“Have you packed your bags?” “What?” “Have you packed your bags? Are you excited?” “I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you mean.” “Didn’t you say you were going to Memphis?” So began a conversation on Friday afternoon, and my first attempt at clarifying that I was going to see Beverley Knight in Memphis didn’t at all help a colleague understand what my weekend treat was. I can only add to the growing chorus of praise for this production. Not once did I switch off. Not once did I start making grocery shopping lists in my mind. Not once did I even wonder what time it was or whether I wanted to get up and have a pee in the interval. The choreography was excellent. The dance moves were a sight to behold. I could not name a weak link in the company. The set changes were very smooth and rapid, and the tempo of songs was almost relentlessly upbeat. The cast seemed to be very much enjoying themselves on stage. There was a palpable sense that this company gets on well with one another (whether they do or not is another matter, but it would be a surprise to me if it turns out they do not) and this felt a contributory factor to the strong and soaring emotions this production elicits in its audiences. An American friend of mine remarked that he enjoyed Claire Machin, not so much for the Gladys character but for Machin’s strong vocals and “very, very good Southern accent”. On 8 October 2010 I attended the actual 25th anniversary performance of the London production of Les Miserables. (I’d done the Queens / Barbican / O2 weekend as well.) At this performance Simon Bowman was indisposed, so Jean Valjean was played by the second cover. At the time his name didn’t mean much to me, so within days it was out of my mind. But I was so touched and impressed by the young man’s performance of Valjean that I did think it would be a pity if the chap’s name wasn’t top billing in a West End show at some stage in the future. Slightly more than four years later, I am sat in the Shaftesbury Theatre, flicking through a £6 programme (grrr…) and instantly recognised the Valjean understudy from 2010: Mr Killian Donnelly. I couldn’t help shaking my head, almost in disbelief, at the length of time Felicia hadn’t heard Huey’s voice: “I don’t know, four years?” I was more than blown away by Killian Donnelly once more after about “I don’t know, four years”, and this time it is not a name I anticipate on forgetting any time soon. Thank you to certain members of this group for your recommendation. You know who you are. Hockadoo indeed.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 20:27:52 +0000
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