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Robert Calvert Double Bill |
Jimi Hendrix, Noel Coward and Janis Joplin walk into a bar
REVIEW: ROBERT CALVERT DOUBLE BILL
Pentameters Theatre
PENTAMETERS is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year with a programme of works by the late Robert Calvert that showcases the theatre’s quirky charm.
Calvert was best known as the frontman of space rockers Hawkwind, penning classics such as Silver Machine. His poetic and out-there visions make up a psychedelic cabaret of two plays starring Jimi Hendrix.
The first, the premiere of a recently discovered piece called Cattle at Twilight, is set in the “celestial” zone: a two-hander between Hendrix (Jason Julien-Connage) and Noel Coward (Jonson Wilkinson), dressed in gold lamé suit atop a glittering throne.
From their heavenly perch they survey the inhabitants of Earth, lamenting people’s appetite for the “disease” of nostalgia and unoriginality.
This odd couple find common ground in their much-imitated individuality, be it Jimi’s guitar pyrotechnics or Coward’s louche affectation.
There’s even a cameo from Janis Joplin, played by Georgia Cardy, who earlier delivered a poised and unsettling abstract monologue of loss by Calvert’s old partner Ruthi Blackmore, called The Child.
Together with Hendrix, she heads off for some “star-bathing” to the strains of Silver Machine (what else?).
The second play, The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam’s Dice, is less whimsical, portraying Jimi’s last parachute jump as part of the 101st Airborne in 1961.
Hendrix refuses to jump and the piece pits Jimi’s Age of Aquarius mentality against the stony-jawed authority of Sergeant McNulty, played by an excellent Jeff Mash.
Again, Calvert’s watchword is empathy as the two bond over Charlie Parker and Robert Johnson, until Jimi decides to abandon himself to the skies, and freedom.
The piece is overlong and, like some of the other sections, not flawless, but at points Calvert’s choice of words is beautiful. Special mention should be made of Godfrey Old’s trippy set design and ingenious sound and musical contributions, as well as the other special effects: how often is a strobe light used in local theatre?
Overall the evening is a success because it is put together with great spirit by director Léonie Scott-Matthews – the audience is even asked to join in for a sing-song.
I hope Pentameters continues to put on shows like this for many years to come – a little eccentric and a lot of fun.
Until September 20
020 7435 3648 |
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