"Rocketman"

Elton John’s remarkable work in the early 1970s has been somewhat overshadowed by his subsequent “tantrums and tiaras” public image. Thus it is a relief to report that while Dexter Fletcher’s bio-pic “Rocketman”, co-produced by Elton, is an all-out musical extravaganza, complete with dance routines and hallucinogenic fantasy sequences, it also pays due homage to his musicianship.

It starts as it means to go on, with Taron Egerton’s Elton, dressed in demonesque red costume, striding into rehab, finally facing up to his issues; and goes on to detail his upbringing, with a distant father (Steven Mackintosh), warmish mother (Bryce Dallas Howard with an impeccable accent), and encouraging grandmother (Gemma Jones); early entry into the Royal Academy of Music; life as a touring soul musician; and pivotal relationships with lyricist Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell), music publisher Dick James (a hilariously profane Stephen Graham) and cynical manager and lover John Reid (Richard Madden).

Elton’s sexuality is front and centre, his torment over being gay – or rather, other people’s attitudes towards it – leading to isolation and substance abuse. Throughout, his songs, imaginatively and respectfully arranged by Giles Martin, comment on the action, with little respect played to chronology (e.g. the relatively recent “I Need Love” soundtracks a heartbreaking childhood moment). Lee Hall’s script is sharp, funny and cleverly structured, with only occasional moments of cheesiness (and unavoidable rewriting of history – Long John Baldry doesn’t even get a look-in).

Taron Egerton as Elton John

The film belongs to Egerton, however; his Elton is often petulant and self-pitying, but resolute in his determination to hide the shy Reg Dwight behind multiple flamboyant onstage personas. Fletcher’s film deftly and triumphantly walks the fine line between crowd-pleasing entertainment and merciless character study.

"Lose Yourself" / "Robinson" / Jonny Cotsen

The theatrical hit of the moment, in these parts, seems to be Katherine Chandler’s “Lose Yourself” at the Sherman Theatre – a tale involving sexually promiscuous footballers and drunk young women, which transcends its torn-from-the-headlines relevance via a witty script and a spirited central performance.

"Lose Yourself) (Photo: Burning Red)

Also, in recent weeks, I saw “Robinson – The Other Island”, a radical reinterpretation of the Crusoe story, given an A.S.M.R. twist using binaural stereo relayed through headphones. Ironically, the very next night, also at Chapter, I finally managed to catch Jonny Cotsen’s “Louder Is Not Always Clearer”, in which he explores his experience as a Deaf man; again, more amusing than one might have expected.

"Louder Is Not Always Clearer" (Photo: Kirstem McTernan)

"Calendar Girls" / "Crave" / David Nash etc

The latest big touring show that I’ve been able to see at the Wales Millennium Centre was the musical adaptation of nude-posing-housewives comedy-drama “Calendar Girls” featuring a starry cast and not-quite-stellar tunes from Take That’s Gary Barlow. Suitably amusing and moving, it went down very well with the overwhelmingly female audience.

Also on were two largely devised pieces: “Shooting Rabbits” from Powderhouse at the Sherman was a vaguely hallucinogenic depiction of the experience of Welshmen volunteering to fight in the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s, featuring an excellent live score from Sam Humphreys; and “When It Clicks”, from graduate company Golden Sock in the basement of Little Man Coffee Company – a well-acted but dramatically unsatisfying take on Stockholm Syndrome.

The undoubted highlight of the week was Sarah Kane’s “Crave”, produced under the Professional Pathways scheme at The Other Room, and featuring a talented cast of drama students. The play has no real narrative, and it’s a deeply pessimistic insight into its unhappy author’s frame of mind, but it’s a powerfully cathartic experience, akin to listening to a suite of sad songs (R.I.P. Scott Walker).

"Crave" Poster

And only today, I went to the recently opened and impressively extensive exhibition of largely tree-based sculptures by legendary North Wales-based artist David Nash at the National Museum of Wales. A beautiful evocation of the possibilities which open up when Man develops a creative rather than destructive relationship with the natural world. And it even has a wholesome odour about it.