Ovation presents
FOREVER PLAID
The Heavenly Musical by Stuart Ross
Directed by John Plews
UPSTAIRS AT THE GATEHOUSE
24 May - 22 June 2008
 Couzens
A review by Amber Gregory for EXTRA! EXTRA!
Introducing.... Sparky, Jinx, Francis and Smudge - four young singers reaching for the stars! As rock ‘n’ roll is sweeping the country in the sixties this band is determined to stay forever plaid. When, through a tragic event, they arrive in our world in 2008, they are here to show us the way they love to perform..... plaid.
You may be wondering why all the fuss over a piece of tartan material, but it is so much more than that, for it is a state of mind- not merely a pattern. As the risky times of rock ‘n’ roll took over the country ‘plaid’ was frowned upon as ‘square’ and ‘conservative’- when all the boys wanted to do were to be polite- even in their music. Not being an expert on 50’s music I didn’t know any of the songs in the performance (with the exception of ‘Catch a Falling Star’) but by no means did this prevent me from enjoying the show. The first half stared off very slowly, not unlike a lot of performances, with a lot of slow songs that could rock you to a gentle sleep with their lullaby like tunes. However, the tight performances the actors gave and the the complex, yet neatly arranged choreography keeps you watching the stage at all times, and, laughing at this barber shop quartet who simply want you to enjoy yourselves.
The performance truly comes alive in the second half of the show when the songs have a faster, more energetic pace. It is now then that the actors too, really seem to be enjoying themselves, almost playing with the audience. They need to work carefully together at all times throughout the musical; any untidy part of the performance would take away from its plaid perfection. Joe Allen as Sparky was full of energy and charisma throughout the show making the audience chuckle with his every move. Steven Craven as Sparky gave an outstanding performance as a part of ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’, singing ‘Lady of Spain’ with the rest of the cast transforming into every kind of entertainment that could possibly be. The highlight of the night has got to be the calypso number where we too become a part of their show - audience participation is always a wonderful way of helping you to really feel a part of a performance.
One huge element of the performance was the music (naturally, being a musical). The band may say ‘they just came with the room’ but the musicians were a wonderful part of the evening, particularly when the cast interacted with them. Musical Director Ian Brandon has created a set as slick as the rest of the performance with Dom Carter on piano and Stuart Ness on guitar. Without giving away too much I would also advise all members of the public going to the performance to practice ‘chopsticks’ on the piano before going to the show.
The design for ‘Forever Plaid’ was black and white, nothing over the top... plaid you might say, with the actual plaid only slightly used for the bow tie and belts. This crisp looking set only enhances the preciseness of the performance.
‘Upstairs at the Gatehouse’ is a beautiful theatre right at the top of Highgate village in the oldest pub in Highgate. Forever Plaid celebrates the theatres 10th year anniversary and it was the first musical ever to be played at ‘Upstairs at the Gatehouse’ ten years ago before going to Edinburgh, and on a national tour. The theatre is renowned for its high quality work, and also as a stepping stone for actors waiting to get into the West End.
It isn’t surprising that this show has always done better in America than in the UK. For we Brits tend not to let our hair down too often and if it’s not a West End musical the general public aren’t too keen whilst regular fringe theatre goers simply don’t do musicals. However, the night is full of fun, laughter, entertainment, and by no means too ‘mainstream’, so for an enjoyable evening of musical comedy take yourselves back in time to the days when men would treat you like a lady and do anything to make you smile.
Performance Times: Evenings - 8.00pm
Sunday matinees - 4.00pm
Performance Length: 1 hour 50 min, including interval
Tickets: Tuesday – Friday & Sunday £12.00 (concessions £10)
Saturdays: £15 (concessions £12)
Box Office: 020 8340 3488
Upstairs at the Gatehouse, Highgate Village, London, N6 4BD
www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com
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