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Preview by Paul Nelson
THE Wimbledon Studio Theatre, a hothouse and nursery for tender seedlings
in the theatre, has, under the direction of its Head of Development, Jonathan
Kennedy, made a significant move.
It is to present its very first in-house production for one week from February
18 to February 22.
During that week Ports of Call, a musical tour of the respectable and
sometimes seedy late-night bars of Europe in the last century, will feature
a mix of songs written by the likes of Abba, Brecht, Brel, Sondheim and Weill.
The evening will encompass the well-known as well as the recherché
material of these writers, be they lyricists or musicians.
Some of the material, I am told, really is rarely heard, and the show combines
the nitty-gritty side of life as well as its sometime darkly humorous aspects.
It is an evening of songs in various languages. The songs will be performed
in German, French and English, with their respective musical styles. I personally
think I can map out the event in advance.
That is not to say that I will not enjoy this stroll through the past that
I have long tried to forget. There really is something magnetic about nostalgia,
and I know the old joke that it ain't what it used to be. However, it still
does revive so many fragments of memory that basically we all like to wallow
in it.
As to the present show, following their sell-out run of 'Brecht - A Foreign
Affair' a couple of years ago, Gertrude Thoma and Nicholas Bloomfield return
to the Studio joined by William Ludwig. The show is directed by Boris Boskovic.
Boskovic deserves a bit of attention. He is a Croatian actor/director and
has been working in various London theatre spots for the past eleven years,
including The Rosemary Branch, The Gate and the Royal Court. His work has
previously been seen at The Studio.
Gertrude Thoma has trudged through the mill from The Rocky Horror Show to
Hamlet - I ask you!
William Ludwig is a singer and actor from Germany and Nicholas Bloomfield
is a native Londoner, a composer, MD and founder member of The Gloria Theatre
Company.
Ports of Call. A Wimbledon Studio Production. With Gertrude Thoma, William
Ludwig and Nicholas Bloomfield.
