunting and was different to most typical adaptations of the original novel as it followed the early days and weeks of the Creature's life, as opposed to Victor's life giving us reason to emphasize with him. We see the vulnerable Creature, rejected by his creator and outcasted by society taken in by an old blind man, who teaches him how to read and write. 

Photo taken from the National Theatre website.

The play was beautifully written, directed and performed. Theatre wouldn't be as interesting if every adaptation of a book or novel was the same. This different, poetic version of a classic gothic novel is a perfect example of this. Dear's thinking outside of the box, with Boyle's creative direction, created a innovative piece of theatre that is keeping the Theatre Industry rolling forwards to a stronger future. 

Welcome!

Hello! 


I'm Georgie, and this is my Theatre blog. 


I study drama as a degree and I see a lot of Theatre but I'm worried that Theatre as an industry is drifting away from young people, and could eventually die out. 


I decided to create a blog that would give young people a chance to see that Theatre and Drama isn't boring. It can often be an enlightening experience and, in some cases, a wonderful night out. 


So, on my blog, I'll try and promote new works, give honest reviews of plays I have seen, and give a personal insight into the Theatre Industry as a whole. 


This post is really just a welcome. 


I hope you enjoy reading my blog and you'll subscribe to it. 


Thanks for reading
Georgie.