Danny Mellor in Undermined
Young actor Danny Mellor presented his self-penned hour long one-man play Undermined at Wilton’s Music Hall this week following an acclaimed run at the Edinburgh Festival.
This is a well-structured work describing a year in a young miner’s life in North Yorkshire during the tumultuous 1980’s miner’s strike. Based on true stories, it is beautifully observed, not only of the events shaping the strike through the eyes of one miner, but the various people affected.
Well directed by Ben Butcher, and using finely honed movement skills, Mellor builds vivid pictures of crowd scenes, picket lines, fights and individual characters. His depictions of the men and women of the community are amusingly and sensitively portrayed, from the familiar Northern matriarch to the swaggering gawkiness of some of the young men.
By turns he is rangy, still, drunk or exhausted, with sharp attention to detail both in physicality and voice.
The emotions elicited in us move from great amusement to shock, anger and tears.
My one note of criticism is that at the beginning of the piece, where Mellor moves into a fast spoken part, that one section was almost inaudible on the evening I saw it, not helped by its being set against energetic music. This was a pity, as it is an important part of the plot, explaining why the union chose to strike at that moment. Writing as someone who was not in the country at that time, it would have helped to be given the playwright’s perspective on this.
This is easily rectified, however, by a slightly slower delivery and greater attention to diction at that point. It does not detract from enjoyment of the piece as a whole. The main thrust of the narrative is not so much the political wrangling on the national scale, but the undermining of both the strike itself, and crucially, of the friendships and community ties. The consequences of the divisions formed then are still felt in those former mining communities to this day.
An excellent piece of theatre.
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About Fiona Jane Weston
I am Fiona-Jane Weston and as well as being a performer myself (see website), I write reviews of and features on shows, mainly on the London cabaret and theatre scene.
I have worked in theatre for many years, but decided to embark on a new direction in cabaret in 2009, when I produced 20th Century Woman: The Compact Cabaret. Not wanting to neglect my love of spoken word, particularly drama and verse, I made the conscious decision to include these elements in the programme, as well as wonderful songs, to tell the story of women's changing status and preoccupations throughout the 20th Century and up to now.
I was invited to audition for the renowned Cabaret Conference at Yale, run by the late legendary Erv Raible, and that was thrilled to be one of only 26 accepted that year, where I was taught by the masters of the genre. Amanda McBroom (composer of the Bette Middler hit "The Rose" and the poignant "Errol Flynn"), Laurel Massé, original member of Manhattan Transfer, Sally Mayes, Tony Award nominees Sharon McNight and Tovah Feldshuh, and New York cabaret veteran Julie Wilson were all on the faculty. We were also treated to the musical direction of Alex Rybeck, Hubert Tex Arnold and the now late Paul Trueblood.
With the benefit of their insightful teaching and great encouragement, I took my show to The Duplex in New York, where I was delighted with the response.
Since then, I have produced Loving London: The Capital Cabaret, using the same format of songs, poetry and drama, in various London venues, including Leicester Square Theatre and The Crazy Coqs.
2014, the centenary of World War 1, saw the launch of Wartime Women: the Khaki Cabaret to a sellout house at St. James Theatre, London, garnering great notices, including from The Times and Musical Theatre Review. I have since been touring the show to Belgium and throughout the UK.
I hope these reviews and interviews entertain and educate at the same time, and if please do leave comments in the box. It's great to engage in a conversation about the Arts.
Fiona-Jane Weston
Capital Cabarets And Shows Scene 