We go to the theatre perhaps to escape and be drawn into another world, to think, to laugh, to cry. But occasionally we see something that breaks the mould and surpasses our expectations, staying with us long after we leave the auditorium.

War Horse has humble roots at the National Theatre, where it was so successful that after a second run the creative team rose proudly with the show through to the West End, and now to the international stage on Broadway and in Toronto, Canada. It may seem to have won every theatre award under the sun (including two Olivier Awards and five Tony awards) and hold a record for the highest weekly gross for a West End play, but War Horse has retained its appealing modest nature, avoiding that flamboyant ‘big show’ feel. So what is it about it that audiences cannot resist?

The show centres around Albert, a young man who becomes unbreakably bonded to Joey, a horse on his parents’ farm. Albert is devastated when his father sends Joey to battle in WWI, and the story follows the journeys of the two characters as they fight for their country whilst trying to reunite. The story is adapted from Michael Morpurgo’s children’s book, and both the plot and the way it’s portrayed on stage are moulded beautifully, not forgetting a smattering of humour amongst the depths to bring the audience back to earth. Well-placed additions of authentic country melodies and singing help bring emotion to a peak.

Despite all these captivating ingredients, the main factor that creates widespread curiosity and awe is what the BBC show famously called ‘animal magic’. How on earth could you stage a live play where the main character and several of its co-stars are equines? Unlike making the film, there’s only one shot each night, not to mention trying to manage half a dozen horses backstage. The answer, breathtakingly realistic puppets, keeps the audience engrossed throughout, and you find yourself becoming heart-wrenchingly attached to Joey. The elegance and grace, the attention to detail, the fluidity; before you know it Joey is real, and he ensures that your eyes remain glued to the stage.

Tears were aplenty and emotions were running high as the audience filed out, but without anyone being sure why. And perhaps it’s the best shows where you can’t put your finger on exactly what’s moving; simply every successful component comes together and forms a masterpiece.

Ellie’s experience

As I listened to an array of theatre industry professionals talking about how they found their way into their careers, I heard the same thing over and over: ‘I wish there had been something like this when I was your age’.

This is a good point, because this innovative careers fair with a difference is so diverse and informative that it could change somebody’s professional direction. Dubbed ‘Beyond the Stage’ – because it is aimed at theatre enthusiasts who don’t want to be actors – the twist lies in the fact that there aren’t just stands to visit, but also interactive workshops in just about any area of theatre you could possibly imagine and work in: lighting, stage management, make-up, set design, theatre journalism… you name it, it was probably there.

I managed to negotiate my way into four workshops, and by the end of each one I decided that was what I wanted to be. The one I found most useful was the panel discussion about putting on a production, mainly because it included a producer, a director and a production manager, meaning the process from the initial idea for a show, all the way through to opening night, was covered. I realised how unaware I was of the lengthy journey a show goes through – and the amount of money involved! – but this also demonstrated how many different points along the way there are to get stuck in.

The marketing workshop was also very interesting, learning about how to get a production in people’s psyche perhaps without them even noticing. It was run by Target Live, the company currently on the Wizard Of Oz marketing drive, which opens at the London Palladium in February, so we learnt about the job of identifying the target audience for a show and deriving how to reach them most effectively, while also making the budget stretch as far as possible.

So what was the best advice I came away with?

• Be cheeky and keen (and you could get lucky): the Theatre Manager of the Almeida got offered that level position two minutes after turning up at the local arts centre, saying exactly what she was looking for and being enthusiastic about it
• Make and keep contacts: many jobs in the theatre world are obtained through chatting to somebody who knows somebody, or through a friend who needs a favour
• Be focused (or pretend you are if you’re not): many employers said that even though ‘I’ll help out anywhere’ looks good, in reality they want somebody who will be focused on their area, and somebody they know won’t run off to another department should the opportunity arise

I only got to see a very small representation of the workshops, but from what I DID see, and the buzzing feedback I heard from hundreds of young people around me, TheatreCraft is definitely something to check out next year if you’re even considering a career in this wide-spread industry.

Ellie Watson TheatreFix Guest Editor

Helena’s experience

TheatreCraft is an annual event that consists of many varied “behind the scenes” related events. I spent the afternoon there to find out a little more about ENO and what goes on at the London Coliseum.

On an ENO Backstage tour I found out everything you’ve ever wanted to know (and everything you didn’t) about the London Coliseum. With the capacity to seat 2000, the Coliseum is London’s largest acting space, staging six performances per week and 14 different operas per year. Currently showing are A Dog’s Heart, La Bohème and Don Giovanni. Over 110 hours a week are spent on the complex logistical operations of assembling and disassembling these different sets.

The building itself was constructed in just 15 months, and includes an impressive stage revolve. With top speeds of 22-30 miles per hour, it was apparently originally powered by two horses racing each other and then, after a fatality, by terriers. The theatre was ingeniously built, and only two of its seats are considered to have restricted views. Somewhat contrary to expectation, the worst view in the theatre is considered to be in the Royal Box, the occupants of which have traditionally been more concerned with being seen themselves than having a good view of the action! Staging large scale operas is immensely technical, and there are over 300 lamps and enough power in the generators for 4000 houses. Although the impression is generally one of size and grandeur, the Coliseum is not without its faults: the brown staining on the marble pillars comes, surprisingly, from nicotine stains.

I also took part in a workshop on Learning and Participation in theatre, run by two producers from ENO Baylis. Careers involving theatre in education and community settings were discussed, and the relevant skills needed in order to be successful. ENO itself runs many different schemes for people in all walks of life, in order to make the arts more accessible to them. For young people there’s the Access All Arias scheme, which makes cheap opera tickets available to them. There’s also Opera Tots for opera-lovers who want someone to look after their children whilst they take in a show, and Opera Preview. This is an event that takes place every few months and which allows new audiences to experience opera in different ways. People are able to walk around the rooms of the Coliseum with a drink and hear excerpts from different shows, a bit of performance poetry, and even have the chance to speed date some opera characters. A great way of breaking down the boundaries that surround opera, the ENO Baylis team seek to find new audiences from all sorts of different backgrounds.

Helena Rampley TheatreFix Guest Editor and Editor of London Theatre Project

The Beyond The Stage Careers Fair takes place every year. TheatreFix will have all the details as the 2011 plans are announced, so keep an eye on the website for all the latest news.

The story could be described as a typical 1930s adventure with a recipe consisting of all the standard ingredients – plenty of chase scenes and murders, a sprinkling of Russian spies and a dash of romance. But the stage adaptation based on Hitchcock’s’s famous film has a twist which increases its accessibility to a wider audience: the addition of comedy. The play is mocking not only the original screen versions of the novel but that era in general, through overdramatic acting, ‘unintended’ audience insights into the workings of the show and seemingly not having employed enough actors to cover all the parts.

The small cast of four are talented and well allocated to their roles, all proving their versatile acting skills. Due to the over-the-top and comedic nature of the play, there was never a chance for the actors to draw the audience into their world and act with intimacy and subtlety. Despite much of the acting being aimed directly at the audience, it therefore felt, perhaps inevitably, that you were very much watching a play rather than forgetting where you were after being sucked in. It was very surprising how little the events of a story can stir emotion when all smoothed over on the same comedic level; I very rarely felt scared, sad, or any empathy for a character Nevertheless, the low-budget staging didn’t fail to trigger the imagination for what the constantly-used chairs were supposed to represent.

Looking around the audience there was a surprisingly diverse blend of ages and types of people, all equally laughing at the goings-on on stage. The show has been given a shake-up by the recent arrival of cast member Dianne Pilkington, who is best known for being the longest ever Glinda ‘The Good Witch’ in London’s Wicked.  And while Pilkington has proved her bold leap into straight acting was a fantastic choice, she brings with her a trail of loyal Wicked fans. There were several groups of teenage girls at the theatre; some writing a card for the actress, others chatting excitedly about meeting her at the stage door. Judging by Pilkington’s charming demeanour and modest acknowledgement of her fans in the finale she doesn’t mind this following, so I can only see how her arrival has brought positive benefits. Plays such as The 39 Steps are always struggling to widen their audiences and it seems somebody either has hit the nail on the head, or has accidentally stumbled across a way of getting young people to watch something other than a high-profile musical. The intended parody and farce doesn’t get lost even if some from younger generations aren’t drawn directly to the play through its content, due to its universality.

The 39 Steps isn’t a show-stopper; it’s not dramatic, amazing or shocking and I don’t think I would go and see it again. But the most important, overriding feeling? It is a hilarious depiction of old British drama, which is entertaining from beginning to end.

Ellie Wason TheatreFix Guest Editor

Myra grew up all over the country, living in Essex, then on an apple farm in Suffolk before attending boarding school in Lincolnshire, and finally ending up in ballet school in Tunbridge Wells. It was here that she discovered her love for the stage, as she explains: “That was where I really got into the dancing and the performing”. A classically trained musician, she then discovered she could sing and started participating in festivals. “And then of course all I wanted to do was go to London, so that’s where I went at 16, to the Arts Educational School. But I couldn’t wait to be in shows”.

The actress’s first professional experience was a simple pantomime in Brighton. “It was a brilliant experience. It was good for me because in those days we didn’t have mics – in a show like this [Oliver!], everyone in the show has one. In this pantomime there was some dialogue and in the end they gave all the lines to me, because I was the only one who could be heard!” When Myra left college, after dabbling in shows and cabarets, she was disastrously involved in a car accident and broke her upper leg. Meaning she couldn’t dance for a year, the set back prompted her to go back to college, aged 20. After gaining more qualifications – specialising in music – she said “the natural progression was to go to teacher training college. I never wanted to be a music teacher, but it was because I wasn’t ready to go back to the theatre… I wasn’t ready to dance again and my singing wasn’t good enough; I just wasn’t ready”.

After a very brief stint as a teacher, Myra decided to pursue a career in theatre. “Because I trained to be a music teacher all that time ago, and it was the only respectable thing that I was qualified to do besides this, I made up my mind that it would be this and not that”. But did she see teaching as a safety net if acting fell through? “No no no. I didn’t have a back-up plan; I’ve just made it my business to keep working. I never wanted to be in front of a classroom of children again. I was a really bad teacher!”

So the actress, now in her 20s, threw herself head first into the industry. And she must have been doing something right because she’s worked almost non-stop ever since, in films, radio and theatre. And not only worked; Myra was in the original West End casts of Evita and Cats – understudying the role that was intended for Judi Dench, before Dench had to pull out and was replaced by Elaine Page. Inbetween strange jobs such as playing a sphinx in a pantomime with Mitchell and Webb, and performing in a musical version of The Elephant Man, Myra was heavily involved with the Lost Musicals for 20 years, which is unpaid, sporadic work which aims to showcase “musicals that never really got a chance”. Unfortunately her biggest role, the lead in Postcards From God, “wasn’t good” she claimed, “the musical or me!”. The reviews, however, seemed to suggest she was the only good thing about the production.

Other West End ventures include Sweeney Todd, Grease, Me And My Girl and Les Misérables, the latter being a particular highlight: “Playing Madame Thenardier in Les Mis is my biggest achievement, and one of the best jobs I’ve done.” This part also gave her the opportunity to be in the Les Misérables 10th Anniversary concert at the Royal Albert Hall, featuring the dream cast and being made into a DVD and cast recording.

The current Madame Thenardier in Les Misérables

She laughs as she remembers the times that things went wrong. “When I was in Les Mis, one of Madame Thenardier’s lines is ‘Master of the house, isn’t worth my spit, comforter, philosopher and life long shit’, which always gets a laugh. But I got it all wrong and said the punch line at the beginning. The cast crowd in towards me and they were all laughing. I didn’t know where to go because the punch line had gone, so I had to mumble the rest.” A similar mishap occurred during Cats, where her character had to go on and sing a line, “and I sneezed! And I went to sing again, and I sneezed again, and I sneezed through the whole part. I never got the line out”.

When asked the most interesting actors she has worked with, she reels off an impressive list, having graced the stage and silver screen with Simon Russell Beale, Patricia Hodge, Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed, amongst others. Most impressive of all, she seemed completely unphased by having worked with such acclaimed actors.

Despite a bulging repertoire to boast of, there are still things that Myra wishes she’d had the opportunity to do, saying “I’d have loved to have been in West Side Story. It’s too late now; there are no older women’s parts!”

Best piece of advice she’s ever been given? “I suppose Noel Coward’s advice, learn your lines and don’t bump into the furniture, sums it up!” What about advice for young people wanting to go into the industry? “Don’t! [laughs] It’s very, very overcrowded and it’s strange because even though it’s overcrowded, the same people seem to get work. If they’re good, reliable and do their work, they get known to be good. So you meet the same people a lot throughout. When I think of all the people I’ve worked with, and all the shows I’ve done, I think, how many people that I worked with are still working now? I’m very, very lucky.” This general sentiment about the theatre industry was echoed by other Oliver! cast members in the dressing room. “What’s difficult is the money. The ‘celebrity thing’ creates two kinds of people – those who are making a lot of money and those who are really struggling. And in this industry you can’t even complain for being someone who’s struggling because at the end of the day you’re one of the 10% of actors who’s in work.” Myra agrees: “This is why I say to anyone coming into this business, as long as you don’t mind coming into that army situation of going into a reality TV show and putting yourself into that awful, horrible, gladiatorial, ghastly position, forget it!”

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Myra and the cast alike made their views clear on the new reality TV shows where the audience cast a lead in an Andrew Lloyd Webber production: “My friends were watching the Dorothy programme and said there were a couple of girls that everyone, including Andrew Lloyd Webber, thought were wonderful, but the audience had put them in the bottom two. But if they had gone to an audition with Andrew there and they had been outstanding, they might have got a job, because he liked them, not the public. Now Jodie [Prenger, who the cast recently worked with after she won the role of Nancy on the BBC’s I’d Do Anything], I believe Andrew wasn’t too keen on her. Anyway she got the part, and she was such a lovely, warm person that you were happy for her that she’d got this, but even if she didn’t win she was going to get some sort of success anyway because she’d been ‘Miss Television Reality Show’, as that’s the way she did it. It was available to her. When I was young, it wasn’t.”

Kerry Ellis, currently playing Nancy in Oliver!

Another cast member added: “None of the Dorothys have trained, and whether the audience love them or not, can they do eight shows a week? And if they can’t, somebody else, who’s done the training, who isn’t a reality TV star, will have to alternate them and will be paid a quarter of the amount. The celebrity thing makes it very hard for normal people who want to do this as a career to graduate to the level of being a lead, because there’s a big difference between being a lead and being a cover, and we get stuck on the threshold below. We’re all on the same level of pay, unless you’re the star like Kerry Ellis, so there’s no hierarchy anymore, you can’t work your way up. It’s celebrity or non-celebrity.”

Kerry Ellis has just taken over Jodie in the role of Nancy. Does the company think Kerry is better than Jodie? “Yes. Definitely” Myra asserts without hesitating. “She’s very good; she’s absolutely on the ball, consistent. Wonderful voice, lovely person. There’s no fuss, she just gets on with it.” You can’t help but wonder what this says about Prenger.

Despite her age, Myra still cycles the five miles to London and back every evening, explaining: “After being in the theatre all night I like the fresh air”. And what’s next? “No idea!” she laughs. With her passion, enthusiasm and clear talent, it seems she won’t be giving up the stage any time soon.

Myra Sands can currently be seen in Oliver! which is playing at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, booking until 26 February 2011.

Ellie Wason TheatreFix Guest Editor

The story is set a decade after the original, with the Phantom now running an entertainment venue called Phantasm across the Atlantic in Coney Island. Despite the time gone by, the Phantom stays true to the musical’s name and has never stopped loving Christine. He lures her over, under a false identity, from her home in Paris to sing at his attraction. She arrives months later with her husband Raoul and son Gustave – much to the annoyance of her old friend Meg Giry who is the current star there. But when the true identity of Christine’s employer is revealed, sparks fly once again between the pair. Sensing the heat of the competition, Raoul attempts to pull himself together as he sees Christine rapidly slipping away from him. The two men fight for her affection which restores the familiar love triangle, this time complicated further by the ill-fated addition of Meg, who is desperate for the Phantom’s attention.

The staging of the production was striking and pitched perfectly, particularly the set. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s avant-garde nature was displayed through the use of innovative 3D projections, which was an original and welcome addition.

Lloyd Webber’s score was equally spectacular with more than one show-stopping number, as well as repeated motifs which became familiarly enjoyable to listen out for. He included the perfect drop of Phantom music that many know and love – even the Phantom’s famous organ chord made the odd appearance, before the music progressed in a completely different direction. The orchestration was powerful and moving. The score consisted of a blend of light opera, rock (with tones of Starlight Express) and lighter, frilly vaudeville songs. It was challenging enough to showcase the extraordinary voice of Sierra Boggess (Christine), who left the audience reeling after her rendition of the title song.

Whilst the music wowed the crowd, it still wasn’t strong enough to carry forward a thin plot that was reluctant to be moved along. The story seemed too slow, especially in the first half where what happened could be described in a handful of words. There were certainly touching moments, but these occasionally verged on clichéd attempts to stir emotion. The rare lighter moments were a necessary contrast to the majority of the production, which was filled with unspoken passion and underlying tension (so not a bundle of laughs). The addition of the Phantom’s three freakish henchmen – Fleck, Squelch and Gangle – didn’t really fit in; what they added could have easily been squeezed into one character.

It was interesting how the characters were portrayed very differently to how the audience knew them from the prequel; an uneasy, aggressive Raoul was presented, whilst the Phantom was noticeably more serene, perhaps to justify Christine’s temptation away from her marriage. All the lead cast gave strong, believable performances, earning a nearly full standing ovation from the audience.

Although I’m not generally a supporter of sung-through musicals, this one bent my ear through its general accessibility of the music. It may not have what the first Phantom has (who can help comparing them), and I don’t believe it will have anywhere near the same success, but on the whole it was an entertaining production which, with the odd tweak here and there, could enjoy success in its own right.

Love Never Dies is currently playing at the Adelphi Theatre and is booking until 23 October 2010.

Ellie Wason TheatreFix Guest Editor

When I went to the press night of the play Little Gem I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I was surprised about two things. The first was the Bush theatre – although I knew it was small I didn’t realise just how tucked away it is. I can only compare it to the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs or a smaller version of the Menier Chocolate Factory; the lovely little Bush theatre only has 81 seats and no set seating plan. The second reason why I was surprised was that it wasn’t the kind of play I was expecting; it comprised of intertwining monologues where the three female actors took it in turns to take the spotlight and talk to the audience. I thought this format might be a little laboured as sometimes when characters aren’t interacting the information seems forced, but all this was soon forgotten and their animated delivery allowed me to envisage the action they were describing.

The play has three branches, one for each of the three generations of Dublin women: typically confident teenager Amber (Sarah Greene), her worried and obsessive mother Lorraine (Amelia Crowley), and adventurous Nanny Kay (Anita Reeves). They tell of their ups and downs over the course of a year, of their own trials and tribulations and of how each others’ lives affect theirs. Their problems seem pretty ‘every day’ to begin with; Amber’s constantly suffering from a hangover, Lorraine’s behaviour becomes obsessive and she’s referred to a “head doctor”, whilst Nanny Kay is finding it hard since her husband had a stroke, mainly because she hasn’t had sex for over a year and she’s “dying for me bit”. However things take a more serious turn when Amber falls pregnant with her not-quite-good-enough boyfriend, and although things seem to turn out for the best, the low points leave a bitter-sweet taste.

The staging was simple, with just three chairs and no movement, and brief projections onto the blank set between scenes. These felt unnecessary, as although an attempt had been made to add extra media, it didn’t add anything and the images didn’t always seem directly relevant.

Even though the actors never interacted or even looked at one another, there was a strange chemistry between them as they talked about their family and their experiences from different view points. The huge benefit of a small theatre, which I feel this play would only work in, was that the intimacy of the acting meant subtleties, such as the flashes of pain behind Nanny Kay’s eyes, reached the audience. The only problem with the actors was that the strength of the Irish accents, especially Amber’s, was occasionally overpowering.

On the whole the play worked well because there was a character for every age and stage of life to relate to, whilst each woman was equally accessible to empathise with. The script is intelligently written by first-time writer Elaine Murphy, and the sudden changes of tone from the comic highs to the lump-throat lows flow seamlessly. It managed to memorably highlight the way different generations view the separation of and relationship between sex and love, and also, importantly, how you’re never too old to buy a vibrator!

I wouldn’t have instantly thought of seeing a play like Little Gem or going to a theatre like the Bush, and I think it’s a shame how behind the high-profile shows of the glamorous West End ones like this are often forgotten about. I would highly recommend going to see plays that are different or out of your comfort zone, because you might discover little gems like this one…

Little Gem is playing at the Bush Theatre until 22 May. To book tickets visit www.bushtheatre.co.uk

Ellie Wason TheatreFix Guest Editor