Binkie Beaumont Centenary
August 28, 2008 by WestEndTheatre
Filed under News
He’s the most famous West End theatre producer you’ve probably never heard of. For over 30 years he dominated what audiences would enjoy in the West End, at one point producing half of the city’s stage shows. This year is the centenary of the birth of Binkie Beaumonth (1908 – 1973). Please find info links below. Richard Huggett’s books would not win any great biography prizes but is full of camp anecdotes and a rich source of information about the great man and so proves entertaining and invaluable.
LINKS:
The Theatre Archive Blog – Binkie Beaumont
Obituary: Vivienne Byerley, Independent, The (London), Apr 6, 1995 by Kitty Black
BOOKS:
Binkie Beaumont: Eminence Grise of the West End Theatre by Richard Huggett (Author)
IMAGES:
National Portrait Gallery – by by Angus McBean
Piaf Review
August 24, 2008 by WestEndTheatre
Filed under Reviews
I was really looking forward to seeing this sold-out show – and for the most part I wasn’t disappointed. But I didn’t leave the Donmar feeling as elated as I thought I would.
It’s no fault of this production that it has to follow the superb film La Vie En Rose, which kind of renders Pam Gems’ play slightly redundant. And Elena Roger has the physical presence (her slight build perfect for Piaf) and awe-inspiring voice to carry it off. But it was often hard to understand her heavy Argentinean accent, and this, combined with nearly 50% of the show consisting of Piaf’s wonderful songs sung in French, leaves a slim percentage of the production in English.
I know I risk sounding like a luddite for voicing my opinion about the songs being sung in French, but another joy of the film was being able to appreciate the subtitled lyrics.
Overall I love Elena – and long may she remain in London to take on equally challenging parts – but Gems’ patchy play, and a slightly muddled production, left me a little disappointed.
