Sondheim, Revisited

is a celebration of the musical works of Stephen Sondheim, one of the foremost composers of the 20th century. Famous as a lyricist for his work with Jule Styne and Leonard Bernstein and also as the composer of “Company”, “Sweeney Todd” and “Into The Woods”, his innovative, evocative music and witty, insightful lyrics have become some of the most well-known and revered in Musical Theatre.

Join Gin Palace Productions in a revue of songs you know, songs you don’t know and songs performed in a way that you perhaps weren’t expecting!

Practically Perfect

“They cut out my voice – how do you think I felt?!”

“Practically Perfect!” takes a light-hearted and affectionate look at the many aspects of Julie Andrews’ career and personal life, exploring the contrast between the public face of this legendary musical star and the intensely private family woman. Filled with comedy, drama and some of the best known songs from “Mary Poppins”, “The Sound of Music” and many more of her musical and film successes, the play pays tribute to her phenomenal career up until 1997 when, tragically, a controversial surgical procedure deprived her of her four-octave voice.

A Gin Palace Production

Blighty, Broadway & Beyond

Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence were one of the most successful creative partnerships throughout the 30s and 40s. He was the epitome of the witty and erudite English gent and she was a shining and talented actress, accomplished in both comedy and drama.

Of course they're both dead now. And are currently languishing in Purgatory. God can't decide whether they deserve Heaven or Hell so it's up to the audience to vote and tell them where they're going (after they've been entertained by them both of course - they really do have to sing for their supper!)

With sparkling wit, laugh out loud comedy and some of the most beautiful songs of the twentieth century, spend some time with us learning about Noel and Gertie: their laughs, their lives, and their loves in "Blighty, Broadway and Beyond!".

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Some fantastic reviews from over the years

2023 - Brighton

‘All that Talent! Just amazing.’

Loved every minute.’

‘A wonderful evening of performances!’

2022

We loved your show!

Always a fabulous evening when Gin Palace puts on a show!

edinburgh fringe festival

2022

A wonderful mix of beautifully sung melodies, fun and history.

2019

5 Stars! “Entertaining, stylish, witty and moving” -Southside Advertiser

5 Stars! “Delightful hour…beautifully sung and acted” Daily Business Magazine

@DoctorWhoFan79 - @ginpalaceprods expertly bring Noel & Gert to life…an absolute delight!

@Vickyvsky - It was a treat! …superbly acted, fun & entertaining!

Spiffing sassy little show!

To paraphrase Coward: “I’ve been to a marvellous Fringe show .. and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more!”

https://www.edinburghguide.com/festival/2019/edinburghfringe/blightybroadwayandbeyondgreensideatinfirmarystreetreview-20096

“Blighty, Broadway and Beyond” is quite simply a highly entertaining and relaxing way to spend an hour

http://www.southsideadvertiser.biz/EF19-Blighty-Broadway-and-Beyond.htm

Recommended to all those interested in the history of actors, theatre, film and Hollywood. If you love to be up-close to the performers this is for you

https://magazine.dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2019/08/13/delightful-hour-of-coward-and-gerts-style-and-singing-prowess/

2016

Practically Perfect -‘It was both celebration and hymn’. Mike Aiken Brighton Reviewer The Rialto

‘Practically Perfect – The Life & Lungs of Julie Andrews’. Rialto Theatre, Brighton, 2016

Review by Mike Aiken, Brighton

Julie Andrews Naked

‘Shock horror! Poppins on Poppers sings “my favourite things” naked on stage!’

Of course, that’s the headline you’ve never seen.

Julie Andrews was the pink-faced goody-goody star of shows on screen and stage like Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, Sound of Music and Boyfriend. It was the 60s but you didn’t catch Julie in a drug-fuelled clinch with Mick Jagger or doing meditations with the Maharaji. So, what do we know about the private woman behind the glitz?  This new production - meticulously researched, written, and performed by Sam Nixon and Alasdair Carson-Sheard – takes us backstage.

We start at the end, in the therapy room. Two chairs, a white table, a parquet floor. Julie Andrews – the famous four-octave singer now in middle age - had a cist on her vocal chords. Singers are those unique musicians with an instrument half way down their throat. She went for surgery and they cut out her voice.  She never sang again.

We go back to her childhood. Julie on the stage at 7 years old in the shadow of World War Two. Her mother and stepfather were alcoholics.

‘I just wanted to make people happy.’

She just kept on singing. At 18 she was on Broadway and then the Palladium. She began to singwith more famous drunks: from Rex Harrison to Richard Burton. But she got married to the boy next door, bought a cottage and had a daughter.

It’s more than a play. It’s not quite a musical. It’s animated biography.

Sam Nixon plays, and sometimes is, Julie Andrews. The hair is perfect. Sam sings Julie and the audience sing along. ‘Wouldn’t it be lovely, lovely?’ Alasdair plays the rest – the therapist, the husband, Audrey Hepburn, a US film director, a nun in drag. A quick change: a hat, a dress, a jacket, a shift of body weight and he acts an entire cast. The costume change is draped around the stage. ‘Every task you undertake becomes a piece of cake!’ Raise the spotlight and there’s a star on the proscenium. Lower the lights and it’s naked tragedy.

‘It’s too sentimental’ rails a critic.

Dancing nuns sing a parody of cheesy songs. The audience laughs. Family films, family shows. That all ended by the 70s.

We’re back in therapy. The marriage didn’t work, the gap grew too big, their child was 4. ‘You’re telling me I’m looking for a father figure? Oh come on!’ But she found him. He was Blake - a Pink Panther. They adopted children from Vietnam.

We’re near the end. It was Dame Julie Andrews. But Blake died of fatigue. Her children got into drugs. Her voice was ripped out. What is a singer who cannot sing? ‘All I want is a roomsomewhere, far away from the cold night air.’ The curtain call is a song, the audience joined in. It was raucous with smiles. We all remembered perfectly the lines that Julie sang. It was both celebration and hymn.

Reviewed by Mike Aiken, Brighton.

Practically Perfect – The Life & Lungs of Julie Andrews, Rialto Theatre, Brighton (20 – 23 January 2016). Cast: Sam Nixon (Julie Andrews); Alasdair Carson-Sheard (Therapist and various roles); Pamela Holmes (Stage manager and costumes); Simon Nixon and Lucy Myers (Sound and Light). Written and directed by Sam Nixon and Alasdair Carson-Sheard. Ginpalace Productions.

A new exclusive interview…

Ahead of their sell-out performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Sam and Al took some time out to answer the questions coming in from Twitter

What is your first memory of Noel Coward and what draws you to him?

Al: My first memory was not actually of Noel Coward but of Daniel Massey playing Noel Coward in a film called "Star!" about Gertrude Lawrence. I thought "Who's this camp old Mary?!" And I wanted to know more about the real Coward so of course started devouring as many of his plays as possible. He can be seen as a little bit cynical, sarcastic and superficial but his sense of comedy is wonderful and I think he writes incredibly well about the things that all of us feel: love, happiness, grief and longing. And of course, there's that wonderful sense of upper class camp!

What is you first memory of Gertrude Lawrence and what draws you to her?

Sam: I first discovered Gertrude Lawrence years ago whilst involved in a music hall show for the Players in Hurst. I was researching Ella Shields and Gertie’s name came up as someone who often dressed as a man on stage. After that Alasdair introduced me to the film Star! When researching Julie Andrews and I realised just what an incredible woman she was. She came from nowhere, rose very high, lost everything and bounced back again. She was so full of energy and incredibly talented. Everyone she met fell a little bit in love with her. I think I did too.

What inspired you to write about Noel and Gertrude and why have you set it in purgatory?

Al: I really wanted to look at something a bit earlier than my two previous plays and explore the friendship between Coward and Lawrence. They were a brilliant pair of performers and their friendship lasted a lifetime and they were so supportive of each other's work. They were a really talented pair and obviously incredibly fond of each other. It’s set in Purgatory because I really wanted them to be somewhere at the same time to be able to look back on their lives and I really liked the idea that God can't quite decide where to put them so they’ve been dumped in Purgatory after their deaths just to get rid of them for a bit!

. . . come back later this week for more Q&A

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