I was asked to attend the press night for this so was given a ticket, but believe me when I say that I wont hold me back from being honest.
I was unfortunately disappointed by the show. The sound system in the theatre was shockingly bad. It was constantly crackling throughout the fist half of the show, and occasionally during the second half. The general acoustics of the building left a lot to be desired. For the majority of the songs I was really straining to hear the lyrics. When I could hear them, they were a mixture of over the top blue humour but also some genuinely witty phrases..
Until the 27th July (2019) Parenthood is showing at The Space on the Isle Of Dogs in London. The Space is a theatre and community arts centre housed inside a converted church. The space itself is lovely, comprising of a small intimate theatre along with a reasonably priced bar/café/restaurant, that has an outside seating area. However, a musical, even one on such a small scale as Parenthood, really isn't appropriate for such a space. I came a couple years ago for a play involving just two actors. It was an interesting show and very much something I feel is far more appropriate for a space such as this. The only real negative with The Space as a venue, is its location. Its not the easiest place to get to and is relatively far out of central London. There's not really much to do in the area while waiting for the show either, meaning one is almost required to use their café. Although reasonably priced its extremely small, so can very easily get busy quickly. Oh, and I believe there is no air conditioning inside the theatre. Normally not an issue in London but in the heatwave the city is currently experiencing, its something my fellow audience members and I (and from the sweat on their faces I’d say some of the actors also) would have been very much appreciative of having.
The set for the show was simple, with a few coloured blankets on the floor, a crib and about 25 or so scaled up versions of the wooden block with letters on you find in the toy boxes of small children learning to spell. That was it. The blocks were cleverly used throughout, to create seats/steps/surfaces for different scenes. The show followed what could only be described as the life cycle of a parent, form wanting a child all the way to being a grandparent. Although I enjoyed the majority of the music, there were some phrases that made me wince. A little to crass for my liking. There were some members of the audience however who were absolutely cackling with laughter. It almost seemed as if the writers were trying to invent funny situations, rather than pick up on real situations which are funny when you look back at them. From the rather crass song in which men brag about having a massive 'baby maker' and 'strong swimmers' to the mother complaining how annoying the baby is and how she's so pissed off with it. I get that these are all emotions that parents go through, but they didn't seem to be strung together well. The show at times felt disjointed, with the couples that had been set out at the beginning seeming to not be of any relevance at all until the closing number.
At the beginning, the performers struggled to find their voice, though once they relaxed into the show they were in fine form. This wasn't helped by the shoddy tech work, which I believe was provided by the venue rather than the show. As I mentioned earlier, the cracking of mics was at times overpowering, but also wrong sound levels or mics being activated late meant some performers full vocals were unable to be appreciated by the audience. This was unless like me your were close to the stage. The lighting also left a lot to be desired, with the stage often plunged into darkness for what felt like an eternity, when actors had been in place almost as soon as the light went out.
I think though there were a couple of actors that stood out for me. The first was Heather Broderick. An absolute breath of fresh are on one of the warmest nights. She was absolute comedy gold, yet bought believability every time she stepped on stage. Jordan-David Copping was also great though he did seem to take a little while to gain his confidence and get into full voice, but once he was one could only describe him as a bit of a cheeky chappy. I think Jordan Brown was also good, though he seemed to find it hard to connect with the audience, always looking just slightly over our heads. Astra Beadle was another that stood out, with good connections with the other performers and the audience as well as being in fine voice throughout.
(I'm giving this star rating due to the failures I encountered. It could have easily been higher if everything had gone better from the technical side of the show)
I think this show has lots of potential, but was let down by the venues sound and lighting systems. The actors didn't seem relaxed but they have a good show. It just needs a bit more work and then I'm sure it would be perfectly adequate for some light evenings entertainment.
To find out more information or to book tickets, click here
