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Youth Theatre Reviews |
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MetropolisDreamarts Review by Philip Fisher (2005) Long ago, in the days of silent movies, Metropolis was a science fiction film created by Fritz Lang. In the days of DVD, such cult offerings have come back into fashion. Now have converted this into what they call a "New Urban Musical". Dreamarts exists to allow young people to participate in Youth Arts with the aim of allowing for more than just the cream to participate in major productions on professional stages. Its formula will inevitably produce uneven results as it is there to be inclusive. Overall, the company's productions are always highly enjoyable and make the most of the talent available. Metropolis is the usual mix of eclectic music, generally with an underlying soul influence, absolutely outstanding choreography and a storyline which mixes humour with pathos and a deeply serious message. In theory, Metropolis is "the home of the lost, the land of opportunities and the city of dreams". To the innocent onlooker, it seems far more like a totalitarian state that could have been created by George Orwell. It is clearly intended, in this production, as a metaphor for London or New York today, with its simple cardboard cut-out set designed by a team of five. Part of the charm of this company is that almost every element of their work is the result of the work of massive teams so that the plot was devised by no fewer than nine contributors and the performance script expands this team to eleven. The subject of the musical is the difficulties suffered by immigrants and asylum seekers in a big city. A mother played by the pick of the actresses, Ngozi Anyaora, and her son, Luke Wilson who like so many of this company sings better than he acts, have escaped a civil war and landed up in the city of dreams. They go through the trials and tribulations faced by so many in the United Kingdom at the moment, as first they are interrogated and then placed in a grimy hostel managed by a dodgy landlord, the really talented comic actor David Mumeni. The boy faces prejudice at school while his mother inevitably finds employment in that backstop for so many illegal workers, office cleaning. In a slightly far-fetched plot twist, the immigrant mother is accused of murdering a leader of the rather sinister Suits. This is the result of a cover up perpetrated by Amanda Carty as a sinister suit furthering her own goals and simultaneously discredit asylum seekers. It could so easily happen here. After a typically farcical court scene that stretches credibility a little too far, a cheerfully happy ending ensues. In addition to Mumeni, Rita Williams shows a superb comic touch as pushy TV presenter, Donna Wanna while the finest voice of the night is contributed by Feliciana Robles, who may well have a career ahead of her as a soul singer if she chooses to pursue it. As a general rule, this team is stronger on song and dance than acting an,d in particular, the choreography is of a consistently high standard. That is not to denigrate the best of the acting, or music which contains a couple of really hummable songs and a wide variety from salsa and soul to hip hop and rap.
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