Setting
Much Ado About Nothing in the aftermath of WW2, when victors returned to celebrate and claim their women, has been done before - (viz. an excellent community production at Bath's Rondo in 2017) and
Northern Broadsides + New Vic make good use of the volatile emotions of that era in their production at
Salisbury Playhouse till March 23.
There's a nod to
Dads Army in the comedy as land girls cavort around, and hints of comic capers early-movie style, but the brutality of the bard's plot is not sugar-coated. Claudio's sadism is always difficult to reconcile with comedy, but casting him as younger than his pals, and less self-assured, did help with this, and it worked too that Benedict and Beatrice are middle-aged and hence defensive about their single status. Robin Simpson and Isobel Middleton in these roles bring robust snottiness to their banter rather than the ironic elegance of a Darcy and Lizzie, but that makes the terrible command to 'Kill Claudio!' even more impressive. This show has been touring for a couple of months and, while never flagging, doesn't seem in its first bloom of exuberance, but with a strong cast plus on-stage music there's much to enjoy.
Images: Nobby Clark
Hat Tricks, occasional variety night hosted by Jane Flood and David Tanner at
The Three Swans was back on Thursday with a range of short spoken word and musical acts, some thoughtful and many extremely entertaining. Here's Jane in her role as story-teller, and Jud Relf as charming songstress Charlene.
Moving now to live music, always popular in Frome venues, and last week proliferating even more than usual. On Friday the marvellous
Pete Gage blues band filled the
Cornerhouse with dancers, while next night
Seize the Day came to the
Big Green Gig at
23 Bath Street with their powerful protest songs. If you thought environmental folk songs tend to be worthy but weedy, you really should hear their drum-fuelled anthemic
Child of the Universe - I can call this 'sacred song' written by band leader Theo Simon "unforgettable" with confidence, because I still remember it from first hearing in 1987, when I first came to Somerset. Theo is now the Green Party candidate in Somerton and Frome, but the band is still radical & thrilling .
Frome town is ukulele-friendly in the way some pubs are dog-friendly, a devotion that found energetic expression in the first
Frome Ukulele Festival also on Saturday, which took place in six different venues throughout the day & evening.
Rook Lane Chapel was the hub, with open-mic sessions, jams, and other events all day, and four pubs hosted other events: viz the workshops & band heats for the epic 'Battle of the Bands' in Cheese & Grain hall in the evening.
The festival attracted hundreds and was impressively well organised by Malcolm Lloyd and the Mighty Frukes, with tireless tuition to enthusiasts of all ages from Sam Widdows & Roger Southard among others. Participants arriving throughout the morning were greeting with tea & cakes, a range of stalls with uke-related merchandise - including of course actual ukuleles - and the impressive timetable in a welcoming programme with a customised illustrated town map. Profits go to Fair Frome and Frome's Missing Links.
And the trophy winners were...
The Motherpluckers, a lively sextet of young mums who delighted everyone, though I have to say I also loved the
Ukerjaks, for their theatrical repertoire & great teeshirts.
And to end the week: jazz at the
Cornerhouse, this time an internationally-acclaimed duo dropping by on tour:
Pete Oxley and Nicholas Meier, who with a mere ten guitars between them offer an impressive programme - here's the 7-string and 11-string guitars doing a bit of dualling in one of their lively instrumentals.
Final footnote this week goes back to the world of theatre, or more precisely to
Theatre World, a long-running, now defunct, reviewing magazine.
Plays International, for whom I have the privilege of reviewing productions in Southwest England, has in their new edition published an article I was commissioned to write about my father, theatre critic Harold Matthews, who contributed reviews of London shows to that monthly periodical from the end of the war to the late 1960s, during the Angry Young Men era and the impact of Brecht, sharing with me as an impressionable teenager the excitement of Old Vic productions featuring legends of the future like Judy Dench and Franco Zeffirelli... The piece is one of their features: he would have liked that.
Setting Much Ado About Nothing in the aftermath of WW2, when victors returned to celebrate and claim their women, has been done before - (viz. an excellent community production at Bath's Rondo in 2017) and Northern Broadsides + New Vic make good use of the volatile emotions of that era in their production at Salisbury Playhouse till March 23.
There's a nod to Dads Army in the comedy as land girls cavort around, and hints of comic capers early-movie style, but the brutality of the bard's plot is not sugar-coated. Claudio's sadism is always difficult to reconcile with comedy, but casting him as younger than his pals, and less self-assured, did help with this, and it worked too that Benedict and Beatrice are middle-aged and hence defensive about their single status. Robin Simpson and Isobel Middleton in these roles bring robust snottiness to their banter rather than the ironic elegance of a Darcy and Lizzie, but that makes the terrible command to 'Kill Claudio!' even more impressive. This show has been touring for a couple of months and, while never flagging, doesn't seem in its first bloom of exuberance, but with a strong cast plus on-stage music there's much to enjoy. Images: Nobby Clark
Hat Tricks, occasional variety night hosted by Jane Flood and David Tanner at The Three Swans was back on Thursday with a range of short spoken word and musical acts, some thoughtful and many extremely entertaining. Here's Jane in her role as story-teller, and Jud Relf as charming songstress Charlene.
Rook Lane Chapel was the hub, with open-mic sessions, jams, and other events all day, and four pubs hosted other events: viz the workshops & band heats for the epic 'Battle of the Bands' in Cheese & Grain hall in the evening.
The festival attracted hundreds and was impressively well organised by Malcolm Lloyd and the Mighty Frukes, with tireless tuition to enthusiasts of all ages from Sam Widdows & Roger Southard among others. Participants arriving throughout the morning were greeting with tea & cakes, a range of stalls with uke-related merchandise - including of course actual ukuleles - and the impressive timetable in a welcoming programme with a customised illustrated town map. Profits go to Fair Frome and Frome's Missing Links.
And the trophy winners were... The Motherpluckers, a lively sextet of young mums who delighted everyone, though I have to say I also loved the Ukerjaks, for their theatrical repertoire & great teeshirts.
And to end the week: jazz at the Cornerhouse, this time an internationally-acclaimed duo dropping by on tour: Pete Oxley and Nicholas Meier, who with a mere ten guitars between them offer an impressive programme - here's the 7-string and 11-string guitars doing a bit of dualling in one of their lively instrumentals.
Final footnote this week goes back to the world of theatre, or more precisely to Theatre World, a long-running, now defunct, reviewing magazine. Plays International, for whom I have the privilege of reviewing productions in Southwest England, has in their new edition published an article I was commissioned to write about my father, theatre critic Harold Matthews, who contributed reviews of London shows to that monthly periodical from the end of the war to the late 1960s, during the Angry Young Men era and the impact of Brecht, sharing with me as an impressionable teenager the excitement of Old Vic productions featuring legends of the future like Judy Dench and Franco Zeffirelli... The piece is one of their features: he would have liked that. 
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