Usually, no one comes to Essex. Why would they when London is just down the road? We can go to them. My daughter, working on a local paper in Slough, has interviewed Theresa May, Liz Kendall, Michael Parkinson and most importantly Flora from the Bake Off in her first three months. I think that if she were working on the Essex Chronicle she could wait three years to interview anyone famous other than Joey Essex.
The Mercury's Made in Colchester initiative is just brilliant. They have top performers and top creatives making new theatre, which they debut before it goes on tour. Ticket prices are more than affordable at £10 -£12 a seat and the theatre is friendly and comfortable.
Yesterday we went to see The Smallest Show on Earth, which is a new musical based on the music of Irvin Berlin and I can highly recommend it. In fact, I insist that you go and see it.
Irving Berlin wrote some cracking tunes, which were performed so brilliantly by this exceptionally strong cast. The band were, "so good you just didn't notice them," my daughter said. I was horrified. How could you have not noticed that flute playing? What a tone!
The story was funny and captivating; written by Thom Southerland and Paul Alexander, both very experienced writers. It was made even more appealing for us, set in Sloughbourgh (pronounced Sluffburrah), as we had our resident Slough expert with us.
Liza Goddard and an evil man from Corrie (Brian Capron) were the named stars. Their performances were good , although there was a wobble in their duet, which the band helped them keep together. They were outshone by some other cast members, which is often the case as fame and talent are not always synonymous.
Haydn Oakley took the part of the husband and was amazing, as usual. We saw him in the Book if Morman in the West End and in The Mercury's production of Betty Blue Eyes (I've been singing Pig no Pig from it ever since the David Cameron story broke last week - there really is a song for every occasion).
Christina Bennington, as the daughter has a fabulous voice and I think is someone to watch. Sam O'Rourke played the hapless boy so well that there were genuine "ahhs" from the audience when he got his uniform and even more when he got the girl.
Although he didn't feature much, Leo Andrew had one of those gorgeous Welsh male choir voices that sounds like chocolate. His first character, Uncle Simon, died of a heart attack in the first scene and the Long Suffering Husband was fearful that he wouldn't make it to the end of his performance as Fred. This was partly due to his wonderful portrayal of a wheezy old cinema concierge but also because of the choreography.
I'm not an expert on dance and often find myself thinking that I don't quite understand it. This choreography was extremely lively and had me admiring the performers even more. Singing like that while kicking and twisting and jiving must require a strong set of heart and
lungs. I often say that I should get T-shirts printed with the slogan, "Like moving furniture? Become a musician!"
The absolute star of the show was Matthew Crowe as the Sloughborough Songbird. This part of the show alone is more than worth the ticket price.
The LSH said at the end, "At first I thought it was a bit old fashioned and the dancing was a bit weird but I really enjoyed myself - it might be the best one I've seen." High praise indeed.
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