THEATRE TALK: Volcano Causes La Cage Problems

Volcanic problems

The Icelandic volcano has had a spectacularly rubbish effect on theatres, openings and the sundry other businesses that play a supporting role to their attempts to attract tourists. With tourists unable to make it to London, seats remain empty as desperate holidaymakers attempt to flog their tickets from across the pond. You'd have thought they could simply exchange them for another date, but if you've bought through companies like Ticketmaster, who operate on a policy of simply no refunds or exchanges, you're out of luck. If you've bought direct from the theatre, your luck is usually better, but how many foreigners think to do so when a much more obvious way is to go through someone like Ticketmaster or See?

We read this week about producer Sonia Friedman just making it out to New York on one of the last planes to leave London before airspace completely closed down. She was heading to the Broadway opening of the London production of La Cage Aux Folles. She may have made it, but many others expected to attend did not. Dane Quixall, who played Cagelle Angelique in the original London production (played by Nick Adams on Broadway), planned to also head out on Thursday for the opening and for a holiday, but was booked a few flights after Friedman. Suffice to say, he did not make it out, meaning he missed the opening as well as the shows he had planned to see.

Now that things are opening up again, things can start getting back to normal, but it has been a difficult week for many of those involved with or affected by the state of London theatre. Stressful times all round.

A herd of hippii

Hair has opened! It garnered somewhat mixed reviews, which emphasised the thin book but the utter joyfulness of this production. The naysayers who groaned about the Broadway cast coming over will hopefully have been silenced by how fantastic this well-bonded and strong-voiced cast are at their jobs. The cast are all still getting used to London, but seem to be settling in more and getting to know their contemporaries - the Sister Act nuns visited this week and said they had a fantastic time.

However, it's worth remembering that this Hair is not the only one around. SEDOS are producing a fringe version of the show at the Bridewell Theatre in June, which promises to be an exciting experience. SEDOS managed to get the rights to the show before it was known that CameRon Mackintosh planned to bring the Broadway show over here. It promises to be an intimate and enjoyable show - one of the Tribe is Matt Hudson, who I have just worked with on the fringe production of Our House. He is a witty actor and a powerful singer with a lot of potential for the future. Miss out at your peril.

What to see?

Well, Elliot Cowan and Laura Rogers open in Macbeth this Friday at the Globe. The first performance is sold out but there are still plenty of tickets floating around for the following days. You can go as cheaply as £5 if you're willing to be a groundling (a lot of fun if you lean on the stage) and it promises to be an exciting and bloody production. Staying with the Jacobean theme, Thomas Middleton's Women Beware Women has just started previews at the National. Starring Penelope Wilton and Samuel Barnett amongst others, most reports are very positive - although it does clock in at three and a half hours. Or, if you're looking at fringe productions, Little Gem at the Bush is a good spend of an hour and a half, though it's not the piece to see if you're looking for an exciting evening.

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