The Pajama Game, Edinburgh University Footlights, February 2009
- February 3, 2009
- Rated 1 of 5 by
John Smithd from EDINBURGH, United Kingdom
REVIEW
The Pajama Game, Edinburgh University Footlights, February 2009
Churchill Theatre 3rd - 7th Feb
Even though Edinburgh Footlights are a student company, you would expect, for £12.50 per ticket, to enjoy a semi-professional quality show.
Tonight's performance, however, rather looked like a middle-school production than a student one, let alone professional. Colin Cairncross, the Director for this production, is responsible for the worst revival of The Pajama Game I have ever, ever seen: no theatrical sense was evident, along with a total lack of creativity, and above all, a lack of consistency between staging and music. Simon Burrow, the Musical Director was far from being in control: he displayed a lack of precision in his gestures - which inevitably led to a lack of togetherness in the orchestra - a lack of dynamic, wrong balance in the orchestra, fluctuating tempos, and even more, a complete lack of musical sensitivity. Attention was often drawn
towards the pit. Yet, there was not much to be missed if focus did not remain with the action onstage. "Is that meant to be a tango?", murmured a lady sitting next to me. Indeed, the Pajama Game features tangos and waltzes, but you may have wondered whether the production company had ever heard any of these, as they lacked style and character as much as the rest of the music we heard tonight. There were some good dancers however and a few nice voices to be heard, but all of this was spoiled by poor production quality. The plot, being both thin and unoriginal, also contributed to make a very boring evening.
I highly recommend saving your time and money!
J. H. S.
Le Roi David, (King David), Honegger, Edinburgh International Festival
- August 19, 2008
- Rated 5 of 5 by
John S. A. from Edinburgh, United Kingdom
This review is about the (public) general rehearsal of "Le Roi David", held in the Usher Hall on Monday 18 August 2008, just hours before the performance. The orchestra (RNSO) under the masterly conduction of Stéphane Denève, performed brilliantly. Soloist and narrators were amazing. The enthusiasm of Stéphane Denève seemed to energize the chorus which sounded rather good. Pronunciation of the French language was of a reasonable standard, although far from perfect, as could have been expected from an 'International Chorus'. A little detail made the whole thing quite hilarious however. The presence of a funny little man - a rather flamboyant character visibly suffering from 'lollipop head syndrome', who spent the rehearsal fussing around the concert hall, occasionally addressing the chorus, as if he was indispensable. Was he the Chorus Master?
Fringe
- August 20, 2007
- Rated 5 of 5 by
hellnick from london, United Kingdom
The Fringe takes place over the month of August. There are hundreds of venues, thousands of performers putting on comedy, drama, dance, music, and stuff that brings all of these things together. It is fantastic fun and you'll need at least a week to see all the things you should.
From journal Edinburgh Fringe