'Sweet Charity'

English Theatre, Frankfurt am Main

Running until 17 February 2013

Tickets from 29 Euros, various concessions

'Sweet Charity' is a real feel-good musical with laugh-out-loud scenes aplenty. This slick production recreates the swinging dance halls of sixties New York. We follow the fortunes of happy-go-lucky dance hostess Charity Hope Valentine.

Kate Millest dazzles in the role, like a little whirling fireball she sings, quips and flips through the piece. Cast amongst an ensemble of long-legged and somewhat jaded dance hall vixens, she stands out as a plucky little fighter who never gives up hope of finding a better life.

Mostly, this involves finding the man of her dreams to whisk her away into happily married life. Unfortunately, she often ends up with the wrong type of guy.

Ian Virgo plays each of Charity's consecutive boyfriends: hipster Charlie, pony-tailed movie star Vittorio Vidal and geeky Oscar Lindquist. As the stars of the show Virgo and Millest dominate the stage with their dynamic characters and delight with their numerous one-on-one scenes.

The highlight for this reviewer was when Charity and Vittorio banter and flirt in his penthouse bedroom as Vittorio's outrageous Italian accent only heightens the pathos when he repeats his famous movie line 'Without love, life has no meaning.' For her part, Charity has her own motto when people ask her why she is a dance hall hostess: 'fickle finger of fate' and the two of them fool around with this seductive little refrain. Her verbal armoury also includes 'Up Yours!' for any wiseguy punter who crosses her path. The scene reaches farcical proportions when Vittorio's angry mistress, Ursula, barges into the room and Charity is bundled into the closet.

The supporting cast are excellent and dance, rock and sing their way through numbers such as 'Hey, Big Spender' with aplomb.

Indeed, the musical lives up to the reputation of the theatre which has also put on hit productions of 'The Full Monty', 'Hair' and 'The Who's Tommy' (all by the same director as 'Sweet Charity' - Ryan McBryde). In some ways, such professional Broadway-like shows would be deserving of a bigger theatre. A packed house night after night, may suggest the need to expand above the 300-seat capacity. If the theatre's current success continues, this will become a necessity. Then the live band would not have to be hidden out of sight as is the norm.

But then again, who would want to miss an intimate evening of fun and games with Sweet Charity?

'Breaking the Code' at The English Theatre in Frankfurt

You probably haven't heard of Alan Turing. His name has not made it into the bastion of scientific household names such as Newton or Einstein. Never mind the fact that his genius was of equal stature to these great men. Never mind the fact that he conceived modern computers and artificial intelligence in the 1930s. Never mind the fact that without him the Allies may very well have lost the Second World War. All these great feats were buried by the British Establishment for the fact that he was a homosexual.

The play 'Breaking the Code' (1986) by Hugh Whitemore is a stunningly poignant portrayal of the personal and professional life of Alan Turing. Based on the critically acclaimed biography (1983) by Andrew Hodges, the play seamlessly manages to combine historical accuracy with drama, humour and even lofty mathematical thinking.

In the centenary year of Turing's birth, the English Theatre in Frankfurt am Main is staging a magnificent production of the piece running until 27 October.

The panache and charisma with which Stephen Fewell plays Turing infuses the whole play with bittersweet emotion. Whether portraying the schoolboy who is embarrassed by his mollycoddling mother, the professor giving a talk at his old school, or the man pursuing relations with other men, Fewell performs the character with charm and loveability. Given that he never leaves the sparse stage-set, his acting energy and stamina are crucial to the overall success of the two-hour play.

The plot jumps back and forth in time and gives the pulsating drama only more interest and intensity. In the beginning we see Turing reporting a minor burglary to police inspector Ross. With no apparent irony, Turing says that he believes the burglar is a man called 'George'. During his account, his terrible nervous tic-like stammer startles the dependable policemen who smells something fishy and starts to dig a little deeper into the case.

Later we see Turing being interviewed by the head of Bletchley Park's codebreaking unit. Dillwyn Knox is unable to follow all of Turing's avant garde thinking - he is obsessed by the question of whether a mind can exist without a body - but Knox recognizes his brilliance and hires him to help break the Nazi's impenetrable Enigma Code.

However, most of the play's action takes place around 1952 long after Turing's monumental wartime achievement. He is working at Manchester University and picking up men in the local pub on the side. When he reports the burglary to the police, he unleashes a tragic chain of events which expose the immense cruelty and hypocrisy of a society which punishes homosexuality as a crime.

As a man of great principle, Turing could no more live a lie than accept a mathematical theory he had proved to be false. When necessary, he would stammeringly admit to being a homosexual - first to a brilliant female scientist at Bletchley who declares her love for him and later, before the trial, even to his mother. Unlike other homosexuals at the time who married and had children to keep up appearances, Turing was true to himself and defied social convention.

Whilst some will see Turing as naive, this performance renders him courageous in his pursuit of truth at all costs. One thing is sure: after seeing 'Breaking the Code' the name of Alan Turing will stay with you for a very long time indeed.

(More links to be added later)

'Gaslight' at The English Theatre in Frankfurt

Seeing a good play 'live' at the theatre can be exhilarating. 'Gaslight', a tense psychological thriller, had me gripped from the start.

You see a strict husband psychologically abuse his distraught wife in a high-ceilinged dark Victorian sitting room. 'Sounds like fun!' I hear you say sarcastically. Seeing this less than a few meters away from me, I felt very uncomfortable too. The way in which Mr. Manningham reprimanded his wife for being forgetful and pale was horrific.

He accuses her of taking paintings down from the walls and hiding them when he is out. Mrs. Manningham cannot for the life of her ever remember having done such a thing. But of course, she must have hidden the paintings, because neither her husband nor the two servants have. As a result, Mr Manningham is convinced that his wife is going mad and is at little pains to carefully, if not patiently, explain this to her.

But then a jovial old detective by the name of Rough pays Mrs. Manningham a visit whilst her husband is out one night and the plot literally thickens by the minute from then on in. A dark history of murder and deception is gradually unravelled.

If you have chance, go and see this play. The acting is exemplary and the plot is magnificent in its suspense and clarity. Even after some sort of resolution at the end of the play, the utterly harrowing expression on Mrs. Manningham's face does not allow you to leave the theatre feeling relieved (see picture).

Looking forward to exploring the work of Patrick Hamilton further.