INTERMISSIONS CONCERT 3***

 

By Cal

Link: https://page.inplayer.com/Intermissions/

Available until: 1^st September 2020

We call this series a series of concerts, but to me, it’s more reminiscent of a TV series with all the latest news in musical theatre. Everything from the very professional credits (with their delightful hint of irony), the regular features, the ‘here’s an interview I made earlier’ moments to the live interviews and performances. And I think it’s absolutely brilliant.

We all love our concerts and performances, but our interest extends beyond just listening to people sing songs or watching a story’s being enacted onstage. This series has offered a wonderful opportunity for us to get to know the performers as individuals with a life beyond the stage.

Alice Fearn is the ideal host – very glamorous, but also genuinely warm, sympathetic and spontaneous. She also has a lot more knowledge of the subject of her shows than many presenters and is genuinely interested in hearing what people say. This week, her performances included a gorgeous performance of People by Barbra Streisand and another stunning duet with the incredible Emma Lindars.

We heard about Soophia Foroughi, since the (we really hope) temporary closure of The Prince of Egypt, has been making her own gorgeous and very original earrings. Julie Atherton, a very experienced performer and director, has been painting. She always enjoyed art, but A Level art put her off and even some of her friends had no idea how good she was. I really do empathise with that! Nothing kills your interest in a subject quite like an A Level.

Recent graduate Madeleine Grace is another very exciting prospect and Fearn’s This or That game worked particularly well with her as she enjoyed it so much. Her performance of I’ll Always Remember Us This Way was not only very well-sung but thrillingly acted. I’d never thought of Lady Gaga as a candidate for a jukebox musical (not that I’m a fan in general – I’d rather hear original music), but I would say she has definite possibilities.

Rob Houchen, like Fearn’s other musical theatre guests, shared his story of the moment he found out the theatres were closing. Most of Fearn’s guests have told their lockdown story, but each one is different and so personal. Houchen sang Believe by Cher with a stunning head voice and a very different vibe from when I saw him in Eugenius earlier in lockdown. I also discovered I’d been mispronouncing his surname. It’s not the first time I’ve made such a discovery in Intermissions and it’s yet another reason to be grateful for the series. It’s probably saved me a lot of embarrassment!

Another interviewee was Amy Hart, who became famous when she appeared in Love Island. She used the platform she gained from the show to tell her fans about the West End musicals and she’s become respected by both performers and fans, welcoming her into the theatre world. She’s been working with What’s On Stage and making appearances at premieres. I actually didn’t realise there were people on Love Island who had a brain. This episode featured Rachel Tucker, who appeared in the BBC’s I’d Do Anything, and reached the semi-finals. It’s great to see a positive image of reality TV for a change and how it can help people rather than humiliating them.

There were also very touching messages for the fans from musical stars Lucie Jones, Luke Bayer, Mazz Murray and Tarrin Calendar. I tend to avoid stage doors because I don’t expect performers to want to talk to me, especially not when they’ve been working so hard and are probably exhausted. They owe us nothing when they’ve already given so much, yet the fact these performers, and I’m beginning to realise others too, do genuinely care about the fans.

There was one disappointment, though. I feel terrible saying this, but when I realised this episode was focused on Pride Week, I thought there would be a focus on the LGBTQIAPD community. Instead, the focus was on pop icons. Of course, the concert featured a song by Lady Gaga, who is bisexual, and it’s possible all the performers are allies. But I was a little bit sad that a show that was dedicated to Pride had very little about what makes Pride important to me. Though of course, there shouldn’t be any rules about what Pride means and how it’s represented so I do feel it’s wrong of me to be disappointed.

Also, in a series that stars musical theatre actors and is produced primarily for musical theatre fans, it was also surprising that there wasn’t, to my knowledge, a single musical theatre song (though some might have featured in juke box musicals). The songs were all great and suited the singers and I don’t want to be snobby, but it would have been nice to hear more musical theatre.

But I was very glad that the chosen charity of the week was Stonewall – you can still visit their site and donate to them, even though this episode is several weeks old – and considering that pianist Nick Barstow and Rob Houchen had their legs on display, my own sexuality was never far from my mind.