Review: Aberdeen Student Show's Seagully Blonde, a love letter to the Broch
If you have never experienced the comedic genius of this annual event, now on its 103rd performance, I could not recommend it more highly.
Every year the most talented of scriptwriters come together to mirror one hit West End show, but with a twist – it's all set within the north-east of Scotland.
This year's tale Seagully Blonde followed very closely the story of Legally Blonde. Think Ellie Woods, but born in the Broch – and whose best friend is a seagull called Boozer.
After her boyfriend, who hails from the biggest fishing family in Fraserburgh, dumps her to go to university in the Granite City, our star, whose full name is Kinkell Woods, heads off on her own adventure, turning in her hairdressing scissors to become the best lawyer the halls of Aberdeen Sheriff Court have ever seen.
It was honestly one of the best things I have seen on stage this year, and that's not just because of the two honorable mentions The Press and Journal received.
The highly intelligent wit of the script not only followed the storylines and scores of a number of popular shows, but also delivered such detailed insights and social commentary on the psyches of north-east residents. They nailed the region's particular sense of humour to a tee.
It hit all the controversial topics ranging from LEZs, bus gates, Aberdeen City Council, Union Terrace Gardens, and of course the famous rivalry between Brochers and Bloo Toonsers.
I won't give too much away because I genuinely want you to all go and enjoy it as much as I do, but just trust me when I say you won't stop smiling the whole way through.
And now on to the talent. I honestly couldn't fault one of the young actors or actresses on stage, however there are some special mentions that are definitely deserved.
Ella Silver, as our lead Kinkell Woods, was everything that character should have been and more.
Amanda Haggart, who played Grunnie Peg, had me in stitches the whole night and her Broch accent was spot on.
Meanwhile Emmah Chibesakunda, who I praised for her role in Lyric's Witches of Eastwick, was a real star in last night's performance, as she took on the role of the gobby gull.
Her comic timing and delivery was truly impeccable.
And we can't forget the boys with Finlay Keir, as Anton Deck, and Conor McGarry, as Professor Calaholmes, both delivering memorable performances.
And if I could pick one stand out moment from the show, it would be the opening of the second act, when six HMP Grampian divas delivered their own version of Chicago's famous Cell Block Tango – a moment of theatre genius.
The show is running until Saturday, and I would challenge anyone to go and not enjoy it. I would argue this is impossible. You can buy tickets, while you can, here.
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Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
West End's Hunchback of Notre Dame in row over casting a non-disabled actor as Quasimodo - but others insist: 'Didn't it used to be called acting?'
The production company putting on a show for the Hunchback of Notre Dame has faced criticism over its decision to cast a non-disabled actor as its lead. Jack Maple Productions came under fire after critics claimed that casting an actor without a physical impairment as the lead role of Quasimodo was an example of 'ableism'. Equity, the performing arts trade union, states that its policy is to 'support the casting of a deaf or disabled artist in deaf or disabled character roles,' and that 'the decision not to cast a physically disabled actor' goes against its principles. The show will be held at the Prince Edward Theatre in London's West End and the role of Quasimodo will be shared by Ben Joyce and Oliver Hewing, who is deaf and will be providing a British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation of the performance. In the original production, Quasimodo is portrayed as having a severe hunchback, along with being partially blind and described as deaf. Equity states that while 'the production explores the character's deaf identity', it claims that the character's hunchback is 'intrinsic to the story'. Natalie Amber, Chair of Equity's Deaf and Disabled Members Committee, said in a statement online: 'To highlight one facet while overlooking another erases the lived experience of people with physical impairments and is an example of ableism. 'While we welcome the inclusion of BSL interpreters, neurodivergent, and Romani performers, it is important to recognise that diversity is not a trade-off. Representation of one marginalised group does not excuse the erasure of another.' The union said that the casting of the role 'caused concern' and raised 'many questions' from some of its 50,000 performers and creative practitioners. Equity said that there must be a 'fair and accessible' audition process which is paired with 'targeted outreach to those artists who have lived experience of the specific disability, impairment, health condition or similar, being portrayed.' The union stated that 'it is aware that individuals with disabilities are involved in the production, and that BSL will be incorporated into one performance'. However, it said these facts 'side-step the real and significant issue of casting a non-physically disabled performer in the role of a physically disabled character'. When posting the statement on X, the Equity received a mixed reaction, with one person writing: 'Acting is just pretending to be someone you are not.' Another penned: 'Didn't it used to be called acting?' A third said: 'I am disabled - if you likened me to Quasimodo because of it, I would be furious.' A fourth commented: 'So disabled people can only play hunchbacks? This is the line you're going with?' Standard tickets for The Hunchback of Notre Dame are selling upwards of £30 and performances are set to take place on 17 August at 3pm and 7.30pm, with a BSL interpreted show set to be held on 24 August at 6pm. Equity says it has been having 'positive engagement' with Jack Maple Productions ahead of the opening performance, in which they have highlighted the 'structural discrimination faced by disabled artists'. Jack Maple Productions and the actors starring as Quasimodo were approached for comment by the Daily Mail. This comes after Shakespeare's The Globe Theatre was embroiled in an ableism row after a non-disabled actor was cast as Richard III who is believed to have suffered from scoliosis in January 2024. It was announced that the Olivier Award-winning actress and Artistic Director at The Globe, Michelle Terry, would play the titular role in the Globe's summer production. Richard III, Shakespeare's 'bunch-backed' scheming King describes himself as 'deformed, unfinish'd' and the decision to cast an able-bodied actress has received a torrent of backlash. Brittanie Pallet, a professionally trained disabled performer, wrote on X: 'Why is an artistic director of any theatre firing themselves to play the lead when it's not their casting or lived experience? 'The misrepresentation and misinformation causes actual daily harm to the lives of real disabled people.' She continued: 'The work we make is, in varying degrees, a reflection of our society and our beliefs about the people we share the world with. Most people's only experience of disabled life is through the stories we tell so it's bloody dangerous when we get that wrong.' The Globe issued a statement in response to the backlash and said: 'We recognise the barriers to access in our industry and to our organisation and we are working hard to address that. 'We believe the Shakespearean canon is based on a foundation of anti-literalism and therefore all artists should have the right to play all parts in, and the casting across all our work year-round is no different.'
Times
a day ago
- Times
Catherine Zeta-Jones: ‘This is a new chapter'
'T here was never any question that I was going to be in showbusiness,' says Catherine Zeta-Jones, the girl who left Wales aged nine to appear on the West End stage in Annie, who won an Oscar for her appearance as a high-kicking murderess in the film Chicago and a Tony for her turn in A Little Night Music on Broadway. We are talking over Zoom, Zeta-Jones lavishly glamorous in a vintage YSL shirt, a gold and diamond Cartier watch, fat diamond studs in her ears, full make-up and a huge arrangement of orchids as a backdrop. But the razzle-dazzle is all part of the performance — because then she smiles and lifts up her leg to show me her off-duty white fluffy slippers (she has been dancing since she was four and remains impressively limber). 'I am actually in my sweatpants,' she says. 'I've been on set since 6am.' Now 55, Zeta-Jones is enjoying a professional renaissance. 'It's a new chapter. It's what I have been craving. Variety.' Her new projects are certainly varied. She is currently in Bilbao making the Amazon series Kill Jackie, in which she portrays a former cocaine kingpin turned art dealer whose past foes are out to murder her. 'I'm playing a Welsh woman, speaking in my own accent for the first time. It's really empowering, as an actor it frees me up,' she says. I ask if she's had to ramp up the Welsh; she has lived in America for the past three decades and has been married to the American actor Michael Douglas for almost 25 years. Her accent is a peculiar melange — in one sentence she pronounces 'route' three different ways. 'No, it just comes back, all the nuances,' she insists, reeling off some Welsh lingo. She is also in a forthcoming indie film with Natalie Portman called The Gallerist — 'a lovely little jewel of a part,' she says. But the most high-profile of Zeta-Jones's latest projects is Tim Burton's Wednesday, in which she plays Morticia Addams opposite Jenna Ortega as the titular goth anti-heroine, whose deadpan nihilism has become a cultural phenomenon. The first series, which came out in 2022, is the most-viewed English language show on Netflix. Zeta-Jones's appearance in that season was brief but impactful; she perfectly conjured Morticia's smouldering hauteur and otherworldly amorality. 'When Tim called me about the first season, before I even saw a script, I said, 'I'm in.' To play Morticia Addams in Tim Burton's world … It was just magic.' Burton, it seems, was equally spellbound. 'I've been a fan of hers for a long time,' he says over the phone. 'It's the Addams family, so it's usually pretty over the top, but we also wanted to give it an emotional resonance and Catherine's just very good at doing that, delivering something heightened, but also tapping into those real emotions.' There is ample opportunity for this in the second series, in which Morticia's character has been expanded. 'Tim really wanted to incorporate the family into the show,' Zeta-Jones says. So Morticia and Gomez Addams (played by Luis Guzmán) have relocated to Nevermore Academy to help plan a gala and keep an eye on their children; mysteries are multiplying, macabre beasts are being unleashed and Thing's loyalties are being tested — even when acting opposite a disembodied hand, Zeta-Jones's Morticia is compelling. As in the first series, there are plenty of devilish pranks and gory murders, but the most high stakes moments are those in which mother and daughter enter into emotional combat. 'That is the crucial dynamic,' Burton explains. In one scene Morticia and Wednesday have a night-time duel, fencing foils flashing (Zeta-Jones fans will be reminded of the famous fight scene in her breakout role opposite Antonio Banderas in The Mask of Zorro in 1998). 'I got to bend into the comedy and the emotion, the vulnerability,' Zeta-Jones says. 'Morticia is like all of us. We're strong, but we're vulnerable.' And she has nothing but praise for her co-star Ortega. 'When we first met I didn't know who she was. It took me one moment on set to work out who she was going to be. It was very clear that she was a phenomenon. I mean, forget the show, just her as a young woman, as an actress, the way she is. She has a smart head on her shoulders.' Leather Trench coat, £12,332, Gabriela Hearst. Shoes, £635, Aquazurra. White gold and diamond earrings, pendant and ring (left hand), prices on application, and ring (right hand), £8,600, De Beers. White gold and diamond necklace, £144,000, and ring (right hand), £45,500, Boucheron JAMES D KELLY Shirt, £350, Ami Paris. Coat, £1,295, Joseph. Yellow gold and diamond necklace, £25,100, and white gold and diamond ring, £3,840, Messika. Rose gold and diamond bracelet, £54,800, Chaumet. Panthère de Cartier yellow gold and diamond watch, £49,700, and yellow gold ring, £2,410, Cartier JAMES D KELLY Top, £1,215, Etro. Jacket, £2,700, and skirt, £1,590, Stella McCartney. Silver earrings, £139, and cuff, £199, Jewells. Gold and silver ring set, £200, Demarson JAMES D KELLY Ortega's trajectory, a child actress who was launched to stardom, aged 20, via her role in Wednesday, mirrors that of Zeta-Jones. She was 21 when she appeared in the The Darling Buds of May, a bucolic vision of 1950s England, in which she played the ravishing Mariette, captivating the country the moment she appeared on screen — it was one of the most-watched TV shows in the UK at the time. 'I went to sleep on a Sunday night, when I woke up, everybody knew who I was,' she says. • Wednesday series 2 review: Jenna Ortega's a gothic hoot But really, Catherine Zeta-Jones was always a star. She was raised in Mumbles, a seaside town in Swansea. Her mother was a seamstress and her father worked in a sweet factory, which he eventually bought, following a £100,000 win on the bingo, the money also helped to fund dancing lessons for Zeta-Jones. 'It feels like a very precocious thing, and I don't know where it comes from, but I'd say it out loud, 'I want to be on the stage.' I was a bit of a prodigy,' she says. She would come to London, queue for auditions and, if she was rejected, change her leotard, put her hair up in a ponytail and try again. Her hero was Elizabeth Taylor. 'To me she represented Hollywood. And there was also the Welsh connection with Richard Burton, the scandal of their love, the craziness, it was part of my upbringing. Right after I finished Annie at the Victoria Palace, she was in The Little Foxes at the same theatre. So, one matinee, I stood outside the stage door with a bunch of daffodils. I waited and I waited for her to come, and when she arrived I remember saying to her, 'Would you take your sunglasses off, so I can see your violet eyes?' And she said, 'It's way too early in the morning for that.' I didn't care, she took my daffodils and gave me a beautiful hug.' There have been extraordinary strokes of luck in Zeta-Jones's life, and not just the bingo win. When she was 17 she was in the chorus of 42nd Street, at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, and the second understudy for the lead role of Peggy Sawyer. The night she was called upon to play the part the producer, David Merrick, was in the audience and was so impressed that he gave it to her. The French director Philippe de Broca saw her in 42nd Street and cast her in his film Les 1001 Nuits. It wasn't a particularly successful film, but it was seen by the producers of The Darling Buds of May. 'There is luck, yes,' she says. 'But I always think that you create your luck. If I hadn't been prepared and ready to go, David Merrick wouldn't have promoted me.' Clockwise from top left: as Velma Kelly in Chicago; with David Jason in The Darling Buds of May; with Jenna Ortega, Isaac Ordonez and Luis Guzmán in series two of Wednesday; with Dennis Quaid in the thriller Traffic After The Darling Buds of May, Zeta-Jones became disenchanted with the relentless gorgeous girlfriend roles that she was offered. 'I don't consider myself a great beauty,' she says. 'I always thought of myself as attractive and interesting, but never a great beauty.' She moved to America to reinvent herself and got a part in the CBS mini-series Titanic. Again this wasn't hugely successful, but it was seen by Steven Spielberg, who was producing The Mask of Zorro at the time, and suggested her for the female lead. It was this role that really elevated Zeta-Jones to international stardom, and was also seen by Michael Douglas, whose head was turned by her charisma. Soon after they were both attending the Deauville Film Festival and he arranged to have a drink with her. During their meeting he said to her: 'I am going to be the father of your children.' Zeta-Jones was not initially charmed, but eventually fell for him and they were married in a million-dollar New York wedding in 2000. Their children, Dylan and Carys, were born in 2000 and 2003 respectively; the Douglases retreating from New York to Bermuda to raise their family. 'The city in the summertime is too hot, so Michael took me to the Hamptons and I was like, 'same people in shorts'. The social calendar is exhausting. So Michael took me to Bermuda because his mother was Bermudian and I thought, 'I love this.' It's an hour and a half in a plane. It's a British colony, there were pictures of the Queen when I went to the bank. So we bought a house there and stayed for ten years.' Douglas is himself Hollywood royalty — his father was Kirk Douglas, the actor who played Spartacus and who died in 2020 aged 103. 'He was a flirty little thing,' Zeta-Jones says. 'He was wonderful and he was very fond of me, as I was of him. I miss him. They [Kirk and his wife, Anne] left a philanthropic legacy that was way beyond movies.' Kirk Douglas donated most of his money — which was estimated at over $60 million — to his charitable foundation, and left nothing to Michael. But the Douglases are not doing so badly themselves. They have four homes, two in New York, one in Canada and one in Spain. 'I know it sounds very jet set, and I love to surround myself with beauty but it's not excessive, it's very comfortable,' Zeta-Jones says. Zeta-Jones with Michael Douglas and their daughter, Carys, at the Cannes Film Festival, 2023 DANIELE VENTURELLI/WIREIMAGE As a couple they like to spend time in their home in Spain, away from their public-facing lives. It can be challenging, she admits, when big stars are a couple. 'Two celebrities together make ten. It's just the way it is. There's two versions of the story and there's two make-believes,' she says. 'We don't listen to the crap that is written about us, that's the main thing. And we respect our space, we're independent spirits. We are very similar; we were born on the same day, 25 years apart. We're not afraid to be verbal, to express ourselves. I wear everything on my sleeve and so does he, which is good.' Douglas has recently announced that, now aged 80, he has no real intentions of acting again and that he just likes 'to watch my wife work'. 'Michael has definitely earned the chance to slow down,' Zeta-Jones says. 'But I never say never. He's his father's son and loves to work — let's just say, 'retirement' is a flexible concept.' They both agree, however, that he will be playing a lot of golf. Whereas one of Zeta-Jones's favourite ways to relax is homemaking, specifically organising — and stocking — her numerous wardrobes. 'I go to all the vintage stores in Paris. I buy things that you are probably never going to wear, like a gorgeous cape, just great pieces. I am loving classic Yves Saint Laurent at the moment. I get excited about evening dresses. For me, a pair of jeans is a pair of jeans. Spending £200 on a white T-shirt? Nah. But when it comes to couture, beautiful beading, the artistry … I love the theatre of fashion.' She's got Carys, 22, hooked too. 'She loves my closet. I have probably the biggest Fendi Baguette bag collection, and she's just found more in my mum's house. I've got everything from denim to pearl to sequins. Carla Fendi used to give them to me all the time, right when they were hot potatoes.' Top, £195, Me+Em. Trousers, £410, Max Mara. Yellow gold and diamond Tiffany Knot necklace, £37,200, yellow gold Elsa Peretti Bone cuff, £23,300, yellow gold Tiffany T bracelet, £7,525, and yellow gold Tiffany Knot bracelet, £8,375, Tiffany & Co JAMES D KELLY Shirt, price on application, Michael Kors. Jacket, £3,017, and trousers, £1,165, Givenchy. Bra, £260, Eres. Clash de Cartier yellow gold earrings, £4,400, and matching ring (right hand), £2,410, Trinity white, rose and yellow gold and diamond necklace, £6,950, and matching ring (left hand), £11,200, Cartier JAMES D KELLY Zeta-Jones is an intriguing mix. There is something inherently regal about her, from her self-presentation to her demeanour. She is old Hollywood. But she can also be funny, a bit naughty even — which is when her Welsh accent comes out. When I ask where she and her husband keep their Oscars, she says 'mine is in the country house in New York, Michael's is in the apartment in New York. We keep them apart, just in case, you know, there isn't like hanky-panky going on there.' She also remains driven and ambitious, but her competitive streak is now largely limited to games of Yahtzee with the family. 'I have had such a great and varied career,' she says. 'I've worked with great directors, great actors. Everything now is a bonus.' Wednesday season two, part one is streaming on Netflix now. Part two premieres on September 3 Styling Marian Nachmia. Hair Maranda Widlund. Make-up Brett Freedman. Local production Town Productions. Thanks to the Corinthia London hotel Love TV? Discover the best shows on Netflix, the best Prime Video TV shows, the best Disney+ shows , the best Apple TV+ shows, the best shows on BBC iPlayer, the best shows on Sky and Now, the best shows on ITVX, the best shows on Channel 4 streaming, the best shows on Paramount+ and our favourite hidden gem TV shows. Don't forget to check our critics' choices to watch and browse our comprehensive TV guide
Telegraph
a day ago
- Telegraph
If only Britain was as nice as Americans make it look
There is a very long tradition of American television getting Britain wrong. One of my favourite abominations is the 1972 Columbo episode Dagger Of The Mind, in which – I kid you not – the scruffy but infallible LA detective is posted to London to learn from the policing techniques of Scotland Yard. He soon stumbles upon a murder mystery centring around a West End production of Macbeth. The episode was mostly filmed on location in grey and grimy London, but then the action shifts to the country seat of the deceased Sir Roger Haversham, which has the unmistakable air of Beverly Hills – glorious sunshine and abundant orange blossom, one of those instant architectural wonders of Tudor England dropped on Hollywood in the early 20th century. Every character Columbo meets in London is either very posh, or very common. On American TV, Britons fall into only these two categories. You're either Lord Ponsington-Smythe, or 'Iggins from 'ammersmith. Fifty-three years after Dagger Of The Mind, My Oxford Year – a new film on Netflix – very much continues this depiction of Britons. It sees hotshot American student Ana de la Vega (Sofia Carson) arriving on our shores to fulfil her big dream of studying English Literature at the University of Oxford. She has barely had time to turn around under the dreaming spires before she falls for fellow student and tutor Jamie Davenport (Corey Mylchreest). There is more than a mere morsel of Meghan Markle to the character of Anna – given to tweeness, simpering, wooed by a posh chap against various grand backdrops. But despite being filmed in Oxford, the Oxford depicted in My Oxford Year is a curious place indeed. My mother's family came from there, so I've seen a lot of the place over the years. It doesn't match the version here, which is oddly clean, and with university buildings conveniently devoid of tourists. At one point, Anna visits a chip shop, which is staffed by a proper 'cor guvnor strike a light and Bob's your uncle' Cockney; unlikely enough in London, let alone the Shires. Meanwhile anyone who has seen recent Oxford Union debates on YouTube will be surprised at the lack of blue hair and swivelling eyes among Anna's fellow students. Lip service is paid in passing to wokeness – a straight white male student (boo, hiss, etc) makes a pass at Anna, who is of Colombian descent, and calls her 'Miss diversity quota' – but this is a production that has no interest in the grim or awkward aspects of university life. My Oxford Year comes hot on the heels of Lena Dunham's insufferably clichéd Too Much, which is likewise packed full of American misconceptions about Britons. The first episode's good one-line-and-out joke about confusing the concepts of an English country estate with a council estate is dragged out to terrifying lengths throughout the entire series. My personal favourite American Britain appears in the indescribable 1978 film Sextette. This tells the story of a sex bomb superstar played by Mae West, who at the time was 85 years old. She checks into a swanky 'London' hotel with her sixth husband, Sir Michael Barrington (Timothy Dalton) and becomes involved in a diplomatic crisis. To my knowledge, it is the only disco-musical sex comedy that centres around everybody lusting for an octogenarian. The taxi cab delivering West and Dalton passes through cheering crowds – second unit material filmed in London. Then it arrives at the hotel, at one side of a wide, wide boulevard where all the cars are driving on the right-hand side of the road. The sheer glamour of the occasion causes a city gent to wave his brolly and bowler hat in the air and cry 'Hooray for Hollywood!', as they do. Can we blame the Americans for getting Britain wrong? The strangest thing for a Briton visiting America for the first time is the eerie familiarity of the place; we are so steeped in American movies and TV that the surface, at least, of American life is second nature to us. They don't have anything like that going back the other way; in fact, we have a habit of reflecting their version of Britain back to them through our own media (Downton Abbey, Richard Curtis films) which provide Americans with a slightly wonky portrait of Britain. Only rarely do we try to recreate America here. There was an episode of Howard's Way that was supposedly set partly in New York. This was achieved using incredibly tight shots next to a skyscraper in what I'm fairly sure was Southampton, plus a passing yellow taxi and a wailing siren sound effect. And who can forget the United Nations Plaza in Superman IV, which is very, very obviously Milton Keynes? In this century, America's increasing cultural dominance has flattened out many of the cultural differences between us, and our national identity is seen by some as provincial, embarrassing or even shameful. So there is something refreshing about My Oxford Year, which, despite its gaffes, actually loves Britain, in the clumsy way that only a foreigner can.
