Reviews JH (3) (Movin Mervin Brown, The Zoo, Under the Baebob Tree, Magicians do Exist)

Movin' Melvin Brown: 'A Man, A Magic, A Music' Live!
Melvin , from Texas USA, has been there and done it for many decades in the music and entertainment industry. His show was a fireball of energy and brilliant singing. Accompanied by a 4 piece band (which featured the worlds most miserable looking drummer!) he goes through the decades singing the songs that accompanied his life, from Sam Cooke, Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Jackie Wilson. He interplays the music with anecdotes of his life and dance elements including tap dancing and male strip!. Brilliant energy and connection to an audience. He also has a children's show.

Suitable for rural touring? Yes defiantly, although he does not tour the UK much, so would probably expensive. I will drop a line to his management for an enquiry anyway. Go and see if you can!

The Zoo
Four Tarts and a couple of Pears present this one act operetta by Sullivan (he of the Gilbert and Sullivan fame) and Stephenson wrote this short piece about a collection of human characters in the Zoo. This version Didn't deviate in style from traditional Victorian staging and delivery, and therefore felt quite dated and flat. The performers were strong with good voices, though limited in a tiny cellar venue.
Suitable for rural touring. Possibly if they formed an evening of 2 1 act pieces together, and gave the productions a bit of a lift in terms of setting and staging.


Under the Baobab Tree
An intriguing collaboration between I Theatre (Singapore) and Toto Tales (UK) presented this children's performance of African story setting. using music , performance and puppetry the tales of different animals are told. The small cast of 3 work hard and create many different characters. The children watching were engaged throughout. At times it did all go a bit 'panto' and the music/song used is repeated a bit too much, that it did loose its edge a bit near the end. The puppets and costumes are the highlight of this piece.  A good family piece full of colour.
Suitable for rural touring. Yes, it would travel well and suit a wide range family ages. Not the most original piece of children's theatre made, but a solid performance.


Magicians Do Exist
Chris Cresswell's show explores the comedy of Jacques Tati and the art of the clown in an interactive theatrical setting. Starting off as a lecture then moving into performance. Chris is an engaging performer, with the looks and gentle manner of Jacques Tati. There is lots of audience interaction, which is done very nicely and the set pieces of scenes from Tati's films are brought to life with other performers, which adds a very nice dimension to the piece.  It did lack a bit of direction and would benefit from a bit more development to make it into a very solid piece.
Suitable for rural touring? Yes, with more contact and direction. I will contact the company to see where this piece is heading in the future.
Finally thanks to all the reviewers who have posted up here. Its wonderful to see so many postings. It will be realy useful to programmers and promoters in seeking out new work.
Many thanks. Jen