Drawing the line

Matthew Parris makes an interesting point in today’s Times (now that’s a sentence you won’t hear me say too often). When I read on Monday that my neighbour the Justice Secretary had decided to criminalise inciting hatred because of sexual orientation, I felt that for the first time in a long time he was doing something to justify his taxpayer-provided armed guards that constantly patrol the end of my street. Homophobic crime remains prolific, and so surely a law preventing Abu Hamza style preaching - but against gays rather than Christians/Jews/general white people - must be a step in the right direction. It’s no secret that I haven’t been a huge fan of the government these past ten years, but one of the few things they have got right has been their admirable determination to stick up for the rights of the gay community - equalising the age of consent and introducing civil partnerships.

But is Mr Straw actually right about this one? I think, conceptually, there is a very clear distinction between encouraging free speech and permitting incitement of acts of hatred. But in practice, where do you draw that line? As Mr Parris says - if it’s illegal to insult people because of their religion or their sexuality, why not because of their ethnicity or their disability? If religious leaders continue to profess, in line with their beliefs, that homosexuality is a practice not approved of by God, are they liable to prosecution?

Wouldn’t it in fact be more sensible to say that incitement of any criminal act should be, itself, a crime? We aren’t talking about people who criticise religion or who insult gays - we’re talking about people who advocate bombing trains or stabbing innocents on a night out in Soho. Let’s have a common-sense law which actively enshrines the right to free speech and says that yes, it’s OK to hold and express your opinions about any other person, group, or practice - but that supporting or encouraging criminal activity against those with whom you disagree is, unequivocally, a crime.

Love. Poppins. Cabaret.

Time for a little TheatreUpdate, methinks. On Saturday I went to the Landor (where I last ventured a year ago almost to the day, to see Follies) to see the acclaimed UK premiere production of off-Broadway hit I Love You Because. The show is, nominally, a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice and has a nice (if not particularly profound) score featuring some generic pop numbers and some Jason Robert Brown-esque megaballads, along with some heartwarming and funny lyrics. The six-strong cast, led by the rather beautiful Daniel Boys (who fortunately spends a decent proportion of the show with a decent proportion of his clothes off) are competent, committed and work very well together, and the production (directed by Rob McWhir who was also responsible for Follies) was slick and effective. An enjoyable, if not mould-breaking piece of theatre - and according to the producer, to whom we got chatting after the show, a West End transfer early next year is a distinct possibility.

Then yesterday I decided it was time to finally get round to seeing Mary Poppins, since it closes in a couple of months. The cast were wonderful and really evoked the magic needed to make the piece work, and Scarlett Strallen gave a delightful, believable and elegant performance in the title role. The production itself is glorious, with an ingeniously-designed set and some spectacular special effect setpieces, and Stephen Mear and Matthew Bourne’s choreography is, as ever, inventive and well-executed. I think the highlight for me had to be - just because you never expected to see it on stage - Bert’s recreation of Fred Astaire’s legendary ceiling dance from Royal Wedding. In truth, this isn’t the greatest production or the greatest show, but it is a hugely enjoyable evening out and a shining example of quality family theatre. It puts The Lion King to shame.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch… everything is going well at Mountview, with the course proving to be demanding, challenging and a lot of fun. On Monday our regular dance teacher was indisposed, so we had the privilege of being taken by Rebecca Sutherland, one of the original cast members of Rufus Norris’ Cabaret, in order to learn some of the choreography from the show. Obviously, this was quite hard, but also hugely fun, and it was really exciting to have the opportunity to actually practise something which I admired so much when I saw it on stage!

Week one

My first week of classes at Mountview has come and gone successfully, and without any discernable problems. Admittedly, this is entirely due to the fact that we haven’t actually done any dancing yet. After this Wednesday, I’m fucked. (And by the way, I spent sixty-five quid on dance shoes this week… what the hell?!)

But so far, so good. The other students on the course are a really nice bunch and we’re all already getting along very well. The staff seem excellent, and what’s great is that they all teach on the full-time courses there too, so they know what they’re talking about.

And in other exciting news, it’s been confirmed that I’m directing a revue/concert of “songs from the shows” for Imperial Productions in February next year. I’m really looking forward to the project although it will no doubt involve a modicum of stress due to the very short timescale involved (namely, a rehearsal period of five or six weeks). As ever, readers can expect to be the not-always-willing beneficiaries of constant updates on how it’s going.

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Yes, I finally succumbed, and I hate myself for it.

Go on, poke me. I dare you.

Update

As you may have noticed, I’ve been rather busy of late, hence the lack of entries on this here blog of mine. This isn’t really down to any one thing in particular - just a general swamp of things to do and a heavy period workwise (still ongoing, unfortunately). But, to bring you up-to-date, here’s a brief overview of what I’ve been up to over the past few weeks, in vaguely chronological order.

Firstly, Tour! Well, it happened and was a lot of fun. West Side Story was a great success: we had really positive feedback and nice big audiences (in fact, it was the best-selling Tour show since The Pirates of Penzance in 2002) and I think everyone involved was really pleased with the end result. The fortnight itself in Budleigh was a lot of fun, with a really great group of people, and I certainly enjoyed myself. Also, the weather was amazing (in stark contrast to the rest of the summer!) so there was plenty of beach time and I even tanned a bit. Yay!

As ever, I’ve seen quite a lot of theatre. Here’s some of the things I’ve enjoyed over the past month or two, along with über-brief reviews:

• The world premiere performance of Take Flight, the new Maltby and Shire musical about the origins of flight, at the Menier Chocolate Factory. Produced by the Olivier-winning team behind the Menier’s Sunday in the Park with George, and starring the wonderful Sally Ann Triplett. I quite enjoyed the production, but the show itself is flawed, and the score is not very strong at all. That said, I’m sure it has been developed during its time at the Menier and will continue to be improved, and there’s definitely potential there. 6/10.
   
• An amateur production, at the Bob Hope Theatre in Eltham, of one of my favourite musicals ever, Ragtime. Brilliant show, awful production - really the worst of amateur theatre. 2/10.
   
• The resurrection of Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man (based loosely on Bizet’s Carmen) at Sadler’s Wells. I’m not the biggest Bourne fan in the world but I really enjoyed this show which was punchy, energetic, hot, slick and sexy. Not too pretentious and with some really nice touches. 8/10.
   
• Dorset Opera’s production of Turandot, starring my mate David Phipps-Davis as Emperor Altoum. A competent, classy production of my favourite opera, and well worth the six-hour round trip! 8/10.
   
• The Norwegian comedy Elling at the Trafalgar Studios, starring Life on Mars‘ John Simm in the title role, with Teachers‘ Adrian Bower. A clever and fairly subtle piece, highly enjoyable and very funny, although not in the laugh-out-loud way suggested by many reviews. 7/10.
   
• Jude Kelly’s new production of Carmen Jones at the Royal Festival Hall. Another Carmen-inspired piece, this time a musical with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. A solid if flawed production, with great performances from Sherry Boone as Cindy Lou, Rodney Clarke as Husky, and The X Factor’s Brenda Edwards. Average direction (at least by the standards of Ms Kelly’s beautiful ENO production of On the Town), and a frankly awful set and lighting design - although that is largely down to the inadequacies of the venue. 7/10.
   
• Not strictly theatre, but on Sunday I saw the Rolling Stones perform at the O2 Arena (the new stadium-like venue inside what used to be the Millennium Dome). A great concert, packed with energy from the performers. The show was brilliantly designed and I was really impressed with the 33,000-seat venue, which through sensible design and good organisation managed to avoid any crushing crowds or queues.

Also, I have some exciting news, in that I will imminently be starting a one-year part-time course in musical theatre performance at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. I auditioned prior to Tour - the audition was without doubt one of the most exhausting and gruelling days of my life - and, frankly, I didn’t think my chances of getting in were high, as there are only 16 places on the course and the calibre of the other auditionees was extremely high (at least it was on the day I was there). But obviously they liked me enough to offer me a place, and so I commence on September 17th!

West Side Story…

… is going to be very, very good. ‘Nuff said.

A busy week

Lots happening, as ever, but three particular highlights from recent days:

On Thursday a group of us went to see a marvellous semi-staged concert performance of Sondheim’s masterpiece Sweeney Todd at the newly refurbished Royal Festival Hall, which starred Bryn Terfel in the title role and Maria Friedman as Mrs Lovett, alongside an all-star cast including Philip Quast (Judge Turpin), Rosemary Ashe (Beggar Woman), Any Dream Will Do’s Daniel Boys (Anthony), Emma Williams (Johanna) and the Olivier-winning Daniel Evans (Tobias) - and, for good measure, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Maida Vale Singers, and an ensemble from the GSA Conservatoire. Terfel’s charactarisation, style and diction were all strong (well, save his acting in the emotional last five minutes or so), and excitingly, Friedman was excellent - in stark contrast to the last time I saw her on stage - as were the rest of the cast. The choir and orchestra sounded great and really showed off the much-touted acoustics of the venue. The disappointments were really the lighting and the staging - both of which were really quite amateurish and doubtless detracted from the gravity, impact and sheer enjoyment of the piece. Nonetheless, a great production, and a rare opportunity to see so many big names with talent on one stage.

Then on Saturday, another “Tour wedding”, this time of two ex-Chairs of the society, Sally and Robin. The setting was the idyllic little village of Therfield, near Royston in Hertfordshire, and remarkably, the sun decided to come out! A lovely day, and I think much fun was had by all. (Obviously helped by copious quantities of champagne.)

And yesterday, the first run-through of West Side Story! Well, we didn’t get around to the last 20-30 minutes of the show, but from what we did see I was excited and pleased by the standard, given that we still have over three weeks until opening night. The dancing and chorus work improves every time I see it, and it was really nice to see some of the excellent work that the principals have been doing over the past couple of months. Sure, there is still some way to go, but I was definitely reassured and now remain convinced that we will have a strong, high calibre show for our East Devon audience.

To whom can we turn?

British politics is turning its back on Britain

Finally, Britain has got what it thinks it wanted. Tony Blair has gone, and we have a new (in a manner of speaking) prime minister in Gordon Brown. The lies, the arrogance, the spin is over; at long last Britain can go about its rightful business without dirty governmental corruption and damaging military escapades to get in the way.

Would Britain have fallen out of love with Blair quite so quickly were it not for Iraq? Probably. Ten years with one man at the top is more than enough for most voters, and it was inevitable that Tony’s trademark grin would start to wear thin. Combine this with delights like the cash-for-honours scandal, and you’ve got more than enough reason for the electorate to have forced Blair from office before the next general election - and that’s without even touching his government’s domestic policy failures.

Having despised him relentlessly in the 1990s, I have over the duration of his government grown to greatly admire, respect, and even like Blair. I have always resented his government and most of his colleagues - and still do - for their pervasive incompetence and false political and economic principles. But Blair has shown himself to be, despite all the showmanship, a man of principle, conviction and belief. Indeed, the primary reason for his schism with his party (and this applies as much to his other ideas as it does to Iraq) has been his unwavering commitment to do what he wanted to do, to take what he thought was the right course of action. He has achieved a few notable triumphs during his time in power (a settlement in Northern Ireland; equal gay rights) and has had (or borrowed from the Tories) many other great ideas (foundation hospitals; more independent schools) which he has been unable to bring fully to fruition due to the resistance of his parliamentary colleagues. Indeed the man himself has said that he wishes he could have reformed more, and reformed faster.

But, for all his achievements - not to mention his election-winning prowess - Labour and the country as a whole have tired of Blair, and so we have Gordon Brown. I will say this now, as I have said it many a time in the past few years. Make no mistake: the Brown premiership will be an unequivocal disaster - for Brown, for Labour, and for Britain.

If Brown calls an election next year, he will win, and so will remain in power probably until 2012 or 2013. What a disaster for our country. Brown epitomises all that has been wrong with the last ten years of government - all that prevented Blair from becoming Britain’s first great 21st century prime minister.

Do not be fooled by cuddly Brown on breakfast television sofas. Do not be fooled by smiling Brown announcing populist (and superficial) income tax cuts. Do not be fooled by statesmanlike Brown decrying closed-door government and pledging his dedication to open, encompassing policy-making and leadership (and certainly do not be fooled by publicity stunts like offering senior Lib Dems or former police commissioners posts in his cabinet).

Whatever his posturing over the past (and coming) weeks and months, the Brown government will be (especially after the general election) more centrally-run, more target-driven and more dictatorial than Blair’s ever was. The incomprehensible naiveté of the electorate in thinking otherwise is testament to Brown’s skills as a political operative. But the revelations from Brown’s colleagues and associates about his control freakery speak volumes, and it is this Brown who will be calling the shots. When combined with his wholly incorrect approach in most areas of national priority - health, education, crime - it is clear that we are destined to have an over-legislating, target-obsessed government suffering from crippling schizophrenia over whether it should be following Brown’s heart and shifting leftwards, or his head and retaining the centre ground.

Ah, you may say - but the solution is easy. When the election comes around next year, simply vote for the self-styled “heir to Blair” David Cameron. I supported Cameron at the time of the Tory leadership election and continue to do so, and for many of the same reasons I was a fan of Blair - he is dedicated to his cause, has the courage of his convictions and, above all, has the competence to run an effective government. Alas it is becoming increasingly apparent that the suicidal Conservative party (both the parliamentary party and the grassroots) has little genuine desire to change, to regain power, or to govern for the good of Britain.

Cameron was always going to face an uphill struggle convincing the Tories of the depth of their need for change; remember the outcry after Theresa May’s “nasty party” speech at Conference in 2002. But he pressed ahead regardless, supporting gay marriage, giving grammar schools the chop, and accepting that a successful society means that the state must help the poorest and least fortunate to get up the first few rungs of the ladder. A strong initial lead in the polls (15 points head-to-head against Brown, by some measures) guaranteed the acquiescence if not the support of the party at large. But now this has evaporated, open revolt is yet again coming from the Conservative ranks - most recently the disastrous grammar schools fiasco. Tragically, it seems that the Tories are destined to remain backwards, ineffectual, and rightly unelectable for the foreseeable future.

So where is Britain to turn? It appears that our choice is between an incompetent, autocratic Brown government, and a bigoted, infighting Cameron one. There are so many issues that desperately need addressing in Britain today - issues that could have been solved by the Blair government were it not for his party’s insistence on squandering its few precious opportunities. The NHS is heading for financial meltdown. Violent crime and terrorism are on the up. Half of 16 year olds are unable to gain a C grade in their English and Maths GCSEs. And none of our senior politicians can get their act together enough to even come up with any good ideas on how to solve these problems, and the myriad of others facing Britain today and in the future.

Come back, Blair; your country needs you.