Tuesday, 20 October 2009

ANNIE GET YOUR GUN WOWS LONDON'S THEATRE LAND

It is always somehow a surprise that one of Irving Berlin’s greatest hits – “There’s No Business Like Show Business” – derives from this Wild West tale of guns and romance, but as Richard Jones’s hugely enjoyable revisionist production at the Young Vic points out, this is very much a show about showbiz. At its heart is the tale of sharp-shooting Annie Oakley and her volatile affair with her rival Frank Butler, but around them spin agitated managers, conspiring to maximise box-office no matter what it takes. Jones, updating the action to the 1940s, takes packaging as a theme: the whole show, he reminds us, turns on popular imagery of the old Wild West: cowboys, Indians and bad, bad men. FULL STORY

2 comments:

Anne Lyken-Garner said...

What a cool blog you have here. I hadn't realised that we had so much in common and live not too far from each other. I'm sure we'll bump into each other at some point.

Gary Dobbs/Jack Martin said...

Well what a coincidence Anne - I've worked with you several times - casualty, Gavin and Stacey.