Nothing Frozen About This Snow Queen!

Photographer Charlie Flint.

🍷🍷🍷🍷 – 4 out of 5 glasses of Hot Mead! (with NO Ice cubes)

In these days of Pantomime – a glorious British institution – (Oh yes it is!) theatres without massive star-attracting budgets can struggle. Many theatres in the UK depend completely on the revenue from their Christmas show to survive.

So The Theatre At The Tabard’s approach to their crucial Christmas productions has been to craft traditional, child-friendly offerings. And they do them very well! Last year was a well-received production of ‘The Secret Garden’ and E Nesbit’s ‘Five Children and It’ got an outing the year before. This year, the same in-house creative team brings to the stage their engaging take on Hans Christian Andersen’s 1844 fairy tale story of friendship, love, and resilience, ‘The Snow Queen.’

And once again the Tabard have created festive magic!

We learn that an evil troll creates a powerful mirror that distorts reality, making the good appear ugly and the bad seem worse. (Sounds a bit like certain areas of current politics!) But the mirror shatters, spreading shards across the world. Get a grain in your eye, and you will see only the worst of the world and people. Should one lodge in your heart, it will make you cold, cruel and indifferent to the suffering of others. (Yep. Still certain current politics perhaps!)

But of course, it’s a charming story. And although 180 years old it still feels fresh and relevant.

We join the kind and empathic Gerda (played by Rosie Kahlon, who brilliantly channeled the energy of my 12 year old niece! ) and bubbly Kai. (Cameron Chalmers) They are devoted, platonic “best friends forever”. She teaches him to skate, they play with each other and spinning tops and sing carols to the red roses they grow. Kai’s kind Grandma (Maeve Elmore) sits knitting by the fire, bestowing words of wisdom to the inseparable duo. But then a splinter of the magic mirror lodges in Kai’s heart. Overnight, the kindly child turns into a mean teen.

The Snow Queen (a cooly dangerous Freya Crompton) has Kai and transports him to her icy kingdom to complete the task of making him her uncaring acolyte. But kindly Gerda decides she will try and find her best friend. But will she? And can she save him?

Well, you can probably guess the answer, but along the way she has to deal with witches, princesses, thieves and vagabonds. It’s essentially a series of short stories, but has some lively and lovely moments. Director Simon Riley never lets the pace slip, and special mention must go to the technical crew for set and lights and Nick Gilbert who designed the sound and has produced some lovely incidental music.

The puppetry, designed by Jen Marcus is excellent too, with a talking crow and a full-size reindeer!

The term ‘frozen’ comes up quite a lot, and you can see where Walt Disney et al get their inspiration from.

But most importantly and basically, at its heart, this is a show about kindness and friendship. And what more could anyone want from a Christmas production. Slide along to the Theatre at The Tabard for ‘The Snow Queen’ It will chill the coldest heart.

The Snow Queen

Calling Hammersmith and Fulham Artists…

As we know, being an artist can often be a lonely life. So it was great to be invited to the Irish Cultural Centre for a networking event for all #artists based in #Hammersmith and Fulham.

There was a free glass of wine and lots of good will! We’re going to start a West London Artists page on here, listing talents and events, etc.

Contact Nick for details if you’re a West London artist.

Sing West for the true Christmas Spirit!

Now I’m not an expert on Choirs but I think I do know a great night out when I happen upon it. Especially a happening Upon A Winters Night. And this is a great Winters night out. And not just because traditionally everyone ends up in the Pub!

There are numerous choirs around the country – it doesn’t seem fair to call them ‘vanity’ choirs – because the members pay to be part of the Choir. People pay for individual singing lessons or to join gyms or take Zumba classes, but none of these activities ‘share the love’ or give pleasure like a brilliant choir can. In some cases, as with amateur theatre, the passion outweighs the talent, but this usually makes for a more enjoyable experience. You know the performers do it for the love, not the profit.

And so it proved tonight. A surprisingly short performance (but look… it’s FREE!) included audience participation for Jingle Bells and Hark The Herald Angels Sing and was a mix of classical and contemporary songs.

But mainly and perhaps crucially, with what is happening around the world at the moment, an hour on a Monday night in a small church in West London encapsulated, celebrated and reminded me of all that is essential about goodwill to all men and women. I was, on occasion, nearly moved to tears by the event. There are lovely people in the world. And this gig reminded me of that.

And then we all went to the Pub!

Help! Best Winston Churchill Charity Fundraiser?

So, hive mind, thanks to the generosity of all concerned, we will show our acclaimed Edinburgh Festival Fringe show ‘Winston and David’ on Zoom on Sunday 1st December, at 3pm to mark the 150th Birthday of Winston Churchill. (The Churchill Arms, Kensington should stream it! Lol!)

The tickets will be free, but because it is a fundraiser do you think ‘Buy me a Coffee’, KO-FI, or another platform would be best to help raise funds for our charity? Whaddyathink? Thanks in advance.

A Christmas Carol!

Our Guy!

Sad I can’t make it, but our tour starts tonight in Nottingham! Guy Masterson’s fab performance of Dickens’ festive favourite. Adapted & directed by … er me! Nick Hennegan. Original Music by Robb Williams. THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS TREAT! Bless us all, every one! x
★★★★★ Bath Chronicle
★★★★★ Bristol Post
★★★★★ (BBC Radio) http://www.TheChristmasCarol.co.uk

They’re Killing it at The Tabard Theatre!

The Business of Murder, by Richard Harris.

Theatre at The Tabard, The Tabard Pub, Bath Road, Chiswick, London W4.

🍷🍷🍷🍷 🥃  4 out of 5 Wines. A small vodka. And a large Whiskey!

They’re killing it at the Tabard Theatre – and it’s easy to see why with this latest offering from writing legend Richard Harris.

I’m personally not a great fan of murder mysteries. I’ve had numerous friends perform in Agatha Christie’s The Mouse Trap in the West End – and I’ve still never seen it. But this offering is more than a simple whodunnit. Because for most of the play, you are not sure what’s been dun! Unlike most in this genre, it cleverly does NOT start with a murder we have to solve. But a series of events set in a first-floor flat in London sometime in the early 1980’s. With three apparently unconnected strangers. But we find out, as things develop, they are all involved in The Business of Murder! Writer Richard describes the piece as a “WhyDunnit rather than a WhoDunnit…” and he’s right!

It’s a clever thriller dripping in quality. I had no previous knowledge of the play, but once again the tiny Theatre At The Tabard are punching above their weight. The set looks more West End than Fringe! As do the technical effects. And the cast, award-winning professionals, are all perfect too. From (ex-Minder) Garry Webster’s, seen-it-all copper, Hallet, through Charlotte Hunter’s creatively alluring prim writer, Dee, through to Miles Gallant’s pedantic but charming flat owner, Stone, none of them put a creative foot wrong and give complete, solid performances.

And Nick Bromley’s direction is assured and detailed too. From little touches like the fourth wall mirror, to Stone’s constant buttoning and unbuttoning of his jacket, Bromley ensures the pace never falters and we are drawn into their world.

If there’s a slight niggle, the second act felt a little bit overlong, but it’s just a niggle. This is theatre of the highest quality in all its elements. I can completely see why Richard Harris and The Business of Murder ran for years in the West End.

Kill for a ticket! You know it makes good Business sense!

Nick Hennegan.

The Business of Murder continues until 23 November. 

Standard price tickets cost £23.50/£19.50 concessions. Final 2 weeks £25.50/£21.50 concessions. Running Time Approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes, including a 15 minute interval.

Coming up at the Tabard 

Theatre at the Tabard is at 2 Bath Road, Chiswick (W4 1LW).