Review: The Harder They Come, Nottingham Playhouse

The Harder They Come is the story of struggling reggae musician Ivan who falls for the beautiful girl he cannot have and sets his sights on the stars. After trying to scratch together the money for studio-time through drug-dealing and a run-in with the law, in which a police man is killed, the now outlawed Ivan flees to the ghettos until a fateful shootout claims his young life. However, this staging isn’t driven by the plot; it is the music which leads the audience through the show. This is quite possibly a good thing as the dialogue is hard to follow, it being delivered in a heavy Jamaican patois. Nevertheless, the music is a strong enough vehicle for the show and the mostly Jimmy Cliff penned soundtrack is excellent, consistent the most impressive element of the production.

Other parts were, unfortunately, not as impressive. The choreography felt a little limp and with audiences becoming more accustomed to the tight dance routines of street dance groups on TV talent shows there was certain sense of spectacle missing from the movement; it felt more like going through the motions than matching the sheer energy of the reggae rhythms. The band were excellent and played perfectly to a note, however the musical direction was missing a trick. One of the most pervasive parts of Jamaican music has been the use of a horn section by bands such as Toots and The Maytals. With this absent there was a whole layer of that musical culture missed out on.

The best thing about the show was the end. This is not meant as an insult but by this point the story is dispensed of, which has been told flimsily, and instead launch into an enthusiastic medley of the songs from the show. Commendable performances are given by Matthew J Henry as protagonist Ivan and the comedic Derek Elroy as Longa, one his rivals for the affections of Elsa who was played well and sung beautifully by Alanna Leslie. The vocal range of Marlon King playing Pedro also impressed massively. The Harder They Come was an entertaining show with flourishes of real style but it could have done much more by way of ‘wow factor’; next time, please try Harder.

The Harder They Come: ***
Image courtesy of the Lowry, Salford.

Review: Bomber's Moon, Lakeside Djanogly Theatre

Bomber’s Moon is the long awaited return of award wining writer Billy Ivory and his Southwell Trilogy to the Lakeside Djanogly Theatre after the triumph of The Retirement of Tom Stevens in 2006. Under the direction of Matt Aston, who also directed the first installment, Bomber’s Moon is a two-hander which tells the story of Jimmy, an octogenarian RAF veteran of the Second World War, who is taken painfully back to his days as a Lancaster Bomber tail gunner by the atmospheric shadows of his retirement home ceiling fan. As Jimmy relives the missions he flew over Germany, we also see the scars from another conflict, those left on his carer David, struggling with an emotional breakdown and the loss of those close to him. Both performers play their parts beautifully and the piece contains a third returning presence with David and the actor playing him, Tim Dantay, both appearing in Tom Stevens.

The play is wickedly funny and the scenes in which David and Jimmy interact in the retirement home are written with destructive force; the piece is compelling watching, the audience hanging on each revelatory word as the two men spiral downwards. Criticisms are limited but the staging of Jimmy’s flashbacks and becoming his younger self in some instances broke the close connection between him and David. However, in the second act, when Jimmy’s old comrade Frank joins him, again played by the chameleonic Dantay, there is more of a tenderness to the action which mirrors David’s affections toward Jimmy in the present.

Designers Laura McEwen and James Farncombe have created a stellar set with clever nods to Jimmy’s past, especially the port-hole door window and fuselage walls, whilst their sepia lighting and the shadows from the overhead fan take the audience back to the forties seamlessly. Equally Damian Coldwell’s sound design beautifully re-creates the terror of the raid and peacefulness of a safe return home.

This is a play deeply rooted in the East Midlands, to quote Jimmy “dug from the soil round ‘ere”, and is rich with local jokes and references. This doesn’t restrict the piece though as Ivory’s text speaks broadly about what it is to grow older, to lose and to love, in short, what it is to be human.

Bomber’s Moon: ****
Image courtesy of Alan Fletcher.